boathouse

Detached single-bay single-storey gable-fronted boathouse with attic, dated 1878, on a corner site retaining some original fenestration with three-bay single-storey side elevations. Extensively renovated, c.1980, with entrance bay remodelled to accommodate residential use. Pitched (gable-fronted) roof with replacement artificial slate, c.1980, clay ridge tiles, grey brick Running bond chimney stack, c.1980, zinc-lined cut-stone coping having date stone finial to apex, and cast-iron rainwater goods. Random rubble limestone walls with dressed limestone quoins to corners. and stepped buttresses to east having pinnacles. Grey brick Running bond infill panel, c.1980, to original entrance bay with artificial slate hanging over, and unpainted replacement cement render, c.1980, to gable. Square-headed window openings (including to gable to east) with cut-stone chamfered flush sills, and cut-stone lintels. 4/2 timber sash windows. Square-headed window opening to east (in former entrance bay) with concrete sill, and fixed-pane timber window. Round-headed window opening to gable to east with cut-limestone chamfered reveal, and replacement fixed-pane timber window, c.1980. Square-headed door opening with replacement grey brick Running bond reveals, c.1980, cut-stone lintel over having squared rubble limestone voussoirs forming segmental relieving arch, and replacement tongue-and-groove timber panelled door, c.1980. Road fronted on a corner site with unpainted rendered boundary wall to north having rubble stone vertical coping.

An appealing small-scale boathouse with reserved Gothic Revival-style detailing, including stepped buttresses, and finials to the apex, which contribute to the architectural quality of the composition. The construction in rubble stone with cut-limestone dressings produces an attractive textured effect, and attests to high quality local stone masonry. No longer serving its original intended purpose, the boathouse nevertheless retains some of its original form and fabric, although the remodelled entrance (east) front has failed to integrate as part of a cohesive design statement. The boathouse occupies an important site overlooking Ardmore Bay, and remains an important component of the architectural heritage of the locality.