Irish Georgian Society Review - 2017 by Irish Georgian Society

2017

Design by Aad

The vision of the Irish Georgian Society is to conserve, protect and foster an interest and a respect for Ireland’s architectural heritage and decorative arts. www.igs.ie

Irish Georgian Society City Assembly House 58 South William Street Dublin 2 Ireland D02 X751

Irish Georgian Society 858 West Armitage Avenue Suite 286 Chicago, IL 60614 USA

T + 353 1 679 8675 E info@igs.ie

T + 1 312 961 3860 E info@irishgeorgiansociety.com

The Irish Georgian Society’s conservation programmes and activities are funded through the generous support of our members and private donors. As the Society has charitable status in Ireland

Irish Georgian Foundation: CHY 6372), the UK (Irish Georgian Trust: Chy. no. 3092084), and in the USA (Irish Georgian Society Inc.), donations are eligible for tax relief.

Front Cover Town of Westport and Clew Bay by James Arthur O’Connor, 1825 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

In this issue Regulars

Features

President’s Letter Sir David Davies

Garden Pavilion, Beaulieu, Co. Louth Donough Cahill

Our President reflects on the Society’s activities over the past year

Progress is being made at the charming pavilion in the grounds of Beaulieu House

City Assembly House Update Donough Cahill

A thank you to all our donors and design team who contributed to the success of the CAH Conservation Project

Heritage Update

An overview of the activities undertaken by the Architectural Conservation and Planning Committee 10

Conservation Grants Scheme Ashleigh Murray

With the assistance of our IGS London, several worthy projects received funding to maintain their structures 24

Conservation Education Programme Emmeline Henderson

verview of the Society’s Conservation O Education Programme in 2016/17

Events Round-Up Róisín Lambe

An overview of members’ events, outings, walks and talks over the past year

The Irish Parliamentary Bookbindings J une 1922: The Destruction and Recreation of the Irish Parliamentary Bookbindings IGS Conservation and Original Drawing Awards e winners of the 2017 Irish Georgian Society Th Architectural Conservation Award and Original Drawings Award Designs for Belcamp House and Mount Vernon Finola O’Kane

What links George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Edward Newenham? 20

Exploring buildings and places in North West Ulster Primrose Wilson

Reflecting on a second successful ‘Conservation without Frontiers’ Summer School this year 26

The Georgians – the Great Irish Urbanists Simon Wall

The contemporary management of Westport’s Georgian legacy

Chapter Reports

Birr/Midlands Elizabeth Fogarty Limerick Ailish Drake Cork Kevin Hurley IGS London Ashleigh Murray IGS Inc. Michael G. Kerrigan

Restrained Elegance Alec Cobbe

The influence of Lady Betty Cobbe on the decoration of Newbridge House From Warden’s House to Myrtle Grove Peter Murray

Once an important trading port, Youghal in Co. Cork still has some interesting houses 56

One Satiric Touch Brendan Twomey

2017 marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Swift Editor Letitia Pollard Assistant Editor and Advertising Sales Zoë Coleman

Editorial Committee Donough Cahill Zoë Coleman Rose Mary Craig Letitia Pollard

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President’s letter Sir David Davies

As we go to press, I am delighted that we have achieved our target of a further €600,000 to complete the restoration of the City Assembly House before year’s end. This project, costing €1.3 million in total and funded primarily from Irish and American sources, will become our new home in a vibrant part of Dublin. The restoration of this important 18th Century building, which had lain empty for so long, includes the great octagonal Exhibition Room to be named after the never-to-be-forgotten Desmond, Knight of Glin, who did so much for the Irish Georgian Society in his many years as its Chairman and President. Celebrating the building’s original incarnation as the first public art gallery in Britain and Ireland, built by the Society of Artists in Ireland over 250 years ago, the IGS will host ‘Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland’ in June and July 2018. The exhibition will reassemble oil paintings, pastels, watercolours and drawings first displayed here between 1766 and 1780. This will be one of 2018’s great cultural events, a major achievement involving meticulous research and scholarship. It is encouraging to read in the following pages about conservation projects supported by the Society. IGS London has once again provided under the Small Grants Scheme funding for churches, historic houses and an architectural folly. Generous donations have also been received from our American members leading, most notably, to the restoration of the garden temple at Beaulieu, Co. Louth. The consequence of such funding by the Society is most important in terms both of financial impact and professional credibility. Whilst securing government funding for conservation is always

challenging, it is vital that current supports remain in place and, where possible, are improved upon. This year the Society submitted observations on a government consultation paper on Section 482 tax relief for historic buildings. We emphasised the importance of the scheme not just in supporting conservation projects but also in providing access to historic buildings, providing tourist destinations, and supporting conservation craftsmen. A timeline for completing this review has yet to be set and it could be 2018 before progress is made. Last year, I drew attention to the appalling disaster that befell Vernon Mount in Cork. It is symptomatic of the times we live in that such an example of wanton neglect and vandalism has subsequently received little or no follow-up from Government. Case studies of planning issues the Society has recently addressed are reported in these pages, reflecting our ongoing concerns for buildings at risk around the country. One such case is that of Kilmacurragh in Co. Wicklow, the former home of the Acton family. Having fallen into severe decline in the latter part of the 20th Century, the gardens have been restored to their former magnificence by the OPW and the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland under the guidance of head gardener Seamus O’Brien. Sadly the dilapidated remains of the once-beautiful Queen Anne house have continued to deteriorate, creating a ghastly eyesore at the heart of the gardens. We have heard that there may be a plan to

consolidate and re-roof the building. What a tremendous fillip to the whole cause of built heritage in Ireland that would be! But it is not all doom and gloom. We are delighted that the Hughes family have acquired Westport House in Co Mayo and are well advanced in their thinking as to the restoration of the estate, house and gardens. How important it is to keep together demesne, buildings and contents. Equally, what good news to hear that the FitzGerald family will remain at Glin Castle. Also that Mount Congreve will be transferred from its family trust to Waterford City and Council where chief executive Michael Walsh has such a fine record in preserving heritage buildings in Waterford itself. I would like to give special thanks to Dr David Fleming who is completing a four-year term as Chair of the Irish Georgian Foundation. He has done trojan work during what has been a tremendously exciting time and we are all most grateful for his commitment. He will be missed by all those who worked with him in Ireland, England and the US, but I’m sure he will remain a close friend of the Society. David’s successor is Michael Wall, who has been a member of the IGF board since 2016 and of the City Assembly House Working Group since 2015. Michael is a practising barrister, arbitrator and mediator specialising in the areas of planning, environmental and construction law and sits on the boards of Wide Open Opera and of Simpson’s Hospital, Dublin. I very much look forward to working with him in the coming years.

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City Assembly House Conservation Update Donough Cahill

The restoration of the City Assembly House will soon see the transformation and re-opening of its octagonal exhibition room where, in the summer of 2018, the Society will host ‘Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland’, a major exhibition of 18th century Irish artworks.

Front elevation of the City Assembly House (Photo by Stephanie Joy)

CITY ASSEMBLY HOUSE CONSERVATION UPDATE

In April, works started in earnest on the City Assembly House that, on completion, will see the full restoration of the octagonal exhibition room and the re-establishment of the building as a focal point of cultural activity in Dublin City.

The octagonal Exhibition Room, to be named in memory of the late Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin, will be refurbished to host museum-standard exhibitions, as well as serve as a venue for musical performances and educational activities. A new oak floor is to be laid in place of 1950s parquet, and panelling will conceal an environmental control system to manage heat and humidity levels. George Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Malley Plastering will clean and restore the rococo plasterwork, the details of which have been obscured by layers of paint. The rooflight, dating from the 1950s, is to be replaced to allow better control of lighting in the room and to comply with building regulations. A major part of the building works involves the installation of a lift to allow universal access to the octagonal room and the provision of a fire escape route. These works involve significant structural interventions, including the creation of a new opening onto Coppinger Row that runs alongside the building. A new commercial unit lying beneath the octagonal room will also open onto Coppinger Row and will be let out to generate income for the building. The basement is being refurbished to provide storage and service space and will be reconnected to the ground floor by a new staircase with joinery

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

modelled on that of the existing staircase. During the basement works, a well, lined with calp limestone, was uncovered; this well was recorded by an archaeologist and conserved in situ. Also revealed during works was a granite chimneypiece that had been concealed for decades behind panelling .

At the time of writing, building works are progressing well and are due for completion at the end of October. To mark the re-opening of the building and to recall the work of its original builders, the Society of Artists in Ireland, a major exhibition is planned for June 2018 that will draw together over 70 works of art that featured in annual exhibitions held in the City Assembly House from 1766 to 1780. This important event will include oil paintings by Thomas Robert, William Ashford and Jonathan Fisher, pastels by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Charles Forrest and William Watson, busts by Patrick Cunningham, watercolours by Gabriel Beranger, and drawings by various artists. Paintings will be hung in a floor-to-ceiling format in the manner of the period and so will fill the walls of the Knight of Glin Exhibition Room with some of the finest artworks of the Georgian period in Ireland. More information on this exciting exhibition will be available in the coming months.

Design team: – Main contractor: JV Ledwith – Project architects: Consarc Design Group – Quantity surveyors: QSPM Group – Structural engineer: Lisa Edden Consulting Structural Engineer – Mechanical & electrical consultants: Hayes Higgins – Fire protection consultants: Michael Slattery & Associates – Certifier: Assigned Donough Cahill is Executive Director of the Irish Georgian Society.

01 Nautical freize of a Viking longship in the stairhall of the City Assembly House 02 Removal of the 1950s glass style skylight from the CAH stairhall 03 Construction work beginning on the lift shaft in July 2017 04 IGS Executive Director Donough Cahill examines the skylight in the CAH Exhibition Room 05 The plasterwork surrounding the skylight in the CAH Exhibition Room 06 Sound proofing work begins on the Exhibition Room in Spring 2017

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Heritage Update

The Architectural Conservation and Planning Committee prepared a range of submissions on planning and policy matters over the last year, a selection of which is reviewed in this report.

CORK Lower Lee Cork City Flood Relief Scheme The Society made a submission to the Office of Public Works to raise concerns that proposals set out in the Lower Lee Cork City Flood Relief Scheme for significant structural works along historic quay walls would not seem to be consistent with international best practice for flood protection in and around historic urban cores. While the Society acknowledged that the character of the River Lee corridor cannot remain static, the Society argued that works that result in a significant or profound change to the historic character of the river corridor should only be pursued as a last resort in circumstances where there is no alternative. The Society further asserted that, aside from the importance of preserving our cultural heritage for future generations, the importance of the interrelationship between the historic built environment and the historic River Lee corridor to the tourist economy cannot be underestimated. Having regard to the experience in other European countries where successful flood prevention and mitigation along river corridors has been achieved without the need for the destruction or profound alteration of the historic built environment, the Society submitted that the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed

Lower Lee Cork City Flood Relief Scheme does not clearly identify why there is no other alternative but to remove or alter so much of the historic quay wall in Cork City. DUBLIN Belcamp, Malahide Road Belcamp, also referred to as ‘Bellechamp’, ‘Bell Champ’ and ‘Bell Chaupe’, on Malahide Road, Dublin 17 was acquired by Sir Edward Newenham MP in 1763 and later developed during the 1780s. Newenham was an ardent supporter of the American Republican movement, and was such an enthusiastic correspondent with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin that some contemporaries wrongly believed him guilty of treasonous activities. His admiration for the American Revolution is clearly evidenced in the design of house and landscape at Belcamp. In addition to the design features within the house described above, the monument to George Washington, believed to have been constructed during Washington’s lifetime in 1778, is understood to be the first monument dedicated to Washington. Moreover, Newenham and Washington discussed the design of the villa landscapes associated with their respective homes, Belcamp in Dublin and Mount Vernon in Virginia, in their correspondence.

In its submissions to Fingal County Council and An Bord Pleanála, the Society expressed concerns that, notwithstanding the perilous state of dereliction into which the site has fallen, having regard to the status of Belcamp as the only landscape in Ireland with an authentic connection to American Revolution, it is critical that any development of these lands be informed by a comprehensive assessment of the sensitivities and significance of the historic landscape at Belcamp and of a thorough assessment of the impact of the development of that historic landscape at Belcamp on the setting of the protected structures. An Bord Pleanála granted permission for elements of the proposed development in June 2017, subject to the preparation of a “comprehensive assessment of the historic landscape of Belcamp for record, to include information by a suitably qualified professional on comparative features and planting between Belcamp and Mount Vernon”. Six of the seven apartment blocks proposed as part of the application were not permitted and must be the subject of a separate planning application. 2 Grand Parade, Dublin 6 In its submission to Dublin City Council on proposals for the development of a new three to sixstorey commercial development (with

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

eight-storey link building) to the rear of the former Carroll’s Building, the Society submitted that the application site is inappropriate for the type of development proposed. The subject development at 2 Grand Parade, in view of its excessive scale and close proximity to protected structures at Dartmouth Square West and the Dartmouth Square Architectural Conservation Area, would result in severe adverse impacts on the setting and character of neighbouring structures of architectural heritage value and, as such, would be contrary to the Dublin City Development Plan. Dublin City Council issued a Request for Further Information in respect of the proposed development in April 2017.

negative impact on the character of the historic core of Dublin, including on the environs of Trinity College, College Green, the Custom House and Parnell Square. The Society argued that the proposed new 88m tall building would have a material, adverse and detrimental effect on the character, setting and integrity of key buildings and architecturally sensitive locations in the city and, as such, would be contrary to the Planning Authority’s policy to protect the city’s built heritage. Dublin City Council issued a Notification of Decision to Refuse Permission for the proposed development in June 2017. At the time of writing, it is expected that the Applicant will appeal this decision to An Bord Pleanála.

77 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2

Tibradden Road, Kilmashogue, Dublin 16

Permission was sought by Brown Table Solutions Ltd for the change of use of the former Loreto Sisters Convent at 77 St. Stephen’s Green to hotel use, including the construction of a glass penthouse and new ninestorey bedroom block to the rear. The Society made a submission to Dublin City Council urging the Planning Authority to refuse permission on the grounds that the proposed development will appear incongruous and overbearing when viewed from both the public realm and the houses and gardens of houses in the vicinity of the application site and will result in significant negative impacts on the architectural heritage value of this fine house. While Dublin City Council granted permission for a slightly amended version of the proposal, the Society has appealed this decision to An Bord Pleanála. 2-16 Tara Street, Dublin 2 The Society made a submission to Dublin City Council on proposals for the development of a 22-storey tower at 2-16 Tara Street, Dublin 2. In its submission, the Society urged Dublin City Council to assess the suitability of any such proposal on the basis of its response to its context and to consider the potential for the proposal to result in a considerable

Stillorgan RFC sought permission from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for the construction of a new club facility on lands at Tibradden Road, Kilmashogue, Dublin 16, which lie within the combined demesnes of Cloragh and Tibradden, the designed landscapes of which remain largely intact offering views of Lambay Island and the Mourne Mountains. In its submission, the Society urged Dun LaoghaireRathdown County Council to refuse permission for the proposed development, on the grounds that it represents overdevelopment of this highly constrained site, will diminish the value of this fragile and important cultural landscape and damage its contribution to ecological capital. The Society argued that, as a result, the proposal will result in a significant and material change to the setting of Tibradden House and its designed landscape, in contravention of the policies for the protection of architectural heritage set out in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2016-2022 and the recommendations of the Architectural Heritage Protection Guidelines for Planning Authorities. The Planning Authority requested further information in February 2017.

