Belvedere House was built for George Augustus Rochfort, the second Earl of Belvedere in 1775. The house was built for £24,000 on what would have been rural green fields with a view of the Custom House, the bay and the distant mountains. North great George's Street itself was originally laid out in 1774 as a driveway leading to Belvedere House.
in 1841 the house was bought by the Society of Jesus to accommodate their growing boys school which had started ten years previously around the corner on Hardwicke Street. This building still remains as part of the college today. One of the students who would have walked the halls of Belvedere House was James Joyce who attended the college from 1893 till 1898. The school features in Joyce's autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which was published in 1916.
One of the more outstanding features of the house is the stucco-work of the Adamesque style popularised by Robert and James Adam. This can be seen in the ornamented surrounds, wherein pictures are frames in plaster rather than oil.
Dublin born Stuccodor and designer Michael Stapleton (1740-1801) was responsible for this work and further examples of his craftmanship include the ceiling of the exam hall in trinity College as well as some of the plasterwork in Powerscourt House, South William street and Aras and Uachtarain.
The ground floor rooms were intended for everyday and business use and therefore are minimally ornamented. However when one ascends they will encounter Stapleton's stucco-work that depicts scenes from Greek and Roman mythology.
At the top of the stairs, the panel between the two doors on the right show Juno seated on a cloud with her peacock/ The panel on the centre wall is Aurora in her chariot pulled by winged horses. Under this is a plaque "The New Bride" from an ancient marble popular in 18th Century Rome. All the five doors have the same over-door: Silenus, the tutor of Bacchus. On the ceiling, Eros is depicted gazing on Psyche as she sleeps. Next is an Apollo head with winged lions and lastly, Cupid with a flower.
The door immediately to the right of the stairs leads to the Apollo Room, names after the featured freeze of Apollo the music maker holding court with attendant putti playing a variety of instruments. The adjoining Diana Room depicts Diana, patron of the chase, in a chariot drawn by stags. the design is taken directly from Pergolesi, however, Stapleton added the outer circle of flowers.
Finally, The Venus Room's flanking panels have lunettes representing astronomy, architecture and sculpture. Notice the beautiful over-doors in all three rooms, each with the head of the principle subject.
Renovations were recently made to Belvedere House over a period of 13 months, with the building reopening in November 2014. This painstaking work included a structural upgrade of all floors and ceilings, as well as cleaning, stabilisation and decoration of the original plasterwork.
Other notable students who would have studied in these rooms include poet Austin Clarke, stained-glass artist Harry Clarke, Irish Volunteer Kevin Barry, and signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, Joseph Mary Plunkett.
in 1841 the house was bought by the Society of Jesus to accommodate their growing boys school which had started ten years previously around the corner on Hardwicke Street. This building still remains as part of the college today. One of the students who would have walked the halls of Belvedere House was James Joyce who attended the college from 1893 till 1898. The school features in Joyce's autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which was published in 1916.
One of the more outstanding features of the house is the stucco-work of the Adamesque style popularised by Robert and James Adam. This can be seen in the ornamented surrounds, wherein pictures are frames in plaster rather than oil.
Dublin born Stuccodor and designer Michael Stapleton (1740-1801) was responsible for this work and further examples of his craftmanship include the ceiling of the exam hall in trinity College as well as some of the plasterwork in Powerscourt House, South William street and Aras and Uachtarain.
The ground floor rooms were intended for everyday and business use and therefore are minimally ornamented. However when one ascends they will encounter Stapleton's stucco-work that depicts scenes from Greek and Roman mythology.
At the top of the stairs, the panel between the two doors on the right show Juno seated on a cloud with her peacock/ The panel on the centre wall is Aurora in her chariot pulled by winged horses. Under this is a plaque "The New Bride" from an ancient marble popular in 18th Century Rome. All the five doors have the same over-door: Silenus, the tutor of Bacchus. On the ceiling, Eros is depicted gazing on Psyche as she sleeps. Next is an Apollo head with winged lions and lastly, Cupid with a flower.
The door immediately to the right of the stairs leads to the Apollo Room, names after the featured freeze of Apollo the music maker holding court with attendant putti playing a variety of instruments. The adjoining Diana Room depicts Diana, patron of the chase, in a chariot drawn by stags. the design is taken directly from Pergolesi, however, Stapleton added the outer circle of flowers.
Finally, The Venus Room's flanking panels have lunettes representing astronomy, architecture and sculpture. Notice the beautiful over-doors in all three rooms, each with the head of the principle subject.
Renovations were recently made to Belvedere House over a period of 13 months, with the building reopening in November 2014. This painstaking work included a structural upgrade of all floors and ceilings, as well as cleaning, stabilisation and decoration of the original plasterwork.
Other notable students who would have studied in these rooms include poet Austin Clarke, stained-glass artist Harry Clarke, Irish Volunteer Kevin Barry, and signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, Joseph Mary Plunkett.