Huguenot House, Stephen’s Green

Is that the last building before the Cemetary as you approach merrion Row from the green?
If so,I think it was John O’Neill & Associates in Sandymount

Thats the one
It was reclad about 10 years ago

Pretty good Job they did ‘n all. I was fairly impressed at the time, stands the test of time also.

I think they should do something with the graveyard beside it, build on it or something. They must be the most expensive plots in the world.

You are joking?

build on the graveyard? are you nuts? it must be one of the most beautiful small garden speces in the city and you want to build on it.
i love to walk by and every time get the feeling of being transported back in time to a different age, if only for a moment. i would not like to see it go or be developed in any way. I assume that it is protected and i think i remember hearing that it is owned by the Hugenouts or the French Embassey or some such body.

Is there any other space that people know of in the city where there is a small space such this(not necessarily accessible)where a similar atmosphere exists?

As a matter of interest, there is a small and quite old cemetery in the the middle of Boston city centre – it was strange to see an antiquated graveyard sandwiched in between many very large buildings. Of course, being an american city there really wasn’t much else man made that was particularly old which added to the strangeness.

Speaking of activity around Graveyards…

Didn’t they move gravestones for the new public space/walkway/park on Jervis Street??

And is it possible to design structures that skateboardists don’t have a really good time on?? They were in there before it was even finished (leaving marks on the stone benches – darn them pesky kids!!).

fjp

Isn’t there a small graveyard at the end of Wall St too?

fjp-Wolfe tone park and Skateboarders has been touched on before http://www.archforums.com/NonCGI/Forum1/HTML/000658.html

I agree on the headstones issue
In the original Design brief the siting of the headstones was to be an integral part of the design solution
Having passed the park on sunday, the only work to date has been to cast a piece of insitu concrete to the end of the tombstones to hold them in their original position

In the winning design the tombstones were to be set into the inclined grass bank

Inclined grass bank? I hear you ask

exactly!

Last year in Bolton St there was a thesis done on this very site. A French cultural centre (in reference to the French Huguenot cemetery, presumably) The building replaced the awful thing that’s there now, which deserved some credit in itself.
The scheme had a sunken cafe along the whole length of the cemetery; it was a beautiful image. It’s an absolutely sublime and often overlooked little cemetery.
I think there were four Georgian houses on the site before and apparently it’s haunted as they disturbed the graveyard when re-cladding it the last time. Donal McNally’s on the ground floor had to get an exorcist in as the glasses kept jumping off the shelves and a lady in 17th century dress is often seen wandering thorough the basement car park at night. Fascinating stuff….

Another thing, the archway over the cemetery says ‘Hughenot Cemetery’ – a historical spelling mistake. I notice that whoever started the topic also misspelled it. It’s Huguenot. 🙂

Sorry to be a pedant but..

Hughenot is a perfectly valid alternative spelling

and BM if you check again, paul spelled Huguenot correctly

Thanks Paul,
LOB, are you sure it’s an acceptable alternative? You might want to check that…

The spelling may just have fallen out of use
after a quick search

“Desagulier, third Grand Master, held numerous patents and was awarded at the age of 60 the Copley Gold Medal for his continuing experiments on bridge construction, steam control and water supplies. He was Chaplain to the Duke of Chandos and demonstrated his scientific findings before George II. Fellow Hughenots brought many of the skills and manufacturing ideas which enabled the industrial revolution to occur in their new country. John Senex, as one example, was made SF’s Grand Warden and a Fellow of the Royal Society in the same year, 1727. Charts of the planets and constellations were his scientific speciality, and for his ‘improved’ world globes he was recommended to the Society by Dr Halley.”

“This is a copy of letter written by J. (John) T. Faulk: “La. Ouachita18th of November 1866”
Why this long silence between you and me wife and children? I feelthis day quite well in health and I now see fit to tell you fromwhence our family sprang and of the stock of people from which wecame. We came from Europe according to the words of our forefathers.In 1671, there was a province on the river Rhine, it lies betweenGermany and France; there was a large number of that province, thatprotested against the Roman Catholic order of religion who were called by way of reproach Hughenot Protestants.”

Well that’s just marvellous

Moving back to the building – I notice that the Meteor phone shop has gone from there now – not the greatest retail location is it?

No, it’s not really, Minima was there before Meteor and they went the same way sadly.
The Opticians have been there for quite a while though.
It would seem more suited to an office or restaurant / cafe building in a similar vein to those around it on Merrion Row.
Ballymore properties currently own most of the building and added another storey on top last year. It’s still pretty horrendous looking though, horribly proportioned.

ooooh

BM,you did raise the issue

[This message has been edited by LOB (edited 08 March 2002).]

Well LOB, it was really more of an add-on to my initial post but I take your point.
If you’re adamant enough to actually research it, you must be right.

True, it was pretty dreadful before but what’s there now isn’t really that much better unfortunately.

ahh it is

Well, only marginally so.
It just seems such a shame as it’s such an amazing site that it’s just wasted on this mediocre, bulky thing…