Sir Richard Morrison (1767 – 31 October 1849 / 1844Philip Smith (writer), ''An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow'' (Dublin: Wordwell Press /

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 2004). p.24.) was an Irish architect.

Life

He was born at Midleton,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, the son of John Morrison, also an architect. Originally intended for the church, he was eventually placed as a pupil with James Gandon, the celebrated architect, in Dublin. He obtained through his godfather, Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon, a post in the ordnance department at Dublin, but this he abandoned. when he entered into full-time practice as an architect. He married Elizabeth Ould, daughter of the Reverend William Ould, and granddaughter of the noted physician Sir Fielding Ould, and had at least four children. Having resided for some time at

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

, where his second son, William Vitruvius was born, he moved about 1800 to Dublin and settled at Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. He died at Bray on 31 October 1849, and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin. Other sources claim that his death was in 1844. He was a founder-member in 1839 and the first vice-president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. In 1793 he published ''Useful and Ornamental Designs in Architecture''.

Works

Morrison designed a number of works with his son, William Vitruvius Morrison, including: Baronscourt, near Newtownstewart in County Tyrone (from 1835); Killruddery House, near Bray in

; Ballyfin, just north of Mountrath in County Laois; and Fota, near Cork in

. Richard Morrison also designed Knockdrin Castle, just north of Mullingar in

County 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 ...

. A prominent work was his Gothic fantasy 1819 remodelling of Shelton Abbey,

Arklow Arklow ( ; ; ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the Battle of Arklow, bloodiest battles ...

. Morrison had a very extensive public and private practice in Ireland. Among his public works were alterations to the Church of Ireland cathedral at Cashel, the court-house and gaol at

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, court-houses at

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

, Clonmel,

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

, and elsewhere, and St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

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 ...

. He built or altered very many mansions of the nobility and gentry in Ireland, and was knighted by the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

, Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, in 1841.

Bibliography

References

;Attribution *

External links

Sir Richard Morrison
- Dictionary of Irish Architects {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Richard 1767 births 1849 deaths Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium People from Midleton Architects from County Cork 18th-century Irish architects 19th-century Irish architects People from Bray, County Wicklow Architects from County Wicklow