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3.0 BUILT & LANDSCAPE HERITAGE

Iron railingsDating from the early nineteenth-century, and assembled using a combination of forged wrought iron with cast iron decorative details, the railings that surround the park are a key feature of the green and an essential component of its historic character. The vertical and horizontal rails were hand-forged using wrought iron while the collars were cast and fitted to the top and bottom of the uprights and then corked using molten lead. The railing panels are fitted into a chamfered granite plinth and bear on decorative cast iron feet leaded into the stones. Backstays support the railings approximately every four meters. There are three pedestrian gates that allow access to the green and a set of double gates to serve the ESB station, fabricated from the alteration of two original railing sections with their plinth stones sunk. Railings and gates are presently painted black, but brighter colours were often preferred in the Victorian era.

The railings are relatively well-preserved but in poor condition; their granite plinths having been displaced by encroaching tree roots leading to a wide range of defects. They have also been repaired on numerous occasions with poorly-matched decorative castings, mild steel repairs and replacement back stays; vehicular damage is also apparent in places. Certain sections of railings are no longer fully upright and have become unstable where backstays have snapped or lap joints separated. The plinth stones require re-pointing and repair and replacement in restricted areas where they are badly cracked. Very many of the panels have been displaced so that they no longer align in either the horizontal or vertical planes. Many of the decorative cast iron collars have been lost to rust, and tops of the uprights broken off or bent. The pedestrian gates are in poor state of repair, hinges and spuds

Fig.16 View along railings to west side of green.

Fig.17 View of adapted double gates to substation, showing damage caused by chain.

Fig.19 Decorative cast iron collars to tops of railings.

1460

1185

275

3750

23

150

A: TYPICAL BAY ELEVATION (BETWEEN STAYS)

approx

B: TYPICAL BAY ELEVATION (BETWEEN STAYS)

Cast Iron top finial

Cast Iron top collarWrought iron top bar

Wrought Iron railing

Stay

Wrought iron bottom barCast Iron bottom collar

Granite plinth

Cast Iron feet

PEDESTRIANENTRANCEGATE No1

PEDESTRIANENTRANCEGATE No3

PEDESTRIANENTRANCEGATE No2

D: GATE NO.1 ELEVATION

230

C: TYPICAL BAY PLAN (BETWEEN STAYS)

E: GATE NO.2 ELEVATION F: GATE NO.3 ELEVATION

approx 1200 approx 1200 approx 1200

DATEREV. NOTESUSE FIGURED DIMENSIONS ONLY.DO NOT SCALE DRAWINGS.READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH SPECIFICATION AND CONSULTANTS DRAWINGS.REPORT ANY DISCREPANCIES IN DRAWINGS TO ARCHITECT BEFORE PUTTING WORK IN HAND.CHECK ALL DIMENSIONS ON SITE.THIS DRAWING IS THE COPYRIGHT OF HOWLEY HAYES ARCHITECTS AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED , IN WHOLE OR PART, WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT.

H O W L E Y H A Y E S A R C H I T E C T S5 Main Street, Blackrock, Co.Dublin. T:01 874 0744 F:01 874 0884info@howleyhayes.ie

1:20@A3REVISION:DATESCALE DRAWN:

PROJECT:

DRAWING TITLE:

JOB NO.:

DRAWING NO.:

Repair of the Historic Railings and Plinth in Sandymount Green

CHECKED BY:

CLIENT:

Dublin City Council

RM366PROJECT STAGE:

TENDER SM FMcN

Typical railing and pedestrian gates 05AUG2014

Fig.18 Detailed survey drawing of the railings preapared for recent repair works.

Fig.20 Detail of cast iron feet and collars to base of uprights.

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are all worn and several slam plates are missing or badly corroded. The gates are no longer squarely hung and their lock boxes are in need of repair ; and so are secured using chains. These are unsightly, causing further damage to the finishes and leading to rust. The original latches are also badly worn or missing, and the gates remain open during the day until locked at night by locals. This is a concern for parents, as there have been incidents where young children have run out of the gates onto the narrow footpaths towards traffic. The unsightly guard rail erected on the footpath outside the Gilford Road gate to stop children rushing out is not wholly effective.

