Specialist Craftsmen

Mellifont Abbey, Co Louth

Mellifont Abbey was the first Cistercian Abbey in Ireland, and is situated on the bank of the River Mattock, a tributary of the Boyne, in Co. Louth. It was founded by St Malachy in 1142 with a group of Irish and French monks who trained in Clairvaux in France. The building passed through many different owners after its dissolution in 1539, and was eventually abandoned in the 18th century and left to decay. The surviving ruins at Mellifont are the Lavabo, a chapter-house and a late medieval gatehouse. Excavations have revealed the foundations of other church buildings and a vast amount of tiles. From examination of the tiles, several clear patterns have emerged. Some of these involve animal patterns and others show floral and foliage motifs.

Mellifont Abbey, Co Louth

Mellifont Abbey, Co Louth

Mellifont Abbey was the first Cistercian Abbey in Ireland, and is situated on the bank of the River Mattock, a tributary of the Boyne, in Co. Louth. It was founded by St Malachy in 1142 with a group of Irish and French monks who trained in Clairvaux in France. The building passed through many different owners after its dissolution in 1539, and was eventually abandoned in the 18th century and left to decay. The surviving ruins at Mellifont are the Lavabo, a chapter-house and a late medieval gatehouse. Excavations have revealed the foundations of other church buildings and a vast amount of tiles. From examination of the tiles, several clear patterns have emerged. Some of these involve animal patterns and others show floral and foliage motifs.

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Example of floral moulded railing tops on Killeen Road, Dublin 6

Example of cast-iron, floral moulded railing tops on Killeen Road, Dublin 6.

By kind permission of the Rathmines Historical Society

Example of floral moulded railing tops on Killeen Road, Dublin 6
By kind permission of the Rathmines Historical Society

Example of floral moulded railing tops on Killeen Road, Dublin 6

Example of cast-iron, floral moulded railing tops on Killeen Road, Dublin 6.

By kind permission of the Rathmines Historical Society

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Working along with the architect and builder there has always been a number of specialist craftsmen whose training and skill means that they can make an independent contribution to the appearance of a building which the architect did not necessarily control. In the past such craftsmen could be considered as independent artists and, as such, they were frequently employed on a building long after the basic structure has been finished.

In the middle ages the appearance of a church could be greatly enhanced by the work of the tiler and the use, particularly in the chancel area, of decorative tiles on the floor. A large quantity of medieval tiles has been found at Mellifont Abbey in Co. Louth and the patterns of the historic tiles used at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin were recreated, most beautifully, during the Gothic Revival when the cathedral was restored.

An ironworker frequently made objects to his own design beyond the control of the architect. In the middle ages these might be decorative door furniture, fonts and candle stands; in the Stuart and later periods decorative railings in wrought iron might be copied from continental pattern books, and banisters and balconies devised according to the ironworker's own ideas.

The decorative plasterer played a particularly important role in the history of Irish Classical building. In the Georgian period many individual plasterers had careers almost like celebrities. At this time the prestige of a patron or family could be enhanced by employing a well-known craftsman to decorate the principal rooms of a house.