Survey Data
Reg No
15700903
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Rectory/glebe/vicarage/curate's house
In Use As
Rectory/glebe/vicarage/curate's house
Date
1805 - 1810
Coordinates
291611, 155769
Date Recorded
27/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey over basement Board of First Fruits Church of Ireland glebe house, built 1808, on an L-shaped plan centred on single-bay single-storey gabled projecting glazed porch to ground floor; two-bay (west) or four-bay (east) full-height side elevations. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Renovated, 1999. Hipped slate roof on an L-shaped plan with clay or terracotta ridge tiles, paired rendered central chimney stacks having moss-covered capping supporting yellow terracotta tapered pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered slate flagged eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Slate hung wall to front (south) elevation; roughcast surface finish (remainder) bellcast over rendered plinth. Segmental-headed central door opening approached by flight of five cut-granite steps with concealed dressings having concave reveals framing timber panelled double doors having overlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing replacement uPVC casement windows replacing six-over-six (ground floor) or three-over-three (first floor) timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Set in landscaped grounds on a slightly elevated site.
Appraisal
A glebe house erected with financial support from the Board of First Fruits (fl. 1711-1833) representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century built heritage of Bunclody with the architectural value of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking rolling grounds and the meandering River Slaney with Mount Leinster as a dramatic backdrop in the distance; the compact plan form centred on a restrained doorcase; and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, including a partial slate hung surface finish widely regarded as an increasingly endangered hallmark of the architectural heritage of County Wexford: however, the introduction of replacement fittings to most of the openings has not had a beneficial impact on the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, an adjacent coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (extant 1839) continues to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having long-standing connections with the Saint Mary's Newtownbarry parish Church of Ireland clergy including Reverend Alexander McClintock (1775-1836; Lewis 1837 II, 437); Reverend John Charles Archdall (1836-97), 'Archdeacon of Ferns late of The Parsonage Newtownbarry County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1897, 6); and Reverend William Robert Baker Fry (1867-194-), 'Clerk in Holy Orders [and] Incumbent of Newtownbarry' (NA 1901; NA 1911).