Development plan · Kilkenny County Council
Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021–2027
The council's development plan written statement: its strategy, policies, objectives and development standards.
Kilkenny County Council · 2021–2027 · 350 pages
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- Chapter 9 Heritage, Culture and the Arts Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 157 to this day. The unique character of Inistioge is formed by its siting as a compact urban settlement in a panoramic landscape, allowing Inistioge to be viewed as an entity from the surrounding hills. The rectilinear street pattern of the village and the numerous sharp turns provide shelter from the elements within the settlement but also frame beautiful and unexpected views out to the surrounding landscape. The urban quality of Inistioge is founded in part on a remarkable hierarchy of public open space. The ready perception of the surrounding landscape, the open but gentle river front and bridge of international influence, the formal urban streetscape round the square, the effective civic core at the bottom of the hill sheltered and surrounded by public buildings, churches, restaurants and public houses, the more informal townscape of the rising streets with miniature gardens and picturesque porches. The incidence of such a variety of urban space, contained so neatly within a small settlement is rare indeed, almost as if a city in miniature had evolved on the historic crossing of the River Nore. The mix of medieval and Georgian architecture enlivens the setting of this small rural urban area, which is markedly different from similar sized medieval settlements, which would have developed organically and in an informal way. ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character See policies in Section 9.3.3 relating to all ACAs • IACA 1: The roofscape of Inistioge is part of its special character. Original elements and profiles should be retained where possible and repaired and reused rather than replaced. • IACA 2: To seek the retention of materials and finishes, massing, height, alignment, orientation and window proportions that reflect the existing character of the area • IACA 3: To seek the protection of the hierarchy of public open spaces within Inistioge. • IACA 4: To seek the protection of the existing landscaping and features within the public realm that contribute to the character of the town • IACA 5: To maintain front garden walls and railings. Proposals to convert front gardens for use as off-street parking will not be looked on favourably. • IACA 6: To ensure that all works on, or proximate to the 18th century Inistioge Bridge acknowledges the importance of the structure, its regional identity and international influence, while ensuring the setting is respected. • IACA 7: To protect stone walls on the approach roads to the village, and to ensure they are retained and conserved in line with recognised conservation practices, and are not unduly impacted on by development. • IACA 8: To protect historic cobbles and kerbing in the ACA • IACA 9: Vistas of the village from L-4216-6, between High Street and Woodstock entrance shall not be negatively impacted on by any future development, see Section 9.2.12.6 Views. 9.3.3.1.6 Johnstown ACA Description and Historical Background Johnstown is so-called from John Hely of Foulkscourt who laid the first foundations of the town in about 1770. Previous to this date there was not even a small village here and previous to the building of the town the site was known as Hely’s crossroads (Carrigan II, 299-300). Johnstown or Baile Sheáin and traditionally Foulkscourt or Cúirt an Phúca, is characterised by four roads converging on a formally
- Chapter 9 Heritage, Culture and the Arts Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 158 laid out square at the cross-roads. The town has changed little since it was mapped in the first half of the 19th century by the Ordnance Survey. This 1st edition OS map shows such landmarks as the Church of Ireland Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the formally laid out square, and a grouping of several country houses and their grounds occupying the fields on the southern approach to the town. By the turn of the century when the second edition OS map was published, a smithy and two schools had been added to the town’s infrastructure and the pattern of development that had begun in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth centuries had been consolidated. The 25” OS map dating to the early part of the twentieth century shows the addition of a courthouse, constabulary barracks and hotel to the square, and a post office, dispensary and a further smithy to the town. The town was known for its health-giving spa waters during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Ballyspellan spa well having been visited by the famous Dean Swift in 1728. The extremities of the town as they existed on the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map have been chosen as the boundaries for the ACA and include the grounds of Ellen Ville and Melrose House forming the southern entrance to the town and the Church of Ireland Church which formed the boundary to the eastern approach. Canal Road which forms the western approach has been included as far as the junction with the Rathdowney Road and the boundary on the northern approach route to the town, Chapel Street, has been taken as the point at which development had reached by the time the 2nd edition OS