Context 163 - March 2020

C O N T E X T 1 6 3 : M A R C H 2 0 2 0 3 More for heritage trusts Thanks to a grant of £248,900 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Heritage Trust Network (of which the IHBC is a member) will upscale its operations to deliver a more substantial programme of training and skills development across the UK. The network is a membership organisation made up of over 200 groups and trusts across the UK who are involved in the restoration and preservation of the built heritage. The project, which is also supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund, will expand the trust’s events programme to increase local engagement and sharing of best practice networking; provide additional digital services; and improve advocacy. The Irish Architectural Archive The Irish Architectural Archive (www.iarc.ie) was established in 1976 to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of the entire island of Ireland, and make it available to the public. As a cumulative body of material, the holdings of the archive represent the greatest single source of information on Ireland’s buildings and those who designed them. The collections comprise more than 2.5 million drawings and related documents, ranging in date from the late 17th to the 21st centuries. Also housed are over 500,000 photographs, making this one of the largest collections of photographs in Ireland, and an extensive reference library, with more than 30,000 items of printed matter. Thousands of visits are made to the archive annually by people in search of information on Irish buildings and architects for educational, environmental and conservation purposes. Readers include students, teachers, historians, local authority, heritage and tourism officials, planners, architects, builders, film makers and members of the public engaged in private research. The archive occupies No 45 Merrion Square, the largest terraced house on the square, built in around 1795. The Office of Public Works carried out an extensive programme of works to the house from 2002 to 2004, including the refurbishment of the historic fabric and the construction of new state- of-the-art archival stores to the rear. Public areas include the Reading Rooms and Architecture Gallery. Trinity College, Dublin (Photo: Adam Jones, Wikimedia)