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Birr Castle
Birr Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhiorra'') is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Rosse and his family, and as such the residential areas of the castle are not open to the public, though the grounds and gardens of the demesne are publicly accessible, and include a science museum and a café, a reflecting telescope which was the largest in the world for decades and a modern radio telescope. History There has been a castle on the site since 1170, and from the 14th to the 17th centuries the O'Carroll family ruled from here over an area known as "Ely O'Carroll". After the death of Sir Charles O'Carroll, Sir Lawrence Parsons (died 1628) was granted Birr Castle and of land in 1620. Parsons engaged English masons in the construction of a new castle. This construction took place, not on the site of the O'Carrolls' Black Tower (since disappeared), but at its gatehouse. "Flankers" were added to the gatehouse diagonally a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birr Castle, Offaly
Birr may refer to: Places * Birr, County Offaly, a town in Ireland ** Birr Castle, a castle in Birr, Ireland * Birr (UK Parliament constituency), a UK parliamentary constituency in what is now County Offaly, 1885–1918 * Birr, Ontario, a community in Middlesex Centre, Ontario, Canada * Birr, Switzerland, a municipality in Aargau, Switzerland People * Jim Birr (1916–2006), American professional basketball player * Kevin Birr (born 1969), American curler * Todd Birr (born 1968), American curler Other * Ethiopian birr, the currency of Ethiopia * Birr RFC, a rugby club in the Irish town * Synod of Birr, in the Irish town, in 697 * Birr Aerodrome Birr Airfield is located south of the town of Birr in County Offaly in Ireland. It was originally called Birr View Air Strip. The area for many years has been closely linked with aviation, dating from the time of the British Army air strip whic ..., near the Irish town See also * Bier (other) * Burr (other) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leviathan Of Parsonstown
Leviathan of Parsonstown, or Rosse six-foot telescope, is a historic reflecting telescope of aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the Hooker Telescope in California in 1917. The Rosse six-foot telescope was built by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse on his estate, Birr Castle, at Parsonstown (now Birr in Ireland). Design and construction Parsons improved the techniques of casting, grinding and polishing large telescope mirrors from speculum metal, and constructed steam-powered grinding machines for parabolic mirrors. His mirror of 1839 was cast in smaller pieces and then fitted together before grinding and polishing; its 1840 successor was cast in a single piece. In 1842, Parsons cast his first mirror, but it took another five casts before he had two ground and polished mirrors. Speculum mirrors tarnished rapidly; with two mirrors, one could be used in the telescope while the other was being re-polished. The telescope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buxus Sempervirens
''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .British Trees''Buxus sempervirens'' '' Buxus colchica'' of western Caucasus and ''B. hyrcana'' of northern Iran and eastern Caucasus are commonly treated as synonyms of ''B. sempervirens''.Med-Checklist''Buxus colchica'' Ww2.bgbm.org Description ''Buxus sempervirens'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing up to 1 to (3 to ) tall, with a trunk up to in diameter (exceptionally to 10 m tall and 45 cm diameter). Arranged in opposite pairs along the stems, the leaves are green to yellow-green, oval, 1.5–3 cm long, and 0.5–1.3 cm broad. The hermaphrodite flowers are inconspicuous but highl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walled Gardens
A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate climates, especially colder areas, such as Scotland, the essential function of the walling of a garden is to shelter the garden from wind and frost, though it may also serve a decorative purpose. Kitchen gardens were very often walled, which segregated them socially, allowing the gardeners, who were usually expected to vanish from the “pleasure gardens” when the occupants of the house were likely to be about, to continue their work. The walls, which were sometimes heated, also carried fruit trees trained as espaliers. Historically, and still in many parts of the world, nearly all urban houses with any private outside space have high walls for security, and any small garden was thus walled by default. The same was true of many rural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1820 In Ireland
Events from the year 1820 in Ireland. Events *30 January – Irish-born Royal Navy captain Edward Bransfield in the ''Williams'' is the first person positively to identify Antarctica as a land mass. *12 February – the ''East Indian'' and ''Fanny'' set sail from Cork with settlers for the Cape Colony. *6 May – failure of Newport's Bank in Waterford. *25 May – failure of Roche's Bank and stoppage of Leslie's Bank in Cork. *3 June – the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne in Cork is largely destroyed by arson. *8 July – act for lighting the city and suburbs of Dublin with gas. *20 July – Saint Cronan's Boys' National School opens in Bray, County Wicklow, as the Bray Male School. *December – Lough Allen Canal, giving through navigation between Carrick-on-Shannon and Lough Allen, opens. *The Royal Dublin Society adopts its "Royal" prefix when the new king George IV of the United Kingdom becomes its patron. *Suspension of construction of the Wellington Testim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrought-iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" that is visible when it is etched, rusted, or bent to failure. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile, corrosion resistant, and easily forge welded, but is more difficult to weld electrically. Before the development of effective methods of steelmaking and the availability of large quantities of steel, wrought iron was the most common form of malleable iron. It was given the name ''wrought'' because it was hammered, rolled, or otherwise worked while hot enough to expel molten slag. The modern functional equivalent of wrought iron is mild steel, also called low-carbon steel. Neither wrought iron nor mild steel contain enough carbon to be hardenable by heating and quenching. Wrought iron is highly refined, with a small amount of silicate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Rosse
Mary Parsons, Countess of Rosse (; 14 April 1813 – 1885), was an Anglo-Irish amateur astronomer, architect, furniture designer, and pioneering photographer. Often known simply as Mary Rosse, she was one of the early practitioners of making photographs from waxed-paper negatives. Early life Mary Field was born on 14 April 1813, at Heaton Hall, Heaton, Bradford, Yorkshire, the daughter of John Wilmer Field, a wealthy estate owner. She had a sister, Delia, and they were educated at home by Susan Lawson, a governess who encouraged the young Mary's creativity and broad interests, including astronomy. The sister were joint heirs to their father's fortune. Through her family she met the future 3rd Earl of Rosse, then Lord Oxmantown (1800–1867), an Anglo-Irish astronomer and naturalist, and they were married on 14 April 1836. In February 1841, Lord Oxmantown succeeded his father in the family peerage to become The 3rd Earl of Rosse. They had married on 14 April 1836, her 23rd bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Brosna River
The Little Brosna River ( ga, An Bhrosnach Bheag) rises near Dunkerrin, County Offaly, Ireland. It flows for 36 miles before joining the River Shannon. Course The river rises near Dunkerrin, and flows near Birr; it forms part of the boundary between County Offaly and County Tipperary. It crosses an area of limestone, then passes through an area of callow before merging with the easternmost of four channels of the Shannon near Victoria Lock, by Clonahenoge and facing Meelick. Tributaries The most significant tributary is the River Camcor at Birr, while others include the Pallas Stream, Bunow River, Clareen Stream, Golden Grove Stream and Keeloge Stream. Bridges Sharavogue Bridge, built in the early 1850s, carries the R492 road over the river which here forms the boundary between the townlands of Sharavogue and Ballincor Demesne. The bridge is listed as being of architectural and technical interest. Railway Bridge at Glasderry More is a latticed metal bridge carrying the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Camcor
The River Camcor is a tributary of the Little Brosna River in central Ireland. It joins the Little Brosna in the Birr Castle Desmesne, Birr, County Offaly. The Little Brosna, in turn, joins the River Shannon close to Victoria Lock at Meelick. See also *Rivers of Ireland Shown here are all the major rivers and tributaries of Ireland with their lengths (in kilometres and miles). Starting with the Northern Ireland rivers, and going in a clockwise direction, the rivers (and tributaries) are listed in regard to their ... References Rivers of County Offaly {{Ireland-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Museum, London
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge visitors for admission, although visitors are requested to make a donation if they are able. Temporary exhibitions may incur an admission fee. It is one of the five museums in the Science Museum Group. Founding and history The museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft from the collection of the Royal Society of Arts and surplus items from the Great Exhibition as part of the South Kensington Museum, together with what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum. It included a collection of machinery which became the ''Museum of Patents'' in 1858, and the ''Patent Office Museum'' in 1863. This collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of what is now t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl Of Rosse
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, KP, FRS (17 November 1840 – 29 August 1908) was a member of the Irish peerage and an amateur astronomer. His name is often given as Laurence Parsons. Biography He was born at Birr Castle, Parsonstown, King's County, Ireland, the son and heir of the astronomer William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse who built the "Leviathan of Parsonstown" telescope, largest of its day, and his wife, the Countess of Rosse (née Mary Field), an amateur astronomer and pioneering photographer. Lawrence succeeded his father in 1867 and was educated first at home by tutors, like John Purser, and after at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. He was the brother of Charles Algernon Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine. He served as the eighteenth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin between 1885 and 1908. His father served as the sixteenth Chancellor. He was Lord Lieutenant of King's County and Custos Rotulorum of King's County from 1892 to his death. He w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
