All Lewis entries for Rathfarnham

RATHFARNHAM

RATHFARNHAM, a parish, in the barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S.) from Dublin, on the road to Rathdrum ; containing 4573 inhabitants, of which number, 1572 are in the village. The castle of Rathfarnham was built by Archbishop Loftus, who was Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth. On the breaking out of the war of 1641, Sir Adam Loftus held it with a garrison, as an outpost to protect the city of Dublin against the incursions of the septs of O'Toole and Byrne from the neighbouring mountains of Wicklow ; in 1649 it was taken by the forces of the Duke of Ormonde. Adam Loftus, grandson of Sir Adam, was created baron of Rathfarnham in 1685. At the commencement of the insurrection of 1798, the village was the scene of a skirmish between a detachment of the King's troops and a party of the insurgents, in which several of the latter were killed and others taken prisoners. Near the village is a lofty bridge of a single arch over the river Dodder, the road from which is thickly shaded by the plantations of the demesnes on each side : the place itself is a long straggling street, with very little to attract attention. The country around is studded with numerous beautiful and richly planted seats, and presents a great variety of picturesque rural scenery. Petty sessions are held in the village every Wednesday : it is a metropolitan police station, and has a dispensary ; a fair is held in it on the 10th of July. Near the bridge is a woollen factory, which employs about 100 persons ; there are also paper and corn mills near it, which are worked by the waters of the Dodder and the Cruagh river, that form a junction here : at Rathgar are extensive calico print-works. The small villages of Roundtown and Templeogue are in the parish : in the latter are the ruins of a church with a small burial-ground still used as a cemetery attached to it. Archbishop Alan states, in his "Repertorium Viride," that the church was a chapel appendant to the church of Kilmesantan without the marches or pale ; that it was built on the hither side of the Dodder, as being a safer place to hear divine service in during times of war ; and that from its late erection it had the name of Templeogue, which signifies "New Church," given to it. The castle, now The property of the Marquess of Ely, is a large and stately mansion in the centre of a fine and thickly planted demesne, the principal entrance to which is a very beautiful gateway, built in the style of a Roman triumphal arch, besides which there is a very lofty pointed Gothic gateway leading to the village : the entrance to the house from the terrace on which it stands is by a portico of eight Doric columns which support a dome painted in fresco with the signs of the zodiac : the great hall is ornamented with a number of ancient and modern busts on pedestals of variegated marble, and has three windows of stained glass, in one of which are the arms of the Loftus family. The collection of family portraits and paintings by the old masters has been removed, in consequence of a determination to take the building down and to divide the demesne into a number of small plots for the erection of villas. The other more remarkable seats, besides those described in the articles on Roundtown and Rathgar, are Ashfield, the residence of Sir W. C. Smith, puisne baron of the Exchequer ; Beaufort, of R. Hodgens, Esq. ; Landscape, of H. O'Cal laghan, Esq. ; Whitehall, of W. P. Matthews, Esq. ; Newtown, of John Kirby, Esq., L.L.D., M.D., in the grounds of which there are some very fine evergreens ; Rathfarnham House, of the Rev. H. McClean ; Bolton Hall, of P. Jones, Esq. ; Barton Lodge, of W. Conlan, Esq. ; Sallymount, of J. Watson, Esq. ; Edenbrook, of E. Conlan, Esq. ; Ballyroan, of A. Reilly, Esq. ; Brook Lodge, of R. Hutchinson, Esq. ; Mount Browne, of Mrs. Johnson ; Old Orchard, of P. Larkin, Esq. ; Ballyhill, of the Rev. G. Browne ; Butterfield House, of J. Wright, Esq. ; Nutgrove, of P. Jones, Esq. ; Washington Lodge, of the Rev. J. Burnett ; Fairbrook, of Thos. Murphy, Esq. ; Rusina, of B. Brunton, Esq. ; Old Orchard House, of J. Sweeny, Esq., and Whitehall, of T. Laffan, Esq., an out-office of which is built in the shape of a pottery furnace, with a winding flight of steps on the outside to the top, whence there is a commanding prospect of the surrounding country,

The parish comprises 2724 statute acres. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, and one of the parishes which constitute the archdeaconry of Dublin : the tithes amount to £315. The church is a plain building of rough stone with hewn stone quoins, of very plain outward appearance, but fitted up within very neatly : in it is a mural tablet to the memory of Barry Yelverton, first Lord Avonmore, whose remains are in the cemetery, as are also those of the late Archbishop Magee, The church was enlarged and a tower and spire added to it, in 1821, at a cost of £900, being a loan from the Board of First Fruits, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £270 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions this is the head of the union or district of Rathfarnham, Crumlin, and Bohernabreena, comprising the parishes of Rathfarnham, Crumhin, Tallaght, Cruagh, and Whitechurch. There are large chapels at Rathfarnham, Crumlin, and Bohernabreena, the last in the parish of Tallaght : near the first-named is a good house for the priest. Near the village is a convent of nuns of the order of Loretto : the building is a large brick mansion, which had been the seat of the late G. Grierson, Esq. The sisterhood have a boarding school for young ladies and also superintend a free school of upwards of 100 children, which is aided by the Board of National Education ; the pupils receive a suit of clothes annually. Attached to the nunnery is a small chapel very elegantly fitted up : the sisterhood have lately purchased the convent of the nuns of St. Clare at Kingstown. The parochial school is aided by an annual donation from the archdeacon of Dublin ; a school for boys in connection with the R. C. chapel is supported by subscriptions and a charity sermon ; another school is in connection with the London Hibernian Society. Wilkes, the celebrated comedian, was a native of this parish.

