Robert French - Bellevue Conservatory, Delgany, Co. Wicklow

A rival to the National Botanical Gardens in the heart of Wicklow? This fine series of glasshouses and conservatory seem to have a strikingly modern design to rival those of the Botanic Gardens! If they still exist what are/were they used for? Commercial or research? Native flowers or exotics? And who put them there?..Happy Valentine's day to every one - may you have lots of chocolates, get loads of cards, and generally feel much love today! We got something of a Valentine's present ourselves - in the form of answers to nearly all questions:.- Standing? No - the house/etc pulled down in the 1950s .- Exotics? Yes - apparently "Many rare exotics" ( http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/D/Delgany-Rathdown-Wicklow.php ) .- Who? Peter Shanley ( http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/4881/SHANLEY,+PETER ) - for the estate of Peter La Touche ( http://latouchelegacy.com/history-of-the-la-touche-family.php ) .- When? c.1796 - when it was the "largest conservatory in Europe"...Photographer: Robert French..Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection ( http://catalogue.nli.ie/Collection/vtls000313414 ) ..Date: c.1865-1914..NLI Ref: L_ROY_09902 ( vtls000317346 ) ..You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie ( http://catalogue.nli.ie )