2014:515 - CURRABEG: Surmount House, Cork

Prior to the constructiion of a single house the recorded monument Surmount House was exposed and recorded. When it was upstanding Surmount House was a seven-bay three-storied T-shaped house constructed in the first half of the 17th century. The site is described in the Archaeological survey of Co. Cork Vol III and in the Cork post-medieval files in Cork County Library as a roofless, T-shaped seven-bay house. At the time of recording (1983) the house had already lost its roof and its internal furnishings.

The site was and is very overgrown. The house was two stories with an attic level. It had two -storey projections at the east and west of the front and two single room extensions were constructed at the west. These were not visible from the front of the house. The extension at the rear consisted of three bays. The windows and doors of the structure had been removed at the time of recording. The photographic record shows the centrally placed door with a rounded opening. Three chimneys were visible at either end of the gables and on the projection at the west. There was evidence of plaster on the house.

Southern or Front Elevation
The southern elevation includes two projections at the west and the east and measures 23m. The walls remained for a maximum height of 1.2m and a minimum of 0.3m above current ground level. A large centrally placed gap is all that remains of the entrance. All worked stone and steps have been removed. In areas a lime-based mortar with a many stone particle inclusions remains. The walls are constructed of limestone and a lime mortar and measured 0.55m in width. The projection at the west exists to window height, approximately 1.2m; a broken sill remains. The remaining cut stone has been removed.

Western Elevation
The projection at the west was visible for 3.8m north-south. The walls at the west had a maximum elevation of 1.4; this was consistently visible for this side of the house. The walls are constructed of limestone and a lime mortar and measured 0.55m in width. The site included two extensions. The more southerly extension had no direct access from the main house and may have been an outhouse; the remains of an enamel bedpan were uncovered in this area. It measured 3.8m north to south and 4.25m east to west. These extensions were only visible at ground level; the upper levels have been demolished. One blocked-up door was visible at the northern end of this elevation. A break in the original external wall granted access to the second extension. No other openings were visible.

Southern Elevation
The northern wall was partially extant at its eastern end. An opening was visible in this area however much of the wall has been destroyed. This wall was constructed of limestone and a lime mortar and measured 0.55m in width.

Eastern Elevation
The eastern elevation of the house was in the worst condition. Much of it had been removed possibly as part of the removal of material c. 2000. The projection at the east of the house was visible as was a section of the wall at the north of the elevation. No openings were visible. The wall at the north of the elevation contains a chimney. This is external to the main wall of the house. An external chimney is also visible in the north-facing elevation of the projection. The walls at the east are constructed of limestone and a lime mortar and measured 0.55m in width.

Interior
The interior of the structure has been damaged and most of the fixtures and fittings have been removed. For the purposes of recoding the rooms have been numbered.

Room One (the entrance hall) measures 5.8m x 2.1m. The internal walls of the hall were constructed of red brick bonded with a limestone mortar. This wall measured 0.35m in width it was laid out in an ‘English Bond’ pattern. The floor had been removed and no mortar was visible on the internal walls. This was only visible to a maximum height of 0.2m. The hallway has three openings. These lead into rooms at the east and west and one into the rear projection of the house. The doorways or any features associated with it have been removed.

Room 2 leads off the entrance hall at the west and measures 5.4m x 4.9m. The room has a window and sill visible in it. The window is recessed and would have contained a shutter and/or window seat. A fireplace is retained in the western wall of this room. All that remains of the fireplace is patterned tiles on the floor which form a regular pattern of small rectangular squares. This is a typical early Georgian design. The area measures 1.2m x 0.5m.

Room 3 is the projection at the west of the house. The room measures internally 2.9 x 3.6m. The southern wall contains a window that is recessed and would have contained a shutter or window seat. There is evidence for a fireplace in the northern wall.

Room 4 is the room off the hallway at the east. The rooms at the east mirror those at the west and measure 5.8m x 5m. The room has a recessed window at the south that would have contained a shutter or window seat. A fireplace is retained in the eastern wall of this room. All that remains of the fireplace is patterned tiles on the floor consisting of a regular square pattern common in Early Georgian structures. The area measures 1.2m x 0.5m.

Room 5 is the projection at the east of the house. This room at the east mirrors the western projection. The room measures 3.1m x 3.4m. The southern wall contains a window that is recessed and would have contained a shutter of window seat. The northern wall contains the remains of a fireplace.

Room 6 contains the kitchen and has been subdivided. The northern section of the room was removed for a length of 1.5m, the footings of the wall was visible. A break has been inserted in the western wall of the room to allow access to an extension (room 7). A second opening in the western wall has been blocked. The eastern wall at the north of the room contains a large chimney place. This was blocked at some point and an Aga-style stove would have been inserted. A modern floor surface is also visible in this room. A modern concrete step allows access through a doorway at the northern end of the eastern wall. A dividing wall separates the room into two halves. This may replace an earlier wall but that could not be verified. The wall was constructed of machine-made brick. The room measures 11.5m x 3.2m.

Room 7 is part of an extension at the west of the house. This is visible on the first edition OS map. The walls of this room have been reduced to ground level and no internal features were recorded. This measures 3.9m north to south by 4.3m.

Externally a number of features were visible. Stone cobbles were visible in a number of places. This includes a large area at the east of the house which measured approximately 5m by 3m. There was evidence at the north-west of the house for cobbles but these have been removed.

The remains of the house have been maintained as part of the development.​