map was published. Along Church Street (approach from Kilkenny) the ACA boundary extends as far as St. Mary’s Church and graveyard. Statement of Character (See Figure 9.9 for ACA Boundary) The town is characterised by the essentially two-storey, late eighteenth-century principally residential structures which line the four roads converging on the formally laid out octagonal square. The houses on the square are for the most part in the classical vernacular style, their character imbued by their rendered and painted facades with simple classical window and door proportions which at one time would all have been enhanced by timber sash windows and solid timber doors. The roofs are simple pitched roofs often gable-ended but sometimes hipped, and traditionally covered with natural slate. The approach from the south, Urlingford Road, is characterised by open fields which form the semiformalised grounds of a number of middle-sized classical country houses, set well back from the road and symbolising the level of prosperity derived from the rich agricultural hinterland. The approach from the east, Church Street, is dominated by the presence of the Church of Ireland Church, a Board of First Fruits design set in its own grounds back from the road and on a slightly raised piece of ground. The views from the Square to this Church make an important contribution to the character of the town. The approach route from the west, Canal Road, is much less formal and retains more modest vernacular buildings associated with less well-off occupants. The commercial end of the town lines the principal thoroughfare which is the route to the north of the square, and as its name, Chapel Street, suggests, forms the setting for the impressively sited and scaled Roman Catholic Church on its east side, set well back from the street and also on higher ground. Chapel Street is characterised by more two-storey rendered structures, often with a commercial element in the form of a shopfront at ground floor and often with a carriage arch leading to stable yards and other ancillary buildings to the rear.
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- Chapter 9 Heritage, Culture and the Arts Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 159 ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character See policies in Section 9.3.3 relating to all ACAs • JACA 1: The roofscape of Johnstown is part of its integral special character. Original elements and profiles should be retained where possible and repaired and reused rather than replaced. Removal or alteration of roofing materials or features of the roofscape requires planning permission. • JACA 2: To retain, restore and repair historic items of street furniture and paving and features within such as wrought iron gates within this Architectural Conservation Area. • JACA 3: To retain Carriage arch openings around the square in the event of any development proposals. • JACA 4: New development should be appropriate in form and use to its corner, infill or backland location. Established views to local landmarks should be maintained. The view from the Square towards the Church of Ireland church on Church Street is of significance in Johnstown. • JACA 5: To protect the masonry wall connected to the former Foulkscourt House, along the road R435. 9.3.3.1.7 Kells ACA Description and Historical Background The village of Kells has developed adjacent to the floodplain of the King’s River, on its south side. The surrounding landscape is undulating, with a mix of tillage and grazing lands. Kells village is bounded to the north and west by the Kings River and to the east by the twelfth-century Augustinian Priory. Kells, known as Ceanannus in its original Irish form, was the site of the 12th century Priory and associated town founded by Strongbow’s seneschal of Leinster, Geoffrey FitzRobert de Monte Marisco. The Priory was built in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. Four monks were brought from Bodmin in Cornwall to establish and run the new monastery, which was richly endowed, receiving tithes from many parishes in the neighbourhood. When the Priory was founded in c.1192, most of the town activity was centred on it. FitzRobert’s also constructed a castle on a small island between the site of the current town and the Kings River. The is also the site of the motte and bailey. With the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, and Cromwell’s confiscation of the Priory in the mid-17th century the site declined and the village core was relocated further west. Kells village today stands as a predominantly mid- to late nineteenth-century village clustered around a crossroads south of Kings Bridge and west of Kells Priory. The village enjoyed a boom-time during this period with the building of the new Hutchinson Mill and the construction of the fine Roman Catholic church, north of the village, and the impressive Church of Ireland church and rectory to the south-east. The heart of the industrial area of Kells village is located along the Kings River. The earliest mill was established on the site of Mullin’s Mill in the late twelfth century. The mills are landmark buildings and significant features located on the outskirts of the village. They contribute significantly and positively to the landscape and more particularly to the riverscape. Sixteen mills were once operational along the Kings River between the village of Callan and Ennisnag, indicating the economic and social importance of the milling industry to this region of County Kilkenny.
