Knocklofty House, Clonmel, County 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. 179. “Hely-Hutchinson, Donoughmore, E/PB) A C18 house consisting of a three storey centre block with two storey gable ended wings projecting forward on the entrance front, the centre block is seven bays and the wings are of two bays in their gable-ends, which are treated as broken and baseless pediments and surmounted by busts and balls on pedestals. They also each have an extra bay in the ends of the two storey corridors which have been built along their inner face and which are surmounted by eagles. In early C19, a single storey corridor was built along the front of the centre block, joining the wings; it is adorned with Doric pilasters, wreathes and acroteria and has a three bay projection in the centre, roofed with a shallow dome. The ground floor windows of the wings are camber-headed. On the garden front, which faces across the River Suir, the centre block is of five bays and the front is extended at one side by a very long two storey service wing, which turns inwards at an obtuse angle. There is a small square entrance hall with a domed ceiling, opening with arches on either side into book-lined galleries. Beyond is a very large two storey library, surrounded on three sides by a wrought iron gallery; the bookcases rising as high as the ceiling, which has a surround of delicate early C19 plasterwork. The drawing room has similar decoration; the dining room is panelled. The demesne extends across the River Suir into Co Waterford, taking in the demesne of Kilmanahan Castle, which was formerly a separate property. There is an octagonal domed Gothic octagon in the park near the house and the original set of elaborate gate piers to the house are very fine. Sold 1985.”
Detached country house, comprising seven-bay three-storey central block, built c. 1790, having late eighteenth-century three-bay two-storey with attic wings projecting forwards to give U-plan house, wings having three-bay façades comprising two-bay gable-fronts with single-bay flat-roof further bay of c. 1800. Single-storey flat-roofed early nineteenth-century gallery along front of central block, linking wings and has central advanced three-bay porch with five flanking bays each side having alternate blind and windowed bays. South wing has multiple-bay two-storey block connecting to rear and single-storey blocks connecting to front at south-west. Rear elevation of central block is five-bay three-storey and flanked by advanced bays of wings, inner bays of c. 1910 curving to central block. Multiple-bay two-storey block to south end, south-most bay being pedimented. Further multiple-bay two-storey block runs at skew angle to this block, along top of River Suir escarpment. Two-storey canted-bay to north elevation of central block. Hipped slate roof to central block and to block to rear of south wing, slate dome to porch, and pitched slate roofs elsewhere, with lead flashing, rendered end chimneystacks with terracotta pots and cast-iron rainwater goods. Moulded sandstone copings to gable-fronts of wings with stepped ends having pedestals with ball finials and having open-topped pediments to apexes with carved busts of English monarchs. Front corners of flat-roofed bays to wings have eagles. Moulded sandstone cornices to central block, with cut sandstone parapets. Cut-stone copings to canted bay. Painted pebbledashed walls with smooth rendered plinth, moulded sandstone string course to front and re-entrant elevations of wings. Cut sandstone pilasters to first floor of façade of wings, overlying string course and having fluted consoles beneath. Ashlar sandstone walls to gallery, with carved sandstone cornice and cut sandstone parapet, blind bays having carved wreaths, end bays and porch bays being flanked by pilasters with capitals and having antefixae to parapet, porch having panel and flanking finials and central bays having outer band of ashlar limestone. Timber sliding sash windows throughout with sandstone sills, square-headed six-over-six pane, except for ground floor front and south elevations. Ground floor of front and re-entrant elevations of wings have segmental-headed nine-over-six pane windows, gallery has six-over-nine pane windows, those of porch having segmental upper panes, and south and west elevations of south wing have nine-over-nine pane windows. Nine-pane casement windows to attic level of wings. Some six-over-three pane and one-over-one pane windows elsewhere to west elevation. Square-headed door opening with carved sandstone surround and timber panelled door. Square-headed door openings to rear and south elevation with timber and glazed doors with paned overlight, that to rear of central block having flight of cut limestone steps. Curved north-west corner of south wing has entablature over colonnade of limestone Tuscan columns and pilasters flanking doorway approached by cut limestone steps, and six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows, door and windows having three-pane overlights. Forecourt to front of house, with small garden beyond. Garden terraces to rear falling to River Suir, accessed by flights of steps. Two-storey former servants quarters arranged around angled yard to south-west of house, accessed by gateway with dressed limestone piers with caps and plinths and having double-leaf wrought-iron gates. Pitched and hipped slate roofs with lead flashing and rendered chimneystacks. Painted smooth rendered walls. Square-headed window and door openings with replacement windows and doors. Segmental-arched openings to south-west range, now blocked with elliptical-arched cut limestone surrounds and imposts, now blocked. Carved limestone entrance gate to garden comprising round-headed gateway with pilasters and moulded archivolt and imposts and decorative wrought-iron gate, set into square-headed opening with entablature and cornice over engaged Ionic columns, gateway being set into rubble stone wall. Single-storey former workers’ houses to west, with pitched artificial slate roofs, brick bellcote having round-headed bell opening, rubble sandstone walls and red brick surrounds to square-headed windows and doors having replacement windows and timber panelled doors.
