Ardmore & Belfield House
UCDeez Houses!?
About
Ardmore House & Belfield House
Sketches of Ardmore and Belfield House by Clodagh Reid
Notes and sketches by Clodagh Reid
The Houses' History
A historical photograph of Ardmore House from 'University College Dublin and its Building Plans' compared to a current photo of the house, taken by Eva Marmelstein.
1800s
Belfield House was built by Ambrose Moore.
1830s
Belfield extended to include Georgian and Victorian Features.
1860s
Ardmore House was originally built in the 1860s as a private residence.
1900s
By the early 20th century, Ardmore House came under the ownership of Sir John Ross, a prominent figure in Dublin society. Ross was a lawyer and judge who was later knighted for his services.
1910s
During the 1916 Easter Rising, Sir John Ross took a stance against the rebellion. There is anecdotal evidence that Ardmore House was a place of political discussion during this turbulent period in Irish history.
1930s
The house was occupied by various families, including the Digges la Touche, Wallace, and Lynch families. University College Dublin (UCD) acquired Ardmore House in 1934 as part of its long-term expansion plans. The house and surrounding lands were used for the development of the university's Belfield campus.
1960s
UCD moved to the Belfield estate, later becoming Belfield Campus. Ardmore House was used as administrative office space for UCD. The building became a quiet retreat within the growing campus.
1970s
The athletic track was built in front of Belfield House.
1980s
As modern campus buildings were constructed around it, Ardmore and Belfield Houses' Victorian architecture stood out, and the university began efforts to conserve and maintain its historic nature. UCD initiated a Programme for the Preservation of Period Houses, which included the restoration of both houses.
2000s
Ardmore and Belfield House remain as pillars of the UCD Belfield estate, standing as symbols of UCD’s connection to Dublin’s historical and architectural past, contrasting with the modernity of the surrounding Belfield campus. It is often used for ceremonial purposes and high-level administrative functions.
The Taney Parish Map of 1865 compared to a current satellite photo of the Belfield Estate.
Technical architectural drawings of Ardmore House and Belfield House
Creating a Walk
Due to the nature of the site where Ardmore and Belfield House are located, we noted that there were two possible routes one could take between these two house. The first walk is from Belfield House to Ardmore House, focusing on the flora and fauna of the surrounding area. The second walk is from Ardmore House to Belfield House, highlighting the built environment of UCD campus, following the man-made roads and paths from one house to the other.
Walk 1: Belfield --> Ardmore
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Belfield House
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From the grounds of Belfield House, begin the walk by heading towards the gated garden.
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Next, travel down the steps and through the grandiloquent gate.
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Enjoy the carefully curated landscape as you traverse through pebbled paths beautifully lined by perfect hedges.
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Ascend the ramp at the end of the garden, leading you up to the main road.
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Follow the path adjacent to the road, leading you towards the Confucius Institute.
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Hug the perimeter of the Upper Lake, seeing if you can spot any of the local ducks bathing in the sun.
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Continue along the wooden promenade around the east side of the Upper Lake.
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Finally, stroll down the naturally formed tree tunnel, before emerging at the beautiful Ardmore House!
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Ardmore House
Walk 2: Ardmore --> Belfield
The walk starts at the Ardmore house which is at the center of campus next to the UCD Student Desk and O'Reilly Hall.
Then your journey goes down the road to the N11 and across the construction site where the UCD Centre for Future Learning is being built.
Finally, you reach the Belfield house which is now used as the UCD Clinton Centre for American Studies. It is also next to the Rose Garden and UCD Bikes.
A video created by Manidhar Yeluri demonstrating 'Walk 2 - Ardmore House --> Belfield House'.
Tree Heritage
In the Evaluating Heritage workshop, we're tasked with creating a walk that showcases diverse forms of heritage related to a specific house or structure. Working in groups of 4, we visited the Ardmore and Belfield house to test these walks, documenting various forms of heritage through drawing, photography, film, and writing.
Extracts from Clodagh Reid's sketchbook from our tree heritage workshop.
Tree Species Found on our Walk
Oak
- Health Very Good
- Circumference 106
- DBH 33.741
Beech
- Health Good
- Circumference 39
- DBH 12.414
Western Red Cedar
- Health Good
- Circumference 247
- DBH 78.623
Yoshino Cherry
- Health Poor
- Circumference 43
- DBH 13.687
British Columbia Red Cedar
- Health Good
- Circumference 247
- DBH 78.623
Cork Oak
- Health Good
- Circumference 165
- DBH 52.521
This Map uses red and blue dots to represent trees identified by satellite imagery. The red dots symbolize trees that have not yet been inputted into the system, and the blue dots symbolize trees that have already been mapped by the local community.
- Go to the field where you want to map trees.
- Open the CartoSpot web app at interval.cartospot.com on your mobile device
- Ensure your device has an internet connection and grant the web browser permission
- On the landing page, click “Let’s create greener cities”.
- Select the area you want to work on from the next screen. You will see a map with red dots (trees needing verification) and blue dots (verified trees).
- Click on a red dot to survey a tree and enter the required information.
- If you find a tree not on the map, click “Add New Tree” at the bottom left corner of the map.
Photos of the local flora we discovered in the areas surrounding Ardmore and Belfield House.
References
- Assemble (2013). Granby Four Streets. [online] Assemble. Available at: https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects/granby-four-streets-2.
- Granby 4 Streets Community Land Trust. (n.d.). Granby 4 Streets Community Land TrustGranby 4 Streets Community Land Trust. [online] Available at: https://www.granby4streetsclt.co.uk/.
- GRANBY WORKSHOP. (n.d.). About. [online] Available at: https://granbyworkshop.co.uk/about/.
- Act-studio.com. (2024). Accelerating Change Together. [online] Available at: https://act-studio.com/ [Accessed 3 Oct. 2024].
- Irish Architectural Foundation (2023). IAF Bog Bothy project awarded Creative Climate Action funding. [online] Irish Architecture Foundation - We encourage people to engage with their built environment, to inspire new ways of thinking about architecture. Available at: https://architecturefoundation.ie/news/iaf-bog-bothy-project-awarded-creative-climate-action-funding/ [Accessed 3 Oct. 2024].
- Fingal County Council. (2022). Lusk Town Centre First Plan Launched. [online] Available at: https://www.fingal.ie/news/lusk-town-centre-first-plan-launched [Accessed 3 Oct. 2024].
- Esri (2019). What is arcgis online?—arcgis online help | arcgis. [online] Arcgis.com. Available at: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/get-started/what-is-agol.htm.
- Lawrence, M. and Fellow, P. (n.d.). Causal Loop Diagrams: A Short Handbook. [online] Available at: https://cascadeinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Causal-Loop-Diagrams-Handbook-June-27-2024.pdf.
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