The office of Surveyor General of Ireland was an appointed office under the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland

Dublin Castle administration in Ireland

The Dublin Castle administration in Ireland was the government of Ireland under English and later British rule, from the twelfth century until 1922, based at Dublin Castle.-Head:...

 in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Surveyor General was typically responsible for the surveying

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

, design

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 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

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 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

Years	Office holder	Legacy
~17th century	William Parsons	Participation in Plantation of Ulster Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609... .
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~1650s	Benjamin Worsley Benjamin Worsley Benjamin Worsley was an English physician, Surveyor-General of Ireland, experimental scientist, civil servant and intellectual figure of Commonwealth England. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but may not have graduated....	Surveys following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649... .
~1650s	Vincent Gookin Vincent Gookin (surveyor-general) Vincent Gookin , was surveyor-general of Ireland.Gookin was the eldest son of Sir Vincent Gookin. He appears shortly after the death of his father to have disposed of his Gloucestershire property to a Dr. Samuel Bave, and to have migrated to Ireland, where he continued to reside during the...	MP and campaigner against forced transportations to Connaught.
~1660s	William Petty William Petty Sir William Petty FRS was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...	Completion of the "Survey of Ireland" (commonly called the Down Survey Down Survey The Down Survey, also known as the Civil Survey, refers to the mapping of Ireland carried out by William Petty, English scientist in 1655 and 1656.... ).
~1660s	John Morton	Architect to John Berkeley John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton was an English royalist soldier. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and rose to prominence, fortune and fame.-First English Civil War:...  (Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...  from 1670 to 1672).
1670–1700	William Robinson William Robinson (architect) William Robinson was the Surveyor General of Ireland from 1670/71 until 1700. Born in England, Robinson was appointed to the post of Surveyor General by John Berkeley in his first year of office as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland....	Charles Fort Charles Fort (Ireland) Charles Fort is a star fort located on the water's edge, at the southern end of the village of Summer Cove, on Kinsale harbour, County Cork, Ireland. James' Fort is located on the other side of the harbour.... , Royal Hospital Kilmainham, St. Michan's St. Michan's Church St. Michan's Church, located in Church Street, Dublin, Ireland, is a Church of Ireland church.-Building:Built on the site of an early Danish chapel , the current structure dates largely from a reconstruction in 1686, but is still the only parish church on the north side of the Liffey surviving... , St. Mary's St. Mary's Church, Dublin St. Mary's Church, Dublin is a former Church of Ireland building in Mary Street, Dublin.-The Church:Dating from the 17th century, the building was designed by Sir William Robinson, and is notable as the first Dublin church to be built with galleries.... , Marsh's Library Marsh's Library Marsh's Library, situated in St. Patrick's Close, adjacent to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland is the oldest public library in Ireland. It was built to the order of Archbishop Narcissus Marsh in 1701 and has a collection of over 25,000 books and 300 manuscripts.-Foundation:The library was... .
1684–1698	William Molyneux William Molyneux William Molyneux FRS was an Irish natural philosopher and writer on politics.He was born in Dublin to Samuel Molyneux , lawyer and landowner , and his wife, Anne, née Dowdall. The second of five children, William Molyneux came from a relatively prosperous Anglican background...	Founding Dublin Philosophical Society Dublin Philosophical Society The Dublin Philosophical Society was founded in 1683 by William Molyneux. It was intended to be the equivalent of the Royal Society in London, with which it maintained cultural ties. Among its most prominent members were William Petty, Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, Archbishop William King and Bishop... , and sharing position with Robinson while Robinson was in ill-health.
1700–1730	Thomas de Burgh Thomas de Burgh Colonel Thomas de Burgh 1670 – 18 December 1730), often named in his lifetime as Thomas Burgh, was an Irish military engineer, architect, and Member of the Parliament of Ireland...	Royal (Collins) Barracks Collins Barracks (Dublin) Collins Barracks is a former military barracks in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin, Ireland. The buildings are now the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History... , Trinity library Trinity College Library, Dublin Trinity College Library Dublin, the centrally-administered library of Trinity College, Dublin, is the largest library in Ireland. As a "copyright library", it has legal deposit rights for material published in the Republic of Ireland; it is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for the... , St. Werburgh's St Werburgh's Church, Dublin St. Werburgh's Church is a Church of Ireland church in Dublin, Ireland, and was built in 1178, shortly after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the town, and named after St. Werburgh, abbess of Ely and patron saint of Chester who died in 699 CE. It is located in Werburgh Street, close to Dublin... .
1730–1733	Edward Lovett Pearce Edward Lovett Pearce Sir Edward Lovett Pearce was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best known for the Irish Houses of Parliament in Dublin, and his work on Castletown...	Wings at Castletown House Castletown House Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland's is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of a estate... , Houses of Parliament Irish Houses of Parliament The Irish Houses of Parliament , also known as the Irish Parliament House, today called the Bank of Ireland, College Green due to its use as by the bank, was the world's first purpose-built two-chamber parliament house... , noted town-houses on Henrietta Street Henrietta Street Henrietta Street is a Dublin street, to the north of Bolton Street on the north side of the city, first laid out and developed by Luke Gardiner during the 1720s. A very wide street relative to streets in other 18th-century cities, it includes a number of very large red-brick city palaces of... .
1733–1743	Arthur Dobbs Arthur Dobbs Arthur Dobbs was a wealthy landowner in North Carolina and served as colonial governor from 1754 to 1765.-Early life and career:...	Finishing Houses of Parliament after Pearce's death, and becoming Governor of North Carolina.
1743–1752	Arthur Jones-Nevill Arthur Jones-Nevill Arthur Jones-Nevill was an Irish politician. He served as Surveyor General of Ireland from 1743, and later as a Member of the Parliament of Ireland, although he lost both positions following allegations of maladministration and peculation...	Maladministration, poor quality of barracks, being dismissed from post.
1752–1763	Thomas Eyre Thomas Eyre (engineer) Thomas Eyre was an Irish military engineer.Thomas Eyre was the second son of Colonel Samuel Eyre of Eyreville, County Galway. In 1738 he joined the regiment of James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia, and sailed to the colony. He rose from the rank of cadet to be sub-engineer for...	Lodge (later Papal Nuncio residence) at Ashtown Castle Ashtown Castle Ashtown Castle is a fortified house in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.It was found hidden within the walls of a much larger and more recent building that was being used by the Papal Nuncio until 1978. At that time, the more recent and larger building was deemed structurally irreparable due to dry rot.... , reconstruction of State Apartments and gardens at Dublin Castle Dublin Castle Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland... .