SUNLIGHT CHAMBERS A FAVOURITE OF MINE
SUNLIGHT CHAMBERS IS A FAVOURITE OF MINE [ESSEX QUAY - PARLIAMENT STREET IN DUBLIN]
This building was not well received in Ireland as is was designed by a non-Irish architect who used English suppliers and craftsmen. The major building journal of the time, The Irish Builder, declared that it “one of the ugliest buildings in Ireland”.
Sunlight Chambers was built for the Lever Brothers company, to designs by Edward Ould. He was an English architect responsible for a number of buildings in Port Sunlight, the Lever Brothers model village in Merseyside.
Its Italianate form and elaborate detailing make it a striking presence on the streetscape. The distinctive faience panels depict the history of soap production and use, in reference to the Lever Brothers industry. They were designed and crafted by the English sculptor and potter Conrad Dressler in his studio in Buckinghamshire, and manifest a high level of artisanship.
Skilled craftsmanship is also evident in the stonemasonry surrounds and extensive historic fabric remains to both elevations. Although Essex Quay was laid out in the 1720s, Sunlight Chambers is now the oldest building remaining. Parliament Street was planned by the Wide Street Commissioners and opened in 1762, and is the first example of formal axial planning in mid-eighteenth-century Dublin.
George Semple designed the rebuilding of Essex Bridge (1753-55), and his plan showed a new wide street linking the bridge to the castle. Sunlight Chambers, while more ornate than its neighbours, shares their scale and proportions and contributes positively to the historic streetscape.
This building was not well received in Ireland as is was designed by a non-Irish architect who used English suppliers and craftsmen. The major building journal of the time, The Irish Builder, declared that it “one of the ugliest buildings in Ireland”.
Sunlight Chambers was built for the Lever Brothers company, to designs by Edward Ould. He was an English architect responsible for a number of buildings in Port Sunlight, the Lever Brothers model village in Merseyside.
Its Italianate form and elaborate detailing make it a striking presence on the streetscape. The distinctive faience panels depict the history of soap production and use, in reference to the Lever Brothers industry. They were designed and crafted by the English sculptor and potter Conrad Dressler in his studio in Buckinghamshire, and manifest a high level of artisanship.
Skilled craftsmanship is also evident in the stonemasonry surrounds and extensive historic fabric remains to both elevations. Although Essex Quay was laid out in the 1720s, Sunlight Chambers is now the oldest building remaining. Parliament Street was planned by the Wide Street Commissioners and opened in 1762, and is the first example of formal axial planning in mid-eighteenth-century Dublin.
George Semple designed the rebuilding of Essex Bridge (1753-55), and his plan showed a new wide street linking the bridge to the castle. Sunlight Chambers, while more ornate than its neighbours, shares their scale and proportions and contributes positively to the historic streetscape.
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