Provost's House
Provost's House, Trinity College Dublin
A view of the Provost's house from the college campus perimeter
General information
Type	University administrative building and dwelling house
Location	1 Grafton Street Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland
Completed	1759
References
[1]

The Provost's House is a five-bay, two-storey house with seven-bay single-storey wings on each side, which dates from 1759 and was built for Provost Francis Andrews of Trinity College.^[2][3]

Design

The designer is unknown but may have been the Dublin architect John Smyth. It has a Palladian design with a central Venetian window and doric pilasters and is similar to that built by Lord Burlington for General Wade (now demolished) in London in the 1830s, who in turn copied a drawing by Andrea Palladio. Another version of the house existed in Potsdam.^[4]

The ground floor ashlar stonework is heavily tooled with round-headed arches spanning over the windows. The centre arch over the entrance door is slightly wider than the others. The upper floor consists of pilasters standing on a string course and supporting a strong cornice at roof level. The two wings are both similar with a three-bay breakfront surmounted by a pediment. It is the only one of Dublin's great Georgian houses which still serves its original purpose.^{[citation needed]} It lies at the north end of Grafton Street near the corner with Nassau Street and has the unique address of No 1 Grafton Street.^{[citation needed]}

Henry Keene may have designed the interior.

Metalwork may have been by Timothy Turner.^{[citation needed]}

It was described by Charles Robert Cockerell in 1823 as follows: "The beautiful front of the Provost's House,...... had been completely spoilt by a high pitched roof and the centre arch having keystone smaller than the sides, producing a disfigured visual effect."^{[citation needed]}

Other usage

In 2017 the house was used as a neutral venue for negotiations between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael as part of Irish government formation talks.^[5]

References

53°20′36″N 6°15′31″W / 53.34333°N 6.25861°W / 53.34333; -6.25861