I love Heritage Week, people are so generous with their time. I will be writing about it in the next couple of weeks but here is a quick preview of our week.

We visited Counties Roscommon and Sligo and stayed in the beautiful Andresna House B&B on the shore of Lake Arrow. https://www.andresnahouse.com

Andresna House was probably built as a fishing or hunting lodge, and I will be adding it to my “Places to visit and stay in County Sligo.” Owners Andy and Myriam were unable to determine its precise age, but a nearby house with the same design was built in 1795. I like that the owners run the B&B with an emphasis on organic produce and bed linen – it is a haven of beauty, fine taste and tranquility.

Unfortunately we were only able to stay for one night as we had to get back to Dublin, but while in the area we visited Castlecoote in County Roscommon, Temple House in County Sligo and a property that is not on the Revenue Section 482 list but has been recently renovated and opened for B&B accommodation, Frybrook House in Boyle, County Roscommon https://frybrook.ie.

I was disappointed to learn that Temple House is no longer taking bookings for separate bedrooms for overnight guests, and is only available for group rental. I understand that it’s difficult to run a B&B (and they also served dinner) and I think Roderick and his family feel the need to step back from that end of hospitality. What a splendid house it is! The tour confirmed the Perceval links with Burton Park in County Cork, another Section 482 property https://irishhistorichouses.com/2024/02/08/burton-park-churchtown-mallow-county-cork-p51-vn8h/

At Temple House I met a historian who had worked in the Jacobean Kiplin Hall in Yorkshire, built in the 1620s for George Calvert, founder of Maryland in the United States. I was thrilled when she told me she is familiar with my website. It was great to receive a vote of confidence. She shared with me photographs of a visit she had made earlier in the week to the beautiful Raford House in Galway, a member of Historic Houses of Ireland which is not normally open to the public. This year the Historic Houses of Ireland participated in the Open Doors initiative, giving visitors an opportunity to explore homes that are not normally open to the public. https://www.ihh.ie I learned of the initiative too late to make plans, unfortunately – I do hope they do it again next year! I would have loved to avail of the opportunity to visit Ballydarton in County Carlow, Lohort Castle and Laurentinum House in Cork, Richmond House in Fermoy, Roundwood and Ballykilcalvan in Laois, Castlegarde in Limerick and Castlecor in Longford.

On Tuesday Stephen and I returned to Birr Castle for another tour – it’s so rich with living history, antiques, portraits, Gothic vaulting, brocades, enormous pelmets, crests and tapestries, I would need hours to take in its splendour and stories.

We had a little wander on the grounds to the formal gardens but didn’t have long until our tour at Bellefield House and Gardens nearby. Architect and landscape architect Angela Jupe left her beloved house, renovated outbuildings and nearly two acre walled gardens to the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland, and the head gardener led tours during Heritage Week. The gardens are often open to the public during the year – check their website for details https://rhsi.ie/rhsi-bellefield/. I was excited that we were allowed to see inside the house as well as the garden on this Heritage Week tour. I love Angela Jupe’s taste in decor and furnishing, and her fondness for architectural salvage. Note that the coach house, renovated by Angela, can be rented as accommodation too. The website tells us that it has an accessible downstairs double bedroom and shower room and an upstairs mezzanine room with a double bed. There’s a fully equipped kitchen and an open plan living room and stove with access directly out onto the lower walled garden. For enquiries for both events in the large open space or accommodation, check the website.

Angela previously owned Fancroft Mill in County Tipperary, another Section 482 property which I look forward to visiting.

We enjoyed the tour of the garden and learned that good garden hygeine should help to cure our apple trees of their black spot infection. For the third time that week we sampled apples – or in the case of Castlecoote, delicious sweet apple juice.

Due to the heatwave we had to take a break from house visits in order to drive down to Wexford to water my vegetable garden. I was disappointed to realise that Ballyhack Castle, a tower house owned by the Office of Public Works but closed most of the time, was open for most of Heritage Week this year but closed on the days we were in Wexford!

However, we returned to Dublin to visit Howth Castle on Friday. Historian Daniel Eglington-Carey, who currently lives in the castle and gives tours, explained how the forecourt displays the different dates when parts of the castle were built. The St. Lawrence family settled in the location nearly 800 years ago and only moved out recently. None of the original structure remains, but the gate tower dates from 1450. My friend Gary and I really enjoyed the tour, and look forward to returning as a longer tour brings visitors to the Lutyens garden behind the castle. https://howthcastle.ie I’ll be updating my page soon with more about our visit.