Survey Data
Reg No
14922012
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Previous Name
Strawberryhill House
Original Use
Country house
In Use As
Country house
Date
1790 - 1830
Coordinates
207517, 220924
Date Recorded
29/10/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached seven-bay single-storey over basement Gothic Revival country house, built c.1810, with altered gabled front elevation and adjoining three-stage tower to south with stairs expressed externally. Set within its own grounds. Located opposite entrance to farmyard. Hipped slate roof to main house, pitched to gables with rendered chimneystack. Roughcast rendered wall to rear elevation, smooth rendered to front. Pointed-arched window opening to main house with limestone sills and timber sash windows. Pointed-arched door opening to central gable to front elevation with intersecting tracery bars to fanlight and timber panelled doors. Pitched slate roof to tower hidden behind castellated parapet. Random coursed limestone walls incorporating medieval heads into south-facing side elevation. Square-headed window openings with brick reveals, limestone sills and timber sash windows. Pointed-arched door openings to tower with brick reveals. Site accessed through decorative cast-iron double gates flanked by rendered piers and walls. Entrance to farmyard directly opposite entrance to house. Random coursed wall encloses site an incorporates a fox-hole.
Appraisal
Strawberry Hill is a curious mix of architectural forms and style. The main body of the country house resembles a meeting hall or church while the adjoining tower appears to be styled on medieval architectural. Indeed the incorporation of the medieval heads into the south elevation of the tower enforces that sense and contributes and archaeological significance to the site. Although the main body has undergone alterations to include new window openings on the west-facing gabled front elevation, the country house still retains its character and is an important addition to the architectural heritage of County Offaly. The country house together with the farm buildings opposite form an interesting group of related structures. The fox-hole is a landmark feature on the road to Cloghan and is an intriguing piece of stonework.