Tea House, Lislear

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single-cell pavilion building, erected c.1912 on Lislear Rath (TYR 017:031) at the north shore of Lough Catherine, on the Baronscourt demesne. Octagonal on plan, with a porch to south and a canted extension projecting from the three northernmost sides.

Roof is star shaped, with gables to all sides of the octagon, and covered in fishscale clay tiles; all gables have plain timber bargeboards; porch has crested ridge tiles and exposed rafter tails. A tall red brick lozenge-shaped chimney with stop-end chamfered corners and cogged corbelled brick cap rises from the west ridge. Lead valleys; no rainwater goods visible. Walling is garden wall bonded red brick (extensions are stretcher bonded) over projecting plinth; apexes have timber shingles. Windows are steel-framed multi-light casements with concrete sills (boarded over).

Principal entrance faces south and consists of a timber door, lattice glazed over lock rail and having three-light transom. It is contained in the porch which is open to south and contains a chamfered brick-dressed circular opening at each cheek; the floor is laid with decorative mosaic tiles. Elevations flanking the entrance each have a window. Those to east and west are blank.

The extension is detailed as the main cell. There are two timber sheeted doors and two boarded windows.

Setting:
The pavilion is set at the north of Lough Catherine, on a flat circular rise planted with trees. It is accessed from a secondary road within the demesne, accessed through woodland. A steep terrace inset with rough steps leads down to the flat grassed bank of the shore.

Roof: Fishscale terracotta tiles
Walling: Red brick
Windows: Metal framed lattice casements
RWG: Leaded valleys

Historical information

This building is difficult to date. It appears to have been built in two stages with the main octagonal block pre-dating the changing room extension. It is possible the structure dates back to c1912 with the extension added some time in the late twentieth century. It is curiously not shown on the 1936 OS map, does not appear on the 1:10 000 1976 OS map but is clearly recorded on the 1:2500 scale map of the same year.

References:

Primary Sources

1. 1:2500 OS Map sheet 104-12 (1976)

Secondary Sources

1. Bence-Jones, M. “A Guide to Irish Country Houses.” Second Revised Edition. London: Constable and Robinson, 1990.
2. O’Brien, J. and D. Guinness. “Great Irish Houses and Castles.” London: George Weidenfield & Nicolson Ltd., 1992.
3. Rowan, A. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.
4. The Irish Architectural Archive Dublin. [Internet Source]. Available from: (Accessed 22/04/09)
5. Information from the current owner.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

An unusual early twentieth-century structure located at the northern shore of Lough Catherine on the Baronscourt demesne and known as the ‘Tea House’. The building is characterised by idiosyncratic features such as the octagonal plan, accompanying star-shaped roof. Pleasantly situated in secluded surroundings overlooking Lough Catherine, the Tea House is an interesting element within the group of listed structures associated with life on a large estate.