Ballyarthur, Woodenbridge, Co Wicklow
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. 19. “(Bayley, sub Anglesey, M/PB) A two storey five bay late C17 house, refronted in early C19 with battlements, a battlemented pediment and Wyatt windows. Interior panelling; late C17 painting in dining room. Late C18 drawing room.”
Ballyarthur House, BALLYARTHUR, Woodenbridge, County Wicklow
Detached five-bay two-storey over basement former hunting lodge, built c.1680. The house, which was re-fronted in the later 19th-century, is finished in render. The replacement panelled door is set within a projecting flat roofed porch with castellated parapet; this is set on a three-bay gabled breakfront. Window openings are flat headed with one over one timber sash frames; some are tripartite. The hipped roof is finished with natural slate and has cast-iron rainwater goods. The roof is partly hidden by a castellated parapet (added in the 19th century). Chimneystacks have plain caps and tall clay pots. Internally much of the original detailing has survived. To the rear there are stable blocks some of which are now derelict. The house is set within a large wooded demesne.
Appraisal
Although recently renovated this small former gate lodge has retained its original front, which matches the adjoining gate. Combined, the pair present a striking and memorable, romantic ensemble.
Detached three-bay one and a half-storey former gate lodge, built c.1840, now in use as a private house. The building is constructed in rubble fieldstone. The large ground floor window has Gothic tracery and is set within a large Tudor-arched recess, while those to the first floor are lancets. The pitched roof is finished with natural slate. It is set close to a roadside beside a large segmental-arched gate with octagonal tower and castellated parapet with machicolations.
Appraisal
Though somewhat marred by later 19th-century “improvements” this late 17th-century house has retained much of its original form and remains one of the most noteworthy buildings in the county.
https://www.igs.ie/conservation/project/ballyarthur-house
Grants Awarded:
2018: £5,000 from IGS London towards removal of cement render to gable wall and rerendering with lime mortar
2019: £4,250 from IGS London towards Internal decorative plasterwork damaged by water ingress
2020: £4,350 from IGS London towards Roof of entrance bay porch
Irish Historic Houses 