Russborough House
| Russborough House | |
|---|---|
The front facade at Russborough | |
| General information | |
| Status | Private dwelling house |
| Type | House |
| Architectural style | Palladian |
| Location | Russelstown County Wicklow W91 W284 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°08′30″N 6°34′11″W / 53.14166°N 6.5696°W |
| Construction started | 1741 |
| Estimated completion | 1748 |
| Owner | The Alfred Beit foundation |
| Technical details | |
| Material | granite |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Richard Castle, Francis Bindon |
| Developer | Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown |
| Other designers | Lafranchini brothers (stuccowork) |
| Website | |
| http://www.russborough.ie/ | |
| References | |
Russborough House is a Georgian Palladian house between Blessington and Ballymore Eustace near the Blessington Lakes in County Wicklow, Ireland. The house was designed by Richard Castle for Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown and built between 1741 and 1755. It has an exceptionally long frontage measuring 210 m (690 ft). The interior contains fine ornate plasterwork on the ceilings by the Lafranchini brothers, who also collaborated with Castle on Carton House. Russborough contains an important private collection of European fine and decorative arts, including furniture, silver, porcelain and paintings many of which have now been transferred to galleries for safe keeping.
Russborough is open to visitors and is located on a 200-acre (81 ha) estate, with many of the original 18th-century features still in place including the walled garden, ice-house, lime kiln and the serpentine lakes. There is also a restaurant, shop and 2 km (1.2 mi) maze.