The importance of historic gardens in Ireland is often overlooked and sadly many have disappeared beneath housing estates and golf courses leaving only the historic house on a small stamp of ground. The setting of houses in historic estates should almost be considered as significant as the house itself and the original builders carefully considered the landscape.

The last century has seen the destruction of the streetscapes of many Irish towns, by the replacement of traditional timber shopfronts by modern uPCV alternatives with neon lighting and visually obtrusive advertising.

Bricks come in a variety of colours and sizes and enliven the facades of our Georgian and Victorian building stock. Despite brick making extending back thousands of years and being introduced to Europe by the Romans, it wasn’t until the 16th century that the first bricks were used in Ireland.

Dublin Rocks is an interesting new audio guided tour of Dublin looking at the city’s architecture and history and its very building blocks. Highlights include a timber fragment remaining from the last timber cage house in Dublin, cobblestones made in Charles Stewart Parnell’s quarry in Wicklow and Dublin’s famous red bricks.

The Irish Georgian Society and Dublin City Council are presenting a series of 12 lunchtime lectures covering all aspects in relation to the conservation of historic Dublin houses including grant aid, maintenance and gardens.