A Future for Irish Historic Houses - Irish Heritage Trust

Killruddery, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Killruddery is located on the outskirts of the town of Bray in County Wicklow. It is
the home of Lord and Lady Meath whose family, the Brabazons, have been associated
with the area since the early seventeenth century:
- Killruddery is one of the earliest examples of an Elizabethan-Revival
mansion in Ireland. It was built in the 1820s to the design of Richard and
William Morrison, incorporating part of the earlier seventeenth-century
house.
- It houses an important collection of furniture, much of which is original to
the house.
- The impressive domed conservatory, added in 1852, now referred to as the
orangery, was recently restored thanks to EU funding. Originally, it was
designed by William Burn to replicate the Crystal Palace on a miniature
scale.
- The domed ceiling above the staircase, hall and gallery is reputed to have
been taken from designs by Inigo Jones and executed by a local man
named Henry Popje in 1830.
- The forecourt of the house was designed by Daniel Robertson, the
landscape architect involved in the design of the gardens at Powerscourt.
- The French-Baroque gardens, reputedly laid out in 1684, are the oldest
formal gardens in Ireland to have retained their original design and are of
great national importance. In fact, they are regarded as being amongst the
most important formal gardens anywhere in Great Britain or Ireland.
- The house contains a very valuable family archive.
In the 1950s, the discovery of dry rot allied to economic necessity demanded that
parts of the house be demolished. However, a great deal of Morrison’s design and
architecture remains, including the drawing-room and the dining-room with their fine
ceilings. While the structure of the present house is reasonably sound and the roof is
in good condition, there are a number of areas that do require attention:
- The existing plumbing system needs to be overhauled.
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