![colour picture of ornate eighteenth century fireplace](https://dri.ie/app/uploads/2022/10/Darley-Collection-1080x1080-1.png)
Darley, George, 1731-1813, & Darley, Hill, 1735-1800. (2022) White Statuary Chimney-piece, RIA MS 3 C 34/5/2, Digital Repository of Ireland [Distributor],
Royal Irish Academy [Depositing Institution], https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.25152c46f
The Digital Repository of Ireland is delighted to announce that we have a new collection from the library at the Royal Irish Academy. The Darley Collection of chimneypieces contains 90 drawings of chimneypieces created by George and Hill Darley in their work as stone-cutters in Dublin between ca. 1757-1813. These drawings – now preserved for long-term access – are considered to be one of the most extensive collections of original late eighteenth-century designs for chimneypieces in Britain or Ireland. Many of the drawings are in colour and they show the highly ornate and intricate designs of George and Hill Darley. The drawings provide us with a unique window into eighteenth-century homes and buildings because many of the original fireplaces are now gone. The Darley Collection was donated to the Royal Irish Academy in 1889, by Sterling Ballantine.
The collection joins a growing number of objects in the Repository that relate to Irish architecture including building plans, domestic decorative features and photographs of historic and heritage buildings. We would encourage you to browse the Darley Collection of chimneypieces at its DOI: https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.jm21jg080 We’d also encourage you to browse our other architectural items in our search box on the homepage dri.ie.