The Ferns (Formerly Umbra)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey narrow house five bays long with natural slate roof and four stone chimneys. Walls are roughcast rendered, some of it recently done. Behind it and separated from it by about three metres another shorter house four bays long, slightly narrower with natural slate roof and three smooth rendered chimneys. The space between the two buildings is roofed over. The west end of the front part returns to present a reasonable facade to the entrance drive. All roofs of the main house are gabled with decorated bargeboardshaving apex finials and reverse finials at the lower ends. Behind the second house are extensions, one with pitched slated roof, another with lean-to roof kept in the same plane as the adjacent pitched roof. It is all quite complicated. Much use is made of rooflights to provide daylight to the internal spaces. The entrance door is at the eastern end between the two main houses and at the opposite end of the building from the driveway.

The centre room of the front house is the dining room which projects forward with a gable decorated with curly bargeboards and vertical finials. In the centre a tripartite window with round heads, the centre light is higher than the others in the manner of a venetian window. There do not appear to be opening lights. However in the side wall of the projection is a door. On either side of the dining room small rooms with casement windows divided in four and at the ends two canted bays with flat roofs projecting from the eaves and covered with lead. On the east gable is another bay, polygonal in plan and having a hipped slated roof. The east gable of the house behind also has a smaller partially canted bay but with a flat roof. Against the west gable there is a large conservatory with curved glazing bars similar to those at “The Umbra” (HB02/09/022). Many panes of glass broken.

The
setting is superb on a small plateau with level area of lawn to the north and a magnificent view of the north Atlantic. The lawn is defined by woodland on both sides and on the steeply rising hillside behind the house a dense wood. The entrance drive winds its way up from the Seacoast Road across the railway line and through the woods. The house would be on 100 metre contour and the grounds extend over six hectares mainly woodland. There are two out houses, one a garage with decorative barges sited near the entrance drive, the other basalt built and secluded. Both slated.

Historical information

The core of the rear portion of the house would appear to be an older cottage which has been extended in the late Victorian period, with further work carried out in the mid 20th century and later. There are extensive grounds to the house containing much mature trees on the steep hillside which were once part of the adjoining property and are recored as part of that property on the heritage gardens inventory.

References:
Historic Buildings Records, including letter from Dr James dated 22 October 1984.
Heritage Gardens Inventory (Hill Street Mouments Branch)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A late Victorian (house added to an earlier cottage) with symmetrical principal façade, in a superb setting.