house

Terraced three-bay two-storey former house, built c. 1880, with integral carriage arch to east and traditional-style timber shopfront inserted c. 1990, in use as commercial premises. Pitched artificial slate roof, clay roof tiles, shared tall rendered chimneystack to west and cement fractable to east. Steel gutter. Painted ruled-and-lined rendered walling. Square-headed window openings, painted stone sills, uPVC windows. Timber shopfront comprises fixed-pane display window on timber sill and limestone-clad plinth course, square-headed door opening and overlight with glazed timber door on limestone step. All openings flanked by simple pilasters with timber fascia with dentiled cornice over and flanked by decorative foliate scrolled console brackets. Round-headed door opening, replacement timber panelled door and fanlight. Elliptical-headed carriage arch opening formed in tooled voussoired limestone with replacement vertically-sheeted timber doors.

Despite the loss of original historic fabric, the building maintains its façade composition and carriage arch, has a good quality replacement shopfront, making it an essential part of the understated architectural character of Market Square, forming part of an important late nineteenth-century terrace which lines this public space. As an integral part of the urban fabric of the town core it adds to the special character and architectural landscape of Portlaoise.