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Home , Bennettsbridge, Carrigeen, County Kilkenny, Duiske Abbey, Dunmore Cave, Fiddown

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of KILKENNY

Foreword

County Kilkenny has for centuries been landscape; the same landscape, being rich and widely regarded as one of the most important fertile, historically supported such estates historic centres in . An appreciation of through agricultural ventures. The great rivers the early built heritage of the county can be of the region have encouraged milling and oth- traced back to nineteenth-century publications er industrial enterprise since medieval times, including The Travellers’ Directory through while the banks of the Suir were traditionally Ireland… (1801), The Post Chaise Companion an indigenous source of thatch for vernacular (1805), and Samuel Lewis’s A Topographical cottages. The country enjoys a diverse ecclesi- Dictionary of Ireland (1837); earlier still, County astical heritage with chapels and churches sur- Kilkenny featured prominently, if not entirely viving as the legacy of Catholic, Church of favourably in Elstob’s A Trip To Kilkenny From Ireland, Methodist, and Presbyterian communi- Durham… (1779). ties. The advent of the railways introduced new The evaluation of the built legacy of the forms of architecture to the area including sig- county continued in the mid nineteenth cen- nal boxes and impressive viaducts. Meanwhile, tury and into the early twentieth century with the twentieth century witnessed the emergence the publication of The Antiquities and Scenery of of more innovative building types like cinemas in 1851, The History, Architecture and motor garages. and Antiquities of the Church of Saint Although not a comprehensive catalogue, Canice, Kilkenny in 1857, and the foundation of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage the Ecclesiastical Archaeological Society of (NIAH) undertook, in 2004-5, the largest survey Ossory in 1874. Meanwhile, the Kilkenny of the post 1700 built heritage of County Archaeological Society, the precursor to the Kilkenny. It is hoped that, through a survey Royal Society of Antiquities of Ireland has been such as this, a greater awareness of and appre- active since 1849. ciation for the architectural legacy of County And yet, beyond Kilkenny City’s interna- Kilkenny can be fostered. As custodians of this tionally-renowned early sites, which include valuable resource, it is the responsibility of the Kilkenny (originally 1207-19), Rothe present generation to ensure that it survives as COUNTY KILKENNY House (1594-1610), and Saint Canice’s a sustainable legacy for generations to come. A field graveyard enclosure makes a picturesque Cathedral (begun 1203), the architectural her- impression in the rural landscape at the border itage of the post 1700 period of the entire coun- The NIAH survey of the architectural between County Kilkenny ty has been unjustly neglected. heritage of County Kilkenny can be and . A flat iron gate attests to County Kilkenny boasts a wealth of archi- accessed on the Internet at: the skills of the local tectural treasures dating from the eighteenth www.buildingsofireland.ie blacksmith. century to the present day. Wealthy patrons were traditionally drawn to build stately coun- try houses in the county by the picturesque

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY

Introduction tain ranges although upland stretches, such as the stone presents a luminous quality. Other the Plateau, add variety to the materials also occur: the valley of the Nore near topography. , overlooked by is mostly old red sandstone. The and the Blackstairs Mountains county is also known for its ‘marble’ quarries of neighbouring , benefits from a pic- which were developed most actively by William turesque setting on the , and dis- Colles (fl. 1702-30) when he established a huge- tant prospects of Slievenamon add to the sce- ly profitable marble works at Maddockstown, nic effect in the south west of the county. Like near Kilkenny City, in 1730. some of its architectural heritage, much that is The general effect of Kilkenny is of a coun- attractive comes by surprise and needs to be ty at ease with its past and enjoying its pres- sought out. ent. In many respects the overall prospect has Kilkenny rests on a bed of grey carbonifer- changed little since in 1801 when The Travellers’ ous limestone that has, through the ages, been Directory through Ireland… noted: used extensively in the buildings of the coun- ‘The soil is rich and fertile, being proper for ty, especially for decorative elements like win- tillage, it produces plenty of corn, wool, coal, and dow sills and surrounds. When used on a large marble; and the country abounds with fine planta- scale, as at Saint Mary’s Catholic Cathedral tions, and is from the purity of the air, esteemed (1843-57), Kilkenny, it can appear flat and extremely healthful…’ (, 1801). somewhat dull, but in the brilliant sunlight of a frosty morning or in the setting summer sun

County Kilkenny lies in south east , than urban. While there are areas of poorer KILKENNY CITY A view of Kilkenny bordering on to the north, land, it was the very fertility of the deep river City from Windgap Hill and to the east, to the valleys along the Suir, Barrow and Nore that overlooks the . The remnants of the mid south, and Tipperary to the west. The landscape encouraged early settlement. In the early eighteenth-century Ormonde Woollen Mill or is predominantly agricultural, cut through by months of summer the landscape along these Castle Mill (pre 1758) are COUNTY KILKENNY deep and fertile river valleys. Despite centres of valleys assumes an almost startling lushness, all visible in the foreground. The mill was established by A topographical view, char- population of remarkable historical distinction, the more welcome because we come upon them the Butler family on the acteristic of the south-west of the county, shows flat the county remains predominantly rural with almost by accident in a county without dra- site of an earlier corn and tuck mill (pre 1654/5). fields giving way to rolling the overall impression being pastoral rather matic scenery. Kilkenny lacks distinctive moun- hills in the distance.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY Pre 1700

Pre 1700

(fig. 1) SAINT LACHTAIN’S CHURCH New Bridge Street/ Kilkenny Street, Freshford (1730)

An early eighteenth- century Gothic-style church incorporates a salvaged twelfth-century Romanesque doorcase (1133), together with a number of smaller artefacts carved from a honey- coloured local sandstone.

ing from 1217, was the largest walled in extensive and imposing of its kind in Ireland. (fig. 3) Tourism in Kilkenny has placed a heavy Cainneach (pre 599), and archaeological finds (fig. 2) medieval Ireland. The concurrent arrival of new But, for all its scale and impressiveness, it Kells have even confirmed Viking activity in the area SAINT LACHTAIN’S continental religious orders, including the should be recalled that the fortified nature of (founded 1193) emphasis on the county’s extensive medieval CHURCH heritage. Guide books, from the popular Shell of around 928 AD. The physi- New Bridge Street/ Augustinians, Benedictines, , and the external walls reflects the turbulent period An aerial view of Kells Kilkenny Street, Priory clearly demonstrates cal fabric of Freshford incorporates the entire Grey Friars, encouraged not only new religious in which it flourished, and the manner in Guide to Ireland of the 1960s to more recent Freshford the perimeter wall, which incorporates the publications, accentuate the number and area of an Early Christian site. This includes the norms, but also diversity in agricultural practice which such sites were integral to a colonising A richly-ornamented familiar tower houses importance of Kilkenny’s medieval sites. This Late-Romanesque doorway (1133) at Saint doorcase shows high and an ambitious architectural programme. This process. Kilkenny City retains much of its for- known as the ‘Seven quality stone masonry in ’. The ruined priory, legacy, largely the product of Anglo-Norman Lachtain’s Church (1730), which supports an the saw tooth detailing; was most marked with the establishment of mer defensive wall, which encompasses an area occupying the inner interventions, remains a strong ‘selling’ point inscription recording the name of its patron as an inscription records abbeys and priories. The Priory at Kells was that includes Saint Mary’s Church (c.1200), now monastic precinct, the original patron as remains an imposing for the county, but many earlier settlements MacRoen (figs. 1-2). MacRoen. founded in 1193 by Geoffrey de Monte Marisco Saint Mary’s Hall, Saint Mary’s Lane, and an landmark on a bank overlooking the . also exist. Cill Chainnig itself was a sixth-cen- The Anglo- founded a range of (fl. 1169-93) for the Canons Regular of Saint dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, off tury settlement centred on the church of Saint in the county; among them , dat- Augustine (fig. 3). It remains one of the most present-day Horse Barrack Lane, the chancel of

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY Pre 1700

(fig. 4) Jerpointabbey (1180-1200)

A substantial ecclesiastical complex established by the Cistercian order, overlook- ing the Arrigle River. The cloister and crossing tower illustrated were introduced in the fifteenth century. Jerpoint Abbey is now a National Monument in the care of the Office of Public Works.

which dates from 1331. Other significant sites apart from the occasional narrow lane or alley- include the Cistercian abbeys of Duiske (found- way this medieval character is hard to discern ed 1204-12), at Graiguenamanagh, and Jerpoint at first glance; even the ‘medieval’ appearance (1180-1200), Jerpointabbey, near Thomastown. of (founded 1207-19), one of Jerpoint is a Cistercian foundation and slightly the best-known visitor attractions in Ireland, predates the Augustinian foundation at Kells dates largely from the nineteenth century. (fig. 5) SAINT CANICE’S STEPS A PANORAMA OF off Church Lane/ (fig. 4). Although it incorporates planning and Closer scrutiny of the castle, and of many build- KILKENNY off Saint Canice’s Place, features typical of the rich Cistercian tradition ings of the city itself, reveals a more extensive (Irish School, Kilkenny c.1760-1800) (1614) in Ireland, including an arcaded cloister, its sur- medieval legacy. The city derives from the ear- A late eighteenth-century Maudlin Castle, and A flight of twenty-six viving form and distinctive tower date largely lier monastic foundation and from the strategic oil painting illustrates the ground rising to Saint steps in County Kilkenny topography of Kilkenny Canice’s Cathedral, with from the fifteenth century. The tower of Saint importance of its castle, which remain the fixed limestone, sponsored by City from Windgap Hill, the round tower on the Robert Wale or Wall Mary’s Church (c.1225), off Main Street, points of reference to this day. All distant views with Kilkenny Castle on an right (north). (fl. 1614) represents a elevated position to the left unique artefact in the , is equally characteristic of the period highlight the castle tower on one hill with the (south). The tower of Saint (Oil on canvas, archaeological heritage 95.2 x 150.5cm) and marks the former crossing of what was ridge of the town running parallel to the River Mary’s Church (now Saint of Kilkenny City. In the Mary’s Hall) is also visible, Courtesy of the National background the gable once a large ‘collegiate’ church for a communi- Nore, and rising again to Saint Canice’s as is a cupola not unlike wall of a reconstructed Gallery of Ireland that of the , the ty of clerics. Cathedral (begun 1203; completed pre 1285) house (1882) incorporates medieval Magdalen or the fabric of a procurator’s Such medieval sites feature prominently in and the adjoining round tower (849), the inter- or sexton’s house (c.1525), featuring medieval carved the psyche of the wider public in defining vening rooftops relieved by occasional spires limestone plaques. Kilkenny as a distinctive county and region, but and the cupola of the Tholsel (1761) (fig. 5).

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY Pre 1700

Some of the city’s medieval properties, like fixtures. The site also indicates the splitting of ABBEY VIEW HOUSE Lady’s Well Street, the Shee Almshouse (1582), the Archer Mansion the original burgage plot divisions determined Thomastown (1582/4), and the late sixteenth-century Rothe by William Marshall (c.1147-1219) in his (c.1725) House (1594-1610), are much documented. Charter of 1207. An early eighteenth-century house expresses former, Others such as the ‘Hole in the Wall’ (pre 1700), Tower houses were once plentiful in the possibly late medieval, behind 17 High Street, are not so well known. county, although comparatively few survive. origins in the close group- ing of the openings about In many instances later buildings have fronted The fourteenth-century Dysart Castle (c.1350), a Classical doorcase and others, and it is only when a rear elevation is Dysart near Thomastown, was the birthplace of BUTTER SLIP the stout gable-ended High Street, chimney stacks rising into glimpsed above a perimeter wall or garden the celebrated philosopher Kilkenny diagonal flues. building that some inkling of the long prove- (1685-1753). Many later significant properties (c.1600) nance of the site can be established. Examples have disappeared and, at some sites, compara- One of the last of the Kilkenny City ‘slips’ to sur- are found on Parliament Street and elsewhere: tively little from the medieval period survives. vive in a recognisable medieval form, the alley Berkeley House, 5 Patrick Street Lower, dates The former Ormond property Dunmore House takes its name from a from around 1769 but incorporates structures (pre 1700; demolished pre 1840) was already niche at the midway point where a butter stall was dating back to the turn of the seventeenth cen- ruinous by the early eighteenth century, historically located. tury (fig. 6). The repeatedly re-fronted Shee although evidence suggests that the original House (reconstructed 1928), 91-93 High Street, building was comparatively ornate. Kilcreene incorporates elements that date back to around House (c.1675; demolished post 1947), 1580, while the rear elevation of 19 and 20 Kilcreene near Kilkenny, was erected in the Parliament Street reveals a house from the Classical style but with the fenestration, high chimney stacks typical of late seventeenth-cen- ever realised. The topography of , a 1600s retaining original stonework and interior pitched roof, dormer windows, and dominant tury styles and not dissimilar to elements of medieval and once walled town, has been com- Beaulieu House (1660-6), . pared by Patrick Shaffrey to the ‘character of (fig. 6) BERKELEY HOUSE Kilkenny boasts a wide variety of small European hill towns’ (Dublin, 1984). Cullen 5 Patrick Street Lower, towns and villages. Many, in scale and form, notes that it has an integrated character and a Kilkenny (1769 with c.1600) suggest an affluence often at variance with the sense of age-old continuity rare in Irish villages Having been entirely harsh reality of rural existence in past genera- and small towns (Dublin, 1979). Inistioge was reconstructed in the Classical manner in the tions. Some, like Castlecomer and Johnstown, used by director Pat O’Connor in Circle of mid eighteenth century, retain an impressive layout revealing the aspi- Friends (1995) to represent a typical Irish town. Berkeley House retains medieval features including rations of landlords in the eighteenth and ear- Smaller settlements, such as Licketstown, dis- mullioned window ly nineteenth centuries, as well as the influence play a seemingly random informal layout. frames, indicating the longstanding popularity of wider European ideas on urban design. Other was a roadside development and the of County Kilkenny limestone for decorative communities, like Gowran, Inistioge and curve of its main street seems to echo an easy detailing. Thomastown, show a combination of architec- meandering route of some long forgotten track. ture and landscape that typifies an idealistic In keeping with the norm across Ireland most image of Irish rural settlement. In their combi- of these towns and villages grew significantly in nation of picturesque settings with medieval the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the ruins, attractive shopfronts, and characteristic period from which their surviving form and dwellings they support a sense of what an Irish pervasive architectural character derive. town should look like, if one that is seldom

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY The Eighteenth Century

(fig. 7) The Eighteenth Century PARADE HOUSE 11 The Parade, Kilkenny (1791)

The largest of a group of four houses would not be out of place in Merrion Square or Mountjoy Square, Dublin. An elegant carriageway featuring an attractive surround in County Kilkenny limestone originally allowed access to a range of attendant coach houses or mews buildings.

The comparative political stability of the ed townscapes elsewhere in this era. A contem- eighteenth century created a favourable climate porary guide noted how: for building, much of which has survived. ‘…on recollecting the common phrase, ‘Kilkenny Kilkenny, being at the heart of Ireland and sup- streets are paved with marble’ serve to fill the trav- porting a ducal seat, was closer to sources of eller’s head with great expectations — he looks for power and influence than might be imagined. a little less than a paradise — but he finds him- Political allegiances assured that the newly self wretchedly disappointed…’ (Dublin, 1779). affirmed leaders in the region were in touch with, and open to, shifts in architectural taste, However, incremental change was already (fig. 8) and many of the larger buildings of the period much in evidence by the middle of the centu- ry, as recorded in John Rocque’s A Survey of the OR SAINT JOHN’S show evidence of new styles of architecture, COLLEGE rich with references to British and Continental City of Kilkenny (1758). Subsequent develop- John Street Lower, ments included the layout of Castle Road in Kilkenny parallels. The military architect Jacques Wibault (1782) 1769, and some later houses that assumed an (fl. 1695-1727) dedicated his Traité de An elegant doorcase l’Architecture Militaire to James Butler (1665- air of metropolitan sophistication. A terrace of (installed 1784-5) four houses (1791) on the Parade is as grand attributed to John Lowe 1745), 2nd Duke of Ormonde, in 1701. Figures (d.1789/90) forms the like the duke were familiar with some of the and substantial as anything of the period found centrepiece of a large- scale Classical-style most innovative European design of the period in Dublin (fig. 7), and the fanlight doorcase of college built to designs the former Kilkenny College (1782), John Street prepared by Charles but, apart from work at the Castle, no grandiose Vierpyl (fl. 1782-8). schemes emerged to challenge the medieval Lower, compares favourably with those on the The building superseded capital’s Merrion Square (fig. 8). Bridge House an earlier college estab- character of the city. Due to an absence of sig- lished by James Butler nificant public architecture the reputation of (post 1763), 88-89 John Street Lower, incorpo- (1610-88), 1st Duke of Ormonde, in 1667. Kilkenny City did not always live up to the rates sections of a sixteenth-century dower The college is now the house (c.1600) that still survive in recognisable headquarters of Kilkenny expectations of travellers, especially when one County Council. considers the enormous growth in sophisticat- form. The building consists of two separate

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY The Eighteenth Century

(fig. 9) The much-photographed Tholsel (1761) Classical tastes of the age — an arcade resting BRIDGE HOUSE 88-89 John stands on a site on High Street that had been on Tuscan columns — and the overall compo- Street Lower, used for the same purpose since around 1579 sition is balanced in keeping with the prevail- Kilkenny (post 1763 with (fig. 11). In its present form it provides a dis- ing sense of order and correct architecture. The c.1600) tinctive element on the skyline and streetscape, Tholsel was topped off with its distinctive cupo- The shared doorcase although it was already somewhat provincial at la in 1790. (pre 1850) in County Kilkenny limestone is one the time of its execution. Nonetheless its street Our present impression of many towns of the few external alter- level arcade adds a touch of Continental ambi- derives from the eighteenth century, even ations of the eighteenth- century reconstruction to ence to the heart of the city, which may where an earlier streetscape may have existed. the medieval Bridge account for the local tradition of attributing its Smaller towns allowed landlords to plan afresh House by Thomas Barnes (fl. post 1763). The door- design to an Italian. It acknowledges the and to benefit from ideas on spacious and ‘ele- case was introduced as part of the subdivision of the house and shows gunshot markings, reput- edly dating from the Civil War (1921-5).

(fig. 11) (fig. 10) KILKENNY CITY TOWN 40-41 PARLIAMENT HALL (THE THOLSEL) STREET High Street, Kilkenny Kilkenny (c.1800) (1761)

Along with the ‘Kilkenny supporting a frieze and An old photograph from Window’, a characteristic moulded archivolt, all the Poole Collection of the built heritage of framing an elaborate (1884-1954) illustrates Kilkenny City is a shared peacock tail-style fanlight. High Street with the doorcase in richly-carved projecting arcaded limestone, featuring the ground floor of the engaged Tuscan order Tholsel as a focal point. The distinctive tiered cupola was rebuilt following a fire in 1985.

Courtesy of the National dwellings: the one that adjoins the river is the Street (fig. 10) and John Street, among others. Library of Ireland more ambitious with a distinctive three-bay Similarly, a bipartite grouping of windows is a bow front that adds an attractive sculptural familiar feature in the locality, with extensive quality to the composition, as if echoing the employment of County Kilkenny limestone substantial drum towers of the nearby castle. that adds, quite literally, a touch of local colour The ceiling of the room that fronts onto the to details such as doorcases and window sills. river is perhaps the finest in the region, and has Otherwise the city showed little in the way of been commented upon as such by a range of architectural distinctiveness although, histori- sources. Bridge House reveals a number of local cally, some houses employed tin funnels on top idiosyncrasies, notably the sharing of fanlights of their chimneys, which were remarked upon and doorcases (fig. 9). This is a motif employed by visitors. at other properties in the city: on Parliament

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY The Eighteenth Century

gant’ planning, with examples at , Castlecomer, Freshford, and Johnstown. The ‘square’ at Johnstown dates back to 1770 and, ambitiously for the period, follows an octago- nal plan (fig. 12). The Urban Archaeological Survey records that, in the 1650s, Ballyragget had already been laid out on a triangular green. Under George Butler and his grandson, Robert (d. 1788), Ballyragget prospered between 1700 and 1800 and, by the mid eighteenth century, substantial houses had been added to the square. Butler House (1753), The Square, (fig. 13) Ballyragget, most recently ’s Hotel and BALLYDUFF HOUSE Ballyduff not to be confused with Butler House (1768), (1760 with pre 1700) 16 Patrick Street Lower, Kilkenny, has a scale A mid eighteenth-century worthy of a much larger town and implies an Classically-composed country house reveals its unwritten competition with neighbouring land- medieval origins in the fif- lords such as those in Durrow, Queen’s County teenth- or sixteenth-century tower house terminating a (now County Laois). In spite of such ‘improve- lower wing. ments’ social unrest was never far beneath the The consolidation of a new political estab- (fig. 14) surface, and Butler House was subject to assault CLOMANTAGH CASTLE, lishment encouraged the construction of fine Clomantagh Lower, during Whiteboy activity in 1775. new country residences, mostly without an Clomantagh (c.1425 and c.1750) overtly defensive component. As elsewhere A site clearly showing there is much evidence of new trends sitting two distinct periods of side-by-side with medieval buildings; the new construction with a farmhouse abutting an sometimes integrating fabric from the old, and early fifteenth-century medieval tower house: (fig. 12) in other instances existing cheek by jowl. JOHNSTOWN a further, intermediary Ballyduff House (1760), Ballyduff near phase is evident in the The Valuations Office outline of the gable of Map Sheet 08, prepared Thomastown, incorporates an earlier tower, dat- a banqueting hall (1872-6) by Lieutenant ing from before 1700 (fig. 13). The bawn of (pre 1700) occupying Colonel Wilkinson, shows the position of the an example of idiosyn- Clonmantagh Castle (c.1425 and c.1750), present house. cratic Irish nomenclature. Clomantagh Lower, includes a twelfth-century An octagon, laid out in (fig. 15) 1770 by John Healy of church, an early fifteenth-century tower house CLOMANTAGH CASTLE Foulkscourt House, is des- Clomantagh Lower, ignated as Johnstown’s and an eighteenth-century farmhouse (figs. 14- Clomantagh village ‘Square’. 15). Sometimes earlier residences that did not A view of the interior, Ordnance Survey actually adjoin a property were located close by, sensitively restored by Valuations Office edition the Irish Landmark Trust, (1872-6) based on the as at Bonnetstown Hall (1737-8), Bonnetstown, exhibits the cut-stone spiral first edition Ordnance where the remains of an adjacent pre 1559 tow- staircase that accesses the Survey (June 1842) upper floors of the tower er house survive. house.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY The Eighteenth Century

Kilkenny retains a handsome array of hous- es illustrating the diversity of Classical styles. Houses such as Ballysallagh House (1722), Ballysallagh, or Ballyconra House (1724), Ballyconra near Ballyragget exemplify the new domestic type, being of substantial size and fol- lowing Classical tastes of balance and propor- tion, with ‘effect’ achieved through the cen- trally placed entrance door and the application of some Classical detailing. In some, not unex- pectedly, such detailing can appear almost rus- tic, if not unappealing. The portico at Castlefield House (c.1725), Castlefield, ambi- tious in theme but naïve in execution, incor- porates Tuscan columns with carved garlands and cornucopias. Neo-Palladianism soon emerged as a popular variant on Classicism. It is a term derived from (fig. 18) BONNETSTOWN HALL the theories of Andrea Palladio (1508-80) whose Bonnetstown planning was based on a complex series of A view of the garden front mathematical formulae with many extant shows a symmetrical com- position with an expressed examples of his work in the then Venetian entrance featuring an ele- Republic. Palladio’s designs became influential gant perron surmounted by distinctive paired lights, in Ireland, usually taking a distinctive form that retaining the original small- pane glazing pattern. involved a centralised main residential block linked to pavilions. These wings tended to house stables and kitchens, not unlike the Venetian prototypes. Bonnetstown Hall was (fig. 16) (fig. 17) BONNETSTOWN HALL BONNETSTOWN HALL built for Samuel Matthews, Bonnetstown Bonnetstown (fl. 1744-5), and must have once appeared pala- (1737-8) A detail of the tooled tial (figs. 16-18). In a variant of the Palladian An eighteenth-century or dragged cut-limestone country house makes an quoin records the type it is based on an elevated residential block elegant impression in a builder of Bonnetstown rural setting at the end of Hall as ‘Sam:ll Mathews with quadrant walls screening service outbuild- a formal avenue. Stylistic Esq.’. comparisons have been noted between Bonnetstown Hall and the nearby contemporary Castle Blunden (c.1750); the families of both houses were connected by marriage.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY The Eighteenth Century

(fig. 20) BESSBOROUGH HOUSE Kildalton, (1744-55)

An engraving by H. Hobson from a drawing included in J.P. Neale’s Views of Seats (1823) illus- trates the garden front of an impressive Palladian mansion. Bessborough house was built for Brabazon Ponsonby (1679-1768), 1st , to designs by Francis Bindon. The screen walls and attendant outbuilding ranges, which ought to be present in the back- ground of such a depic- tion, are curiously absent.

Courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive.

(fig. 19) CASTLE BLUNDEN Castleblunden (c.1750)

A Classically-composed ings and yards from public view. It retains Bonnetstown Hall, not inappropriately, as the substantial country house built for the Blunden much of its original appearance with impressive families were intertwined through marriage family to designs attrib- sometimes possible to build an overview of a servient wings (fig. 20): the flanking ranges uted to Francis Bindon windows, and finely carved detailing on its (fig. 19). It is however a larger house and makes (c.1698-1765) features a County Kilkenny limestone window sills and more extensive use of Classical references, again designer’s work, despite the absence of records. were replaced when the house was adapted as somewhat squat pedi- Francis Bindon (c.1698-1765), for example, a convent in 1929. In a house like this we can mented tetrastyle Roman doorcase. The elevation reveals a fondness for employing County Kilkenny limestone. Doric portico as a the so-called ‘Gibbsian surround’, where blocks Although some designers can be identified studied under Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (fl. see a combination of the local and the inter- centrepiece. Castle Blunden remains one of of stone are inserted into the architrave, made from earlier periods, in the eighteenth century 1699-1733). His design for Bessborough House national; the overall form shows the influence the very few (1744-55), now Kildalton College, Piltown, was of metropolitan centres and theories but com- eighteenth-century houses popular in the work of the Scottish architect a more rounded picture emerges of definite fig- in County Kilkenny to sur- James Gibbs (1662-1754). Castle Blunden ures who can be credited with the design of a originally an exercise in neo-Palladianism with positional details such as the entrance front are vive in the original a large central block linked by quadrants to sub- more provincial in handling. Woodstock House family ownership. (c.1750), Caslteblunden, recalls elements of building. Through stylistic comparison it is

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE of COUNTY KILKENNY The Eighteenth Century

(fig. 22) WOODSTOCK HOUSE Inistioge

Another photograph from the William Lawrence Collection illustrates the house and setting prior to the destruction of the house by fire (1922) and the subse- quent decline of the land- scaped gardens.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

(fig. 23) WOODSTOCK HOUSE Inistioge

Having fallen into ruin, the shell of Woodstock House survives as a Romantic land- mark in a wooded setting overlooking the River Nore. The once-renowned gardens are presently (2006) under- going restoration to the 1840-90 scheme, under the supervision of .

