Survey Data
Reg No
50010083
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
Building misc
Historical Use
Theatre/opera house/concert hall
Date
1790 - 1810
Coordinates
316728, 235276
Date Recorded
07/11/2011
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Attached three-bay single-storey rendered former theatre pavilion, built c.1800, as pavilion terminating south quadrant wing to Aldborough House (50010082). Currently empty. Matching pavilion to north now demolished. Symmetrical three-bay decorative north elevation with bowed elevation to east, extending by three bays to south with three-sided canted elevation and lean-to to west. Pitched slate roofs, hipped to south and set behind granite parapet wall to north elevation. Central balustraded pedestal supporting coade stone sphinx and granite cornice spanning east bow. Plastered walls with rusticated granite quoins and coursed granite plinth course to front, north, elevation. Three decorative coade stone panels over each bay with decorative swags and festoons. Central round-headed opening with granite sill, now boarded up. Square-headed blind bays to either side with granite architrave surrounds and entablatures. Round-headed window openings with granite sills to remainder, largely boarded up with some spoked timber sashes visible. Blind round-headed niches to east bow and square-headed door opening now blocked up. Principal access via interior of house. Located in grounds of Aldborough House, opening onto tarmac surfaced area to forecourt. Enclosed to rear (Killarney Street) by rubble stone wall.
Appraisal
Aldborough House is one of Dublin’s great eighteenth-century mansions. Built for the Earl of Aldborough between 1793 and 1799, it was the last great house to be built before the passing of the Act of Union. The house has suffered from neglect in recent decades and lost the north chapel pavilion that once formed the symmetrical balance for the former theatre pavilion to the south. This decorative Neo-Classical pavilion block is enriched with classical ornamentation on a complex plan and designed entirely for pleasure. Although not in use, the structure remains remarkably intact and contributes greatly to the significance of Aldborough House and its surroundings.