Situated some miles to the east of Drogheda, Beaulieu is a rare and important surviving example of an unfortified house in pre-Georgian Ireland. The house was built in a Dutch classical style and is picturesquely situated looking down over terraced lawns and out across the Boyne river estuary. Lying close by is one of Ireland’s finest walled gardens at the entrance to which is a small pavilion that was first illustrated in a view of Beaulieu by Edward Radclyffe in 1844. This shows only an east facing portico with Doric columns and a slate roof and provides no evidence of what may have stood behind it. The structure was subsequently much altered with changes to the portico itself and the construction in the Edwardian period of a south-facing glasshouse. Inside this there is a large, full-height grotto that surrounds an artificial well with rustic stonework characteristic of classical grottoes.

Over the course of time the pavilion has fallen into a state of disrepair with its portico, roof and fenestration requiring considerable repair works. Through the support of US members of the Society including William and Margaret Constantine who visited Beaulieu on an IGS trip, it was possible to start planning a phased programme of repairs. Additional funding sourced from the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, and The Heritage Council saw the preparation of a conservation report by LOTTS Architecture which prioritised repairs to the roof. These works were undertaken during the summer and have provided breathing space to plan for future works to the portico and glazing. 

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Irish Georgian Society members will be interested to know that Pat Murray, well-known member of the society’s events committee, is now making his custom-designed and hand-made 18th century-style door furniture and other decorative items available for sale. Fine 18th century houses were distinguished by refined items that included brass escutcheons, ornate locks and classical picture frames and pedestals and it is these timeless items, so beautiful and exceedingly rare and hard to find, that are essential to complete a Georgian interior. Pat Murray will now offer for sale his William Kent/Palladian-style frames, 18th century-style Irish hall door locks and other decorative items – current stock is for sale and commissions are welcome.

Pat Murray inherited a love of furniture, architecture and antiques from his father and exercises an extraordinary degree of empathy with the architecture and interior decoration of the 18th century. His favourite book at the age of 10 was The Destruction of the Country House: 1875-1975 (Strong, Binney, Harris); it motivated his life-long interest in conservation. He describes Georgian decoration as a link to a very interesting time in history ‘when every trade became an art’. His expertise is based on a lifetime spent creating and embellishing refined decorative items of the Georgian era; he describes their appeal: “18th-century tradesmen knew the classical rules – the proportions are always right, the materials are always beautiful, the designs are confident and well-mannered – and always pleasing to the eye”. He continues: “Many people nowadays restore Georgian and Georgian-style houses beautifully; the addition of beautiful, historically-accurate, decorative features enhances the architecture and adds the finishing touch to the beautiful properties.”

Pat Murray has studied the proportions of original William Kent / Palladian frames in detail and has developed a number of designs for high-quality frames that may be custom made to any size. His frames are made of pine and may be painted or gilded to order. Every fine 18th-century house in Ireland had a mahogany and brass lock on the back of the hall door; these locks are now frequently missing and when, very occasionally, one appears for sale at auction – but usually without a key and or a receiver – it is sold at a very high price. Pat Murray has studied the design of these locks in detail and his reconstituted locks are virtually indistinguishable from the originals; the working lock mechanisms are antique and encased in Georgian mahogany decorated with hand-cut brass fittings. Brass escutcheons and pedestals are available to order.

Born and living in Dublin, Pat Murray is a collector and a member of the Irish Georgian Society; he is known to many of the society’s members as an organiser of day tours, picnic tours and fine-dining tours. He can be contacted at patmurrayesq@gmail.com.

For more information contact Pat Murray (patmurrayesq@gmail.com)

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The Irish Georgian Society bookshop is stocked all year round with an eclectic selection of books, prints, photographs, maps and IGS publications to peruse. For Christmas we have plenty of stocking fillers instore including candles, coasters, books, notebooks, models, field guides and student membership. You can shop online too!

Give a gift of IGS gift vouchers or IGS gift membership!

Take a detour from the bustle of Grafton Street and find us in the City Assembly House on nearby South William Street (Google map)!