01 2 Grand Parade, Dublin 6 02 77 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 03 Developer plans for Dublin’s tallest building, a 22-storey tower beside Tara Street station

HERITAGE UPDATE

04 Bus depot at Merrion Square, Dublin 05 Former Bishop’s Palace, Limerick 04

LIMERICK Bishop’s Palace, Lower Cecil Street & Henry Street, Limerick The Bishop’s Palace was constructed c. 1775 for Edmund Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery, along with No. 105 Henry Street, and was purchased by the Bishop of Limerick in 1784. Permission was sought by Kirkland Investments Limited for a proposed change of use requiring extensive internal alterations to the Bishop’s Palace and for the construction of a new 15-storey tower on an adjoining site. While acknowledging that the proposals would provide a means for the restoration and re-use of the Bishop’s Palace in its submission to Limerick City Council and, on appeal to An Bord Pleanála, the Society argued that the significant interventions proposed to the building itself and the substantial negative impact of the proposed 15-storey tower on the setting of two important 18th-century buildings do

not justify the intensity and invasive nature of the development proposal. Permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála in June 2017, although with revised conditions regarding the conservation of the Bishop’s Palace. MEATH Castletownmoor, Co. Meath Following on from An Bord Pleanála’s refusal of planning permission for the Emlagh wind farm, the Society made a further submission to An Bord Pleanála on the reduced proposals for a smaller number of wind turbines on a smaller portion of the lands. The Society argued that the subject development failed to address the Board’s previous reasons for refusal and would have a significant negative impact on the historic landscape of Meath and on the architectural, archaeological and cultural heritage of the area and, in particular, on Headfort House, further compromising the integrity of the

historic and designed landscape that forms the setting for the protected structure. An Bord Pleanála refused permission for the proposed wind farm in July 2017. POLICY MATTERS ‘Bus cages’ and bus routes in Georgian Dublin For some years, the IGS has engaged with Dublin City Council and Dublin Bus in an effort to have the Dublin Bus ‘bus cage’ reduced or removed from the southern side of Merrion Square. As part of this ongoing campaign, the IGS made a submission to the National Transport Authority on the Dublin Area Bus Network Redesign Choices Report setting out the potential negative impacts of bus infrastructure on the historic built environment of Dublin and emphasising the need for an integrated plan for bus transport for Dublin City.

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Dublin City Parks Strategy Consultation Draft In writing to Dublin City Council to welcome the strong conservation focus of the Dublin City Parks Strategy Consultation Draft, the Society suggested that any objectives for the conservation of Dublin’s parks as assets of heritage value is rendered meaningless in the absence of the preparation of an historic landscape assessment and an inventory of features of architectural heritage importance undertaken by a suitably qualified professional for each historic park. The Society urged the Local Authority to ensure that this work be undertaken for all flagship historic parks, as, without this information, well-intentioned decisions will continue to be made as part of the day-to-day management of historic parks, which will result in the loss of historic fabric and features and undermine the overall integrity of historic gardens, as has repeatedly already happened in the case of Herbert Park. Review of Section 482 Relief In March 2017, the Society wrote to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaelteacht, in response to the publication of the paper entitled “Review of Section 482 Relief”, to strongly support the continued operation of Section 482 tax relief for historic buildings. With minimal grant aid available to support conservation works and compliance with conservation legislation, Section 482 provides an important incentive to protect our heritage and furthermore allows public access to participating properties. The continued operation of the scheme has considerable implications for tourism as, with c. 160 properties currently availing of the relief, the number of heritage destinations available to domestic and international tourists is significantly larger than may otherwise be the case. The access provided to otherwise private properties also presents an important resource to scholars of history, architecture,

horticulture and other disciplines. In its submission, the Society strongly encouraged the Department to give consideration to take the following measures to improve the efficacy of the scheme: – Generate greater awareness of participating properties for domestic and overseas tourists and other interested parties. – Remove high-earners restriction so that owners can undertake larger projects. – Ensure that owners seek approval from the local authority for conservation works for which relief is claimed, e.g. through a Section 57 declaration or planning permission. – Ensure works are undertaken by suitably experienced conservation contractors and craftsmen, e.g. those on the Register of Heritage Contractors. – Provide credits towards public access requirements for specially organised events relating to culture, education and leisure. – Introduce a targeted grant scheme for those approved properties whose owners do not have the income to avail of the tax relief. National Planning Framework (Ireland 2040) Replacing the National Spatial Strategy 2002-2020, the purpose of the National Planning Framework is to provide a high-level framework for future development and investment in Ireland from which other, more detailed plans (such as development plans and regional strategies) will take their lead. In February 2017, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government sought the public’s initial views on the first phase of the development of the National Planning Framework: the Issues and Choices Paper. The Society made the following observations in its submission to the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: – It is of crucial importance that consideration of heritage (including built heritage and historic

landscape) is not sidelined, but is central to the formulation of the new National Planning Framework. Perpetuating the view that built heritage is a constraint on development and failing to provide clear statements in spatial planning policy about the importance of the historic environment to achieving key strategic goals is likely to frustrate the implementation of the adopted National Planning Framework. – The National Planning Framework must be informed by the National Landscape Character Assessment. The completion of the NIAH Survey of Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes will also be of significant importance in determining preferred locations for major infrastructural development. – Consideration should be given to the creation of a database of assets of national and international heritage importance in order to (i) inform the drafting of the National Planning Framework by identifying areas of particular architectural, archaeological and cultural heritage sensitivity; (ii) improve public engagement (including tourist engagement) with Ireland’s historic environment; and (iii) provide a clear and simple resource for developers and investors so as to promote certainty and help direct investment appropriately. – The National Planning Framework must include a clear objective that all consenting authorities and authorities with forward planning function (e.g. planning authorities, An Bord Pleanála, the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, etc.) be adequately resourced with suitably qualified conservation professionals in order to ensure the effective implementation of national strategic planning policy.

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Conservation Grants Scheme Ashleigh Murray

The Irish Georgian Society is pleased to announce the fourth successful year of the Conservation Grants Scheme, which helps owners of historic structures to fund necessary works. The London Chapter has made this scheme possible through funds raised from its activities and members’ generous bequests. Although this should be the final year of the scheme, its importance is very much recognised and we hope therefore to extend the scheme beyond 2017, subject to available funding. This year the €50,000 available was spread between nine successful applications, whose projects it was considered would really benefit from the Society’s help. This year’s projects are a particularly interesting group, including the conservation of a memorial column, the renewal of unusual decorative Cloisonné wall panels, and the restoration of a handsome Georgian doorcase. We are delighted to provide additional funding to a local community group, The Tea Lane Graveyard Committee. This group cares for Tea Lane cemetery, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, which centres on the c.1820 Maunsell Chapel, built on the footprint of a 6th-century church. Other structures on this site include the 19th-century Grattan mausoleum and also the Conolly mausoleum, built in memory of William ‘Speaker’ Conolly (16621729) by his wife Katherine; she was also responsible for the erection of the Conolly folly, the well-known symbol of the IGS, on the grounds of their estate at Castletown House. A Conservation Management Plan for the cemetery is being admirably implemented. Following necessary repairs last year, which with we

assisted, the next phase is to ensure that all roofs are watertight. Water ingress and the onset of damp can have a disastrous impact on historic buildings. This is understood at Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois, a late18th-century country house that was substantially renovated in c. 1868 in the Italianate style by the English architect Charles Lanyon (1813-1889). Last year we assisted with the repair of striking decorative chimneystacks. The works this year involve the continuation of their roof repair programme with the repair of the lead valley gutters on the roof and portico, which are currently allowing water to penetrate the structure, damaging internal decorative plasterwork. We are also supporting external repairs at the Old Parochial House in Monkstown, Co. Cork. This building was designed by Edward Welby Pugin (1834-1875), eldest son of the illustrious English architect Augustus Pugin (1812-1852), with the aid of Irish architect George Coppinger Ashlin (1837-1921). Moisture has always been an issue due to the location of this red-brick building by the sea. The owners have previously hosted a Brickwork Conservation and Repair CPD course and have undertaken low-level repointing of the brickwork. Grant aid is sought to complete the repointing works to protect the building from further water ingress. The O’Brien column in Liscannor, Co. Clare, also suffers from water issues. Designed by J Petty Esq, the column

was erected in c. 1858 by public subscription in memory of Cornelius O’Brien, a local MP and improving landlord. O’Brien was also responsible for opening up the Cliffs of Moher to tourists by creating paved walks and erecting the c. 1835 O’Brien Tower. The c. 80ft fluted Doric column is an important landmark feature, situated on an impressive site overlooking Liscannor Bay and O’Brien’s former home. The Follies Trust and the Friends of the O’Brien Column will carry out careful conservation of the structure, including stabilising its crowning decorative urn, which is in danger of collapse. A number of churches require assistance this year due to a range of issues. St. Michael & All Angels, Sallins, Co. Kildare, is a late-19thcentury church by the architect James Franklin Fuller (1835-1924). An unfortunate fire in 1947 destroyed internal timber features and also caused smoke damage. The works involve the removal of smoke staining to the decorative Cloisonné (enamelled copper) wall panels by Clement John Heaton (1861-1940), to reveal their beautiful colours and detailing. External repair works are required at St. John’s Church, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo. This c. 1810-1820 church was built under the Board of First Fruits and is attributed to the Irish architect John Bowden (d. 1822). The recent discovery of ‘mud mortar’, forming part of the original construction of the church’s tower, has added a level urgency to the works.

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The Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Monasterevin, Co Kildare, was built in c. 1815 with a plan possibly inspired by the Board of First Fruits churches. Its fine iron entrance gate is thought to have been relocated from the Moore Abbey Demense by the Marquess of Drogheda. Aid is sought for the restoration of this ornate entrance; not only will this improve the appearance of the building, it will also enhance the streetscape due to the church’s prominent location on the town’s main street. Townscape improvements are also proposed in Mountmellick, Co. Laois, where extensive repair works are proposed to the street-facing elevation of the Town Hall. This gable-fronted building was designed in 1863 by the architect William Caldbeck (1824-1872) and is located in the town centre. Our funding also supports the restoration of the original entrance door of Ballinrobe House, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. Originally built for Captain Courtney Kenny (1702-1779), this c. 1740 seven-bay house retains plasterwork reported to be by the famous Lafranchini brothers. The house has remained derelict for some years and there is evidence of fire. The current owners are now working through a careful programme of repair to restore this beautiful residential building.

01 & 02 Ballinrobe House, Co Mayo showing frontage without its windows and the entrance hall damaged by fire 03 Stradbally Hall, Co Laois 04 Tea Lane Graveyard, Celbridge, Co. Kildare 05 O’Brien’s Column, Liscannor, Co Clare showing the damage caused to the surmounting urn

As demonstrated above, owners of historic structures face a variety of issues, which can naturally lead to financial pressures. We are, therefore, pleased that for the last four years this scheme has helped to fund essential works for the continued protection of these historic assets. It is very much hoped that we can extend the scheme beyond 2017, subject to available funding, to enable us to continue this particularly worthy cause. Ashleigh Murray is Chair of IGS London and a member of the Conservation Grants Committee.

01 View of the gardens of Beaulieu House, Co Louth 02 & 03 Work commencing on the roof of the Garden Pavilion, during Summer 2017

Garden Pavilion, Beaulieu, Co. Louth Donough Cahill 01

Situated some miles to the east of Drogheda, Beaulieu is a rare and important surviving example of an unfortified house in preGeorgian Ireland. The house was built in a Dutch classical style and is picturesquely situated looking down over terraced lawns and out across the Boyne river estuary. Lying close by is one of Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest walled gardens, at the entrance to which is a small pavilion that was first illustrated in a view of Beaulieu by Edward Radclyffe in 1844. This shows only an east-facing portico with Doric columns and a slate roof and provides no evidence of what may have stood behind it. The structure was subsequently much altered with changes to the portico itself and the construction in the Edwardian period of a south-facing glasshouse. Inside this is a large, full-height grotto that surrounds an artificial well with rustic stonework, characteristic of classical grottoes. Over the course of time the pavilion has fallen into a state of disrepair, with its portico, roof and fenestration requiring considerable repair works. Through the support of US members of the Society, including William and Margaret Constantine who visited Beaulieu on an IGS trip, it was possible to start planning a phased programme of repairs. Additional funding sourced from the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, and The Heritage Council saw the preparation of a conservation report by LOTTS Architecture that prioritised repairs to the roof. These works were undertaken during the summer and have provided breathing space to plan for future works to the portico and glazing.

From April to September this year, the exhibition “Burning Books” was displayed by the Office of Public Works in the State Apartment Galleries of Dublin Castle. The exhibition detailed the reproduction of 14 volumes of the Irish Parliamentary Journals dating from the 1700s, which were destroyed during the Irish Civil War in 1922. Also on display were the hand tools used in the process, as well as examples of 18th-century Irish bindings and some of the printed editions of the Lords and Commons Journals in presentation bindings.

Burning Books, June 1922: The Destruction And Recreation Of The Irish Parliamentary Bookbindings

The reproductions of the Irish Parliamentary bookbindings were commissioned by Dr Philip Maddock, an Irish book collector and IGS member based in the United States. Inspired by Maurice Craig’s work Irish Book Bindings 1600-1800, he has built up a collection of original Irish bookbindings over the past 25 years. These, and bindings in the Farmleigh (Benjamin Iveagh Library) and Dublin City Library collections, were used to build up a database of relevant Irish hand tools. The visual database was used to generate over 400 brass hand tools, made by Stewart Field. An introduction to Trevor Lloyd, a renowned bookbinder and finisher, lead to a successful trial of eight exact reproductions of extant Irish bindings. Working together, over the past 10 years, Maddock & Lloyd have completed 14 representative examples of the original 149 bindings. Through an exceptionally generous gesture, Dr Maddock is donating six of the volumes to the Irish Georgian Society for the purpose of their display with the Office of Public Works. This donation will allow for their accessibility, appreciation and enjoyment by the public for all time.

