117 Greencastle Pier Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Right one of a pair of identical two storey / two bay semi-detached lighthouse keepers’ houses, on north side of Greencastle Pier Road.

Flat mass concrete roof. To right is a rendered chimney with moulded coping, and to left is a similar chimney shared by both properties.

Walls are painted smooth render with chamfered basecourse, quoins to right corner of facade and platband between ground and first floors, this continues around the right and rear elevations of main block. There is a deep moulded cornice at eaves level with low blocking course over.

Principal façade faces south to sea. Abutting facade at ground floor left is a single storey flat roofed porch, detailed as main walls but without the quoins. On its front wall is a small 1/1 sliding sash window with moulded eared architrave and stooled concrete cill (all openings are similarly detailed unless otherwise stated). Its left wall is blank and its right wall has a sheeted painted timber door with modern electric light fitting over. Porch roof is similarly detailed to main block, but with no quoins, with a concrete water tank on top. Tank is slightly smaller than the porch itself and rises almost to eaves level of main block and its front face is decorated with an applied roundel. It has a flat roof with slate lid.

At ground floor right on main block is a 2/2 sliding sash with similar above to first floor, with cill advancing from platband. To first floor left, the wall is recessed behind the water tank. It has a two paned casement window which provides access to the tank and porch roof.

West (left) elevation forms party wall with adjacent property.

Rear wall is detailed as facade, with quoins to left side. At ground floor centre is a single storey gabled porch. It has a rendered base, glazed cheeks and roof, in timber with ogee moulded rainwater goods and a sheeted door on left cheek. To its left and right are 2/2 double glazed units in original openings. To extreme left is a small modern casement window with concrete cill (once a door to outside toilet). At first floor, to either side is a 2/2 sliding sash window.

Right elevation is detailed as main walls, with chimney rising from centre of parapet. It is blank and abutted by a modern single storey garage with shallow corrugated roof (falling to rear), rendered walls and an up-and-over door to front gable, two two-paned windows on left cheek and a sheeted door to front.

Front drive is shared with adjacent property and these share a common gateway with Nos. 121 and 123 (HB16/04/014A & B). To road is an embattled mass concrete wall, which all of these properties share. Opposite No.117 is a small wrought iron pedestrian gate, and to centre is a similarly detailed carriage gate which hangs on dressed granite piers with pyramidal granite cap.

Small rear yard enclosed by a painted concrete blockwork wall and similar outhouse to rear. Garden to rear and left is enclosed by a modern fence.

Historical information

Erected in late 1910s by Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland to a standard design. An earlier block of c.1889 stands immediately to its west (HB16/04/014 A&B) and a boathouse to its south-east (HB16/04/014C).

Primary Sources:
1. Drawings in archive of Commissioners of Irish Lights, Dublin.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
F. Structural System
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

An imposing pair of houses unusual for their mass concrete construction and water tanks to the front. They are an interesting contrast to the adjacent keepers’ houses and all form an imposing group above the shoreline.