house

Terrace of eight two-bay and one three-bay five-storey former houses with shopfronts to front (north-east) elevation, built c.1805, terminating in curved corner elevation on Fleet Street. No.8 retaining original shopfront, with recent shopfronts elsewhere. Now in use as offices and retail outlets. M-profile shared hipped roofs, partially replaced to north-west, with rendered and brown brick chimneystacks having clay pots, hidden behind brown brick parapet with ashlar granite coping. Brown machine brick, laid in Flemish bond, to walls. Square-headed window openings throughout having raised render reveals, cut granite sills, ashlar granite continuous sill course to fourth floor window openings, carved granite architraves, some having fluted detailing, three-over-three pane and six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows. Shopfronts comprising carved Ionic pilasters supporting panelled fascia and carved cornice, surrounding square-headed display windows with overlights and timber panelled risers. Square-headed door openings having ashlar granite surrounds, fluted friezes and overlights, timber panelled doors.

This group of buildings is a fine example of the purpose-built residential accommodation-over-shop development designed by Henry Aaron Baker, for the Wide Streets Commission. These buildings, which bear a considerable resemblance to Baker’s work on Westmoreland Street, share a parapet height and fenestration arrangement, with the continuous sill course and shopfront cornice contributing to the overall sense of uniformity, making a positive contribution to this streetscape. Carved stone detailing, notably the window surrounds and shopfronts, provide textural variation to the brick façade, and attests to the artisanship involved in its execution. The terrace formerly housed the Irish Times who undertook a major restoration project on the facades. The interiors were substantially remodelled when the Irish Times moved to Tara Street in 2007. One of the best-preserved and maintained terraces of Wide Street Commission buildings in Dublin, it is a significant part of the city's historic character.