Ballintore House

Detached five-bay two-storey farmhouse with dormer attic, extant 1840, on an L-shaped plan centred on single-bay full-height gabled projecting breakfront; single-bay (single-bay deep) full-height double-pile return (east). Extended, pre-1904, producing present composition. Occupied, 1911. Renovated, ----. Hipped gabled fibre-cement slate roof on an L-shaped plan centred on pitched (gabled) fibre-cement slate roof (breakfront); pitched double-pile (M-profile) fibre-cement slate roof (east), clay ridge tiles, red brick Running bond chimney stacks having stepped capping supporting terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered slate flagged eaves retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers downpipes. Roughcast battered walls bellcast over rendered plinth with rendered quoins to ends. Segmental-headed central door opening with concealed dressings having splayed reveals framing replacement glazed uPVC door having overlight. Square-headed window openings to "cheeks" with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing fixed-pane fittings having margins. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing one-over-one timber sash (ground floor) or replacement uPVC casement (first floor) windows. Set in landscaped grounds.

A farmhouse representing an integral component of the domestic built heritage of the outskirts of Ferns with the architectural value of the composition suggested by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking gently rolling grounds; the compact plan form centred on an expressed breakfront; the feint battered silhouette; the diminishing in scale of the slightly staggered openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the high pitched roofline. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior: the piecemeal introduction of replacement fittings to the openings, however, has not had a beneficial impact on the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1904); and untended walled gardens (extant 1840), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a neat self-contained ensemble having long-standing connections with the Morrison family including Joseph Morrison (d. 1916), 'Farmer late of Ballintore Hill Ferns County Wexford' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1917, 485).