Survey Data
Reg No
31307104
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Farm house
Date
1745 - 1750
Coordinates
130798, 295602
Date Recorded
09/11/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay two-storey over part raised basement farmhouse, built 1748; extant 1777, on a T-shaped plan with single-bay (single-bay deep) full-height central return (west). Sold, 1851. Resold, 1867. Occupied, 1911. Now disused. Pitched slate roof on a T-shaped plan centred on pitched slate roof (west) with lichen-covered clay or terracotta ridge tiles, red brick English Garden Wall bond chimney stacks having cut-limestone stringcourses below capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on cut-limestone eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Roughcast walls on battered base. Segmental-headed central door opening approached by flight of twelve lichen-covered drag edged tooled cut-limestone steps between replacement mild steel railings, drag edged dragged cut-limestone doorcase with rusticated pilasters centred on monolithic pilasters supporting iron-covered "Cavetto" cornice on fluted keystone, and concealed red brick voussoirs framing replacement timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed window openings with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing two-over-two (basement), six-over-six (ground floor) or six-over-three (first floor) timber sash windows having part exposed sash boxes with some replacement two-over-two timber sash windows (north). Interior including (ground floor): central entrance hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, and decorative plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on decorative plasterwork ceiling rose; door opening into staircase hall; staircase hall (west) on a square plan retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, staircase on a dog leg plan with timber balusters supporting carved timber banister, carved timber surrounds to door openings to landing framing timber panelled doors, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling; dining room (south) retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, Classical-style chimneypiece, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling on decorative plasterwork frieze; drawing room (north) retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, cut-white marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and decorative 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 unkempt landscaped grounds.
Appraisal
A farmhouse representing an integral component of the mid eighteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition, one annotated as "Barleyhill [of] McManus Esquire" by Taylor and Skinner (1778 pl. 222), confirmed by such traits as the symmetrical footprint centred on a Classically-detailed doorcase demonstrating good quality workmanship (cf. 31303801; 31308002); the definition of the principal floor as a slightly elevated "piano nobile"; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the high pitched roofline. A period of apparent 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 crown or cylinder glazing panels in hornless sash frames: meanwhile, contemporary joinery; restrained chimneypieces; and Adamesque plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition (Ruane 1996 I, 59-61). Furthermore, an adjacent coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (see 31307105); and a neglected walled garden (extant 1838), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained estate having historic connections with the McManus family including Bernard McManus (Lewis 1837 I, 214); and the Aitken family including John Aitken Senior (d. 1890), 'Farmer late of Barleyhill County Mayo' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1890, 5); and John Aitken Junior (d. 1956), 'Farmer' (NA 1911).