Carlanstown House

Detached four-bay two-storey farmhouse, c.1800, on a rectangular plan originally three-bay two-storey on a symmetrical plan with single-bay single-storey gabled projecting porch to ground floor; single-bay two-storey recessed end bay (east). Pitched slate roof with ridge tiles, rendered chimney stacks with red brick chimney stack (east), and cast-iron rainwater goods with cast-iron hoppers and downpipes. Pitched (gabled) slate roof (porch) with crested ridge tiles, and cast-iron rainwater goods with cast-iron downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls; roughcast surface finish to rear (north) elevation. Square-headed door opening with replacement glazed door. Square-headed window opening in tripartite arrangement (ground floor) with sill, and four-over-four timber sash window without horns having two-over-two sidelights. Square-headed window openings with sills, and replacement casement windows. Set in landscaped grounds with wrought iron railings to garden.

A farmhouse probably occupying the site of an earlier house and representing an important element of the architectural heritage of County Westmeath. The farmhouse retains much of its original form together with substantial quantities of original fabric including a Wyatt-style tripartite window with hornless sash fittings. The farmhouse and its outbuildings (15400105) form part of an impressive group alongside the extensive remains of a sixteenth- or seventeenth-century fortified bawn (RMP WM001-031----). Carlanstown House has historical connections with the Nugent family and Richard Nugent (1583-1642) was elevated to the peerage as the first Earl of Westmeath in 1621. The poet and politician, Robert Nugent (1702-88), one-time Vice Treasurer of Ireland, was born at Carlanstown House, the predecessor of the present farmhouse, and accumulated a substantial fortune from his three marriages to wealthy widows: Horace Walpole (1717-97) coined the phrase "Nugentize" to describe this practice.