Richard Cassels

Printing House, Trinity College Dublin

This perfect small doric temple, was completed in 1734 and is thought to be Cassels' first major solo work. A four-columned portico of Doric columns projected from the rusticated severe building and the entirety is only the width of the portico. (This building is sometimes attributed to Edward Lovett Pearce).

Cassels made large alterations to the Carton house in County Kildare between 1739 and 1745 for the Earl of Kildare. The resultant facades were in his usual restrained and symmetrical style. The great garden facade is terminated by Venetian windows at each end, while in the centre, a single-storey portico is so unostentatious as to be almost a porch. The roofline is hidden by a balustrade, broken by an unsupported pediment over the central bay. The interiors are a riot of plaster-work ornamentation. The Lafranchini brothers, famous for their plaster work, executed some of their finest work here, and would work again with Cassels at Russborough.

The Conolly Folly was designed by him, and built in 1740 as a park ornament for Castletown House.

Russborough was designed by Cassels for Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown. It was built between 1741 and 1755. A central block containing the principal rooms is flanked by curved and segmented colonnades leading to two symmetrical service blocks. The main entrance, at the centre of one of Cassels's trademark 'suggested' porticoes, is on a raised piano nobile. It is reached by a broad flight of steps. The principal feature of the interiors are the rococo plaster-work and the ceilings, again by the master stuccoists Paul and Philip Lanfrachini; and ornate carved marble fireplaces, all contrasting with the austerity of the exterior.

Summerhill House, main front

Summerhill House was a vast Palladian mansion in County Meath originally designed by Pearce, who died before the project was commenced. Cassels took over the project and was responsible for the rococo interiors. The building was damaged by fire in the 1920s and finally demolished in the 1970s.

Powerscourt House, Wicklow, was a large country house, originally a 13th-century castle, which was completely rebuilt by Cassels, starting in 1730 and finishing in 1741. The demesne was approximately 850 acres (3.4 km²). The three-story house had at least 68 rooms. The entrance hall was 60 feet (18 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide where family heirlooms were displayed. The main reception rooms were on the first floor rather than more typically on the ground floor. King George IV was the guest of Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt in August 1821.[5] Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt inherited the title and the Powerscourt estate, which comprised 49,000 acres (198 km²) of land in Ireland, at the age of 8 in 1844. When he reached the age of 21 he embarked on an extensive renovation of the house and created new gardens. Inspiration for the garden design followed visits by Powerscourt to ornamental gardens at the Palace of Versailles, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna and Schwetzingen Palace near uHeidelberg. The garden development took 20 years to complete in 1880. On a commanding hilltop position, Cassels deviated slightly from his usual sombre style, to give the house something of what John Vanbrugh would have called the 'castle air' – a severe Palladian facade terminated by two circular domed towers. The house was destroyed by fire in 1974 when it was owned by the Slazenger family and renovated in 1996. In the 1830s, the house was the venue for a number of conferences on unfulfilled Bible prophecies, which were attended by men such as John Nelson Darby and Edward Irving. These conferences were held under the auspices of Theodosia Wingfield Powerscourt, then the widow Lady Powerscourt.

Tyrone House, Dublin designed by Cassels for Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone as his city townhouse.

Cassels designed this Dublin townhouse for Marcus Beresford, Earl of Tyrone, in Marlborough Street between 1740 and 1745. Smaller than Powerscourt House it is said to be the first substantial aristocratic house to be built in the north of the city. It is a fine example of Cassels' robust sober style. The central Venetian window above the principal entrance is the sole example of decoration or flamboyance in this dramatically severe facade.

The house was originally known as Kildare House after James Fitzgerald, the Earl of Kildare, who commissioned Cassels to build it between 1745 and 1747. Intended to be Dublin's grandest mansion, the result could not have disappointed Kildare. It is said that another Irish architect, James Hoban, later copied the facade of Leinster house for his design of the White House in Washington (although Castlecoole designed by James Wyatt bears a closer resemblance).

Originally the main maternity hospital for Dublin, it was redesigned by Cassels who transformed it into a Palladian palace, complete with a rotunda which gives the hospital its name.[3]

Built for Gustavus Handcock-Temple in the 1740s, the house which was three stories over the basement and 7 bays wide, was built of brick with stone facing. Cassels work includes a pigeon house (which is almost identical to the Killiney Hill obelisk), walled gardens, a farmyard, and a grotto. The front facade was 7 bays wide and 3 storeys high over a basement. The house was abandoned in 1923. It was sold for scrap in 1928 at which time most of the house was dismantled.[6]

Built for Browne in 1730, Westport House is a beautifully sited two-storey over basement ashlar stone house overlooking Clew Bay in County Mayo. Cassels decided to relocate the village of Westport to improve the outlook from the house to the east.[7] The original house was quite small and was later extended by others.