IGS Conservation and Original Drawing Awards 02

The winners of the Irish Georgian Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2017 Architectural Conservation Award and Original Drawings Award were announced by Michael Wall, Chairman of the Irish Georgian Foundation, at a wellattended ceremony presided over by Dr Edward McParland in the Irish Architectural Archive on Thursday 5th October. The awards were launched in 2009 and are open to Irish architects or architectural practices, building surveyors, contractors, engineers and other professionals involved in the conservation of historic buildings in Ireland. Their purpose is to encourage excellence in the area of conservation and to celebrate those conservation professionals and practitioners responsible for projects of merit. Dr. Edward McParland observed that the IGS Conservation Awards were significant as they celebrated the traditional crafts essential in

conserving our built heritage and the skills and knowledge of those involved. He further emphasised the importance of the Awards in demonstrating that decay can be reversed and allow for the recycling and new use of buildings. He concluded by reminding the attendees that these conservation projects bring huge public benefit, through the pleasure and glamour the buildings lend to public and private spaces. In announcing the award winners, Michael Wall thanked Ronan Group Real Estate and Johnny Ronan for sponsoring the initiative and also thanked Mary Bryan and Livia Hurley for their work in steering the initiative and ensuring its delivery this year.

The Awards Original Drawing Winner Vincent Coleman for his drawing of Cathedral Church of St. Brendan, Clonfert Conservation Award - Winner Shelbourne Hotel Architect: Lindsay Conservation Architects Contractor: Acol. Ltd Client: Kennedy Wilson Conservation Award - Highly Commended Stradbally Market House rchitect: Lotts Architecture A Contractor: Liam Meagher Construction Client: Stradbally Market House Restoration Committee 06

Conservation Award - Highly Commended Fancroft Mill Architect: Marcus & Irene Sweeney Client: Fancroft Mill & Gardens Conservation Award – Commended Newbridge House Courtyard rchitect: Fionnuala May, Architect, A Fingal County Council Contractor: Frances J Haughey Building Conservation Client: Fingal County Council Conservation Award – Commended Richmond Barracks rchitects: Blackwood Associates Architects A & Margaret Quinlan Architects Contractor: Purcell Construction Client: Dublin City Council IGS Conservation Awards Judging Panel Mary Bryan, Dr. Edward McParland, Livia Hurley, Frank McDonald, Frank McCloskey and David Griffin Co-Ordinator Róisín Lambe

01 Grain Store Top Floor, Fancourt Mill 02 Stradbally Market House 03 Newbridge Courtyard 04 Richmond Barracks 05 Shelbourne Hotel 06 Original drawing of the Cathedral Church of St. Brendan, Clonfert by Vincent Coleman

Designs for Belcamp House and Mount Vernon Finola O’Kane

The American Revolution of 1776 inspired many Irish landed gentlemen to hope that their own country might achieve the same political and economic freedoms as the young United States of America. Among them was Sir Edward Newenham, who built Belcamp House in North County Dublin in the early 1780s, describing it as a ‘delightful villa’ in a 1784 letter to Benjamin Franklin. He was also building a special ground floor room called ‘The States’ which looked eastward towards the Irish sea. It was nearly complete except for a niche that awaited the arrival of Benjamin Franklin’s bust. Newenham positioned busts of General Washington and the Marquis Le Fayette on either side of a bust of Virgil in some answering niches. This careful selection of ‘Revolutionary Worthies’ is pointedly reminiscent of the ‘Temple of British Worthies’ constructed by Henry Cobham at Stowe in Oxfordshire. At Belcamp, Newenham was building the ideal Irish revolutionary villa and populating it with a suitable set of model men. Stretching his implicit political agenda out into the landscape, he also built a temple to his hero George Washington with the

inscription: “Oh, ill-fated Britain! The folly of Lexington and Concord will rend asunder, and forever disjoin America from thy empire.” In the aftermath of 1776 many Europeans had continued to observe the novel experiment of the United States. As president and as the new nation’s most prominent model farmer, George Washington’s designs had become the focus of attention and emulation. In 1784 Washington wrote to Newenham describing his own delightful villa of Mount Vernon outside Alexandria, Virginia as a ‘retreat from the cares of public life; where in homespun and with rural fare, we will invite you to our bed and board’. This self-sufficient, modest and humble lifestyle was considered to embody all that European aristocratic life did not. When Washington wrote again to Newenham in 1787, he described why he considered Belcamp to be a model Irish version of the ideal American country house: ‘The manner in which you employ your time at Bell champ (in raising nurseries of fruit, forest trees, and shrubs) must not only contribute to your health & amusement, but it is

01 19th-century photograph of the Washington Memorial Tower across the lake on the approach to Belcamp (Source: Irish Architectural Archive) 02 Recent photo of Belcamp House, Co. Dublin

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Belcamp is also not only of significance to Ireland. It bears considerable historic significance for the United States of America, for the many European and American cultures who draw from the same era of revolutionary thought and for nations whose formation lies in the era of revolutions (1770-1810) 02

DESIGNS FOR BELCAMP HOUSE AND MOUNT VERNON

03 Extract from the first edition Ordnance Survey map (18291841) showing the relationship of the Washington Memorial Tower (“Turret”) to the lake fed by the River Mayne 04 Interior plaster roundel of weaponry and a landscape with a castle in the same Gothic style as the George Washington temple (Photo courtesy of David Fleming)

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certainly among the most rational avocations of life for what can be more pleasing, than to see the work of ones own hands, fostered by care and attention, rising to maturity in a beautiful display of those advantages and ornaments which by the Combination of Nature and taste of the projector in the disposal of them is always regaling’.

wall, no defined tree-belt, no axial approach routes and no grandiose gates and lodges. In Washington’s informal landscaping plans for both its front and rear lawns, mixed trees followed wavy and serpentine lines that spread out from the mansion centrepiece (drawn most memorably by the Irishman Samuel Vaughan in 1787).

Some authors have mistakenly located ‘Bell Champ’ in England leading many to underestimate the connections between the historic landscape at Belcamp and Mount Vernon in Virginia.

‘In short- it is similar to Belcamp, where Edward Newenham had created an ideal environment for a future Ireland with its own parliament and ideally its own taxesas had been achieved in America. Belcamp is also set in a comparatively small (to great ducal and aristocratic demesnes such as Carton) demesne area with no defined encircling tree belt, no axial approach routes, no multiple lodges and no demesne stone wall. It is a modest suburban demesne designed for an independent gentleman- just like Washington. It is not identical to Mount Vernon because 18th-century gentlemen did not attempt to imitate each other’s landscapes exactly—this would have gone against the genius loci spirit of Alexander Pope and his successors— who thought that each landscape should be designed to reflect the character of each distinct place.

Other letters in the WashingtonNewenham correspondence continued such design discussion of Belcamp and Mount Vernon while also extending it to planting recommendations. Hayseed and gooseberries were sent to Washington by Newenham’s son-in-law, William Persse of Roxborough, Co. Galway, who also carefully wrote about how they should be planted and cared for, although the American climate would have required many modifications to Irish practices. Many memorials to Washington were constructed throughout Ireland in the following decades. Terraces or houses called ‘Mount Vernon’ were built in the villa suburbs of all the major cities, but most notably in Cork, a major transit point for all British ships crossing the Atlantic. There on the city’s southern hills lay Vernon Mount, an elegant suburban villa of c. 1784 constructed by the merchant prince Sir Henry Browne Hayes, until it was destroyed by fire last summer. Neither Belcamp nor Vernon Mount, like their inspiration, Mount Vernon, are grandiose design statements, nor are they dependent on well-known architects or landscape designers for their significance. The scale, informality and design anonymity of all three houses represented a break with established aristocratic tradition. Mount Vernon itself is built of timber and many of the features associated with British or Irish demesnes are absent - it has no defined boundary

Neither Belcamp nor Vernon Mount replicated Mount Vernon—they were informed and inspired by its design intentions but sought to construct Irish versions of America’s ideal country house. Design translation is not an exact science- particularly when none of the parties involved had crossed the Atlantic. Belcamp House and demesne is the most significant country house and landscape in Ireland and the United Kingdom to have a documented and direct design connection to Mount Vernon. Its landscape and buildings express the very significant ties that bound Ireland and the United States at the close of the 18th century. Yet since the sale of Belcamp by the Oblate Fathers to Gannon Properties in 2004 the house and its landscape have fallen into extensive disrepair,

with fire destroying many of the important interiors. In April 2017 planning permission was granted by Fingal County Council for the ‘development of houses, apartments and shops and the change of use of Belcamp Hall, Malahide Road, Dublin 17, a Protected Structure (RPS No. 463), and its associated later extensions from educational uses to residential use, the chapel and the room in the north east part of Belcamp Hall ground floor to a community use, the threestorey building on the north east to residential, cafe and childcare use of houses, apartments and shops’. Belcamp is also not only of significance to Ireland. It bears considerable historic significance for the United States of America, for the many European and American cultures that draw from the same era of revolutionary thought and for nations whose formation lies in the era of revolutions (1770-1810). The alteration of this landscape to housing and shops, when so many agricultural fields of little or no significance lie nearby, constitutes a profound loss for Ireland’s cultural heritage and for our shared cultural heritage with Europe and America. Finola O’Kane is Associate Professor in Architecture at University College Dublin, a board member of the IGS and Editor of the Society’s Journal Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies.

Summer School Exploring buildings and places in North West Ulster Primrose Wilson

Following the success of the 2015 Summer School in Armagh & Monaghan it was decided to embark on another one, but this time in North West Ulster. The Councils concerned already work closely together and Donegalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heritage Officer, Joe Gallagher, was enthusiastic and had worked with Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS) previously to raise awareness of Gola Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s architectural heritage.

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Having ascertained interest from Donegal County Council and Derry City & Strabane District Councils, as well as agreement from Kevin Mulligan that he would take on his previous role as Academic Director, the Societies began making plans for the second Summer School. The willingness of all concerned to work together, on the part of both Boards and office staff, was a hallmark of the project.

Site visit to Scutcher’s Cottage, Newmills, Co. Donegal

We began in Letterkenny with a lecture by Barry O’Reilly on the Donegal vernacular cottage. This discourse combined perfectly with Donegal County Council’s exhibition “In Search of the Donegal Vernacular Cottage” being held in the Museum, where we ended the evening. The following morning we met in the main hall of the Guildhall in Derry for a series of lectures, including tracing the origins of the City and its hinterland, heritage tourism in North

West Ulster and recent developments in the City. After lunch we set out with our speakers and Dan Calley, author of the UAHS publication on Derry, to walk the Walls and view the developments outlined in the talks. The heavens opened shortly after we sallied forth and we were all saturated. One group squelched into St. Columb’s Cathedral and continued the discussions with Manus Deery on the treatment of the interior. Every time he moved to the door to continue the walk, some interesting item helped delay our return to the unwelcoming precipitation! Fortunately the Verbal Arts Centre had lots of radiators to dry sodden clothes and we all steamed happily through Stephen Douglas’ (Hall Black Douglas Architects) stimulating talk and discussion. The day concluded in The Glassworks, the former Third Presbyterian Church; this fine neo-Classical building closes the vista of the street in dramatic fashion and has a flight of steps edged with massive stone scrolls. Yaima Gil, who works in the Office of the City Historian in Havana, Cuba, was our final speaker on Thursday. Her topic was “Heritage Led Regeneration and Tourism; An International Perspective”. A work in progress since the late 1970s, the piecing-back-together of Havana Vieja, after decades of neglect, has been a far-sighted and startlingly miraculous process considering the economic odds stacked against it. The genius behind the project is Eusebio Leal Spengler, Havana’s celebrated City Historian who, unperturbed by the tightening of the financial screws during Cuba’s Special Period, set up Habaguanex in 1994; this holding company earns hard currency through tourism and re-invests it in a mix of historical preservation and city-wide urban regeneration. In Lest We Forget (Vol.2, 2005) Spengler wrote how in 1999 “the Directorate of the Master Plan produced Utopian Challenge”, a publication that outlined the principles adopted for the restoration of the historic core. He said in Utopian Challenge that “the novelty of this plan lies in our determination to create a prototype of social and community participation through a decentralised model of local development, with political and legal support”.

While projects like this elsewhere in the world would undoubtedly lead to gentrification and relocation of the local population, this has not happened in Havana. The city’s urban jigsaw is a living, working environment, with schools, hospitals and care homes sitting alongside tourist restaurants and museums. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1982 by UNESCO, to date, a quarter of Havana Vieja has been restored; this includes hotels, forts and over 30 museums. The restoration of Havana Vieja has promoted large numbers of restaurants, cafes, small hotels, shops and all the infrastructure needed to sustain an ever-growing tourist trade; this in turn provides income for restoration and social projects. To facilitate the work, Habaguanex established craft schools in the 1990s when older people with traditional skills were still around to pass them on to the young. Yaima’s presentation met with a well-deserved standing ovation. Her visit to Ireland was made possible with the help and support of the British Council and was the highlight of the Summer School. After a warm welcome from the Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Fidelma Mullane set the scene with “Placemaking” on Friday morning. Then we took off in different directions by bus—some to the Fanad Lighthouse with visits to vernacular cottages to observe thatching, others to a traditional farmyard scheme at Treantagh House, funded by the Heritage Council, and still others to a modern vernacular at St. Aengus, Burt. At Fort Stewart we enjoyed a lovely private house, learned of its history and drank in the most amazing views of Lough Swilly! All groups came together in Ramelton Old Meeting house to hear Edward McParland, Duncan McLaren and Greg Stevenson speak about heroic efforts to preserve our more modest architectural heritage and provide lovely places for us to enjoy holiday breaks courtesy of the Irish Landmark Trust and Under The Thatch. The highlight of Friday evening was refreshments in Conway’s Bar, Ramelton, followed by a pub quiz compered by Kevin Mulligan. The challenge was to stop laughing for long enough to listen for answers from the next table and to avoid the yellow cards handed out liberally by the referee! The following day we visited Holy Hill, an attractive

early-18th-century private house with a fascinating history. Our final destination of the weekend was the Stables in Sion Mills where Karen Latimer outlined the trials and tribulations of the restoration of this building by HEARTH (Hearth Housing Association). We were able to see for ourselves the triumph of the completed project. In a very fitting accolade one of the students wrote afterwards of the Summer School how Karen “embodied the qualities of persistence and dedication that are essential to ensuring the protection of the precious built heritage of our communities”. Emma McGarrity wrote in her blog post about the Summer School (http://bit.ly/CWF17EMG) “the weekend reinvigorated my love of all aspects of our unique built heritage and…I gained a wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts”. We had thirty amazing students on the Summer School from a variety of disciplines, including Art History, Architecture, Geography, Engineering, Museum and Cultural studies. The students were truly inspirational as they were full of enthusiasm and fun and so appreciative of the opportunity to visit rejuvenated historic buildings, engage everyone in conversation and generally enjoy themselves. I leave the last word to Eoin Madigan, a SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) Fellow, who came all the way from Co. Clare to be with us: “I returned home with a spring in my step after being inspired by such passionate people of all ages and backgrounds. This event is a true credit to world of conservation and I am privileged to have been a part of it”. This event could not have happened without sponsorship from the British Council, Consarc Conservation, Derry City & Strabane District Council, Donegal County Council, Esme Mitchell Trust and the Heritage Council. Both Societies gratefully acknowledge their assistance, advice and guidance. Kevin Mulligan was an excellent Academic Director while Manus Deery and Joe Gallagher’s help and local knowledge in Derry and Donegal was invaluable. We had a wonderful group of speakers and guides who enlightened and entertained us in sunshine and showers! Our especial thanks go to Nikki McVeigh, Eva McDermott

and Connie Gerrow (UAHS) and Zoë Coleman, Donough Cahill (IGS) for arranging a programme with amazing skill and dexterity. Thanks John Geraghty, IGS volunteer, for his time and effort over the four days. They guided us around highways and byways, provided sandwiches in a barn in Donegal, pizzas from a horse-box in Ramelton and the most delicious home made cakes and coffee from a caravan beside a Meeting House! Primrose Wilson, instigator of the Conservation without Frontiers Summer School is President of UAHS, Chair of The Follies Trust, Chair of the IGS Conservation Grants Committee and a board member of the Irish Georgian Foundation.

