Louth Urban Food Sanctuary’s team hosted an event at the enchanting walled gardens of Townley Hall last Saturday afternoon which included a history and Tour of the Townley Hall Gardens with Hilda Crampton and an exploration of Louth’s Changing Climate with Dr. Rory Sheehan.
At the event, which was part of Heritage Week, Dr. Rory Sheehan of Louth County Council, presented a compelling overview of Louth’s changing climate and what the future holds, drawing on the latest climate change predictions for Louth and their implications for our growing seasons and rainfall patterns.
Hilda Crampton then treated guests to a guided tour of the walled gardens during which she shared the fascinating history of these gardens and their significance to the local community.
Designed by Francis Johnston for Blaney Balfour in 1794, Townley Hall is considered one of his finest works. The house is set on a prominent site in parklands which, in 1827, were called by Gardener’s Magazine, “one of the most magnificent demesnes in the kingdom.”
The home was passed down through the Balfour family over the centuries until it was purchased by Trinity College, Dublin in 1956.
Townley Hall is a two-storey, square building of seven bays. The west elevation has a kitchen which features deep-set windows and Grecian Doric columns.
The exterior was completed in a restrained manner with the roof concealed behind a parapet and few decorative effects but for a string course and cornice and a Doric single storey portico to the front.
However, the interior is simply but masterfully executed, the main attraction being the central, coffered rotunda and spiral, cantilever staircase. Around the upper level of the rotunda are apses, niches, and arched recesses.
For more about the Louth Urban Food Sanctuary see: https://louthurbanfoodsanctuary.com/