(fig. 21) WOODSTOCK HOUSE Inistioge (1745-7 and 1804-6)

A photograph from the William Lawrence Collection (1745-7), Inistioge, also by Bindon was, up to (1880-1900) illustrates the entrance front of Woodstock the date of its destruction in 1922, regarded as House prior to its destruction among the finest houses of its type in Ireland. during ‘The Troubles’ (1922- 5). Sadly, the entrance fron- Designed for Sir William Fownes, the house tispiece has collapsed in recent years. remains as a picturesque ruin amidst its fine landscaped surrounds (figs. 21-23). Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

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(fig. 24) (fig. 26) (1767-71), known as CASTLETOWN HOUSE CASTLETOWN HOUSE (CASTLETOWN COX (CASTLETOWN COX Castletown Cox House, Castletown near HOUSE) HOUSE) Piltown, is an urbane example of neo- Castletown Castletown (1767-71) Palladianism (figs. 24-26). It was designed by A detail of one of the An impressive country ornamental pavilions marking David Ducart (fl. 1767-71) for Michael Cox (b. house built for Michael Cox, the angle of the wings; the pre 1729), Archbishop of Cashel. It was execut- Archbishop of Cashel, to construction in yellow sand- designs by David Ducart stone with County Kilkenny ed with a flair and authority sometimes lacking limestone dressings produces (fl. 1767-71) ‘after’ in other houses and betrays, arguably, the archi- Buckingham House, , an appealing palette, and by William Winde (c.1647- octagonal domes rising into tect’s Continental origins and training. The cen- 1722). Castletown House is arcaded cupolas make a strik- often regarded as second ing impression in the tral residential block is given added effect only to its earlier namesake skyline. through the use of giant fluted Composite (begun 1722) in as the prime exem- pilasters. This detail, in addition to the arcaded plar of the Palladian tradition wings terminating in domed pavilions with in Ireland. diminutive cupolas, brings an almost Rococo flair to the sometimes dour sobriety of neo- Palladianism. The panache of the exterior mass- ing was matched by that of the interior stucco work executed by Patrick Osborne from nearby Waterford, revealing an ability in the medium (fig. 25) CASTLETOWN HOUSE that compared with celebrated European prac- (CASTLETOWN COX titioners. HOUSE) Castletown

An illustration of the elegant WHITECHURCH CHURCH garden front displays a (CASTLANE CHURCH) design treatment similar to Whitechurch the entrance front, with the (1766) symmetrical configuration centred on a Composite An elegant rural church built frontispiece. Following a with a combined loan of period of neglect, and an £500 from the Board of First uncertain future in the late Fruits (fl. c.1711-1833). The twentieth century, the house refined quality of the design was saved and restored by stems from its original status Brian DeBreffny (1931-89). as the estate chapel of Archbishop Cox of nearby Castletown House (Castletown Cox House). As with the main house, David Ducart is widely regarded as responsible for the design of the church, which has been out of use since before 1973.

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(fig. 27) The finest houses were part of an integrated Adamesque plasterwork by Michael Stapleton UPPERCOURT HOUSE MOUNT JULIET HOUSE concept of a planned environment, with a con- (c.1747-1801). Similar neo-Classical style plas- Upperwood Demesne, Walton’s Grove or Freshford Mountjuliet trived landscape setting off the architectural terwork featured in the decoration of Grange (1798) (completed 1768-71) effect. There was a marked shift from early for- House (c.1800), Grange near Ballyragget. By An early aquatint of An elegant country mansion mality, inspired by Franco-Italian traditions, to contrast the later re-decoration of Uppercourt Upperwood House or built for Somerset Hamilton Upperwood Manor, origi- Butler (1718-74), 8th a more lyrical concept of the landscape in the House (1798), Upperwood Demesne, near nally built for the Ryves Viscount and 1st Earl of family to designs attrib- Carrick, over the River Nore. English manner. Belle Vue (c.1775), Borrismore Freshford, was more florid in style with a dis- uted to John Roberts The original entrance front, near , is bow-ended in plan — which play of plasterwork by Italian craftsmen. (1712-96), who practised illustrated, was adapted to prolifically in neighbouring use as the garden front after is sometimes acknowledged as a characteristi- . 1914. cally Irish feature — and retains contemporary The house quickly passed into the ownership of the details including an array of its original win- Montmorency family and the rendering is dows. The survival of its contemporary park- inscribed ‘The seat of Sir land setting adds to the overall effect, as is the William de Montmorency Baronet’. Subsequently case at Mount Juliet (1768-71), Walton’s Grove enlarged in 1820, the of Mountjuliet, near Thomastown, where the house underwent further redevelopment in 1944 location has always impressed (figs. 27-29). The and 1950 when a chapel and dormitory wing were Post Chaise Companion referred to it as: added for the Mill Hill Missionaries. The house is ‘…a very magnificent seat of the Earl of Carrick, presently (2005-6) undergoing restoration with extensive demesnes. It is beautifully situated back to residential use. on a fine declivity on the banks of the Nore, com- Courtesy of the Irish manding some extensive plantations that spread Architectural Archive over the hills, which rise in various manner on the other side of the river’ (Dublin, 1805). (fig. 28) MOUNT JULIET HOUSE Given the position in society of Somerset Walton’s Grove or GOWRAN CASTLE Mountjuliet Hamilton Butler (1718-74), 1st Earl of Carrick, Gowran Demesne, A view of the elegant stair- the house displays an exterior form that was far Gowran (1817-9 with 1713) well featuring a bifurcating from fashionable, although its interior detailing staircase; the richly-detailed An ink-and-wash drawing entrance hall is visible is not without charm. Some relief-style neo- (c.1800) by R. Gibbs through an Ionic arcaded depicting Gowran screen. Classical plasterwork is not unlike the plaster- Castle prior to its redevel- work found at Dunmore Cottage (c.1775), opment in 1817-9 for Dunmore near Kilkenny, and Butler House Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis (fig. 29) (1761-1836), 2nd MOUNT JULIET HOUSE (1768), in Patrick Street Lower, Kilkenny. Such Viscount Clifden: the rendering is inscribed Walton’s Grove or detailing reveals the influence of contemporary ‘Gowran Castle Seat of Mountjuliet trends that emanated from Dublin and London the Earl of Clifden’. A detail of the delicate Curvilinear gables marking plasterwork ceilings complet- in the work of the Adam brothers, Robert the roofline suggest a ed in the manner of Michael (1728-92) and James (1713-94). The earl’s town- Dutch influence in the Stapleton (c.1747-1801). original scheme. house, on Gardiner Row, Dublin, was close-by Courtesy of the Irish Belvedere House (1786) which afforded dazzling Architectural Archive

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BELLINE HOUSE (fig. 30) BELLINE HOUSE Belline and BELLINE HOUSE Belline and Rogerstown, Belline and Rogerstown, Piltown Rogerstown, Piltown (c.1775) Piltown (c.1775) (c.1775) A composite of the Following a restoration Valuations Office Map A rustic temple-style gate programme (after 1984) Sheets 38 and 39, pre- lodge makes a picturesque the original elliptical-head- pared (1872-6) by impression on the ed carriageways of a Lieutenant Colonel winding avenue approach- Classically-composed sta- Wilkinson, illustrates the ing the main house. The ble block were reinstated, BELLINE HOUSE primary components of lodge has been attributed complementing the Belline and the Belline Estate. The to the Swedish-born Sir Diocletian or lunette win- Rogerstown, house and dovecotes are William Chambers (1723- dows overhead. The con- Piltown visible just above centre, 96) who was responsible struction in red brick with (c.1775) the outbuildings — for a number of projects limestone dressings echoes including a drawing on the Bessborough the original appearance of The Classically-composed school — to the north, estates in England, includ- the main house, before country house was origi- the ‘Inkbottle’ lodge to ing one of his first com- the brick was concealed nally built for Peter the west, and the rustic missions at Parkstead by paint. (c.1747-1819), lodge on a winding House (1760s), although ownership was avenue leading to the Roehampton. transferred to the nearby main gateway to the east. Bessborough Estate shortly following completion; a Ordnance Survey BELLINE HOUSE PONSONBY MEMORIAL pair of flanking cylindrical Valuations Office edition Belline and TOWER ‘turrets’ or dovecotes (1872-6) based on the first Rogerstown, (PILTOWN TOWER) make an appealing edition Ordnance Survey Piltown Piltown ensemble in the land- (June 1842) (c.1775) (begun post 1808) scape. A distinctive octagonal Initiated by Frederick gate lodge sometimes Ponsonby (1758-1844) as a memorial to a son Outbuildings, farmyards and stables were identified as the ‘Turret’ but known locally presumed killed-in-action part of the wider aesthetic vision and on larg- as the ‘Inkbottle’ marks in the Peninsular War the one-time west (1808-14), construction er estates could aspire to great sophistication entrance to the grounds on the distinctive tower was halted when the sol- and adventurousness. Grand estates could also of the Belline House estate. Archival drawings dier subsequently have a range of lodges and follies affording illustrate a scheme where retuned home from battle unharmed. Having stood architectural interest in the landscape, and act- two such lodges flank a central gateway: however, incomplete or truncated ing as eye catchers and distinctive landmarks. it is not known if the for the next two cen- second lodge was ever turies, the memorial was Mark Elstob remarked in 1776 that: realised. adapted to utilitarian use in the mid twentieth cen- ‘on the right a little before you enter Kilkenny, tury by the addition of a BELLINE HOUSE water tank in a quasi- is a small building on a hill called the Gazebo, or Belline and Brutalist style. Rogerstown, Helsham’s Folly. It commands an extensive Piltown prospect, and seems to have been designed for a (c.1775) Summer or banqueting house…’ (Dublin, 1779). A refined gate screen in limestone ashlar with sim- The grounds of Belline House (c.1775), ple iron work makes an understated impression at Belline and Rogerstown, Piltown, retain a rustic the Piltown entrance to lodge of the same date with a portico of tree- the grounds of Belline House. trunks akin to primitive Doric columns (fig. 30). The portico may reveal the legacy of

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Abbé Marc-Antoine Laugier (1713-69) who, in ‘various picturesque rustic cottages, and several his widely influential Essai sur l’architecture banqueting-rooms commanding from different posi- (1753), emphasised the parallel between the tions the rich, bold, and varied scenery which here logic of nature and the logic of neo-Classical adorns the banks of the river Nore’ (London, architecture. Howley (New Haven and London, 1837). 1993) draws a parallel with a comparable proj- The ‘rustic’ woodland gardens (1790s) at ect by Sir William Chambers (1723-96) at House, Kilfane Demesne, similarly Windsor Castle. Chambers received his first incorporated a range of garden buildings in important commission at Parkstead House keeping with the contrived wilderness. At Castle (1760s), Roehampton, from the Bessborough Blunden a circular-planned icehouse (c.1750) family who took over ownership of the Belline survives, erected in an early version of the estate shortly after completion of the house. emerging Gothic Revival style; visible from the Although few now survive, such follies were main house it fulfilled not only a practical func- once widespread. By 1837 Samuel Lewis’s A tion but acted as an eye catcher (fig. 31). The Topographical Dictionary… could note that in the icehouse is still in good repair and retains many grounds of Woodstock were: original features including its original slate roof and red brick vaulted chamber.

GRANGE HOUSE Grange (c.1800)

A Classically-composed substantial country house centred on a plain break- front with a reserved dec- orative quality; an expressed doorcase features a particularly fine overlight, while an octag- onal dovecote (c.1800) makes a picturesque eye- (fig. 31) catcher in the grounds. CASTLE BLUNDEN Castleblunden (c.1750)

A small-scale artefact fulfilling two important roles in the Castle Blunden estate with its primary purpose as an icehouse competing with a secondary function as a picturesque Gothic- inspired folly.

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Stables could also meet both functional and example near Thomastown built for the Earl of ornamental requirements. By far the finest Belmore, manages to combine elements of ver- range in the county was executed in the 1790s nacular taste with the Classical influence of the for Kilkenny Castle (figs. 32-34). It stands across age along with local Kilkenny features such as the Parade from the main entrance to the cas- its ground floor bipartite windows. In a period tle and adds greatly to the urban effect of the when horses were essential to both agriculture complex, forming a visual link between the cas- and transport, forges were important buildings. tle and nearby Butler House. The crescent plan Few survive, but that at Graigue (Hartford) is comparatively ambitious for such schemes in dates from around 1800 and retains a vernacu- an Irish context although its detailing, showing lar dwelling with the original smithy. Its promi- the influence of James Gibbs, was already dat- nent location on a crossroads serves to empha- ed at the time of execution. In addition to work sise the importance of such structures in day- (fig. 34) KILKENNY CASTLE and transport, horses were also synonymous to-day life (fig. 35). The Parade, with the hunt, and hunting lodges became Gateways combined the prosaic task of Kilkenny occasional features in the landscape. Belmore entrance and security with a roadside procla- A view of the stable build- ing shows an elegant House (1790), Jerpointchurch, a surviving mation of a family’s presence and aspirations. crescent plan enclosing an inner courtyard. A cen- (fig. 33) tral arcade of elliptical- headed carriageways KILKENNY CASTLE KILFANE FORGE The Parade, was glazed in 1965 as part of the programme to Kilfane West, Kilkenny adapt the complex to use Kilfane (between 1780-1800) as the Kilkenny Design (c.1875) Workshops (KDW) (1965- A view of the Kilkenny attributable to an obscure A picturesque small-scale 88), established by Paul Castle stable complex architect by the name rural forge or smithy, pos- Hogan. Oculus window from an elevated position of Charles Vierpyl, the sibly established by the openings on the first floor on the Parade Tower entrance block incorpo- Bushe or the Power family feature a spoked shows the elegant rates a pedimented break- of nearby Kilfane House, glazing pattern alluding to arrangement of the two front echoing the gateway exhibits very fine detailing the carriage wheel. primary ranges together of the castle on the oppo- in County Kilkenny lime- with ancillary secondary site side of The Parade. stone with a central ranges. Built to designs horseshoe-profiled arch indicating, on the exterior, the nature of the business carried out within.

(fig. 35) GRAIGUE FORGE Graigue Crossroads, Graigue (Hartford) (c.1800)

An appealing ensemble makes a positive impres- (fig. 32) sion on a prominent cor- THE PARADE ner site with a cottage, Kilkenny originally thatched, stand- ing alongside a An aerial view of The contemporary forge or Parade illustrates the visual smithy. harmony of Kilkenny Castle and the associated stables.

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The great gateway (under construction 1709) of 50), or published elevations from Palladio’s I (fig. 36) (fig. 37) GRAIGUENAMANAGH GRAIGUENAMANAGH Kilkenny Castle itself was appropriately the Quattro Libri (1570), of which there were many BRIDGE BRIDGE grandest, suggesting an aesthetic and political contemporary editions. The ‘great’ flood of Graiguenamanagh Graiguenamanagh (1764-7) agenda to the medieval setting. It exerted an 1763 damaged a range of existing crossings, A detail of the bridge Having been rebuilt by illustrates the ogee-headed elaborate and overblown presence in the man- although various bridges were rebuilt with the George Smith (fl. 1763-7) niches reputedly ner of a contemporary frontispiece, and has for- support of the Dublin Parliament in 1765. The in the mid eighteenth inspired by the nearby century, a bridge over the Catholic tunately survived various attempts at alteration. bridge at Thomastown, originally rebuilt post River Barrow connecting Church. Oculi between the outer arches produce Others, if less ornamental, must have featured 1763, suffered further damage in 1787 and was Graiguenamanagh with Tinnahinch, County a contrasting Classical as beacons in the landscape for the owners, re-erected and repaired in 1792. Carlow, underwent further quality in thecomposition. repairs when damaged by while suggesting an air of mighty authority to STROAN FOUNTAIN Crown Forces during the 1798 Insurgency. those passing by. For many travellers the coun- Stroan, tryside was perceived as a series of landed Kilfane (1766) estates. The Post Chaise Companion referred to A highly distinctive foun- its routes as a progression from one seat to tain commonly attributed another. Typically: to Thomas Seigne ‘after [Giovanni Lorenzo] (fig. 39) Bernini’ (1598-1680), but ‘At Freshford, on the R. is the seat of Mr. INISTIOGE BRIDGE reminiscent of antique Inistioge Warren; and on the L. is Upper-court, that of Sir military headgear such as the Pickelhaube or Prussian A detail of the fine cut- William Morres, Bart. near which is Ballylurkan, Helmet. The fountain was granite dressings includes established by Colonel paired Ionic pilasters sup- belonging to Lord De Montalt…’ (Dublin, 1805). Bushe of nearby Kilfane porting a frieze and cor- House as a water supply nice, producing an attrac- Entrances were undoubtedly important to for tenants on the sur- tive contrast against the such travellers but surprisingly few were impres- rounding estate. comparatively unrefined quality of the rubble sive in scale. The entrance at Belline House stone construction. (c.1775) was more typical and remains intact with finely detailed wrought iron gates. The gateway (c.1800) of Castle Blunden incorporates fine stonework piers of ashlar limestone and bordering railings, together with a later set of central gates. (fig. 38) (fig. 40) INISTIOGE BRIDGE INISTIOGE BRIDGE Transport systems of the time were poor, Inistioge Inistioge (1763) although a highly organised coaching system An illustration of the was developed as the century progressed. Designed by George upriver elevation of the Smith in the mid eigh- bridge highlights the Kilkenny’s great rivers assured an important teenth century, the bridge triangular cut-waters rising means of communication and they, together at Inistioge incorporates a into elegantly tapered level profile as opposed to piers. with their tributaries, encouraged a legacy of the slightly humped deck seen in his work fine bridges. Many display an aspiration to a elsewhere. Conceived with civic grandeur and acknowledge international two clearly defined eleva- tions, the bridge features influences including the Swiss engineer Charles the Classical order on the Labelye’s (d. 1781) Westminster Bridge (1734- downriver front with tapered cut-water piers on the opposite front.

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(fig. 41) CASTLECOMER BRIDGE Castlecomer (1763)

Making an elegant visual impact at a crossing over the Dinin or Deen River, a Classically-com- posed bridge reveals details shared in common with further bridges rebuilt by George Smith (fig. 45) across the county. Such DININ BRIDGE detailing includes round- Ardaloo/ headed recessed niches Dunmore West incorporating block-and- (1792) start surrounds in County Kilkenny limestone. A late eighteenth- century rural bridge with elliptical-headed arches on squat piers makes an elegant visual impact at a crossing over the Dinin or Deen River.

(fig. 44) BALLYLINCH BRIDGE Cottrellsbooly/ Ballylinch Demesne (c.1775) George Smith (fl. 1763-7), a pupil of George ration for the form and elevation of Green’s A lengthy eighteenth-cen- tury bridge features broad Semple (c.1700-82) designer of Dublin’s Essex Bridge (1766), Kilkenny, erected under the con- arches rising elegantly into Bridge (1753-5), was responsible for many trol of Smith; parapets were added at a later date an elevated central posi- tion over the river and bridges in the 1760s. Smith was familiar with (1835) (fig. 42). The attractive and stately bridge smaller, comparatively rus- (1763) at retains a regiment of tic, arches spanning the Palladio and also with the contemporary flood plains on either side designs for Blackfriar’s Bridge (1760-9), London, small carriage guards to prevent the bridge being of the Nore. (fig. 43) (fig. 42) by Robert Mylne (1734-1811). Smith was damaged by passing vehicles (fig. 43). Others are BENNETT’S BRIDGE GREEN’S BRIDGE Bennettsbridge Kilkenny responsible for the seven-arch bridge (1764-7) no less impressive, even where the present traf- (1763) (1766) at Graiguenamanagh, incorporating niches and fic route affords little opportunity to admire the Once again incorporating Green’s Bridge was one of blind occuli together with arches of various architectural effect, as at Ballylinch Bridge the Classical motifs recur- many bridges rebuilt by rent in contemporary George Smith following heights rising towards the centre to produce an (c.1775), Cottrellsbooly, on the River Nore near bridges devised by the ‘Great Flood’ of the elegant profile (figs. 36-37). In contrast the Mount Juliet, which enhances the picturesque George Smith, Bennett’s Nore in 1763. At one Bridge features tapered time it shared stylistic sim- arches of the rebuilt bridge (1763) at Inistioge quality of an already pleasing setting (fig. 44). cut-waters recalling the ilarities with the contem- The abundant supply of fast-flowing rivers composition at Inistioge, porary Saint John’s Bridge are all semi-circular and of equal height, the and block-and-start (1765-72; replaced 1910), whole surmounted by a horizontal parapet (figs. resulted in a wealth of fine mills, with those at voussoir surrounds to further down the river, on the arches reminiscent account of the incorpora- 38-40). His bridge (1763) at Castlecomer also Bennettsbridge and Kells among the best known of the schemes at tion of Classical features incorporates Classical detailing such as string- and of enormous size even by modern stan- Green’s Bridge and including pedimented Graiguenamanagh. aedicules. Raised parapets courses and niches (fig. 41). Palladio’s descrip- dards. Corn Mill (established 1782), were added in 1835 with Kells, on the Kings River is a modest-scale com- one parapet subsequently tion and illustration of the Rimini Bridge (3 BC) removed in 1969. would appear to have provided a direct inspi- plex with origins reputedly dating back to the

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(fig. 46) KELLS BRIDGE KELLS FLOUR MILL Kells (MULLINS CORN MILL) (c.1725 and c.1775) Kells (1782) An eight-arch early eighteenth-century bridge A modest mill complex, at a crossing over the opened by the Mullins Kings River, widened family on the bank of the later in the century, Kings River, reputedly has with the five arches of origins in a mill estab- the additional portion lished in 1204-6 by overlapping to produce Geoffrey de Monte a highly distinctive Marisco FitzRobert rhythmic pattern. (c.1197-1242), 1st Baron FitzRobert. Having been put out of use in the 1960s, the mill was restored in 1997 as an occasional heritage centre.

early thirteenth century (1204-6) (fig. 46). The political and religious upheavals of pre- Meanwhile, the nearby Hutchinson’s Corn Mill vious centuries had enormous consequences for (fig. 47) KELLS FLOUR MILL (c.1800), Kells, remains an imposing focal point the architectural legacy of the church. In effect, (HUTCHINSON’S in the landscape (fig. 47). Although put out of the Catholic tradition went underground. Only CORN MILL) Kells use by the late twentieth century, each mill the sporadic collections of ecclesiastical vest- (c.1800) retains an array of milling machinery including ments and church silver give some indication Making an imposing mill wheels. Such mills were, and remain, of what might have been manifested architec- presence felt on the bank of the Kings River, a impressive, often overshadowing the engineer- turally. Places of Catholic worship were few and large-scale flour mill retains a regular pattern ing achievements of the systems of weirs and far between. Intact examples have all but dis- produced by the almost culverts required to control the flow of water to appeared or have been incorporated into later monotonous arrangement of small-scale openings on turn the great mill wheels. Another large-scale buildings. Surviving families of Catholic gentry, each floor. Camber-head- project undertaken in the mid century was the such as Viscounts Mountgarret, were in a posi- ed openings incorporating red brick dressings enliven Kilkenny Canal (1755-65), devised as part of a tion to circumvent the laws of the period and the external expression of an otherwise forbidding river improvement scheme (1755-75) executed support small-scale church (‘chapel’) building, edifice. under the supervision of William Ockenden (d. and Robert Butler funded the Old Chapel (1774) 1761). It was briefly considered the wonder of at Ballyragget. The , although the locality, but by 1778 it was clear that the the Established Church, was in no economic canal would never be completed. The failure to position to forge ahead with an adventurous complete the project, which would have pro- building campaign; for the most part existing vided direct access to seaborne trade, has been churches or ruins were adapted for new use. identified as a factor in the city’s economic Saint Lachtain’s Church (1730), New Bridge decline. Street, Freshford, incorporated the fabric of the

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FIDDOWN CHURCH The Nineteenth Century

In contrast to the unadorned exterior, the interior of the church at Fiddown boasts a wealth of exuberant Classical detailing. The interior FIDDOWN CHURCH is dominated by a Fiddown Baroque pedimented (1747) monument erected in 1858 in memory The diminutive rural of the Earl and Countess parish church was origi- of Bessborough. Flanking nally intended as the the east window, a chancel of a larger com- wall-monument (1747) position built by Reverend records the provenance of Robert Watts, as the church together with indicated on early editions the patronage of of the Ordnance Survey. Reverend Robert Watts.

