Volume 1

The beauties of Ireland. Being original delineations, topographical, historical, and biographical, of each county / By J.N. Brewer. Illustrated with engravings, by J. & H.S. Storer, after original drawings, chiefly by Mr. Petrie.

  • James Norris Brewer
Date:
1825-1826
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The beauties of Ireland. Being original delineations, topographical, historical, and biographical, of each county / By J.N. Brewer. Illustrated with engravings, by J. & H.S. Storer, after original drawings, chiefly by Mr. Petrie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    547/718 page 329
    [ LEINSTER. ] COUNTY OF WICKLOW. 329 demesne; in a circular sweep of prodigious boldness; its moun- tainous banks covered with the rich foliage of the oak. The devious course of the river is here traced through scenes of amazing variety, the valley along which it flows often extending to the width of more than a mile. At the point considered most favourable to a command of prospect, is constructed a small and rustic octangular building, from which nature stands displayed in a degree of beauty and magnificence that dazzles the eye and overpowers the feelings. In a direction towards its rise the meanders of the Ovoca are en- livened by all the pastoral softness of verdant meadows, and their attendant objects of rural animation, screened by mountains which recede in an infinitude of wavy or broken outlines. ‘Towards the sea, the river pursues a broad but umbered course, through shelving masses of wood, which reach towards its brink, or retire from its current, in majestic and graceful transitions. , The views obtained from this favoured walk are not ‘confined to the charms of the vale, transcendant as are those beauties, and varying at almost every step. Mountains, endless in shape, and sublime in character as the columnar masses of an autumnal sunset, form the distance in some directions; whilst other spreads of remote scenery are profound in apparently interminable ranges of matted wood. The wide sea rolls upon the eye towards the east, and completes this immense congress of the grandest and softest objects which nature affords in any single display. . Sue.ton, the seat of the Earl of Wicklow, is situated on the northern bank of the Ovoca, at the distance of two miles from the town of Arklow. As the river approaches the spot at which its waters are discharged into the sea, the country assumes a more subdued aspect. The vale expands, and the mountains subside into gentle undulations. Amidst this scenery stands Shelton House. The building occupies a low site, but is encompassed by a fine demesne, extremely rich in wood. The Spanish chestnut attains, in these grounds, a growth unusually noble; the oak is the prevalent tree, but, owing to a neglect of thinning and ju- dicious culture, is rarely seen in magnificent proportions; some
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