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The Wonderful Barn is a corkscrew-shaped building on the edge of
Several purposes are suggested for the unique structure: * One theory is based on the custom in Georgian times of using doves as a delicacy when other game or animals were not in season, and suggest its use as a
Castletown House
Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of an estate. Sold to developers in 1965, the estate i ...
Estate, formerly of the Conolly family, in Celbridge
Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...
, County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The barn itself is formally in neighbouring Leixlip
Leixlip ( or ; , IPA: lʲeːmʲənˠˈwɾˠad̪ˠaːnʲ is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between ...
.
Structure
Flanked by two smallerdovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...
towers, the barn was built with the stairs ascending around the exterior of the building.
History
The barn was built in 1743 on the Leixlip side of the Castletown Estate.The Wonderful Barn, Leixlip, Co. Kildare , Irish Georgian SocietySeveral purposes are suggested for the unique structure: * One theory is based on the custom in Georgian times of using doves as a delicacy when other game or animals were not in season, and suggest its use as a
dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...
.
* The height of the structure would also lend itself to sport shooting, supporting another theory of its use as a shooting or gamekeepers tower.
* The tower is seen from the east windows of Castletown House, so it filled that vista, possibly as a folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-cent ...
.
* However, a central hole through each of the floors supports the generally accepted theory of its use as a granary
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...
. The barn was built in the years immediately following the famine of 1740-41, as there was a need for new grain stores in case of another famine. The Conollys owned Kilmacredock and rented it out, so the barn was also useful for their tenants.
The construction project also likely served as a way to keep the local poor employed. In this, it is not unlike the Conolly Folly (an Obelisk), which was built on the estate in 1740-41.
A similar structure known as the Bottle Tower, built in imitation of the Wonderful Barn, is located in Churchtown, close to Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...
.
See also
* The Minaret of SamarraReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderful Barn National Monuments in County Kildare Industrial buildings completed in 1743 Leixlip Buildings and structures in County Kildare Folly buildings in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Kildare Barns Agricultural buildings in Ireland 1743 establishments in Ireland