Curraghmore, Ballinrobe, Co Mayo 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 97. “From its appearance, a two storey three bay ashlar-faced house of ca. 1830, of which the centre bay has been altered an embellished in the High Victorian period; framed by buttresses, with two small round-headed windows inserted into the space of what was formerly a central Wyatt window, and a tripartite doorway of no easily definable style in which the door and sidelights are separated by polygonal piers. At one side of the house is a narrow, tower-like projection topped by a little pediment-gable. The seat of the Martyn family.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31311703/curraghmore-originally-curramore-house-curramore-co-mayo

Detached three-bay two-storey double-pile over basement country house, extant 1858, on a square plan centred on single-bay full-height “bas-relief” breakfront; six-bay full-height rear (north-west) elevation. Occupied, 1911. Sold, 1927. For sale, 1947. Undergoing “restoration”, 1974. Disused, 1990. Hipped slate roof on a U-shaped plan with pressed or rolled lead ridges, rendered chimney stacks on axis with ridge having cut-limestone corbelled stepped capping supporting terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on slightly overhanging cut-limestone monolithic cornice retaining cast-iron downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered tuck pointed coursed tooled hammered limestone walls to front (south-east) elevation on drag edged rock faced limestone ashlar base centred on drag edged tooled limestone ashlar stepped buttresses (breakfront) supporting copper-covered cut-limestone monolithic cornice; fine roughcast surface finish (remainder) over snecked limestone construction with concealed tooled cut-limestone flush quoins to corners. Square-headed central door opening in tripartite arrangement with cut-limestone threshold, drag edged tooled cut-limestone surround having chamfered reveals centred on drag edged tooled cut-limestone octagonal pillars supporting monolithic cornice on shield-detailed frieze framing timber panelled door having overlight with sidelights on panelled risers. Paired segmental-headed window openings (first floor) in square-headed recess with cut-limestone sill, and concealed dressings framing one-over-one timber sash windows having overlights. Square-headed flanking window openings with cut-limestone sill courses, and drag edged tooled cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing six-over-six timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings to rear (north-west) elevation with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-six timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central entrance hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Set in unkempt landscaped grounds. 

Appraisal 

A country house erected for Geoffrey Martyn (d. 1868; Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1868, 314) representing an important component of the mid nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the rural environs of Ballinrobe with the architectural value of the composition, one succeeding a house annotated as “Curramore [of] Martin Esquire” by Taylor and Skinner (1778 pl. 217), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking gently rolling grounds and Lough Mask; the compact near-square plan form centred on a buttressed breakfront; the construction in a “sparrow pecked” limestone offset by sheer dressings demonstrating good quality workmanship; and the slight diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where contemporary joinery; chimneypieces; and decorative plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, a nearby farm steward’s house (see 31311704); and a distant gate lodge (see 31311705), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a diminished estate having historic connections with the Martyn family including Geoffrey Theodore Martyn MD (d. 1875), ‘late of Curraghmore County Mayo’ (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1904, 292); and Alexander Michael Augustus Martyn JP (d. 1917), ‘Landlord [and] Farmer late of Ballinrobe County Mayo’ (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1917, 456). 

http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=C 

Bence Jones dates this house as circa 1830. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation it was occupied by Geoffrey Martyn and valued at £20. It was still in the possession of the Martyn family in the mid 1920s. Curramore is still extant and occupied.