With the benefit of hindsight, the eigh- ‘great’ names of Irish nineteenth-century archi- THE SQUARE Freshford teenth century appears as a comparatively gold- tecture, and there were no projects by British (1878) en age for Kilkenny. The nineteenth century architects of the quality of John Nash (1752- A cast-iron waterpump was, by contrast, punctuated by political and 1835) and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin belonging to a rare, if not unique, design group medieval abbey and its Romanesque doorway (1756-65), with the interven- social change, each event more dramatic than (1812-52), both of whom worked in neigh- incorporates an elegantly- (figs. 1-2), while Saint Mary’s Church (pre tion of Saunderson Miller (1716-80), were in the the next. The Act of Union (1800), rebellion, bouring counties. There was, however, a marked swept pedestal, a decora- tive cap, and a distinctive 1837), Green Street or Edmund Ignatius Rice Classical taste of the period and described as and ongoing insurgency maintained a political embrace of local architects and a confidence in wheel. The waterpump Street, Callan, integrated the chancel of a fif- Grecian Doric style. Little survives although the ferment, while religious change such as their ability to address a wide range of projects was installed by Thomas Eyre (b. c.1821) of nearby teenth-century Augustinian Friary (1460). Such Robing Room (1756/60) may date from the Catholic Emancipation (1829) and the Irish in a competent and informed, if not always the Uppercourt House for the benefit of the residents of ‘visual signifiers’ emphasised a sense of conti- project. It retains the aspect of an ornamental Church Disestablishment Act (1869; imple- most exciting style. The two dominant practi- Freshford. nuity for the Church. garden building and, while attractive, is sur- mented 1871) had lasting consequences. The tioners were William Robertson (1770-1850) Saint Canice’s Cathedral, Church Lane, prisingly sedate, unlike the adventurousness ravages of poverty and famine were relentless and William Deane Butler (d. 1857), the latter Kilkenny, having been described in 1756 as occasionally applied to such incidental build- and various land reforms, like the Irish Land acting, in effect, as a diocesan architect for the ruinous, was in 1776 considered by Twis as ‘not ings. Its basement retains the masonry of a Act (1881), resulted in the break up and ulti- Catholic Diocese of Ossory. beautiful’; it had, he noted, ‘a neatness, but is small defensive tower of the medieval town mate demise of great estates. All these events Political union had repercussions for the sta- destitute of grandeur’ (Dublin, 1777). wall, while its rear elevation on Church Lane had an impact on the county’s architectural tus of towns and villages, and small towns that Alterations under Richard Pococke (1704-65), also reveals traces of the medieval wall. heritage. Few buildings were designed by the had held municipal rights found those ancient

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KNOCKTOPHER A sense of ‘Englishness’ seems to have sug- (c.1750) gested a quality of improvement and this was A mid eighteenth- century inn represents certainly the case in Gowran, which under- part of the historic core scored this effect through the use of Tudor of ; although altered at ground floor, Revival architecture. In many respects Gowran the original small-pane exemplifies the Irish small town, reflecting all sash windows survive in place to the first floor. the cultural and social influences of the age. Described, early in the century, as ‘…a place of no great magnitude or trade…’ it had ‘improved’ considerably by the time it was alluded to by William Mackpeace Thackeray (1811-63) in The Irish Sketchbook:

entitlements abolished. Knocktopher, at one house in larger towns. Most typically a fashion ‘The first place we passed through was the lit- time a parliamentary with a corpora- emerged for carved and colourfully painted tle town of Gowran, near which is a grand, well- tion styled the ‘Sovereign, Burgesses and shopfronts, the most distinctive, if now much ordered park, belonging to Lord Clifden [Henry Commonality’ was, by 1837, merely a village neglected, decorative feature of an Irish town. Agar Ellis (1825-66), 3rd Viscount Clifden], and where both the market and fair had been dis- Urban growth implied social stability and where his mother [Lady Georgina Howard (d. continued! Political union stifled the leadership Lewis’s A Topographical Dictionary was at pains 1860)] resides… The kind English lady has done role of the aristocracy and gentry in local com- to celebrate the number of houses and inhabi- the greatest good in the neighbourhood, it is said, (fig. 48) munities, but they still influenced architectural tants in any given community. Some appeared GOWRAN CASTLE and the little town bears marks of her beneficence, Gowran MAIN STREET developments and patronage. As members of to flourish while others survived as occasional in its neatness, prettiness, and order’ (London, (1855) Gowran (c.1850) Grand Juries, ‘the gentry’ remained involved in centres for fair days or, as at Mullinavat, stop- 1843). Known as ‘Forester’s A picturesque small-scale the administration of justice. On the other ping places between larger towns. Typically Lodge’, a picturesque Near its highest point a Tudor Revival gate composition in the estate worker’s house hand, the established a grow- Lewis noted how Ballyragget was situated on Tudor style represents one expresses a Tudor lodge (1855), with attractive limestone and of two individual lodges, quality reminiscent of the ing influence evidenced by an increasing array the Nore: built to designs by contemporary gate lodge granite detailing and bargeboards, marks the of building types: churches, convents, hospitals, William George Murray (1855) and Forester’s ‘over which is a good stone bridge of 10 arch- entrance to the otherwise Classical Gowran (1822-71), which embel- Lodge (1855) at the and schools. Comparably, the cradle-to-grave lish the entrances on to entrances to the grounds es; it consists of one principal street, with several Castle (1817-9), designed by William Robertson. influence of the state gained momentum, and the grounds of the of the Gowran Castle smaller streets diverging from it and contains about The gate piers and railings (c.1850) are attrac- Gowran Castle estate. estate, thereby suggesting this had consequences for the diverse architec- William George Murray as 300 houses…’ (London, 1837). tive additions to the character of the the architect common to tural forms that addressed the promotion of each scheme. streetscape. In the town, substantial houses education, health, and justice. In 1788 Ballyragget had been inherited stand close by terraces of smaller houses, both The shape and characteristic form of most by Thomas MacMorrough Kavanagh (1767- dating from the 1850s. One group in Main towns and villages was confirmed in this peri- 1837) of Borris, . Much of its Street incorporates elements of the Tudor od. Economic decline assured that most improvements were carried out by his son Revival taste typical of the mid century, and remained largely unchanged until the growth of Arthur (1831-89): some of their decorative bargeboards have been recent years. A distinctive template developed, ‘…for he undertook to reconstruct the town and retained (fig. 48). Saint Mary’s Church (1871) if unwittingly, to include a range of public plant it with magnificent lime and beech trees, lay- stands at the heart of the community; it buildings of varying prominence: a church, a ing it out in the best tradition of English villages, employs the Gothic Revival style of the era and police station (generally known as ‘the bar- with square and fair green’. racks’), perhaps a courthouse, and a market

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(fig. 49) HIGH STREET COMERFORD SAINT MARY’S CHURCH Castlecomer Barrack Street, (SAINT MARY’S ABBEY) (c.1800) Castlecomer off Main Street, (house c.1825; Following the destruction Gowran shopfront c.1900) of Castlecomer during the (c.1225 and 1871) 1798 Rebellion, as noted Archival photography Forming a prominent by Samuel Lewis in 1837, dating to the beginning focal point in the centre the ranges flanking High of the twentieth century of Gowran, the remains of Street were replaced with indicates that Castlecomer an early thirteenth-century modest and middle-sized once featured a shopfront abbey meet with a recon- houses incorporating a genre particular to the structed nineteenth-centu- Classical theme, or a town, identified by a cor- ry church at a reused derivative thereof. Here, nice brought forward as a crossing tower where Irish two houses once jointly canopy. Although no battlements punctuate the known as Aher House are longer in use, this last sur- skyline. In the grounds, a considered as a wholly- viving shopfront of the graveyard contains integrated composition type in Barrack Street pretty cut-stone markers centred on a shared car- retains most, if not all, of riageway. Simple iron rail- spanning a number of (figs. 50-51) the original detailing, ings enhance the dignified centuries. SAINT MARY’S CHURCH including traditional paint- quality of the formal (SAINT MARY’S ABBEY) ed lettering. ensemble in the off Main Street, streetscape. Gowran

Having fallen into disre- abuts the old medieval abbey (c.1225), thereby Ireland (between 1870-9) combined to exude an pair, the interior of Saint Mary's Church was asserting continuity and authority (figs. 49-51). air of urbanity worthy of a larger centre. The restored (before 2004) by the Office of Public The main street still retains a number of char- individual buildings are visually linked through Works, retaining the acteristic shopfronts, admittedly of a later date, shared materials and the use of a Classical style. character of the original scheme by Thomas although these now are increasingly threatened. In 1839, and in contrast to nearby County Henry Wyatt (1807-80). Some, such as Loughlin’s pubfront (house Carlow, Eugene O’Curry in Ordnance Survey An impressive pediment- ed tetrastyle fluted Doric c.1850; pubfront c.1875), act as plain but letters noted of Castlecomer that: memorial dominates the crossing; the dedication important focal points; others, through the use ‘in short here is all good manner and custom, on a plaque is no longer of simple lines and traditional forms, enhance legible. that ought to distinguish a decent country town in the appearance of the town as a whole. Outside Ireland’ (Dublin, 2003). the town proper, the Catholic Church of the Assumption (1881-9) and an adjoining substan- Castlecomer had been badly destroyed in the (fig. 52) MAIN STREET 1798 Rebellion but was largely rebuilt in the tial parochial house (c.1900) show a pairing of nineteenth-century shopfronts. It is possible to Kilkenny City itself more or less stagnated, Mullinavat architectural elements that has long been a dis- early decades of the century. By 1837 Lewis see the once common arrangement for Irish a state compounded by epidemics of cholera (c.1800) tinctive feature of rural Irish communities. could note that it consisted of one wide main townhouses, where the main elevation of the (1832) and famine (1845-8). In Ireland in 1872: Known locally as the ‘Bishop’s House’, a mod- Lewis described Viscount Clifden’s town of street and several smaller, it having already con- house incorporates an archway leading to a rear A Tour… James Macaulay (b. 1817) quoted a est dwelling of urban Callan, the second town of the county, as ‘very tained 455 houses by 1831, chiefly inhabited by yard, and the even more widespread arrange- source that noted: vernacular interest remains as the last house in indifferently built’ (London, 1837). Yet, by the persons engaged in the nearby collieries. The ment of living quarters above a shop premises. Mullinavat to retain ‘Kilkenny was an important town when important early features second half of the nineteenth century, the jux- town still benefits from an attractive layout: the However, not all communities were improved, was only a village: it had several factories, eleven including sash windows, a taposition in Green Street, now Edmund tree-lined main street rises along a gentle slope and most remained rural in aspect with numer- timber boarded door, watermills, and such a carpet factory that its and a whitewashed lime Ignatius Rice Street, of its Catholic Church of to The Square, combining a sense of grandeur ous mud cabins. Even large properties were English rival to avoid competition demanded the rendered wall surface. The the Assumption (1836-45) by John B. Keane with charm. It retains many fine premises, both often roughly rendered, as in a surviving house house also reputedly repeal of the Union…’ (London, 1873). features the original com- (d. 1859), courthouse (pre 1840) and Bank of domestic and commercial, with an array of late (c.1800) at Main Street, Mullinavat (fig. 52). pacted mud floors.

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(fig. 53) (fig. 55) ROTHE HOUSE THOMASTOWN RAIL- 15-16 Parliament Street, WAY VIADUCT Kilkenny Jerpoint West, (1594-1610) Thomastown (1850) An early photograph of a somewhat dilapidated An elegantly composed Rothe House dates to the viaduct makes a dramatic last quarter of the nine- visual statement over teenth century: the period the River Nore on the when it was accounted outskirts of Thomastown. for in less than flattering Originally built to terms by the Sanitary designs by Captain Authority (1884) as William Scart Moorsom being in ‘a filthy and dan- (1804-63), the central gerous condition’. span was once the longest single span in the Courtesy of the Irish British Isles. It was Architectural Archive replaced in 1877 by a scheme by Charles Richard Galwey (1840-94).

Kilkenny Railway Station (opened 1847), the Malcomson family who were shareholders The city declined from a population of continued to be improved with many new renamed Thomas McDonagh Railway Station, in many railway companies, which may 23,000 in 1821, to a little fewer than 11,000 by bridges. The handsome triple-arched bridge Dublin Road, now has the effect of a branch account for its comparative grandeur in such a 1900. Similarly the number of houses declined (1792) over the River Dineen at Ardaloo and siding although it originally played a more cen- rural setting. Newhouse Bridge (opened 1848) at from around 3,840 in 1821, to 1,941 in 1900. Dunmore West, much repaired over the years, tralised role with branch lines leading to Knockbrack and Rathduff crosses the Waterford Even then the vast majority of dwellings were combines rubble and dressed stone to attractive and Maryborough (now ) and Maryborough [Portlaoise] branch of the Great Southern and Western Railway (GSWR) essentially mud cabins. A report from the effect (fig. 45). Massford Bridge (c.1850), Clogh (fig. 54) by 1868. The station was designed by Captain Sanitary Authority in 1884 noted of Rothe and , incorporates a weir of the same FIDDOWN AND PORT- William Scarth Moorsom (1804-63) with advice line and is a good example of its type. The LAW RAILWAY STATION House that it was in: date, both of which attest to the ongoing abil- FIDDOWN BRIDGE TOLL Fiddown from Sancton Wood (c.1814-86), designer of Thomastown Railway Viaduct (1850) on the HOUSE ity of builders and engineers. (opened 1853) Kingsbridge Station (1846), renamed Heuston same line was a dramatic engineering achieve- ‘…a filthy and dangerous condition. There is Fiddown As elsewhere in Ireland, and with an impact (c.1850) A compact railway station Station, Dublin. Smaller stations at Gowran ment being, on construction, the largest bridge neither drainage nor privy accommodation two por- in a pared-down Classical now difficult to appreciate, the arrival of rail- The modest impression style, reputedly established (opened 1852) and Mullinavat (opened 1853) span in these islands (fig. 55). Impressively tall tions of the yard are used as piggeries, and the made in the street by a on the Waterford and ways by mid century had a radical effect. Their came with a range of architectural forms: sta- twin masonry arches carried the railway above whole place is full of pig manure and nuisance…’ Tudor-flavoured toll Railway (WLR) social impact was unparalleled and the archi- collector’s house belies the branch extension of the tion buildings, signal boxes, and gatekeepers’ the River Nore. It was designed by Moorsom (fig. 53) true scale of the composi- Great Southern and and constructed by the Dublin firm of John and tectural and engineering consequences remain, tion, which incorporates a Western Railway (GSWR) houses were often attractively executed, as in basement and dormer attic. The existing network of roads and navigable in many places, to be admired to this day. The line at the suggestion of the crossing master’s house (1850) at Gowran. Robert Mallet. The original viaduct, of timber, Although replaced in 1983, the Malcomson family waterways functioned well into the century. creation of embankments, cuttings, new the associated Fiddown of , County Larger stations such as that at Fiddown (opened was replaced in 1877 with a broad iron expanse Bridge retains some of the Typically, coal from Castlecomer was transport- Waterford. As major share- 1853) on the Waterford and Limerick Railway constructed by Courtney, Stephens and Bailey bridges, and viaducts impacted on the land- fine stone masonry of holders in the railway ed to the south east by the rivers Barrow and scape as no transport system previously had. its earlier nineteenth-century companies of Ireland, the (WLR) line served nearby Portlaw in County of Dublin, to designs by Charles Richard predecessor. Malcomsons supposedly Galwey (1840-94). Suir, and by the Grand Canal to Dublin. Roads Stations, large and small, dotted the county. had considerable influence Waterford (fig. 54). It has been associated with in this sector.

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Industrial development was small-scale and huge building is surmounted with crenellated (fig. 58) localised. The occasional chimneystack, as at parapets that, together with machicolations KILLINNY CORN MILL Killinny the old tannery (c.1850), off Lady’s Well Street, (projecting elements on the corners), suggest (c.1825)

Thomastown, indicates earlier small-scale indus- nothing less than a massive medieval castle. An impressive large-scale trial activity, but the coalworks at Castlecomer Larger towns supported market houses. That in mill, built as Killinny Flour Mill, makes a dramatic (fig. 56) impact on a bank overlook- and the Smithwick’s Brewery at Kilkenny were Market Square, Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer, SAINT FRANCIS’S ABBEY ing the Kings River, with BREWERY among the comparatively few industries of sig- now the courthouse (c.1800), is among the crow-stepped gables punc- 44 Parliament Street, tuating the skyline. Having nificance. The brewery supported many fine finest. Executed in the Classical style it consists Kilkenny been restored in 1983, the buildings: its gateway (c.1875) on Jenkin’s Lane of a central two-storey block with projecting (1882) mill was subsequently retains attractive ironwork and lettering. The side pavilions, creating the effect of a com- A purpose-built office, closed in 1989. designed for the associated maltings (1810), Tilbury Place or pressed neo-Palladian country house in administration of the James’s Sconce, follows the simple but logical the heart of the town. It retains a later nearby Saint Francis’s Abbey Brewery or Smithwick’s arrangement of existing mills and warehouses; weighbridge but the open quality of the origi- Brewery complex, has an urbane quality that befits a until recently the floors were supported on a nal ground floor was marred when it was con- larger city such as Dublin. mixture of cast-iron and timber columns with verted to a courthouse in the 1870s. The composition is enlivened by its construction solid timber beams. The adjoining malthouse in red brick with limestone retains its characteristic pyramidal roof, com- dressings, including a robustly-rusticated ground plementing the vertical thrust of Saint Mary’s floor incorporating a series of round-headed Cathedral nearby. The nearby Saint Francis openings recalling an Abbey Brewery building (1882) on Parliament Italianate arcade.

Street, would not appear out-of place in the St. (fig. 57) James’s Street area of Dublin (figs. 56-57). It SAINT FRANCIS’S ABBEY BREWERY manages to combine, and retains, decorative 44 Parliament Street, (fig. 60) Kilkenny brickwork and patterning suggesting variety BARRAGHCORE and affluence without ever appearing flamboy- A detail of the first floor MALTHOUSE expresses the variety of Duninga ant. ornamentation characteristic (c.1800) of the High Victorian period; Many mills and warehouses, characterised by the window openings alone A massive range, possibly solid masonry with small-scale openings, retain incorporate sills on consoles, constructed over two stepped reveals, keystones, periods as Barraghcore their appearance and, in their functionality, and pretty checkerboard- Flour Mill, stands out in style overpanels. the local landscape with beckoned towards the logical styles of twenti- battlements, machicola- eth-century architecture. Killinny Corn Mill tions, and a turret, all play- fully articulating the skyline. (c.1825), Killinny, continued in use until the (fig. 59) 1980s and is typical of this style although its KILLINNY CORN MILL Killinny severity is relieved through the employment of A view of the giant water- crow-stepped gables (figs. 58-59). It benefits too wheel, sadly exhibiting from the retention of a range of support build- decay since the mill complex was put out of ings including a substantial mill house (c.1825) use. and rendered gate lodge (c.1850). The malt- house (c.1800) at Barraghcore, Duninga, is one of the most impressive in Ireland (fig. 60). The

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(fig. 61) SAINT FRANCIS’S CAPUCHIN FRIARY Friary Street, Kilkenny (1848)

A view of the interior com- pleted to designs by Patrick O’Toole (fl. 1846- post 1855) revealing a rich Italianate decorative scheme. The interior fea- tures a round arcade to the side aisles supporting a clere-storey, a compartmen- talised ceiling incorporating rich plasterwork detailing, and a broken segmental pedimented reredos. Curiously, although most of the churches in the county adopt a Gothic-style architectural theme, a great number incorporate a con- trasting Classical reredos.

(fig. 62) The Gothic Revival, in all its variants, dom- to an assessment of the past. Significant publi- THE BLACK ABBEY inated the almost continuous boom in church cations indicative of this trend included work Abbey Street, Kilkenny building throughout the nineteenth century. by James George Robertson (fl. 1838-51) who (founded 1225)

There were some exceptions influenced by painted views of the antiquities of Kilkenny and One of the earliest-surviv- The restoration and reuse of historic build- Classical or at least Italianate tastes, as at Saint published The Antiquities and Scenery of County ing ecclesiastical sites in ings emphasised, quite literally, continuity Kilkenny City, the Black Francis’s Capuchin Friary (1848 and 1897), Kilkenny (1851). The Reverend James Graves Abbey has met with between past and present. The Black Abbey Friary Street, Kilkenny (fig. 61), but on the (1815-86) and John George Augustus Prim mixed fortunes since the (founded 1225), Abbey Street, Kilkenny, was re- (fig. 63-64) early thirteenth century, THE BLACK ABBEY whole Gothic tastes prevailed, reflecting con- (1821-75) published The History, Architecture, with periods of prosperity dedicated as a place of worship in 1778 Abbey Street, and expansion intermin- Kilkenny temporary antiquarianism and the widespread and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Saint gled with periods out of (figs. 62-64), and the partial restoration of influence of Pugin and his Irish followers, Canice, Kilkenny in 1857. Francis Moran (1830- use and in decay. The the thirteenth-century Duiske Abbey, The celebrated Rosary present appearance of the Window, executed by notably James Joseph McCarthy (1817-82). 1911), Bishop of Ossory (1872-84) founded the building dates largely Graiguenamanagh, was already underway by Franz Mayer and Gothic allowed for an apparent continuum Ecclesiastical Archaeological Society of Ossory from a renovation pro- 1813 (fig. 176). The ruin of Castle Company of Munich in gramme of 1859-66/7 1892, is framed by a between the Kilkenny’s medieval past and pres- in 1874, a trend that culminated in the mas- under the direction of (c.1550) was incorporated as a bell tower in the carved County Kilkenny James Joseph McCarthy limestone surround dating ent. Guidebooks and travellers provided terful The History and Antiquities of the Diocese (1817-82). Catholic Church of Saint Martin of Tours (1804 to 1332. Later stained accounts of its medieval sites while the found- of Ossory (1905) by Reverend William Carrigan and 1855) and, at Coolaghmore, the ruinous glass windows (1976-9) display a loose abstract ing of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society in (1860-1924). Such publications, to this day, nave of the medieval church was redeveloped quality in contrast to the 1849, the precursor of the Royal Society of serve to underpin the links between Kilkenny (1818) as the local Catholic church until super- figurative tradition of the earlier counterpart. Antiquaries of Ireland, gave added momentum and its medieval past. seded in 1896.

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In the grounds of Saint Mary’s Church (fig. 65) (fig. 67) CHURCH STREET SAINT PETER’S CHURCH (1824), Church Street, Inistioge, the Fownes Inistioge (ENNISNAG) Tighe Mausoleum (1878) was created from an Stoneyford In the centre of Inistioge a (1815) early thirteenth-century tower house (1210). rare harmony is evident in the adjacent positioning of A picturesque rural parish Saint Mary’s itself, in the Early English style, is Saint Columcille’s Catholic church identified as a stan- juxtaposed with the local Catholic church Church (1836-7) with the dard Board of First Fruits earlier Saint Mary’s Church (fl. c.1711-1833) model by (1836-7) in a rare instance of architectural and (1824), indicating the long- the simple arrangement of a standing religious tolerance religious harmony (figs. 65-66). single-cell nave and a battle- in the village. mented West tower. Saint Mary’s, together with the building campaign for the Church of Ireland, was sup- ported by the Board of First Fruits (fl. c.1711- 1833). With some exceptions, all such church- es are easily recognisable: in addition to their obvious prominent location they reveal a frugal aesthetic, arguably as a result of their state (fig. 68) funding. They were sometimes erected using SAINT PETER’S CHURCH (ENNISNAG) dressed stone, or more usually rendered rubble, Stoneyford and their individuality was derived from subtle One of the original window details such as window dressings. Their auster- fittings showing the simple cut-granite surround attrac- ity represented a particular view of the Anglican tively divided into two tradition that would be challenged through pointed lights by a timber Y-mullion, together with del- liturgical reform movements. Nonetheless their icate lattice glazing panels. simplicity has stood them in good stead, with understated bold forms that make an eloquent statement in the landscape and appeal to a modern aesthetic. Some churches stand starkly against the horizon with a bold, if authorita- tive, outline as at Kilfane Church (c.1825), Kilfane West, in this instance enhanced with an octagonal turret instead of the usual tower or spire. Others take on a sculptural quality espe- (fig. 66) CHURCH STREET cially when set against the backdrop of now Inistioge mature trees, like Saint Mary’s Church (1818), From the grounds of Saint Tighe mausoleum (1878) around 1850, when an elaborate east window Athy Road, Castlecomer. Saint Peter’s Church Mary’s Church the many reusing the tower from a stages of the ecclesiastical medieval priory (established with attractive tracery was inserted (figs. 67-68). (1815), Ennisnag, together with a nearby bridge heritage of Inistioge are 1210); and the Greek Such churches, as at Kilfane or Castlecomer, fre- readily apparent. These Revival Mary Tighe (1827) on the Kings River, a shop and public include the nineteenth-cen- mausoleum (1810), all sur- quently acted as estate chapels. Their close house, is all that appears to indicate the core tury Catholic church; the rounded by cut-stone mark- Board of First Fruits Church ers spanning a number proximity to buildings such as entrance gates, distinctive community. Whatever embellish- of Ireland church incorporat- of centuries. gate lodges, or farm buildings enhances the ment exists at Ennisnag came from later work, ing the medieval White Castle (c.1525); the Fownes- architectural effect of the whole.

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(fig. 69) There were, of course, exceptions to the (fig. 70) (fig. 71) SAINT CANICE’S SAINT PAUL’S CHURCH SAINT PAUL’S CHURCH CATHEDRAL architectural austerity of the Board of First Piltown Piltown Church Lane, (1859-62) Fruits, among which the embellishment and A view of the interior illus- Kilkenny ‘restoration’ (1844-77) of Saint Canice’s Built to designs prepared by trates a particularly lavish (begun 1203) George Edmund Street chancel scheme producing a Cathedral, under Dean Charles Vignoles (1789- Occupying the position of a (1824-81) as the combined marked contrast with the chapel established by Saint 1877), is paramount (fig. 69). Much of the Bessborough Estate and unfinished quality of the Cainneach (515/6-600) in local parish chapel, Saint exposed stone construction the sixth century, the cathedral’s ‘historic’ effect dates from post 1863 Paul’s Church features an elsewhere. elegantly-tiered frontispiece appearance of the present when ‘restoration’ was under the control of cathedral, originally estab- whereby a gabled porch lished by Hugh de Rous (fl. Thomas Newenham Deane (1827-99), and rises into a tapered buttress supporting a rose window, 1202-18), dates largely from when the incumbent Bishop James Thomas ‘restoration’ projects. These all surmounted by a but- were carried out in the O’Brien (1792-1874) was among the strongest tressed bellcote. Classical style (pre 1766) opponents of disestablishment. Saint Paul’s and in the Gothic Revival SAINT AIDAN’S CHURCH KILKENNY CITY style (1844-77) to designs Church (1859-62), Piltown, is of exceptional Kilmanagh PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH prepared by Saunderson Ormonde Road, design quality (figs. 70-71). Combining the role (1846) Miller (1716-80) and Sir Kilkenny Thomas Newenham Deane of estate chapel for Bessborough House and Following the dissolution of (1839) (1827-99) respectively. the Board of First Fruits in local parish church, it was erected to designs by 1833 the new churches of A picturesque single-cell the Church of Ireland began chapel features a Gothic the celebrated George Edmund Street (1824-81), to adopt individual theme, severe and playful in best known today for his sprawling Law Courts personalities, forsaking the equal measure: dour lime- standard nave-and-tower stone walls are offset by (begun 1866) in London. Funded largely by pattern and recalling con- intricate glazing patterns John Ponsonby (1809-80) the 5th Earl of temporary Catholic churches together with an enriched in stylistic ambition, if not gable. Although no longer Bessborough, Saint Paul’s is the essence of scale. The church at serving its original purpose, Kilmanagh by Joseph such churches survive to the accomplished Gothic Revival, presenting sim- Welland (1798-1860) is present day as a reminder plicity of form with lavish detail restricted to characterised by a compact of the religious diversity of quality evident not only in Kilkenny City’s past. the finesse of the masonry detailing and the plan form, but in the ‘dressed’ stonework confined to features such as somewhat squat turret punctuating the skyline. doors and windows.

