Re: Re: ‘Dutch Billys’

In your own time there mcclinton.

Baldonnell House is another three storey, five-bay, on the outskirts of Dublin with lots of idiosyncrasies to chew over.

The curvilinear gable is probably a 19th century add-on, and it certainly looks that way from the inside where there is no acknowledgement of the gable in the internal roof/ceiling configuration, and also on the rear elevation where there is no hint of there ever having been a corresponding gable. On the other hand, the roof itself looks like a 19th century replacement of a presumably steeper earlier roof and the proportions of the gable are particularly close to what a vernacular Billy profile would have been.

A zig-zag indented brick course as a kicker to the eaves can be a 17th/early 18th century feature, but it can also be Victorian. Big external chimney stacks can also be early features. The stairs has been renewed to such an extent that I wouldn’t fancy having to draw any conclusions about it, and the house also features some well proportioned rooms, panelled throughout in plywood.

The house, it’s out buildings, walled gardens and orchards is on the South Dublin County Council register of Protected Structures and the owners are a family of serious enthusiasts.

I imagine each have their hands full.