Johnstown House

Detached three-bay two-storey country house, extant 1858, on a T-shaped plan centred on single-bay two-storey "bas-relief" breakfront with single-bay single-storey flat-roofed projecting porch to ground floor; two-bay two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1911. Part refenestrated. Hipped slate roof on an E-shaped plan with clay ridge tiles, paired rendered central chimney stacks on cut-granite chamfered cushion courses on rendered bases having corbelled stepped capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta tapered pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on paired timber consoles retaining cast-iron downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls on cut-granite plinth with rendered, ruled and lined "bas-relief" piers to corners. Round-headed window openings in bipartite arrangement in square-headed recess (porch), cut-granite sill, mullion, and concealed dressings framing margined one-over-one timber sash windows. Square-headed opposing door openings ("cheeks") with concealed dressings framing timber panelled doors having overpanels. Round-headed window openings in tripartite arrangement in square-headed recess (first floor), cut-granite sill course, mullions, and concealed dressings framing margined one-over-one timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills (ground floor) or cut-granite sill course (first floor), and concealed dressings framing replacement uPVC casement windows. Square-headed window openings to side elevations with cut-granite sills (ground floor) or cut-granite sill course (first floor), and concealed dressings framing replacement uPVC casement windows (ground floor) or six-over-six timber sash (first floor) windows. Set in landscaped grounds.

A country house representing an important component of the nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of south County Dublin with the architectural value of the composition, one succeeding an adjacent house occupied (1778) by Love Hiatt (Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1891, 242) and (1801) by Major Armstrong (Archer 1801, 104), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking rolling grounds; the compact plan form centred on a Classically-detailed porch; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the coupled timber work embellishing the roofline. Having been 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: however, the piecemeal introduction of replacement fittings to the openings has not had a beneficial impact on the character or integrity of a country house having historic connections with Reverend Richard Ardill (d. 1858), 'Clerk late of Johnstown House Cabinteely in the County of Dublin and of Harcourt-street in the City of Dublin' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858, 4-5); John Wight 'of Johnstown House Cabinteely' (Journal of the Royal Dublin Society III 1862, 176); Charles Raymond Pelly (1825-1901), 'Retired Indian Judge late of Johnstown House Cabinteely County Dublin' (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1902; 387); and the Morrison family including Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hobart Morrison (1856-1929), 'Retired Army Officer' (NA 1911); and his sons Major Richard Fielding Morrison (1890-1918) and Sub-Lieutenant Robert Herman Grant Morrison (1891-1914; cf. 60230127; 60260255).