Monksgrange as it is today, over 250 years old in 2021
ABOUT MONKSGRANGE
The house at Monksgrange, Co. Wexford, built for Goddard Richards and completed in 1769, lies in the centre of the demesne lands. Early estate maps drawn 1757-1821 and the Ordnance Survey maps from 1840 to date indicate a largely unchanged layout of house, garden and field systems even today. The three overlapping lobes of influence on the physical unity of the place will be examined with the help of illustrations of maps, drawings and narrative imagery from the extensive Monksgrange Archives.
MONKSGRANGE ARCHIVES
(IN THE OWNERSHIP AND CARE OF THE EDWARD RICHARDS-ORPEN MEMORIAL TRUST)
HOLDS A LARGE COLLECTION OF PERSONAL AND ESTATE PAPERS, PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES
AND COLLECTABLES OF THE RICHARDS AND ORPEN FAMILIES OF COUNTIES WEXFORD AND KERRY. SOME DOCUMENTS IN THE ARCHIVES DATE BACK TO THE 17TH CENTURY.
DISCOVERING THE HISTORY
Monksgrange Archives are enhanced by ensuring the preservation and long term care of its collections by increasing access, widening its audience, overcoming barriers and building relationships with the wider community.
The near 10 year project of sorting, arranging and cataloguing a vast collection of family papers at Monksgrange began in 2008. Historian Dr. Philip Bull was working on material originally stored in drawers, cupboards, boxes and even 40 gallon steel drums; while some of the material was in farm outbuildings in far from ideal conditions, overall the papers are in a remarkably good state. Some are in urgent need of professional conservation/preservation treatment. The archives are now kept in a standard controlled environment
Director, Jeremy Hill talking through the history of Monksgrange.
Browse our website for more information about Monksgrange or check out our book below to discover its history.
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This book illuminates important aspects of Irish history and chronicles how this talented and unconventional family experienced and survived the many vicissitudes of Irish life over two centuries. A postscript shows how the house continues to play a positive role in contemporary Irish life.