01 Walking tour of Derry, led by Manus Deery, outside St. Columb’s Cathedral 02 Liam McCormick’s St Aengus’ Church (1967) in Burt, Co. Donegal 03 Student Design Competition winners, pictured with Kevin V. Mulligan, Primrose Wilson and Joe Gallagher with students Emma McGarrity (UU), Steven Playford (HW), Katherine Baldwin (UCD) and Chris (Cambridge) 04 Eoin Madigan, stone mason and SPAB fellow (2014) demonstrating the use of lime mortar at Treantach House, St Johnston, Co. Donegal 05 Fanad Lighthouse, Co. Donegal 06 Visiting speaker Yaima Gil (Cuba) and Edward McParland at Holy Hill, Strabane 07 Participants outside Holy Hill House 08 Exploring the interior of Fanad Lighthouse, Co. Donegal

Reg

Conservation Education Programme Emmeline Henderson

The Society’s Conservation Education Programme engenders an appreciation and understanding of Ireland’s architectural heritage, designed landscapes and decorative interiors, and promotes best conservation practice. The programme is supported by the Apollo Foundation; Merrion Property Group and Heather and John Picerne, with additional grants provided on an individual basis for specific projects. Since last year’s Review, the programme delivered three study days, as well as our annual homeowners’ conservation course. IRELAND’S WALLED GARDENS STUDY DAY 2016, RUSSBOROUGH, COUNTY WICKLOW, FRIDAY, 2ND SEPTEMBER 2016 Designed to provide a continual supply of fruit, flowers and vegetables, the walled kitchen gardens of Ireland evolved over four centuries to facilitate the requirements of the big house. But while the walled garden was an integral part of the Irish country house demesne, it was also labour intensive. The Irish Georgian Society has observed how many such gardens became neglected, abandoned and overgrown. Concern for the future of the walled garden motivated the Society, in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland (RHSI) and Wicklow County Council, who provide a grant through their heritage plan, to deliver a walled garden study day on the 2nd September 2016 at Russborough, Co. Wicklow. The study day, which attracted an audience of 180, explored and celebrated the history and significance, together with the care and conservation, of Irish historic country houses’ walled kitchen gardens. Speakers and chairs at the study day were of international calibre, recognised for their academic and practical knowledge of horticulture and landscape design in both Ireland and the UK. The day included guided tours of Russborough’s walled garden with Denis Gill, chairperson of the RHSI’s gardens committee, who as the

RHSI’s representative worked with the IGS to convene the study day, and John Quin of the RHSI’s gardens committee. These tours afforded delegates the opportunity to learn about the inspiring work undertaken by the RHSI in reinterpreting and representing the garden, all in a voluntary capacity. Terence Reeves Smyth, who cocurated the study day, gave a fascinating overview of the history of Ireland’s walled gardens. In his paper he revealed that the average walled garden in Ireland is three acres and that in order to maintain a walled garden to the standard of presentation and production equivalent to that of its Victorian heyday, that each acre would require one fulltime gardener. Dr Shackleton, in a subsequent paper, provided an insight into the ‘real world’ economics of achieving this in the 21st century. She noted that to secure a gardener with the requisite skillset to manage a walled garden would require a salary in the region of €30,000, not to mention additional expenses of tool and machine maintenance and other incidental expenses; as such she calculated that the average Irish walled garden would necessitate an expenditure of approximately €100,000 annually in order to present it to historic standards. Understanding these facts and figures made those in attendance at the study day all the more appreciative of the hard work and determination of the volunteers at Russborough and other walled gardens throughout Ireland, such as Fota, Co. Cork. Without their voluntary work, the fate of Ireland’s historic walled gardens in the 21st century would be bleak indeed. NEWBRIDGE HOUSE STUDY DAY, NEWBRIDGE, TUESDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 2016 The Irish Georgian Society and Fingal County Council, in collaboration with the Cobbe family, partnered to deliver a study day at Newbridge House on Tuesday, 8th November. The study day provided an opportunity to examine the significance of Newbridge House’s rich architecture,

art, historic interiors and designed landscape, and provided time to considered approaches for its conservation and presentation as one of Co. Dublin’s most important country houses. Curated by William Laffan and Alec Cobbe, the study day was at full capacity. The Society wishes to thank our partner Fingal County Council, as well as our sponsors, Ecclesiastical Insurance. CONSERVING YOUR DUBLIN PERIOD HOUSE, SPRING 2017 The recent marked upturn and movement in Dublin’s residential property market resulted in an increase in the numbers attending the annual Irish Georgian Society and Dublin City Council, Conserving your Dublin Period House course. Sixty period homeowners, conservation architects, engineers and builders enrolled on the course to learn about best conservation practice for the care and maintenance of Dublin’s historic building stock, with continuous professional development conferred by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, Engineers Ireland and the Construction Industry Federation and Register of Heritage Contractors. The Irish Georgian Society wishes to thank the expert conservation professionals and practitioners who year-on- year continue to support this course, as well as Irish Heritage Insurance, a company offering insurance tailored for protected structures, for providing a grant towards the delivery of the course. M&E STUDY DAY, RUSSBOROUGH, TUESDAY, 13TH JUNE 201 Often described as ‘the guts’ of a building, mechanical and electrical services are the unglamorous but essential part of any building. However, ill-considered installation of these services in an historic building cannot only be unsightly but damage its historic character and potentially undermine the structural integrity of a building, as well as contribute to partial or total loss of historic fabric on account of the M&E

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services not preventing flood and fire, or indeed in the case of faults, causing such catastrophes.

01 Newbridge Study Day speakers and chairs: (left to right standing): Dr David Fleming (UL), Una Ni Mhearain (Consarc), Cathal Dowd Smith, David Skinner, William Laffan, Alec Cobbe, Dr Adriaan Waiboer (NGI), Dr Arthur MacGregor Fionnuala May (Fingal CoCo), Dr Anthony Malcolmson; (left to right seated): Dr David Watkin (Cambridge) and Dr Finola O’Kane Crimmins (UCD) 02 St. Catherine’s Church, Meath St, Dublin 8 (Photo by Donal Murphy) 03 Ireland’s Wall Garden’s Study Day speakers and chairs: Primrose Wilson, Robert Myerscough, Susan Campbell, Terence Reeves-Smyth, Susan Roundtree, Dr Daphne Shackleton, Dr Edward Diestelkamp and Deirdre Burns

Appreciating the necessity of the sensitive installation of mechanical and electrical services in historic buildings, the Irish Georgian Society and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in association with the CIF Register of Heritage Contractors, collaborated to deliver a study day at Russborough on Tuesday, 13th June 2017. The delivery of the study day at Russborough was timely: 2017 saw the completion of phase one of a major M&E upgrading work at Russborough, €250,000 of which was funded by the Department; while last year the CIF’s Register of Heritage Contractors (www.heritageregistration.ie), which provides an accredited listing of competent main contractors and specialist contractors in the field of built heritage conservation, recognised ‘Building Services (Mechanical and Electrical)’ as a specialist sector on the register.

The study day, “Engineering the Past to Meet the Needs of the Future: best practice installation of mechanical and electrical services into historic buildings” allowed for presentations on best professional and contractor practice from the UK and Ireland in this crucial but little discussed area of building conservation. Speakers included: Dr. Stuart MacPherson, partner with Irons Foulner Consulting Engineers, Scotland; Andrew More, Senior Building Services Engineer, Conservation Department, Historic England; Niamh Kiernan, Sheehan and Barry Architects, Graeme Parker and William O’Donnell of IN2 Engineering; Lisa Edden, structural engineer; Sean McElligott, President CIF Mechanical Engineering Services Contractors Association (MEBSCA); David Brennan, Building Design Partnership; Kevin Blackwood and Alice Bentley, Blackwood Associate Architects; Grainne Shaffrey, Shaffrey Associate Architects; Edith Blennerhassett, Associate Director, Arup; Michael Stone, CEO Designer Group; James Howley, Howley Hayes Architects; Brendan Dervan, Cundall Ireland Ltd; Dr. Nessa Roche, (who co-convened the M&E study day); and Jacqui Donnelly, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The full capacity study day, which was attended by 140 conservation architects, engineers, building contractors and architectural conservation officers, was a rare chance to hear about and discuss detailed, technical case studies of sensitively designed and fitted services. Case studies included: Russborough; National Gallery of Ireland; 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin Tenement Museum; Royal Academy of Arts, London; St. Catherine’s Church, D1; and Kilmainham Courthouse. The presentations showed the clear benefits of inter-disciplinary working amongst conservation professionals, project architects, building services engineers and contractors. Emmeline Henderson is Conservation Manager and Assistant Director of IGS.

The Georgians - The Great Irish Urbanists Simon Wall

In 1767, Hon. Peter Browne Kelly of Westport House, Co. Mayo, placed an advertisement in the Faulkner’s Dublin Journal on St. Patrick’s Day to tender for contract proposals from workmen according to “Plans and elevations already fixed upon, consisting of a large and elegant Market House, situated in the centre of an Octagon Area of 200 feet, and to be enclosed with twelve large well finished slated houses, together with three avenues for streets, of thirty slated houses”. Proposals were to be submitted to the Hon. Peter Browne Kelly, or William Leeson Esq. Architect. So began the genesis of one of Ireland’s finest set pieces of Georgian town planning, as Westport grew into a sequence of planned streets, civic buildings and public spaces. The construction of the new town of Westport was a small part of one of the most expansive building periods on this island, executed under the stewardship of the Irish Georgians, who in tandem with elegant estate houses, settled an urban network of towns, across a rural landscape, changing and influencing the social and economic way of life. The network of towns the Georgians both created and remodelled, were

about a day’s journey apart, allowing for convenient trade. These towns were designed and constructed with great care and uniformity, with an almost constant architectural palette around fine public gathering spaces, which still benefit and influence Irish society, to the present day. The stability of these towns and a strong societal, economic and architectural framework ensured their ability to endure as vibrant entities, regardless of many significant political changes. However, the advent of the motor car and of economic globalisation brought a change that heralded the demise in fortune of many rural Irish towns, as they were relegated almost beyond economic and social rehabilitation. The contemporary rejuvenation of such towns is complex but in the case of Westport, this was reinforced and structured by the commissioning and implementation of a Town Design Statement (TDS) in the late-1990s, essentially a visual design aid that maps out the potential for considered future development. This TDS, titled “Westport 2000”, was commissioned to mark the millennium by the then Town Council and gave Westport the ability to be proactive with development during the ‘Celtic Tiger’

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The network of towns the Georgians both created and remodelled, were about a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey apart, allowing for convenient trade. Towns were designed and constructed with great care and uniformity, with an almost constant architectural palette around fine public gathering spaces, which still benefit and influence Irish society, to the present day.

THE GEORGIANS - THE GREAT IRISH URBANISTS

period. Having this comprehensive design tool meant that the combined economic engines of the ‘Tiger’ and, in Westport’s case, Section 23 tax designation, could be harnessed as a force for positive change and rejuvenation. This brought significant investment, rejuvenating the town core both commercially and residentially. “Westport 2000” also drove a number of heritage-led rejuvenation initiatives, such as the undergrounding of utility poles and associated network wires. Natural slate and timber sliding sash windows were reinstated with the conservation areas. This, along with the removal of signage and lighting from many building frontages, assisted in the simplification of the palette of building materials within the town core as intended by its original architects. It also allowed the reinstatement of historic building lines where original buildings had been removed in the mid-20th century. Westport also gathered momentum in the National Tidy Towns competition, which acted as a catalyst in developing a positive collective community consciousness. Other competitions such as “Pride of Place” and the “Entente Florale” raised the town’s profile. Infrastructural initiatives such as “Smarter Travel” delivered a €5M spend for the town on cycling and walking infrastructure over a five-year period. This allowed the town to connect 70% of its residential areas with new urban greenways, reducing local car journeys and removing parking from some of its historic public realm spaces. Westport’s greenway network linked to the Western Greenway, interconnecting Achill Island and the towns of Mulranny, Newport and Westport, rejuvenating each town economically and terminating at Westport Harbour. Individually these initiatives deliver positive qualities and impact, but collectively they can become very potent, transforming a town and its quality of life. In 2013, The

Irish Times, through a national competition, deemed Westport to be “The Best Place to Live in Ireland”. A national sculpture competition to celebrate the win resulted in a fivemetre high bronze by Ronan Halpin, which became a focal point for a new town centre public realm space; this, in turn, won the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland “Public Choice Award 2016”. With its goal of a significant piece of town centre civic infrastructure each decade—past projects being a municipal pool and a cinema—the new 225 seat Town Hall theatre located on the Octagon is the venue for the annual Westport Festival of Chamber Music. This new €3M facility was delivered and is run, not by the Local Authority, but voluntarily, through a community investment company. Westport’s future goals focus on its connection with the ocean, and a Marina project is planned within the next decade. One of the most poignant pieces of development has been the creation of a new estate gate linking the town core and what remains of the town lawn of Westport House. In the late 1940s a movement had begun within the Town Council to acquire compulsorily, half of the front lawn of Westport House to construct social housing. In essence, this reflected the politics of a young nation establishing a new social order. This was resisted by the Browne family, and was the subject of an enquiry. In the words of Denis Browne, the 10th Marquess, “The result of the ‘enquiry’ was a foregone conclusion… damage to a notable piece of early town planning, permanent, unnecessary, and in the long term unbusinesslike. A classic case of modern vandalism.” The entrance to Westport House was no longer in the town core on the visual axis at the end of the Mall as designed, but now, two miles away at Westport Quay. The new 2013 estate gates gesture, somewhat, towards redress and a reconnect between the house and town once again. The value and time that 18th-century Georgians invested in town planning

has left this nation with a wonderful legacy, and have afforded many generations of Irish townspeople with a very fine quality of life and sense of belonging. Their urban design template, despite its age, sits comfortably in a modern world. We would do well to examine and be inspired by this model, and to reinforce the rural Irish town as the great benefactor of our nation. Simon Wall has been Town Architect to the Town of Westport, Co Mayo, for almost two decades. He presents extensively on Westport’s recent rejuvenation as a positive template for the rehabilitation of the rural Irish Town.

To celebrate its 250th year, Westport will host, in association with the Irish Georgian Society, a Study Day on 10th November 2017 in the Drawing Room of Westport House, this will be an opportunity to learn about the history of the town, house and influence of the Irish Georgians’ stewardship on the development of this island.

