Illustrated Incumbered Estates Ireland, 1850-1905: Lithographic and Other Illustrated material in the Incumbered Estates Rentals
Whitegate, Co Clare, Ireland: Ballinakella Press, 1993. Hardcover. Navy cloth/boards; silver lettering on spine. Bw illustration tipped onto front cover. Fine internally but with light rubbing to covers. Item #150948
ISBN: 0946538166
The pioneering research done by Dr. Lyons on the Incumbered Estates Act of 1849, and the sales which followed that Act, has also broken new ground in terms of architectural history, in that it has placed houses and streetscapes in something approaching their original context. This study began with a series of illustrations, the mid-19th century equivalent of auctioneers' photographs issued with the bills of sale published by the Incumbered Estates' Commission and its successor bodies. Almost all were the work of civil engineers of the period. They were technically accomplished pieces of work, but there was very much more to them than accurate draughtsmanship. They were invitations to buy. After all, the properties depicted were effectively bankrupt stock. In her introduction, Dr. Lyons traces the history and pre-history of these sales. By the 1850s, land ownership in Ireland, always a complex matter at the best of times, was further complicated by the economic consequences of the Great Famine. Many estates were debt-ridden, and their owners were unable to raise the necessary capital for land drainage and other improvements. Some large estates had suffered from generations of feckless and irresponsible management. The only sensible solution to this problem was that adopted in the 1849 Act. Conveyancing had to be, and was, facilitated. These sales were, in a sense, the beginnings of serious land reform, but they can also be seen as the end of the road for many of the ascendancy families. Of particular interest to architects, historians, and genealogists.
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