Every autumn for the past seven years, Adam's auctioneers has temporarily decamped from its St Stephen's Green headquarters to hold its Annual Country House Collections auction in Slane Castle, Co Meath – the home of Lord Henry Mountcharles.
But, for 2016, Adam's is moving to a new venue – at Townley Hall in Drogheda, Co Louth where the auction will take place on Tuesday, October 11th.
The reason for the move?
According to Kieran O’Boyle, associate director of Adam’s: the new venue offers “more space”for an event billed as “Ireland’s premier auction for selling fine period furniture, paintings, silver and decorative arts”.
Consignments are still being accepted until Friday, August 26th. Townley Hall on the Slane Road, west of Drogheda, is a 200-year-old Georgian mansion, designed in the classical style by the architect Francis Johnston.
The late British poet laureate Sir John Betjeman, writing about Townley, said "I have seen many Irish houses, but I know none at once so dignified, so restrained and so original".
Christopher Hussey, writing in Country Life magazine in 1948, said: "I would dare to say that there is nothing lovelier than this rotunda in the Georgian architecture of the British Isles".
The house was once owned by the Townley Balfour family who died out in the 1950s.
It was then used as an agricultural school by Trinity College Dublin.
Today, it is used a venue for corporate events, weddings and concerts.
