LETTERS SENT to a “big house” in Co Cork from the 1780s to the 1820s are to be preserved following the allocation of an €8,000 grant by the Heritage Council.
The documents comprise 1,300 manuscript letters written by friends and associates of the Purcell family.
Their estate covered more than 2,000 acres at one point, and was located near Charleville, Co Cork, with the “big house” at Burton Park located in Churchtown village.
Brian McGee, archivist at Cork City and County Archives, said the Purcell documents were identified as being at risk.
“They were literally falling apart and would have been lost for posterity.
“The letters are from the heyday of the ‘big house’ and we do not have a lot of this type of material in Cork. They appear to be incoming correspondence from family and friends. The family were very well-connected with Lord Egmont. The letters are very personal and immediate.”
The conservation work on the documents is being carried out by Paul Curtis, paper conservator, Muckross House, Killarney.
The work, which involves cleaning and what is known as reversible paper repair and reinforcement, will ensure the valuable collection is preserved and available for future generations.
The conservation process is expected to be completed by November, and the letters will go on public display at a later date.
Burton Park, originally owned by Sir Philip Perceval, became the seat of the Earls of Egmont in 1670. It was burned by King James’s troops in 1690 and rebuilt around 1792. In 1889, Matthew John Purcell bought Burton House and demesne from the Perceval Family (Earl of Egmont) under the Land Acts.
The Purcells rented Burton Park from 1800 until they bought the property in 1889.
In the 1890s, the Purcell family embarked on imaginative and expensive alterations and improvements to the house. The house is still owned by the Purcell-Ryan family.