The Kilkenny Marble Works : a family business enterprise

Abstract

This thesis is the first comprehensive study of the Colies family of Kilkenny and their business enterprise, the Kilkenny Marble Works. It examines how this local industry influenced the marble trade on a national and international scale. The founder of this venture, Alderman William Colles (1702-1770), is considered to have been the first person in the British Isles to have used water powered machinery to cut and polish the famous black marble of Kilkenny. While examining the influence of the Kilkenny Marble Works on the decorative and architectural heritage of Ireland and further afield, this study also traces the role of this venture in the industrial and economic development of the country over a period of almost two centuries. The first source examined for this study was archival material. Eighteenth-century manuscripts in Ireland, Britain and America reveal that Irish marble, particularly Kilkenny marble, was a much sought after commodity. Customs records give some indication as to the extent of Ireland’s involvement in the marble trade during the eighteenth century. Within a short time of its inception, the Kilkenny Marble Works became a prime producer of decorative marble ornaments and was seen as a model of progress and improvement in many parts of the world.