BEVERLY — Three steel bands were wrapped around the main turret of the castle Wednesday in Beverly — securing a building synonymous with the neighborhood.
The emergency fix came after Brian Otto, a member of the Beverly Unitarian Church, spotted two large cracks in the masonry of the southeast turret at 10244 S. Longwood Drive, said Pam Carlson, another member of the church that calls the building home.
Built in 1886 to resemble an Irish castle, the limestone structure also houses the Beverly Castle Academy of Early Education — a preschool that operates from an adjoining building.
Three steel bands were installed Wednesday around the main turret of the Givins Irish Castle in Beverly. A crew of window washers recently discovered the damage to the masonry. [DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig]
Carlson has been a member of the 70-member congregation for more than 50 years and was appointed last week to a committee to address the problem. She said the building is safe after the $7,000 repair.
But the fix is temporary. Crews estimate the bands will keep the turret secure for about two years, she said. At that point, Carlson hopes to have a plan for a more permanent solution, which will likely require some sort of community fundraiser.
Workers using a hydraulic lift said the tuckpointing on the building seemed sound, with the exception of the structures that stand above the roof line. The main turret was the most pressing issue, but the building has two other turrets as well as a chimney that could require a similar repairs in the future, a worker said.
He compared the fix to installing 2-inch wide hose clamps around the turret to keep it secure — a Band-Aid repair that is common among brick chimneys that require similar work.
Workers assemble steel bands that were wrapped around the main turret of the Givins Irish Castle in Beverly. The job was billed as a temporary fix, according to a long-time member of the Beverly Unitarian Church. [DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig]
It is widely believed that Robert C. Givins, a highly successful real estate developer, built the castle as a gift for his bride. According to legend, Givins sketched an ivy-covered, medieval castle situated on the River Dee, between Dublin and Belfast, in his ancestral Ireland.
From those sketches the three-story Romanesque revival structure was built on a perch above Longwood Drive. The lavish building once featured 15 beautifully furnished rooms with rich tapestries, elegant chandeliers and large copper gaslights
The rooms were warmed with tiled fireplaces and adorned with stained glass windows.
One particular window on the second floor bears the motto Dum Spiro Spero, or "While I Breathe, I Hope." This phrase was dedicated to the Rev. Saltern Givins, Robert C. Givins' father.
The Givins Irish Castle in Beverly is the home of the Beverly Unitarian Church and the Beverly Castle Academy of Early Education. It was built in 1886. [DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig]