Appraisal
This former country house served as the seat of the Donoughmores until the mid-1980s. The architectural design draws on the influences of classical architecture in its detailing. This is exhibited in its ornate entrance front, which is adorned with features such as the broken pediments, Doric pilasters, wreathes and busts. The retention of features such as the timber sash windows enhance the buildings appearance, while the dome roof over the central doorcase is a striking feature which adds further to the architectural significance of the building. This former country house forms part of an interesting group of demesne related structures with the servants quarters, outbuildings, gate lodges, estate workers’ houses and bridge.
Entrance gates to Knocklofty House, erected c. 1780, and comprising vehicular entrance flanked by pedestrian gateways. Ashlar limestone gate piers with carved moulded caps and plinths, rebates with scroll details and having carved lions’ heads with crowns to frieze all faces of piers, and coats of arms in medallion below to front faces only. Decorative copper and glass lights to caps. Square-headed pedestrian entrances set into cut limestone walling having cut stone copings and moulded plinths to jambs. Cast-iron gates, double-leaf to vehicular gates. Gates flanked by convex random rubble walling.
Appraisal
The form and scale of these gates create a dramatic entrance to Knocklofy Demesne. The piers display fine carvings which exhibit the work of skilled craftsmen and which add considerable artistic quality to the appearance of the entrance. The random rubble flanking walls act as a foil to the decorative gateway proper.
Detached three-bay split level gate lodge, built c. 1820, having single-storey front elevation and two-storey rear, with recent two-storey extension to rear. Hipped slate roof with lead flashing, central red brick chimneystack and overhanging eaves. Exposed coursed rubble limestone walls with dressed quoins. Square-headed window openings with six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows with red brick surrounds and limestone sills, set in segmental-headed recesses to front elevation, with red brick surrounds. Square-headed timber battened door with red brick surround set in segmental-headed recess with red brick surround. Garden to front with cast-iron fence and having pointed arch opening in rubble limestone boundary wall to west having red brick surround. Limestone entrance gateway and cast-iron gates adjacent to gate lodge.
Appraisal
The split-level form of this gate lodge is unusual and is an interesting adaptation to its sloping site. The recesses into which the front door and windows are set make the building distinctive and the contrast between the limestone and brick give the building pleasant textural variation. The lodge is accompanied by fine entrance gates to the demesne and along with the country house and other features, forms a significant architectural ensemble of related structures.
Shallow quadrant entrance gateway to Knocklofty House, erected c.1880, comprising cast-iron railings on brick plinth wall with cut limestone copings and set to ashlar limestone piers with limestone wheel guards, plinths and having carved coping to western pier, both piers having decorative wrought-iron lamps. Centre of gateway now missing and possibly removed to form gateway on opposite, north, side of public road. Detached double-pile three-bay single-storey lodge to south side of gates, having hipped slate roof with lead flashing, red brick chimneystacks with decorative detailing and overhanging eaves. Painted pebbledashed walls with elliptical-headed window openings with timber double casement windows with raised red brick surrounds and painted limestone sills. Square-headed door opening with timber battened door with raised red brick surround. Shallow quadrant gateway on opposite side of road comprises piers, railings and plinth walls of similar detailing to southern gateway, but with cast-iron piers having cast-iron double-leaf vehicular gates flanked by pedestrian gates.
Appraisal
These gateways demonstrate interesting and intricate cast-iron techniques, which are clearly the work of skilled craftsmen. The metalwork of the gates and railings contrasts with the brick plinth wall and limestone piers to create textural variation. Together with the country house and other structures and features, the lodge and gateways form part of a significant architectural ensemble.
Three-arch humpback bridge over River Suir, built c. 1800, with higher segmental middle arch flanked by lower depressed arches. Roughly coursed rubble limestone walls with cut-stone voussoirs and cut stone V-shaped cut-waters to both elevations, having cut stone impost course. Soffits have been gunnited with cement. Concrete capping to parapets.
Appraisal
The rubble limestone construction of this road bridge, contrasted with the cut stone voussoirs, adds textural interest to this site. The extra height of the middle arch gives the bridge a humpback. Located adjacent to Knocklofty Demesne this bridge is a significant part of the architectural heritage associated with Knocklofty House.
Freestanding single-bay single-stage folly or turret, extant 1832, on an octagonal plan. Creeper- or ivy-covered red brick Flemish bond octagonal dome. Lime rendered or roughcast rubble stone walls with red brick header bond stepped stringcourse supporting red brick chamfered battlements. Pointed-arch door opening below blind oculus with overgrown threshold, and concealed red brick block-and-start surround with no fittings surviving. Pointed-arch blind window openings below blind oculi with cut-granite sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds framing lime rendered or roughcast infill. Set on an elevated site.
