Lodges are present here in such quality and in such great quantity as to represent a massive as-yet-unrecognised contribution to our architectural heritage.

Despite displaying detailed architectural sophistication to rival the ‘big house’ to which it is a prelude, the gatekeeper’s lodge has received scant coverage in print compared to the annual appearance of tomes in praise of houses of the aristocracy and gentry in Ireland. Hence this work is also an attempt to right that imbalance and to celebrate a domestic building of modest proportions.

The field surveys and research being complete, Wordwell is now pleased to publish the first volume in this new series, Leinster, which follows the style of the Ulster volume. 

Entries are numbered and listed county by county for ease of reference, with Dublin divided into north and south relative to the River Liffey. Each entry heading gives the NAME of the property with its LOCATION. This heading (or subheading, where there is more than one lodge) is followed by the DATE of the building’s construction, its ARCHITECT and, should there be little or nothing evident on site, its CONDITION. Proposals that remain unexecuted are also indicated. An ILLUSTRATION generally precedes the DESCRIPTION, and REFERENCES complete the entry.

The gazetteer is preceded by an extensive essay on the history of the gate lodge in Leinster, and the book is fully indexed.

Volumes on Munster and Connacht are now available