Casino at Marino facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Casino at Marino |
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Ceasaíneo ag Mairíne
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The Casino at Marino in Dublin, Ireland
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| Etymology | Italian casino, "little house" |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | Marino |
| Address | Off Casino Park |
| Town or city | Dublin |
| Country | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°22′16″N 6°13′37″W / 53.3712°N 6.2270°W |
| Elevation | 23 m (75 ft) |
| Construction started | 1758 |
| Completed | 1775 |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Portland stone |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Floor area | 2,500 square feet (232 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | William Chambers Simon Vierpyl |
| Developer | James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont |
| Other designers | Simon Vierpyl (Clerk of works) |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 16 |
| Parking | On-site |
| Official name | Casino, Marino |
| Reference no. | 302 |
The Casino at Marino is an extraordinary historic building located in Marino, a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is celebrated worldwide as one of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture ever built. Even though it is called a "casino", it has nothing to do with modern card games or gambling. Instead, the name comes from the Italian language and means "little house".
Built during the 18th century as a private pleasure house and summer retreat, this amazing structure was created to amaze visitors with visual tricks, hidden rooms, and brilliant craftsmanship. From the outside, it looks like a tiny, single-room temple made out of white stone. However, this appearance is an intentional optical illusion. Inside, the building actually hides three full levels containing sixteen separate rooms, filled with secret doors, hidden chimneys, and hollow columns that drain rainwater.
Contents
The Story and Origins of the Casino at Marino
What Does the Name Mean?
To understand why this building has its unique name, we must look at where the word comes from. In modern English, a casino usually means a place where people go to play games of chance. However, back in the 1700s, European aristocrats used the Italian word casino as an affectionate term for a small villa or garden pavilion. The base word is casa, which means "house" in Italian, and adding "-ino" to the end creates a diminutive form meaning "little house".
When James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of Charlemont, decided to build this retreat on his Irish estate, he borrowed the Italian word directly. He had fallen in love with the art, language, and culture of the Mediterranean while traveling across southern Europe, and he wanted his home to carry the romantic charm of Italy.
The Earl and His Grand Tour Adventure
The man behind the creation of the Casino was James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont (1728–1799). Caulfeild was a wealthy Irish nobleman, a passionate patron of the arts, and an important political figure in Dublin. In the 18th century, it was customary for wealthy young men to embark on what was known as the Grand Tour. This was an educational journey across Europe, where travelers studied ancient Greek and Roman ruins, learned foreign languages, and bought paintings, sculptures, and books.
Caulfeild spent nine years traveling through France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Turkey. These long travels transformed his view of the world. When he returned to Ireland, he was determined to bring classical art and ancient Roman elegance to his home country. He named his vast estate in Dublin "Marino", after the picturesque town of Marino near Rome, overlooking the Alban Lake. He decided that his estate needed a classical garden building to hold his growing collection of artwork and provide a peaceful place for entertaining friends and studying literature.
Creative Partnership with Architect William Chambers
To bring his grand vision to life, Lord Charlemont hired William Chambers, one of the most famous British architects of the era. Chambers was deeply skilled in classical design, drawing inspiration from ancient temples, the Renaissance, and French Neoclassical architecture. He worked on many famous buildings, including Somerset House in London and the Great Pagoda at Kew Gardens.
Chambers and Lord Charlemont shared an obsession with architectural perfection. Together, they spent years exchanging letters, sketches, and detailed diagrams. Remarkably, even though William Chambers designed every detail of the Casino, he never set foot in Ireland to see the building in person. Because he was so busy designing palaces and government buildings in England, Chambers managed the construction from across the Irish Sea. To make sure the building was built properly, he chose an expert Dutch-born stonemason and sculptor named Simon Vierpyl to live in Dublin and supervise the construction as the clerk of works.
Construction and Building Timeline
Laying the Foundations in 1758
Work on the Casino began around 1758. Constructing such a complex and finely decorated building was a slow, delicate process that required dozens of skilled masons, carvers, carpenters, and plasterers. Simon Vierpyl oversaw every block of stone cut and positioned on site.
The building took nearly seventeen years to complete, finally finishing around 1775. Lord Charlemont spared no expense. The exterior was built out of premium Portland stone, a bright, durable white-grey limestone shipped across the sea from the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. Portland stone was prized because it could be carved into razor-sharp classical details and gave buildings the look of genuine Roman marble.
The Lost Marvels of the Marino Demesne
Today, the Casino sits in a public park, but in the 18th century, it was just one part of a vast private parkland known as a demesne (pronounced "di-main"). Lord Charlemont created a landscape garden filled with winding paths, groves of exotic trees, and scenic water features.
The estate once included:
- A large man-made serpentine lake with small islands and bridges.
- A gothic decorative tower, sometimes called Rosamond's Bower, which served as an eye-catching landmark across the fields.