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Previous page Ordnance Survey, 1839 (Reproduced courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) 01 Town of Westport and Clew Bay by James Arthur O’Connor, 1825 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) 02 The Octagon in the 1960s 03 The Octagon in Westport Town, as seen today (Photo by Leo McMorrow) 04 The New 225 Seat Town Hall Theatre in Westport Town

Restrained Elegance Alec Cobbe

Johannes Voorhout, Lady in an Interior, in its Newbridge frame, oil on canvas, Cobbe Collection

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Described by a Beresford relation as “clever and agreeable & the most gifted of all [her] Sisters”, Lady Betty Cobbe, rather than her husband Thomas, has been credited in family tradition as the eye and mind behind the furnishing and beautification of Newbridge House during the 1750s and 60s. She and her husband had been given the house on their marriage in 1755, newly rebuilt to the designs of James Gibbs by Thomas’s father, Charles, Archbishop of Dublin. Notwithstanding, Lady Betty, the youngest of the six daughters of Marcus, Earl of Tyrone, leaves an almost invisible footprint in the extensive Cobbe papers. An account book given her in 1756 by her fatherin-law, the Archbishop, she kept up for a dozen pages or so before she handed it to her husband. Those few pages, a couple of letters concerning property or financial matters and inscriptions of her name in a number of her books, are all that survive of her handwriting. From Thomas there is much more. There are a diary, a commonplace book and letters from which to form an idea of his character. It is thanks to his detailed accounts for the periods 1756–65 and 1783–1810, and, above all, the high survival rate of their pictures, furniture and chattels at Newbridge, that the taste of the couple becomes manifest. In the accounts we see them enlivening the somewhat sober character of the Archbishop’s house with ornamental urns and eagles to the exterior, and stuccowork, paintings, porcelain, silver and furniture within. That Lady Betty was a strong character can be seen in the large Beresford family group painted by John Astley at Curraghmore, where she takes centre stage amongst the nine adult children arranged around their parents. We know that, like her husband, she was musical and would possess at least two harpsichords, a spinet and a forte piano by the Saxon maker Ferdinand Weber, who established himself in Dublin in 1749. Did she commission the painting by Zoffany of her eldest brother,

George, 1st Marquess of Waterford, in the Cobbe Collection, or did he present it to her? Was she the real inspiration behind her husband’s collection of Dutch and Italian Old Masters, for which they added to Newbridge in 1764 a large drawing room that served as a picture gallery? The room was added to the old house, entered through a grand Corinthian doorcase in a vestibule with niches for sculpture on either side. Their great room, with exuberant stuccowork by Richard Williams, was hung exclusively with Old Masters, including works by Hobbema, Ruysdael, Gaspar Dughet and Van de Velde. An unusually large Dutch interior masterpiece by the obscure Johannes Voorhout, sold in Paris in 1764 a few months prior to the completion of the room, is notable; from the same Paris auction came a particularly fine Italianate landscape by Abraham Begeyn. While Dutch pictures predominated, Italian masters included a fine Guercino, St. John the Baptist, and a Venetian rendition of Bernardo Strozzi’s Concert. In these purchases the couple were assisted by the Archbishop’s private secretary, Matthew Pilkington, vicar of the estate village of Donabate and author of the Gentleman’s and Connoisseur’s Dictionary of Painters published in 1770, the first work of its kind in the English language. There was a campaign of carved and gilt Dublinmade frames, some in livery types, and others individually conceived, though not as elaborately showy as some documented Irish frames of this period. The walls of the general ground floor rooms of the original house were hung with Cobbe family portraits, many also fitted with livery frames, to which Lady Betty added two oil portraits of herself and introduced, as well as the Zoffany of brother George, portraits of her two other brothers, John and William, by Robert Hunter and Hugh Douglas Hamilton respectively, together with miniatures of their wives. Now it is Thomas who is near-invisible—two

tiny miniatures and a small-size oval gouache in gouty middle age are his only surviving likenesses. The ordinary rooms on the piano nobile were also provided with ornamental plaster by “Williams the stucco man”, who was so much employed at Newbridge that he actually got married there to the Cobbe children’s nurse. In 1761, one of the rooms was hung with Chinese painted paper panels linked with a treillage of cut-out bamboo and fitted out as ‘ye Ark’, or Cabinet of Curiosities. For this, Lady Betty’s initial purchases had been notinsignificant sums laid out on exotic shells—perhaps unsurprising, given that in the years preceding her marriage, she had doubtless assisted her mother, the Countess of Tyrone, with the shell house at Curraghmore. In 1758, during a sojourn in London, the couple had bought quantities of porcelain, both Chinese and English Bow and Derby. Exceptionally large Chinese pots decorated in rouge de fer, have Thomas’s initials fired into the inside of the lids, so were probably a special commission. On their journeys to Bath they stopped over in Worcester, visiting the newly established porcelain works and commissioning one of the largest Worcester dessert and dinner services on record, complete with matching porcelain handles fitted to Irish cutlery. Some of the many rococo carved gilt looking glasses they had made, were fitted with little platforms to display porcelain. China figures and vases were also placed on gilt wall brackets, one incorporating a figure of Apollo and a swan (doubly appropriate since the Cobbe heraldic devices are swans). This must have originally had a pair with the figure of winged Victory, since an original pair survive at Felbrigg; they are attributed to the London sculptor John Cheere, and therefore the Cobbes probably bought theirs during the 1758 visit to the capital. In his approach to the works at Newbridge, it is clear that Thomas had inherited some of the reticent characteristics of his father, who

RESTRAINED ELEGANCE

commissioned one of the greatest architects of the era to build a relatively modest villa, having rejected an initial palatial proposal on the scale of Leinster House. Their expansion of the house to some extent palatialised it inside, but again, although this resulted in one of the grander interiors in Ireland, the furniture they commissioned for it, and elsewhere throughout the house, was restrained. While the collection of pictures was extensive and contained fine works, it was by no means extravagant by the standards of the age. Nothing in Newbridge has the flamboyance of the Milltowns at Russborough. With her ancient Norman and Irish lineage, his of three centuries of solid Hampshire squirearchy, and no shortage of cash, they chose to eschew overostentation. We will never be quite sure, though, whose was the dominant taste of the two. Thomas and Lady Betty were to suffer acute financial reversals towards the end of the century due to mismanagement of his estates. Despite these, or perhaps because of them, what they created at Newbridge survives largely intact, having escaped the dangers of 19thcentury wealth and ‘improvements’. This is strikingly illustrated by a comment in Frances Power Cobbe’s autobiography of 1894: “So far was Newbridge from a Castle Rackrent that though much in it of the furniture and decorations belonged to the previous century, everything was kept in perfect order and repair”. Alec Cobbe divides his time between Newbridge House, where he grew up, and Hatchlands Park in Surrey, combining his conservation activities with the design of historic interiors and practice as an artist.

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01 Johann Zoffany, Portrait of George De La Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford, in its Newbridge livery frame, oil on canvas, Cobbe Collection 02 Irish School, 18th century, Lady Betty in a costume evocative of Mary Queen of Scots, miniature, Cobbe Collection 03 Carved and gilt pier glass with platforms for porcelain, attributed to James Robinson, c. 1760, Cobbe Collection 04 Wall bracket with figure of Apollo, attributed to John Cheere, plaster, 1758, with a replica of its pair moulded from Felbrigg Hall, Cobbe (Photo by Alexey Moskvin) 05 A plate and cutlery handles from the Cobbe Worcester service, c. 1763, Cobbe (Photo by Alexey Moskvin) 06 Corinthian doorcase to the Drawing Room, Newbridge, c. 1764 (Photo by Alexey Moskvin)

From Warden’s House to Myrtle Grove Peter Murray

In an article in the Irish Times of 2nd April 2011, “How do you fix a broken town?”, Carl O’Brien described setbacks experienced by the seaside town of Youghal in recent decades; he catalogued factories forced to close, along with hotels, cinemas and shops. O’Brien attributed much of this decline to planning decisions, enabling supermarkets to be built on the periphery; however similar businesses have been located on the outskirts of other Irish towns, with less negative effect. O’Brien looked back over six hundred years of Youghal’s history, to the time, in the 15th century, when it was one of the important port in Ireland, rivalling Bristol in wealth and trading activity. The story of Youghal’s decline has also been chronicled by local history teacher Michael Twomey, in Town Out of Time, a film highlighting the seemingly fatalistic attitude that accompanied the economic downturn in the town’s fortunes.

Entrance of Myrtle Grove, Youghal, Co. Cork (Image courtesy of Fáilte Ireland)

As is often the case, the key to reviving the fortunes of Youghal lies in the fabric of the town itself, in its fascinating history and extraordinary architectural heritage. The term

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FROM WARDENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HOUSE TO MYRTLE GROVE

The key to reviving the fortunes of Youghal lies in the fabric of the town itself, in its fascinating history and extraordinary architectural heritage.

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

“steeped in history” is apt for this once-thriving seaport. Youghal has a rich past, peopled with individuals such as the Earls of Desmond, Sir Walter Raleigh and Richard Boyle. From early Viking origins, it grew into a settler community, inhabited by relative newcomers, who gradually assimilated into Irish life while also retaining a separate identity. Celebrated as the leader of a failed rebellion against Queen Elizabeth, Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, came from a powerful Anglo-Norman family, based in Askeaton, which held sway over much of Munster. In 1464, a century before the 15th Earl’s ill-fated rebellion, under a charter granted by Thomas Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Desmond, Richard Benet restored St. Mary’s Abbey in Youghal and founded a college of choristers. There was prosperity in Cork at the time; Kilcrea Abbey was founded the following year, by Cormac MacCarthy, while Glanworth, founded by the Roche family, dates from 1470. However St. Mary’s Abbey was already a venerable building in Benet’s time; the original roof beams survive and have been dated to the late 12th century. Referred to in 1464 as “Our Lady’s College of Yoghill”, it was mentioned thirty years later in a papal bull as the “university of the city of Youghal”. Apart from the monastery schools, this was the earliest college of higher education in Ireland, pre-dating Trinity College in Dublin by over a century. Benet also built himself a mortuary chapel in St. Mary’s, in which he and his wife Ellis Barry are interred. Working out what survives of this early centre of worship and learning at Youghal has exercised antiquarians and architectural historians over the years. The building known today as “The College”, a square three-storey Georgian house, with circular towers at the corners, located immediately to the south of St. Mary’s Abbey, is not of much help in solving the puzzle. Extensively remodelled over the centuries, little remains of its original structure. On the other

hand the Warden’s House, the Tudor house located north of the abbey and now called Myrtle Grove, is very old. Both College and Warden’s House are mentioned in old accounts of Youghal, and appear almost interchangeable. For example, in 1522, John Bennett, last pre-reformation Bishop in the diocese of Cork and Cloyne, and Warden of St. Mary’s, is recorded as living in “the College”, hinting that Myrtle Grove may have had a dual role at that time, as home for both choristers’ college and warden. Later in the sixteenth century - following this theory - the new College was completed and choristers and fellows were housed in the new building, leaving Myrtle Grove for the exclusive use of the Warden. In time it became the townhouse of the Earl of Desmond, for use when he was in Youghal. In 1579, during the Desmond Rebellion, the Earl was reduced to destroying his own property and Youghal was occupied for one week by his troops, who plundered and ransacked the town, stabling their horses in the Abbey. Although the College and St. Mary’s Abbey were both vandalized during this period, Myrtle Grove appears to have been escaped serious damage. After the suppression of the Rebellion, Walter Raleigh, who had served in the army, was granted over forty thousand acres of the Earl of Desmond’s land, including properties in Lismore and Youghal. He used both towns as a base over the next seventeen years, serving as Mayor of Youghal in 1588/89. In 1602, Richard Boyle purchased Raleigh’s estates in Ireland, including the College in Youghal. As a wealthy medieval church establishment, the College came with several thousand acres of land, endowed over the centuries. One account has Raleigh selling his property to Boyle, who paid for it in three instalments, each of five hundred pounds. In 1617, when Raleigh was leading an expedition to America, Boyle, perhaps feeling guilty about having got the better side of the deal, helped fit out ships for the voyage. However, travelling up the Orinoco, one of Raleigh’s captains attacked a Spanish settlement and

on his return to England Raleigh was tried for treason, and shortly afterwards beheaded, outside the Tower of London. This left Boyle free to create an agricultural, banking and business empire, bringing infrastructural development to Munster, and founding the towns of Bandon and Clonakilty. The future Earl of Cork immediately set to work, carrying out extensive renovations at Lismore Castle and Youghal, in many cases finishing work that Raleigh had begun during his brief tenure. Boyle lived in the College, rather than Myrtle Grove, which he leased to William Parsons. Myrtle Grove house is therefore a key element in an architectural complex, bounded by the town walls, that includes St. Mary’s Abbey, the College, and various gate-houses, outbuildings and stables. The town wall that bounds Myrtle Grove is high - around thirty feet high, and very solid, and it was this that enabled the house to be built unfortified, with large windows - unusual for the time in Ireland. The house has changed little over the years. Above three gables that dominate the front façade, a roof ridge runs parallel with the spine of the house and is surmounted by five tall chimneystacks. Three of these rise from apexes of gables to the rear, with one more at each end of the house. The chimneystack at the north end is particularly massive; the wall where it rises is ten feet thick, and almost certainly dates from late medieval times, representing the oldest part of the house. The windows on the front, facing east, were enlarged at some point; the originals would probably have had stone mullions, as at the Ormond house at Carrick-on-Suir. At Myrtle Grove, the principal rooms are on the first floor, and have the largest windows. The present windows in the house, frames and glass, date mainly from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. All are Georgian in style; those at the rear are hinged while the front windows lack the counterweights needed for sliding sashes. A stone porch protects the front door and also supports a large

