Survey Data
Reg No
40501181
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural
Original Use
House
In Use As
Office
Date
1880 - 1920
Coordinates
216776, 411476
Date Recorded
01/12/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Corner-sited end-of-terrace four-bay two-storey former house, built c. 1900, in use as office. Formerly two separate houses, now amalgamated to form a single property. Pitched artificial slate roof with smooth rendered eaves course, and replacement rainwater goods. Chimneystacks removed. Roughcast rendered walls over smooth rendered plinth; smooth rendered ruled-and-lined walls to gable end to the north. Square-headed window openings with smooth rendered reveals, six-over-six pane horned timber sliding sash windows to first floor, one-over-two horned timber sliding sash windows to ground floor and gables; replacement window to north bay of ground floor, and with concrete and stone sills. Square-headed door openings with smooth rendered reveals, battened timber and timber panelled doors, and with glazed overlights. Fronts directly onto streets to north and west with two-bay-two-storey house at rear (east) incorporated into office-block. Located to west of Letterkenny town centre.
Appraisal
This modest but prominently-sited house, of late nineteenth or early twentieth-century date, retains its early form and character despite some alterations. It was originally two separate dwellings that were later amalgamated to form a single property. Its visual expression and integrity is enhanced by the retention of salient fabric such as the timber sliding sash windows and the single timber panelled door with bolection mouldings. The loss of the original roof covering and chimneystacks (formerly rendered brick) detracts from its appeal. This simple building is of a type that was, until recently, a ubiquitous feature of the streetscapes of small Irish towns and villages but is now becoming increasingly rare due to demolition and\or insensitive alteration. This building makes a positive contribution to its prominent corner site close to the cathedral, and is an addition to the built heritage of Letterkenny.