Reconstruction of the Gothic Past: Cultures of Conservation

Niamh NicGhabhann
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2012
PhD

Subject: Architecture
Country: Ireland
Period: Late 18th Century to 20th Century

Supervisor: Dr Roger Stalley
Approx. 60,000 - 80,000 words

This thesis explores the restoration and conservation of Gothic ecclesiastical buildings in Ireland from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Two key distinct but interrelated contexts have been examined: firstly, the development of scholarship on Irish Gothic architecture from 1789 to the early twentieth century, in both professional and non-professional contexts, and secondly, the approaches taken by different groups, including landlords and local communities, professional architects, and the Irish Ecclesiastical Commission, in the restoration, conservation and preservation of medieval buildings during this period. The introductory chapter and literature review evaluate the extent to which these subjects have been considered in the extant literature on the subject, identifying both the foundation texts for this investigation, as well as the texts in which the specific issues examined here have been overlooked. The second chapter establishes a theoretical framework for the thesis, in particular the development of critical historiography in Irish architectural history, identifying the works of critical theory which have informed the close reading methodologies used in my analysis of documents and texts in this thesis.

Irish Georgian Society

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Reconstruction of the Gothic Past: Cultures of Conservation