DECORATIVE ARTS

A Taste for the Exotic: Orientalist Interiors
Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690–1840
English and Irish Delftware, 1570-1840
From Invention to Perfection: Masterpieces of Eighteenth Century Decorative Art
Irish Furniture
Asia in Amsterdam: The Culture of Luxury in the Golden Age

BIOGRAPHY

Molly Keane: A Life
A Musical Offering: Essays in Honour of Gerard Gillen
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World; Writing Britain's Ruins
Elihu Yale: Merchant, Collector & Patron
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts
Gainsborough: A Portrait 

GARDENS & LANDSCAPES

The Irish Garden
Rooftops. Islands in the Sky
Gardens of Court and Country: English Design, 1630-1730
The Gardener's Garden
Cottages Ornés: The Charms of the Simple Life
Kilmacurragh: Sourced in the Wild
Open Gardens of Ireland

SOCIAL HISTORY

Brought to Book: Print in Ireland, 1680-1784
Religion and Politics in Urban Ireland, 1500-1750
An Insular odyssey: Manuscript culture in early Christian Ireland and beyond
The Popular Mind in Eighteenth-Century Ireland
Utopianism in Eighteenth-Century Ireland
Paris – capital of Irish culture: France, Ireland and the Republic, 1798–1916
Food Rioting in Ireland in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Juries in Ireland: Laypersons and law in the long nineteenth century
Dublin, 1745–1922: Hospitals, spectacle & vice

Shop online: https://shop.igs.ie/

Don't forget final delivery dates for Christmas!

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This Christmas, why not give someone the gift of Irish Georgian Society membership?

Your gift will not only provide someone with a year’s full calendar of events to enjoy, but will provide a unique way to support the Irish Georgian Society. 

Included with their membership the recipient will have a choice of either:

1. An event voucher for one lecture in our Winter/Spring 2018 lecture series
2. A €10 voucher redeemable in our bookshop (instore or online)

You can buy a gift family membership (€90), and add a copy of Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies, the Journal of the Irish Georgian Society to your purchase of gift for an additional €20.

Terms & Conditions
This offer is applicable only to Memberships valued at €60 and above. This offer is valid on Gift Memberships purchased up to Friday 15th December 2017.

Your gift of membership will be valid for one year from date of purchase.

Purchase online, in our bookshop or by calling 01 679 8675.

PURCHASE A GIFT MEMBERSHIP ONLINE

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A magnificent new oak floor has been lain down in the Exhibition Room which reflects its octagonal plan and is focussed on a central starburst. New sash windows have been commissioned and installed to replace decaying 1950s sashes. Together with secondary glazing, these will enhance energy efficiency in the Knight of Glin Exhibition Room and will also improve sound insulation.

 Air ducts concealed beneath grills around the perimeter of the Exhibition Room are linked to an air handling unit stored in the basement. This forms an integral part of a climate control system to regulate heating and humidity levels which in turn will ensure the Exhibition Room meets necessary curatorial standards.

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The O’Brien Column is situated on a prominence overlooking Liscannor Bay, Co. Clare. It was built c. 1858 as a tribute to the achievements of Cornelius O’Brien, a local MP and improving landlord who was also responsible for opening the Cliffs of Moher as a tourist amenity. Standing c. 80 ft. high, the fluted Doric column sits on a substantial square plinth and is topped with a fine urn, all in local limestone.

The IGS provided a grant of €6,000 through its London Chapter to support a project by The Follies Trust and the Friends of the O’Brien Column to stabilise the column and undertake necessary conservation works. This timely intervention revealed that the urn was in imminent danger of collapse and was rocking back and forth. The repair of the urn required its temporary removal and the dismantling and repair of the drum on which it stood. With these works, rusted and corroded iron dowels have been replaced with stainless steel ones inserted and set in resin. Primrose Wilson, chair of The Follies Trust, has assured all that “it was the best long term solution to the problem and ensures the column should last for another 100 years”.

View all building projects supported by the IGS

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