house

Terraced two-bay four-storey house, between 1835-40. Renovated, pre-1900, with shopfront inserted to ground floor. Renovated, 2005, with replacement shopfront inserted to ground floor retaining foundations of earlier shopfront. One of a pair. Pitched (shared) slate roof with clay ridge tiles, rendered chimney stacks over red brick Running bond construction having profiled capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, and no rainwater goods visible on cut-granite eaves having shared cast-iron hopper and downpipe. Rendered, ruled and lined walls with concealed red brick quoins to corners, and section of concealed red brick irregular bond construction following course of chimney. Square-headed window openings with cut-stone sills, six-over-six and three-over-six (top floor) timber sash windows. Replacement timber shopfront, 2005, to ground floor retaining foundations of earlier shopfront, pre-1900, with half-fluted pilasters on diamond-pointed panelled risers on cut-stone padstones, fixed-pane display windows, glazed timber door having overlight, timber panelled door to house on cut-stone threshold having overlight, and fascia having consoles. Interior with timber staircase having turned timber balustrade supporting carved timber handrail, ogee-headed door openings to landings, carved timber surrounds to door openings having timber panelled doors, carved (reeded) cut-black marble (County Kilkenny limestone) chimneypieces, timber panelled shutters to window openings, and run-moulded or reeded plasterwork cornices to ceilings. Street fronted with concrete footpath to front [SS].

An elegantly appointed house of the middle size built as the Esmonde family townhouse representing one of an identical pair (second in pair not included in survey) making a positive contribution to the street scene aesthetic of Main Street North with qualities identifying a sophisticated design programme including the vertical thrust of the massing, the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor in the Classical manner producing a graduated visual effect, the understated surface articulation, and so on. Although an early shopfront of artistic design merit displaying good quality traditional carpentry has been lost, elsewhere the house has been very well maintained to present an early aspect with the historic or original fabric surviving in place, both to the exterior and to the interior, thereby upholding much of the character or integrity of the site in the streetscape. The house remains of additional interest for the historic connections with the Walshe family.