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William Wilde and 1 Merrion Square

  • Historical and Literary
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Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

William Wilde spent the final third of his life, from 1855 to 1876, in 1 Merrion Square. During the first half of his occupancy of the house his career blossomed to its fullest; the second decade, on the other hand, was marked by scandal, personal tragedy, and an unhappy professional and social decline. This paper considers the background to the development of Merrion Square, the architectural history of 1 Merrion Square from its building in 1762 to the arrival of the Wildes in 1855, the attractions and possibilities which the house offered for William Wilde, the major architectural expansion of the building which he commissioned in 1859, and aspects of his and his family’s life in the house.

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References

  1. Matthews N (1997) The development of Merrion Square. Thesis, Masters in Urban and Building Conservation, University College Dublin

  2. The Georgian Society (1912) Records of eighteenth-century domestic architecture and decoration in Dublin, IV. Ponsonby and Gibbs, Dublin, pp 69–70

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  3. Wide Street Commission Map Collection, Dublin City Archives. Merrion Square, Number 1 improvements in WSC/Maps/471

  4. The Georgian Society (1912) Records of eighteenth-century domestic architecture and decoration in Dublin, IV. Ponsonby and Gibbs, Dublin, p 79

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Correspondence to R. McEntegart.

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McEntegart, R. William Wilde and 1 Merrion Square. Ir J Med Sci 185, 285–289 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-016-1423-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-016-1423-9

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