Wicklow County Council welcomes the recent announcement from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of capital funding for two properties in County Wicklow under the Historic Structures Fund (HSF).

Russborough House, Blessington has been awarded €101,817, while the Old Schoolhouse, Lacken has secured €66,433 for conservation repairs to the historic fabric.

Russborough House is a building of National importance and a key visitor attraction for County Wicklow, operated by the Alfred Beit Trust. The HSF grant will support a programme of extensive and essential stone repairs to secure the continued role of the structure as a heritage, educational and community asset.

The Old Schoolhouse in Lacken has been at the heart of community life in the village for more than 150 years, initially as a national school, and more recently as a community centre. The HSF funded conservation works will include repair of timber windows, overhaul of cast-iron rainwater goods, lime repointing, stone repairs and re-rendering in lime plaster.

Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr. Melanie Corrigan stated, “This investment under the HSF is welcome news for County Wicklow, supporting the conservation of two important heritage buildings and securing their future as key parts of our tourism and community infrastructure”.

Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council, Emer O'Gorman commented that, “Wicklow County Council is pleased to co-ordinate the operation of the Historic Structure Fund in association with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and to work directly with the property owners. This investment supports employment in traditional skills and assists our transition to a more climate resilient built environment in County Wicklow”.

The HSF scheme is co-ordinated by Wicklow County Council on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The core aims of this fund are to enable larger scale conservation works to be carried out on historic structures which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encourage the regeneration and reuse of historic structures, and to support the conservation of historic structures for community benefit.

HSF funded works promote the use of traditional materials and craft skills, supporting employment in specialist conservation trades and aligning fully with the aims of the scheme to enable larger-scale conservation, sustain heritage skills, and build climate resilience in historic structures.