Survey Data
Reg No
31300908
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Farm house
Date
1860 - 1865
Coordinates
68142, 333292
Date Recorded
17/01/2011
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay two-storey farmhouse, rebuilt 1861; extant 1896, on a cruciform plan centred on single-bay single-storey flat-roofed projecting porch to ground floor with single-bay (two-bay deep) full-height central return (west). Occupied, 1911. For sale, 1937. Sold, 1965. Extensively renovated, 1981. For sale, 2008. Now disused. Hipped slate roof on a T-shaped plan centred on hipped slate roof (west) with clay ridge tiles, paired rendered central chimney stacks having stringcourses below capping supporting crested terracotta tapered pots, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods on rendered cut-limestone eaves. Replacement cement rendered walls bellcast over rendered plinth. Square-headed window openings centred on square-headed window opening in tripartite arrangement (ground floor) with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing replacement six-over-six timber sash windows centred on four-over-four timber sash window having two-over-two sidelights. Interior including (ground floor): vestibule; segmental-headed opening into entrance hall-cum-staircase hall with Classical-style surround centred on keystone; entrance hall-cum-staircase hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, staircase on a dog leg plan with turned timber balusters supporting carved timber banister terminating in tapered timber newel, carved timber surrounds to door openings to landing framing timber panelled doors centred on carved timber surround to window opening framing timber panelled reveals or shutters, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on plasterwork ceiling rose; drawing room (south) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled reveals or shutters on panelled risers, Classical-style chimneypiece, and picture railing below moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; dining room (north) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled reveals or shutters on panelled risers, reclaimed chimneypiece, and picture railing below moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; and (first floor): carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled reveals or shutters. Set in unkempt grounds.
Appraisal
A farmhouse or minor country house reconstructed for Thomas Reilly (d. 1872) representing an integral component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the environs of Béal an Mhuirthead [Belmullet] with the architectural value of the composition, one allegedly retaining at its core 'a good modern slated two storied house [1792]' sold (1853) by Elizabeth Eleanor Bingham (née Nash) (1823?-94) through the Encumbered Estates Court (NUIG), suggested by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking Cuan na Trá Móire [Trawmore Bay] with its mountainous backdrop in the far distance; the symmetrical footprint centred on a Classically-detailed porch; and the uniform or near-uniform proportions of the openings on each floor. A prolonged period of neglect notwithstanding, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original or replicated fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where contemporary joinery; Classical chimneypieces; and sleek plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1896); and the remnants of a walled garden (extant 1838), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of an ensemble having historic connections with the O'Reilly family including Thomas Francis O'Reilly (1852-1936), 'Landlord [and] Farmer' (NA 1911).