Stand on any street in Dublin and one is confronted with history. Behind the façades of the ten buildings featured here is the story of Dublin, bringing to life key events and characters from the past. The buildings include: Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin's oldest church; Dublin Castle, the colonisers' castle; Trinity College Dublin, the first seat of learning; the Old Parliament House (Bank of Ireland); City Hall, the centre of civic life; Kilmainham Gaol, where leaders of the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 were detained; St James' Gate Brewery, home of Guinness; the iconic GPO, the last great Georgian public building erected; the national theatre and 'cradle of Irish drama', the Abbey, and Croke Park, home of the Gaelic Athletic Association and a cathedral of sport. These survive as tangible reminders of Dublin's past and help shape the city landscape today. Bringing together the stories of these landmark buildings takes us on a wonderful journey through the shifting social, political and cultural history of Ireland's capital.

This descriptive catalogue provides full details and building related information on the rock samples found in the Sedgwick Collection.

Refinement and enrichment of surfaces in stone, wood and plaster is a fundamental aspect of early modern architecture which has been marginalised by architectural history. Enriching Architecture aims to retrieve and rehabilitate surface achievement as a vital element of early modern buildings in Britain and Ireland. Rejected by modernism, demeaned by the conceptual ‘turn’ and too often reduced to its representative or social functions, we argue for the historical legitimacy of creative craft skill as a primary agent in architectural production. However, in contrast to the connoisseurial and developmental perspectives of the past, this book is concerned with how surfaces were designed, achieved and experienced. The contributors draw upon the major rethinking of craft and materials within the wider cultural sphere in recent years to deconstruct traditional, oppositional ways of thinking about architectural production. This is not a craft for craft’s sake argument but an effort to embed the tangible findings of conservation and curatorial research within an evidence-led architectural history that illuminates the processes of early modern craftsmanship. The book explores broad themes of surface treatment such as wainscot, rustication, plasterwork, and staircase embellishment together with chapters focused on virtuoso buildings and set pieces which illuminate these themes.

Heritage stones are building and ornamental stones that have special significance in human culture. The papers in this volume discuss a wide variety of such materials, including stones from Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia. Igneous (basalt, porphyry, granite), sedimentary (sandstone, limestone) and metamorphic (marble, quartzite, gneiss, soapstone, slate) stones are featured. These have been utilized over long periods of time for a wide range of uses contributing to the historic fabric of the built environment. Many of these stones are of international significance, and so are potential Global Heritage Stone Resources, that is stones that have the requisite qualities for international recognition by the Heritage Stones Subcommission of the International Union of Geological Sciences. The papers bring together diverse information on these stones ranging from their geological setting and quarry locations to mechanical properties, current availability, and uses over time. As such the papers can serve as an entry into the literature on these important stones.