Historic Glasshouse Seminar: Conservation, Technology & Use in Ireland

Dublin Civic Trustis an independent charitable organisation that works to recognise, protect and promote the city’s architectural heritage. As an educational trust, we promote the principles of building identification, sensitive repair and minimal intervention, as well as appropriate use and reuse of the city’s historic building stock.We work in partnership with Government, local authorities and society to realise our vision of Dublin as a dynamic capital city with a vibrant residential population.

Dublin Civic Trust

One-day seminar on Historic Irish Glasshouses taking place on site in the stunning surroundings of Newbridge House, Donabate, County Dublin.

Newbridge House

SEMINAR CONTENTDublin Civic Trust is delighted to present this very special one-day seminar on Historic Irish Glasshouses taking place on site in the stunning surroundings of Newbridge House, Donabate.Hosted in conjunction with Fingal County Council and Newbridge House and Farm, this stimulating day of presentations and site visits will be led by expert speakers working on the history and active conservation of Irish glasshouses. A series of lectures and case studies will guide attendees through the use of glasshouses for productive gardening in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as recent case studies of best practice conservation and restoration works in timber and iron from around Ireland.The event includes a visit to the newly restored ranges of glasshouses on the Newbridge Demesne, as well as a coach visit (included) to nearby Brackenstown Demesne. Brackenstown Demesne was the former country seat of Robert, First Viscount Molesworth, which retains 18th-century water features. The visit will allow access to the walled garden and the surviving Cistern House, now owned by Fingal County Council, prior to imminent repair and restoration.This unique seminar is not to be missed by anyone engaged or interested in the fields of horticulture, historic landscape design, architectural history and conservation.Lunch and morning refreshments are included in the price, plus a return coach trip to Brackenstown Demesne from Newbridge House (attendees must make their own way to Newbridge House by train or by road).Structured CPD Points: 6Location: Newbridge House, Donabate, Co Dublin, K36 VR90In-Person Event: A recording will not be availableCatering: Morning tea/coffee refreshments and lunch will be provided PROGRAMME09:15 Introduction Dublin Civic Trust09:30 Irish Glasshouse Conservation - Keynote Address Ciaran O’Connor, FRIAI, former State Architect, OPW10:00 Historic Background to Glasshouses – The Irish Context Cathal Dowd Smith, Curator &amp; Collections Manager, Newbridge House10:30 Glasshouse Technology Katia Papkovskaia, MRIAI, John McLaughlin Architects, Conservation Grade IIQ&amp;A11:10 Tea/Coffee Refreshments11:40 Glasshouse Revival at Newbridge House, Ardgillan Castle and Malahide Castle Kevin Halpenny, Senior Parks and Landscape Officer, Fingal County Council12:10 Mount Anville - The Earliest Iron Glasshouse in Ireland? Hannah Loughnane, MRIAI, Five-Seven Architects, Conservation Grade I12:40 Productive Gardens - Glasshouse Horticulture John McCullen, author and former Chief Superintendent of Phoenix Park, OPWQ&amp;A13:20 Lunch, informal walk around Newbridge glasshouses14:45 Coach trip to Brackenstown Demesne 15:15 Tour of Brackentown Demesne16:45 Return coach trip to Newbridge House 17:15-20 Close GETTING THERETransport: A site visit to nearby Brackenstown Demesne will take place by coach, included in the ticket price. Attendees will be collected at and dropped back to Newbridge House by close of business at 17:15.Accessibility: The seminar will take place in a marquee on the lawn of Newbridge House with a visit to the newly completed glasshouses – both are wheelchair accessible. The site visit to Brackenstown Demesne is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible.Getting to Newbridge DemesneBy Train: We encourage attendees to take the train to Donabate and walk the delightful 15-minute route through old Donabate and the wooded demesne of Newbridge House. Exit the station on foot (cross the railway bridge westwards if needed) and take the immediate right-hand route at the fork in the road (along Turvey Avenue). After 100m, take the first left into The Square and admire St. Patrick’s Church (17th-18th centuries and older) and graveyard. Walk through the square and follow the brown finger signs for Newbridge House. Pass through the estate gates and follow the wooded path. The view opens up with a delightful vista to the house.By Road: Enter Newbridge House and Park from the main Visitors Entrance on the R126. There is plentiful free parking a short walk from the house.

Irish GlasshousesThe earliest known Irish glasshouses date to the early 17th century and were built in local timber. High tax on glass and the expense of importing exotic plants meant these glasshouses were only built in the gardens of the wealthy, as status symbols, and therefore in close proximity to the main house.In the early 19th century, it became common for the kitchen gardens to be positioned away from the house. They became highly productive year-round, with frames, pithouses, large vineries and orchards. Scientific advances in heating systems and horticulture soon changed how glasshouses were built and heated. Contemporary gardening journals describe heated debates about the best form and materials, optimal sun angles, and means to reduce heat loss. At this time, Scottish botanist John Loudon patented the curved iron glazing bar which paved the way for Richard Turner’s weightless glasshouses. Loudon’s contemporary, Joseph Paxton, argued his timber framed, ridge-and-furrow glasshouses were far superior to iron framing. Irish examples of these kinds of glasshouses have been studied and restored in the recent decades.Glasshouses became affordable from 1850s onwards with the abolition of glass and brick tax, and innovations in the manufacturing methods of cast iron and glass. Large-scale glasshouse manufacturers were established in the UK, readily supplying flat-packed structures from their catalogues to the Irish market. Hundreds of Irish country houses commissioned glasshouses between 1850 and 1910, following the Victorian fashion for gardening and the increased availability of exotic plant species shipped from the British colonies. Bananas were grown at Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, and pineapples in the walled gardens of the Kylemore Abbey. After WWI, exotic fruit and vegetables could be cheaply imported. Many big houses fell into ruin after the Irish free state was formed, and glasshouses were no longer needed.Today, remains of timber and iron glasshouses often survive in the kitchen gardens of old houses. In recent decades, many were repaired and restored. This unique one-day seminar will relay the conservation knowledge amassed during these restorations and describe the significance of historic glasshouses in Ireland.

Historic Glasshouse Seminar: Conservation, Technology & Use in Ireland

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Historic Glasshouse Seminar: Conservation, Technology & Use in Ireland

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