Survey Data
Reg No
15701814
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Rectory/glebe/vicarage/curate's house
In Use As
House
Date
1795 - 1800
Coordinates
285008, 142181
Date Recorded
28/08/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay (two-bay deep) two-storey over part raised basement Board of First Fruits Church of Ireland glebe house, built 1798-9, on a rectangular plan originally three-bay two-storey on a square plan with three-bay full-height rear (south) elevation. Extended, 1829, producing present composition. Occupied, 1911. Sold, 1972. For sale, 2013. Hipped slate roof on an elongated quadrangular plan with clay ridge tiles, paired rendered central chimney stacks on axis with ridge having stepped capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta tapered pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on roughcast slate flagged eaves retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Roughcast walls on roughcast cut-granite chamfered cushion course on roughcast base with rusticated cut-granite quoins to corners (north) or rusticated cut-granite piers to corners (south). Segmental-headed central door opening approached by flight of five cut-granite steps, cut-granite Gibbsian surround framing timber panelled door having fanlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-three (basement), nine-over-six (ground floor) or six-over-six (first floor) timber sash windows without horns. Interior including (ground floor clockwise): central entrance hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, staircase on a dog leg plan with timber "match stick" balusters supporting carved timber banister terminating in timber newels, carved timber surrounds to door openings to landing framing timber panelled doors, and plasterwork cornice to ceiling; study (north-east) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, cut-black marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and plasterwork cornice to ceiling; drawing room (south-east) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, cut-veined white marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and plasterwork cornice to ceiling; dining room (south) retaining carved timber surrounds to opposing door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, and plasterwork cornice to ceiling; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers. Set in landscaped grounds with cut-granite monolithic piers to perimeter having "Cavetto" stringcourses below domed capping supporting wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A glebe house erected with financial support from the Board of First Fruits (fl. 1711-1833) representing an important component of the built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, 'an elegant modern villa' (Lewis 1837 II, 124), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking 'a plantation of beech and fir and commanding a fine view of the White and Blackstairs mountains' (ibid., 124); the compact footprint centred on a Gibbsian doorcase not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also showing a simplified "peacock tail" fanlight; the definition of the principal floor as a slightly elevated "piano nobile"; and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression: meanwhile, aspects of the composition clearly illustrate the continued linear development of the glebe house by Reverend Henry Wynne (d. 1847). 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 crown or cylinder glazing panels in hornless sash frames: meanwhile, contemporary joinery; Classical-style chimneypieces; and plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1840) continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a neat self-contained ensemble having historic connections with the Killann parish Church of Ireland clergy including Reverend Jonathan Sisson Cooper MA (1820-98), 'Clerk late of Killanne [sic] Rectory Enniscorthy County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1899, 80; cf. 15701813); and Reverend Alfred William Francis Cooper MA (1848-1920), 'sometime Archdeacon of Calgary Canon of Ferns Catherdal and for 22 years Rector of [Killann] Parish' (cf. 15701813).