Enniskerry and Powerscourt Demesne and House.
To discover the impact of human settlement on the landscape.
To do this we need to:.
Explore the origins of Enniskerry and Powerscourt demesne.
Show the characteristics of the different types of settlement the occurred through the development of Enniskerry and Powerscourt.
Highlight the growth and development shown in Enniskerry and Powerscourt.
Examine Enniskerry and Powerscourt in their current condition in relation to its functions and continuity of functions.
The origin of Powerscourt and Enniskerry.
Powerscourt was originally named The Royal Forest of Glencree and a castle was built c1300. The governor of this Royal Forest was Eustace de Paor, when he died the area became known as Powerscourt. During the Scottish invasion under King Edward Bruce the area was destroyed and devastated.
It then came into the hands of the O"Tooles from the Glen of Imaal, who were the strong holds of the Gaelic lordship. They ruled for 250years until about 1600, when it was simulated into English culture. (It was one of the last areas of Ireland to surrender to the English.) .
The estate of Powerscourt was then received by the Wingfield family who were also given ownership of Glencree and the Dargle valley. The castle was redesigned in the 1740's for Richard Wingfield (1697-1751) by Richard Cassels who made a mansion out of the once small castle. Its style was of the Palladian kind. (This originated from the ideas of Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) who was known for his articulation of the classical tradition in the renaissance world). Extensive gardens stretching over 47 acres were created. Questionably one of the most spectacular gardens in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its most impressive feature in the gardens is the area around Triton Lake.
When Folliot Wingfield was Lord of the estate, he felled the forest of Kilgarron, which was close by to the mansion of Powerscourt, and this became the site of Enniskerry.
