Survey Data
Reg No
15703309
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Previous Name
Movilla House
Original Use
Farm house
Date
1800 - 1840
Coordinates
308206, 131253
Date Recorded
13/09/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached three-bay single-storey over basement farmhouse, extant 1840, on a cruciform plan originally three-bay single-storey on a T-shaped plan centred on single-bay (two-bay deep) single-storey projecting breakfront; six-bay full-height rear (north) elevation centred on two-bay full-height breakfront. "Improved", pre-1903, producing present composition. Disused, 2007. For sale, 2010. Hipped slate roof on a cruciform plan centred on pitched (gabled) slate roof (breakfront), pressed or rolled iron ridges, paired rendered central chimney stacks having chamfered stringcourses below capping supporting crested terracotta tapered pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on slightly overhanging rendered slate flagged eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered fine roughcast walls; rendered, ruled and lined surface finish (breakfront) with rusticated quoins to corners. Square-headed blind openings centred on square-headed window openings in round-headed recesses with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing fine roughcast infill centred on six-over-six timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings to rear (north) elevation with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-three (basement) or six-over-six (ground floor) timber sash windows. Interior including vestibule; segmental-headed door opening into hall with timber panelled door having fanlight; hall retaining carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled reveals on panelled risers with carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, and elliptical vaulted ceiling; central room (north) 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; room (west) 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; room (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; and drawing room (south) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door, and elliptical vaulted ceiling. Set in unkempt grounds with rendered piers to perimeter having chamfered capping supporting "sunburst" double gates.
Appraisal
A farmhouse representing an integral component of the domestic built heritage of the environs of Screen with the architectural value of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the symmetrical footprint centred on a restrained doorcase showing a simple radial fanlight; the "arcaded" openings underpinning a chaste Italianate theme; and the slightly oversailing roofline: meanwhile, aspects of the composition, in particular the polygonal bay window-lit breakfront, clearly illustrate the continued development or "improvement" of the farmhouse in the late nineteenth century. A prolonged period of unoccupancy notwithstanding, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, including some shimmering crown or cylinder glazing panels: meanwhile, contemporary joinery; restrained chimneypieces; and sleek plasterwork refinements, all highlight the modest artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, an adjacent coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (extant 1840); and a nearby gate lodge (see 15703310), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having historic connections with John Walsingham Cooke Redmond (1809-62) of Richmond Terrace, Wexford (Thom's Irish Almanac 1857, 943); and Robert Thomas Ridge (1814-87; Bassett 1885, 396).