Bayview, house in County Donegal (40851018)

End-of-terrace corner-sited three-bay three-storey house, built c. 1890, having single-bay two-storey canted bays to either end of the main elevation (north), balustraded balcony between canted bays at first floor level, and with three gable-fronted bays at attic/third storey level. One of a terrace of eight (see 40851019-25). Two-storey return and modern two- and three-storey extensions to the rear (south). Now in use as a guest house and combined with neighbour to the west (40851019) to form single premises. Pitched artificial slate roof with rendered chimneystacks to either end (east and west) having moulded render detailing and cornices; moulded render cornice to eaves. Raised render coping to the east gable end and to gabled bays to front elevation (north) having render pedestals with globe finials over. Flat roofs over canted projections having balustraded parapets over. Some remaining sections of cast-iron rainwater goods. Smooth rendered walls with moulded stringcourses and moulded plinth. Moulded render roundel motifs to gable end (west) and over window openings to gabled bays. Square-headed window openings flanked by fluted pilasters having moulded lintel decoration over to ground floor, panelled pilasters to first floor openings having moulded lintel decoration over, and chamfered pole moulded reveals to second floor openings. Window openings to end bays at third floor level widened, originally paired narrow lights. Moulded sill course at third floor level. One-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows at ground floor level, replacement fittings elsewhere. Central square-headed doorway to main elevation having replacement door with replacement glazed surround; Inner glazed timber double doors behind with encaustic tiled threshold. Main doorway flanked by fluted pilasters having masked corbels over. Set back from road and to the south-west of Bundoran town centre. Bounded on road-frontage to the north by rendered plinth wall having decorative cast-iron railings over. Wrought-iron/mild steel pedestrian gate serving entrance. Rendered boundary wall to the east.

A substantial and well-detailed late-Victorian house that retains its original architectural character and forms part of a formal terrace of eight buildings. The front elevation is enlivened by the extensive render detailing, which has been well-executed and adds to the visual appeal of the building. The loss of some of the original fittings to the openings, and the widening of some of the window openings at third floor level, fails to detract substantially from its architectural integrity. Bayview Terrace dates to the end of the nineteenth-century, a period when Bundoran was a popular ‘genteel’ seaside resort (particularly after the coming of the Great Northern Railway line to Bundoran in 1866). It is likely that many of the buildings along the terrace were originally built as hotels and other guest accommodation for the many affluent visitors who came to the town. The architectural character and form of this terrace is typical of its type and date, and similar terraces can be found in a number of seaside resorts in Ireland and Britain, and in the affluent expanding contemporary coastal seaside suburbs of Dublin. This building is an integral element of the built heritage of Bundoran, forming part of an elegant terrace that, as a group, is a landmark feature along the main approach road into the town from the west. The good quality cast-iron railings add considerably to the setting, and complete this noteworthy composition.