FROM WARDEN’S HOUSE TO MYRTLE GROVE

bay window above: on the south side another bay window allows light into the first floor room known as the Oak Room, or Raleigh’s Room. Raleigh referred fondly to his “Oriel window” at Youghal, and a similar window can be found over the front door of his childhood home, Hayes Barton in Devon. Although finding nearby comparisons with the Elizabethan elements of Myrtle Grove is not easy, a range of buildings that once formed the south-west wing of Lismore Castle had many points in common. Photographed by Francis Edmund Currey in the 1840s, shortly before their demolition, this range had gabled roofs facing towards the courtyard, with chimneystacks rising from the apexes. While not as massive as those at Myrtle Grove, the Lismore gables and chimneys are nonetheless comparable. This gable-fronted style, common in domestic Tudor buildings, was also found in colleges such as Exeter, Christchurch and Oriel, as recorded in David Loggan’s Oxonia Illustrata of 1675. However there are few images or engravings of Myrtle Grove from these times. Although he did not mention the house itself, in 1680 Thomas Dineley made a crude drawing of Youghal that was later included in the book of his travels, published in the mid-nineteenth century. The engraving shows Myrtle Grove, identifiable by three large chimneystacks and three gables. In front is another, lower, building, with four gables. To the left stands an ecclesiastical building or church, with a lower building alongside - two very tall chimneystacks suggest it might be a refectory. In front is a battlemented gatehouse, while the whole ensemble is surrounded by fortified walls. As was often the case in those times, this engraving may be partly based on observation and partly on written accounts. The nearby College was substantially rebuilt by Richard Boyle in the early seventeenth century, when circular defensive towers, similar to examples found at Lismore Castle, were incorporated, one at each corner. Lismore has a yew walk, as does Myrtle Grove. Such

links between Lismore and Myrtle Grove certainly dates back to the Raleigh-Boyle era, but may predate it, to a time when both Lismore Castle and the College and Warden’s House at Youghal were ecclesiastical residences. In a survey of Myrtle Grove, drawn by architect W. C. Ryder in 1893, the main upstairs room, with its oak panelling and carved chimneypiece, is marked “The Oak Room”. Possibly modelled on the “Great Oak Room” of the Red Lodge in Bristol, created in the late 1570s by merchant John Young, this room at Myrtle Grove is dominated by an elaborate oak chimneypiece, extending from floor to ceiling, containing carved representations of Faith, Hope and Charity, along with ‘Sheelagh-naGig’- like figures. Although more modest than the stone carvings found in medieval Irish churches, these figures, legs and arms akimbo, are part of that same tradition. While most of the chimneypiece is in the ‘Elizabethan Exeter’ style, the carving is very individual and appears to be by the one, perhaps local, hand. Two flanking hermaphrodite figures, bearing pineapples, suggest a connection with Raleigh. Several rooms at Myrtle Grove are wainscoted in dark oak panels, said to have been salvaged from monasteries suppressed during the Reformation. Behind one section was discovered, in the nineteenth century, a cache of books hidden at an unknown date. The books included a Biblical compendium, printed at Mantua in 1479, and Peter Comestor’s 1483 Historia Scolastica. While Myrtle Grove has had many owners and occupiers over the centuries, the present owners, the Murrays, are descendants of Lawrence Parsons, who in 1616 leased Myrtle Grove from Richard Boyle. In 1661, Parsons’s grandson leased the house to Robert Hedges, whose son sold it to John Atkin, who in turn bequeathed it to his grandson John Hayman. When Walter Atkin Hayman died in 1816, it went to Joseph Wakefield Pim, and in 1874 was purchased by John Pope Hennessy. Twenty

years later Sir Henry Blake bought Myrtle Grove and commissioned architect W. C. Ryder to survey the house. Conveyancing took years to complete, due to the complicated title and many owners. Dating the architecture is equally complicated: the house is essentially fifteenth or sixteenth century; the Oak Room with its large chimneypiece probably dates from Raleigh’s time, while the windows were probably enlarged in the seventeenth century. The rooms were probably panelled in the post-Reformation period. The present windows date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The staircase may follow the general pattern of the original, but was certainly reconfigured in nineteenth century, at a time when outbuildings and a small courtyard were added at the north end of the house. In the 1890s, the Blakes carried out improvements, including digging away ground at the rear, and shortening the chimneystacks— while tall today, they were even taller before 1895. The Blakes also set up a museum of Asian art, in a former brewery at the rear of the house, while the entrance hall at Myrtle Grove was embellished with a dazzling array of botanical watercolours painted by Edith Blake, painted while she was in the West Indies and in Asia. Downstairs, in the library, is a marble bust of Lady Blake, carved in 1862 by the celebrated Florentine sculptor Pio Fedi (18151892) when she was just eighteen years old. One of the Osborne family of Newtown Anner in Co. Tipperary, Edith had eloped with an RIC inspector named Henry Blake, much to her parents’ disapproval. The marriage was a success however and Blake’s subsequent career as a colonial administrator brought them to Newfoundland, the West Indies and Asia. After he had served as governor of Jamaica, Bahamas, Hong Kong and Ceylon, with Edith taking an active role in improving health and education facilities wherever they were stationed, the couple retired to Myrtle Grove, where they lived

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

until the 1920s. Their tombs are side by side, close to house, in a small grove of trees, just outside the town walls. Their daughter Olive married Jack Arbuthnot, army officer and ADC to her father. Jack was also a talented artist, who in 1916 sketched portraits of Roger Casement, whilst the latter was imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of treason. Olive and Jack had six children, four sons and two daughters. Their son Bernard served as a naval officer in the Second World War, leading a squadron of landing craft at Walcheren in 1944. He was awarded a DSC, later founded a fishermans’ cooperative in Youghal, and was a keen member of the local lifeboat crew. Bernard’s youngest sister Patricia, who spent some of her childhood at Youghal, married the radical journalist Claud Cockburn and herself was a talented writer and artist. Her time at Youghal is recorded in the autobiographical Figure of Eight, while her shell pictures, made in the eighteenthcentury manner with shells collected from the seashore, are fine and delicate works of art. Myrtle Grove survives into the twenty-first century under the stewardship of Bernard’s daughter Shirley Murray, her son Simon, and her daughter Iona, who lives in the house. While Myrtle Grove is a private family residence, in Youghal there is much to enthral visitors bent in search of Irish history and the legacies of remarkable men and women. Town walls, college, almshouses and friaries—all can be found within a short distance of the Clock Tower, a venerable structure that straddles the town’s main street, as it has done for centuries, where in old times prisoners languished before being hanged, and nowadays tour guides bring the town’s vibrant history to life. Peter Murray is the former Director of Crawford Art Gallery Cork.

01 Front elevation of Myrtle Grove by Architect W. C. Ryder, c. 1893 02 Cmdr. Bernard and Rosemary Arbuthnot, c. 1940 (Photo courtesy of Iona Murray) 03 Title page of W. C. Ryder folio for Mrytle Grove, c. 1893 04 Edith Blake watercolours in Myrtle Grove 05 Detail of piper from Myrtle Grove oak chimneypiece 06 Detail of hermaphrodite from Myrtle Grove oak chimney piece

Events Round-Up RĂłisĂn Lambe

Over the last twelve months, IGS members and friends have been enjoying the Winter and Spring series of lectures, city walking tours and day-long trips exploring further afield to discover some wonderful houses and buildings.

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

EVENTS ROUND-UP

Pat Murray led a day tour to counties Meath and Westmeath in September. The group was first welcomed to Hamwood House, owned by Charles Hamilton, who kindly gave the group a tour of the small 1770s Palladian house, notable for its central block joined to little octagonal wings connected to the house by curved wings. Following a lunch in Gothic Tullynally Castle, the group was given a tour around the main rooms by local historian Bartle D’Arcy. Turbotstown House was next—owned and restored by Peter and Cha Cha Bland, the classically sized house has architectural details attributed to Francis Johnston. We had a fantastic—if too short—visit, led by Glascott Symes, to see some great houses in Yorkshire. Based just outside the walls of York City, the highlight, albeit one of many, was a day-long visit to spectacular Castle Howard with its Temple of the Winds and Mausoleum, with Christopher Ridgway as our guide. Other houses visited were Temple Newsam; Sledmere, home of the Sykes family with a wonderful hammam; Burton Constable; Fairfax House in York where we had a reception with the York Civic Trust; and on our final day, despite the rain the glorious Harewood House by John Carr with plasterwork by Robert Adam. In November, Joe Brennan gave members a tour of Iveagh House, which is now home to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Iveagh House was gifted to the state in the 1930s by the Guinness family; originally, it was two houses (80 and 81 St. Stephen’s Green) purchased by Benjamin Guinness in 1862. The Winter/Spring Lecture Series ran from December to May in 2016. There were varied subjects and speakers. In December, Patricia McCarthy gave an interesting lecture on her research that informed her recent publication, Life in the Country house in Georgian Ireland. Attendees were treated to room-byroom views of country houses dotted around Ireland. Next in the series, Dr. Matthew Jebb gave a fascinating talk on his family home on Lambay Island and the iconic work of Lutyens in extending

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the castle for his ancestors, Cecil and Maude Baring, in the early 1900s. He recalled memories of all the animals that lived on the island, introduced by his family who were keen naturalists. William Laffan opened the February talks with a lecture titled “Thomas Roberts (1748-1777) and His Patrons: A tour of Georgian Ireland”, beautifully presented with illustrations of Roberts’ work with an insight to Roberts’ movements and relationships with his patrons in Ireland. Also in February, Kevin Mulligan led us on a tour of the grand houses and church of South Ulster called “From jangling steeples to hill rimmed houses: The Buildings of South Ulster” showcasing the varying styles and range the area boasts. In March, we had a special lecture with the 2016 recipients of the Desmond Guinness scholarship and prize. Dr. Bláithín Hurley gave us an insight into her research on Cork-born artist Daniel Maclise, his early life and training in Cork, his sketching excursions and how this informed his work later in life. Myles McKenna delved into his research on Castletown’s alterations during the year’s 1729 to 1754 by William James Conolly, which was illuminated by his research on the Wentworth papers. In April, Adrian Le Harivel gave an intriguing and informative lecture titled “Music under the Georges”, which looked at Dublin as a major musical city with a range of public and private spaces that influenced choice of composers and works performed. There was a range of illustrations of longdisappeared buildings, and attendees were also treated to snippets of contemporary music. Also in April was Christiaan Corlett’s lecture “Wicklow’s Traditional Farmhouses”, which looked at the construction of traditional thatched cottages and how these structures are monuments to the craftspeople, but also to the ways of life and culture of the time. The series ended with a very special evening dedicated to the work of the Irish Landmark Trust, which recently marked its 25th anniversary. Dr. Edward McParland gave a talk on the work of the Irish Landmark

Trust throughout the years, starting with its early work in 63 Merrion Square. The evening ended with drinks in the mews building to the rear of number 63, which was restored by the Irish Landmark Trust. The 2016 Christmas Party was held in Rathfarnham’s Marlay House, originally built c. 1690 by Thomas Taylor. The house was acquired by David La Touche in the 1760s and subsequently extended. It was renamed Marlay House for his wife Elizabeth Marlay. Members enjoyed refreshments in the festively decorated rooms, which boast beautiful plasterwork attributed to Michael Stapleton.

A library tour led by James Paul McDonnell visited the special Edward Worth library in Dr. Steevens’ Hospital, which has a collection of books (1676-1733) bequeathed to the hospital by Edward Worth, a Dublin physician who was governor and benefactor of the Hospital. It is a rare and varied collection, reflecting Worth’s many interests. There are medical books, ancient and modern (18th century), related sciences, then philosophy, the classics and history. These sit in specially made bookshelves. The group then visited St. Patrick’s Hospital where they met the current archivist and viewed some items of interest. The tour concluded with a visit to Royal Hospital Kilmainham. In May, there was another day tour, led by Pat Murray, visiting the Castles of North Dublin. Starting off with a tour of Malahide Castle, owned by the Talbot family for nearly 800 years, and sold to the state in 1975, when it was inherited by Rose Talbot through her brother, 7th Baron Talbot. Next, members had a tour of Ardgillan Castle. By 1737, the property and demesne had been acquired by the Reverend Robert Taylor, one of the Headfort Taylors. Ardgillan remained the Taylor (later changed to Taylour) family home for more than 200 years, until 1962 when the estate was sold to Heinrich Potts of Westphalia, Germany. In 1982, Dublin County Council purchased Ardgillan Demesne. We made a quick stop to visit the recently reconstructed Swords Castle and Keep. The group had lunch in Clontarf Castle before going to Howth Castle for a tour of

Previous page Meath Picnic Tour, with the Dangan Obelisk in the background 01 Tour of Lambay Island, July 2017 02 Sledmere, Yorkshire 03 Dr Nicola Gordon Bowe with Desmond Guinness scholarship recipients, Aisling Durkan and Fidelma Mullane 04 Zoë Coleman and Ruth Griffin at the Christmas Party in Marlay Park House, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin

EVENTS ROUND-UP

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05 Tour of Iveagh House, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 06 Nick Robinson and Edward McParland at the Irish Landmark Trust 25th Anniversary lecture, 63 Merrion Square 07 Tour of Áras an Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park, Dublin 08 Kildrought House, Celbridge, Co Kildare where members enjoyed tea and cakes at the end of an interesting day trip 09 Seamus Hogan and Edwina Hogan at the Summer Party, Knockanree Gardens, Avoca, Co. Wicklow 10 Young Irish Georgians at the Summer Party, Knockanree Gardens

the main reception rooms, including the Lutyens designed library and the cookery school. In June, we went to Castletown House and Leixlip Castle. Rose Mary Craig, board member and early years volunteer, led a tour that revisited the buildings connected to the early days of the Irish Georgian Society. We visited Leixlip Castle, home of Desmond and Penny Guinness, before going on to Castletown House where we had a tour of the grounds with Finola O’Kane Crimmins, author of Landscape Design in Eighteenth-Century Ireland, who has done extensive research on the development of the designed landscape of Castletown by Lady Louisa Conolly. The group had lunch in Castletown House followed by a guided tour of the house. The 2017 Summer Garden Party was held at Knockanree Gardens near Avoca in Co. Wicklow. Harold Clarke kindly hosted a party for members in his gardens, developed over the last twenty years and influenced by gardens in many different countries. There are European and Indian sculptures, a Japanese Zen circle, a Chinese bridge and a French parterre. Members were shown around the gardens by Harold, followed by speeches, a raffle and refreshments. There was a Summer Picnic Tour to Co. Meath in July led by Pat Murray and Christopher Gray. They were assisted by local historian and councillor Noel French. The first stop was Larchill Arcadian Gardens, which has a beautifully designed landscape with 10 follies dotted throughout. Larchill has a Ferme Ornée, a feature of a popular 18th-century landscape gardening movement that saw a country estate laid out partly according to aesthetic principles and partly for farming. The group then stopped at a grotto constructed on the Summerhill estate, after which we visited Agher Church to visit the recently restored Thomas Jervais painted enamel stained glass window. Also on the intinerary was the restored

Dangan Obelisk, where we were surprised with a welcomed glass of Buck’s Fizz. Members were received and had lunch at Higginsbrook, home to the Gray family. After lunch, there was a quick stop to see the current works at Trimblestown Castle and Graveyard. The last stop on the tour was St. Mary’s Abbey near Trim, a house neighbouring an old Augustinian monastery. Additionally, we held our regular Dublinbased walking tours with the informative Arran Henderson, Joseph Lynch and Ruth Griffin. Areas covered included the Liberties, Grangegorman, Ballsbridge, Dublin Docklands, North Inner City, South William Street and Merrion Square. Thank you to all those who contributed text and photographs for this year’s Event Round Up. Roisin Lambe is IGS Membership and Events Coordinator

Chapter Reports Elizabeth Fogarty, Ailish Drake, Kevin Hurley, Ashleigh Murray & Michael G. Kerrigan

With Chapters in Birr, Cork and Limerick in Ireland, and overseas in London, New York, Chicago, Boston and Austin, members can enjoy talks and events in Ireland and abroad as the various reports for happenings over the last twelve months show.

