The Long Gallery

Date: 24 Jul 2008

The Long Gallery

The Long Gallery is one of the most celebrated rooms at Castletown, and is unique in Ireland. Originally intended as a picture gallery linked to flanking rooms on the north front it was described by an John Loveday, an English visitor in 1732 as follows, ‘Here is a length of the Duke of Wharton, another of the Duke of Grafton, lord lieutenant and his Duchess, but a remarkably good length painting of Lord Chancellor West in his robes. There are a large number of prints here and some antique seals taken off in wax and put into glass picture cases. No tapestry but what was made in Dublin, the figures are small, the colours are very lively.’ This preference for a formal long gallery was very much in vogue in the 1720s, but had become old fashioned by the time Lady Louisa arrived at Castletown. Initially in 1760 she rearranged the layout by removing the original doorways to the upper east and west corridors, replacing them with the central doorway above the entrance hall. The new door-cases as well as new fireplaces at either end were designed by leading English architect, Sir William Chambers, while the work was again overseen by Simon Vierpyl. The Pompeian style decoration dates from the 1770s, and was inspired by Montfaucon’s publications on the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum and Raphael’s designs for the Vatican. Amongst the themes illustrated are love, marriage and family as well as subjects from ancient antiquity. The decoration is by an English artist and engraver Charles Ruben Riley, (1752-98), assisted by Englishman Thomas Ryder, (1746-1810). The ceiling was also painted in Lady Louisa’s time to match the walls. The lunette, depicting Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn, above the doorway is after a painting by Guido Reni in Rome.

The Long Gallery became a space for informal entertaining unlike the grand state rooms downstairs. It was full of furniture, much of which remained in the 1890s including, four Chippendale sofas, a gilded Louis XIV high backed sofa and Louisa’s Broadwood piano dating from 1796. it was also full of life and activity as the following excerpt from one of Louisa’s letters suggests, ‘Our gallery was in great vogue, and really is a charming room for there is such a variety of occupations in it, that people cannot be formal in it…Lord Harcourt was writing, some of us played at whist, others at billiards, Mrs Gardiner at the harpsichord, others at chess, others at reading and supper at one end. I have seldom seen twenty people in a room so easily disposed of….’ It was also frequently used for theatrical performances, often involving members of the family and their acquaintances. In recent times, this tradition has been continued, with the room a regular venue for concerts and other performances.

The room has seen little changes since Louisa’s time. The ceiling and the blue background on the walls were repainted in the nineteenth century (it was originally grey), while major conservation work was carried out on the paintwork in 1989, funded by the American-Ireland Fund.

Paintings

Lady Louisa Conolly (1743-1821), after Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92).* Original in Fogg Art Museum, Harvard.

Thomas Conolly (1738-1803) Photographic copy of portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-78), painted while Conolly was in Rome on his grand tour.Original in National Gallery of Ireland.

Furniture

Set of four Louis XVI French giltwood mirrors.

Three Murano Venetian coloured glass chandeliers. Late eighteenth century.

Six George III library armchairs.

Six Chinese Chippendale armchairs, made for the room for Lady Louisa Conolly.

Important set of eight giltwood consoles designed by Sir William Chambers for Castletown.

Sculpture

Set of eight marble busts of classical figures attributed to Simon Vierpyl, late eighteenth century.

Seventeenth century marble statue of Diana, goddess of the hunt, in centre niche, possibly purchased by Thomas Conolly on his grand tour.

Two early nineteenth century busts of classical warriors on blue and white marble pedestals.

Two early nineteenth century busts of Apollo Belvedere and Pallas Athene on red and white marble pedestals.