Mid West Lime Ltd were engaged by JJ Rattigan & Co to carry out conservation works at the Gardens International Site on Henry Street, Limerick. This is an early 19th century building known as Roches Hanging Garden and its’ adjoining building known as the Mercantile Building which was the former General Post Office.
The idea of the Hanging Gardens was originally conceived by the banker William Roche as a vast store, which was surrounded by enclosed gardens referred to as Roche’s Hanging Gardens. The plan of the building was a series of arches forming vaulted ceilings ranging from 25 to 40 feet high. On top of these arches elevated terraced or “hanging gardens” were created and the whole structure was crowned by classical statues. Sophisticated heating and irrigation systems were employed to maintain the vegetation, such as exotic fruits like oranges, grapes and pineapples.
Our scope of works in this project involved the demolition of reinforced concrete cast into the historic structure, the cutting and installation of replacement stone on the vaulted structure internally, and repairs to various architectural stone details throughout the building. Brick repair and replacement, brick repointing, stone repointing, insitu cornice replacement, internal and external lime plastering was also carried out. Our works on this project spanned 18 months.
