house

Corner-sited three-bay two and three-storey house, built c.1900, now in use as a guest house, fronting onto Emmet Street and Emmet Square. Pitched slate and tiled roof with rendered chimneystacks and cast-iron rainwater goods. Smooth rendered plinth, pebbledashed walls with smooth rendered full-height Doric pilasters to gable and end bay, surmounted by frieze and eaves-cornice. Smooth rendered sill courses to first and second floors. Emmet Square elevation with stucco frieze having guilloche and flower head motif to first floor level. Replacement uPVC windows with stone sills, stucco surround and carved stone mask in keystone of ground floor window on Emmet Street and first floor window on Emmet Square. Square-headed door opening with block-and-start stucco surround with masked keystone. Timber pilastered doorcase with console brackets, fluted frieze surmounted by overlight, with timber panelled double doors. Door accessed by limestone step. Emmet Square entrance with square-headed opening, stucco surround with masked keystone, replacement timber double doors and openwork timber overlight. Accessed by modern limestone steps. Front site to Emmet Square enclosed by rendered plinth wall, surmounted by tooled limestone coping stones and wrought-iron railings. Modern metal gate gives access to front site.

Emmet Guest House, located on the corner between Emmet Street and Emmet Square is situated in a prominent location within the town of Birr. Through its irregular plan, the house expresses an individual character. Following the design of the adjacent rendered house on Emmet Square, its south-facing elevation is two-storeys high with an attic and terminates in a gable. Its west-facing elevation, which fronts onto Emmet Street blends well with the building stock of that street. The structure retains much of its early fabric and is artistically appealing. Details such as the varied carved masks on the keystones and stuccowork create interest on the façade and allow the exterior to stand out from its plainer neighbours.