An Echo of Lost Grandeur

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Now providing access to Dolly’s Grove, County Meath, this limestone triumphal arch seemingly once stood at the entrance to Summerhill in the same county. Among Ireland’s very finest country houses Summerhill was built in the 1730s but is no more, having been burnt in February 1922, after which its dramatic shell survived another thirty-five years before being demolished (for more on the house, see My Name is Ozymandias, April 1st 2013). Summerhill’s design has traditionally been attributed to Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and some of his stylistic tics, such as blind niches and oculi, can be seen here in the Dolly’s Grove arch suggesting the architect was responsible for this piece of work also.

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2 comments on “An Echo of Lost Grandeur

  1. archiseek says:

    Just a lovely perfect thing!

  2. Andrew McCarthy says:

    Exquisite photographs and stunning architecture. A great example of the wonderfully intricate yet tasteful details which show up in Pearce’s oeuvre.

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