Survey Data
Reg No
31920002
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social, Technical
Previous Name
Convent of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
Original Use
Country house
In Use As
Convent/nunnery
Date
1710 - 1910
Coordinates
163642, 286824
Date Recorded
26/08/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached five-bay two-storey former country house over basement, built c.1715, extended c.1820, and top floor removed after fire in 1904. M-profile slate roof with rendered chimneystacks and cast-iron rainwater goods. Ashlar limestone walls with quoins, and roughly tooled limestone walls to basement. Replacement aluminium windows with tooled limestone sills and architraves. Venetian window to west-facing side elevation. Canted bay windows to garden elevation. Central pedimented breakfront with segmental-headed door surround with engaged Doric columns and timber panelled door flanked by narrow lights. Sweeping limestone steps with carved tread ends, access garden elevation doorway. Single-storey flanking bays. Plaque to side elevation with date 'July 1715'. Chapel of c.1970, to east of main house. Two-storey block to east of house with cut limestone walls and Gibbsian window surrounds. Castellated yard to east of house contains single-storey outbuildings and stables. Burial ground to west of house accessed through wrought-iron gates and ashlar piers. Building located on shores of Lough Glinn.
Appraisal
Located on the shores of Lough Glinn, this is a suitably elegant and fine setting for a country residence for Viscount Dillon and his family. Built originally as a three-storey house over a basement, the classical proportions and understated external decoration enhance the form and scale of this imposing structure. The fine stonework is a notable feature, in particular the carved limestone tread ends to the steps to the rear doorway and the carved limestone window and door surrounds. While the stately scale of Loughglynn Convent, the use of limestone, and the castellated yard impart an austere atmosphere, the 1970s chapel is an appealing addition to the otherwise forbidding complex.