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www. architect.crimmins.ie Conservation Appraisal of Walled Garden and Historic landscape of Kylemore Abbey 41 CA THAL CRIMMINS AR CHITECT

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stored. The exposed ruins may in some cases need to be consolidated and protected The 2000 walled garden restoration used these maps as the primary sources upon
8 Recommendations from further deterioration. which ‘any reconstruction should be based’. This is generally concurred with.
Reconstructing the west vinery would re-instate the symmetry of the glasshouse The one source that may have been overlooked is the Lawrence photograph of the
complex’s original composition, particularly when viewed on axis from the southern garden taken at a distance from the south, where long straight lines of hedging are
Archive slope. It would also help to support the existing freestanding wall. considered to be substantial than the 2000 restoration.
It is strongly recommended that Kylemore maintain a central hard-copy and electronic A long-term scheme to reconstruct the glasshouses might be considered, where the Further information may be sourced from the Lawrence photographs that have not
copy archive of all reports, photographs, documents, journal articles, architectural, act of repair could be an training opportunity as well as a visitor attraction showing been digitised by the NLI and which will be sourced once lockdown has passed.
engineering and landscape design drawings, plantings lists and all and any material works in progress. Partial skeletons of previous structures could be erected reasonably
that relates to the history, conservation and building work completed or planned for easily and cheaply to demonstrate the scale and spatial enclosure of the original
Kylemore Castle and its historic landscape. All the engineering drawings that can be complex. The palimpsest could be demonstrated. Puzzle Areas
sourced should be catalogued and held in a central archive.
Demonstrating that melons or bananas could and can be grown in Connemara might Other areas that warrant further research and where the previous reports are not
be very attractive to the public and could tie in with current thinking regarding slow entirely concurred with include:
The Walled Gardens food and air miles etc. The management of such a greenhouse might entail 1. The Head Gardener’s Area including the cold frames.
substantially less work for staff than other areas of the garden. Further research would
be required to determine this. The walling and area measurement of the 1898 OS 1:2500 map suggests that a section
The Glasshouses of the walled garden was hived off for the use of the head gardener either for
experimental or private purposes (measured as an area of 0.470 acres). It could also be
Priority should be given to securing the existing glasshouses. The modern lean-to east The Flower Gardens & Kitchen Gardens accessed separately by gateway from the north-eastern corner of the walled garden.
vinery glasshouse is deteriorating from water ingress and timber wet rot. The Sections 2& 3 of Jupp & McErlean’s 1995 report ‘Survey of the Flower Garden’ and The cold frames do not appear in this map but would be in keeping with such an area
automated operating system of the ventilation system is not a success and if possible of horticultural experimentation. It might also be an area where plants were carefully
this should revert to manual operation. ‘Survey of the Kitchen Garden’ present a very complete analysis of the history of watched and assessed before being planted further afield. Further investigation/
Kylemore’s kitchen garden, drawn from the available sources. The two principal map
Any restoration of the glasshouse complex should be phased to enable the slow sources employed were the Ordnance Survey 2nd edition 1: 10,560 (5 inches to a mile) research is required.
development of conservation and restoration processes. A case for reconstructing a map and the 1: 2,500 (25 inches to a mile) Ordnance Survey map published in 1900. The 2. The Pond Area/Rockery.
selected glasshouse from Cranston’s design principles could be made. The ruins 1995 Archaeological Survey by Malachy G. Conway provided further information on
should be surveyed and all loose material should be removed, catalogued and safely pathways and layout. Jupp and McErlean suggest that the rock substratum was too close to the surface here