Park Furniture, Metalwork and SignageNone of the original metalwork benches survive but historic photographs show that they resembled examples that can still be found at Herbert Park. The existing benches consist of three concrete brackets supporting green-painted timber boards, mounted on a concrete base. A small cast iron water pump, which no longer operates, sits on a cobbled base along the footpath on the north side of the Green. It has a short fluted column stem and moulded cap, and may have filled a trough. The more elaborate fountain visible in the early photographs, which looks very similar to the fountain in Herbert Fig. 21 Original latch and lock box to west gate.

Fig.22 Cast iron water pump, likely to be a replacement.

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Fig.23 1960s cast iron signage mounted on post.

Fig.24View of existing park benches.

Fig.25 Site plan of the Green showing the current path layout with park features surrounded by lawn.

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Park. In this position today is an access chamber with a cast iron cover. The flower bed at the centre of the green is enclosed by low modern roll-top railings that have been partially buried in the ground, making them susceptible to rust. Information signs from the 1960s have been preserved, which add to the historic character but there have been some complaints that they are set too low and pose a hazard. A prominent metal display case on a cobbled base has been installed at the Gilford Road entrance by the

resident’s association. There are a number of standard metal council bins located close to the gates and along the perimeter path, set on concrete bases with cobble edging.

PathsExternally, the paths have a mixture of in-situ concrete and tarmacadam surfaces. The kerbs include concrete and granite, and along the south east corner is tactile street paving for the visually impaired from the former bus stop to the care centre nearby. The interior paths are surfaced in tarmacadam, and lined with salvaged cobbles. These may have been taken up from the cobbled tramlines and pedestrian crossings that skirted the green, as shown on historic photographs. The build up of tarmacadam and soil over the decades have meant that in some areas the cobble edging has been buried.

W.B.Yeats MonumentSandymount is associated with a number of Ireland’s most prominent literary figures. Amongst these is the poet and Nobel Laureate W. B. Yeats who was born on Sandymount Avenue in 1865. Placed on a circular base of stone setts, a squared granite column supports a bronze bust of the poet. It was erected in the south-east corner of the park in the 1960s after Dublin Corporation took ownership of the green. The sculpture is

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Fig.28 View of west side of ESB substation.

Fig.27 Exisitng pathways with salvaged cobble edging.

Fig.26 Modern metal signage and display erected by SAMRA.

placed to address the castle given his association with the family. Albert G. Power (1881-1945) was the sculptor and it dates from 1921, when Yeats was in his fifties. Power was born in Dublin and attended the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He was renowned for his realist, naturalistic style and depictions of Irish cultural and political figures of the era.

SubstationThis plain single-storey brick building, appears to date from the middle of the twentieth century. It is approximately 7m by 7.5m and has a set of large metal double doors and a single leaf metal door on the west elevation. The only other

opening are vents inserted into the brick-work which is laid in Flemish bond. It has a flat roof with a cast concrete fascia and overhanging eaves detail. At the rear corners of the station are two concrete pillars running from ground to eaves. The substation is surrounded on three sides by a square edging and on the side elevations climbing plants have been grown, probably to soften the appearance from the green. It replaced an earlier substation on the site.

Planting & LawnsThe grassy areas are patchy in places and need re-seeding, no doubt due to the intense use of the green, especially in the summer months. Some

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Fig.29 View of bronze bust of W.B.Yeats’ by Power.

topsoil fill installed recently was contaminated with old crockery and glass which has been remediated. Smaller flower beds located at the apex of the triangles have been removed. There are 31 broadleaf, deciduous trees located around the perimeter of the green. These include:

•20 Aesculus hippocastanum (horse-chestnut);•6 Juglans regia (walnut);•3 Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore);•1 Acer spp. (purple-leafed maple);•1 Tilia cordata (lime).

With the exception of four trees, all species are at a mature stage, allowing for an almost continuous, unbroken, dense canopy around the

perimeter which strongly defines the green. The crowns have been managed over the years in order to keep them open and free from dead wood or mechanical weakness. There is some evidence of past substantial crown reduction. The homogenous nature of the perimeter tree planting has been somewhat lost and the specimen weeping ash has been removed.

Shrubs and climbing plants planted at the ESB substation include the following:

Cotoneaster lacteus; Cot. salicifolius; Crataegus monogyna; Escallonia macrantha; Ligustrum vulgare; Prunus laurocerus; Viburnum tinus; Pyracantha

Fig.30 View of SW corner of green in Winter 2015.

Fig.31 View of SW corner green in Autumn 2014 (under leaf).

Fig.32 View of central planting bed isolated in lawn.

Fig.33 View of central planting bed isolated in lawn.

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