Survey Data
Reg No
50930106
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
House
In Use As
Office
Date
1815 - 1825
Coordinates
316634, 233121
Date Recorded
25/09/2015
Date Updated
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Description
Attached two-bay four-storey over basement former townhouse, built c. 1820, with two-storey return to rear (east). Now in use as offices. Pitched roof to west with hipped to south end, irregular M-profiled hipped roofs to rear (east) span, concealed by brick parapet with masonry coping over. Shouldered rendered chimneystacks to north party wall with replacement clay pots. Parapet gutters. Brown brick walling laid in Flemish bond, rendered walling to basement beneath granite plinth course. Square-headed window openings with brick voussoirs, patent reveals and masonry sills; granite surrounds to basement opening. Largely one-over-one replacement timber sliding sash windows with horns and two-over-two to second floor. Wrought-iron guard rails to second and third floor openings, cast-iron balconettes to first floor and mild-steel grille to basement. Round-headed door opening with brick voussoirs, moulded reveals and recessed surround containing fluted frieze and moulded cornice carried on Ionic columns over plinth stops, with plain fanlight and (likely replacement) timber panelled door. Granite entrance platform approached by two granite steps flanked by iron railings on granite plinth, enclosing basement to north-side. Coal-hole cover to pavement. Replacement steel steps to basement. Street fronted on eastern side of Fitzwilliam Street Upper. Remodelled (or replacement) two-storey mews building to rear (east) with replacement boundary wall and extension fronting onto Lad Lane.
Appraisal
Built as a pair with adjoining building to north (50930105), this fine former townhouses retains its traditional form and proportions, mellow brick which contrasts with the granite dressings, well executed ironwork, and handsome Ionic doorcases. The development of Fitzwilliam Street Upper began on the north-end of the western side during the early-nineteenth century. Taken as a whole with Fitzwilliam Street Upper and the east-side of the Merrion Square, this uninterrupted stretch constitutes the longest piece of Georgian streetscape in Dublin. Although largely homogenous in character and form, the subtle variations between the houses are indicative of the speculative nature of development.