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SAINT ’S churches for well over a century: from the ear- as Saint Patrick’s Church (1896-9), College CATHOLIC CHURCH Clodiagh (Clodagh) liest examples, characterised by simplicity, to Road, Kilkenny, designed by Samuel Francis (1800) later buildings more complex in design and Hynes (1854-1931), rounded off the century. A compact rural parish more costly in materials and execution. The Individual church leaders were indefatigable church, picturesquely positioned in a sylvan set- Catholic Church of the Assumption (1826), builders. William Kinsella (1793-1845), Bishop ting on a hairpin road , is a simple hall form, large and com- of Ossory (1826-45) was responsible not only overlooking the Clodiagh River, is one of many modious enough to house a substantial congre- for Saint Kieran’s College (1836-9) (figs. 72-73), unexpected artefacts of gation, but built with insufficient means to sup- but also for churches at Inistioge (1836-7), considerable architectural heritage interest that char- port an elaborate structure. Nonetheless fine Castlecomer (1836-43), Ballyragget (1842), and acterise the rural landscape of County Kilkenny. limestone dressing was employed for window Freshford (1844); projects mostly designed by frames and doorcases, and much of this detail- William Deane Butler. Under Bishop Moran it ing has been retained. Saint Patrick’s Catholic was recorded that: Church (1840), Clogh, dominates the sur- ‘…schools were built, convents enlarged, in some rounding countryside; its brightly painted exte- case new ones were erected in a grand scale. Two rior arguably more distinctive from a distance Industrial Schools… Churches were improved and than at close quarters. It retains three attractive SAINT CANICE’S ornamented’. CATHOLIC CHURCH CATHOLIC CHURCH interior galleries with early Gothic Revival Dean Street, OF THE ASSUMPTION Despite an initial sense of severity, com- OLDCOURT, Kilkenny detailing and ribbed panelling. Later brass rail- Templeorum (1824-7) ings on the galleries are the sort of detail that pounded by the use of sombre grey limestone, (1860) A parish church of can be neglected, but in this case add to the Butler’s churches reveal a fondness for embel- medium size, built for A monumental gateway lishment. This is evidenced in the window trac- in a dramatic Gothic Reverend Jacob Gorman, period feel of the interior. Timber piers carved style makes a bold shows a quality of orna- to resemble stone colonnettes support the gal- ery of his church in Castlecomer and the vaults statement in the centre mentation uncommon in of Templeorum. The churches predating leries: an attractive detail, if representing Gothic of his church in Ballyragget. Saint Mary’s associated church Catholic Emancipation Catholic Cathedral (1843-57), James’s Street, (1810/2-4; rebuilt 1929) (1829). It is possible that on the cheap! As Gothic Revival styles became exhibits a sparse architec- some of the decorative more archaeologically exacting, architects quar- Kilkenny, ambitious in scale and audacious in detailing may have been tural quality in compari- location, reveals an indebtedness to English son. introduced as part of ried motifs from the past. McCarthy employed improvement works carried a window motif from Gowran Abbey in his Gothic tastes, in this instance King’s College out in 1924-6 by William Henry Byrne (1844-1917). church at Clonea (1860) in neighbouring (founded 1441), Cambridge. The collegial SAINT PATRICK’S County Waterford, and supervised the restora- Gothic of Cambridge also influenced Butler’s CENTRE The earliest Catholic churches reveal an aus- tion of the Black Abbey in Kilkenny between work at Saint Kieran’s College which precedes Reviewfields, terity comparable to their Protestant counter- Kilkenny 1859 and 1866/7. French thirteenth-century such mid-century (1841) collegial designs at the (1861) parts, but are markedly larger in scale. Many architecture influenced his designs for the Queen’s Colleges in Belfast, , and . A substantial complex, have been replaced and those demolished or Catholic Church of the Assumption (1859-67), Parallels have been drawn between Gloucester built as Saint Patrick’s adapted were seldom recorded. A few were Industrial School in an Chapel Lane, Thomastown. Projects became Cathedral (restored 1847-73) and Butler’s work institutional Jacobean described favourably, with Lewis noting the Revival style to designs more elaborate as the century progressed: Saint at Saint Mary’s, a church calculated, according ‘neat’ chapel (1815) in Stoneyford and describ- prepared by Frederick Joseph’s Catholic Church (1866-72), Ballyfoyle, to a contemporary: Darley (1798-1872), was ing the ‘chapel’ in Thomastown (nave, 1770, originally part of a pro- supported an elaborate west front with wall but- ‘…to inspire the beholder with a sublime awe gramme of work under- destroyed post 1867; tower 1823) as a hand- tresses, a deep recessed doorway, and traceried and reverence in a degree at once absorbing and taken by Bishop Francis some edifice. Across Kilkenny it is possible to Moran (1830-1911). west windows. Fully accomplished projects such transcendent…’ (figs. 74-75). discern the trajectory of Gothic Revival in such

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(fig. 74) SAINT MARY’S CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL James’s Street/ James’s Green, Kilkenny (1843-57)

An archival photograph from the Valentine Collection (1930-50) illustrates the commanding presence of William Deane Butler’s cathedral with a vertical quality produced by stepped buttresses, pinnacles, and a soaring tower. The later Chapter House (1890-9) by William Henry Byrne lies to the right of the image.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

The addition of a range of later buildings (fig. 72) (fig. 73) SAINT KIERAN’S COLLEGE SAINT KIERAN’S COLLEGE including the presbytery (1861), designed by College Road, College Road, William Hague (1836-99), and chapter house Kilkenny Kilkenny (established 1836) (1890-9), by William Henry Byrne (1844-1917), The central projecting Built to a masterplan pre- chapel has many qualities in enhance the urban effect of the composition as pared by William Deane common with contemporary a whole. Interior embellishment in the late Butler (c.1794-1857), churches by Deane. These Saint Kieran’s College was include the octagonal corner 1880s included the addition of an altar dedi- modified (1875) by George turrets and decorative cen- tral finial present at cated to the ‘Sacred Heart’ designed and exe- Coppinger Ashlin (1837-1921) when the Castlecomer (1836-43), cuted by James Pearse (1839-1900), father of arcades were added to the Ballyragget (1842), and the wings and the east Catholic Cathedral (1843- (fig. 75) (1879-1916). Otherwise plain terminating block was com- 57) in Kilkenny City. SAINT MARY’S CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL churches were embellished throughout the cen- pleted. In 1955, the west terminating block James’s Street/James’s tury not only in keeping with fashions but, pre- built by Simon Aloysius Green, Kilkenny sumably, as funds were made available. The Leonard (1903-76) of W.H. Byrne and Sons of A view of the crossing Dublin concluded the tastes of the faithful — art for the poor and usu- tower features a trompe scheme, reusing fabric from l’oeil painted scheme on ally funded by the poor — did not always the demolished Saint a flat panel, giving the John’s Church (1840) in accommodate those of a ‘delicate’ sensibility. impression of architectural nearby Maudlin Street and ornamentation rising to a Visitors to the Black Abbey in the 1840s thereby maintaining central rose. bemoaned the interior decoration, finding it the historic quality of the overall composition. dreadful:

‘The gaudiness and glittering finery of modern taste were oddly and painfully mingled with the solemn grandeur of the ancient state…’.

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(fig. 76) (fig. 77) (fig. 78) KILKENNY CITY GARRISON HOUSE GARRISON HOUSE MILITARY BARRACKS Wolfe Tone Street, Wolfe Tone Street, Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny Kilkenny Kilkenny (c.1800) (1803) A detail of the doorcase A modest-scale house, reveals the juxtaposition An archival photograph originally intended as the of a Classical-style of the Kilkenny City residence of the governor Gibbsian surround with Military Barracks from the of the nearby military bar- a Gothic-style tracery William Lawrence racks. Classical proportions fanlight to picturesque Collection (1880-1900) together with sparse effect. illustrates the principal detailing lend the house block identified by a state- a dignified, understated ly pedimented breakfront, quality. together with a number of attendant ranges intended as officers’ mess- es and accommodation for unmarried soldiers.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

CASTLECOMER MILI- TARY BARRACKS Barrack Street, Castlecomer (c.1800)

Built, as suggested by Samuel Lewis in 1837, If spiritual salvation was guaranteed by Military Barracks (1783), County Tipperary, and in response to the political tensions in the area fol- churches, a network of sites enforcing law and Military Barracks (1807), County lowing the 1798 order underpinned political and social stability. Westmeath. The Governor’s House (c.1800), Insurgency, a large-scale infantry barracks remains Whereas Gothic dominated the ecclesiastical now Garrison House, stands between John’s a monolithic presence sphere, public buildings continued in the Green and Upper John Street (figs. 77-78). overlooking Castlecomer. A sober Classical theme, Classical tradition, albeit with some exceptions. Ongoing political agitation and social distress comparable with that in Kilkenny City, is produced The Barracks (1800-3), now assured a need for both gaols and police bar- by symmetrical planning Military Barracks, Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny, racks. Barracks for the Royal Irish Constabulary centred on a breakfront that features attractive sur- was erected by the Board of Works (fig. 76). It (RIC), were erected in the course of the centu- rounds to the openings in shares a standardised design idiom with other ry, their architecture depending on the scale or local granite, compound- ing the muted monochro- military barracks of the time, like Templemore importance of the post. The barracks (c.1850) matic palette.

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(fig. 79) BENNETTSBRIDGE GARDA SÍOCHÁNA STATION Main Street, Bennettsbridge (c.1850)

A barracks originally built for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) makes a prominent impact on the road lead- ing into Bennettsbridge, with corner turrets pro- ducing a picturesque ‘toy fort’ quality in the composition. The barracks was adapted to use as a Garda Síochána Station by the Office of Public Works in 1927.

CLOMANTAGH ROYAL IRISH CONSTABULARY BARRACKS Clomantagh Lower, Clomantagh (c.1850)

A substantial range on an elegantly-swept cres- cent plan, frequently in Main Street, Bennettsbridge, was perhaps the and stone staircases (fig. 80). Some years earli- (fig. 80) KILKENNY CITY associated with the most playful with terminal turrets adding an air er (1808) Robertson had undertaken the build- nearby Clomantagh COURTHOUSE Castle, but identified as of Gothic Revival gaiety (fig. 79). ing of the, now demolished, county gaol. The Parliament Street, a ‘Constabulary Barracks’ Kilkenny on early editions of the In keeping with its own sense of authority courthouse (pre 1840), Green Street or Edmund (1792 and 1828; with Ordnance Survey. the Classical idiom prevailed in courthouse Ignatius Rice Street, Callan, contributes to the 1210 and 1566) A centrepiece incorporat- ing elliptical-headed car- design. The small courthouse (rebuilt 1855-6), municipal aspirations of this quarter of the Even the most cursory of glances reveals various riageways recalls the Main Street, Gowran, employed a Greek Revival town. With five bays and built of finely dressed Kilkenny Castle stables, stages of development and gives credibility to style. The neo-Classical courthouse (1792) on stone, it echoes a generic type of courthouse in the courthouse. These the building’s supposed include traces of the origins as a stable com- Parliament Street, Kilkenny, parallels James built across the country in the 1840s and 1850s. medieval Grace’s Castle plex. (1210) to the basement, Gandon’s (1742-1823) now demolished court- These have been attributed to William Francis and the remnants of an house (1784) in Waterford and his surviving Caldbeck (c.1824-72) with parallel examples as early bridewell (1566), all surmounted by William façade of Nottingham Town Hall (1770-2). Its far afield as Carrickmacross (1844), County Robertson’s (1770-1850) dominant effect, however, derives from William Monaghan, and Clifden (1845), . reconceived Classical-style composition centred on Robertson’s remodelling of the façade in 1828 There is a further example in Kilkenny at an elegant pedimented tetrastyle Tuscan fron- when he added the distinctive balcony terrace Urlingford (pre 1840). tispiece.

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POWER (THE IRISH HOUSE) Upper Bridge Street, Callan (house c.1800; shopfront c.1875)

A nineteenth-century frontage accommodates two separate commercial spaces within a wholly- unified composition, its refined Classical detailing FIDDOWN exhibiting expert carpentry. (c.1875)

A pretty composition expressing two distinct components: the residential space exhibits a muted (fig. 82) (fig. 81) Tudor style, while the com- WALSH MOLLOY mercial space incorporates Kilkenny Street, Dungarvan a contrasting Classical Castlecomer (c.1875) theme. (house c.1825; A symmetrically-composed shopfront c.1875) shopfront forms an A nineteenth-century appealing focal point in F.J. MURRAY the village centre. It In spite of poverty and destitution County century. Some were architecturally ambitious or shopfront references Lower Main Street/The Classical influences in retains all of the original Quay, Graiguenamanagh Kilkenny saw much commercial activity and the at least employed carving and lettering in a com- features such as the fabric, including a fascia (house c.1800; paired pilasters with con- incorporating gold letter- nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of bination that suggested aspirations to grandeur. pubfront c.1875) soles, and a dentilated ing together with the glazed timber sliding a whole new middle class. Shopkeepers and Such fronts could assume, on occasion, an air of moulded cornice over the Deviating from the more screens behind the display fascia incorporating raised popular or traditional publicans formed the commercial backbone of almost civic pomp. Molloy’s (house c.1825; windows. lettering. Classical forms, a most towns and their premises reflected their shopfront c.1875), Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer, striking pubfront in Graiguenamanagh incorpo- growing confidence. Most properties included known as the ‘Commercial Establishment’ must HEIRLOOM ANTIQUES rates features reputedly living accommodation above the shop or pub, have appeared particularly impressive when first 88 Chapel Street, inspired by the nearby KELLY Johnstown Duiske Abbey Catholic Kilkenny Street, and larger premises incorporated service build- developed (fig. 81). Others, no less attractive, fol- (c.1875) Church. However, rather Castlecomer than a medieval Gothic ings including stables and small warehouses. In lowed simple lines. Interiors were distinctive, if An elegant Classical-style (house c.1825; theme, the resulting com- shopfront exudes a shopfront c.1900) rural towns the ‘yard’ behind the shop fre- not ornate, but pub interiors could be particu- position expresses a sophisticated urban distinctly Moorish quality. Following the closure of quently adjoined farm buildings, the shop larly attractive with the distribution of mirrors grandeur at odds with the the collieries in the late position of the premises twentieth century, being part of the family’s wider holding of land. and polished fittings adding what must have in the small crossroads vil- Castlecomer experienced The shopfronts throughout the county were appeared as comparative luxury. The effect lage of Johnstown. The economical decline with shopfront incorporates many independent part of a larger cultural tradition that showed would have been perceived through a haze of bowed plateglass, decora- businesses ceasing to an awareness of Classical architecture and the candlelight, gaslight, and tobacco smoke, quite tive tile work, iron railings, trade. A fortunate side- and pretty glazing panels. effect of this depression forms of late Georgian fine furniture. In many differently to how we might view such spaces is the survival of many nineteenth- and early cases specialist craftsmen created an original today. In smaller communities, such as twentieth-century carving style, while at the same time operating Dungarvan, the brightly coloured and distinctive shopfronts, where else- where across the county within the recognisable generic type. As evi- lettering of ‘the shop’, in this case the Walsh early frontages have been denced from old photographs, Kilkenny City property (c.1875), could provide the most dis- lost in favour of less attractive replacements. was once rich with such fronts although only tinctive element in the townscape, apart from a few survive, mostly from the early twentieth the place of worship (fig. 82).

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Commercial activity underpinned an unri- valled period of bank building when various competing companies exuded their wealth and security in stone and brick. The Bank of Ireland (between 1870-9), Green Street or Edmund Ignatius Rice Street, Callan, adjoins the court- house and already indicates the Italianate taste in bank buildings that was to develop through the century (fig. 83). The Bank of Ireland (1870) on the corner of High Street and The Parade, Kilkenny, was erected in a comparable Italianate style, much favoured by architects internation- ally, and probably owing its impetus to the Italian origins of modern banking (figs. 84-85). The building was designed by Sandham Symes (1807-94) of Dublin and is a distinctive com- ponent in the townscape, signifying large-scale urban aspiration. The later Bank of Ireland (c.1875), Main Street, Urlingford, is simpler in execution and detail but no less evocative of Italianate styles.

(fig. 83) PROVINCIAL HOUSE (fig. 84) (fig. 85) BANK OF IRELAND 28 Patrick Street Lower, BANK OF IRELAND BANK OF IRELAND Green Street (Edmund Kilkenny High Street/The Parade, High Street/The Parade, Ignatius Rice Street), (house c.1775; Kilkenny Kilkenny Callan shopfront post 1860) (1870) (between 1870-9) A view of the completed A substantial eighteenth- A plan and renderings of bank illustrates the façades The plan and elevation of century house features both primary elevations of onto High Street and The the Bank of Ireland reveals attractive, if somewhat unre- the Bank of Ireland Parade, with bowed the original configuration markable, later detailing in built by Sandham Symes recessed corners providing of the composition, prior the Classical vein. However, (1807-94) illustrate the an elegant meeting to the introduction of an to facilitate the operation as arrangement of the point in the scheme. additional wing (c.1900). a branch office of the ground floor spaces cen- The domestic quarters and Provincial Bank, a particular- tred on a corner cash associated facilities set aside ly memorable shopfront was office. Stylistic similanties for use by the manager are installed, revealing a wealth with the drawings for the also evident in the plans. of carved detailing in lime- branch at Callan suggest stone with particular that Symes was responsible Courtesy of the Irish emphasis on an integrated for both schemes as a resi- Architectural Archive porch incorporating decora- dent architect for the Bank tive iron dressings. of Ireland.

Courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive

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A deepening social conscience, with educa- constructed under the supervision of the Office (fig. 88) CHAPEL STREET tion perceived as the panacea for society’s ills, of Public Works. The basic form remained sim- Graiguenamanagh

encouraged the private and public, both state ple and domestic in scale as in the small sur- Carved cut-granite sur- and religious, funding of schools and early hos- viving example at Castlegannon (1887). Welfare rounds, featuring mullions, pretty glazing patterns, pitals. The Education Act 1831 encouraged the of the infirm and the elderly was of increasing and hood mouldings, give development of national schools and designs concern, and initially it remained largely with- an appealing Tudor quali- ty to the composition. often emerged from local initiatives. At in the remit of the landed gentry or affluent Stoneyford, schools for boys and girls, and one individuals to sponsor relief. Sarah Fownes for infants, were patronised by Mr. and Mrs. Tighe had founded an almshouse (1788) on The Flood of Flood Hall. From 1857 schools were Square at Inistioge. The Saint James’s Asylum

(1803-4) on Castle Road, Kilkenny, a scheme of almshouses founded by James Switzir (fl. 1774- 1804), builder of the military barracks, remained firmly in the Classical tradition; its STONEYFORD INFANT (fig. 86) SMITHSTOWN SCHOOL SAINT JAMES’S ASYLUM NATIONAL SCHOOL entrance gates have been little altered and are Stoneyford Castle Road/ Smithstown particularly fine, with urn-topped piers and (c.1825) Bennettsbridge Road, (1895) Kilkenny A rural national school pedimented pavilions indicating a civic aspira- An attractive edifice recall- (1803-4) ing, both in plan and ele- with a sparse, functional tion behind the scheme (fig. 86). Although the vation, the courthouses of A classically-composed design aesthetic; the William Caldbeck (c.1824- gate screen incorporates classroom, or classrooms, (fig. 87) visual appearance of the many short-lived 72), but identified on ear- an elegant symmetrical were typically accessed by CHAPEL STREET enterprises can only be guessed at, many char- ly editions of the plan with pedimented ter- a single integrated Graiguenamanagh Ordnance Survey as a minating frontispieces, entrance. County Kilkenny (c.1850) itable buildings employed medieval styles, per- corresponding with a had witnessed an acceler- ‘Savings Bank and School’. haps harking back to the heyday of such ini- Varied glazing patterns monument centrally- ated national school build- A collection of four wid- define each floor as a placed in the grounds. ing programme from the ows’ almshouses spon- tiatives in the past. The Ormonde almshouse or wholly separate entity, The monument by mid nineteenth century sored by Lord Annaly giving credibility to the Benjamin Schrowder following the establish- ‘of Callan, Dungarvan, hospital (1839), Barrack Street, Kilkenny, was , Gowran and theory that the profits (c.1757-1826) was erected ment of the Board of built in a Tudor Revival style but retained a from a bank at ground in commemoration of Education in 1831. Graiguenamanagh’ floor level were invested James Switzer (fl. 1774- or, put more simply, the Classical influence in its compositional balance. 1804), a local building Gowran Castle estate, in the running of the The widows’ almshouses (c.1850), Chapel school overhead, including contractor who estab- makes a picturesque the salary of the school lished the almshouses impact opposite the Street, Graiguenamanagh, exemplify the master. using both the fee collect- medieval Duiske Abbey ed, and surplus materials Catholic Church. medieval trend (figs. 87-88). remaining from the con- struction of the Kilkenny City Military Barracks complex (1803). 69 master kilkenny- english 8/3/06 1:22 PM Page 70

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(fig. 90) CALLAN UNION WORKHOUSE Road, Callan (1840-1)

The entrance or governor’s block to a union work- house complex built by the Poor Law Commission (established 1834) to a standardised plan prepared by George Wilkinson (1813/4-90). The buildings exhibit the characteristic forbidding institutional style, an effect compounded by the con- struction in dour limestone with a minimum of super- fluous detailing.

Union workhouses attempted to address the workhouses at Callan (1840-1) and Kilkenny (fig. 89) needs of the community on a much larger scale City (1840-1) with later examples in SAINT COLUMBA’S HOSPITAL but quickly became synonymous with poverty, Thomastown (1846) and Castlecomer (1853-4). (THOMASTOWN UNION WORKHOUSE) their negative perception continuing to this The workhouse at Thomastown, now Saint Thomastown day. They were intended to bring relief to the Columba’s Hospital, is largely intact and is dis- (1846) destitute under the Irish Poor Law Relief Act tinguished by a Classical style (fig. 89). A sub- In contrast to contempo- cut-granite architraves rary workhouses across framing small-pane sash (1838) in a system modelled on the contempo- stantial portion of the Callan Union Workhouse the county, and the windows. The complex rary English poor law system. Built to a high complex also survives in a good state (fig. 90). country as a whole, the was adapted to use as a complex at Thomastown County Home in 1923 by design specification, some one hundred work- Designed by Wilkinson and erected under the adopted an elegant the Kilkenny Board of houses were erected across Ireland between supervision of William Walsh and Richard Classical theme centred Health and Public on an expressed pedi- Assistance. 1839 and 1841. A further tranche was built Lewis, it already supported a population of mented entrance, with between 1849 and 1855 under the Board of 2,500 by 1851. It features the characteristic H- Works, mostly to a standardised design by shaped plan, a reception building, and high George Wilkinson (1813/4-90). Kilkenny had stone boundary walls. The Kilkenny District

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(fig. 91) (fig. 92) Most of the poorest homes were classed as ly into the kitchen and only one additional liv- SAINT CANICE’S SAINT CANICE’S HOSPITAL HOSPITAL hovels with little scope for architectural embel- ing space. The house retains a half door which, Dublin Road, Dublin Road, lishment. Nevertheless, the simple lines of the although from a much later date, was inserted Kilkenny Kilkenny (1849-51) (1893) ‘traditional’ cottage were erected in harmony in keeping with the scale and values of the orig-

An immense hospital in a A pair of small-scale with their immediate environment, were adapt- inal design. Its roof is varied, hipped at one dramatic Tudor style, built Church of Ireland (fore- able to diverse climatic conditions, and were end, and gabled at the other; the house was re- as the Kilkenny District ground) and Catholic Lunatic Asylum to designs (background) chapels built made of renewable sources. Technically known thatched in the early 2000s. The vast majority by George Papworth to designs by Sir Thomas as vernacular architecture, they did not sub- of such houses have disappeared through neg- (1781-1855). The elegant Drew and/or Richard symmetrical plan form fea- Langrishe exhibit a shared scribe to any particular architectural rulebook. lect or abandonment. A number have been tures numerous projections design aesthetic. The con- and setbacks, allowing for struction in limestone with The Brophy homestead (c.1800), Ballyfoyle, adapted to use as farm outbuildings, or have the segregation of male red sandstone accents may date back to the late eighteenth century been altered to such an extent that the original and female patients in produces a polychromatic accordance with the pre- quality at odds with the and has been in the one family for generations, form may not be easily discerned. Clogh retains vailing Victorian moral sombre nature of the retaining its thatch formed of local straw. Its a number of thatched houses, which gives us code. Soaring towers in adjacent hospital. a French château style (not traditional plan remains intact, as does its orig- some idea of how such communities originally pictured) were completed in 1893 by Sir Thomas inal roof carpentry. A thatched house (c.1800) appeared, and how comparatively impressive Drew (1838-1910) and/or at Clogh Bridge has been in occupation since the local church and parochial house must once Richard Langrishe (1834- 1922) and represent a the early 1800s and was originally the home of have seemed in scale. The former dispensary familiar Romantic landmark coalminers at nearby Castlecomer (fig. 93). It is dates from around 1875 (fig. 94), while an ear- rising above the surround- ing landscape. built to a very basic two-room plan, a once lier and larger cottage dates from around 1800. common type, with the entrance leading direct-

(fig. 93) CLOGH (c.1800)

An early small-scale cottage incorporates part rubble stone, part mud wall con- struction, as signified by the supporting buttress pier. The cottage was recently (early 2000s) reroofed using an thatch.

Lunatic Asylum (1849), now Saint Canice’s Hospital, designed by George Papworth (1781- 1855), opened in 1851 and was further evidence of the provision for healthcare in the age (figs. 91-92). Its ‘healthy’ location outside the city, together with later additions (1893) by Sir Thomas Drew (1838-1910) and/or Richard Langrishe (1834-1922), added to the impressive effect suggesting, from a distance, some vast Loire Valley château.

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(fig. 94) arranged in a traditional MAHER BALLYFOYLE CLOGH DISPENSARY manner about a shared (1757) Baurnafea (c.1800) (CLOGH MEDICAL HALL) forecourt. The cottage is (c.1825) A picturesque mid eigh- A pretty, small-scale Toortane, recorded as having oper- teenth-century cottage A thatched cottage, once thatched cottage repre- Clogh ated as the local ‘dispen- retains small-pane sash the social meeting point sents an increasingly rare (c.1875) sary’ or medical hall on windows together with a of a rural outpost, example of the previously early twentieth-century predominant domestic A thatched cottage and thatched roof of water accommodates a public editions of the Ordnance house in part of the long, architectural form of a number of associated reed. Survey. low range: a simple rural County Kilkenny. outbuilding ranges are fascia board, now con- cealed by the overhang- KELLS ing eaves, identifies the (c.1800) commercial space. LOWER (c.1800) A rural cottage exhibits at least two distinct periods Probably originally featuring of construction: a thatched roof, a modest a modest thatched range house in Kilmacow Lower terminates in a later remains of vernacular (c.1900) taller end bay importance for the later featuring a ‘more perma- corrugated-iron or ‘tin’ roof. nent’ slate roof.

