's
views of Dublin situated beside
Powerscourt House.
Society of Artists in Ireland The construction of the building on
South William Street, Dublin was driven by two of the most prominent founding members of the
Society of Artists in Ireland, the sculptor
Simon Vierpyl and woodcarver and gilder
Richard Cranfield. The society itself had only been established in 1764 with 12 members following an attempt by the
Dublin Society to create its own annual exhibition and society. Following the success of a show in 1765 at Charles Napper's Great Room on
George's Lane, the Society of Artists decided to construct their own dedicated art academy and exhibition space on a site leased from
Maurice Coppinger. The funds were raised for its construction by the issue of lifetime tickets to exhibitions held at the venue by subscribers of three guineas. At that stage the number of members had expanded to 27. On the 10th of March 1766 they had their second exhibition of 106 works at the partially constructed building. It appears that the design can likely be attributed to Oliver Grace, who displayed drawings and plans for the front facade in 1768 titled 'an elevation, proposed as a front to the Exhibition Room'. By 1771, enough funds had been raised for the completion of the building with the help of grants of £500 from the Irish Parliament in 1767. At the same time in 1771,
Powerscourt House had just commenced construction across the opposite side of Coppinger Row. The teaching and academy element of the project was ultimately abandoned however the building continued to host various exhibitions. Following a schism in the Society in 1773, the Society reconciled again in the following years with the last exhibition recorded as occurring in the building in 1780. After 1780, it is said that no public art exhibition was held in Dublin until 1800.
Other uses After that point, the building was used for a variety of uses including auctions, theatrics and balls.
City Assembly In 1791, the City Assembly, the governing body of
Dublin Corporation, began to hold its meetings at the property as
The Tholsel on
Skinners Row, where it had previously convened, had become dilapidated and structurally unsound. At that point ownership of the building was held by Richard Cranfield who took over paying interest on the bonds which had been issued for its construction. In 1809, after the death of
Richard Cranfield, the corporation took the building on a 100-year lease with extensive refurbishment works taking place in 1810. Notable craftspeople involved included the carpenter Benjamin Eaton, plasterer Charles Thorp, bricklayer William Fell and the stonecutter and architect
Frederick Darley. For a short period after the demolition of the Tholsel and erection of the dedicated
Merchants' Hall, the building was occupied also by the
Merchant's Guild between 1809 and 1824. In 1852, the corporation moved to the
Royal Exchange on
Dame Street. At that point the Dublin
Court of Conscience moved upstairs to the octagonal room where it remained until it was abolished following the introduction of the
Courts of Justice Act 1924. The space below was then used as a station for the Dublin Fire Brigade, which was its infancy at that time and is shown as such on an 1864 OS map.
Old Dublin Society and Civic Museum The
Old Dublin Society also met at the octagonal room in the building from 1934. In conjunction with Dublin Corporation, the society founded a Dublin Civic Museum which was located at the building from 1953 to 2003.
Irish Georgian Society From 2012, the Irish Georgian Society restored the building and the premises now hosts its headquarters as well as exhibition space and gift shops as of 2025. ==See also==