Hugh Darley (1701–1771) was an 18th-century Irish architect and stonecutter who is most notable for his work as builder, stonecutter, supplier and architect on various buildings and projects in the

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

campus.

History

The third son of Henry Darley, a stonecutter and quarry owner of

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, he had moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

by 1725 where he is recorded as working on buildings at Bachelor's Walk. He is also recorded as working at various times in counties

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, Antrim, Down and

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

. He was living at 10 Lower Abbey Street, 1761–1763 and later at Marlborough Street, 1764–1771. His immediate family included elder brothers Moses Darley (died 1754) and Arthur Darley (1692–1742) who were also both involved in the building trade while his great-grandnephew was the architect Frederick Darley and another grandnephew was the poet George Darley. His son John (born 1731) became collector of customs at

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

. Over the course of two centuries, the extended Darley family were particularly heavily involved in the provision of stone and building services to

. In the 1750s, Darley is recorded as employing over 100 men on college related building works alone. He appears to have owned the quarries at Ardbraccan (limestone) for a period as well as at Golden Hill (granite) near the village of

Kilbride, County Wicklow Kilbride (), or Manor Kilbride, is a village, civil parish and electoral division in County Wicklow, Ireland, located at the western edge of the Wicklow Mountains in the barony of Talbotstown Lower. Geography Manor Kilbride village is situ ...

. For a period, Edward Smyth was apprenticed to Darley who recommended him to work with

James Gandon James Gandon (20 February 1743 – 24 December 1823) 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 Beresfor ...

Notable building projects

* Trinity College Dublin, west front (1752-59) as builder and superintendent * St. Peter's Church of Ireland, Drogheda (1748) as architect * Old

Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...

, St Micahel's Hill (1749) as stonecutter * Provost's House, Trinity College Dublin (1759) as builder * Trinity College Dublin - rebuilding of Dining Hall (1760) after its collapse * Mayoralty House, Drogheda (1769) - as architect and superintendent

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darley, Hugh 1701 births 1771 deaths Architects from Dublin (city) 18th-century Irish architects