Bushy Park

Map of part of Robert Shaw's estate

Map of part of Robert Shaw's Bushy Park Estate in Terenure.

© Dublin City Archives

Map of part of Robert Shaw's estate
© Dublin City Archives

Map of part of Robert Shaw's estate

Map of part of Robert Shaw's Bushy Park Estate in Terenure.

© Dublin City Archives

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The estate deeds from the Shaw collection provide a useful insight into landlord and tenant life showing the extent of the Bushy Park estate and some of the families who resided there.

The deeds give details of lands to be leased and give context to their position by describing the boundary lands and occupants. Like most leases they specify the terms and conditions of the tenancy, which include some unusual requests such as in a lease between Robert Shaw and Michael Murphy where Robert Shaw reserved the right to hunt, hawk, fish, and fowl on said premises at fit and proper seasons of the year.
In addition many of the deeds contain maps drawn to scale showing the outline and size of the lands to be leased.

In addition to his role as landlord, Sir Robert Shaw also supported his extended family by acting as a trustee, an executor and overseer of legal transactions.

One deed in particular from this section stands out, a copy deed of release, where Sir Robert was released from
his duties as executor to the will of Lidia Wilkinson. In her will Lidia left legacies to Eliza Doolittle and Isabella Doolittle of Cork and Henry Doolittle of Dublin City.

The name Eliza Doolittle has subsequently been made famous as a flower girl in George Bernard Shaw's famous play Pygmalion. It is hard to surmise how G. B. Shaw was aware of the name Eliza Doolittle, her connection was obviously with the Wilkinson family who were related to Sir Robert by marriage. We can only suppose that G. B. Shaw came across her name in such deeds or family letters, drawing inspiration from his family papers to aid his literary creations.