worker's house

Semi-detached pair of three-bay single-storey former workers' houses, built c. 1890, having shared gabled porch to front (north) elevation and central extension to rear. Now in use as private houses. Hipped artificial slate roof with red brick chimneystacks and terracotta pots, exposed timber beams to eaves, and some cast-iron rainwater goods. Red brick, laid in Flemish bond, to walls, painted to house to west, and painted smooth rendered walls to side (east and west) elevations. Pointed arch window openings having granite sills and replacement windows, and with square-headed window opening to east elevation with render sill and replacement window. Pointed arch door openings having timber doors and render steps. Gardens to front and rear, steel railing dividing front, bounded by roughcast rendered boundary walls with render copings and having pedestrian gates. Set back from street on height overlooking Watermill Road.

This pair of houses was built by Lord Ardilaun (Arthur Edward Guinness) as housing for workers on St. Anne's Estate. These cottages marked the eastern boundary of the estate, which was acquired by the Guinness family in 1835 and expanded, totalling four hundred and ninety six acres by 1880. Prominently sited and relatively large, this pair may have housed more senior workers or managers. Although somewhat altered, it retains its early form and character, with pointed arch openings enlivening the façade and a gabled projection creating a pleasing symmetry. Workers' houses were built both as a means of attracting skilled workers to an area and as a means of social control on the part of the employer. The pair is a reminder of the importance of the influence of Lord Ardilaun on the social and physical fabric of the area.