RATHGAR

RATHGAR, a district, partly in the united parishes of ST. PETER and ST. KEVIN, barony of UPPERCROSS, and partly in the parish of RATHFARNHAM, barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 1? mile (S.) from Dublin : the population is returned with the respective parishes. This place, which is on the road from Dublin, by way of Rathmines, to Roundtown, consists of several ranges of pleasant houses and numerous detached villas, of which the principal are Rathgar House, the residence of J. Farran, Esq. ; Rathgar, of P. Waldron, Esq. ; Rokeby, of C. Pickering, Esq. ; Mote View, of J. Powell, Esq. ; Mountain Prospect, of P. Nolan, Esq. ; Roseville, of Miss Moore ; Fair View, of Mrs. Fox ; Prospect Villa, of J. Houston, Esq. ; Maryville, of J. Jennings, Esq. ; Prospect Lodge, of R. Clarke, Esq. ; Primrose Cottage, of T. Alley, Esq. ; and the handsome residences of G. Wall and W. Haughton, Esqrs. There is an extensive bleach-green, with printing-works belonging to Messrs. Waldron, Dodd, Carton, & Co., for muslin, calicoes, and silks ; the works are set in motion by a steam-engine of 30-horse power, and a water-wheel of equal force, and afford employment to 300 men, In the immediate vicinity are some quarries of good limestone, which are extensively worked ; and strata of calp limestone have been discovered alternating with the limestone in several places, here, as well as in the quarries at Roundtown and Crumlin, inclined at a considerable angle and exhibiting other appearances of disturbance.

ROUNDTOWN

ROUNDTOWN, a village, in the parish of RATHFARNHAM, barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 2? miles (S.) from the General Post-Office ; the population is returned with the parish: The place takes its name from the arrangement of its cottages in the form of a circle : it is neat and pleasantly situated, and forms a pleasing feature in the environs of the metropolis, to which it has a twopenny post. In the immediate vicinity are numerous handsome seats and elegant villas. Bushy Park, the seat of Sir Robt. Shaw, Bart., is a spacious mansion of brick, situated in an ample demesne tastefully embellished, and commanding some beautiful views of mountain scenery. Fortfield, the admired residence of the late Rt. Hon. Sir W. McMahon, Bart., Master of the Rolls, is pleasingly situated in grounds beautifully ornamented and comprehending much interesting scenery. Kimmage, the seat of the Rt. Hon. F. Shaw, Recorder of Dublin, is a handsome mansion in the ancient English style, in a demesne highly cultivated and embellished with great taste. Terenure, the handsome seat of F. Bourne, Esq., is remarkable for the picturesque beauty of its grounds, embellished with stately timber of many varieties, and its gardens laid out with great taste and comprehending a rich selection of choice plants and flowers, In the demesne and gardens are numerous varieties of orange trees, ash, elm, horse-chesnut, holly, and hawthorn, and more than 1750 different varieties of rose trees : the conservatories and hot-houses contain upwards of 12,000 square feet of glass, and the whole is arranged in the most perfect order and preserved with the greatest care. The other seats, all of which are more or less distinguished for beauty of situation and variety of scenery, are Fortfield Lodge, that of W. Crozier, Esq. ; Fanny Ville, of Mrs. Reade ; Elm Grove, of Mrs. Byrne ; Wainsfort, of Capt. Theo. Norton ; St. John's, of W. Darley, Esq. ; Willow Mount, of W. Hodges, Esq. ; Mount-Tallant House, of P. Whelan, Esq. ; Ashfield, of P. Cornwall, Esq. ; Mount-Tallant Lodge, of E. H. Orpen, Esq. ; Mountain View, of W. Deane, Esq. ; Prospect, of J. Fagan, Esq. ; Rathgar House, of G. McBride, Esq. ; Westbourne Lodge, of T. Dickson, Esq. ; Meadowbank, of T. Copperthwaite, Esq. ; Prospect House, of J. Halloway, Esq. ; Mount Saville, of W. Shine, Esq. ; Everton, of F. Burke, Esq. ; Rose Villa, of C. Wood, Esq. ; Arbutus Lodge, of J. Walsh, Esq. ; Elm Cottage, of R. F. Murphy, Esq., M. D. ; and Rusina, of B. Brunton, Esq.