The Cathedral of St Fin Barre at Cork: William Burges in IrelandWilliam Burges was one of the most intriguing and eccentric figures in the history of 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. In 1863 he was awarded first prize in the architectural competition to rebuild St Fin Barre's cathedral in Cork, with the stipulation that the cost of the new building not exceed £15,000. By 1881 £100,000 had been spent on a magnificent limestone structure in the architect's favourite style, Early French. The sculpture, stained glass, mosaics, painted decorations, furnishings and metalwork were all designed by Burges, giving the building a typically Burgesian panache as well as an unusual visual coherence. A unique archive, of drawings, paintings, plaster models, and of documents of every kind, allows the authors to piece together a detailed account of the erection of this building. It is an~extraordinary tale, which touches on architecture, art, the religious and social history of Ireland. |
Contents
ILLUSTRATIONS | 7 |
Got Cork | 19 |
A monument of Christian zeal | 28 |
Copyright | |
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ambulatory angel approve 1877 account apse architect architecture attributed Burges scale-drawing Book of furniture building committee Burges cartoon Lonsdale Burges scale-drawing Burges Burges scale-drawing Lonsdale Burges's Cardiff Castle cartoon Lonsdale design carving Cathedral committee minute century chancel choir Christ Church of Ireland clerestory colour committee minute book Cork Cathedral committee credence table David Lawrence Dean and Chapter decoration design 1869 approve drawings Dublin east studio Saunders executed figures Fin Barre Fin Barre's Cathedral Foolish Virgins Frankfield gable Gothic Revival Handley-Read Ibid iconographic interior Irish John Gregg Last Judgement London Lonsdale cartoon Lonsdale Lonsdale design 1869 mediaeval Minutes of building Modelled in plaster Mordaunt Crook nave north transept painted panels Robert Gregg Robert MacLeod Saunders's scale-drawing Burges cartoon scale-drawing Lonsdale cartoon scheme sculpture sketch-design attributed Burges sketch-design Burges scale-drawing St Fin Barre's St John stained glass statues stone Thomas Nicholls tower transept tympanum Vestry Webster west front William Burges Worrall