The Georgian period saw a key change in the face of Dublin. The style of housing built in this period came to characterize the city, and remains today as a distinguishing feature of Dublin. Several scenes in Dublin by Lamplight take place in residential dwellings. From the upper class Georgian morning room of Eva, to the slum tenancy of Maggie and her family, these settings in the play reflect both the unique face of Dublin and the economic and political turbulence of the time. The presence of this form of architecture, rooted in British tradition, also references the conflict in the play: the struggle for an Irish identity in a realm under British control.
The following offers historical context and views of Dublin. The focus of these materials is to establish the historic base of Dublin’s architecture (ie. The height of the Georgian period), and to portray the decaying city in which Dublin by Lamplight is set.
-Tricia Riley
Georgian Architecture and Dublin: A Brief History
The history of Dublin is etched in its architecture: its systems of terraces and squares, and the facades and elegant interiors of its buildings. These unique architectural details are also reminders of the past and contemporary conflicts that plague the city. Public feelings towards these buildings remain split. This conflict is revealed when a “Georgian square is threatened with demolition and the Dubliner’s instinct to defend a thing of beauty is threatened by a feeling that he should not grieve at the disappearance of reminder’s of England’s past ascendancy” (Kearns, Preservation and Transforamation of Georgian Dublin, 270). Never the less, architectural essence of Dublin remains its Georgian core.
Georgian Dublin was built between 1714 and 1830 during the reigns of king George I, through to George IV (Kearns, Preservation and Transformation of Georgian Dublin, 270). This period saw the development of two types of houses in Dublin: the large mansions, such as Powerscourt House, designed to be the residences of the wealthy citizens; and the terrace houses, less grand then the grand mansions, but elegant nonetheless.
After the Act of the Union in 1801, Dublin ceased to be the seat of Irish parliament, and the city entered into a period of economic downturn and dormancy (Kearns, Preservation and Transformation of Georgian Dublin, 271). The elite of Dublin left the city and property values dropped rapidly. With their wealthy caretakers gone, many of the Georgian homes were empty or rented as lodgings. A significant portion of these homes fell into disrepair, their new tenants lacking both the resources and inclination to maintain these once stately lodgings. With the exodus of the upper class came a mass migration of impovrished rural Irish; raising the demands for low income housing. The 19th century saw the ruin of many Georgian houses as they were converted to create additional living space; removing fireplaces, walls, staircases, and other fixtures (Kearn, Preservation and Transformation of Georgian Dublin, 272).
For further notes on life in the tenements of Dublin see: http://natalieharrower.com/dublinbylamplight/city-of-dublin-google-earth/living-condition/
The Georgian Style
The Georgian streets and squares of Dublin represent probably the most complete and consistent system of 18th century street architecture left in Europe (Kearns, Georgian Dublin, 12). The houses which lined the numerous squares were more than homes; they were status symbols, with Dubliners investing enormous sums of money on embellishments (Kearns, Georgian Dublin, 20).
The dominant architectural ideology, taking into account the plot size available, favoured the use of the terrace in residential building. Houses were erected on adjoing plots, lining roads that were narrow in comparison to plot length. Typically these house were grouped in groups of two to five at a time. These houses were placed directly on the street, leaving maximum space for a garden and private area in the back. Houses were not individually set apart by architectural variations, but rather blended together to form a cohesive mass along the terrace. However unified, these houses were deceptively varied through facade treatments (Kearn, Georgian Dublin, 30).
Henrietta Street: The street contains some of the oldest and largest Georgian houses in Dublin. It was converted into tenements in the 19th century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Dublin
Most houses were built of brick with high-pitched slate roofs. The materials in Georgian building were largely native in origin. A variety of colours; from red, to brown, orange, and grey, created a rainbow of different tones of brick (Kearn, Georgian Dublin 31).
Georgian house on St. Stephen’s Green- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Dublin
Exterior detailing and embellishments became an important feature of the Georgian city as they provided an individuality to each house. The strong guilds of Irish wrought-iron and cast-iron craftmen created varying original artistic and functional details for these houses. These craftsmen left and indelible mark on Georgian architecture in Dublin with their railings, gates, window guards, metal arches, and lamp posts (Kearns, Georgian Dublin, 32).
http://www.wds2007.com/social-events.htm
-Tricia Riley