Issue 120 - Mar 2011
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In This Issue
- The Abandoned Mansions of Ireland
- Thank Gilroy for Guinness
- Blown Moulded Irish Glass
- Molten Magic - Waterford Crystal
- Belleek Pottery
Editor's Note
Dear Explorer
Well, I've got a real treat in store for you this month... an Irish-themed issue; but I must warn you, the items featured are not for the faint-hearted, and collectors will need fairly deep pockets if looking to buy an Irish mansion, a John Gilroy poster, a desirable piece of Waterford Crystal or a delicate piece of Belleek pottery!
As modern life manifests, so another tradition fades into oblivion. One of these is the Big House' - today in Ireland, rarely inhabited, and a mere shadow of their former selves; but they can still stir up visions of a romantic bygone age. I would like to extend a big thank you to Tarquin Blake, a man with an addictive passion for these incredible derelict buildings, and who for the past three years has scoured the rugged Irish countryside uncovering, documenting, and photographing the most amazing properties you're ever likely to see!
Chris Proudlove takes the ferry to Dublin, enjoys a pint at the Guinness Factory and looks at the life and works of the graphic artist John Gilroy. I know, how very typical it is to cover Guinness within an Irish issue, however we thought it would be interesting to show the huge influence that this imaginative artist had on the Guinness advertising campaigns, and the many designers that followed.
Glass expert, Robert Marris looks at the trials and tribulations of the Irish glass industry; and introduces the various makers of 'blown moulded Irish glass' and explains why pieces are so hard to identify. Margaret Powling follows on, with an article on the world-famous Waterford Crystal, from 1783 to the present day.
I admit, it's not everybody's cup-of-tea, but Belleek certainly is exceptionally well made, combining great quality materials with true flair, to achieve a latticework and pearl-like lustre, so synonymous with the pottery.
Goodbye for now, I'll see you again next month when we bring you our Classic Britain issue, celebrating all things British, from vintage cars to classic clothing - items as popular today as they ever were.
Karyn Sparks
The Abandoned Mansions of Ireland
The social make-up of 18th century Ireland was vastly different from the Ireland of today. Often the 'big house' was the economic centre of a sprawling population. The house and surrounding estate land was commonly owned by a member of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy. They included descendents from Cromwell's soldiers of fortune, who were rewarded with huge grants of land for driving the Catholic Gaelic into Connaught, and planted families in Ulster and Munster who were seen by the English crown as having a positive influence over the 'untamed Gaelic natives'.
These Anglo-Irish families eventually owned some 10 per cent of the land of Ireland. They built comfortable mansion houses at the centre of their estates and leased thousands of acres to local farming tenants. This easy rental income brought vast rewards. For example, in 1830 Baron Louth, residing at Louth Hall received some £4,499 annual rental income from his estate of 3,000 acres. To put that into perspective, at that time the average annual wage of a housemaid was about £3.
Trouble started in 1844 when the potato blight arrived in Ireland. Article continues in the magazine...
Thank Gilroy for Guinness!
The social make-up of 18th century Ireland was vastly different from the Ireland of today. Often the 'big house' was the economic centre of a sprawling population. The house and surrounding estate land was commonly owned by a member of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy. They included descendents from Cromwell's soldiers of fortune, who were rewarded with huge grants of land for driving the Catholic Gaelic into Connaught, and planted families in Ulster and Munster who were seen by the English crown as having a positive influence over the 'untamed Gaelic natives'.
These Anglo-Irish families eventually owned some 10 per cent of the land of Ireland. They built comfortable mansion houses at the centre of their estates and leased thousands of acres to local farming tenants. This easy rental income brought vast rewards. For example, in 1830 Baron Louth, residing at Louth Hall received some £4,499 annual rental income from his estate of 3,000 acres. To put that into perspective, at that time the average annual wage of a housemaid was about £3.
Trouble started in 1844 when the potato blight arrived in Ireland. Article continues in the magazine...
Blown Moulded Irish Glass
In the foreword to Irish Glass by Phelps Warren, Robert Charleston suggests: 'More Waterford glass has been sold than was ever produced during the active lifetime of the Waterford Factory or by all the glasshouses of the island combined'. Indeed, you only need to look at some of the glass being sold on the internet, at antiques fairs and auctions across the country to see the truth behind this statement. Article continues in the magazine...
Molten Magic
Many of us will have visited a glass studio. Witnessed a sea change as a hot opaque substance cooled into something translucent. Alchemy before our eyes. But what is this substance that can hold liquid but is itself classed as a liquid or, more specifically, a super-cooled liquid? And what, specifically, is crystal, for which Waterford, in Ireland, is world famous? Article continues in the magazine...
Belleek
You'd be surprised what an interest in antiques collecting can bring about. For most of us, it means a lifetime spent scratching around auction sales and junk shops, trying to find bits that we can afford to add to our collections. For the two men who founded the Irish Belleek Pottery, it meant a lifetime spent manufacturing at least some of the things we search out today. Article continues in the magazine...