Modreeny House, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary
Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 208. “(Dancer, Bt/PB1933) A two storey Georgian house with a small central pediment; high polygonal addition to the left, low addition with Venetian window to the right. Doric gate lodge.”
Detached seven-bay two-storey over basement house, built c. 1790, comprising five-bay block to centre with pedimented breakfront and having advanced nineteenth-century single-bay wings, two-storey with canted-bay front to south-west and single-storey to south-east. Hipped slate roofs with rendered chimneystacks. Balustraded parapet to south-east wing. Ruled-and-lined render to walls. Timber sash windows with limestone sills, two-over-two pane to centre five-bay block and one-over-one pane elsewhere. Cut stone Venetian window to south-east wing. Cut stone doorcase to front door having pediment supported on engaged columns, decorative fanlight and replacement timber double leaf doors. Flight of limestone steps up to front door over basement. Extensive stone outbuildings to rear having pitched slate roofs, some with brick chimneystacks. Three-bay dormered single-storey gate lodge to north having canted west end, hipped slate roof with decorative brick chimney, ruled-and-lined render walls, timber sash windows and brick-walled porch. Carved stone gate piers to north gateway with cast-iron railings.
Appraisal
A well-maintained house displaying several phases of construction and retaining many important architectural features such as slate roofs, the majority of the timber sash windows, fine cut stone Venetian window and elegant fanlight to the main entrance. The outbuildings, extended in the nineteenth century, are of high quality, in good condition and retain their original character. Other features in the grounds include a stone bridge with cut stone plinth and cast-iron railings to the front avenue and two gate lodges and cut stone gateways.
Detached three-bay single-storey gate lodge to Modreeny, built c. 1850, having pedimented entrance portico. Hipped slate roof with cut stone chimneystack. Dressed limestone walls with ashlar limestone portico in antis. Timber margined mullioned casement windows with replacement uPVC windows to west elevation. Timber panelled doors. Quadrant gateway with onamental cast-iron gates flanked by railings on cut stone plinth.
Appraisal
This impressive classical gate lodge is likely to have replaced a simpler Georgian lodge and to date from the extension of the existing house at Modreeny carried out in the mid-nineteenth century. The ashlar stonework of the breakfront is of a high standard and the original character of the building remains, despite the replacement of several windows with uPVC.
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In 1786 Wilson refers to “Moderenny” as the seat of Sir Amyrald Dancer. The Ordnance Survey Name Books refer to the house as Eminisky House in 1841 but it is marked on the first edition map as Modreeny House and was the home of the Dancer family. It was replaced by a new house circa 1920s. The outbuildings, gates and gatelodge of the original house still remain. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation Sir Thomas B. Dancer held this property in fee. The buildings were valued at £21. Hussey gives Modreeny House as the address of Sir Thomas Dancer in 1878.
Irish Historic Houses 