Lot Essay
Abbey Leix has been in the hands of the de Vesci family since the late 17th century when Thomas Vesey was granted rights by the Crown to establish a demesne on the site of an ancient abbey. He was succeeded by his son John Denny Vesey, second Baronet, who was elevated to the peerage of Ireland as Baron Knapton in 1730, but it was his son, Thomas, second Baron Knapton, who in 1773 commenced the building of the house at Abbeyleix, employing the Architect James Wyatt who had recently triumphantly completed the Pantheon in London and was rivalled only by Robert Adam as the most fashionable architect of the period. Thomas was created Viscount de Vesci in 1776, and set about creating a new town at Abbeyleix with awide tree-lined main street and a good water supply.
The house itself featured several examples of the light decorative plasterwork for which Wyatt was renowned, and the family lived in a most relaxed atmosphere. Writing in 1778 Lady Caroline Dawson, later Countess of Portarlington commented on their state of living as 'entirely without form, everybody doing as they please', adding that the drawing room in particular had 'a most comfortable appearance'.
The house itself featured several examples of the light decorative plasterwork for which Wyatt was renowned, and the family lived in a most relaxed atmosphere. Writing in 1778 Lady Caroline Dawson, later Countess of Portarlington commented on their state of living as 'entirely without form, everybody doing as they please', adding that the drawing room in particular had 'a most comfortable appearance'.