- Chapter 9 Heritage, Culture and the Arts Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 160 Statement of Character (See Figure 9.10 for ACA Boundary) The impressive limestone bridge over the King’s River is a two-phase bridge, the western and earlier side of the bridge dates from the 17th century, and consists of 8 round-headed arches with a further flood arch to the south. The bridge was widened, to the east, in the 18th century, with three large elliptical-headed arches overlapping the central arches of the earlier bridge, while the two outer arches are flush with the original arches. Moving from the bridge southwards, a small group of two storey buildings and the 19th century Catholic Church of Saint Michael the Archangel are visible on the right side of the street, these buildings conceal the site of the early motte and bailey constructed by Geoffrey FitzRoberts in the 12th century. This area is separated from the main village core by a small stream, while the absence of development between it and the village core also heightens a strong sense of enclosure here. The village core comprises predominantly of nineteenth and early twentieth-century terraces of twostorey rendered structures with pitched slate roofs. The mixed-use character of the village is an interesting combination of residential, commercial and social use. In recent years, there have been some residential housing schemes developed within this basic frame provided by the crossroads, consisting of infill development and backland development, close to the village core. Development Management Requirements: • KACA 1: Established views to local landmarks shall be maintained, while the zone of visual influence connected with Kells Priory shall be acknowledged when assessing development proposals. • KACA 2: To ensure that all works on, or proximate to the early Kells Bridge acknowledged the importance of the structure, its regional identity and influence, while ensuring the setting is also respected. • KACA 3: To protect stone walls on the approach roads to the village, while ensuring they are retained and conserved according to recognised conservation practices, and are not unduly impacted on by development. 9.3.3.1.8 Piltown ACA Description and Historical Background Piltown is located in the southwest of County Kilkenny, in the valley of the River Suir. Piltown is ringed by uplands, with Slievenamon to the northwest, an outlier of Slievenamon to the north and the Comeragh Mountains to the southwest. The River Pil, a tributary of the River Suir, runs through the centre of the town. The name Piltown derives from an Anglicisation of the Irish name, Muilcann Bhaile an Phoill, meaning ‘Mill of the Town of the Hollow’. One of the earliest references to Bhaile an Phoill was in the Psalter of Cashel of a battle there in the mid-15th century, which the Earl of Desmond defeated Mac Richard Butler. The development of Piltown was largely linked to the development of the Bessborough Estate (now Kildalton college), which was designed by Francis Bindon and built in 1745. Piltown has many examples of 18th and 19th century buildings and structures, including Anthony’s Inn, the Garda
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- Chapter 9 Heritage, Culture and the Arts Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 161 Station, Belline House and Ponsonby’s Tower. Piltown was established as an important location in transport through the use of Anthony’s Inn as a staging post for the famous 19th century Bianconi’s Stagecoach line. It also had access to the waterway of the River Suir and barges transported the goods from the Creamery and mill downriver. The pre-1940 development of Piltown took place almost entirely along the Main Street. In more recent years development has taken place on the periphery of the town. Statement of Character (See Figure 9.11 for ACA Boundary) As is typical in a village context, there is a fairly low-density development along Main Street and there are several substantial gaps between the short terraces of dwellings which allow views into the agricultural lands which come right up to the street. These gaps, in tandem with the gentle slope up from east to west means that the sides of buildings along Main Street are often as prominent as their fronts. These gaps in the streetscape add to the special character of Piltown and provide a strong visual connection to the surrounding landscape. The town is bisected by the River Pil, and is quite spread out, containing a number of attractive vernacular buildings. The mix of these vernacular buildings combined with a number of picturesque buildings of unique design and detail, including the bow-fronted Anthony’s Inn, contribute to Piltown’s character. One of the styles recurring in the town is the dormer style dwelling. The unity and symmetry of these buildings, of which some are enhanced by a simple porch, make them extremely attractive. These dwellings are typically three bay and gable ended with wide based gables on the front with pitched roofs and are single, storey and a half or two storeys. This diversity does not disrupt the harmony of the townscape because of the consistency in the other elements. The roofs were traditionally of natural slate and are high pitched, single span with end chimney stacks. The variety of rooflines convey a feeling of diversity, but unity is provided by their common domestic scale and common characteristics. Front boundary walls, railings and front gates are also distinctive features in Piltown. These boundaries vary from the simple to the ornate, but are most successful when simple. One of the most effective is a low plastered wall and rounded coping. Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character • PACA 1: The design of any development in the ACA, including any changes of use of an existing building, should not negatively impact and/or detract from the character and appearance of the Architectural Conservation Area as a whole. This includes ensuring the continuation of existing building lines within the centre of the town. • PACA 2: The Council will recognise the importance of the traditional elements of rough-cast rendering, brick and limestone walls, natural slate, vertical timbers sash windows, traditional chimney stacks, doors with fanlight, all which are integral to Piltown’s character. They reflect indigenous craftsmanship and resources. They often reflect the simplicity and modest scale used in the execution of finishes to buildings. Their importance should not be underestimated in their contribution to the make-up and aesthetic appearance of an ACA. The council will support the retention, repair and re-use of such materials.
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- Chapter 9 Heritage, Culture and the Arts Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 162 • PACA 3: The removal of street side boundaries to allow for the front to be used for parking detracts from the streetscape. The sense of order and enclosure is affected, and the parking of cars obscures the buildings and their amenity. The removal of such low street walls should be avoided. • PACA 4: The Council will ensure that new development proposed for the back lands and green areas within the village respect the character of the ACA by ensuring appropriate scale, composition and character, in size, scale and materials on new development. 9.3.3.1.9 Stoneyford ACA Description and Historical Background Stoneyford, known in Irish as At Stúin, meaning the Ford of the Stang, is situated approximately 11 kilometres south of Kilkenny City. The village is set within a saucer like depression in the landscape. Two small streams run through the village – one to the west and the second to the north. Both streams join to the north of the village and continue northwards as a tributary to the Kings River, which is less than 500 metres from the village. Little is known about the origins of the settlement, but it may be linked to construction, in 1810, of the nearby Merino Woollen Mills on the Kings River, as many of the inhabitants of the village worked there. By the 19th century, the village had a Fever Hospital, a Dispensary, a Petty Sessions Court, a Police Barracks, a school house, Infants School, a Bank and Roman Catholic Church and graveyard. Statement of Character (See Figure 9.12 for ACA Boundary) The village is laid out in a linear fashion along a wide Main Street. A notable feature of the village’s plan is the uniformity of the plot pattern, with most of the traditional plots running to the same depth, with the notable exception of the traditionally more important Church. This would suggest that the village was laid out or planned at one particular point in time, as opposed to a slow or gradual evolution over a few hundred years. A broad street with continuous building line runs along much of the street. Traditionally, a departure from standard or existing building lines was reserved for important civic and religious buildings and this is evident in Stoneyford in the siting of the Roman Catholic Church. It is set-back significantly from the street and in doing so, has positioned the Church on a more elevated portion of the site, thus enhancing its profile in the streetscape of the village. There is good variation in building heights in the village with single and two storeys predominating with some three storeys also evident. Natural slate, timber sash windows in places, and small squat chimney stacks are evidence of early buildings on the main street, while new developments have taken place in the back lands, south of the Main Street, and to the north side of the Main Street on the southern extremity of the village. There are many notable roadside masonry walls, especially those on the R713, approaching the village from the south, which make a positive impression on character of the area.
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