Frederick Darley
Rossana House, Co. Wicklow
1830
2017/128
William Tighe acquired a lease on a house and land close to Ashford, Co. Wicklow, in 1741. He immediately set about transforming the early-eighteenth-century dwelling into a gracious and comfortable country house which he renamed Rossana. The centre block was enlarged to a three-storey brick-fronted edifice and two wings were added. At a later date the parapet was battlemented, and in 1830 the architect Frederick Darley prepared drawings for additions and alterations to the house which are now in the IAA. It may be presumed that this model was made to show the impact of Darley’s proposed alterations.
The Tighes remained at Rossana until 1937. In the second half of the twentieth century the house was severely truncated. The main block was reduced in size and lost some of its grand panelled interiors. The wings were removed completely. This model is therefore now a compelling three-dimensional record of this significant house in what was its most complete state.
