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BIRR |
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BIRR is a perfect example of a mid-sized town planned round a great
house - in this case, Birr Castle, home of the Parsons family (the town
used to be known as Parsonstown), later elevated to the Earls of Rosse.
Here, eighteenth-century urban planning has resulted in a truly
delightful Georgian town, with wide, airy streets and finely detailed,
fan-lit houses. After decades of neglect the potential of Birr's
heritage has been realized, and although it has enjoyed some cosmetic
pampering, it still retains the earthy vitality of a busy county town.
Birr's claim to be the centre point of the country is not unwarranted
and the town is highly recommended as a base for exploring the wetlands
of the Shannon and the Slieve Bloom Mountains or simply as a stopover to
break up a journey south or west. Habitation at Birr dates back to the
sixth century, when there was a monastery here; an Anglo-Norman castle
was succeeded by an Irish stronghold of the O'Carrolls and then, after
the place was granted to Sir Laurence Parsons in 1619, it became an
English garrison town. The development of the Georgian town dates from
the time of another Laurence, who succeeded to the title in 1740 and
immediately began to "improve" the town, fired by the architectural
enthusiasm he'd gained on his Grand Tour.
The Town
Birr is now a heritage town, and there are plans to open one of its
Georgian houses on John's Mall to the public, followed perhaps by a pub,
school and shop, to illustrate the realities of eighteenth-century life
beyond its elegant Georgian facade. Already open is the local heritage
centre on the refined John's Mall (Mon-Sat 2.30-5.30pm, Sun 3-5pm;
£1/¬1.27), housed in an impeccably elegant miniature Greek temple, which
will fill you in on the town's architectural and social background. In
the grounds is a small standing stone, mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis
in the twelfth century as the "navel of Ireland" and used in the early
nineteenth century, when it had temporarily migrated to County Clare,
for secret celebrations of the Mass.
By far and away Birr's greatest attraction (and fast becoming one of
Ireland's) is Birr Castle and Historic Centre (daily 9am-6pm;
www.birrcastle.com ; £5/¬6.35) which allows visitors a glimpse into the
life and home of one of Ireland's most interesting, intelligent and
eccentric families, The Earls of Rosse, who still live within the
castle's grounds. The greatest attraction on display is the impressive
Rosse Telescope , built in 1845 by the third earl, it was then, and
remained for three-quarters of a century, the largest telescope in the
world - a reflector with a diameter of 72 inches. The instrument was
used by the fourth earl to make the first accurate measurement of the
temperature of the moon and to catalogue the spiral nebulae. The
telescope has been restored and a replica of the six-foot mirror in the
mirror box has been installed. Visitors can experience this telescopic
goliath at work at regular intervals in the castle's gardens. This
scientific marvel forms the basis of the recently opened historic
centre, housed in the Stable Block of the Demesne, which celebrates the
scientific achievements of other family members; there is the Lunar Heat
Machine invented by the fourth earl (his younger brother, Charles,
invented the steam turbine) and an early darkroom used by the
photographer, Mary Rosse, wife of the third earl. The family's talent
for invention had its downside though when a family friend and talented
microscopist, Mary Ward, became the first motor fatality in Ireland when
she was run over in the grounds by an experimental, steam-powered car.
While the formal gardens boast the largest box hedges in the world, a
visit to the demesne is highly recommended. It offers acres of
wild-flower meadows with over one thousand species of shrubs and trees
from all over the world, punctuated by a large man-made lake and a
crystal-clear river spanned by a charming suspension bridge. Visitors
are free to explore the gardens at their leisure until dusk. The centre
also has a pleasant coffee shop, Little Space Cafe , in the courtyard of
the stable block.
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