RICE HOUSE (DREHIDEEN HOUSE) Wescourt North (c.1750) WHITEHOUSE A mid eighteenth-century (c.1775) cottage is of note as the birthplace of Edmund A charming thatched cot- Ignatius Rice (1762-1844), tage, originally intended founder of the Institute of as a small-scale Irish Christian Brothers in range, has been sympa- 1802. The cottage, now thetically extended in an known as Rice House, was almost organic manner thoroughly restored in the over the course of the late twentieth century. early twentieth century.

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(fig. 96) GLENGRANT (c.1800)

Reputedly no longer in use as residential accom- modation, a modest farmhouse retains impor- tant vernacular qualities, including an entrance windbreak, window open- ings of various sizes fea- turing small-pane sash windows, and a water reed thatch roof.

(fig. 97) GLENGRANT (c.1800)

A collection of small- scale thatched ranges, including a farmhouse alongside limewashed rubble stone outbuild- ings, exemplifies a traditional arrange- ment about a shared yard. (fig. 95) The close building together of groups of GLENGRANT (c.1800) such dwellings, as a clachán, or farm village,

Although nearby was once commonplace. Examples are now rare Licketstown is commonly and the cluster of rubble stone buildings at cited as a prime example of a traditional Irish ver- Glengrant (c.1800) is of particular historical and nacular settlement, the aesthetic value, with a number of hipped roof small cluster of thatched cottages or farm buildings thatched houses remaining (figs. 95-97). The in Glengrant represents one of the best preserved arrangement of houses (c.1800) at Licketstown clacháns in County is an exceptional example of a now rare form. Kilkenny, if not in the whole of Ireland. A cluster of buildings there was re-thatched in 2004 with reeds sourced from the ;

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LICKETSTOWN (fig. 98) (c.1800) LACY Loan, A picturesque Gazebo thatched farmhouse (c.1825) incorporates the elliptical bowed A thatched cottage, entrance windbreak. with part of the This attribute, once accommodation prevalent in the rural adapted to use as a hinterlands of Callan, public house, repre- is considered particu- sents an important lar to the vernacular social outlet in a heritage of County somewhat remote Kilkenny. rural community.

LUFFANY (c.1825)

One of a number of cot- tages forming a clachán in Luffany displays ver- nacular traits: the con- hazel and sally, used for rods and scallops, were (fig. 99) LACY struction incorporates a sourced at Fiddown and . Lacy’s Pub slight batter, and a Loan, water reed thatch roof. (c.1825), Gazebo, is reputed to date back to the Gazebo Although water reed has A detail of the been imported from core structure of a penal chapel (between 1670- applied doorcase Eastern Europe since the 90). Its distinctive employment of Ionic (c.1925), with Ionic late twentieth century, pilasters striving for a initiatives are now under- pilasters, supporting a rendered fascia with the sense of sophisticated way to reactivate har- raised lettering of the pub name, represents a grandeur, represents vests from traditional the commercial aspi- indigenous sources, quirky embrace, if not a fusion, of the Classical rations of the premis- such as the banks of the es, but reveals a nearby River Suir. and vernacular traditions (figs. 98-99). charming naïve quali- ty in its execution.

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SHEEPSTOWN (fig. 100) (c.1825) 5 FLORENCE TERRACE Kilkenny Street, A modest farmhouse, its Castlecomer symmetrical plan centred (c.1900) on a shallow breakfront, belongs to a design group A group of small-scale particular to rural County coal miners’ houses, built Kilkenny. The form sug- by Captain Wandesforde gests a vernacular inter- (1870-1956) of pretation of Classical Castlecomer House in principles. honour of his wife, Florence, have an urbane quality due to their construction in mass- produced red brick. Distinctive timber barge- boards, terracotta cresting, and early iron railings enhance the pretty architectural design BELLEVUE HOUSE programme. Graiguenamanagh (c.1850)

A middle-sized house, purchased in 1890 by the Board of Guardians for the town doctor, makes a positive visual contribution to an elevated site over- looking the River Barrow. A collection of well-pre- served small-scale out- buildings including a coach house, built of unrefined fieldstone in the traditional manner, exhibit As the century progressed, Kilkenny County porches, decorative bargeboards, and ridges sug- a comparatively rustic Council and City Corporation became increas- gested an air of luxury that comparable schemes quality. ingly engaged in the provision of public hous- would not have supported. Inevitably, more ing. Examples include Parnell Terrace (1888) on affluent farms around the county supported fin- John’s Quay and a terrace of smaller scale hous- er residences with elements frequently reflect- ing, now Wolfe Tone Terrace (1900), on Wolfe ing tastes evident in the great estate houses. A Tone Street. Similarly, it became more typical tendency to prefer Classical balance, and to for significant industries to erect some housing incorporate a central breakfront, suggests a lega- for labourers. Florence Terrace (c.1900), cy from ‘the big house’. In addition, most sig- Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer, was built towards nificant farms had an accretion of outhouses the end of the century; an ambitious scheme and farm buildings, the overall effect suggest- named after Florence, wife of Captain ing a hamlet-like cluster. A handsome barn Wandesforde (1870-1956) (fig. 100). The terrace (c.1850) at , near Dungarvan, with was built of red brick, a comparatively unusual Classical detailing in the form of an open material that afforded the scheme an urban air colonnade of cast iron columns, is among the more typical of housing schemes in Dublin and more ambitious outhouses to survive. Belfast. However, the individualised projecting

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The extent of great estates is readily appar- ent on the 1839 Ordnance Survey. Many enjoyed an era of unrivalled grandeur support- ed by cheaply available labour, revenues from land, possibly even from new industries and overseas possessions. But the apparent splen- dour, now referred to as the ‘twilight of the ascendancy’ rested on fragile foundations: land reforms, growing democratic and religious rights, together with an underbelly of political agitation hastened their eventual demise. In keeping with the eclectic tastes of the period many architectural styles were utilised at such (fig. 103) houses, sometimes within the one property and ROSSENARRA HOUSE masking earlier work. The dominant effect at Rossenarra Demesne, Kilmaganny Kilmurry House (c.1750; originally 1691), (1824)

Kilmurry near Thomastown, derives from this A substantial country house, period although the core of the house is much built for the Reade or Morris- ROSSENARRA HOUSE Reade family to designs pre- Rossenarra Demesne, earlier. Additional wings (1814-30) show the pared by James Hoban Kilmaganny (1762-1831), represents one (c.1825) legacy of James Wyatt (1746-1813) whose influ- of the last Palladian-style ence was considerable across Ireland. Around compositions to be built in One of a pair of gate County Kilkenny. Conforming screens known as the 1850, giant stucco Corinthian pilasters were to an ‘Economic Villa’ proto- ‘Grand Gates’, both attributable to James added to the main elevation of Swifte’s Heath type, the house features a central residential block with Hoban. The design, with (c.1750), Swiftesheath near Jenkinstown, which round-headed arcaded wings a central gate flanked by leading to pedimented pavil- pedestrian gates leading already incorporated the fabric of an earlier ions. to a pair of terminating house (1651) (figs. 101-102). gate lodges, recalls the (fig. 101) (fig. 102) Palladian arrangement of SWIFTH’S HEATH SWIFTH’S HEATH For the most part the well-established the main house. HOUSE HOUSE Swiftsheath Swiftsheath Classical norms of balance, proportion, and (c.1750 and c.1850 The rendered accents, detailing prevailed, and even came to influence with 1651) seen in detail, include more substantial farmhouses. Wings (1804-6) A largely mid eighteenth- fine Corinthian capitals. century country house A discrete datestone added to Woodstock House by William was transformed a centu- records the provenance Robertson continued its existing Classical ry later when the addi- of the house, which has tion of rendered dress- origins dating back to the idiom. Rossenarra House (1824), Kilmaganny, mid seventeenth century. ings produced a robust continues the legacy of neo-Palladianism, with Classical confection. its dominant central block linked to terminal pavilions (fig. 103). It bears witness to the con- servative tastes of its architect, the Callan-born James Hoban (1762-1831). Hoban, having stud- ied in Dublin and emigrated to South Carolina,

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went on to design the Executive Mansion they have an air of calm grandeur achieved (fig. 106) BLANCHVILLE HOUSE (1792-99) in Washington DC, better known as through some simple details such as the reliev- Blanchville Demesne the ‘White House’. Hoban was also responsible ing arches on the ground floor windows, fine (1800) for Kells Glebe House (1830), Kells (figs. 104- stonework window sills, and attractive doorcas- An elegant country house built for Sir James 105). Kilrush House (1820), Kilrush, and es. Such houses, frequently at the heart of work- Kearney recalls the output Blanchville House (1800), Blanchville Demesne ing farms, supported an array of attractive out- of Sir Richard Morrison (1767-1844) in features (fig. 106), represent the spread of the tradition buildings. At Blanchville a walled yard and asso- such as the symmetrical to smaller properties. Both were erected in a ciated farm buildings remain; a coach-house arrangement of elliptical- headed recesses centred simple, elegant, and understated style. (established 1800) in the outer courtyard is con- on a Classical portico. Consisting of merely three bays and two storeys temporary with the main house.

(fig. 104) (fig. 105) KELLS PRIORY KELLS PRIORY (KELLS GLEBE HOUSE) (KELLS GLEBE HOUSE) Kells Kells (1830) A handsome doorcase in A dignified house of carved County Kilkenny medium size built as a limestone shows a door glebe house by the Board and attractive fanlight of First Fruits (fl. c.1711- almost overwhelmed by 1833) to designs by imposing pilasters and a James Hoban who, heavy archivolt. according to local legend, adapted a rejected pro- posal for the Executive Mansion or White House in Washington DC.

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(fig. 107) As with church architecture, it is possible to (c.1800), Kilferagh, represents an example com- (fig. 108) CASTLEFIELD HOUSE DUNMORE COTTAGE Castlefield discern an array of Gothic tastes, ranging from bining tastes for vernacular and formal archi- Dunmore (c.1725 and c.1800) early, almost paper thin, decorative effects to tecture; the fine ironwork of the veranda is typ- (c.1775) A distinctive middle-sized more substantially robust compositions. The ical of the so-called Regency period. At A picturesque house, orig- house, which shows its inally built as a summer origins in a reasonably embellishment (c.1825) of Castlefield House Jenkinstown House (originally c.1825-50), house by the Butlers plain early eighteenth-cen- allowed ‘Gothick’ detailing such as a battle- Jenkinstown, William Robertson embellished of Kilkenny Castle, was tury composition, was subsequently used as a subsequently embellished mented parapet, and trefoil and quatrefoil the existing neo-Palladian house with a veneer dower house. The with a quirky ‘tower’ fea- headed windows on the breakfront, to be added of Gothic-like detailing (fig. 109). Robertson building features distinc- turing a portico and tive bowed projections numerous individual win- to the original house (fig. 107). The ‘Gothick’ had trained as a painter, and there is something together with later dow openings. Having (c.1800) ogee-headed fallen into dereliction by windows on Dunmore Cottage would also of the painterly and decorative in his applica- windows, producing a 1973, the house was hap- appear to date from around 1800 (fig. 108). tion of detailing and form. In his work at characteristically elegant pily restored and retains Regency theme. the original character. Such ‘quaintness’ mirrored the tastes for the Kilkenny Castle in the late 1820s, notably the cottage ornée, of which Kilferagh House Picture Gallery, he emphasised not only the

(fig. 109) JENKINSTOWN CASTLE Jenkinstown (c.1825-50)

The final remaining frag- ments of a once-extensive country house complex rebuilt by William Robertson in the early nineteenth century. Having been adapted to general parish use, the chapel was closed when superseded in 1983 by a nearby church. The attached house was reconstructed (post 1988) reusing stone salvaged from the original house on site.

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medieval origins of the Butler family but also original medieval core (figs. 110-111). At enhanced the picturesque effect already inher- Robertson’s own house, the now much altered ent in the castle’s setting (figs. 112-121). Rose Hill (1830), College Road, Kilkenny, he Similarly the largely early eighteenth-century employed an entrance porch combining deco- Shankill Castle (1713), or Whitehall rative window tracery, bargeboards, miniature (Shankill), was ‘enhanced’ (c.1825) with a range battlements, and pinnacles. of battlemented bays that seemed to echo its

(fig. 112) KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, Kilkenny (originally 1207-19)

An old photograph from the Poole Collection (1884-1954) illustrates the appearance of the Parade Wing at the turn of the twentieth century. The gateway in the left fore- ground leads to an enclo- sure established in 1867 as the Gravel Walk or Mayor’s Walk.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

(fig. 110) (fig. 111) SHANKILL CASTLE SHANKILL CASTLE Paulstown or Whitehall Paulstown or Whitehall (Shankill) (Shankill) (c.1825 with 1713) As redeveloped by William A watercolour depicts an most notably in the Robertson, Shankill Castle idealised account of the rendering of scale, which appears as a compact appearance of Shankill is at odds with the gener- gentleman’s residence Castle (originally 1713) al high standard of draw- nestling organically into prior to redevelopment by ing produced by the the surrounding landscape William Robertson. master draughtsman. with the various battle- Although attributed to the ments and chimneys bare- architect, the watercolour Courtesy of the Irish ly impacting on the sky- reveals a naïve quality, Architectural Archive line. Later (1856) addi- tional ranges, completed to designs by William Deane Butler, have been carefully incorporated into a wholly integrated com- position.

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(fig. 114) KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, Kilkenny

A view of the command- ing gateway (under con- struction 1709) from the Duchess Boardroom high- lights the picturesque con- trast of the juxtaposed Classical and nineteenth- century Gothic styles, together with a drum tower expressing medieval origins.

(fig. 113) fied by the Board of First Gothic theme would have KILKENNY CASTLE Fruits architect John integrated well with the The Parade, Semple (1801-82). James medieval qualities of the Kilkenny Butler (1744-1838), 1st castle, the project would Marquis of Ormonde, have involved the unnec- William Robertson’s con- then undertook not only essary loss of the existing nections with Kilkenny the repair of the castle, Classical frontispiece. date back to the 1790s but substantial when he exhibited a additions including the Courtesy of the Irish design for the castle at Picture Gallery. A further, Architectural Archive. the Royal Academy. unexecuted, suggestion by Structural faults in the Robertson involved the courtyard walls of the cas- reconstruction of the tle were subsequently great Parade gateway. discovered in 1825, veri- Although the proposed

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(fig. 117) KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, Kilkenny

A view of the reception corridor illustrates, at the mid way point, carved limestone piers and archi- volts pointing at its earlier origins as a porte cochère (a portico brought for- ward to accommodate a carriage). The portico was incorporated into the glazed arcaded screen introduced by William Robertson to link the Parade (west) and the River (east) wings.

(fig. 118) KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, Kilkenny

A view of the restored principal stairhall, replac- (fig. 116) (fig. 115) block exhibiting William ing an earlier stairhall lost KILKENNY CASTLE KILKENNY CASTLE Robertson’s scheme during William Robertson’s The Parade, The Parade, (begun 1826) featuring a transformation of the Kilkenny Gothic style reputedly Kilkenny central block. Exhibiting a popularised by the royal robust Baronial theme, the A view of a rare wattle- From the vantage point of family at Windsor Castle. space is dominated by a and-daub domed ceiling the park, the many stages Meanwhile the River commanding mahogany represents one of the in the development Wing, constructed over staircase executed by the many features of the orig- of the castle are readily two periods in the nine- appropriately-named inal thirteenth-century apparent. The medieval teenth century, exhibits Banister brothers who had building uncovered by drum towers are modifications carried out a workshop in The Parade archaeologists since 1969. prominent on the Parade by the Office of Public in the nineteenth century. Underneath, and visible Wing, as is the central Works. through a sandstone- dressed arch, a plunging arrow loop was intended for the defence of the castle, in conjunction with the eight metre deep dry moat below.

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(fig. 119) KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, Kilkenny

A view of the library and drawing room as restored in 1990-4 to the original 1830s splendour. Using surviving fragments along with archival documenta- tion and photography, including the Lawrence Collection (1880-1900), all of the features, from book cases to wall hangings and from carpets to pel- mets, were faithfully reproduced where the original version was no longer useable.

(fig. 120) (fig. 121) KILKENNY CASTLE KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, The Parade, Kilkenny Kilkenny

The Blue Bedroom is one A detail of the handpaint- (fig. 122) of Sir Thomas Newenham (fig. 123) and the addition of a top- of many restored by the ed wallpaper (1760-80) KILKENNY CASTLE Dean (1832-99) and KILKENNY CASTLE lit pitched roof behind Office of Public Works imported from China to The Parade, The Parade, partly-raised battlements. since 1969. The wall cov- decorate the Breakfast Kilkenny (1816-61) at the Dinorben Kilkenny It has been suggested ering, reproduced from an Room expresses an inter- home, Liys Dulas (1856-8; that Robertson’s almost- original fragment, is est in Chinoiserie that By the 1850s William demolished 1975/6), in A view of the River Wing flat lead roofs may have reminiscent of William was arguably to reach a Robertson’s Picture Gallery Wales. A longitudinal sec- as altered by Deane and leaked and rotted the Morris’s (1834-96) pinnacle with John Nash’s was described as ‘in a tion drawing outlining an Woodward from 1858 to supporting structure, ‘Larkspur’ pattern (1752-1835) Royal bad state of repair’, initial scheme of alter- 1862. Superseding an ear- thereby accounting for (1872). Pavilion, Brighton (1815- necessitating a pro- ations for the River Wing lier counterpart by William the short period between 23). Having been dam- gramme of work and Picture Gallery sug- Robertson, the new wing alterations. A similar fate aged by rot and damp, instigated by John Butler gests that Robertson’s included a reduction in reputedly befell the archi- the room was restored in (1808-54), 2nd Marquess fenestration pattern was the number of windows, tect’s contemporary the early 1990s. Salvaged of Ormonde, and to be retained, while a the introduction of ele- (c.1825-50) scheme at sections of the paper executed following his steeply-pitched French gant stepped buttresses, Jenkinstown House. were reinstated, with the death by his widow, château roof was to fea- remainder of the garden- Frances Jane Butler (née ture paired star-like sky- and-wildlife scheme Paget) (1817-1903). As a lights. Although these reproduced by Niamh niece of the Marquess of openings were cut into Lawlor as a ‘ghost image’ Anglesey who was in the roof timbers, the based on archival partnership with Lord lights were never fully imagery. Dinorben, it has been realised. suggested that Frances was familiar with the work Courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive. 95 master kilkenny- english 8/3/06 1:23 PM Page 96

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(fig. 124) (fig. 126) (fig. 127) supporting almost leafless KILKENNY CASTLE KILKENNY CASTLE KILKENNY CASTLE trees, birds in flight The Parade, The Parade, The Parade, against an ochre back- Kilkenny Kilkenny Kilkenny ground, and undulating red lines evocative of A view of the Picture A view of the Carrarra A section of the hammer- distant hills. The open Gallery as restored by the marble chimneypiece beam roof illustrates the roof structure is supported Office of Public Works carved by Charles William repetitive pattern on thirty-two decorative from 1969-76. At the far Harrison (c.1835-1903) painted in 1861-23 by Portland stone corbels end the Early English incorporating six panels John Hungerford Pollen attributed to the O’Shea triple lancet window, depicting episodes from (1820-1902), favoured brothers, each hammer- introduced by Deane and the Butler family history artistic collaborator of beam terminating in a Woodward, replaced the from 1395 to 1661, and Deane and Woodward. gilded carved animal perpendicular Gothic centred on a seventh The pattern shows a mask. light of William panel bearing the family woodland undergrowth Robertson’s scheme. coat of arms.

(fig. 125) KILKENNY CASTLE The Parade, Kilkenny

A view of one of the oriel windows introduced by Deane and Woodward incorporating a pretty dia- mond-leaded glazing pat- tern, the early glass producing an appealing shimmering effect as the viewer looks out across the castle courtyard. Each window was fitted with a carved window seat covered with Spanish leather.

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(fig. 129) (fig. 131) KILKENNY CASTLE BROWNSBARN HOUSE The Parade, Brownsbarn Kilkenny (1856-63)

One of the innumerable Regarded as one of the animals in Caen stone most colourful of the which provide light relief houses built by Deane in the stairhall scheme. and Woodward, a shoot- Along with the decorative ing lodge or ‘vacation detailing in the Picture house’ built for William Gallery, carved ornamen- McDougall JP (c.1810-95) tation such as this bears incorporates horizontal witness to the consider- bands of silver-grey able talents of the sculp- granite with red sand- tors Charles William stone producing a distinc- Harrison and the O’Shea tive polychromatic visual brothers, regular collabo- effect. The house has rators with Deane and been compared with a Woodward. contemporary (1865) scheme by the partnership at Turlough Park House, Turlough, .

Robertson’s somewhat sober gallery at (fig. 132) BROWNSBARN HOUSE Kilkenny Castle was enlivened (1858-62) by Brownsbarn

Benjamin Woodward (1816-61) and Thomas Carved dressings, includ- Newenham Deane (1832-99) who added a top- ing a balconette in lime- stone with Caen stone (fig. 130) lit timber roof embellished, somewhat idiosyn- panels, complement the KILKENNY CASTLE cratically, by John Hungerford Pollen (1820- multi-hued scheme at The Parade, Brownsbarn. Below, a porch incorporates grey Kilkenny 1902) (figs. 122-127). Their arcaded staircase marble, pink marble, and Having fallen into disrepair (figs. 128-129) evokes the Venetian Gothic taste limestone accents. A gate- by the time the castle of their contemporary work in Dublin, and at way incorporating polygo- (fig. 128) top lighting, possibly was given to the State in nal-cut granite and sand- KILKENNY CASTLE spurred by the Great 1967-9, the south tower Brownsbarn House (1856-63), near stone continues the The Parade, Exhibition of 1851 at the was redeveloped as a con- Thomastown. Brownsbarn, a house unlike any polychrome theme Kilkenny Crystal Palace. In appear- ference centre in 1998-9 throughout the grounds. ance, if not in scale, the by the Office of Public other in Kilkenny, shows extensive use of poly- A view of the top-lit Works, juxtaposing a mod- stairhall has been com- chrome (bands of different coloured stone) and arcaded Moorish stairhall pared with the now-lost ern scheme with the his- designed by Deane and contemporary hall (begun toric fabric of the castle. details such as the diminutive balcony orna- Woodward to allow access 1858-61; destroyed 1971) As the Great Council to the newly-altered at the Kildare Street Club, Chamber, it was in this mented with quatrefoils, indicating the influ- Picture Gallery shows an Dublin. tower that the Confederate ence of the eminent architectural theorist John interest in the effects of Parliament sat in the seventeenth century. Ruskin (1819-1900) (figs. 131-132).

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(fig. 133) KNOCKTOPHER ABBEY Knocktopher (1866)

An imposing country mansion, built for the Langrishe family to designs prepared by John McCurdy (1823-85) in a dramatic Gothic style, fea- tures an elegant entrance tower with French mansard roof as a focal point. A pre 1840 wing, an element of an earlier house, projects proudly forward from the entrance front.

(fig. 135) (fig. 136) CASTLECOMER HOUSE SWIFTH’S HEATH Athy Road, HOUSE Castlecomer Swiftsheath (gateway c.1850; gate (1874) lodge c.1900) An elegant Triumphal Although the main house gateway completed to a was lost in stages over scheme by Joseph the course of the Maguire (fl. 1860-74) twentieth century, associ- reveals a sparse quality, a ated artefacts at the refreshing foil to the (fig. 134) perimeter of the grounds ornamental excess of the KNOCKTOPHER ABBEY survive as a reminder of nearby house. Knocktopher the extent of the once- illustrious Castlecomer A view of the garden Estate. An elegant gate front clearly illustrates the screen in granite ashlar medieval provenance and early iron forms of the house with a wing an appealing ensemble featuring stout chimney with a later gate lodge, stacks terminating in a which expresses a sixteenth-century tower. distinctive Tudor-meets- The remains of a medieval Arts-and-Crafts ambience. Comparably, the sculptural planning evident and possibly a gate lodge (c.1900), are all that undercroft (1356) reputedly survive in the at Knocktopher Abbey (1866), Knocktopher, survive of former grand estates (fig. 135). They basement as a final fragment of the first betrays the more confident handling of Gothic acted as a foretaste to the visual impact of a Carmelite settlement in forms and motifs that had developed by mid designed landscape and the ‘great’ house itself. Ireland. century (figs. 133-134). The house was designed Most lodges were simple in keeping with their by John McCurdy (1823/4-85) to incorporate a prosaic function, as at Swifte’s Heath (c.1850). fragment of the earliest Carmelite friary in The adjoining gateway (1874) accredited to Ireland (established 1356), retaining its lively Joseph Maguire (fl. 1860-74) is more impressive roof profile and varied groupings of windows. than the lodge, taking the form of a triumphal Not infrequently, as at Castlecomer House arch pared of columns with a pedimented cen- (c.1750; demolished post 1965), gates (c.1850) trepiece (fig. 136).

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(fig. 137) CASTLE MORRES HOUSE Castlemorris (c.1850)

An attractive gate lodge displays an individual character: a Gothic- detailed dormer attic was added to the otherwise Classical temple-like com- position at the turn of the twentieth century. Following the loss of the main house after 1973, the gate lodge survives as a reminder of a once- prosperous country house estate.

(fig. 138) CASTLE MORRES (fig. 139) (fig. 140) HOUSE SHANKILL CASTLE SHANKILL CASTLE Castlemorris Paulstown or Whitehall Paulstown or Whitehall (c.1850) (Shankill) (Shankill) A detail of the ornamental (c.1825 and pre 1840) Exuding a monochromatic gate screen features Other lodges were more dramatic, like the At the entrance to the palette of Kilkenny lime- Egyptian or Greek stone, the turret is Revival qualities together Shankill Castle estate a Greek Temple (c.1850) at Castle Morres, gate screen makes a enlivened by dressings in with decorative cast-iron a silver-grey local granite Castlemorris near Kilmaganny (figs. 137-138). work, recalling a Romantic landmark in the landscape, with a including a battlemented Still others assumed a flair and imagination not contemporary (c.1850) oriel window, representing composition that originally Georgian Gothic gateway by William Robertson a ‘hallmark’ feature recur- realised in the main residence, as in the lodge allowed access to the ring in the oeuvre of Castleboro Estate in (1770-1850) incorporating (pre 1840; originally c.1825) at Shankill Castle a later archaeologically- Daniel Robertson. The neighbouring County contemporary stable Wexford. grounded turret by Daniel attributed to Daniel Robertson (fl. 1812-49) and Robertson (fl. 1812-49) to building (1834) at picturesque effect. Blanchville House is a akin to his work at Dunleckney Manor (1835- further example. 40), in nearby County Carlow (figs. 139-140).

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LYRATH HOUSE (LEYRATH HOUSE) Lyrath (1863)

An annotated design for the forecourt and parterre at Lyrath House or Leyrath House, dated May 1863, is variously attributed to James Howe (fl. c.1860-3), Ninian Niven (c.1799-1879), or William Eden Nesfield (1835-88). Although much of the planting has since been lost, the terraces and sunken gar- dens survive to the pres- ent day.

Courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive

(fig. 141) (fig. 142) WOODSTOCK HOUSE BLANCHVILLE HOUSE Inistioge Blanchville Demesne (c.1875) (1846-7)

A head gardener’s house A stable building in a shows a pronounced handsome Tudor Revival Tudor quality, recalling style, attributed to the output of Daniel Daniel Robertson, shares Robertson. stylistic similarities with a number of the smaller country houses designed by the architect in County The gardener’s house (c.1875) at Woodstock, es. Robertson is also associated with a tower Carlow. These include Ballydarton House Inistioge (fig. 141), very much suggests the (1834/47) at Blanchville, which subscribes to (1833-4) Ballydarton influence of Daniel Robertson, as do the stables the Classical taste expressed in the main house Demesne; Castletown House (1835-6), (1834) at Blanchville House (fig. 142). They are in the disposition of its elements, such as the Castletown; and Mount Leinster Lodge (1836), finely detailed with a use of granite and lime- central placed doorway, but is dressed with Raheenkyle. A battlement- stone and employ details of the Tudor Revival details recalling the Tudor Revival style ed oriel window echoes a similar feature in style, which he favoured for his country hous- (figs. 143-145). In a project such as this tower, Robertson’s scheme at Shankill Castle.

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essentially a folly, he revealed a theatrical sen- as in the ground register traceried window. (fig. 143) BLANCHVILLE HOUSE sibility and an awareness of the dramatic poten- Elements such as the blank elevation on the Blanchville Demesne

tial of composition and mass. It is known that eastern side suggest the effect of the tower A landscape view of the the owner of Blanchville House maintained a forming at one time part of a complex of build- Blanchville House estate illustrates the relationship small pipe organ in the house and one may ings; an artful conceit rather than an archaeo- between the Classical-style imagine the effect of organ music and a dra- logical fact. It is indicated as a clock tower on house and the Romantic Gothic-style bell tower. matically silhouetted Gothic tower on a moon- the 1900 Ordnance Survey and is known to lit night! In spite of the inherently idiosyncrat- have had a set of bells, sold to the Augustinians ic nature of such work Robertson spared no in Limerick in 1930. attention to detail, which is in places complex,

(fig. 144) (fig. 145) BLANCHVILLE HOUSE BLANCHVILLE HOUSE Blanchville Demesne Blanchville Demesne (1834/47) A detail of the decorative Rising majestically above panels shows particularly the surrounding land- fine stone masonry scape, the bell tower in the notoriously resistant built to designs by Daniel local granite. The tower is Robertson reputedly cites presently (2005-6) under- Sir Christopher going restoration follow- Wren’s (1632-1723) Saint ing a grant from the Mary’s Church (1670), Heritage Council. Aldermanbury, as a point of reference. Deliberate discrepancies in the stone work of one elevation, suggesting the outline of a ‘now-lost’ nave, indicate a playful architectural chi- canery rare in the built heritage of County Kilkenny.

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ARCHERSGROVE HOUSE The transfer of State responsibility from one The Twentieth Century Bennettsbridge Road, Kilkenny administration to another in the 1920s was rea- (c.1900) sonably smooth, although an increasingly Although primarily intend- strained economic environment put paid to any ed to fulfil a functional purpose as a water overly ambitious architectural plans. supply system for the Expenditure was limited to refurbishment of nearby Archersgrove House, a tower built with former RIC barracks, such as those in reference to medieval Castlecomer (1924) and Callan (1926), and archaeology serves a secondary role as an from the late 1920s there were bursts of initia- eye-catcher, enhancing the designed landscape tives in the provision of new Garda Síochána of the grounds. stations and national schools. The station (1939) at Inistioge was erected to a standardised design prepared by the Office of Public Works and followed a symmetrical planning arrange- ment with the use of sash windows being the most decorative feature of the façade (fig. 146). Likewise, the larger Dominic Street Garda Síochána Station (1942), Kilkenny, is not dis- similar to Harcourt Terrace Station (1946), Dublin.

The twentieth century opened with what Kilkenny is fortunate in retaining a selection of might appear as relative confidence, with these from the reigns of Queen Victoria (1837- (fig. 146) Kilkenny part of a powerful United Kingdom 1901), King Edward VII (1901-10), and King INISTIOGE GARDA and Empire, but beneath the air of Edwardian George V (1910-36), as well as those introduced SÍOCHÁNA STATION Inistioge calm lurked demands for social and political in the early years of the new state. Taken as a (1939)

change. The wider Europe of the period prior whole, the county has a poor legacy of twenti- A modest-scale rural sta- to World War I (1914-8) has been defined as eth-century architecture. Even where fine build- tion, built to a standard plan by the Office of one part paranoia and two parts impatience. ings survive, they are frequently in styles Public Works, exhibits a The clouds of war and revolution were to derived from the efforts of previous generations. rather conservative Classical quality for the change Europe irrevocably. With the collapse of Architectural Modernism was in short supply period with the stepped doorcases and the hori- the ruling order and the establishment of the and it is only occasionally, especially in build- zontal bias of the glazing in 1921-2, Ireland was no dif- ings like cinemas or garages with no previous pattern representing the sole allusions to contem- ferent. The change however had limited conse- parallels, that one can discern the spirit of a porary Modern styles. quences for architecture. Commercial and eccle- new age. The massive concrete forms of once siastical agencies, for example, continued more common handball alleys, now largely neglect- or less as before. Change, where change ed, assumed a bold sculptural quality and, in occurred, often amounted to little more than their own way, were suggestive of a rude, almost the repainting of cast-iron post boxes, and primitive, Modernism.

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Schools were one of the foremost building the munificence of the Scots-American philan- projects, over many years, by the Office of thropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). The Public Works, and increasingly came to Carnegie Free Library (opened 1910), John’s acknowledge changes in concepts of education. Quay, Kilkenny, was designed by E. Stewart- Gradually, Kilkenny built up a complement of Lowrey (fl. 1910) and Son in association with school buildings. Most followed a recognisable Tyars and Jago (fig. 147). Its functional plan- aesthetic, with simple clear lines, large windows ning reflects Carnegie’s own strict prescriptions and a disposition of elements that reflected the on how a library should be disposed; the river- gender division favoured by contemporary front elevation is a simple but evocative feature teaching practice: boys on one side and girls on in the townscape. However, its distinctive small the other. Many aimed to provide a suitable belvedere-like cupola, which adds a sense of environment in which to teach, and there was metropolitan flair to this stretch of the river, is an increasing emphasis on fresh air and light- an embellishment that would not have met filled classrooms. The old national school with Carnegie’s own matter-of-fact approach to (1900) at Gowran survives with its clear delin- architecture. The appearance of cut limestone is eation of the boys’ room and the girls’ room: misleading as the effect is achieved through the five bays to the left and five bays to the right. use of concrete blocks, itself a significant Close by stands a now multicoloured ‘shelter’ achievement. Some years later O’Connell’s that, in its simple concrete form with flat roof, (1925), Upper Main Street, Graiguenamanagh, a was as near to Architectural Modernism as commercial and residential building, similarly much of rural Ireland came for many decades. used rusticated concrete to suggest the effect of The old national school (1915), Clogh, exter- local limestone (fig. 148). nally retains the massing of its original use: a With the competition from road transport a central entrance block with projecting wings distant threat, railways were secure in new built to house boys and girls schools respec- developments and the upgrading of existing tively. Since 1999 it has functioned as a local facilities. The Barrow Railway Viaduct (opened Family Resource Centre. A later example, the 1906) at Garranbehy Big carried the (fig. 147) national school at Ballyfasy Lower (1958) is a branch extension of the Dublin, Wicklow and (fig. 148) KILKENNY CITY O’CONNELL good example of the type: it is both modern in Wexford Railway (DWWR) line over the River CARNEGIE FREE Upper Main Street, LIBRARY Graiguenamanagh construction and form and yet, through a com- Barrow and was a strictly utilitarian structure of John’s Quay, (1925) bination of elements including simple eleva- massive steel members, industrial in scale and Kilkenny (opened 1910) A detail of the façade at tions and detailing, remaims almost traditional execution, in the midst of a sylvan setting. O’Connell exhibiting an A modest-scale library Desart (1857-1933), 4th exposed concrete block in character. Castlecomer Railway Station (1918) opened at built to a symmetrical Countess of Desart, the construction with a dia- The drive towards enhanced education pro- the end of the war as a colliery line supporting plan centred on a bowed library originally featured mond-pointed rusticated Doric portico surmounted timber fittings manufac- treatment continuing the vision supported the growth of public libraries, the local coal works. Roads continued to be by a distinctive open tured by the Kilkenny long-established tradition cupola or turret. although few had a distinctive architectural improved and, as the century progressed, came Woodworkers Company particular to Constructed on a site (removed pre 1996). Graiguenamanagh of dec- form. Carnegie Free Libraries were an exception to replace railways as the preferred mode of donated by Ellen Odett orative surface detailing. and many were erected across Ireland thanks to transport. The complete reconstruction of Saint

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John’s Bridge (1910), Kilkenny, was in its own the limits of existing bridge and road networks, (fig. 150) Commercial premises, pubs and shops, con- CALLAN MOTOR way of some significance (fig. 149). It replaced but also created a whole new building type: the GARAGE tinued to follow by now traditional lines, and the old three-arch masonry bridge (1765-72) garage. Until the comparatively recent advent Lower Green Lane changes occurred only incrementally. Some (Fair Green Lane), and, at its completion, formed the largest sin- of branded ‘filling stations’, such garages were Callan premises assumed a markedly urban feel in gle arch reinforced concrete (then referred to as a distinctive feature of most Irish towns and (c.1950) terms of composition and materials. The red ferro-concrete) bridge in the United Kingdom. managed to combine a hint of bold modernity Reputedly having origins brick J.R. Anthony (c.1900), Main Street, in an omnibus depot, a It was designed by Mouchel and Partners of with the simplicity of vernacular traditions. The small-scale garage exhibits Piltown, has a quality more akin to a Dublin London together with Alexander Burden (1864- Callan Motor Garage (c.1950) survives in Lower a sparse aesthetic redolent suburb like Rathmines than a small rural com- of the 1950s, the slight 1923), the County Surveyor. It was extensively Green Lane or Fair Green Lane, retaining the profiling above the doors munity. At the date of its erection it must have and the raised lettering altered and strengthened in 1969-70. The characteristic simple lines of the type combined the only apparent conces- been ‘the talk of the place’! (fig. 151). arrival of motor transport not only challenged with distinctive lettering (fig. 150). sions to architectural expression.

(fig. 149) SAINT JOHN’S BRIDGE Kilkenny (fig. 151) (1910) J.R. ANTHONY Main Street, A photograph from the Piltown Valentine Collection (1930-50) of Saint John’s (c.1900) Bridge, its functional aes- A striking composition, thetic in marked contrast befitting a larger urban to Kilkenny Castle, centre than Piltown, visible overlooking the is identified by its con- River Nore in the near struction in red brick with distance. At the time of cut-limestone dressings construction the bridge and produces a visual was the longest single effect characteristic of span reinforced concrete the late Victorian or (then ferro-concrete) road Edwardian periods. A bridge in the British Isles. Classical shopfront, once again featuring carved Courtesy of the National limestone, retains the Library of Ireland. inscribed nameplate of a now-lost enterprise.

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(fig. 156) TYNAN’S BRIDGE HOUSE 2 John’s Bridge (The Horseleap Slip), (fig. 155) Kilkenny TYNAN’S BRIDGE HOUSE An early twentieth- 2 John’s Bridge century commercial interi- (The Horseleap Slip), or survives remarkably Kilkenny intact with decorative (fig. 153) (fig. 154) (house c.1800; tiled floors, glazed timber P.T. MURPHY P.T. MURPHY pubfront 1908) screens incorporating 84-85 High Street, 84-85 High Street, pretty colonettes, and tim- Kilkenny Kilkenny A reasonably plain ber panelled counters all modest-scale Classically- The last surviving frontage A very discrete inscription contributing to the detailed house is in Kilkenny City that can records the place of man- historic character of the enlivened by a traditional be attributed with certain- ufacture of the shopfront site. Of additional interest, Irish pubfront featuring a (fig. 157) ty to the Kilkenny as ‘The Kilkenny the grain or spice drawers glazed fascia over gilded THE MARBLE CITY BAR Woodworkers Company, Woodworkers, Kilkenny’. refer back to a period (fig. 152) lettering, together with 64 High Street, the shopfront’s distinctive when many public houses P.T. MURPHY delicate iron cresting. Kilkenny design features include also operated as a grocery 84-85 High Street, (house c.1775; the clever incorporation of outlet. Kilkenny pubfront 1908) (house c.1725; the awning box into the cornice over the fascia. A shopfronts 1903 and The famous public house slightly later frontage by a post 1903) features in innumerable The Kilkenny Woodworkers were responsible now-unknown craftsman postcards sent throughout P.T. Murphy has recently replicated many of the the world, thereby poten- for a number of distinguished fronts, among (2004-5) undergone a design elements to pro- tially rivalling Kilkenny them P.T. Murphy (house c.1725; shopfront successful restoration duce an appealing ensem- Castle or Saint Canice’s programme including the ble at street level. Cathedral in terms of 1903) on the High Street, Kilkenny (figs. 152- repair of the original brick international recognition 154). Other fronts from this period include work, damaged at status. Although the one time by a hard equally-renowned early Tynan’s Bridge House (house c.1800; pubfront cement render, together commercial interior has with the reinstatement of been replaced, the pub- 1908) (figs. 155-156) and the now altered traditional sash windows front continues to make Marble City Bar (house c.1775; pubfront 1908) where the original prede- an important contribution cessors were long lost. to an historic streetscape. (fig. 157), both in Kilkenny. The painted tiles

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LENEHAN of Keogh’s Model Bakery (c.1900), Lower Bridge New modes of entertainment that opened 10 Castlecomer New Road/ Street, Callan, add a splash of colour to the up social opportunities in communities large Barrack Street, streetscape (figs. 158-159). Meanwhile, the well- and small included the emergence of dance Kilkenny (c.1900) established tradition of banks that employed a halls and cinemas. Historically, Kilkenny had a demonstrative architectural street frontage con- small-scale public theatre tradition but this had A well-preserved house accommodates a tinued. The Hibernian Bank (originally 1865), waned in the nineteenth century. The tradition commercial space with an enriched pubfront making Patrick Street Lower, Kilkenny, was enlarged and of patronage fostered by Lady Ellen Odette a pretty impression in the re-fronted (1904) to designs by William Henry Desart (1857-1933) and her brother-in-law, street. An original interior scheme survives similarly Byrne: the bank now operates as The Hibernian Captain Cuffe (1853-1912), encouraged the intact; display shelving Hotel. The Bank (1914) on nearby High opening of the Kilkenny Theatre (1902), on incorporates panelled pilasters supporting a Street dates from the outbreak of World War I Patrick Street Lower, which continued in oper- frieze and moulded cornice. and retains an element of the ebullience char- ation until the early 1960s. The surviving acteristic of that age; the old counters in the façade reveals an understated quality common bank are a welcome retention of some of its to theatres across the United Kingdom until the original interior (fig. 160). As the decades move 1900s: giant Corinthian stucco pilasters frame on, one can trace how the ‘Classical’ elements the façade and support a playful entablature become more vestigial, linking with the past surmounted by a balustrade. The Watergate perhaps but also, if not quite engaging with Cinema (pre 1945), on Parliament Street, now Modernism, acknowledging the more slim-line a theatre, retains some of the characteristics of architectural styles of international trends. The a mid-century cinema. Its plan was functional: AIB Bank (1921-2) on High Street, Kilkenny, in common with most cinemas worldwide, and exemplifies this tradition: it echoes the lime- unlike earlier theatres, it allowed for a wonder- stone fronts of nearby banks, yet is assuredly of land on the screen rather than in the auditori- its age, with Classical detailing applied sparing- um and placed the emphasis on the single ly and suggestive of flair rather than detailed direction focus of the screen. Nonetheless there architectural correctness. This trend became were touches of Art-Deco inspired décor both

(fig. 158) (fig. 159) more widespread and at the later AIB Bank on the interior and the exterior which, coupled KEOGH’S MODEL KEOGH’S MODEL (c.1925), Main Street, Urlingford, brick and dec- with the now obliterated original lighting, sug- BAKERY BAKERY Lower Bridge Street, Lower Bridge Street, orative stonework are combined in a composi- gested a hint of old Hollywood glamour in the Callan Callan D. MURPHY tion that retains elements of Classicism but midst of the city. (c.1900) Low Street, A detail of the shopfront Thomastown verges on a more utilitarian approach to archi- Maximising on the posi- displays the decorative (house c.1825; glazed tile work featuring tion adjacent to a flour or shopfront post 1904) tecture. corn mill indicated panels with sheaves of on early editions of the wheat which express, in In Thomastown, decora- Ordnance Survey, an pictorial form, the nature tive panels, including appealing composition of the business carried out faience tiles featuring a accommodates commer- within. floral theme, embellish a cial and residential spaces shopfront dating from the in an integrated scheme. Edwardian period. The building is identified at street level by a partic- ularly fine tile and timber shopfront supplied by the Brilliant Sign Company of England.

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Ó’RIADA 25 Parliament Street, Kilkenny (house c.1825; pubfront c.1900)

A traditional Irish pubfront exhibiting Classical refer- ences in the disposition of the pilasters, the fascia or frieze, and the simple cor- nice. Ó’Riada represents one of a small number of public houses in Kilkenny City retaining early com- mercial interior schemes. TALL STORIES TALL STORIES 27 Rose Inn Street, 27 Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny Kilkenny (house c.1825; An elegant shopfront of shopfront c.1900) the late Victorian or early A Classically-composed Edwardian period is early nineteenth-century built to a symmetrical house incorporates a plan; bowed windows centre on a door contin- OXFAM/JOHN GUNN distinctive Wyatt-style tri- ing the curved theme 48 High Street, partite window producing through the use of an Kilkenny an elegant architectural design aesthetic. The oval centrepiece. (house c.1825; J. O’REILLY comparatively primitive Meanwhile, the decorative shopfront 1908) Market Street/ Shee Almshouse built by quality of the delicate colonette mullions con- Marsh’s Street, A narrow early nine- Richard Shee (c.1550- trasts with the functionally Thomastown teenth-century house fea- 1608) in 1582 was structural nature of the (house c.1775; tures a subtle Classical restored as a tourist office cast-iron pillars behind. theme identified by in 1981, and contributes shopfront pre 1904) to the diverse streetscape moulded architraves to An early shopfront quality in Rose Inn Street. the window openings and belonging to a design piers incorporating vermic- group particular to ulated panels. A pretty Thomastown features a shopfront, making a fascia with scroll ends and pleasing visual impression a moulded cornice on in the streetscape, incor- decorative diminutive den- porates a decorative tils. Although a small mosaic recording the orig- OXFAM/JOHN GUNN number of the type sur- inal enterprise as ‘The 48 High Street, vives to the present day, Grocery Hall’. Kilkenny J. O’Reilly remains as the best preserved, retaining A distinctive bipartite the small-pane glazing or two-part window pattern together with arrangement was com- increasingly rare protective monly referred to as the shutters. J. O’REILLY ‘Kilkenny Window’, due to Market Street/ its once ubiquitous pres- ence in the city. The Marsh’s Street, attractive visual effect is Thomastown often easily lost when A detail of the protective inappropriate replacement timber shutters reveals a fittings are introduced. thorough approach to design, the inscribed fan-like detailing to the spandrels softening a geometric pattern.

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(fig. 160) ULSTER BANK 27 High Street, Kilkenny (1914)

An early twentieth-century bank makes a strong statement in High Street on account of the lively visual effect produced by the construction in red brick with County Kilkenny limestone dress- ings: an intricately carved cartouche exhibits the high standard of stone masonry associated with the county. Meanwhile, the surviving remnants of the original interior scheme include timber JOHN DELANEY BUTLER panelled counters. Baunreagh (post 1925) (c.1900)

A range redeveloped A modest range in an E. POWER E. POWER following destruction by isolated rural outpost has Kilmacoliver, Kilmacoliver, the Black-and-Tans during a somewhat formal com- ‘The Troubles’ (1921-5) Tullahought position, accommodating (house c.1825; commercial and residential incorporates commercial An illustration of the shopfront c.1900) spaces in an integrated and residential accommo- shopfront (c.1900) dation. The scheme fea- design. A Classical A well-preserved house retaining increasingly rare tures a projecting porch shopfront features a gives evidence of the attributes including timber merging with a Classical- glazed fascia and identifies alteration works carried boarded protective panels style shopfront, oculi, and the premises as a com- out to accommodate a or shutters, raised letter- attractive glazing patterns bined public house and part-commercial use, ing, and vermiculated in an aesthetically-pleasing grocery in the traditional including an additional panels on the projecting composition. Irish manner. block surviving from the segmental consoles. period when a post office operated on site.

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(fig. 161) (fig. 165) 8-10 TALBOT’S INCH 8-10 TALBOT’S INCH VILLAGE VILLAGE (1896-9) The soft quality inherent A terrace of three in manmade brick, as individual houses repre- opposed to hard mass- sents an early stage in the produced factory brick, development of Talbot’s allows for the shaping Inch Village. The terrace about a curved timber is characterised by a con- beam without any degra- struction in roughcast dation of, or flaw in, the with brick, leaded win- decorative pattern. dows, high-pitched sproketed roofs featuring a covering of small clay tiles, and chimney stacks incorporating dentils.

(fig. 164) 8-10 TALBOT’S INCH VILLAGE In Bowen’s Court (1942) Elizabeth Bowen Simple iron railings (1899-1973) bemoaned the failure of the ascen- enclosing small front gar- dens enhance the domes- dancy class to embrace aspects of native or tic quality of the workers’ indigenous culture. Conversely, others engaged houses and maintain an understated character with native culture on a level that moved lacking in the suburban beyond the realities of that culture, and prefig- schemes of the greater Kilkenny City area, which ured the cinema in seeking a sense of Ireland have gradually encroached on Talbot’s Inch Village that was more imaginary than real. Such might since the late twentieth be ascribed to the valiant efforts that produced century. the architectural programme at Talbot’s Inch, (fig. 162) (fig. 163) developed (1896-1904) by Lady Desart and 8-10 TALBOT’S INCH 8-10 TALBOT’S INCH VILLAGE VILLAGE Captain Cuffe (figs. 161-166). On the one hand

An appealing, small-scale A detail of a decorative (fig. 166) it was part of the county’s long established tra- house is enlivened by panel displays the colour- 11 TALBOT’S INCH dition of planned formal towns and villages, panels of decorative ful quality inherent VILLAGE brick work arranged in a in the combination of (1904) but it also echoed planned industrial commu- variety of individual pat- burnt umber-, orange-, A slightly later phase nities elsewhere in Ireland, as at Portlaw, terns. pink- and yellow-tinged handmade brick. Also visi- in the development of County Waterford, or Sion Mills, County ble, two shallow courses the Talbot’s Inch enclave of stone produce an included a terrace of Tyrone. Talbot’s Inch Village was designed by six houses featuring aesthetically-pleasing sill William Alphonsus Scott (1871-1921) and was course. Diocletian or lunette windows, decorative brick linked by a bridge (between 1896-1904; work, and distinctive mansard roof profiles. destroyed 1947) to the workplace of the

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(fig. 167) 1a-2b SUNLIGHT VILLAS Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer (1913)

A picturesque group of four Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) offi- cers’ houses, arranged about an enclosed fore- court, make an agreeable visual impact in Kilkenny Street.

(fig. 168) 1a-2b SUNLIGHT VILLAS Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer

A detail of one house houses intended for work- Inch is identified by a clearly demonstrates the (fig. 169) (fig. 170) ers. Details, including pronounced Arts-and- various characteristics of OAK LODGE HOUSE AUT EVEN HOUSE square-leaded glazing pat- Crafts theme. The con- an Arts-and-Crafts-style Talbot’s Inch Village Talbot’s Inch Village Kilkenny Woodworkers. In its attention to scale, name derived from the Irish Ait Aoibhinn, trans- terns and decorative brick struction in fieldstone with theme, including the (1896-9) (completed 1907) work to the chimney unpainted roughcast detail, and varied materials — it was originally lating as ‘Beautiful Place’ (fig. 170). For all its combination of Built as Tigh na Cairde stacks, identify a common Not too be confused with recalls a contemporary fieldstone, limestone, yel- thatched and whitewashed — it reveals the acknowledgment of Arts and Crafts tastes, the House for William Faulds, design aesthetic shared the later hospital (1915) (1908) scheme in low brick, painted rough- general manager of throughout the established by Countess Castlecomer, thereby sug- widespread influence of the Arts and Crafts house was ultimately a residence of the haute cast, and timber in the Kilkenny Woodworkers village. Desart in memory of her gesting William Alphonsus the construction. Movement. Originating in late nineteenth-cen- bourgeoisie and hints at the affluent suburbs of Company, the house brother-in-law Captain Scott (1871-1921) as the exhibits an impressive Otway Frederick Seymour architect common to both tury England the movement was associated par- contemporary Berlin (Lady Desart was original- scale in contrast to the Cuffe (1853-1912), the projects. ticularly with , and designer and ly Ellen Bischoffsheim from Berlin). Such fluid Desart home at Talbot’s theorist William Morris (1834-96). It empha- styles, admittedly inspired by English proto- sised the importance of craft and materials in types, had been encouraged in the writings of BALLYLINCH STUD FARM the hope that workers would take joy and pride Herman Muthesius (1861-1927), notably his Ballylinch Demesne in their handcrafted work. However, for some Das English Haus (1904-5). The purpose-built (established 1915) critics this aspiration represented an urban elite hospital (1915) also called Aut Even and built A stud farm established by Major Dermot vision of the country and of what crafts should to designs prepared by Edward Albert Murray McCalmont of Mount Juliet House on the oppo- be. The influence of Talbot’s Inch Village in (1849-1924), is adjacent to, but quite separate site side of the River Nore Kilkenny was limited, although it is possible to from, Aut Even House. The building retains par- replaced the eighteenth- century Ballylinch House. discern Scott’s influence in other projects, like ticularly striking entrance doors, attributed to Although alluding to Arts- the cluster of Arts and Crafts style Sunlight William Emery and carved by the Kilkenny and-Crafts principles in appearance, the complex, Villas (1913) on Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer Woodworkers. featuring stable hands’ accommodation alongside (figs. 167-168), and in some of the farm build- Large individual detached houses, if on a paddocks, is constructed ings (c.1900) at Sheestown House, Sheastown, smaller scale, became increasingly common for in rock-faced concrete block with concrete ‘ash- outside Kilkenny City. Scott also designed a the ‘well-to-do’ sections of society: the more lar’ dressings. home (1896-9) for the manager of the Kilkenny affluent farmers and the professional and man- Woodworkers (fig. 169) and Lady Desart’s own agement classes. Riverside House (c.1900), a Kilkenny house, Aut Even (completed 1907), a gabled red brick house close by the bridge in

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(fig. 169) houses intended for work- (fig. 170) Inch is identified by a OAK LODGE HOUSE ers. Details, including AUT EVEN HOUSE pronounced Arts-and- Talbot’s Inch Village square-leaded glazing pat- Talbot’s Inch Village Crafts theme. The con- (1896-9) terns and decorative brick (completed 1907) struction in fieldstone with work to the chimney unpainted roughcast Built as Tigh na Cairde stacks, identify a common Not too be confused with recalls a contemporary House for William Faulds, design aesthetic shared the later hospital (1915) (1908) scheme in general manager of throughout the established by Countess Castlecomer, thereby sug- the Kilkenny Woodworkers village. Desart in memory of her gesting William Alphonsus Company, the house brother-in-law Captain Scott (1871-1921) as the exhibits an impressive Otway Frederick Seymour architect common to both scale in contrast to the Cuffe (1853-1912), the projects. Desart home at Talbot’s

BALLYLINCH STUD FARM Ballylinch Demesne (established 1915)

A stud farm established by Major Dermot McCalmont of Mount Juliet House on the oppo- site side of the River Nore replaced the eighteenth- century Ballylinch House. Although alluding to Arts- and-Crafts principles in appearance, the complex, featuring stable hands’ accommodation alongside paddocks, is constructed in rock-faced concrete block with concrete ‘ash- lar’ dressings.

