# Surveyor General of Ireland

The office of Surveyor General of Ireland was an appointed officer under the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Surveyor General was typically responsible for the surveying, design and construction of civic works, and was often involved in overseeing the construction of military barracks and public buildings. Though Surveyors General were officially appointed by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, it was not unknown for the post to be "sold" by one holder to the next. For example, Arthur Jones-Nevill succeeded Arthur Dobbs in 1743, having paid £3,300 to secure the position. And despite being dismissed for maladministration, Nevill was allowed to sell the post on to Thomas Eyre in 1752. Eyre was the last holder of the office, which was abolished in 1763.

## List of Surveyors General of Ireland

| Name | Date(s) | Term | Notes, refs. |
| Walter Cowley | 15 November 1548 | During pleasure | |
| Edmund Sutton | 19 September 1551 | Without tenure | |
| Michael FitzWilliam | 12 May 1552 | For life | Grand uncle of Thomas FitzWilliam, 1st Viscount FitzWilliam |
| Launcelot Alford | 16 January 1572 | During pleasure | |
| Sir Geoffrey Fenton | 10 August 1591 | For life | |
| Sir William Parsons | 26 December 1602 | During good behaviour | Survey of the escheated counties of Ulster. |
| Francis Blundell | 18 February 1609 | In reversion for life | |
| Sir William Parsons | 14 February 1610 | | Re-instated. |
| Sir William Parsons and his brother Laurence Parsons | 26 March 1611 | For life | |
| Sir William Parsons, his son Richard Parsons, and Adam Loftus of Rathfarnham | 24 December 1624 | Upon surrender for life | |
| Benjamin Worsley | 1652 | During pleasure | Surveys for Adventurers' Act and Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 |
| Vincent Gookin | 11 January 1657 | During pleasure | |
| Allen Brodrick | 2 August 1658 | For life | |
| Sir William Petty | 18 September 1660 | For life | Down Survey. Date and term are from Hardinge, who says William's cousin John Pettie was the appointee. |
| Sir James Shaen | 13 February 1667 | For life | |
| William Robinson | 1670–1700 | For life | Charles Fort, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, St. Michan's, St. Mary's, Marsh's Library. |
| William Molyneux | 31 October 1684 – 1698 | For life | Molyneux paid Robinson £250 in return for a half-share of the patent (half of £300 per annum). The revised patent was issued with help from James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde. The full patent would revert to one on the other's death. |
| Thomas de Burgh | 1700–1730 | | Royal (Collins) Barracks, Trinity library, St. Werburgh's. |
| Edward Lovett Pearce | 1730–1733 | | Wings at Castletown House, Houses of Parliament, noted town-houses on Henrietta Street. |
| Arthur Dobbs | 1733–1743 | | Finishing Houses of Parliament after Pearce's death, and becoming Governor of North Carolina. |
| Arthur Jones-Nevill | 1743–1752 | | Maladministration, poor quality of barracks, being dismissed from post. |
| Thomas Eyre | 1752–1763 | | Lodge (later Papal Nuncio residence) at Ashtown Castle, reconstruction of State Apartments and gardens at Dublin Castle. |

## Footnotes

* ↑ McParland notes "Such sums were not fees or bribes to officials for the appointments; instead they represented the value of the post when it was viewed as the personal property of the holder of the patent". Thus the statement of May 1743 in TCD Clements MS 1741 that 'Dobbs has disposed his employment to one Mr Jones' (IAA, Edward McParland files, Acc. 2008/44)
* ↑ First or only date is date of appointment