The Carrig 2km Heritage Challenge

By Sinéad Hughes, Head of Conservation, Carrig Conservation International

2020 won’t be a year any of us will forget in a hurry, but for the team at Carrig the ups and downs of the past month or so have brought out our best. We’ve adapted quickly to social distancing and remote working, and have stayed focused on the challenges of the present as well as the opportunities of the future. 

​I’m sure like us you were glued to the telly on 28th March when Leo Varadkar announced further restrictions to help “flatten the curve” of the Covid-19 infection rate. One of the measures set in place that evening was to limit travel beyond a 2km radius from home except for food shopping and other essential trips. Restricting movement in this way was intended to save lives and take the pressure off our hospital system.

Bearing the 2km radius in mind, I decided to set a bit of a challenge for my creative colleagues at Carrig. I asked them to take a photograph of a heritage structure, feature or place while out strolling in their own neighbourhoods, and I was interested to see what they’d come up with. As expected, the team were up for it and within a few hours of my email, I started to receive fabulous shots of local heritage​.

​My first respondent was Caroline who sent me a photo from Dodder Park of her dog Hamish in the foreground of The Roman Arch, or Lord Ely’s Gate as it is sometimes known. Built in the 1770s, the ashlar granite gatelodge was once part of the demesne of Rathfarnham Castle, but is now severed from the castle grounds by a network of modern roads and suburban houses. It is understood that the lodge may have been designed by the architect William Chambers who, with James Anthenian Stuart, remodeled the earlier castle. In spite of Caroline’s best efforts, Hamish didn’t take much notice of the triumphal-arch gateway, but I guess there’s no pleasing some dogs.

Hamish, the dog, in front of the Roman Arch.

Cora’s entry to the Carrig 2km Heritage Challenge is a photo of the remains of the lift at Bray Head. The chair lift was built by the entrepreneur Eamonn Quinn, father of Superquinn’s founder Feargal Quinn. Opened in April 1952, it had the capacity to carry 300 passengers an hour.
 
The chair lift, inspired by those found in Switzerland, was carried on steel wires suspended from seven steel pylons between the Eagle’s Nest Restaurant and Ballroom and the field at the bottom of Bray head.
 
The gondolas appear to have been based on garden seats and were open to the elements which can only have added to the thrill for the daredevil passengers.
 
Prior to this, access to the Eagle’s Nest was via a steep climb or a horse and carriage at a cost of six old pence. The charge for the chair lift was one shilling and sixpence going up and a shilling going down. 

The Bray chair lift when it was in use

The remains of the Bray chair lift today. 

Church of the Holy Trinity, Rathmines

For his 2km heritage challenge, our managing director Peter took a blue-skied photo of the Church of the Holy Trinity from 1828 by John Semple.

​Although Carrig didn't work on this particular church, we have worked on many John Semple churches in Leinster where the architect concentrated his work. The slender door and window openings with their pronounced pointed arches are a distinctive feature that was repeatedly used by the Semple. This church in Rathmines was constructed of Leinster granite and local Dublin Calp limestone, the latter of which was quarried about 300 yards from the site.

My wanderings for the Carrig 2km Heritage Challenge took me up into the Dublin mountains, through the old granite quarries in the townlands of Ticknock and Barnacullia. There I spotted a cast-iron winch in an overgrown quarry bed that must have been abandoned years ago.
​
This area, along with places like Dalkey and Ballyknockan in southwest Wicklow, sit on a seam of Leinster granite that was exploited to supply the city of Dublin with its building and paving stone in previous centuries.
The smaller quarries with their stonecutters and quarrymen are now a thing of the past, and although many of the beds and quarry faces have been reclaimed by nature, they are still legible within the landscape.

Ticknock granite quarry

​As conservation and heritage consultants, the team at Carrig have an eye for local heritage and understand how it enriches the character of a neighbourhood and contributes to our positive mental health. With the improved weather, we’ve been enjoying our post-work rambles around our respective areas and hope that you have too. If you’d fancy taking part in the Carrig 2km Heritage Challenge, we’d love to hear from you. Why not take a snap when you are out and about and send it to 2kmcarrigchallenge@gmail.com.

For now, keep safe and happy walking from all the team!