Saint Anne's Park

thumb|Clocktower at walled garden

Saint Anne's Park () is a public park situated between Raheny and Clontarf, suburbs on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is owned and managed by Dublin City Council.

The park, the second largest municipal park in Dublin, is formed from part of a former estate assembled by members of the Guinness family, descendants of Sir Arthur Guinness, founder of the famous brewery, beginning with Benjamin Lee Guinness in 1835 (the largest municipal park is nearby (North) Bull Island, also shared between Clontarf and Raheny). In 1837, they built St Anne's House, a large Italianate-style residence. The house and park were purchased by Dublin Corporation (now Dublin City Council) in 1939. There is also a dedicated dog park.

History

Before the Guinnesses

In 1747, John Vernon of Clontarf Castle leased 29 Irish acres of land at Blackbush to a Paul Hale and his brothers for 99 years, and in 1796, Margaret Holmes, only child of Paul Hale, assigned Blackbush to her son John Holmes. In 1814, 'Thornhill House' was built on the Blackbush lands by Sergeant John Ball. As of 1829, Hugh and Fleming O'Reilly were living in Thornhill.

The Guinness era

1835, Arthur Lee Guinness and Benjamin Lee Guinness bought, for £500, the lease of Thornhill from the O'Reilly family and the trustees of the Holmes family, and negotiated a new lease with John Vernon; they immediately moved into Thornhill House. Further lands were purchased over time by the Guinness family to build up an extensive property. In 1837, Elizabeth and Benjamin Lee Guinness commissioned St Anne's House, a large Italianate-style residence known locally as "The Mansion", and it was modified over several generations.

Features

thumb|150px|Chestnut walk from rock garden to duck pond

The park has a number of features. It is crossed by the small Naniken River, and a diversion from this, in turn, supplies the artificial Duck Pond. The Guinness family added a number of follies, a walled garden, and a grand avenue to the mansion house. Since the 1950s, extensive walks, a recognised Rose Garden and newer miniature rose garden, and Dublin's city arboretum, the Millennium Arboretum, which was formed with 1,000 varieties of tree, have been added.

Within the last decade, Dublin City Council has been restoring parts of the Naniken River to its natural state, creating wildlife habitats and wildflower meadows, and improving the path system. They removed some 1970s interventions, including a secondary pond and some rockery walks, partly due to problems with maintenance and partly to open up a vista from James Larkin Road. The park management also increased car parking to alleviate traffic congestion in the surrounding neighbourhoods of the popular park.

Follies and garden buildings

thumb|Folly, St. Anne's Park

St. Anne's is known for its garden follies and features, of which there are approximately 10 surviving from around 12, mainly around the Naniken River. These are a holy well covering, three classical buildings, two decorative bridges, a rustic cave, a grotto where several paths meet, a shell house and a yew circle and pool, while lost features include a yew walk and nymphaeum, and a basalt "druidic circle". and stands on the hill overlooking the duck pond. This started out as an observation tower on the roof of the original house. Later, the tower was removed during the extensive refurbishment of St. Anne's house in about 1873 and placed in its current location. Restoration works began in 2017. Graffiti remains an ongoing issue.

Lost folly and garden features

Two garden areas, a pergola garden and a lavender garden, are long lost. There was also a dogs' graveyard. The "Druidic Circle" of Giant's Causeway basalt was lost at an earlier stage. There was also a yew walk and nymphaeum, which ran within the formal gardens once located behind the main house, and is attested in photographs.

File:Clontarf Park Gates.tif|Annie Lee Tower and Bridge Folly near chestnut walk

File:Temple of Isis St Annes Park Dublin.JPG|Temple of Isis by the duck pond

File:St Anne's Park is the second largest municipal park in Dublin - panoramio (22).jpg|Herculanean temple overlooking the Naniken River

File:Roman Tower St Annes Park Dublin.JPG| Roman-style tower on the hill above the duck pond

File:St Anne's Park is the second largest municipal park in Dublin - panoramio (6).jpg|Rustic archway

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Stables

right|thumbnail|The red stables on market day

The elaborate Tudor red brick Ardilaun stables, lining three sides of a square, were designed by George Coppinger Ashlin, also the architect of All Saints Church at Raheny and built by Collon Brothers for £6,000. The Red Stables as they are called, because they are built using Portmarnock red brick and were renovated in the 1990s by Dublin City Council as the Red Stables Art Centre, with public facilities such as artists' residences upstairs, an exhibition space and a café, Olive's Room. Previous artists-in-residence include Niall de Buitléar, Tadhg McSweeney, and Paul McKinley. A Farmers' Market is held in the courtyard at weekends. This scheme has won international architecture awards.

Lodges

Sealawn Lodge is located on the coast road and decorated with elaborate gables; in occupation since the 1950s, it was restored in 2017. Bedford Lodge, headquarters of Dublin City's parks and landscape department from 1978 to 1995, is on Mount Prospect Avenue; it is no longer part of the public park. Next door to it is Shellingford Lodge. Another lodge, on the coast road, occupied by Seosamh Mac Grianna for a time, is no longer extant.

