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Technology and the Big House in Ireland, c. 1800-c.1930 (Hardcover, New)
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Technology and the Big House in Ireland, c. 1800-c.1930 (Hardcover, New)
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By the beginning of the nineteenth century, over ninety-five
percent of all the productive land in Ireland was in the hands of
Anglo-Irish landowners. They lived in the 'big houses', some of
which still exist today, resplendent within their walled estates.
Many others are now only gaunt ruins silhouetted against somber
Irish skies, victims of 'the troubles' in the 1920s. There is a
continuing fascination with the history of the big house in
Ireland. Much of this interest stems from the Anglo-Irish living in
places apart, in their estates, often in remote areas of an
undeveloped and hostile land. Part of the appeal is in the
characters, neither wholly English nor Irish, who made up this
landowning class in Ireland. However, another part, largely ignored
until this study, is how many of these landowners not only met
these challenges but achieved remarkable levels of
self-sufficiency. It was their exploitation of technology that
hugely bolstered their status and independence and enabled them to
lead an exotic lifestyle in Ireland. Although much has been written
regarding the social and political history of the Anglo-Irish in
Ireland, little research has been conducted into the practical
problems of living there. At a time when there were few roads, no
railways, and sailing ships were the unreliable connection with
England, existence might have been very basic indeed. Charles
Carson uncovers and explains in simple terms the technologies
employed, to not only make life bearable, but in some case to
become a triumph over seemingly impossible odds. An appreciation of
this background helps to explain the sense of status and
independence that emanates from the big house in Ireland until
their demise in the late twentieth century. Interdisciplinary
investigative methods were used in this work. These included
extensive archival research of estate papers throughout Ireland;
fieldwork involving examination and photography of still-extant big
house technology; and the use of published fictional and
biographical big house material. Much additional insight, and
suggestions for further research, resulted from visits to various
big house locations. Owners, often descendants of the original
families, or managers and ground staff, provided important local
knowledge. Climbing amongst stored artefacts in cellars, barns, and
subterranean tunnels helped to bring the past alive. Something of
the ambiance of these explorations informs this book, thus helping
towards an understanding of the fundamental importance of
technology in underpinning the status and independence of the big
house in Ireland. By examining the range, costs, and changing
nature of the technologies employed, this book makes an important
contribution to a deeper understanding of life in the big house in
Ireland circa 1800 to circa 1930. Brief descriptions, accompanied
by drawings or photographs, are employed to explain the operation,
limitations, and improvements of many of the installations and
techniques. These include water closets, pumps, cisterns, boilers,
and firefighting equipment; open fires, hot air stoves, and central
heating; walled gardens, hot walls and beds, warm air, steam, and
hot water heating of glasshouses; the construction, location,
stocking, and use of ice houses and ice; daylight enhancement,
candle, oil, gas, and electric lighting; an optical telegraph, a
church spire, engine driven equipment on the estate farm as well as
mapping of bogs and their reclamation by wooden railways.
Technology and the Big House in Ireland, c. 1800-c. 1930 is an
important reference source for Irish study groups worldwide.
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