The Presbytery in Curryhills, house in County Kildare

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Detached five-bay two-storey house, c.1780, with cut-stone Ionic doorcase to centre and three-bay two-storey recessed lower flanking wings. Reroofed and extended, c.1970, comprising three-bay single-storey flat-roofed return to rear to south-east. Refenestrated, c.1990. Gable-ended roof (hipped to flanking wings). Replacement artificial slate, c.1970. Concrete ridge tiles. Roughcast chimney stacks. Rendered band to eaves. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Flat-roof to return. Bitumen felt. Roughcast walls. Unpainted. Square-headed window openings. Stone sills. Replacement uPVC casement windows, c.1990. Square-headed door opening. Cut-stone Ionic doorcase with entablature. Lean-to fish-scale scalloped slate, c.1920, over. Timber panelled door. Sidelights. Tongue-and-groove timber panelled doors to rear (south-east) elevation to wing to north-west. Set back from road in own landscaped grounds. Tarmacadam forecourt to front.

The Villa is a fine and imposing late eighteenth-century country residence that is one of the most important historic buildings in the locality of Prosperous, due to its age and architectural ambition. Almost Palladian in conception, the house comprises a main or central block with outbuildings incorporated into the attached flanking wings – its is possible that these wings were later part converted to residential use, hence the presence of openings to the front (north-west) elevations; alternatively it is possible that some openings to the north-west elevation were blocked-up. The house is Classically planned as a symmetrical composition, centred about a fine cut-stone Ionic doorcase. The replacement of the original fenestration has put an emphasis onto the bold forms of the uPVC glazing and the re-instatement of timber fenestration might restore a more subtle effect – the additional range to rear (south-east), however, does not detract from the original form of the house. The original door fitting is an important survival and includes a cast-iron boot scraper, while the interior may also retain some early features of significance. Attractively set in its own grounds just outside of the centre of Prosperous, The Villa is a picturesque feature in the locality.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 11807009

Places near here

Photo credits

George Cruikshank, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Maker not stated on source page, monumentalireland.ie
JP, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Caragh Gaelic Football Club website; individual photographer not named, www.caraghgfc.com
Maker not stated on source page, en.wikipedia.org
Maker not stated on source page, www.flickr.com

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