Gardens

The Rose Garden

In 1975, St Anne's Rose Garden was opened to the public. In 1980 it was given a Civic Award by Bord Failte and the Irish Town Planning Institute, and since 1981 it has been a centre for International Rose Trials. Its development led to the annual Rose Festival, now a popular event on the summer calendar for Dublin gardeners and families every July.

Walled garden / former kitchen garden

The walled garden, including a fruit garden added to the estate by Bishop Plunkett, now holds a plant nursery for the Parks Department. Thousands of bedding plants, shrubs, trees, and floral tubs are produced annually in the nursery. There is a herbaceous garden area open during limited hours, and a fine clock tower, restored to working order in 2007. There is also a Physic or Herb Garden, maintained by the Irish Register of Herbalists with the city council, and a miniature rose garden.

A Chinese garden, in the Suzhou style, was built in one corner of the walled garden.

Allotments

Since 2009, Dublin City Council has provided public allotment gardens (allocated on a lottery basis) to meet demand by city residents for space to grow their own produce.

File:Clocktower1 St Annes Park Dublin.JPG|Close up of clocktower at walled garden

File:Georgian Doorway Saint Annes Park Dublin.JPG|Georgian Doorway at house walled garden

File:Rose Garden2 St Annes Park Dublin.JPG|Outer ring of rose garden viewed through a pergola

File:Rose Garden3 St Annes Park Dublin.JPG|Central area of rose garden

File:Rose Garden4 St Annes Park Dublin.JPG|Outer ring of rose garden

File:St. Annes park - Autumn 001.jpg|Fields of the park during autumn

File:Fairy tree at St Anne's Park, Raheny.jpg|The Fairy Tree featuring numerous fairy doors

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Former features

St. Anne's House

Soon after he acquired 'Thornhill House' in 1835 Benjamin Lee Guinness married and started to make alterations and improvements to the house. In 1840, Frederick Darley Ogilby described 'St Anne's House' as having a castle-like appearance, of irregular Gothic construction with a high tower'. Some time later 'Thornhill House' was pulled down. In 1873, Sir Arthur Guinness commissioned James Franklin Fuller architect to remodel 'Thornhill House.' Thomas Millard was appointed builder for the works. There was a falling out between the architect and his client and George Coppinger Ashlin was entrusted with completing the house. It was described as being 'The most palatial house built in Ireland during the second half of the 19th. century'. The eleven-bay house was two storeys high, with a three-bay pedimented breakfront, with elaborate armorials in its tympanum supported on Corinthian pilasters superimposed on Ionic half columns. It was built in the Italian neo-classical style using Bath and Portland stones. There was a single-storey Ionic port-cochere. Pediments over the upper floor windows were segmental and those on the lower floor triangular. There was a fine curvilinear glasshouse/ conservatory designed and built by Turner attached to the house.

Former walled garden

The walled garden next to the house also contained many features, of which few traces remain. The garden was entered through a claire-voie screen of bronze, painted yew green and elaborately gilded. The centre walk of the garden consisted of a castellated yew hedge with marble statuary along its length. The walk terminated in a nymphaeum, flanked by obelisks of yew and featuring a sculpted group of Jupiter and Thetis. Also in the walled house garden was an aviary with golden pheasants; a floral temple of arches and chains in cast iron; and a circular yew hedge with allegorical marble Italian statues representing the five continents, which were reflected in a great circular marble basin in the centre. The Georgian door-case of the original house Thornhill was also erected as an entrance to a French lavender garden.

Leisure facilities

thumb|200px|Playing pitches in St. Anne's Park

The park is intensively used by the sporting public. Facilities include 35 playing pitches. There is an all-weather cricket crease in the middle of the main playing fields area, and one pitch is floodlit for Gaelic games. North Dublin Softball Club also use the park for training.

There are 18 hard-surfaced tennis courts (some managed by Raheny Tennis Club), and a par-3 golf course. There is a coffee and snack cabin by the golf and tennis courts. There are also 4 Boules (pétanque) courts, a BMX area, and a model car racing track.

Woodland paths provide for walkers and joggers. There is a weekly free 5 km parkrun on Saturday mornings at 9:30 in the park.

Fauna

Mammals present in the park include badgers, hedgehogs, rabbits, foxes, grey squirrels, house mice, field mice, pipistrelle bats and brown rats. Birds include sparrow hawk, woodcock and jay. The park has a greater-than-average diversity of bee species and is also notable for many species of butterflies.

Squirrels

thumbnail|150px|A grey squirrel in the park

Red squirrels were formerly numerous in the park, which was one of the last strongholds of the species in Dublin. Grey squirrels were first noticed at the Sybil Hill end of the park in 1998. The grey squirrels have since spread throughout the park and numbers of reds have been drastically reduced. A programme to reduce grey squirrels was carried out by Dublin City Council and University College Dublin, but the remaining red squirrel population was not reproducing and has crashed, for reasons uncertain. It is hoped that a re-introduction programme will be possible in future.

Flora

The park has a range of vegetation habitats and many historic trees. The plant collections are of national importance. There are also protected native plants and species of botanical interest. These are surveyed and managed by Dublin City Council Parks and Landscape Services Division.

Blackbush or Heronstown

A cluster of about 15 cottages once existed at Blackbush Lane. They were removed around the 1850s.