Landscape design in eighteenth-century Ireland

Description

"A detailed and original study of eighteenth-century landscapes in and around Dublin, of the gardens in the region, and of the aesthetic, political and economic factors which persuaded their owners to create them." "Unlike the architecture of eighteenth-century Ireland, or the familiar paintings of the West of Ireland, eighteenth-century Irish landscape design has received little attention. Finola O'Kane provides a visual history of the demesne landscapes created by the extended ascendancy families of Molesworth, Conolly and Fitzgerald at Breckdenston, Castletown, Carton and Frescati, underpinned by a persuasive analysis of what remains of the original landscapes today. For this reason alone her study will be controversial, given the continuing threat of urban development on these unique and priceless spaces." "Dozens of previously unpublished maps, plans, watercolours and paintings illustrate the research in the book. As a major contribution to the study of the cultural landscape and to European garden history, Landscape Design in Eighteenth-Century Ireland will be indispensable to landscape historians and garden specialists alike."--BOOK JACKET.