The scaffolding dissappears…

The original setting must have been something else – although the Georgians seemed to have come a lot closer to the church than the present day crescent.
Here’s the last houses on the street – quite modest merchant housing; they’re even nicer on the opposite side and all could do with restoration. At least some efforts have been made to improve the area with PVC :rolleyes:
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@Thomond Park wrote:

College Green takes the biscuit on that score, the level of clutter at that site is really second to none.

Very true, as demonstrated in the An Taisce report: Dublinspirations. I noticed recently that the CCTV pole on the central traffic island is exactly inline with the axis of Trinity’s front arch and the Campanale.

An interesting article from the Irish Times here, which seems to suggest that the spire can not be saved without being dismantled and rebuilt.

From the Irish Times, February ’02 by Frank McDonald
One of the most important landmarks in the centre of Dublin, St George’s Church in Hardwicke Place, is now the subject of a dangerous buildings order, The Irish Times has learned.
The order, issued by Dublin City Council, requires the owner of the former church to remove all the loose stonework in its triple-tiered steeple and wrap it in wire mesh to prevent any more falling off.
But the council has no money to assist the owner, Redgrove Properties Ltd, of Galway, in restoring the building because the Government halved grants for the restoration of heritage properties in this year’s Budget.
The cost of restoring the steeple and portico of St George’s (now the Temple Theatre) is estimated at €3 million, equivalent to the entire allocation for 2002 of funding for the restoration of heritage properties throughout the State.
The steeple of St George’s, which is nearly as high as Liberty Hall, is the only church spire that can be seen from O’Connell Bridge. It is also the first landmark that greets visitors on their way in to the city centre from Dublin Airport.
The former church, which was opened in 1814 and deconsecrated more than a decade ago, is acknowledged as the masterpiece of Francis Johnston, architect of the GPO in O’Connell Street and the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle.
Its steeple has been surrounded by scaffolding for the past 15 years because the Portland stone was cracking due to expansion of the iron cramps that held it in place, the same problem that once afflicted the Custom House.
The Church of Ireland, having tried in vain to raise funds for the restoration of St George’s, sold the building in 1991 to an actor, Mr Sean Simon, who had plans to turn it into a theatre. He, too, eventually gave up.
After its deconsecration, the bells which Leopold Bloom heard ringing in Ulysses were removed to Taney Church in Dundrum, while the ornate pulpit was carved up to decorate Thomas Read’s pub in Parliament Street.
Even after St George’s became a major “rave” venue, further attempts were made to raise public funds for its restoration; first, in 1991, to celebrate Dublin’s role as European City of Culture, and later from the Millennium Committee.
But despite its location in the heart of the Taoiseach’s constituency, no funding was forthcoming.
“It is absolutely scandalous that this has been allowed to go on and on,” Mr David Slattery, the conservation architect, said yesterday.
Mr Slattery, who was responsible for the restoration of the Custom House in 1991, said there was absolutely no doubt that St George’s could be restored, although this would probably mean taking down and rebuilding its steeple.
His 1991 report on the church found that the cornice and frieze of its Greek-style portico were also affected by spalling stonework due to the expansion of ferrous metal clamps.
According to Mr Slattery, the present owner of the church could not be saddled with the bill for its restoration.
“Given that our historic buildings are one of the main reasons tourists come here, surely Bord Fáilte could chip in,” he said.
In the meantime, Redgrove Properties Ltd has been given 28 days to carry out the works required by the city council to remove the danger posed by stonework from the church’s landmark steeple falling into the street.

That is an interesting question and you would hope for the owners sake that technology has moved on, I also wonder did he know the true extent of the works facing him? I hope he did and that the full cost has finance in the wings.

Devin that is a really good image of Blackhall St with the background framed by the Bluecoat School (which was also home to Kings Hospital School for a time) the fact that a terrace of Georgians were lost whilst a terrace of modest Edwardian 2 storey red-bricks were retained just goes to show how misguided ‘deveolpment policies’ were in Dublin in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. It is an image I have never seen before as I always think of 1970’s electrical wholesalers when I think of that area. It really is a pity as were many other of the so called ‘slum clearances’ none more unfortunate than the loss of the context of St Georges.

I always thought that it would have been better to leave what had been built of the Blue Coat tower intact rather than removing it and putting that copper stub on….

Yes – this most extraordinary image from the National Library’s Online Collection shows the foundations and base of the ill-fated tower (this collection’s a fantastic resource)

The following image is one of the strangest photographs you’re ever likely to see – brace yourself 🙂

http://kildarest.nli.ie/npa/lroy2/lroy3082.htm

I don’t know when the dumpy dome was put on though – perhaps around 1900?

Can’t say I remember what it is depicted as, though I’ve a feeling it’s half built in it – keep meaning to get Craig’s handy little book of prints…always need it for things like these!

@Rory W wrote:

According to Craig Dublin 1660-1860 the stub was all that was built (albeit as a ‘temporary’ solution until funds were forthcoming)

Thanks for that Rory, Craig is always an authority on such matters, I wonder was what was erected designed as the original or was it a comtemporary design. I think I’ll trek down to the Archive and see if they have anything that may clear it up.

Just to go back to the original discussion for a second (not that I mind the interesting line to which this thread has taken), but would I be right in saying that the scaffolding is presently going back up?