- A decorative rustic building known as a cottage orné or "the hermitage", designed for quiet contemplation.
- Extensive walled gardens growing fresh fruit and flowers.
- Ornate stone entrance gates decorated with mythical stone beasts.
- The main family mansion, Marino House, which was connected to the estate's outbuildings.
Sadly, most of these ornamental structures disappeared over time. Marino House fell into disuse and was demolished in the 1920s. Today, the Casino stands as the primary surviving monument of this lost Georgian paradise.
Neoclassical Architecture and Clever Illusions
The Greek Cross Floor Plan
The Casino is celebrated by architects because of its mathematical harmony and balanced proportions. From above, the floor plan forms a Greek Cross, which means it looks like an equal-armed plus sign (+). Each of the four sides of the cross is framed by two massive classical columns built in the Roman Doric order.
The building is relatively compact, measuring only fifty feet (about 15.2 meters) on each side, measured from the outer columns. This compact square shape was carefully calculated to make the building feel like an ancient Roman monument set in a green field.
Masters of Deception: A Hidden Palace
The most fascinating feature of the Casino is the series of architectural tricks and optical illusions designed into its structure. When someone stands outside and looks at the building, they assume it contains just one single, tall, high-ceilinged room. There is only one large wooden door on the front, and only one giant window appears on each of the other three sides.
However, this is completely deceptive:
- The Giant Door Trick: The front entrance looks like a massive, heavy wooden portal. In reality, only two small center panels swing open to let people inside. The rest of the door frame is fixed solid into the wall.
- The Clever Windows: What looks like a single large window from the lawn actually illuminates multiple separate rooms on different floors. The wooden window frames contain curved panes of glass that catch sunlight and reflect the sky. These reflections hide the solid interior partition walls and floors that divide the rooms behind the glass.
- Three Full Floors: Despite looking like a ground-level temple, the building holds three distinct levels: a busy service basement, an elegant reception floor, and an upper residential level.
Ingenious Engineering and Hidden Features
William Chambers did not want practical household elements to ruin the clean, classical look of his Greek temple. As a result, he worked with Simon Vierpyl to invent brilliant engineering solutions that concealed modern conveniences inside decorative artwork.
Hollow Columns for Drainage
In rainy Ireland, flat-topped classical buildings face serious problems with rainwater buildup. Instead of attaching ugly metal pipes to the exterior walls, Chambers made four of the huge stone columns hollow. Inside each hollow column, the builders hung a long iron chain. Rain falling on the lead-lined roof flows into hidden gutters and runs down the chains inside the stone pillars, soaking harmlessly away underground.
Secret Chimney Urns
Because the building had several fireplaces to keep guests warm during chilly Dublin winters, it needed chimneys. Traditional brick chimneys would have destroyed the classical silhouette of a Roman temple. To solve this, Chambers placed decorative stone vases and Roman funerary urns along the balustrade on the roof. These carved urns are completely hollow inside and serve as functional smokestacks for the fireplaces below.
Exploring the Interior Levels and Rooms
The Basement: The Engine Room for Servants
The lowest level of the Casino is set partially underground. This level was built out of sturdy brick vaults and functioned as the working heart of the house, where servants prepared meals, kept fires burning, and managed supplies.
The basement contained eight practical rooms:
- A hot kitchen with a cooking hearth and an adjoining scullery for washing dishes.
- A butler's pantry for polishing silverware and storing fine glassware.
- Dedicated pantries for dry food supplies and preserves.
- A servants' hall where household staff could eat their meals and rest.
- Deep underground ale and wine cellars kept naturally cool by the surrounding earth.
Because wealthy guests did not like seeing servants carrying heavy trays of food or buckets of coal across the open lawn, the basement connected to a network of underground brick tunnels. Servants used these tunnels to enter and leave the Casino invisibly, delivering supplies directly from the main estate kitchens without disturbing the Lord or his guests.
The Main Floor: The Elegant Reception Rooms
The main floor is raised above the lawn on a stone platform and was designed to showcase art and host intellectual gatherings. Visitors enter through a formal entryway called the vestibule, which features a decorative coffered ceiling (a ceiling decorated with sunken rectangular panels).
Leading off the vestibule are the formal reception spaces:
- The Saloon: A grand entertaining room decorated with delicate classical mouldings, rich draperies, and carved stonework.
- The Study: A quiet library room where Lord Charlemont could read books, write letters, and study his collection of ancient medals and coins.
- The Reception Bedroom: In the 18th century, prominent aristocrats often had a formal state bedroom on display to show off their wealth and status, featuring luxurious furniture and silk wall coverings.
The Top Storey: The Private Quarters
The upper floor contains private bedrooms and guest accommodations tucked neatly behind the roofline balustrades.
