Headfort House parlour is painstakingly restored

The newly restored Robert Adam Eating Parlour at Headfort House, historic home of the Marquis of Headfort, was officially opened recently in the presence of local and national dignitaries, including the founder of the Irish Georgian Society, Desmond Guinness. The world-renowned Robert Adams expert, Eileen Harris, spoke of the uniqueness of Headfort House and the eating parlour which was so carefully preserved. It took approximately six months to restore the paintwork of the room, involving up to eight painters who worked a total of around 8,000 man-hours to achieve the stunning effect that can be seen today. The Headfort Trust was assisted with funding from the Heritage Council, Department of Environment, Meath County Council, the World Monuments Fund, the Irish Georgian Society and many private donors. The trustees now await further funds for the restoration of the remaining Adams rooms. The Eating Parlour conservation project protected five paintings attributed to artist Antonio Zucchi, a contemporary and friend of the Scottish architect Robert Adams. Antonio Zucchi (1726-'95) was a Venetian painter. Robert and James Adam made Zucchi's acquaintance in Venice, travelled with him in Italy, and persuaded him to go to England around 1763 to collaborate in their architectural and interior design works. Zucchi executed many wall and ceiling decorations for their interiors, including Headfort House. Headfort is a mid-Georgian mansion of vast proportions and was built by Sir Thomas Taylor, the first Lord Headfort, based on the designs of George Semple, a Dublin-based architect and engineer. Work began on the house in the 1760s and was completed sometime in the early 1770s. In 1771, Lord Headfort commissioned Robert Adam to create a decorative scheme for the state rooms of the house,. Headfort is Adam's only significant surviving work in Ireland and so the interiors hold a unique place in Ireland's architectural history. Adam's designs took in every aspect of the design of a room including colour schemes, fixtures and fittings. The Taylor family continued to reside in Headfort House until 1949, when the fifth Marquess and Marchioness of Headfort converted their stately mansion into a preparatory school, creating a self-contained house for themselves in the east wing. The east wing was subsequently sold. The sixth Marquess died in 2005 and the seventh Marquess now resides in London.