Russellstown House

Detached three-bay (two-bay deep) two-storey farmhouse, built 1848-9, on a T-shaped plan centred on single-bay single-storey flat-roofed projecting porch to ground floor; two-bay two-storey rear (east) elevation. Occupied, 1901; 1911. Renovated, ----. Hipped slate roof on a U-shaped plan with clay ridge tiles, paired cement rendered central chimney stacks having concrete capping supporting terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on timber eaves boards on slightly overhanging timber boarded eaves having paired timber consoles retaining cast-iron downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered repointed coursed or snecked limestone walls with margined tooled cut-limestone flush quoins to corners; rendered surface finish (porch) with rendered monolithic pilasters to corners supporting iron-covered dragged cut-limestone cornice. Square-headed central door opening with dragged cut-limestone step threshold, and timber surround framing replacement timber panelled door having sidelights on panelled risers. Round-headed window openings ("cheeks") with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing fixed-pane timber fittings. Square-headed window openings with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and cut- or hammered limestone voussoirs framing replacement uPVC casement windows replacing six-over-six timber sash windows. Set in landscaped grounds with repointed rusticated granite ashlar piers to perimeter having ball finial-topped capping supporting wrought iron-detailed flat iron "farm gate".

A farmhouse erected by Arthur George Judge (1797-1869) on a site leased from Augustus Frederick FitzGerald (1791-1874), third Duke of Leinster (Griffith's Valuation 1852), representing an integral component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the environs of Athy with the architectural value of the composition, one recalling the nearby Ardmore House (see 11903505), suggested by such attributes as the compact rectilinear 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 a slightly oversailing roofline. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric: however, the introduction of replacement fittings to most of the openings has not had a beneficial impact on the external expression or integrity of a farmhouse having subsequent connections with the Condell family including Edward Condell (1881-1966), 'Farmer' (NA 1911).