Kilkenny Methodist Church

Detached three-bay three-storey manse, extant 1871, on a rectangular plan. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Sold, 2000. Pitched slate roof with clay ridge tiles, red brick Running bond chimney stacks having stepped capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta tapered pots, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods on rendered eaves. Rendered, ruled and lined walls. Segmental-headed central door opening with cut-limestone step threshold, timber doorcase with panelled pilasters on padstones supporting archivolt, and concealed dressings framing timber panelled door having fanlight. Square-headed flanking window openings in bipartite arrangement with cut-limestone sills, timber mullions, and concealed dressings framing four-over-four timber sash windows without horns. Square-headed window openings in bipartite arrangement centred on square-headed window opening (first floor) with cut-limestone sills, timber mullions, and concealed dressings framing four-over-four timber sash windows without horns centred on six-over-six timber sash window without horns. Square-headed window openings (top floor) with cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing three-over-six timber sash windows without horns. Set in shared grounds with arrow head-detailed cast-iron piers to perimeter supporting cast-iron double gates.

A manse representing an important component of the nineteenth-century built heritage of Kilkenny with the architectural value of the composition, one recalling a nearby house (see 12001124) attributed to William Robertson (1770-1850), confirmed by such attributes as the compact rectilinear plan form centred on a Classically-detailed doorcase showing a looped hub-and-spoke fanlight; and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated tiered visual effect with the principal "apartments" showing elegant bipartite glazing patterns. Having been well maintained, the form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, including shimmering glass in hornless sash frames, thus upholding the character or integrity of a manse forming part of a self-contained group alongside an adjacent Methodist church (see 12001125) with the resulting ecclesiastical ensemble making a pleasing visual statement in William Street. NOTE: Occupied (1901) by Reverend William John Clayton (1856-1930), 'Methodist Minister' (NA 1901); and (1911) by Thomas Forde (1846-1923), 'Methodist Minister' (NA 1911).