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(fig. 171) (fig. 173) Road, Kilkenny (fig. 175). Set back from the TULLAROAN 12 MICHAEL STREET (1906) Kilkenny road and fronted by a screen it benefits from (1916) A house of medium size its location on what was then the main exhibits a pronounced A small-scale house, built approach to the city; however the spire envis- urban or suburban as one of seven identical Edwardian quality at odds units, retains all of the aged by its architects, William Hague and with its position in a small original fabric including William Henry Byrne, was never to be realised rural crossroads sash windows. A cut-lime- village. stone plaque records the and this accounts for the truncated appearance provenance of the terrace of the tower. Byrne was also responsible for the as: ‘Erected under Corporation Building Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart (1928), Scheme. John Magennis PLC, Mayor of Kilkenny Gazebo, begun years after his death in what was 1914-5 and 1916’. (fig. 172) by then a particularly dated style. However, the TULLAROAN spacious interior, and what appears to be the A view of the decorative unsupported organ gallery, betrays its compara- gateway features Classical- style piers in limestone tive modernity as the whole structure rests on ashlar along with intricate extensive reinforced concrete foundations. The cast-iron gates. Carmelite Church (originally 1843) at Knocktopher was a more forceful attempt at breaking away from past restraints but the inte- rior embellishments, such as side altars (1934) and pulpit (1937) reveal the exhausted legacy Castlecomer has the air of a prosperous Dublin oralty of John Magennis (fl. 1914-16) (fig. 173) of the Gothic Revival. However, its triple west suburban house of the period and must have while 30 Dominic Street (1924), Kilkenny, windows present a striking Modernist contrast appeared very fashionable in the otherwise late acknowledges A.R. Deloughry as mayor (fl. 1924) with such conservative taste. It is only in the Georgian ambience of the town. A similarly sub- (fig. 174). The recording of the mayoralty con- Catholic Church of Saints Michael and David stantial house (1906) in Tullaroan must also have tinues in public housing schemes to this day. (1959), Dungarvan, and the Catholic Church of seemed particularly grand at the heart of a rural The opening of the new century did little to Saint Bennett (1967), Bennettsbridge, that we community. Elements characteristic of the peri- radicalise church architecture, just as political find a break with the past, although the church od, sometimes referred to as Edwardian, include upheaval in the wider society did little to chal- in Dungarvan arguably retains Gothic lines. the surviving verandas, a feature not uncommon lenge the fervour of widespread devotion. (fig. 174) 30 DOMINIC STREET Otherwise, although simple, it shows a won- in the ‘stockbroker mansions’ of the London Comparatively few twentieth-century churches Kilkenny derful sense of period completeness in its Home Counties of the period (figs. 171-172). were erected for any denomination and those, (1924) (fig. 175) (1866-1917) to designs mosaics, side altars, altar railings, pews and In an attempt to address the woeful housing at least in the early decades of the century, con- A terrace of houses CATHOLIC CHURCH by William Hague exhibits an inventive OF SAINT JOHN THE (c.1840-99) exhibits a even light fittings. conditions of the poorer sections of society, less tinued the Gothic Revival theme. Such had approach to architectural EVANGELIST robust Gothic Revival Elsewhere occasional embellishment was the ambitious schemes encouraged the ongoing been the extent of nineteenth-century building distinction, considering Dublin Road, theme with innumerable the financial limitations Kilkenny finials and pinnacles in norm. Stained glass was added when funds under which the local development of public housing, especially in that few new churches were needed - an indi- (1903-6/8) carved County Kilkenny authority operated. Broken emerged, as with the series of Evangelist win- larger communities like Kilkenny itself. These cation too, perhaps, of population loss. limestone. The articulation coursed limestone, rough- Built as the O’Loughlin of the skyline comes to an dows (undated) at the Catholic Church of the developments allowed for the clear recording of Shortfalls in funding did not always allow for cast, concrete block Memorial Church by the abrupt halt at the point block-and-start surrounds, O’Loughlin family of where the proposed tower Assumption (1832), Main Street, Urlingford; its a tribute to the incumbent county manager or the original aspirations of church building and a decorative plaque Sandsford Court, a monu- was abandoned, lending high-altar, now much compromised, was added mayor of Kilkenny as appropriate: 12 Michael designs to be realised, as at the Catholic Church are incorporated into mental church built under the composition a truncat- a wholly satisfying, aes- the supervision of ed effect. to the existing church in 1934. Many Catholic Street (1916), Kilkenny, acknowledges the may- of Saint John the Evangelist (1903-6/8), Dublin thetically pleasing scheme. William Henry Byrne

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churches were altered, especially following the estates already showed signs of decline by the (fig. 176) their own right. Many houses, however, sur- DUISKE ABBEY liturgical changes initiated following the Second early part of the century. On the other hand, CATHOLIC CHURCH vived in a reasonably fine condition, or found Vatican Council (1962-5). The results were not many properties survived well into the century Lower Main Street/ new owners who could maintain or transform Chapel Street, always successful and alterations, initiated in in what now seems to have been a make-believe Graiguenamanagh them sometimes, as at Castletown House, or good faith, did not always accommodate the his- world, captured in the plaintive watercolours of (founded 1204-12) Ballysallagh, with style and flair. toric character of the building. However, some (1858-1941), who lived at A pencil drawing (c.1810) As the century progressed there was an by R. Gibbs of the ‘Abbey alterations were not without merit and the trun- Kilmurry House. Although additions were made of Graignamanah increasing awareness of the intrinsic value of cated plan of the original Black Abbey appeared to Mount Juliet around 1905, including its great (sic.)’ illustrates the cross- historic architecture, even if this was initially ing and transepts in ruins to enhance its effectiveness for the new liturgy. terminal chimneystack, photographic evidence prior to reconstruction and restricted to celebrated or unusual sites. rededication by 1813. An Its sanctuary was emboldened with the addition suggests that its north wing was already ruinous engraving of the drawing Ongoing maintenance had already been a recur- of massive blocks of stone for the altar and pul- by 1907. Further additions at Mount Juliet in subsequently appeared in ring theme at sites such as the Black Abbey and Antiquities and Scenery of pit executed (1976-9) by C. Harvey with the the 1920s involved the addition of a new the County Kilkenny Saint Canice’s Cathedral. Aided by an econom- whole dominated by a dramatically evocative entrance porch surmounted by a ‘sun-room’ (1851). Attributes including ic upturn, the 1960s witnessed a burst of ener- the pointed arches and the stained-glass window, in stark contrast to the fig- supporting a grand Serlian window, and a ball- elegant window gy in restoration which, even if some of the arrangements survive in a urative tradition (figs. 63-64). room, all redolent of weekend parties and hunt recognisable form to the methods would not be acceptable to standards Church patronage of other building types balls. Other houses were less fortunate and present day. of conservation now in place, has not been continued with enthusiasm, complementing among those lost to fire were Woodstock Courtesy of the Irish emulated to the same extent, or level of enthu- Architectural Archive State expenditure in this area, and including (destroyed 1922), one of the great houses of siasm, since. Important sites in Kilkenny City convents, new schools, and colleges. Saint Ireland. Desart Court (1733) was burnt in 1923 underwent extensive restoration. Shee Kieran’s College was expanded in 1955 with a and, although rebuilt, was finally demolished in Almshouse was restored in 1981, while the new extensive west wing designed by Simon 1957. Castle Morres (c.1750), a house by Francis more celebrated Rothe House had undergone Leonard (1903-76) of W.H. Byrne and Sons. Bindon, was partially demolished in 1940 while restoration in 1963-5. In the same year the (fig. 177) Being fronted in cut limestone from the near- the remainder was demolished post 1973. DUISKE ABBEY attractive stables of Kilkenny Castle were sensi- by Saint John’s Catholic Church (originally Some estates were completely vacated in CATHOLIC CHURCH tively converted into studios and workshops for Lower Main 1840), the architect not only retained an arch- accordance with changes in the social order. Street/Chapel Street, the influential, but ill-fated, Kilkenny Design ly conservative idiom, but also managed to Kilkenny Castle itself, synonymous with the Graiguenamanagh Workshops (KDW). Dr. Henry Robert McAdoo effectively continue the patina of the old build- history of the county, was vacated by the Following a comprehen- (1916-98), Bishop of Ossory (1962-85) restored sive renovation pro- ing. Such conservatism was not unique to Butlers in 1936 and presented to the people of gramme (1974-80) Duiske the Bishop’s Palace (reconstructed 1735-6) provincial centres like Kilkenny, but also chal- Kilkenny by Arthur Norman Butler (1893-1971), Abbey meets with the in 1962-3, while Duiske Abbey in liturgical requirements lenged innovative architecture in the old uni- 6th Marquess of Ormonde, in 1967. Other outlined by the Second Graiguenamanagh was extensively restored in versities of Cambridge and Oxford where the houses and estates found new uses. Vatican Council (1963-5) the same period (1974-80) (figs. 176-177). while preserving much of reconciliation between old historic styles and Bessborough House (1744-55), was substantial- its medieval character. A view of the restored interi- remains a challenge to this ly rebuilt in 1929 by Harold Stuart Goodhart- or outlines the pointed- day. Rendel (1887-1959) and for long operated as a arch arcade surviving from the side aisles, the The downward spiral of landed estates, convent; it now serves as Kildalton Colege, an round-headed clere-storey already underway since the various Land Acts agricultural institute. Uppercourt House was windows, and, beyond the crossing, the elegant of the nineteenth century, was exacerbated by purchased by the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1932; East window combining pointed- and round-head- the upheavals of the War of Independence its later chapel (1944) and dormitory wing ed lights, all dominated (1919-21) and the Civil War (1922-3). Some (opened 1950) are worthy of consideration in by an open oak roof con- struction.

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Conclusion

In recent years County Kilkenny has enjoyed the tower house of Clomantagh Castle. an unprecedented period of economic growth Interventions at Kilkenny Castle, with the and social change, with the result that many of Parade Tower development (1998-9), have the older buildings in the county have outlived added to the vitality of the castle complex. The the function for which they were built. The maltings complex in Tilbury Place or James’s comparative demise of old industries and large- Sconce, dilapidated for many years, has found scale religious orders, or in some cases whole a new use as an office complex. The function- religious congregations, leaves a plethora of al form of Mullhall’s Flour and Corn Store industrial and ecclesiastical architecture that is (c.1825), Green Street, Kilkenny, assures that it vulnerable to degradation and decay. Much of still finds use. Kilkenny County Council is the county’s profile depends on its architectur- expending a considerable sum on the restora- al treasures, and yet this is a rapidly depleting tion of the once celebrated gardens (1840-90) at asset, with each passing year of neglect reduc- Woodstock House while the Bishop’s Palace will ing what is a finite resource. The extensive built soon become the headquarters of the Heritage legacy of past centuries remains as both a chal- Council. It would not have been envisaged in lenge and an opportunity to the people of the eighteenth century that the small-scale res- Kilkenny. Among the burdens that this new idences along the River Breagh would now form BANK OF IRELAND High Street/ prosperity brings is that of finding viable solu- the Priory Gardens to the Black Abbey, a space The Parade, tions for old buildings. evocative of calm and an imagined medieval Kilkenny (1870) Fortunately, the county shows many work- past, yet only developed in the 1950s. We are As County Kilkenny rests ing examples of old buildings put to new uses, not in a position to say what new uses will on a bed of carbonifer- ous limestone, it is only which can often afford an opportunity to con- emerge in the generations to come, but it is fair natural that limestone would feature prominent- tinue the historic associations of any given site. to say that the functional reinterpretation of ly in the built heritage of The large mill (c.1825) at Bennettsbridge, on much of the built heritage of County Kilkenny, the region. At the Bank of Ireland vermiculated the River Nore, is happily re-used as the home both the humble and the proud, will require panels, exhibiting expert stone masonry, provide a of the internationally successful Nicholas Mosse ongoing attention on the part of both owners decorative textured visual Pottery. With support from the Heritage and authorities. effect in an otherwise sheer composition in Council the Irish Landmark Trust has restored limestone ashlar.

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Further Reading

eds. Aalen, F.H.A., Whelan Cox, Ronald and Diocese of Ossory, Gordon Bowe, Nicola, Johnson, Stephen, Neely, W.G., Phelan, Margaret M., Stevens Curl, James, Kevin and Stout, Matthews, Gould, Michael, Ossory Guide 2005 ‘The wild heath has broken Johnson’s Atlas and Gazetteer Kilkenny: An Urban History Saint Mary's Cathedral Dictionary of Architecture Atlas of the Irish Rural Civil Engineering Heritage: (Kilkenny: Diocese of Ossory, out again in the heather field: of the Railways of Ireland 1391-1843 Kilkenny: Notes on its (Oxford: Oxford University Landscape Ireland 2004) Philantrophic endeavour and (Leicester: Midland Publishing (Belfast: The Institute of Irish Foundation, Construction Press, 1999) (Cork: Cork University (London: Thomas Telford Arts and Crafts achievement Limited, 1997) Studies, The Queens University and Furnishings Press, 1977) Publications, 1998) Dolan, Ana, in early 20th-century Kilkenny’ of Belfast, 1989) (Kilkenny: 1972) Tullaherin Heritage Society, ‘The Larger Medieval Churches (Irish Architectural and Kilkenny Archaeological Society, In the Shadow of the Steeple Barry, Siobhan, Cox, Ronald and of the Dioceses of Leighlin, Decorative Studies Volume II, Old Kilkenny Review Volumes Nolan, William The Post Chaise Companion or Volume VIII ‘Kilkenny Cathedral: A Study Gould, Michael, Ferns and Ossory: A Study of 1999, pp.66-97) IV - LVI and Whelan, Kevin, a Travellers’ Directory through (Kilkenny: Dúchas-Tullaherin of its Architecture’ Ireland’s Bridges Adaptation and Change’ (Kilkenny: Kilkenny Kilkenny: History and Society: Ireland Heritage Society, 2003) (Unpublished dissertation, (Dublin, Wolfhound Press, (Irish Architectural and Grimes, Brendan, Archaeological Society, Interdisciplinary Essays on the (Dublin, 1801, 1805) Dublin: Trinity College, M Litt 2003) Decorative Studies: Journal of Irish Carnegie Libraries: A 1952-2004) History of an Irish County Twis, Richard, Thesis, 1984) the Irish Georgian Society Catalogue and Architectural (Dublin: Geography Rothery, Seán, A Tour in Ireland in 1775 Craig, Maurice, Volume II, 1999, pp. 26-65) History Killanin, Lord and Publications, 1990) A Field Guide to the Buildings (Dublin, 1777) Bence-Jones, Mark, Classic Irish Houses of (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, Duignan, Michael V., of Ireland A Guide to Irish Country the Middle Size Dunne, Mildred and 1998) The Shell Guide to Ireland O’Dwyer, Frederick, (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, Williams, Jeremy, Houses (London: Architectural Press, Phillips, Brian, (London: Ebury Press, 1962) ‘Modelled Muscularity: Daniel 1997) A Companion Guide to (London: Constable Press, 1988) 1976) The Courthouses of Ireland: A Herity, Michael, Robertson’s Tudor Manors’ Architecture in Ireland Gazetteer of Irish Courthouses Ordnance Survey Letters eds. Lanigan, Katherine M. (Irish Arts Review Volume XV, Rowledge, J.W.P., 1837-1921 Bradley, John, Craig, Maurice, (Kilkenny: The Heritage Kilkenny: Letters containing and Tyler, Gerald, 1999, pp.87-97) A Regional History of Railways (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, Historic Towns Atlas: Kilkenny The Council, 1999) information relative to the Kilkenny: Its Architecture Volume XVI: Ireland 1994). (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, from the Earliest Times to Antiquities of the County of and History ed. O'Dwyer, Michael, (: Atlantic Transport 2000) 1880 Elstob, Mark, Kilkenny during the progress of (Belfast: Appletree Press, 1977) The Famine in the Publishers, 1995) (London, Batsford; Dublin: A Trip to Kilkenny from the Ordnance Survey in 1839 Kilkenny/Tipperary Regions: A Brown, Terence, Gibney, Arthur, Eason, 1989) Durham by way of (Dublin: Four Masters Press, Lewis, Samuel History of the Scariff Shaffrey, Patrick, and O’Doherty, Michael, Whitehaven and Dublin in 2003) A Topographical Dictionary of Workhouse and Poor Law Buildings of Irish Towns: Building for Government: The Craig, Maurice and the year MDCCLXVI Ireland Volumes I and II Union 1845-1852 Treasures of Everyday Architecture of State Buildings Craig, Michael, (Dublin: Company of Higginbotham, Michael, (London: Samuel Lewis and (Callan: Callan Heritage Architecture OPW Ireland 1900-2000 Mausolea Hibernica Booksellers, 1779) Survey of Thatched Houses in Company, 1837) Society, 1998) (Dublin: The O’Brien Press, (Dublin: Town House and (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, County Kilkenny 1983) Country House, 1999) 1999) Friel, Paddy, (Unpublished, 1993) Macaulay, James, O’Reilly, Seán, Kilkenny Castle Ireland in 1872: A Tour of Irish Houses and Gardens from Shaffrey Patrick and Carrigan, William, Craig, Maurice and (Dublin: Stationery Office, Hogg, William, Observation with Remarks on the Archives of Country Life Shaffrey, Maura, The History and Antiquities of Garner, William, 1989) Mills: The Millers and the Irish Public Questions (London: Aurum Press, 1998) Irish Countryside Buildings: the Diocese of Ossory with a Buildings of Architectural Mills of Ireland of about 1850 (London, 1873) Everyday Architecture in the new index Interest in County Kilkenny Glin, The Knight of, (Dublin, William E. Hogg, 2000) Pakenhman, Valerie, Rural Landscape (Dublin: Archive CD Books (Dublin: An Foras Forbartha, Griffin, David J., and McParland, Edward, The Big House in Ireland (Dublin: The O’Brien Press, Ireland, 2005) 1973) Robinson, Nicholas K., Howley, James, Public Architecture in Ireland (London: Cassell and Company, 1985) Vanishing Country The Follies and Garden 1680-1760 2000) Costello, Seamus, O’Dwyer, Cullen, Louis M., Houses of Ireland Buildings of Ireland (New Haven and London: Yale Shaffrey, Patrick, Michael, and White, Kieran, Irish Towns and Villages (Dublin: The Irish Architectural (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001) The Irish Town: An Approach Kilkenny City and County - (Dublin: Eason, 1979) Archive and The Irish Georgian University Press, 1993) to Survival A Photographic Record Society, 1988) (Dublin: O'Brien Press, 1975) (Kilkenny: College Books, 1995)

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27 Grange House, Grange Td. 32-33 Belmore House (Jerpointchurch 37 Dinin Bridge, Ardaloo 43 1-10 Drover’s Row, Main Street, Registration Numbers Reg. 12400901 House), Jerpointchurch Td. Td./Dunmore West Td. Gowran Reg. 12402809 Reg. 12401419 Reg. 12310020 The structures mentioned in the text of this Introduction are listed below. It is possible to find more information on each structure by accessing our 27 Uppercourt House, Upperwood survey on the Internet at: www.buildingsofireland.ie and searching by the Registration Number. Structures are listed by page number. Demesne, Freshford 33 Graigue Forge, Graigue 37-39 Kells Flour Mill 43 Houses, Main Street, Gowran Reg. 12305022 Crossroads, Graigue (Mullins Corn Mill), Kells Reg. 12310014 - 16 (Hartford) Td. Reg. 12315001 27 Gowran Castle, Main Street Reg. 12402206 43-44 Saint Mary’s Church (Saint (off), Gowran 37-39 Kells Flour Mill (Hutchinsons Mary’s Abbey), Main Street 03 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, 09 Saint Canice’s Cathedral, 10 Kilcreene House, Kilcreen 18-19 Castle Blunden, Reg. 12310003 32-34 Kilfane Forge, Kilfane Td. Corn Mill), Kells (off), Gowran Kilkenny Church Lane, Kilkenny (Crannagh By.) Td., Kilkenny Castleblunden Td. Reg. 12402824 Reg. 12315003 Reg. 12310009 Reg. 12001066 Reg. 12005018 Reg. 12401928 Reg. 12401906 28 Belline House, Belline and Rogerstown Td. 34 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, 39 Kells Bridge, Kells 44 Loughlin, Kilkenny Street/Main 03 Rothe House, 15-16 Parliament 09 Kilkenny City Town Hall (The 10 Butter Slip, Praha (Langton 19 Ballysallagh House, Reg. 12403906 Kilkenny Reg. 12315002 Street, Gowran Street, Kilkenny Tholsel), High Street, Kilkenny House), 80-81 High Street, Ballysallagh Td. Reg. 12001066 Reg. 12310019 Reg. 12000025 Reg. 12000061 Kilkenny Reg. 12401504 28 Drawing School, Belline House, 39 Kilkenny Canal, Purcellsinch Reg. 12000063 Belline and Rogerstown Td. 34 Gateway, Belline House, Belline Td./Warrington Td., Kilkenny 44 Catholic Church of the 03 Saint Canice's Cathedral, 09 Saint Canice's Steps, Church 19 Ballyconra House, Reg. 12403908 or Rogerstown Td. Reg. 12401912 Assumption, Gowran Td., Church Lane, Kilkenny Lane (off)/Saint Canice's Place 11 Abbey View House, Lady's Well Ballyconra Td. Reg. 12403910 Gowran Reg. 12005018 (off), Kilkenny Street, Thomastown Reg. 12400402 28-31 Gate Lodge, Belline House, 39-40 Saint Lachtain’s Church, New Reg. 12310024 Reg. 12005024 Reg. 12317026 Belline and Rogerstown Td. 34 Gateway, Castle Blunden, Bridge Street/Kilkenny Street, 04 Ormonde Woollen Mill (Castle 19 Castlefield House, Reg. 12403909 Drakeland Middle Td./Mortgage Freshford 44 Gowran Parochial House, Mill), Canal Walk, Mill Road, 09 1 Church Lane, Kilkenny 12-13 8-11 The Parade, Kilkenny Castlefield Td. Fields Td. Reg. 12305001 Gowran Td., Gowran Kilkenny Reg. 12005023 Reg. 12001060 - 63 Reg. 12402403 29 Gate Lodge, Belline House, Reg. 12401905 Reg. 12310026 Reg. 12006009 Belline and Rogerstown 40 Saint Mary’s Church, Green 10 Rothe House, 15-16 Parliament 12-13 Kilkenny (Saint 19 Bonnetstown Hall, Reg. 12403820 34 Stroan Fountain, Kilfane Td. Street (Edmund Ignatius Rice 44 Catholic Church of the 05 Saint Mary’s Catholic Street, Kilkenny John’s (Kilkenny) College), Bonnetstown Td. Reg. 12402827 Street), Callan Assumption, Green Street Cathedral, James’s Reg. 12000025 John Street Lower, Kilkenny Reg. 12401909 29 Gateway, Belline House, Belline Reg. 12314059 (Edmund Ignatius Rice Street/James’s Green, Kilkenny Reg. 12000165 and Rogerstown 34 Thomastown Bridge, Street)/Chapel Lane, Callan Reg. 12005002 10 Woodstock/S. 20 Castle Blunden, Reg. 12403910 Thomastown Td./Grenan Td., 40 Saint Canice’s Cathedral, Reg. 12314010 Callanan/O’Connor (Archer 12-14 Bridge House (Kilkenny River Castleblunden Td. Thomastown Church Lane, Kilkenny 06 Saint Lachtain’s Church, New Mansion), 18-19 High Street, Court Hotel), 88-89 John Street Reg. 12401906 29 Stables, Belline House, Belline Reg. 12317011 Reg. 12005018 44 Callan Courthouse, Green Bridge Street/Kilkenny Street, Kilkenny Lower, Kilkenny and Rogerstown Street (Edmund Ignatius Rice Freshford Reg. 12000056 - 57 Reg. 12000151 - 152 21 Bessborough House Reg. 12403907 35-37 Graiguenamanagh Bridge, 40 Robing Room, Kilkenny Street), Callan Reg. 12305001 (Kildalton College), Graiguenamanagh Td., Bishop’s Palace, Church Lane, Reg. 12314005 10 Shee Almshouse, 26 Rose Inn 14 40-41 Parliament Street, Kildalton Td., Piltown 29 Ponsonby Memorial Tower Graiguenamanagh Kilkenny 07 Kells Priory, Kellsborough Td., Street, Kilkenny Kilkenny Reg. 12325001 (Piltown Tower), Piltown Reg. 12318004 Reg. 12003011 44 Bank of Ireland, Green Street Kells Reg. 12001073 Reg. 12000089 - 90 Reg. 12325028 (Edmund Ignatius Rice Street), Not included in survey 22-23 Woodstock House, Inisitoge 35-37 Inistioge Bridge, Inistioge 40 Fiddown Church, Fiddown Callan 10 ‘Hole in the Wall’, 17 High 15 Kilkenny City Town Hall (The Td., Inistioge 31 Kilfane House, Kilfane Td./Kilcross Td., Inistioge Reg. 12327007 Reg. 12314004 07 Saint Mary’s Hall (Saint Mary’s Street (rear), Kilkenny Tholsel), High Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12403203 Demesne Td. Reg. 12323011 Church), Saint Mary’s Lane, Not included in survey Reg. 12000061 Reg. 12402820 41 Waterpump, The Square, 45 Aher House, High Street, Kilkenny 24-25 Castletown House (Castletown 36-37 Castlecomer Bridge, Freshford Castlecomer Reg. 12000130 10 Berkeley House, 5 Patrick Street 16 Phelan’s Hotel (Butler House), Cox House), Castletown Td. 31-32 Icehouse, Castle Blunden, Castlecomer Td./Ardra Reg. 12305011 Reg. 12301002 - 3 Lower, Kilkenny The Square/Chapel Avenue, Reg. 12403807 Castleblunden Td. Td./Drumgoole Td., 08 Duiske Abbey Catholic Church, Reg. 12001055 Ballyragget Reg. 12401915 Castlecomer 42 Inn, Knocktopher 45 Comerford, Barrack Street, Lower Main Street/Chapel Reg. 12303011 25 Whitechurch Church (Castlane Reg. 12301001 Reg. 12321002 Castlecomer Street, Graiguenamanagh 10 Porter/Paris Texas/Argento Church), Whitechurch Td. 31 Grange House, Grange Td. Reg. 12301026 Reg. 12318015 (Shee House), 91-93 High 16 Butler House, 16 Patrick Street Reg. 12403806 Reg. 12400901 36-37 Green’s Bridge, Gardens (St. 43 Gate Lodge, Gowran Castle, Street, Kilkenny Lower, Kilkenny Canice’s Par.) Td./Newpark Main Street, Gowran 45 House, Main Street, Mullinavat 08 Jerpoint Abbey, Jerpointabbey Reg. 12001085 Reg. 12001045 - 46 26-27 Mount Juliet (House), Walton’s 31 Dovecote, Grange House, Lower Td., Kilkenny Reg. 12310001 Reg. 12326004 Td. Grove or Mountjuliet Td. Grange Td. Reg. 12004007 Not included in survey 10 Maibe /J. David 17 Ballyduff House, Ballyduff Td. Reg. 12402805 Reg. 12400917 43 Gowran Castle, Main Street 46 Dinin Bridge, Ardaloo Hughes/Uppercuts, 19-21 Reg. 12403206 36-37 Bennett’s Bridge, (off), Gowran Td./Dunmore West Td. 08 Saint Mary’s Church (Saint Parliament Street, Kilkenny 27 Belle Vue House, 32-33 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, Bennettsbridge Td., Reg. 12310003 Reg. 12401419 Mary’s Abbey), Main Street Reg. 12000020 - 22 17 Clomantagh Castle, Borrismore Td. Kilkenny Bennettsbridge (off), Gowran Clomantagh Lower Td. Reg. 12401208 Reg. 12001065 Reg. 12312010 43 Gateway, Gowran Castle, Main 46 Massford Bridge, Clogh Reg. 12310009 10 Dysart Castle, Dysart Td. Reg. 12401311 Street, Gowran Td./Moneenroe Td. Not included in survey 27 Dunmore Cottage, 32 Ormonde Stables (The), 37 Ballylinch Bridge, Reg. 12310002 Reg. 12400609 08 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, 17 Bonnetstown Hall, Dunmore Td. Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, Cotterellsbooly Td./Ballylinch Kilkenny 10 Dunmore House, location Bonnetstown Td. Reg. 12401413 Kilkenny Demesne Td. 43 Forester's Lodge, Gowran 46 Fiddown Toll House, Fiddown Reg. 12001066 unknown Reg. 12401909 Reg. 12001065 Reg. 12402802 Castle, Gowran Demesne Td., Reg. 12327008 Demolished 27 Butler House, 16 Patrick Street Gowran Lower, Kilkenny Reg. 12402401 Reg. 12001045 - 46

