William Chambers was born in Sweden in 1723 . His father was a very sucessful Scottish merchant who worked in Sweden. At the age of 16 he joined the Swedish East Indian Company but after 10 years of constant travelling he turned to architecture as a career. In 1749 he went to Paris to study and then continued his studies in Rome. It was while he was in Rome that he first met Charlemont (Charlemont was on his Grand Tour at the time). Chambers left Rome and returned to London in 1755 and set up practice as an architect . He got many offers to work - one job being to re-model Buckingham House (Now known as Buckingham Palace)
Chambers designed the Casino in 17-- . It was surprising that Chambers never visited Ireland which means that he never saw the Casino being built or even when it was finished in all its glory.
The work of supervising the building of the Casino was given to Simon Vierpyl (1725-1810) an English sculptor . Charlemont had first met Vierpyl when he was in Rome . Vierpyl's experience of Stonework and building techniques allowed him to pass on this knowledge to his Irish workers and to make an important contribution to the tradition of building in Ireland. Vierpyl was involved in some of the most important public and private buildings in Dublin . Both the Royal Exchange (1769) and the City Hall (where Dublin Corporation meet) and the Blue Coat School (1773) now the headquaters of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland were built with his participation .
The Casino Was designed by Chambers but some parts of it, particularly the detailed stone work were the work of Vierpyl. Chambers also designed Charlemont House in the centre of Dublin (the town house of Lord Charlemont). This building now houses the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art in Parnell Square. In 1775 Chambers got a very important job in England when he was asked to design Somerset House. This was a very important work and it gave him a great reputation among his fellow architects. However, everyone admits that his most important artistic work was the Casino at Marino. Charlemont must have given Chambers full authority to spare no expense in his effort to design the perfect building. He obviously had a great admiration for Chambers as an architect and as a friend because when Chambers dies in 1796 Charlemont even though he was himself quite old wrote of him:
To
Sir William Chambers Knight, Etc.,
Fellow of the Royal Academy,
And Profesor of Architecture,
The Best of Men and the First of English Architects
Whosw Buildings Modelled From His Own Mind,
Elegant Pure and Solid,
Will Long Remain the Lasting Monuments
Of That Taste,
Whose Chastity Could Only Be Equalled
By the Immaculate Purity of The Author's Heart,
James Earl of Charlemont, His Friend,
From Long Experience of His Worth and Talents,
Dedicates This Inscription
To Him And Friendship.