Ballingarrane (formerly known as Summerville), Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
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. 18. “Watson/IFR) A house of ca. 1797, possibly an early work of Richard Morrison, who was living in Clonmel at the time; of two storeys over basement in front and three storeys behind. Front of five bays, doorcase with baseless pediment and Doric columns; steps with elegant wrought-iron railings; good quoins. Small two storey one bay wings set back; gateway with tall piers and pineapple finials at side, leading to yard. Slightly curving stairs with slender wooden balusters at back of hall; drawing room with Adamesque frieze; dining room with black marble chimneypiece which probably came out of an earlier C18 huse, as did another black marble chimneypiece in a bedroom. Very attractive gardens laid out by present owners, Col Sidney Watson, the historical biographer, and his wife, with vistas of lawns, flowers and shrubs extending in several directions; garden gate made from the doorcase of a demolished house in Clonmel.”
Detached five-bay two-storey over half-basement country house, built c. 1795, having three-storey elevation to rear with slightly lower three-storey central return. Lower single-bay two-storey wings to north and south ends, set back from front elevation. Two-bay single-storey lean-to extension to north elevation of north wing and recent flat-roofed single-storey extension to return of main house. Hipped slate roof to main block, with rendered chimneystacks, limestone eaves course, moulded to front and side elevations and cut stone to rear elevation, with cast-iron rainwater goods. Pitched slate roof to return and hipped artificial slate roofs to wings, with gablets to front elevations. Smooth rendered walls with raised cut limestone quoins and plinth course. Square-headed window openings, segmental-headed to basement and round-headed to gablets of wings, with limestone sills. Replacement uPVC windows to ground and first floor of front, to gable elevations and to first floor of wings. Timber sliding sash windows elsewhere, barred three-over-three pane to basement, three-over-six pane to top floor rear, six-over-six pane to middle floor rear, and two-over-two pane to ground floor of wings. Timber casement windows to ground floor rear. Round-headed six-over-six pane window to return with traceried fanlight. Carved limestone doorcase to main entrance, having engaged Doric columns and open-bed pediment with ornate petal fanlight and flanked by square-headed paned timber sidelights with cut limestone surrounds and sills. Square-headed door opening with timber panelled door, with moulded lintel. Flight of splayed cut limestone steps to entrance, with wrought-iron railings. Range of single-storey outbuildings to rear of house has pitched slate roof, rendered walls, square-headed openings with timber sliding sash three-over-three pane windows with limestone sills, timber battened doors, and round-headed carriage archway. Yard to north side of house entered through gateway having square-profile cut limestone piers with moulded copings and carved limestone pineapples, flanked to south by segmental-arched pedestrian entrance set into cut stone wall. Yard has three ranges of outbuildings. Three-bay single-storey outbuilding to south has lean-to slate roof, rendered rubble stone and concrete block walls, and square-headed door openings with timber battened half-doors with strap hinges. Six-bay single-storey with loft outbuilding to south with pitched slate roof, dormer loft window, rendered walls, and square-headed openings with timber sliding sash eight-over-eight pane windows with stone sills, timber battened doors. Four-bay single-storey outbuilding to west has pitched slate roof, rubble stone walls, elliptical-arched carriage entrance with sandstone voussoirs and timber battened double-leaf doors, and square-headed openings with timber sliding sash and casement windows. Five-bay two-storey outbuilding to north has hipped slate roof, rendered rubble stone walls, external staircase, and square-headed openings, with timber louvres to first floor. Walled garden to west has rubble stone walls, and carved limestone doorcase to east elevation of east wall with fluted archivolt and frieze, with paterae and engaged columns with moulded capitals, and square-headed entrance with ornate cast-iron pedestrian gate.
This house shows the conceit common in Ireland of having the lowest level appearing as a half-basement to the front elevation, and appearing as the ground floor of three floors to the rear. The quoins, doorcase, eaves course and plinth course, as well as being finely crafted in their own right, serve to emphasise and enhance the form and structure of the building. The reuse of a carved limestone doorcase as the frame for a gate into the walled garden provides an interesting contrast to the utilitarian rubble stone walls. The house is set in context, with mature grounds and retaining its outbuildings and walled garden.
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Ballingarrane was originally leased and then purchased in the late 18th century by Solomon Watson, banker of Clonmel. He built Summerville House which later became known as Ballingarrane. W. H. Bradshaw occupied the house in 1837 and John Mulcahy in the mid 19th century when the buildings were valued at £25+ and held from Solomon Watson. The Watsons occupied the house again in the second half of the 19th century and family members were still resident in the late 20th century.
Irish Historic Houses 