Kilruddery Hall, Then and Now

KILLRUDDERY, BRAY, Co WICKLOW - THE ANCESTRAL HOME OF THE EARLS OF MEATH – THEN & NOW

Hunting scene showing Killruddery House

The Orangery
The Orangery dates from 1852. It was built by William Burn for the 11th Earl of Meath and his wife Harriot, after the Crystal Place Exhibition in London, when conservatories became very fashionable. The dowager duchess Melosina sold her diamond tiara to pay for the build. The pattern of the brickwork is said to be based on the design of the tiara. The original glass roof, the work of Richard Turner, has since been replaced. Inside is a  collection of marble statues from Italy collected 1830–1850.

THE TOWN HALL AT BRAY, COUNTY WICKLOW, IRELAND.

Notes compiled by Ann Shevill - September 2003

Since the early 1600s Brabazons have been in the area now known as Bray, which has indeed a very
interesting history.
It is unlikely that there was a permanent settlement there before the Norman invasion of England in 1066
which was the year that Jacques le Brabancon crossed the English Channel with William the Conqueror.
All Brabazons are descendants of Jacques, known then as the Great Warrior.

There is known history of Bray since the mid 12th century.

From 1850 to 1870 apparently there was a degree of political tension within the town

A diary note reads:

In 1880 Lord Brabazon offered to build a new Market House and Town Hall for the town. It is an important example of the quaint tudor style architecture popularized in England by Shaw and Nesfield in the 1870s. It is of three bays and two storeys, built of red brick with central carriage arch containing wrought-iron gates. The ground floor served as a covered market. On the first floor there was a chamber room with windows incorporating Coats of Arms of the Brabazon family. 

In 1881 a Town Hall and Market House was commissioned by Lord Brabazon (afterwards the 12th Earl) at a cost of six thousand pounds.