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46 Fiddown Bridge, Fiddown 48 Mill Owner’s House, Killinny 52 Kilfane Church, Kilfane West 57 Black Abbey (The), Abbey 62 Castlecomer Military Barracks 66-67 Bank of Ireland, High 71 Castlecomer District Hospital 80 Farmhouse, Sheepstown Td. Reg. 12327009 Corn Mill (Killinny Flour Mill), Td., Kilfane Street, Kilkenny (Castlecomer Infantry Barracks), Street/The Parade, Kilkenny (Castlecomer Union Reg. 12403111 Killinny Td. Reg. 12402819 Reg. 12005006 Barrack Street, Castlecomer Reg. 12001058 Workhouse), Donaguile Td., 47 Thomas McDonagh (Kilkenny Reg. 12402710 Reg. 12301084 Castlecomer 80 7-17 Parnell Terrace, John’s City) Railway Station, Dublin 52 Saint Mary’s Church, Athy 57 Catholic Church of the 66 Bank of Ireland, Green Street Reg. 12301066 - 67, 82 Quay, Kilkenny Road/Castlecomer New Road, 48 Gate Lodge, Killinny Corn Mill Road, Castlecomer Assumption, Chapel Lane, 60-63 Bennettsbridge Garda Síochána (Edmund Ignatius Rice Street), Reg. 12000228, 247 - 256 Kilkenny (Killinny Flour Mill), Reg. 12301062 Thomastown Station (Bennettsbridge Royal Callan 71-72 Saint Canice’s Hospital, Dublin Reg. 12000190 Killinny Td. Reg. 12317048 Irish Constabulary Barracks), Reg. 12314004 Road, Kilkenny 80 Wolfe Tone Terrace, Kilkenny Reg. 12402709 52-53 Saint Peter’s Church Main Street, Bennettsbridge Reg. 12309001 Not included in survey 47 Gowran Railway Station, (Ennisnag), Ennisnag Td., 57 Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, Reg. 12312006 66 Bank of Ireland, Main Street, Talbotshill Td. 48-49 Barraghcore Malthouse Stoneyford Ballyfoyle Td., Ballyfoyle Urlingford 72 Chapels, Saint Canice's 80-81 1-8 Florence Terrace, Kilkenny Reg. 12402001 (Barraghcore Flour Mill), Reg. 12316006 Reg. 12401404 62 Clomantagh Royal Irish Reg. 12304012 Hospital, Dublin Road, Street, Castlecomer Duninga Td. Constabulary Barracks, Kilkenny Reg. 12301035, 72 - 78 47 Mullinavat Railway Station, Reg. 12402102 52 Ennisnag Bridge, Ennisnag 57 Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, Clomantagh 68 Castlegannon National School, Reg. 12309003, 6 Mullinavat Td., Mullinavat Td./Cotterellsbooly Td. College Road/Upper New Reg. 12401306 Castlegannon Td. 80 Barn, Tullaherin Td. Reg. 12326010 48 Castlecomer Courthouse Reg. 12316005 Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12403609 73 Brophy Homestead, Ballyfoyle Reg. 12402402 (Castlecomer Market House), Reg. 12001097 63 Gowran Courthouse, Main Reg. 12401405 47 Crossing Master’s House, Market Square, Kilkenny Street, 54 Saint Canice’s Cathedral, Street, Gowran 68 Inistioge Almshouse, 81 Bellevue House, Gowran Railway Station, Castlecomer Church Lane, Kilkenny 57-58 Saint Kieran’s College, College Reg. 12310006 The Square, Inistioge 73 Thatched Cottage, Clogh Td., Graiguenamanagh Talbotshill Td. Reg. 12301047 Reg. 12005018 Road, Kilkenny Reg. 12323021 Clogh Reg. 12318001 Reg. 12402001 Reg. 12001101 63 Kilkenny City Courthouse, Reg. 12400203 50 Saint Francis’s Capuchin Friary, 54 Saint Paul’s Church, Kildalton Parliament Street, Kilkenny 68 Stoneyford Infant School, 83 Kilmurry House, Kilmurry Td. 47 Fiddown and Portlaw Railway Friary Street, Kilkenny Td., Piltown 57 Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, Reg. 12000084 Stoneyford 73-74 Clogh Dispensary (Clogh Reg. 12402821 Station, Fiddown Td., Fiddown Reg. 12001008 - 09 Reg. 12325023 Chapel Avenue, Ballyragget Reg. 12316001 Medical Hall), Toortane Td., Reg. 12327004 Reg. 12303013 63 Kilkenny County and City Clogh 82-83 Swifte’s Heath (House), 51 Black Abbey (The), Abbey 55 Saint Aidan's Church, Gaol, Kickham Street, Kilkenny 68 Smithstown National School, Reg. 12400204 Swiftsheath Td. 47 Newhouse Bridge, Newhouse Street, Kilkenny Kilmanagh 57 Catholic Church of the Reg. 12005029 Smithstown Reg. 12401002 Td./Knockbrack Td./ Reg. 12005006 Reg. 12307005 Immaculate Conception, Reg. 12400613 74 Thatched Cottage, Mooncoin Rathduff Td. Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer 63 Callan Courthouse, Green Reg. 12328008 83 Woodstock House, Inistioge Reg. 12402826 51 Duiske Abbey Catholic Church, 55 Ormonde Insurance (Kilkenny Reg. 12301039 Street (Edmund Ignatius Rice 68-69 Saint James’s Asylum, Castle Td., Inistioge Lower Main Street/Chapel City Presbyterian Church), Street), Callan Road/Bennettsbridge Road, 74 Rice House (Drehideen House), Reg. 12403203 47 Thomastown Railway Viaduct, Street, Graiguenamanagh Ormonde Road, Kilkenny 57 Catholic Church of Saint Reg. 12314005 Kilkenny Westcourt North Td. Jerpoint West Td./Jerpointabbey Reg. 12318015 Reg. 12001034 Lachtain and Saint Nicholas, Reg. 12001112 Reg. 12402605 83 Rossenarra House, Rossenarra Td., Thomastown The Square, Freshford 63 Urlingford Public Library Demesne Td. Reg. 12402813 51 Catholic Church of Saint 56 Saint Brendan's Catholic Reg. 12305004 (Urlingford Courthouse), 68-69 Gateway, Saint James’s Asylum, 75 Thatched Cottage, Reg. 12320005 Martin of Tours, Ballyhale Td., Church, Clodiagh (Clodagh) Urlingford Td., Urlingford Castle Road/Bennettsbridge Whitehouse Td. 48 Chimney, Thomastown Ballyhale Reg. 12403302 57 Saint Columcille’s Catholic Reg. 12304009 Road, Kilkenny Reg. 12402201 83 Gateways, Rossenarra House, Tannery, Lady’s Well Street Reg. 12322003 Church, Church Street, Reg. 12001111 Rossenarra Demesne Td. (off), Thomastown 56 Saint Canice's Catholic Church, Inistioge 64-65 Molloy, Kilkenny Street, 75 Maher, Baurnafea Td. Reg. 12320002, 12403121 Reg. 12317023 51 Coolaghflags Catholic Chapel Dean Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12323044 Castlecomer 69 Ormonde House (The) Reg. 12401501 (Old), Coolaghmore Td., Reg. 12005010 Reg. 12301034 (Hospital of Our Most Holy 84-85 Kells Priory (Kells Glebe 48 Gateway, E. Smithwick and Coolaghflags 57-59 Saint Mary’s Catholic Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), 75 Thatched Cottage, Ballyfoyle House), Glebe Td., Kells Sons Limited, Jenkin’s Lane, Reg. 12403004 56 Saint Patrick's Centre (Saint Cathedral, James’s 64-65 Walsh, Dungarvan Td., Barrack Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12401405 Reg. 12315014 Kilkenny Patrick's Industrial School), Street/James’s Green, Kilkenny Dungarvan Reg. 12000195 Reg. 12000087 51 Saint Mary’s Church, Church Reviewfields Td. Reg. 12005002 Reg. 12313004 75 House, Kilmacow Lower 86 Kilrush House, Kilrush Td. Street, Inistioge Reg. 12401904 69 Widows’ Almshouses, Chapel Reg. 12329006 Reg. 12401305 48 Malthouse, Tilbury Place Reg. 12323045 58 Saint Mary’s Centre (Saint 64 Heirloom Antiques, 88 Chapel Street, Graiguenamanagh (James’s Sconce), Kilkenny 56 Saint Brendan’s Catholic Mary’s Presbytery), James’s Street, Johnstown Reg. 12318027, 51 - 53 75 Thatched Cottage, Kells 85 Blanchville House, Blanchville Reg. 12000036 52 Fownes-Tighe Mausoleum, Saint Church, Cotterellsbooly Td., Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12302003 12402715 Demesne Td. Mary’s Church, Church Street, Stoneyford Reg. 12005001 71 Callan Union Workhouse, Reg. 12402011 48 Saint Mary’s Catholic Inistioge Reg. 12316011 64 F.J. Murray, Lower Main Clonmel Road, Callan 75-79 Clachán, Glengrant Td. Cathedral, James’s Reg. 12323047 58-59 Chapter House, Saint Mary’s Street/The Quay, Reg. 12314008 Reg. 12404520 - 22 85 Farmyard Complex, Blanchville Street/James’s Green, Kilkenny 56 Thomastown Catholic Church Catholic Cathedral, Black Mill Graiguenamanagh House, Blanchville Reg. 12005002 52 Saint Columcille’s Catholic (Old), Chapel Lane, Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12318008 71 Kilkenny City Union 76 Clachán, Licketstown Td., Demesne Td. Church, Church Street, Thomastown Reg. 12005003 Workhouse, Hebron Road (off), Licketstown Reg. 12402018 48 Saint Francis’s Abbey Brewery, Inistioge Reg. 12317046 65 Power (The Irish House), Upper Kilkenny Reg. 12404524 - 27 44 Parliament Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12323044 60 James Stephens (Kilkenny City) Bridge Street, Callan Reg. 12006001 86 Castlefield House, Reg. 12000085 57 Catholic Church of the Military Barracks, Castlecomer Reg. 12314049 78 Thatched Cottage, Licketstown Castlefield Td. 52 Mary Tighe Mausoleum, Saint Assumption, Tullaroan Td., Road/Newpark 70-71 Saint Columba’s Hospital Reg. 12404525 Reg. 12402403 48-49 Killinny Corn Mill (Killinny Mary's Church, Church Street, Tullaroan Drive/Ballybought Street, 65 Fiddown (Thomastown Union Flour Mill), Killinny Td. Inistioge Reg. 12401803 Kilkenny Reg. 12327003 Workhouse), Cloghabrody Td., 79 Thatched Cottage, Luffany 86-87 Dunmore Cottage, Reg. 12402709 Reg. 12323046 Reg. 12004005, 13, 17 - 24 Thomastown Reg. 12404528 Dunmore Td. 57 Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, 65 Kelly, Kilkenny Street, Reg. 12317052 Reg. 12401413 Clogh Td., Clogh 60-61 Garrison House, Wolfe Tone Castlecomer 79 Lacy, Loan Td., Gazebo Reg. 12400201 Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12301029 Reg. 12400610 Reg. 12000200

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86 Kilferagh House (Kilfera House), 104-5 Gardener’s House, Woodstock 110 Barrow Railway Viaduct, 117 Zuni (Kilkenny Theatre), 26-26a 125 Ballylinch Stud Farm, 128 Woodstock House, Inisitoge 129 Duiske Abbey Catholic Church, Kilferagh Td. House, Inistioge Td., Inistioge Garranbehy Big Td. Patrick Street Lower, Kilkenny Ballylinch Demesne Td. Td., Inistioge Lower Main Street/Chapel Reg. 12402010 Reg. 12403217 Reg. 12403708 Reg. 120001026 Reg. 12402803 Reg. 12403203 Street, Graiguenamanagh Reg. 12318015 86-87 Jenkinstown House, 104-5 Stable Building, Blanchville 110 Castlecomer Railway Station, 117 Watergate Theatre, Parliament 126 Riverside House, High Street 128 Desart Court, Jenkinstown Td. House, Blanchville Castlecomer Street, Kilkenny (off), Castlecomer Desart Demesne Td. 130 Nicholas Mosse, Bennettsbridge Reg. 12401411 Demesne Td. Not included in survey Reg. 12000098 Reg. 12301060 Reg. 12402210 - 11 Td., Bennettsbridge Reg. 12402019 Reg. 12312011 86-87 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, 110-12 Saint John’s Bridge, Gardens 118 Ó'Riada, 25 Parliament Street, 126 House, Tullaroan Td., Tullaroan 128 Castle Morres (House), Kilkenny 106-7 Bell and Clock Tower, (St. John’s Par.) Kilkenny Reg. 12401807 Castlemorris Td. 130 Clomantagh Castle, Reg. 12001066 Blanchville House, Blanchville Td./Dukesmeadows Reg. 12000017 Reg. 12403115 Clomantagh Lower Td. Demesne Td. (St. John’s Par.) Td., Kilkenny 126 12 Michael Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12401311 88-89 Shankill Castle, Shankill Td., Reg. 12402012 Reg. 12000229 118 Oxfam/John Gunn, 48 High Reg. 12000206 128 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, Paulstown or Whitehall Street, Kilkenny Kilkenny 130 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, (Shankill) 109 Archersgrove House, 112-13 Callan Motor Garage, Lower Reg. 12000031 126 30 Dominic Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12001066 Kilkenny Reg. 12306002 Bennettsbridge Road, Kilkenny Green Lane (Fair Green Lane), Reg. 12005030 Reg. 12001066 Reg. 12309005 Callan 119 Tall Stories, 27 Rose Inn Street, 128 Bessborough House (Kildalton 89 Rose Hill (House), College Reg. 12314007 Kilkenny 126-27 Catholic Church of Saint John College), Kildalton Td., Piltown 130 Malthouse, Tilbury Place Road, Kilkenny 109 Water Tower, Archersgrove Reg. 12000135 the Evangelist, Dublin Road, Reg. 12325001 (James’s Sconce), Kilkenny Not included in survey House, Bennettsbridge Road, 113 J.R. Anthony, Main Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12000036 Kilkenny Piltown 119 Shee Almshouse, 26 Rose Inn Reg. 12000178 128 Uppercourt House, Upperwood 99 Brownsbarn House, Reg. 12309010 Reg. 12325009 Street, Kilkenny Demesne, Freshford 130 Mulhall’s Flour And Corn Brownsbarn Td. Reg. 12001073 127 Catholic Church of the Sacred Reg. 12305022 Store, Green Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12403208 109 Castlecomer Garda Síochána 114-15 P.T. Murphy, 84-85 High Street, Heart, Moneenroe Td., Gazebo Reg. 12003051 Station (Castlecomer Royal Kilkenny 119 J. O'Reilly, Market Reg. 12400608 128 Chapel, Uppercourt House, 100 Knocktopher Abbey, Irish Constabulary Barracks), Reg. 1200059 Street/Marsh's Street, Upperwood Demesne, Freshford 130 Gardens, Woodstock House, Knocktopherabbey Td., Castlecomer Thomastown 127 Saint Mary’s Catholic Reg. 12305032 Inistioge Td., Inistioge Knocktopher Not included in survey 115 Tynan’s Bridge House, 2 John’s Reg. 12317018 Church(Saint Mary’s Friary), Reg. 12403213 Reg. 12321004 Bridge (The Horseleap Slip), Knocktophermanor Td., 128 Dormitory Block, Uppercourt 109 Callan Garda Síochána Station Kilkenny 120 Butler, The Rower Knocktopher House, Upperwood Demesne, 130 Kilkenny Bishop’s Palace, 100-10 Gateway, Castlecomer House, (Callan Royal Irish Reg. 12000139 Reg. 12324004 Reg. 12321011 Freshford Church Lane, Kilkenny Athy Road, Castlecomer Constabulary Barracks), Callan Reg. 12305033 Reg. 12003012 Reg. 12301081 Not included in survey 115 Marble City Bar (The), 64 High 120 E. Power, Tullahought 127 Catholic Church of Saint Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12403408 Michael and Saint David, 129 Castletown House (Castletown 131 Bank of Ireland, High 101 Gate Lodge, Castlecomer 109 Inistioge Garda Síochána Reg. 12000074 DungarvanTd., Dungarvan Cox House), Castletown Td. Street/The Parade, Kilkenny House, Athy Road, Castlecomer Station, Kilcross Td., Inistioge 120 John Delaney, Bauneagh Td. Not included in survey Reg. 12403807 Reg. 12001058 Reg. 12301061 Reg. 12323063 116 Lenehan, 10 Castlecomer New Reg. 12403402 Road/Barrack Street, Kilkenny 127 Catholic Church of Saint 129 Ballysallagh House, 101 Gate Lodge, Swifte’s Heath 109 Kilkenny City Garda Síochána Reg. 12004012 122-24 Talbotsinch Village Bennet, Bennettsbridge Td., Ballysallagh Td. (House), Swiftsheath Td. Station, Dominic Street, Search under Town name Bennetsbridge Reg. 12401504 Reg. 12401013 Kilkenny 116-17 Keogh’s Model Bakery, Lower Not included in survey Reg. 12005031 Bridge Street/Mill Street, Callan 123 Bridge, Talbotsinch Village 129 Black Abbey (The), Abbey 101 Gateway, Swifte’s Heath Reg. 12314047 Demolished 127 Catholic Church of the Street, Kilkenny (House), Swiftsheath Td. 110 Gowran National School, Assumption, Main Street, Reg. 12005006 Reg. 12401001 Castle Ellis Td., Gowran 116 D. Murphy, Low Street, 124 23a-24b Sunlight Villas, Urlingford Reg. 12310025 Thomastown Kilkenny Street, Castlecomer Reg. 12304011 129 Saint Canice’s Cathedral, 102-3 Gate Lodge, Castle Morres Reg. 12317070 Reg. 12301042 - 45 Church Lane, Kilkenny (House), Castlemorris Td. 110 Clogh National School, Clogh 128 Black Abbey (The), Abbey Reg. 12005018 Reg, 12403116 Td. Clogh 117 Hibernian Hotel (The) 124-25 Oak Lodge (House), Talbotsinch Street, Kilkenny Not included in survey (Hibernian Bank (The)), 33-34 Village Reg. 12005006 129 Shee Almshouse, 26 Rose Inn 102 Gateway, Castle Morres Patrick Street Lower/Ormonde Reg. 12308005 Street, Kilkenny (House), Castlemorris Td. 110 Ballyfasy National School, Street, Kilkenny 128 Saint Kieran’s College, College Reg. 12001073 Reg. 12403124 Ballyfasy Lower Td., Ballyfasy Reg. 12001020 124 Lodge, Sheestown House Road, Kilkenny Reg. 12404007 (Sheestown Lodge), Sheastown Reg. 12001101 129 Rothe House, 15-16 Parliament 103 Gate Lodge, Shankill Castle, 117 Ulster Bank, 27 High Street, Reg. 12402416 Street, Kilkenny Shankill Td., Paulstown or 110-11 Kilkenny City Carnegie Free Kilkenny 128 Saint John’s Catholic Church, Reg. 12000025 Whitehall (Shankill) Library, John’s Quay, Kilkenny Reg. 12000045 124 Aut Even House, Maudlin Street, Kilkenny Reg. 12306001 Reg. 12000227 Talbotsinch Village Demolished 129 Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, 117 Allied Irish Bank, 3 High Reg. 12308006 Kilkenny 104 Lyrath House (Leyrath House), 110-11 O’Connell’s, Upper Main Street, Street, Kilkenny 128 Kilmurry House, Kilmurry Td. Reg. 12001065 Lyrath Td. Graiguenamanagh Reg. 12001017 124 , Reg. 12402821 Reg. 12402005 Reg. 12318020 Talbotsinch Td. 129 Kilkenny Bishop’s Palace, 117 Allied Irish Bank, Main Street, Reg. 12401924 128 Mount Juliet (House), Walton’s Church Lane, Kilkenny Urlingford Grove or Mountjuliet Td. Reg. 12003012 Reg. 12304003 Reg. 12402805

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Acknowledgements

NIAH The NIAH also wishes to acknowledge the gener- Senior Architect Willy Cumming ous assistance given by Izabel Pennec-Murphy, Survey Manager Marc Ritchie Dolores Gaffney, Ann Teehan, and Sally Survey Controller Damian Murphy O’Halloran and the staff of Kilkenny Castle; Kate GIS Technician Gareth John and Meany and the staff of the Irish Landmark Trust Joanne O’Riordan with responsibility for Clomantagh Castle; the NIAH Staff Mildred Dunne, Deborah Lawlor, Alan staff of the Irish Architectural Archive, Louise Murray, TJ O’Meara, Flora O’Mahony, Barry Morgan and the staff of the National Gallery of O’Reilly, Ann Kennedy, and Emer Mulhall Ireland, the National Library of Ireland; Aran O’Reilly and staff of the National Photographic The NIAH gratefully acknowledges the following Archive of Ireland; and Tony Roche and the staff in the preparation of the Kilkenny County of the photographic unit of the Department of the Survey and Introduction: Environment, Heritage and .

Survey Fieldwork Sources of Illustrations Blackwood Associates Architects in association All of the original photographs for the Introduction with the Dublin Civic Trust were taken by Don Allen. The illustrations listed below are identified by their figure or page num- Recorders ber: Kevin Blackwood, Charles Duggan, Stephen Farrell, Caroline Healy, Catherine Kelly, Marie-Anne 19, p.27, 52, 82, 83, 109, 112, 121, p.104, and 175 Lennon, Nicola Mathews, Richard McLoughlin, courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive; 11, 20, John Montague, Kevin Mulligan, Mairead Ní 21, 73, 75, 111, and 148 are the property of the Chonghaile, Mariam Isa Nouri, and Jane National Library of Ireland and have been repro- O’Halloran. duced with the permission of the Council of Trustees of the National Library of Ireland; 5 cour- Introduction tesy of the National Gallery of Ireland; 3, 4, 31, Writer Dr. Hugh Maguire and Damian Murphy 49, 50, 117, 118, and 129 reproduced courtesy of Editor Eleanor Flegg the photographic unit of the Department of Photographer Don Allen Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Designed by Bennis Design The NIAH has made every effort to source and Printed by Brunswick Press acknowledge the owners of all of the archival illus- The NIAH wishes to thank all of those who trations included in this Introduction. The NIAH allowed access to their property for the purpose of apologises for any omissions made, and would be the Kilkenny County Survey and subsequent pho- happy to include such acknowledgements in tography. The NIAH wishes to acknowledge future issues of the Introduction. Reverend George Cliffe, Fiddown Church; Gerard Dowling, Dunmore Cottage; Fr. Kieron Kennedy, Please note that the majority of structures Presdent of Saint Kieran’s College; Brigitte Lennon, included in the Kilkenny County Survey are Swift’s Heath House; Mary Lennon, Saint Kieran’s privately owned and are therefore not open College; Nicholas Mosse, Nicholas Mosse Pottery; to the public. Monica Phelan, Blanchville House; Breda Thomas, Ballyduff House; Dearbhala Ledwidge, and Cormac O’Sullivan. ISBN: 0755717171 © Government of Ireland 2006.