The highlight of this upper level is the breathtaking Blue Salon. This room features some of the finest wood and plaster craftsmanship in Europe:
- Parquet Flooring: The floor is made from interlocking pieces of different colored hardwoods, arranged in a dazzling geometric star pattern known as marquetry. The design includes an intricate star motif in the center, crafted without using a single nail.
- Plaster Ceiling: The ceiling showcases delicate stucco plasterwork featuring classical motifs, including an image of Jupiter (the king of the Roman gods) surrounded by clouds and laurel wreaths.
- Marble Fireplace: A hand-carved white marble mantelpiece frames the hearth, sculpted by master craftsmen brought in from the continent.
Master Artists and European Craftsmanship
Simon Vierpyl: The Master Builder
While William Chambers created the blueprints, it was Simon Vierpyl (c. 1725–1810) who made them a physical reality. Vierpyl was a sculptor of exceptional talent. Before coming to Dublin, he spent years in Rome making miniature stone models of ancient ruins and carving busts of Roman emperors for wealthy travelers.
Vierpyl was famous for his honesty, precision, and work ethic. He managed the supply of stone, directed the masons, and personally carved several of the delicate architectural decorations inside and outside the Casino. He was so proud of his work on the Marino estate that he lived near Dublin for the rest of his life.
Renowned International Sculptors
To ensure the Casino was an artistic masterpiece, Lord Charlemont commissioned several of the most famous artists in Europe to supply statues and carvings:
- Joseph Wilton (1722–1803): A founding member of the Royal Academy in London, Wilton carved the majestic stone lions that guard the four corners of the Casino's platform. These lions look relaxed yet watchful, sculpted with realistic muscles and fur.
- Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727–1785): An Italian painter and designer, Cipriani created statues representing Roman gods, including Apollo (god of music and poetry), Venus (goddess of love), Bacchus (god of agriculture), and Ceres (goddess of the harvest). He also designed stone griffins and dragons for the estate gates.
- Johann Heinrich Müntz (1727–1798): A Swiss-born painter and architect who traveled widely across the world, Müntz was brought in to design decorative schemes for the interior, including an exotic Egyptian-themed room that reflected Lord Charlemont's fascination with North Africa.
The Later History of the Casino
The 19th Century: Changing Hands
After the death of the 1st Earl of Charlemont in 1799, the estate passed to his son, Francis Caulfeild, the 2nd Earl. Over time, the family fortunes changed, and managing a gigantic private estate became very expensive. By the second half of the 19th century, the Charlemont family decided to sell off the property.
In the late 1800s, the land was purchased by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. A major portion was later acquired by the Irish Christian Brothers, who used the land to create schools and training centers. A 39-acre section was dedicated to the O'Brien Institute, a school and home established for orphaned boys. Because the Casino was no longer used as a private summer retreat, it stood quietly on the grounds of these educational institutions for decades.
The 20th Century: Revolution and Restoration
During the turbulent years of the Irish War of Independence in the early 1920s, the Casino found an unexpected role in Irish history. Irish political leader Michael Collins and members of the Irish Republican Army used the dry underground tunnels beneath the Casino as a secret shooting gallery and storage area for supplies, hidden completely out of sight from patrols.
As the city of Dublin expanded rapidly in the mid-20th century, new suburban housing developments sprang up around Marino. In the 1960s, a nursing home called Nazareth House was constructed on land nearby, which changed the open countryside views the Casino had enjoyed for two centuries.
Recognizing the building's historical value, the Irish state stepped in to preserve it. The Casino was declared a National Monument of Ireland (Monument Number 302). A long and careful restoration project took place to clean the Portland stone, repair the delicate plaster ceilings, restore the parquet floors, and fix the drainage systems.
The Casino Today
Today, the Casino at Marino is managed and cared for by the Office of Public Works (OPW), the Irish government agency responsible for historic monuments and heritage sites. It is open to the public as a museum, welcoming students, architects, and travelers from around the globe.
Visitors can walk through the secret-paneled door, stand on the star-patterned wooden floors, and marvel at the ingenious design that allowed William Chambers and Simon Vierpyl to fit sixteen rooms into what looks like a tiny Roman temple. It remains a shining symbol of Ireland's Georgian heritage and one of the cleverest buildings ever constructed in Europe.
Images for kids
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Casino at Marino, Clontarf
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The structure in 1993
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Exterior
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Exterior side
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Tympanum with egg-and-dart and dentition
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Stone lion
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Stone vase with sheep design
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Carved cow's skull with garland
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Gravestone of "Neptune", a dog
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Ceiling of the Blue Salon with hexagonal coffered design
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Zeus ceiling rose in the Blue Salon
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Vestibule
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vestibule
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Plan of section
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Designs for two chimney-pieces by William Chambers in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Original interior plan
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Reproduction of Gothic seat folly within the grounds
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Entrance to tunnels underneath the structure
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