Survey Data
Reg No
50010896
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Cultural, Historical
Previous Name
An Stad
Original Use
House
Historical Use
Guest house/b&b
Date
1795 - 1815
Coordinates
315603, 235263
Date Recorded
21/09/2011
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Terraced three-bay four-storey house over exposed basement, built c.1805, as one of pair with No. 31 and having full-height bow to rear. Pitched slate roof hidden behind parapet wall with granite coping and shared brick chimneystack with clay pots to south party wall. Red brick walls laid in Flemish bond with original pointing on granite plinth course above rendered basement walls. Gauged brick flat-arched window openings with timber reveals, painted granite sills and original timber sliding sash windows, nine-over-nine pane to first floor, six-over-six pane to second floor, three-over-three pane to third floor, boarded up to ground floor. Gauged brick round-headed door opening with moulded masonry surround and original doorcase now covered with corrugated iron. Elements of doorcase visible include foliate console brackets to lintel cornice and panelled frieze with plain fanlight. Door opens onto granite platform and four granite steps, bridging basement. Platform and basement enclosed by wrought-iron railings on original moulded granite plinth wall with matching iron gate giving basement access.
Appraisal
Laid out by Luke Gardiner II by 1795, this substantial Georgian townhouse is in a poor state of repair but retains a wealth of original fabric. The retention of an original classical doorcase and of most of its timber sash windows makes this house particularly significant within the streetscape. The retention, also, of the stone and iron details to the entrance and basement enhances the setting and contributes to the intactness of the street. As part of an extensive terrace lining the west side of Frederick Street North, the house makes a significant contribution to the architectural fabric of the streetscape and the wider area. 30 Frederick Street North was one of several houses in in the street which housed "An Stad", the guesthouse and meeting place for Irish language enthusiasts and nationalists established by Cathal McGarvey (1866-1927), the first premises being at 1B Frederick Street North. "An Stad" was frequented by Michael Cusack (1847-1906); Douglas Hyde (1860-1949); William Butler Yeats (1865-1939); Arthur Griffith (1871-1922); James Joyce (1882-1941); Brendan Behan (1923-64).