Russborough Pt 1 sub

[0:12]Welcome to the Irish Aesthete. Today we're on site at Luscious Russborough in County Wicklow. Rusper dates from the 1740s when built for Joseph Leeson. His grandfather Hugh had come to Ireland as a soldier about a century earlier, and began to develop the family wealth by investing in property and brewing. Joseph's father, also called Joseph, proved highly successful in both fields and when he died in 1741, he left his son a very considerable fortune. The young Joseph was determined not to sully himself with trade, but to establish himself as a proper gentleman. Eventually, in 1763, he would be created first Earl of Milltown, demonstrating that long before members of the Guinness family began to acquire social position and titles, there had already been instances of what came to be called the Beerage. Meanwhile, one of the hallmarks of a gentleman was possession of a country estate. Hence, soon after his father's death, young Joseph Leeson acquired the land on which Russborough now stands. The site was well chosen because in front of the building, the ground softly drops away to allow an uninterrupted vista of the distant Wicklow mountains. To design his new house, Joseph Leeson hired the period's most fashionable architect, Richard Castle to come up with something appropriate. Much of Castle's work has a very rugged, masculine quality about it, as can be seen in houses such as the late and much lamented Summer Hill in County Meath, or Hazelwood in County Sligo. Russborough, on the other hand, is altogether more delicate in character, designed with a lighter touch as though meant to be a weekend retreat from the cares of urban life rather than a full-time residence. It's famous for having what is thought to be the longest facade of any country house in Ireland, running to some 700 feet. But if one takes away the colonnades and the wings and all the other ancillary buildings, at the center is a rather small, albeit perfectly formed villa. If the house stood by itself, it would be not unlike one of Palladio's villas in the Veneto. If the house stood by itself, it would be Ireland's equivalent of Chiswick House, Lord Burlington's villa outside London. Constructed of local Wicklow granite, the main block as can be seen, is of six bays and two stories over a raised basement, meaning the entrance has to be approached by an impressive flight of steps. The central breakfront features four Corinthian columns, their capitals linked by playful garlands of flowers, and the whole beneath a pedimented entablature. The view is further softened by a line of earns running along the roof line. The colonnades on either side feature lines of plain Roman Doric columns. But again, the potential severity is moderated by the wall behind being broken into a series of niches, each of which contains a classical statue. Those statues were commissioned by Joseph Leeson on one of his visits to Italy, when he brought home items to decorate both the exterior and interior of Russborough. And in the next episode, we'll look more closely at those visits and what was acquired for Russborough on them. I look forward to seeing you then. Thank you so much for watching the Irish.