Pepper Canister Church. Architect: John Bowden Centred in the middle of Mount Street Crescent, St Stephens’ is better known to Dubliners as the Peppercanister due its distinctive spire. Started in 1821 and designed by John Bowden, and completed by Joseph Welland of the First Fruits Board after his death. The rear and side of the building are simply treated with round headed windows and a circular apse. The front receives the bulk of the design work as it ends the magnificent vista of the south side of Merrion Square from Leinster House. The facade has a simple unadorned pediment supported by two central Doric columns . Masonic Lodge. Architect: Edward Holmes Built on the site of the townhouse of their first Grandmaster, the Earl of Rosse, this building was completed in 1866. The result of an architectural competition, it was designed by Edward Holmes of Birmingham. An unusual face for Dublin, the architect used three orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The pediment contains the Masonic square and compass.
Described in The Building News, January 17, 1868: ” A new masonic hall and club-house is now being erected on the north site of Molesworth-street. The Interior is a riot of colour and architectural styles and themes. Newcomen Bank, Lord Edward Street. Architect: Thomas Ivory Designed by the architect Thomas Ivory in 1781, the former Newcomen Bank is now in use as a Rates office. The original building was half the size of the current structure – Ivory’s original design been mirrored and a new portico added to link the two halves together.
A fine structure in Portland stone, the building is sited next to the City Hall. The history of the bank is a complex one. In 1722 William Gleadowe married into the Newcomen family of Carriglass in Co. Longford and assumed their name. In 1781 he was knighted and elected to the Irish Parliament. Former Bank, Foster Place. Architect: Papworth & Geoghegan Before the formation of AIB, this was known as the Royal Bank. The exterior is fairly straight forward classicism with a good neo-classical porch added in 1850. It is the interior however that makes this building important – it has the finest banking hall in Dublin. This was added by Charles Geoghegan in 1859 at the rear of the building. It is a coffered barrel vaulted space top lit and supported by cast iron corinthian columns. Kings Inns, Henrietta Street. Architects: James Gandon & Henry Aaron Baker This was the last great public building designed by James Gandon and was designed to provide study and residence facilities for barristers.
As with the Four Courts the building process was plagued with delays. Started in 1795, Gandon resigned from the job in 1808 and handed the project to his pupil Henry Aaron Baker who finished the work in 1816. Like the Fours Courts and the Custom House, the building was designed with its main western façade on a waterfront as the Royal Canal once had a spur and harbour where the park is now.
Originally there was also a plan for a crescent to contain barristers chambers but this was never constructed. Like the other designs of Gandon the building has a copper dome which is positioned centrally on the symmetrical composition. Each of the two entrances have caryatides by Edward Smyth at each side supporting the cornice.
2010 - Aviva Stadium. Architects: Scott Tallon Walker & Populous Aviva Stadium, previously called the Lansdowne Road Stadium, hosted its first game of international rugby in 1878. The 50,000 seat stadium will be used for international rugby and soccer fixtures and as a concert and events venue. The continuous curvilinear facade is clad in polycarbonate louvres that reflect light and give the building a “shimmering form of transparent shingles”. Described as “is the first truly site responsive stadium of its kind in the world. Its form, mass, materials and aspect are defined by the site and its surrounds”.
A shimmering form of transparent “˜shingles’ rises in the east and west to position the majority of spectators in the desirable side locations of the pitch and falls in the north to minimise the impact of the building on the adjoining neighbourhoods. Four seating tiers accommodate a range of seating types, from general admission to premium, with two separate tiers for private suite holders. 1948 - Power Station, St. James's Gate. Casino, Marino. Architect: Sir William Chambers Acknowledged as the most important neo-classical building in Ireland, the Casino was designed by Sir William Chambers for Lord Charlemont as a garden pavilion at his Marino Estate. The only part of the great estate to survive, the Casino was under construction from 1755 to the mid 1770′s and underwent many years of neglect from 1881 when the Charlemont Estate was sold until 1930 when an Act of Parliament was enacted to allow it to be taken into state ownership.
Recently restored by the Office of Public Works, the building now stands as a perfect example of Chambers’ work and the cultural aspirations of the Irish ruling classes. Chambers was always proud of his designs for the Casino but his employment in England meant that he could never travel to Ireland to see the completed building. For such an architecturally important building, the Casino is deceptively small – only fifty feet square to the outer columns. St Marys Abbey Dublin. Contact Details Address: Meetinghouse Lane, Off Capel Street, Dublin 1.
Email: info@heritageireland.ie Opening Hours Please email info@heritageireland.ie with any queries. Admission Fees Free Facilities Exhibition St. Location: Centre of Dublin. Bus Route(s): Between Jervis and Four Courts Luas stops. Seasonal Events: Bloomsday 16th June. Photography / Video allowed: Yes. Additional Information: Access by stone stairway. St Marys Abbey Dublin. Provost's House. The Provost is the head of Trinity College and accordingly a sumptuous residence was provided. Originally the position was held until death with the next incumbent being elected by the fellows of the college. Many Provosts assumed prominence in the affairs of the city outside of the college’s walls. The House was built for and by Provost Andrews in the 1760s. Andrews was a remarkable man, a Member of the House of Commons, a Fellow at twenty one and a Doctor of Laws at twenty six. Externally the house is similar to that built by Lord Burlington in London in the 1830s.
The most important room in the house is the saloon which takes up the entire first floor of the house at the front. The hallway to the Saloon has wooden panelling designed to look like large blocks of stone. The Dining Room is remarkable for the quality of its plasterwork , chiefly the ceiling. The Law Society, Blackhall Place. Architect: Sir Thomas Ivory One of Dublin’s great unfinished buildings, the former Blue Coat School now the Law Society seems a curious building minus the tall and flamboyant spire that was intended. The building was started in 1773 but was never fully completed. Due to a lack of funds, the intended spire was never build and in the late 19th Century, the remains were removed and a small dome placed over the tower. All of the original large red brick houses of Blackhall Street have been removed and replaced with corporation housing, destroying the intended vista.
The building is a traditional country house composition with a central block, two wings and interconnecting passages. The central block is dominated by the stump of the intended tower while the two wings have decorative features intended to mirror the design of the central tower. In the 1990s, the building was heavily restored and its fine interior contains plasterwork by Charles Thorpe and carvings by Simon Vierpyl. Tailor's Hall. The only one of the old medieval Guild Halls that still exists in Dublin, the Tailor’s Hall is tucked away in Back Lane of High Street. Recent widening of High Street has removed the buildings to the rear of the hall resulting in the hall’s increased visibility. Prior to this the hall which is set behind a high wall and ornate gateway was a little known and seen part of old Dublin. The building two storeys over basement, consists of a hall lit by tall round headed windows on both sides and two floors of smaller rooms.
The building is now the Headquarters of An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland. Established in 1706, Tailors Hall was the headquarters and meeting place of the Guild of Merchant Tailors from 1706-1841.