As part of Within|Without: the archaeology of partitions, Melanie Hayes presents ‘Behind the façade: materiality, craft and display at the Provost’s House, Trinity College Dublin’:

The Provost’s House at Trinity College Dublin, built between 1759 and 1762, is a remarkable of eighteenth-century domestic architecture. From its richly articulated entrance façade to its finely decorated interiors, it readily attests to the skill and ingenuity of Irish architectural craft and use of materials. And yet, despite its prominent location in the heart of the south city, there is a duality to this building, being at once visible yet largely removed from public access—a tension between the boundaries of public and private, between seen and unseen elements. Drawing on archival material relating to its original construction and close examination of the surviving building fabric, this paper will investigate these divisions, moving from the robust granite gateway and high iron rails, which demarcate the boundary with the city, across the sheltered courtyard to the limestone façade, where it will pause to consider the construction of this outer layer, which is little more than skin-deep, and then step beyond the threshold to discover the richly decorated surfaces of its interiors in timber, stone and plaster. It will consider the importance of outward show and display, and the often-illusionistic nature of materiality and the crafted surface in eighteenth-century architecture.