Former Tennis Court

budget constraints it was decided to carry out the work in phases. Phase I was to include the re-construction of the sunken Italian garden and the restoration of the stone steps and main paths around to the rose, cordyline and Italian gardens. The project commenced in mid-2002 and Phase I is complete.

THE RECONSTRUCTION PROCESS - Phase 1-Sunken Italian Garden, Paths and Steps

The historic nature of the gardens and conservation works to historic structures required the use of specialist conservation contractors and natural hydraulic lime mortars were used throughout. The standard of workmanship of the contractor, Joseph Costelloe, was high and the contract was completed on budget.

The reconstruction works to the Italian gardens involved recording, cleaning and dismantling existing brick walls, and steps, and salvaging bricks for reuse, the provision of new concrete foundations and rising walls and the reconstruction of brick walls and steps to replicate the original, using new and existing salvage imperial bricks. Walls were finished with a replica reconstituted stone capping and new stone paving and flower beds were laid within the brick walls.

The original brick walls, built of English garden wall bond, were only four bricks high under the capping with four opposing sets of brick steps leading down into to the garden, all of which

had to be reconstructed exactly. The original capping was an in-situ reconstituted stone composite capping with false joints to look like stone. Existing broken sections of capping were analysed for colour and a number of trials were conducted to replicate the texture of the reconstituted stone mix. Great care was taken by the contractor to achieve the correct finish.

The reconstruction works included a possible layout of the lime stone paving and flower beds in the sunken area based on the position of known features. However, after the contract commenced it was fortunate that a copy of an old photograph of the sunken Italian garden c.1930 came to light, which indicated precisely the layout of flowerbeds, paving, the statuary and the planting of the garden. This was incorporated into the restoration.

The existing 15th century stone wellhead and base were successfully relocated, without any damage from the left hand side of garden to new foundations in centre of the sunken Italian gardens.

The repair and relaying of all the existing sets of stone steps to the rose and cordyline gardens was necessary because they had all subsided due to lack of adequate foundations.They were all surveyed and recorded, lightly cleaned and lifted and relaid, on new concrete foundations and re-bedded and repaired.

involved using selected pit run local gravel sorted into large grade and finer grades and well compacted in layers, laid on original sub-bases uncovered, similar to the rest of the paths in the gardens, as advised by Garden Supervisor Paddy Walsh.

Landscaping works, including yew hedges (which were planted in advance), spring bedding plants and box topiary, were carried out by Paddy Walsh and Head Gardener David O Regan, directed by Cormac Foley.

Future Works

Phase 2 will include restoration of the statuary figures in the centre of the garden and in the sunken Italian gardens, particularly the Four Seasons figures and selected garden features. including seating and decorative urns. Further phases are likely to include the restoration of the Formal Rose Garden and the Formal Cordyline Gardens.

Project Team Elizabeth Morgan, Landscape Conservation Architect

Francis Fay, Willie Sargent, Architectural Assistants

Aidan Quinn, Quantity Surveyor

Stephen Monks, Project Management Services

Gabriel Gleeson, Heritage Services