The Aske

Detached three-bay single-storey country house with half-dormer attic, designed 1831; built 1832, on a square plan centred on (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle portico; three-bay (south) or two-bay (north) full-height side elevations. For sale, 1854. Leased, 1855-65. Renamed, 1893. Occupied, 1901. Leased, 1911. Vacant, 1912. "Repaired", 1942. Sold, 1946. For sale, 2014. Hipped slate roof on a U-shaped plan centred on gablets to window openings to half-dormer attic, pressed or rolled lead ridges, paired rendered octagonal central chimney stacks on cushion courses on rendered bases having panelled capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, quatrefoil-perforated decorative timber bargeboards to gablets with octagonal finials to apexes, and cast-iron rainwater goods on quatrefoil-detailed decorative timber eaves boards on rendered eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls on rendered chamfered plinth. Tudor-headed central door opening behind (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle portico approached by flight of three cut-granite steps with carved timber mullions on cut-granite step threshold supporting carved timber transom, and carved timber surround framing glazed timber panelled double doors having sidelights on panelled risers below overlight. Square-headed window openings (ground floor) with cut-granite chamfered sills, timber cruciform mullions, and concealed dressings having chamfered reveals with hood mouldings on label stops framing timber casement windows. Square-headed window openings in bipartite arrangement (half-dormer attic) with cut-granite chamfered sill course, timber Y-mullions, and concealed dressings having chamfered reveals with hood mouldings framing four-over-four timber sash windows having Y-tracery glazing bars. Interior including (ground floor): central hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, panelled vaulted ceiling with moulded plasterwork ribs on panelled octagonal corbels, and Tudor-headed opening into inner hall with carved timber surround framing carved timber Classical-style surround to door opening framing timber panelled door; living room (south-east) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, "Acanthus"-detailed cut-white marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and picture railing below decorative plasterwork cornice to ceiling; square-headed door opening into sitting room with carved timber Classical-style surround framing timber panelled double doors; sitting room (south-west) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, "Acanthus"-detailed cut-white marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and picture railing below decorative plasterwork cornice to ceiling; dining room (north-east) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers, and picture railing below decorative plasterwork cornice to ceiling; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters on panelled risers. Set in landscaped grounds.

A country house erected for William Garde to a design exhibited (1831) by Henry Kelly (fl. 1828-33) of Dublin (DIA) representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of south County Dublin with the architectural value of the composition, one 'typical of the much-favoured Gothic style promoted in contemporary architectural pattern books' (Pearson 1998, 37), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking gently rolling grounds with a mountainous backdrop in the distance; the compact near-square plan formed centred on a 'very unusual cast-iron porch with pinnacles made in a Dublin foundry' (ibid., 37); the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with the principal "apartments" or reception rooms defined by polygonal bay windows; and the decorative timber work embellishing the roofline. Having been reasonably well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior '[showing] a refined Regency Gothic atmosphere' (ibid., 37) where contemporary joinery; restrained Classical-style chimneypieces; and decorative plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, an adjacent walled garden (extant 1837); and a nearby gate lodge (see 60260166), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained estate having subsequent connections with George Harrison (d. 1862), 'late of The Aske in the County of Dublin' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1863, 140); Catherine Darley (d. 1909), 'late of The Aske Bray County Wicklow [sic]' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1910, 135); and a succession of tenants of Sir Edward Wingfield Verner (1865-1936) of nearby Cork Abbey (NA 1911).