barracks

Thirteen-bay two-storey married soldiers' quarters blockhouse, built c.1890, comprising eight apartments with centrally located stairwell. Single-storey projecting section to front (south-east) surmounted by balcony walkway. Pitched artificial slate roof with rendered chimneystacks, tooled limestone eaves course and uPVC rainwater goods. Moulded red brick eaves course to balcony with render cornice, tooled limestone corbels and cast-iron handrails. Snecked sandstone walls with rusticated limestone quoins and tooled limestone plinth. Sections of render to rear (north-west) elevation walls. Square-headed window openings having stone sills, yellow brick block-and-start surrounds, raised render reveals and three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows. Replacement two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows to front elevation. Square-headed recessed porch openings to rear elevation having cut limestone steps, yellow brick block-and-start surrounds and recent glazed uPVC doors. Square-headed door openings to porch interiors having glazed timber doors and sidelights surmounted by single-pane overlights. Boot scrapers to interior walls of porches within camber-headed recesses. Square-headed door openings to rear (north-west) elevation having replacement uPVC doors and overlight. Shouldered square-headed openings to stairwells having tooled limestone vault stones and lintel, yellow brick block-and-start surrounds. Cut limestone stepped approach to ground floor openings. Brick walls to stairwell interiors having rendered concrete stairs with cast-iron handrails. Gardens to front and yards to rear.

This attractive, symmetrically arranged blockhouse is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The use of varied building materials including sandstone, yellow brick and limestone create a pleasing textured effect which is enlivened by decorative design details such as corbels and moulded brick. The retention of historic features including sash windows, boot scrapes and stone sills further enliven the facade. This fine example of military domestic architecture serves as reminder of the buildings which were associated with the Kinsale Infantry Barracks complex.