The Custom House | |
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Teach an Chustaim | |
General information | |
Type | Custom house, local government offices |
Architectural style | Palladian, Neoclassical |
Location | Dublin |
Coordinates | 53°20′55″N6°15′11″W / 53.348544°N 6.253147°W |
Construction started | 1781 |
Completed | 1791 |
Cost | £200,000 pounds sterling |
Owner | Government of Ireland |
Affiliation | Headquarters of Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage |
Technical details | |
Material | Portland stone, later replacement Ardbraccan limestone was used |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | James Gandon |
The Custom House (Irish : Teach an Chustaim) is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is located on the north bank of the River Liffey, on Custom House Quay between Butt Bridge and Talbot Memorial Bridge. [1]
A previous Custom House had been built in 1707 by engineer Thomas Burgh (1670–1730). However, by the late 18th century it was deemed unfit for purpose. [2]
The building of a new Custom House for Dublin was the idea of John Beresford, who became first commissioner of revenue for Ireland in 1780. In 1781 he appointed James Gandon as architect, after Thomas Cooley, the original architect on the project, had died. This was Gandon's first large-scale commission. The new Custom House was unpopular with the Dublin Corporation and some city merchants who complained that it moved the axis of the city, would leave little room for shipping, and it was being built on what at the time was a swamp and is detailed as reclaimed land on John Roque's 1756 map of Dublin as being part of Amory's Grant.
Purchase of land was delayed and proved exorbitant and the laying of foundations was disrupted by the High Sheriff and members of the Dublin Corporation with a mob of several thousand. However, Beresford was determined to complete the project and ignored the protests. [3]
Construction started in 1781, [4] and for his assistants, Gandon chose Irish artists such as Meath stone-cutter Henry Darley, mason John Semple and carpenter Hugh Henry. Every available mason in Dublin was engaged in the work. When it was completed and opened for business on 7 November 1791, it had cost £200,000 to build – a considerable sum at the time. [5] The four facades of the building are decorated with coats-of-arms and ornamental sculptures (by Edward Smyth) representing Ireland's rivers. Another artist, Henry Banks, was responsible for the statue on the dome and other statues. [1]
The adjacent original Custom House Dock and swing bridge on the East side of the building were also designed by Gandon and completed slightly later in 1796. [6] [7] Along with George's Dock, it later formed part of the Custom House Docks complex. The old dock was eventually filled in and the swing bridge was removed in the 1940s to be replaced by an extended quay and later to be replaced by Memorial Road.
As the port of Dublin moved further downriver, the building's original use for collecting customs duties became obsolete, and it was used as the headquarters of the Local Government Board for Ireland.
During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, the Irish Republican Army burnt down the Custom House, to disrupt British rule in Ireland by destroying tax records. Gandon's original interior was completely destroyed in the fire and the central dome collapsed. A large quantity of irreplaceable historical records were also destroyed in the fire. Despite achieving its objectives, the attack on the Custom House was a setback for the IRA as a large number of Volunteers were captured either during the attack or when falling back. [8]
After the Anglo-Irish Treaty, it was restored by the Irish Free State government. The results of this reconstruction can still be seen on the building's exterior today – the dome was rebuilt using Irish Ardbraccan limestone which is noticeably darker than the Portland stone used in the original construction. This was done to promote Irish resources.
Further restoration and cleaning of the stonework was done by an Office of Public Works (OPW) team in the 1980s.
In November 2021, a visitor experience opened at the Custom House, exploring the building, burning and restoration of the structure; it was developed by the OPW, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Fáilte Ireland. [9] [10]
The Wide Streets Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layout of streets, bridges, buildings and other architectural considerations in Dublin. The commission was abolished by the Dublin Improvement Act of 1849, with the final meeting of the Commission taking place on 2 January 1851.
Farmleigh is the official Irish state guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the north-west of the Phoenix Park, in Castleknock. The estate of 78 acres (32 ha) consists of extensive private gardens with stands of mature cypress, pine and oak trees, a boating pond, walled garden, sunken garden, out offices and a herd of rare native Kerry cattle. It was purchased by the Government of Ireland from the 4th Earl of Iveagh in 1999 for €29.2 million. A state body—the Office of Public Works (OPW)—spent in the region of €23 million restoring the house, gardens and curvilinear glasshouses, bringing the total cost to the state to €52.2 million. Farmleigh was opened to the public in July 2001.
Sir Edward Lovett Pearce was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best known for the Irish Houses of Parliament in Dublin, and his work on Castletown House. The architectural concepts he employed on both civic and private buildings were to change the face of architecture in Ireland. He could be described as the father of Irish Palladian architecture and Georgian Dublin.
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James Gandon was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresford Place, the Four Courts and the King's Inns in Dublin and Emo Court in County Laois.
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O'Connell Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins O'Connell Street to D'Olier Street, Westmoreland Street and the south quays.
Seán O'Casey Bridge is a pedestrian swingbridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, joining City Quay in the Grand Canal Docks area to North Wall Quay and the IFSC.
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Colonel Thomas de Burgh, always named in his lifetime as Thomas Burgh, was an Anglo-Irish military engineer, architect, and Member of the Parliament of Ireland who served as Surveyor General of Ireland (1700–1730) and designed a number of the large public buildings of Dublin including the old Custom House (1704–6), Trinity College Library (1712–33), Dr Steevens' Hospital (1719), the Linen Hall (1722), and the Royal Barracks.
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