The Rathdiveen or ‘Tiara’ gate lodge stands at what was once another of the entrances to Rockingham, County Roscommon. Dating from c.1810 like many other buildings on the estate, this one is believed to have been designed by John Nash, the architect of the main house, but it has also been attributed to Humphrey Repton with whom Nash had earlier worked. However, since the two men had famously fallen out and ended their partnership in 1800, a link with Repton seems highly unlikely. The lodge’s most distinctive feature is a highly-distinctive bowed pediment reminiscent of a tiara which rises above a Doric colonnaded portico: the facade’s frieze echoes that found on the adjacent gate posts. Unfortunately, some years ago the latter were moved during road-widening works and not correctly realigned, thereby disrupting the symmetry of the entrance. Nevertheless, the lodge itself has been well-maintained by private owners, a contrast with the poor condition of the lodge shown here a few days ago which is in public ownership.
Could it have been Humphry Repton’s son George Stanley Repton (1786–1858), who continued to work with Nash after 1800? Repton’s other son, John Aden, also worked with Nash but left at or around the same time as his father
Good point, but I notice almost every source tends to assume the lodges and ancillary buildings were designed by Humprhey Repton and as a result this has become the popular belief…
A spectacular display of mannerism. I love the simplicity of the roundels over the pedestrian entrance.
What has happened to the Rockingham demesne is tragic. Now part of the “tea and wee” visitor experience. Nothing done to save and restore key buildings such as the main gothic arch lodge, or the georgian stable block.
Unfortunately this is true, one of the problems being that Coillte, both here and in other locations where it has responsibility for historic property, has shown complete lack of sympathy for them and failed to undertake adequate maintenance. As is testified by the shameful state of the buildings at Rockingham…