Camphire, Cappoquin, Co Waterford
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. 55. “(Ussher/IFR; Dobbs/IFR) A two storey five bay mildly Italianate mid C19 house by Charles Lanyon on the Blackwater estuary. Roof on cornice. Imposing staircase hall.”
Detached three-bay two-storey house, c.1840, probably over basement retaining original fenestration with single-bay two-storey recessed central bay originally having single-bay single-storey projecting porch to ground floor, and five-bay two-storey side elevation to north. Renovated, 2003, with porch removed. Hipped slate roofs on a quadrangular plan with clay and rolled lead ridge tiles, rendered chimney stacks on axis with main ridge, and cast-iron rainwater goods on cut-stone overhanging eaves having consoles. Unpainted rendered, ruled and lined walls with rendered quoins to corners, moulded stringcourse to first floor, and cut-limestone fragments to entrance bay (remains of porch). Square-headed window openings with stone sills, moulded rendered surrounds, and 6/6 timber sash windows. Round-headed window openings to ground floor central bay (flanking door opening) with fixed-pane timber windows. Round-headed door opening with replacement timber panelled door, c.1990, and spoked fanlight. Interior with timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set back from road in own grounds with gravel forecourt, and landscaped grounds to site.
Appraisal
An elegantly-composed, substantial house of balanced proportions and reserved Classical detailing, attributed to Sir Charles Lanyon (1813 – 1889), which retains much of its original form and early fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior. However, the removal of the porch from the entrance bay has led to the loss of the focal point of the primary front. The house occupies a prominent site on the bank of the River Blackwater, and is a familiar landmark in the locality.
https://theirishaesthete.com/2015/07/08/bright-and-light/
Bright and Light
The entrance hall at Camphire, County Waterford. Dating from the 1840s and attributed to Sir Charles Lanyon the present house was built on the site of an earlier dwelling and beside a castle, parts of which still remain. A pair of Ionic columns separates the entrance from the staircase hall, the first floor of which features a four-sided gallery providing access to the main bedrooms, the whole being lit by a dome at the top of the building.
Irish Historic Houses 