IRL

Ireland

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

Birr/Midlands Chapter Elizbeth Fogarty The Birr/Midlands Chapter continued its interest in the Birr FAN (famous and notables) trail in 2016/2017. There are currently 25 blue plaques around the town dedicated to, inter alia, Dame Nelly Melba, who was married to a native of Ferbane and once gave a concert at Dooley’s hotel, Birr; Eamon Bulfin, revolutionary and diplomat and Jim Connell who wrote the iconic song ‘The Red Flag’ and spent some time as a young man with his family on the Castle Demesne in Birr in the late-19th century.

A generous grant received from Birr Municipal District in the 2016 financial year enabled the initiative. Offaly County Council has also given its support by including the brochures on its website (www.visitoffaly.ie). Additional brochures and flyers have since been prepared for the 2017 tourist season and can be viewed on: www.tinyurl.com/FANtrail The 22nd annual meeting of the Chapter took place in November with an address from the Chapter Head and a report from the Chair. Both expressed satisfaction with the activities of the previous year. In particular the Chapter Head mentioned the continued positive contacts with Offaly County Council whilst the Chair was pleased with the events of year, in particular the loyalty of the Committee members who animated the 10 committee meetings held in the 2016/2017 season. Events during the year: – Annual Christmas party: this took place at Birr Castle on 21st December, graciously hosted by Lord and Lady Rosse. We were also lucky enough to welcome Dr. David Fleming, then Chair of Irish Georgian Foundation and Donal Burke Member of Galway County Council to the event. – Visit of Heritage Officer, Offaly County Council: Amanda Pedlow, Heritage Officer, Offaly County Council and good friend of the Chapter attended the meeting

of Monday 13th March 2017. She debriefed the Committee on the 2017 heritage programme of Offaly County Council launched in the context of the Creative Ireland 2017-2022 programme and encouraged us to submit an application; this was done in May 2017 but unfortunately did not succeed this time. – St Patrick’s Day drinks: local Birr/ Midlands Chapter members were invited to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, kindly hosted by our Chair John Joyce at his home in Birr. – Excursion to Northern Ireland (10th/11th June) This was a most enjoyable and informative event, all of which was efficiently organised by Gerry Browne, Treasurer. – Day one included visits to Oldbridge House, Battle of the Boyne Centre; Castle Ward at Strangford, Co Down; and Mount Stewart house and gardens where we were hosted by Lady Rose Lauritzen and her husband Peter Lauritzen. Their warm welcome, amazing erudition and great passion

for the property made our visit the highlight of the tour. Their very generous reception at the end, leading from the drawing room to the terrace, was particularly memorable and greatly appreciated by the group. – Day two saw a visit to the Royal Palace and gardens of Hillsborough, then onwards to Ardress House and The Argory. – 4th August 2017, Birr Vintage week: in what is now becoming an annual event, a tour of the FAN (Famous and Notables) trail was animatedly led by John Joyce, Chair, Birr/Midlands Chapter. Elizabeth Fogarty Chapter Secretary

01 Birr/Miidlands Chapter visit to Northern Ireland, June 2017 group photo at Mount Stewart

IRL

Ireland

Limerick Chapter Ailish Drake It has been an eventful year for Limerick, and I can only say that there is a growing sense of optimism and excitement for the future of our city. There is a reawakening to the opportunities presented by the revitalisation of our magnificent historic centre—however, there are also challenges, obstacles and misconceptions that must be overcome. The role of the Limerick Chapter in the future of Limerick is an important one. While we understand the importance of preserving the architectural heritage of our city, we also must convince others of the value of its unique characteristics, which in time will attract a new generation of people to live in Limerick City Centre. The townhouses of Newtown Pery can offer an alternative for young professionals who want to live in a vibrant, peoplefriendly downtown. Our historic streets can become pedestrian-oriented spaces, an alternative to car-dependent living of suburbia. The Limerick Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society continues its efforts to promote the value of Newtown Pery through talks, projects and engagement in public consultation. In the last year we were honoured to have Eamon O’Flaherty, Dr. David Fleming and John Elliot speak on Limerick’s history and development in the 18th and 19th centuries. We had informed discussions on the importance of masterplanning, urban design and the re-use of historic structures with architects Simon Wall and Margaret Quinlan. Artist and photographer Deirdre Power brought us to 21st-century Limerick, its lanes and roofscapes, views usually unseen or unnoticed. However, the Limerick Chapter also identified the need for more action to be taken on the ground. With limited resources but unlimited enthusiasm and considerable expertise in building conservation, the chapter began fundraising this year for a Small Works Public Realm Grant Scheme for Newtown Pery. With a severe lack of conservation grant funding available in recent years,

little has been done to maintain or repair the historic built fabric of Georgian Limerick. The privately owned public realm of Limerick—that is, its historic railings, steps, kerbs and doorcases—has fallen into severe disrepair, portraying a negative and disadvantaged view of the city. Owners of these buildings require both access to conservation expertise and financial support. A tangible project, carried out in Limerick to show how minor works to historic fabric can bring about a major change in mindset, will instil a sense of place, ownership and pride in Limerick and its Georgian heritage. With thanks to the support of our members, The Irish Georgian Foundation, Limerick City and County Council and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, funding is now in place for a pilot scheme, with works beginning in September 2017. This year, we have collaborated closely with organisations, bodies, businesses and individuals with an interest in the future of Limerick City. Using the hashtag #liveablelimerick, together, we have being actively involved in the public consultation process for the O’Connell Street Urban Revitalisation Scheme. Following the presentation of the preferred option by Limerick City and County Council in June, there was much discussion in mainstream and social media, resulting in over 200 public submissions. O’Connell Street in Limerick is one of the great Georgian streets of Europe. However, its current status as a through-traffic thoroughfare in the city centre has made it an unpleasant and unsafe place for pedestrian users. Heavy vehicular traffic is also putting undue pressure on the significant historic fabric of street, both above and below ground. While our submission acknowledged that efforts have been made to reduce traffic and prioritise the pedestrian, we submitted that their proposals do not go far enough. While two lanes of one-way through traffic is maintained on our main street, Limerick can never

become a people-first, liveable city. Our full submission can be read on the IGS website (www.bit.ly/IGSLimerick0617). Finally, I wish to thank Sir David Davies for his support throughout the year. We were kindly invited to a wonderful lunch and tour of Abbey Leix House and Demesne in May. All proceeds of the tour went towards the historic railings fund. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to welcome Sir David Davies to Limerick on 21st September 2017, when William Laffan spoke at the Knight of Glin Memorial Lecture. Our final tour of 2017 was to Ledwithstown and Tullynally Castle. Ailish Drake, Chapter Head B Arch. Sc., MA MRAI

01 Limerick Chapter members at Abbey Leix for a tour of the House and Demense in May 2017

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

Cork Chapter Kevin Hurley We closed 2016 with a superb day on Saturday, 19th November 2016, organised by Geraldine O’Riordan with the title, “Banking and the Decorative Arts”. The first part of the visit brought members to AIB at 66 South Mall, Cork, specially opened on the day for our visit. A tour of the building followed, including the toplit banking hall, the staircase hall and the board-room, all with the recurring Greek key pattern. From the bank, we made the short journey to the Cork Education Training Board in Bishopstown, where we were escorted by our own Geraldine O’Riordan to the decorative arts section. Gerry Fitzgibbon, head of the Decorative Arts section, gave us a brief guided tour illustrating different aspects of the training provided to students. Geraldine gave us a marbling demonstration, while Gerry displayed his skills in sign-writing with gold leaf on the glass by making a sign with the name Irish Georgian Society that has been presented to the office in Dublin by Geraldine O’Riordan! We rounded off the day with a lovely lunch in Hayfield Manor, organised by Alicia St. Leger. Thanks to Geraldine O’Riordan for this exceptional and wonderful experience. Our 2017 programme opened on a beautiful Saturday morning on the 28th January with a visit to the Crawford Art Gallery organised by Dr. Alicia St. Leger to view the exhibition “Made in Cork”, curated by Vera Ryan who delivered a very engaging lecture to the members on the different aspects of the exhibition. The exhibition brought to life the crosssection of people involved in the Arts and Crafts movement in Cork, where artisan workers in lace and metalwork with business families like the Days, Egan & Sons, and James Watson & Sons flourished and influenced the wider social structure of Cork and beyond. Following light refreshments, we were lead around the exhibition by Vera Ryan. Soon, however, lunch beckoned and after a short walk to Isaac’s Restaurant, members enjoyed a convivial lunch organised by Geraldine O’Riordan. A cold and wet Sunday in February

brought members to Minane Bridge, Co. Cork, where we enjoyed a most interesting talk on Tracton Abbey in the Tracton Arts and Community Centre. The talk was followed by lunch, hosted by our own Edmund Corrigan at Knocknamanagh House, where we were greeted by roaring fires. Edmund organised all the food and oversaw the delivery of a delightful lunch to all our members. Suitably refreshed, we returned to the Tracton Arts Centre once again for the screening of the period drama Love and Friendship, which is based on the Jane Austen book Lady Susan, and features Irish country houses, including Russborough and Newbridge. Many thanks to Edmund Corrigan for organising the event and hosting the lunch, with technical support from Catherine FitzMaurice, our projectionist. On Saturday, 20th May 2017, members visited ‘Belgooly Mills’, a ruined former flour mill and distillery where Catherine FitzMaurice gave a talk on the building. The restoration of any derelict country house is most welcome and so having visited Newborough in 2014 while under restoration, it was most gratifying to view the house fully restored. Members were warmly greeted with a drinks reception and were able to wander about the house at their leisure, courtesy of Mrs. Heide Roche. Afterwards, members enjoyed a delicious lunch in Walton Court. The event seamlessly organised by Edmund Corrigan with thanks to our speaker Catherine FitzMaurice. Glorious sunshine greeted members of the Cork Chapter on Saturday, 14th June 2017, for another event organised by Edmund Corrigan. Members gathered at Holy Trinity Church of Ireland Crosshaven, known as Templebreedy Church, courtesy of the Rev. Isobel Jackson. Dr. Alicia St. Leger gave an illuminating talk on the church that was designed by William Burges. The interior of stark simplicity reveals the love of Burges for the rural Gothic of France. A short distance away was Crosshaven House where Mr. Noel Conroy gave members a comprehensive tour of the

main rooms of the house, from the basement to the upper floors, which now host different levels of accommodation. Members also enjoyed a cinematic performance in the fully seated auditorium in the basement. Edmund Corrigan once again organised the event. I would like to extend my thanks to the committee Dr. Alicia St. Leger, Catherine FitzMaurice, Edmund Corrigan, Geraldine O’Riordan and our Patron, Myrtle Allen. Kevin Hurley Chapter Head

01 Crosshaven House, Cork 02 Geraldine O’Riordan presenting an ‘Irish Georgian Society Commemorative Glass’, to Donough Cahill, Executive Director, on behalf of Gerry Fitzgibbon and the Cork Training Centre in acknowledgement of the Society’s support of the Traditional Decorative Arts

Irish Georgian Society London

Irish Georgian Society London Ashleigh Murray The Irish Georgian Society London has been very busy over the last year. We began our Autumn/Winter programme in October with a YIG trip to Charlton House, Greenwich, an early-17thcentury house with a billiard-room extension by Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912). Our tour, organised by Lucy O’Connor, was provided by Aimée Felton of Donald Insall Associates. Later that month, Nick Sheaff arranged a visit to the headquarters of the Fishmongers’ Company, one of the Twelve Great Livery Companies in the City of London. Their impressive Greek-Revival-style building by Henry Roberts (1803-76) also has important contents, most notably Pietro Annigoni’s famous 1954 portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II. Our Autumn Lecture by Irish architectural historian Patricia McCarthy was an entertaining and insightful overview of her recently published book, Life in the Country House in Georgian Ireland. In November our annual pre-Christmas dinner, organised by Tim and Marylyn Bacon, was held at the East India Club. Founded in the mid-19th century, the Club rebuilt two houses in St. James’s Square in 1865 as their clubhouse. The evening included a notable and thoughtprovoking speech by our distinguished guest speaker, Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall. The beginning of 2017 was marked by our Winter Lecture, expertly provided by Caroline Knight, an architectural historian specialising in British Architecture of the 16th-18th centuries, and centring on Knight’s noteworthy publication London Country Houses (2009). In February, John Barber organised a unique trip to a late-18thcentury tidal mill in East London. This was coupled with Rainham Hall, a well-proportioned early-18th-century merchants’ house that was recently opened by the National Trust. In March we arranged a day trip to Sussex, which was successfully advertised to members by email only.

This included Pitshill, a late-18thcentury house originally designed by John Upton (c. 1774-1851), that has recently undergone an exemplary restoration, followed by Edwin Lutyens’ (1869-1944) turn-of-the-century Little Thakeham. Also in March, our traditional St. Patrick’s Day Party took place at Lettsom House. Donough Cahill, provided a review of the 2016 Conservation Grants Scheme (funded by IGS London) and also activities in Ireland. This was followed by IGS London Committee Chair, Ashleigh Murray, who provided an informative review of the IGS London’s events over the last year. Our Spring/Summer programme began with a trip to Spitalfields, arranged by Nick Sheaff and Stuart Blakley. Matthew Slocombe, Director of the Society of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), introduced us to their headquarters, 37 Spital Square, originally a Huguenot silk merchant’s house of the 1740s. Following this, enthusiastic Rector Andy Rider provided a tour of Nicholas Hawskmoor’s masterpiece, Christ Church (1729), built as part of the Fifty New Churches Act of 1711. In mid-May John Redmill and the Bacons organised the 2017 excursion with the 20 Ghost Club, for a long weekend of ‘posh orienteering’ in west Hampshire and east Dorset, travelling in 14 beautiful, pre-War Rolls Royces. Among a string of highlights, the most memorable were perhaps Cranborne Manor, a perfect Mediaeval house in famously picturesque gardens; Crichel, a Palladian mansion, unattainable for decades, set in a Brownian landscape; Marsh Court, a lovingly restored Lutyens house of the 20th century, set in its Arts & Crafts gardens; and Wilbury, an enchanting Jonesian house with hospitable hosts Rory and Mira Guinness. Our YIG event involved a May trip to Christie’s sales rooms, King Street, organised by Julia Kiss. This included insight into the history of the building, followed by a specialist tour of two sales:

01 IGS London members on the London Walking Tour with guide Louise Chapman 02 Pitshill, West Sussex (Photo by Stuart Blakley) 03 A visit to Wilbury Park, Wiltshire with the 20 Ghost Club 04 Tour of Fishmongers’ Hall, London Bridge

