James Franklin Fuller
James Franklin Fuller (1835–1924) was an Irish actor, architect and novelist.[1]
Life
[edit]Fuller was born at Nedanone,[2] County Kerry, the only son of Thomas Harnett Fuller of Glashnacree, County Kerry, by his first wife, Frances Diana, a daughter of Francis Christopher Bland[2] of Derryquin Castle.[2] He was educated in Blackrock, County Cork, and Dublin.[2]
In 1850 he went to London where he qualified as an architect, and later moved to Manchester.
In 1862 he became a district architect under the Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners in Ireland. In 1869, after the Church of Ireland was disestablished, he set up his own practice in Dublin. Two years later he became architect to the Representative Church Body and shortly afterwards was appointed architect to St. Patrick's Cathedral, as well as to a number of other institutions.
He ran a busy, though, according to his memoirs, unconventional, practice, not keeping ledgers or books and disdaining keeping financial records. As well as his ecclesiastical projects and public building works, he designed a number of large houses around County Kerry and County Mayo.[2] He designed Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, in the 1860s and a few years later the neighbouring neo-Gothic church, a building of international significance. He also designed Mount Falcon (1876), a 9-bedroom Victorian manor estate house which is today a hotel on 100-acres of the original Knox family estate near Ballina.
During the 1890s, he took on George F. Beckett as a pupil and then junior assistant.[3]
He wrote works of fiction, including Culmshire Folk (Cassell, 1873) and John Orlebar, Clerk (Cassell, 1878) and many articles of a historical and genealogical nature.
He was a great-grandfather of actress Peggy Cummins.
Works
[edit]Some of his more prominent projects include:
| Project | Year Completed | Location | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kylemore Castle | 1868–1875, 1878–1884 | Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland | The castle was designed by James Franklin Fuller, initially together with Ussher Roberts, in a neo-Gothic style. | 
|
| Derreen House and Gardens | 1871–1873 | Near Kenmare, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. | Originally built in the first half of the eighteenth century, the house was remodeled by James Franklin Fuller. | 
|
| Ashford Castle | 1875–1881 | Near Cong, County Galway, Republic of Ireland | Victorian rebuilding of a medieval castle from the 13th century. | 
|
| Mount Falcon | 1876 | Near Ballina, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland | Baronial manor house built for Utred Augustus Knox.[4] |  |
| Farmleigh House | 1881–1884 | Castleknock, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | Once a small Georgian house built in the 18th century, it was subject to a major renovation programme between 1881 and 1884 by James Franklin Fuller. | 
|
| St Catherine's Church | 1885 | Thomas Street, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | Reordering of interior, including the removal of box-pews and two East bays of gallery, relocation of the pulpit to North side of chancel arch. | 
|
| Dromquinna House | Around 1890 | Templenoe, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland | Built manor house for John Colomb. | |
| Kenmare Hotel (Park Hotel Kenmare today) | 1894 | Kenmare, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland | Built the hotel for the Great Southern and Western Railway. | |
| Parknasilla Hotel | 1894 | Sneem, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland | Built the hotel for the Great Southern and Western Railway. |
Arms
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References
[edit]- ^ "FULLER, James Franklin". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 646.
- ^ a b c d e James Franklin Fuller: Omniana: the autobiography of an Irish octogenarian. London, Smith, Elder & Co (1916)
- ^ Andrews, Helen (2009). "Beckett, George Francis". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Murphy, Damien (2013). An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Mayo (PDF). Dept. of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4064-2622-9.
- ^ "Grants and Confirmations of Arms, Vol. G". National Archives of Ireland. p. 326. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
