Restoration, Renovation & Extension of Existing Thatched Dwelling
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Mark Stephens BA(Hons) DiplArch ARB RIBA CPHD MRIAI RIAI Conservation Accredited III Fr. Kellys Thatched Cottage, Church View, Main Street, Adare, Co. Limerick Restoration, renovation & extension of existing thatched dwelling CONSERVATION REPORT May 2019 Mark Stephens Architects, Bridge Street, Swinford, Co. Mayo Tel: 085 159 4084 Email: [email protected] Web: www.MarkStephensArchitects.com CONTENTS: 1.00 INTRODUCTION 3 2.00 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 5 3.00 CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES 18 4.00 SUMMARY PROPOSALS 19 5.00 DETAILED PROPOSALS 20 6.00 ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSION 26 7.00 APPENDICES 27 This conservation report has been drafted by Mark Stephens Architects at the request of the applicants and owners of the thatched cottage (Fr. Kellys) in Church View, Main Street, Adare, Co. Limerick for the planning application to Limerick City & County Council to restore, refurbish and extend the existing thatched cottage. Mark Stephens Mark Stephens Architects May 2019 2 1.00 INTRODUCTION 1.0.1 This Conservation Report has been produced for the applicants and owners of the thatched cottage (Fr. Kellys) in Church View, Main Street, Adare, Co. Limerick for the planning application to Limerick City & County Council to restore, refurbish and extend the existing thatched cottage. 1.0.2 The purpose of this report is to make an assessment of the importance and condition of the buildings, consider their condition and other actions that are necessary to secure the buildings (including conservation repairs). 1.0.3 The House is described in Limerick City & Council list of protected structures as Fr. Kellys with reference no. 862 1.0.4 The house is also listed in buildingsofireland.ie (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) under same reference number: 21824079: 1.0.5 This report is based on my professional research and opinions as an RIAI Registered architect, accredited in Conservation Grade III with extensive 3 prior conservation experience working in the Ireland and UK on Listed Buildings for over 20 years as an MRIAI Registered Architect, ARB Registered, RIBA Chartered Architect. 1.0.6 This report should be read in conjunction with the Architects’ Drawings and Details prepared by Mark Stephens Architects. 1.0.7 Included in the AppendiX are photographs of the eXisting house. These photographs form the documentation of the building prior to any works commencing. It is also proposed that photographs will be taken at every stage of the construction process in order to show that conservation principles have been used throughout. 1.0.8 As everything within the curtilage of the site is also protected (as well as the house); the outbuildings, shed, walls etc… are also deemed to be protected. 4 2.00 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2.0.1 Adare derives its name from the Irish for the Ford of the Oaks (Ath Dara). The earliest written record concerning Adare dates from 1226 but in 1839 a Viking coin hoard was discovered nearby that may have been concealed early in the second half of the 11th century. 2.0.2 The village of Adare was situated east of the Maigue River in ancient times. Over 150 years ago Adare had the appearance of an old village whose growth had been gradual. It contained 114 houses many of which were old and badly built but as the leases fell due Lord Dunraven, the proprietor demolished many of these unsightly dwellings. The village owes its present appearance mainly to Edwin, the Third Earl of Dunraven (1812-1871) who was ann OXford Movement convert to Catholicism and an improving landlord best commemorated in the architecture of his village. 2.0.3 Today, Adare is more typical of an English setting rather than Irish with its wide main street that is lined with thatched cottages. Most of the present village is located to the west of the river. 2.0.4 Adare Manor: The plans for the Manor House as it exists today were begun in 1832. Until then, the 2nd Earl of Dunraven and his wife, Lady Caroline Wyndham, lived in a Georgian house known simply as “Adare House” and built in the 1720s by Valentine Quin, grandfather of the 1st Earl of Dunraven. By the 1830s Windham Henry Quin, the 2nd Earl, was laid low by a crippling and painful case of gout. Once an active outdoorsman and now largely confined indoors, he was desperately in need of diversion. His wife encouraged him to immerse himself in the immense and compleX task of transforming their home into a spectacular masterpiece modelled after the great houses and cathedrals of Europe, in the hopes that working on the plans would distract him from his ailment. As it turned out, it was a magnificent and timely suggestion: the building of Adare Manor provided labour for the surrounding villagers during the terrible potato