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

The English Collector sale and The Late Lord Weidenfeld GBE sale. The summer offered an exciting mix of events. In June we visited two private houses, Southill Park and Ampthill Park, Bedfordshire, arranged by Robert Jennings. Southill Park (1720s) was remodelled in the late-18th century by Henry Holland, while Ampthill House was originally built in the 1680s by Robert Grumbold, known for his Cambridge Colleges, and is now divided into four apartments. In July, Jon Howard, IGS member and honorary Fellow of Downing College, arranged a Cambridge trip, comprising two colleges designed by William Wilkins: the classical-style Downing College and the contrasting Gothicstyle Corpus Christi College. The day concluded with a pleasurable reading of a play, Ann Henning Jocelynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Sphere of Light, in the recently erected Howard Theatre, Downing College. Our yearly Summer Party was held at the London Rowing Club, where Members particularly enjoyed the sunny views of the River Thames from the first-floor balcony of the 1871 Clubhouse. The programme ended with an engaging walking tour in Central London, provided by IGS member and professional tour guide, Louise Chapman. These events have all been organised by long-standing, new and past Committee members, to whom we are most grateful. We are also very thankful to our London members who continue to support us through our events. We would also like to take this opportunity to remember Patricia Drummond, long-standing member and loyal supporter of the IGS, who died in London on 29th May 2017. Patricia was a passionate enthusiast for Dublin and its Georgian architecture, beginning in the mid-1950s when she lived in Merrion Square. She worked for many years at the National Buildings Record in Savile Row, London, where she formed enduring friendships with

the leading architectural historians Sir John Summerson and Dr. Mark Girouard. Patricia was admired for her lively intelligence and her personal elegance and is survived by her son Patrick, and her three grandchildren. Ashleigh Murray, Committee Chair BSc (Hons) MSc MA

USA

IGS Inc. Michael G. Kerrigan The American Chapter of the Society has had a busy and productive year. In addition to welcoming new board members Susan Burke and John Sullivan, they were joined by the very able Marti Sullivan and Tom Cooney. Marti Sullivan has a background in historic preservation and the decorative arts, and comes to us from Savannah, Georgia, via South Carolina’s Charleston. Tom Cooney lives in Chicago. In addition, Jason Bohner has joined the team as Office Manager, running the office in the United States and streamlining events. Our Fall 2016 season started with a visit to New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday, September 24th, for a private tour of the Yale Center for British Art, led by Christopher Monkhouse, the curator for the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2015 exhibition, “Ireland at the Crossroads of Design, 1690 -1840”. We were met by Amy Meyers, the Director of the Museum, who after giving us an overview of the collection assembled by Mr. Paul Mellon, the great American collector, arranged for a tour of the museum. In the afternoon, we had a delightful tour at the Yale University Art Gallery to see “Art and Industry in Early America, Rhode Island Furniture, 1650 -1830”, led by Patricia E. Kane, Friends of American Arts Curator of American Decorative Arts. October proved to be a busy month as well. We were fortunate to have Sir David Davies, President of the Society, and William Laffan, author and curator, join us in New York, Chicago and Boston. The topic of the New York and Chicago Gala Dinners was “Exploring the Architectural History and Landscape of Abbey Leix, An Illustrated Lecture”, as a prelude to the publication of William Laffan’s book, Abbey Leix: an Irish Home and its Demesne. In addition, we were able to raise a considerable amount of funds at these dinners for the restoration of the City Assembly House in Dublin. At the Chicago Gala Dinner, long standing IGS member Rosie O’Neill

was honoured and presented with a Society of Artists medal.

We held a lecture and cocktail reception in Boston this year at The Somerset Club, thanks to Mr. Ronald Lee Fleming, who sponsored the event. The next day, Ron Fleming invited Sir David Davies, William Laffan, Robert O’Byrne and Michael Kerrigan to a luncheon on Beacon Hill’s The Club of Odd Volumes, where longtime member Dr. Philip Maddock told of his project to reproduce the Irish Parliamentary bookbindings for an exhibition at Dublin Castle. The following day we visited beautiful Newport residence, Bellevue House, designed by Ogden Codman (1910), where we had a tour of the garden follies, before an elegant lunch. In November the Chicago Chapter of the Society partnered with the English Speaking Union to host a reception and dinner at The Casino for Mr. Andrew Ginger, who was speaking about his new book, Cecil Beaton at Home. This dinner was attended by well over 100 people and was great fun.

The Spring 2017 season was launched in Texas, where Robert O’Byrne was invited to speak at The Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth on Friday, 10th March, and was joined by Sir David Davies. Afterwards, Kim and Glen Darden held a wonderful post-event dinner at their home in Fort Worth, much to everyone’s delight. On Saturday, 11th March, Beth Dater hosted an elegant dinner party in Palm Beach, Florida for the visiting Irish Georgians at Café L’Europe to welcome them, which was attended by Sir David Davies, David Fleming, Donough Cahill, Robert O’Byrne and members of the American Board of Directors. On Sunday, 12th March, fellow board members Susan Burke and John Sullivan arranged to host a lecture and reception at The Tangerine Theatre on the grounds of the Jupiter Island Club in Hobe Sound for Sir David Davies to launch the book he commissioned, Abbeyleix: An Irish Home and Its Demense by William Laffan.

Pictured at the New York Gala 01 Michael G Kerrigan, Jane and Tom Kearns 02 Susan Wood Richardson and Friend

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

Well over 100 people attended this beautiful event in a charming setting. Afterwards, the Burkes and the Sullivans hosted a fund raising dinner for the Society at the Sullivan house. Beth Dater also hosted a very sophisticated dinner party at The Jupiter Island Club for the Board of Directors and friends of the Society, which was also very well attended. The next day, Tom Tormey hosted a high tea at The Chesterfield Hotel in Palm Beach after a Board of Directors’ meeting held in the same hotel that morning. Robert O’Byrne gave a riveting lecture about the history of the City Assembly House to an appreciative audience.

On Tuesday evening, 14th March, Fred and Kay Krehbiel hosted an elegant cocktail party and book launch at their beautiful Palm Beach home, welcoming Sir David Davies and William Laffan and 100 guests, all delighted to be there on a perfect Spring evening. It was a great night to be out doors. Fred Krehbiel made some opening remarks before welcoming Sir David to address the guests. All in all, a night for the books! Wednesday, 15th March found Sir David, William Laffan, David Fleming, Robert O’Byrne and Michael Kerrigan in Charleston, South Carolina, where the Society has not appeared since a 1991 tour to that outstanding city. Through the good graces of new board member Marti Sullivan and her friend, Anne Cleveland, we were able to hold a lecture and reception at the Charleston Library Society, one of the oldest private libraries in the country, founded in 1748. Board member Tom Tormey underwrote the funding of this event, as well as the reception held afterwards to meet and greet the lovely citizens of Charleston.

03 Sir David Davies at the Palm Beach launch of Abbey Leix, hosted by the Krehbiels 04 Scott Wilcox, Deputy Director of Collections, with US Board Member Susan Burke conferring with Director Amy Meyers

The next day, Marti Sullivan arranged what seemed like an Irish Georgian Society Study Day, with visits to the series of beautiful 18th-century homes in Charleston. Later in the day, we were welcomed at Drayton Hall, one of the earliest and finest examples of

USA

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

Pictured at the Chicago Gala 05 Fred Krehbiel, Maribeth Heeran and Sir David Davies 06 Jack and Peggy Crowe 07 Rosie O’Neill and her brother 08 Marti and Austin Sullivan 09 Mary Hartigan, Peter Mark, Lyssa Piette and Tom Tormey 10 Wiliam Laffan, Leslie FitzPatrick and Joe Gromacki

Palladian architecture in the country, built c. 1740 on the Ashley River outside Charleston. The house was donated by the Drayton family to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1974. Our tour guide was Carter C. Hudgins, the recently appointed President and CEO of Drayton Hall, who gave us a replete history of the house and how it has been preserved since being built in the mid-18th century. That evening we all attended the opening of the Charleston Antique Show. We were also fortunate enough to be in Charleston for St. Patrick’s Day this year. The citizens of Charleston came out in force to celebrate. That evening, Marti Sullivan was kind enough to host a dinner at Yeaman’s Hall in the country outside Charleston, which was great fun. Afterwards we attended a lively cocktail party at the home of John and Missy Derse for people attending the Charleston Antique Show. Through the good graces of American board member Paul Keeler, we were able to hold an event on the 8th of June at The Belle Haven Yacht Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. The speaker, fellow board member John Sullivan, whose topic was “Reminiscences of a Teenage Life in a Georgian House and a Working Stud Farm”, gave a fascinating talk to a group of 75 people. Earlier that same day, which was also the occasion of a board meeting, Annette Lester, also a member of the club, hosted a luncheon for the Board of Directors. Later in June, Beth Dater, President of the American Board, hosted a wonderful stay at Ballyfin in Co. Laois for a group of her friends, all of whom had important birthdays to celebrate. It was a magical time, blessed with back-to-back days of perfect weather. Jerry and Rosemarie Healy hosted a wonderful lunch for the group at Ballybrittan in Co. Offaly the first day. The next day, Sir David hosted the group at Abbey Leix for a superb luncheon and tour of the grounds. And

on Wednesday, Christopher Moore held a lovely luncheon at his handsome cottage in Thomastown. The visit was capped by a beautiful dinner party hosted by Beth Dater in the Conservatory at Ballyfin on the 21st of June, the Summer Solstice, which included a marvellous mixture of Irish and American Irish Georgians! We look forward to hearing from you over the next 12 months and thank you for your strong support of the Society. Michael G. Kerrigan Executive Director

One Satiric Touch Brendan Twomey

Celebrating significant anniversaries of what are generally agreed to be important historical events has become a staple of our modern cultural calendar. In Ireland the decade of commemoration is the most obvious current example. In 2017 the big international anniversary celebration is the 500th anniversary of the ‘start’ of the Reformation. This year in Ireland we have another major anniversary; the 350th anniversary of the birth of Ireland’s most famous author, Jonathan Swift. To say that Swift led a full life is a gross understatement. The basic outline of his biography is well known. Swift was born in Dublin in 1667, in Hoey’s Court near Dublin Castle. He was educated in Kilkenny College and later at Trinity College, where he just about scraped a pass in his degree. He was ordained a priest in the Church of Ireland in 1695; that was supposed to be the day job. However, he spent much of the next 20 years in London where, at times, he was very closer to the centre of political power. While in England, he was a literary secretary, then the London lobbyist for the Church of Ireland (he was looking for a tax break), and finally he was the chief ‘spin-doctor’ for the Tory government of 1710 to 1714. In this later role he helped to end a long-running war. In 1714, with the death of Queen

Anne and the accession of George I, all changed for Swift. His politics were, to coin a phrase, out of sync with the new administration—he was under surveillance, and was ‘exiled’ to Dublin. In 1713, as a reward for his services, the Tory government had appointed him to the prestigious job as Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Swift lived in Dublin for the next 30 years. In Dublin, Swift was the centre of a vibrant social circle, but he was also the centre of a rather ‘complicated’ relationship with two ladies, both of whom had ‘followed’ him to Dublin. The first of these was Esther Johnson, whom he called Stella, and for whom he wrote a series of humorous, self-effacing, but very touching birthday poems: Stella this day is thirty-four, (We shan’t dispute a year or more:) However, Stella, be not troubled, Although thy size and years are doubled There was also Esther Vanhomrigh, whom he called Vanessa, who lived in Celbridge and for whom he wrote a long, complicated and muchcriticised poem Cadenus and Vanessa. On returning to Dublin in 1714, Swift was determined to keep out of Irish politics—but that was never going to happen. In the 1720s, while in his 50s and early 60s, he wrote the works for which he is now still famous. The list is impressive. In 1720 there was the Proposal for the universal use of Irish

IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY REVIEW 17

01 Detail of scene from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (c. 1726), found in Dublin’s Liberties 02 View of St. Patrick’s Cathedral from the Deanery (Photo by Albert Fenton)

manufacture, from which we get the famous epigram to “burn everything that comes from England except their people and their coals”. In 1724-25 came the Drapiers Letters, the political propaganda sensation of the era. In 1726 was Gulliver’s Travels, the biggest literary event of the 18th century and recently reported as the most famous Irish book ever. I would recommend for everyone to read Gulliver’s Travels. It remains as fresh, and as funny and as risqué, as the day it was written. There is a joke in every paragraph. However, read the full version (Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships) and not the shortened, children’s version. And in 1729 Swift published A Modest proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick—black humour carried to a horrific, graphic and disturbing extreme. These and other pamphlets, poems and journalism made Swift a local Dublin celebrity. He was the most famous person in town, reported in the contemporary newspapers simply as J.S.D.D.D.S.P.D.—Jonathan Swift Doctor of Divinity Dean of St. Patrick’s Dublin. From the mid-1730s his energy levels declined, and after 1740, when aged over 70, his health finally failed. In

the end he had a form of dementia, and guardians were appointed in 1742 to manage his affairs. In his last years he was ill, not ‘mad or bad’, as was often alleged by critics in the 19th century. He died in October 1745. From 1730, Swift planned to bequeath his considerable fortune, at least £15,000 (€3m in today’s money), to establish Ireland’s first mental hospital. In 1730 he quipped; He gave the little that he had To build a house for fools and mad; And shew’d by one satiric touch No nation needed it so much. St. Patrick’s Hospital, established with his legacy, is still with us and it is now the largest provider of mental health services in Ireland. Swift’s 350th anniversary is being well celebrated in Dublin, the city where he grew up and where he spent most of his life. There have been exhibitions in the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), TCD and Dublin City Council libraries as well as a major conference in TCD with over 60 national and international speakers. At the end of November there will be a major Swift Festival with a series of public events ranging from concerts, readings, services, and of course humour and satire. For more details see www.jonathanswiftfestival.ie. Is there much visible today of Swift’s Dublin? Firstly there is, of course,

St. Patrick’s Cathedral; spire-less in his time, the spire was a later edition. There is also his Deanery in Kevin Street. The original building was damaged by fire later in the century, but it is a fine example of a late-Georgian townhouse, retaining many of the features that Swift would have known. During his lifetime, the old crowded medieval remnants of central Dublin were being replaced by the fine Georgian streets that we are now familiar. Swift, as a keen walker, would have seen this, although he did not always approve of the methods of builders and particularly of their financiers—but that is another story. Today we are still surrounded by reminders of Swift: there are street names, the Holyhead Ferry, endless illustrated reissues of Gulliver’s Travels in the bookshops, and the monuments of his epitaph in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But also keep an eye out for the magnificent terracotta roundels of Gulliver in Golden Lane that, unlike Swift himself, are one of Dublin’s best-kept secrets and a very suitable reminder of the most famous Irish book. Brendan Twomey’s research interests includes 18th century Ireland with a particular focus on Dublin and all things Swiftian.

Leave a Legacy to conserve Ireland’s architectural heritage The Irish Georgian Society is Ireland’s architectural heritage society. Our purpose is to encourage the appreciation and conservation of Ireland’s architecture and decorative arts. Any legacy gift the Society receives, no matter how large or small, makes a significant contribution to our ongoing work. If you would like further information on leaving a legacy to the Irish Georgian Society please contact: Donough Cahill, Executive Director +353 (0)1 679 8675 dcahill@igs.ie Colonnades at Castletown, Co. Kildare (Image: Vermillion Design)

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