Description
Book SynopsisIn 1859, Dubliners strolling along country roads witnessed something new emerging from the green fields. The Victorian house had arrived: wide red brick structures stood back behind manicured front lawns. Over the next forty years, an estimated 35,000 of these homes were constructed in the fields surrounding the city. The most elaborate were built for Dublin's upper middle classes, distinguished by their granite staircases and decorative entrances. Today, they are some of the Irish capital's most highly valued structures, and are protected under strict conservation laws.
Dublin's Bourgeois Homes is the first in-depth analysis of the city's upper middle-class houses. Focusing on the work of three entrepreneurial developers, Susan Galavan follows in their footsteps as they speculated in house building: signing leases, acquiring plots and sourcing bricks and mortar. She analyses a select range of homes in three different districts: Ballsbridge, Rathgar and Kingstown (now
Trade Review
"Galavan’s presentation of histories is mediated through portraits and other illustrations… The familiar becomes extraordinary. Descriptions of materials and stone-quarrying, along with readings of brilliant masters and doctoral research give the reader access to highly specialised knowledge."
Ellen Rowley, History Ireland
"Aside from the architectural evolution that Galavan traces, there is an interesting analysis of how domestic space reflected the lifestyle and aspirations of Dublin’s Victorian Upper-Middle classes. She demonstrates how the internal layout articulates the relationship between master and servant, male and female, adult and child."
Deirdre Conroy, Irish Arts Review
"[…] Susan Galavan’s book represents an immensely welcome restitution of a traditional strand in construction history. It also has a new ingredient. Since she is an architect as well as a historian she takes a particular interest in the planning of suburban houses and she illustrates her arguments with plans and drawings of the kind which only the Survey of London can match [...] .for anyone interested in the Victorian building world, whether they have been to Dublin or not, this is an admirably rounded account of processes which are all too easily overlooked."
Robert Thorne, Construction History
"Galavan’s presentation of histories is mediated through portraits and other illustrations… The familiar becomes extraordinary. Descriptions of materials and stone-quarrying, along with readings of brilliant masters and doctoral research give the reader access to highly specialised knowledge."
Ellen Rowley, History Ireland
"Dublin’s Bourgeois Homes is a comprehensive analysis of the 19th-century development of Dublin’s prosperous inner suburbs […] Galavan’s book provides fascinating insight into both the architecture of the houses and the ways in which these still much sought-after suburbs evolved […] its rigorous analysis of house typologies is presented in an engaging and meaningful way, making it accessible to the non-expert. In an era of ever-increasing awareness of the importance of conservation of architectural heritage, this book provides context for home owners who struggle to understand the merits of conservation and helps to elucidate the enduring legacy of the residential architecture beyond a single generation."
Carole Pollard, Architectural Histories (EAHN)
"[…] Susan Galavan’s book represents an immensely welcome restitution of a traditional strand in construction history. It also has a new ingredient. Since she is an architect as well as a historian she takes a particular interest in the planning of suburban houses and she illustrates her arguments with plans and drawings of the kind which only the Survey of London can match [...] .for anyone interested in the Victorian building world, whether they have been to Dublin or not, this is an admirably rounded account of processes which are all too easily overlooked."
Robert Thorne, Construction History
"Aside from the architectural evolution that Galavan traces, there is an interesting analysis of how domestic space reflected the lifestyle and aspirations of Dublin’s Victorian Upper-Middle classes. She demonstrates how the internal layout articulates the relationship between master and servant, male and female, adult and child."
Deirdre Conroy, Irish Arts Review
"The breadth of this study is impressive and goes well beyond an architectural history of Dublin’s Victorian suburbs. […] For anyone seeking to understand the long-term impact which Georgian design had on suburban Dublin, how middle-class Victorians lived and how the modern city has been shaped by its Victorian ancestors, this book is a must."
Lisa Marie Griffith, Irish Economic and Social History 46(I)
"Galavan is adept at reading the nuances of the house plan, developing a reasoned exposition of its variation over time and making an equally convincing analysis of its three-dimensional expression. She brings the characters and motives of three Dublin business men firmly into focus while also uncovering the imperial and family networks that enabled them to amass substantial property fortunes."
Finola O'Kane, Urban History
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 The architecture of Dublin’s bourgeois homes
2 The domestic realm: inside the semi-detached house
3 Control: land tenure and infrastructure
4 Builders, speculators and labourers
5 Process: building materials
Conclusion