famine that devastated the country during the mid-19th century. The house was built to the highest standards of the day by talented local craftspeople, while the 2nd Earl travelled Ireland, England and continental Europe in search of architectural inspiration. During this time, Lady Caroline Dunraven also established a School of Needlework to develop marketable skills and employment opportunities for local women: some of their magnificent work graced the walls of the Manor House for generations. Adare Manor is a tribute to the Dunravens’ sense of eXuberance, wit, and style. An eXample of a rare ‘Calendar House’, Adare Manor is adorned with 365 leaded windows, 52 ornate chimneys, 7 stone pillars and 4 towers to mark the annual 5 tally of days, weeks, and seasons in a year. The Manor House is reminiscent of a chateau, sharing many features of the 19th century Gothic Revival in Britain and Ireland, and drawing inspiration from a romantic view of the chivalric past. The building displays a wealth of gargoyles, heraldry and decorative stone and wood carvings. Many of these carvings show creatures and monsters from the Bestiary, a medieval book of mythical beasts. The interior spaces are designed on a grand scale. One of the most renowned interior spaces is The Gallery: a 132 foot long, 26 ½ foot high expanse inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles and lined on either side with 17th Century Flemish choir stalls. By the 1860s this grand project had transformed the family's seat—a typical Georgian mansion—into the romantic Neo-Gothic gem that is Adare Manor. Though Lady Caroline went to great lengths to establish the myth that Adare Manor was planned entirely by her husband without an architect, it is fairly certain today that much of the design work was done by James Pain who, along with his brother George Richard, had been commissioned to design numerous public buildings and country homes. Over the three decades of construction, other renowned architects also contributed to the plans: PC Hardwick and Augustus Pugin. James Connolly, a local mason, supervised the actual construction until his death in 1852. 2.0.4 (Fr. Kellys) in Church View, Main Street, Adare, Co. Limerick The terrace of thatched cottages in Chuch View, Mainstreet were constructed as places of residence for the employees of Adare Manor. They date back to 1825 and are a miX of houses, gift shops & restaurants. This ‘Ornamental’ cottage design was fashionable in the early 19th Century under the influence of architects such as P.F. Robinson and John Nash. In the 1820’s the 2nd Earl introduced cottages of this style to Adare. These rustic thatched dwellings set the style for future developments in the town and later buildings echoed the original architecture. 6 Maps & Research Below is the map of Griffith’s valuation showing land ownership divisions (The primary valuation of Ireland or Griffith's Valuation - carried out between 1848 and 1864 to determine liability to pay the Poor rate (for the support of the poor and destitute within each Poor Law Union) - provides detailed information on where people lived in mid-nineteenth century Ireland and the property they possessed). This Valuation shows the Earl of Dunraven as the immediate leaser of the gate lodge and land in this period. 7 Further research in the Local Studies section of the library has the leaser of the latterly built house as Paddy Glenny who was a carpenter at Adare Manor. The property was then bought by Father James Kelly and subseQuently purchased again by the current owners Hugh & Bernadette Campbell. 8 Archeological Map: The map below shows the house in question and surrounding buildings in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Historic Environment map together with the specific detail: 9 • Below is the Aerial premium map of the terrace of houses: 10 • Below is the 1888-1913 Historic map of the terrace: • Below is the 1837-1842- Historic map of the terrace (black/white) 11 • Below is the 1837-1842 Historic map of the terrace (colour) 12 • Below is the 6” Cassini map (approX. 1940’s): 2.0.4 Research was undertaken at the libraries in Limerick and other photographic sources below are records and historical photographs of the thatched cottages in Adare and other related/similar features in Adare: 13 14 15 16 3.00 SIGNIFICANT FEATURES 3.0.1 The NIAH record itemises the features that give the house it’s architectural importance at a REGIONAL level in the ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL level: Architectural features: Description Terraced three-bay two-storey thatched house, built c. 1830. Pitched thatched roof, overhanging and with red brick chimneystack. Rubble stone walls. Square-headed openings with replacement casement windows, timber lintels and red brick block-and-start surrounds and relieving arches. Square-headed opening with timber panelled half-glazed door, Red brick block-and-start surround and relieving arch.