John Barr, house in County Donegal

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End-of-terrace corner-sited two-bay three-storey house, built c. 1860, with shop to ground floor, and with three-storey return to rear (north-east). One of a pair with the building adjoining to the north-west (see 40815048). Pitched artificial slate roof with render eaves cornice, brick chimneystack to the south-east gable end, and with cast-iron rainwater goods; flat-roof to return. Painted smooth rendered walls with projecting smooth rendered plinth, and with raised smooth rendered margin to the south-west corner. Square-headed window openings with smooth rendered surrounds render entablatures over first floor window openings, and with replacement timber windows. Square-headed window openings at ground floor level having fixed-pane display windows. Central square-headed doorway having timber panelled double-doors with bolection mouldings, and with plain overlight. Shopfront comprising fluted render pilasters with smooth rendered fascia over having moulded render cornice, moulded render brackets to either end of fascia. Rasied timber lettering to fascia reading ‘JOHN BARR’. Street-fronted to the centre of Buncrana.

Despite some alterations, this fine building, of mid-to-late nineteenth-century appearance, retains much of its early character and form. The loss of the early fittings to the openings to the upper floors and the loss of the natural slate roof fails to detract substantially from its appeal and integrity. The upper floors are enlivened by the render surrounds to the openings, particularly those to the first floor openings with entablatures over, and by the render eaves cornice. Of particular interest is the survival of a fine render traditional shopfront with fluted pilasters, and fascia over with moulded brackets to either end and moulded cornice over. This shopfront is based on a simplification of the classical formula of pilasters with entablature over with the frieze acting as the fascia for the shop name, a feature of many traditional shopfronts. Colourful traditional shopfronts such as this were, until recent years, a ubiquitous feature of the streetscapes of small Irish towns and villages but are now becoming increasingly rare survivals. They add vibrancy and incident to the streetscape. This building was constructed as part of an asymmetrical pair with the adjoining property to the north-west. (see 40815048), and is an integral element of the built heritage of Buncrana.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 40815047

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Photo credits

Andreas F. Borchert, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Kenneth Allen, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Kenneth Allen, Geograph · Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
Maker not stated on source page, www.pinterest.com
Andreas F. Borchert, Wikimedia Commons
Maker not stated on source page, lake-of-shadows-hotel.megotel.ru
Maker not stated on source page, jp.pinterest.com
Buncrana GAA (publisher); image bears a small maker watermark that needs confirmation before reuse, buncranagaa.com
Maker not stated on source page, ru.pinterest.com
Maker not stated on source page, donegal.ie
Golfing in Ireland; photographer not stated, Source publisher

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