The Printing House is a classical
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
style temple building that was constructed within the campus of
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 ...
around 1734 under the tenure of provost
Richard Baldwin.
The building housed the
Dublin University Press from its opening until 1976.
History
The building was likely executed by
Richard Castle
Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series ''Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion.
The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books ...
as his first solo commission although it may have originally been designed by Castle or
Edward Lovett Pearce
Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 – 7 December 1733) was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best ...
prior to his death in 1733.
The builder is recorded as John Plummer, while other craftsmen included Moses Darley as stonecutter and Thomas Gilbert who was involved in procuring stone. Darley, Gilbert and Castle had all previously worked for Lovett Pearce on the nearby
Parliament House
Parliament House may refer to:
Meeting places of parliament
Australia
* Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia
* Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia
* Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland
* P ...
, the first Palladian building of scale in Dublin.
The building is faced in rusticated imported
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
with a double-height
pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
with
prostyle
Prostyle and Prostylos (), literally meaning "with columns in front", is an architectural term designating temples (especially Greek and Roman) featuring a row of columns on the front. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to th ...
tetrastyle
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...
portico to front. More modest local calp limestone is used for the sides of the building with the chimneys and bases of the columns in more sturdy lighter coloured Irish granite.
The building would have originally closed a
pleached lime tree-lined avenue leading from the
Thomas Burgh designed Anatomy House which was constructed circa 20 years prior but has since been demolished. It would have originally been to the rear of
The Rubrics and Rotten Row.
John Sterne, Bishop of Clogher donated £1,000 towards the construction of the building and a plaque with a Latin dedication is still inscribed over the front door.
The building would have been notable for being one of the earliest Palladian style buildings in Dublin using a combination of Portland stone in the English Georgian tradition of the period as well as local materials from the Dublin region.
Other college works
Castle was also engaged to later design a
campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
(belfry) for the campus which was constructed around 1746 but was ultimately demolished around 1790 as it was deemed structurally unsound. He also designed a dining hall around 1745 which was replaced around 1765 and presented designs for an entirely new west front and front square for the college which have since been lost.
Book of Kells
In 2023, it was announced that the building would host the
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...
, during refurbishment works which are to be carried out on the Old Library building within the campus.
See also
*
St Paul's, Covent Garden
*
Hugh Darley
References
{{University of Dublin, Trinity College
Georgian architecture in Dublin (city)
Buildings and structures of Trinity College Dublin
Richard Cassels buildings