Oak Park, County Carlow

Oak Park is an estate in County Carlow, Republic of Ireland, located 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of the town of Carlow. The estate was purchased by Irish MP Henry Bruen in 1775. It remained in the family until 1957, being inhabited by Bruen's son and grandson, both MPs of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[1]

Oak Park
Location of Oak Park in Ireland
Type	Country estate
Location	County Carlow, Ireland
Coordinates	52.866°N 6.913°W / 52.866; -6.913
Built	c. 1700–1860
Architect	Richard Morrison, William Vitruvius Morrison, George Papworth, John B. Keane
Architectural style(s)	Classical, Greek Revival

The site includes several structures listed on the Irish National Inventory of Architectural Heritage:

• The Oakpark Graveyard (c. 1700–1750), with remains of a church built c. 1725[2]
• The Oak Park House (built c. 1740–1780), a five-bay, two-storey Classical-style country house, designed by Richard Morrison and his son William Vitruvius Morrison. The house was renovated in 1832 and again in 1876, and is now used as a school.[3]
• A two-storey stable complex (built c. 1750–1780), renovated in 1985[4]
• A Classical triumphal arch (built c. 1830–1840), designed by the Morrisons[5]
• A single-arch cast-iron bridge (built c. 1830–1840), designed by George Papworth[6]
• A mausoleum (built c. 1840–1845; now ruined), designed by John B. Keane in the Greek Revival temple style[7]
• A dairy house (built c. 1840–1860)[8]

120 acres (49 ha) of the site are now operated by the Carlow Tourist Office as Oak Park Forest Park.[9] The admission-free park, which features 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of nature trails, won a Royal Dublin Society Irish Forestry Award in 2013.[10][11]

Oak Park also hosts a 590-acre (239 ha) "national centre for tillage and bio-energy crops research", operated by Teagasc.[12]

Col. Henry Bruen supplied the oak for the great-framed roof of the Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow from nearby Oak Park.

Triumphal arch on the Oak Park estate

A house party at Oak Park, 1901

See also

• Carlow County Museum
• Duckett's Grove

References

1. "Bruen, Henry (1789-1852), of Oak Park, co. Carlow". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
2. "Oakpark Graveyard, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300214". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
3. "Oak Park House, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300206". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
4. "Oak Park House, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300215". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
5. "Oak Park House, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300209". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
6. "Oak Park House, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300207". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
7. "Oak Park House, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300204". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
8. "Oak Park House, Oak Park Demesne, County Carlow: 10300208". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
9. "Oak Park Forest Park". Carlow Garden Trail. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
10. "Gardens in Ireland: County Carlow Gardens". ILoveGardens.com. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
11. "Oak Park Forest Park". Carlow Tourism. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
12. "Facilities: Crops Science Department, Teagasc CELUP, Oak Park, Carlow". Teagasc. Retrieved 29 March 2017.

External links

• Bruen of Oak Park Papers in the National Library of Ireland Catalogue