house

Attached two-bay four-storey former house over basement, built c. 1840 as one of terrace of five (Nos. 7-11) within longer row of similar houses, and having three-storey flat-roofed return to north end of rear. Now in commercial office use. M-profile roof, hipped to north end of front span, having blind brick parapet with masonry coping, parapet gutters, cast-iron hopper and downpipe to north, and rendered shouldered chimneystacks to south end with terracotta pots. Flemish bond red brick walling on granite plinth course over painted ruled-and-lined rendered basement walling; rendered walling to rear. Square-headed window openings, diminishing in height to upper floors, with painted rendered reveals, painted masonry sills and brick voussoirs. Timber sliding sash windows with cavetto horns, three-over-three pane to top floor, six-over-six pane to middle floors, late nineteenth-century bipartite timber casement to ground floor with leaded stained-glass transom light, and one-over-one pane to basement. Decorative cast-iron balconettes to first floor, wrought-iron window-guards to second floor, and steel grille to basement. Timber sash windows to rear, three-over-three pane to top floor, south bay having eight-over-eight pane window to second floor and tripartite six-over-six pane below. Round-headed doorway with render surround and painted masonry doorcase comprising pro-style Ionic columns, plain entablature, leaded peacock's tail fanlight and eleven-panel timber door with replacement brass furniture. Granite entrance platform with decorative cast-iron boot-scrape and five convex bull-nosed granite steps. Basement area enclosed by decorative cast-iron railings on moulded granite plinth. Plain square-headed doorway beneath entrance platform. Cast-iron gate and concrete steps lead down to basement. Garden to rear, with modernized two-storey mews building and yard to rear of plot.

A mid-nineteenth-century row house built in the Georgian style, displaying well-balanced proportions and a graded fenestration pattern typical of the period. The house, along with the wider terrace and row, is attractive and relatively well retained with original features, including a good Ionic doorcase, decorative fanlight and unusual convex entrance steps. The building is enhanced by good ironwork in its balconettes, railings and boot-scrape and further visual interest is added by the later casement to the ground floor. No. 7 forms part of the handsome row lining the east side of Herbert Street, contributing to the streetscape character and also to the wider historic core of south Dublin. Linking Mount Street Crescent to Lower Baggot Street, this street was laid out by Sydney Herbert from the early 1830s.