Appraisal
A folly or turret erected by John Hely Hutchinson (1757-1832), second Earl of Donoughmore, illustrating the development or “improvement” of the pleasure grounds of the Knocklofty House estate with the architectural value of the composition, one colloquially styled “The Guggy” owing to its resemblance to a boiled egg in an egg cup, confirmed by such attributes as the polygonal plan form; the “pointed” profile of the openings underpinning a “medieval” Georgian Gothic theme; and the polygonal dome.
entry in MacDonnell, Randal. The Lost Houses of Ireland. A chronicle of great houses and the families who lived in them. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London, 2002
p. 149. “This is a mid 18th century house (built around the core of a much smaller 17C building) with later additions. Formerly the home of the Earls of Donoughmore, Knocklofty is presently a hotel.”
p. 150. “The name Knocklofty derives from the Irish ‘Cnoc Lochta’ which means ‘the lofted or shelving hill.’ The original house dates from the late 17C and has later additions. In the 18th C, the Clonmel architect William Tinsley added a single-storey corridor with a domed porch to the entrance front. A pair of stone eagles surmounts the gable ends of the wings. Doric pilasters compete with wreaths are outside the ground floor corridor. Inside, there are a two-storey library (whose contents were sold in 1982 for £193,000), a drawing room, dining room, music room and study.”
“Knocklofty was the seat of the Hutchinson family who came from Alford in Lincolnshire to participate in the great government theft of Irish land that occurred in the first half of the seventeenth century. They received a grant of land in County Tipperary, and in 1751 their heiress, Catherine Nickson, married an up-and-coming barrister named John Hely, the son of Francis Hely of Gortroe, Co Cork….Eight years later and with the brand new surname of Hely-Hutchinson, John Hely was elected Member of Parliament for Lanesborough. He later represented Cork and Taghmon until his death…. By 1774 he was not only Provost of Trinity College Dublin, but also Principal Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of the Privy Seal, positions which he held until his death in 1794. His wife was raised to the peerage as Baroness Donoughmore of Knocklofty in 1783, together with a new coat of arms and a brave motto: Fortiter Gerit Crucem (“He bravely bears the Cross”). With his wife now a peeress and his own position secure John should have been satisfied, but his greed and unscrupulousness were infamous…. The Prime Minister Lord North commented, “If you were to give him the whole of Great Britain and Ireland for an estate, he would ask for the Isle of Man for a potato garden.”
“John Hely’s eldest son Richard, the 2nd Baron, was created a Viscount in 1797 and in 1800 he was raised to the Earldom of Donoughmore of Knocklofty (with remainder to the heirs male of his mother), which was one of the large numbers of titles that a grateful government doled out on the day before the Act of Union came into force. The future Earl commanded the militia that was routed by General Humbert at the engagement known as the “races of Castlebar” because the government forces took to their heels and fled, pursued by the rebels and their French allies. Nonetheless, despite this fiasco, Richard was chosen by his Order as one of the 28 original Representative Peers of Ireland on the abolition of the Irish House of Lords, and, as if this were not enough, in 1822 George IV created him a peer of the UK as Viscount Hutchinson of Knocklofty.”
“His brother, John, who had followed a career in [p. 152] the army (becoming a general in the process) succeeded him. He had been commander in chief during the Egyptian campaign in 1801 and was raised to the peerage as Baron Hutchinson of Alexandria. Described as having “harsh features, jaundiced by ill-health, extreme short-sightedness, a stooping body and slouching gait, and an utter neglect of dress”, he decided, in 1809, to throw in his lot with the Carlton House Party and became their chief military adviser. His attacks on the government’s handling of the Peninsular War earned him this damning epitaph: ‘He did not hesitate to sink his patriotism in the spirit of faction.’ When he became the 2nd Earl of Donoughmore, he made some little effort to assist liberal policies by supporting a very limited amount of toleration and emancipation for Catholics.”
p. 152. “The third Earl was a finer sort of individual altogether. He lost his commission and spent three months in gaol in April 1816 for his part in arranging – at the request of the Princess de Vaudemont – the escape of General Count Lavalette in December 1815. Lavalette was Napoleon’s Postmaster-General and one of those officers who had supported the Emperor during the Hundred Days. Marshal Ney and General de Labedoyere had already been executed – Marshal Ney’s sword was eventually to find its way into the Hutchinson family’s possession, as a gift from his widow. General Lavalette escaped from prison disguised as a woman, and made his way to England in the uniform of a captain of the English Guards.
“The 4th Earl was the first member of the family who thought it would be nice to call himself Viscount Suirdale – thereby completely overlooking the fact that no sovereign had thought fit to bestow such a title upon either him or his ancestors. Presumably it was some sort of romantic foolishness connected with the fact that the River Suir flows through the Knocklofty demesne; whatever the reason, it is an error the family still persists in today.
In 1883 the Earls of Donoughmore owned 11,950 acres in the counties of Tipperary, Waterford, Cork, Wexford, Kilkenny, Monaghan, Louth and Dublin. Despite this, John, the 5th Earl, managed to run into considerable financial difficulties, which did not stop him becoming for one year the Assistant Commissioner in the European Commission for the organization of Eastern Rumelia in the Balkan peninsula between 1878 and 1879.”
[rest of the pages of the entry are missing]
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=K
A mainly 18th century house, cited by Wilson as the seat of John Hely Hutchinson in 1786. In 1840 the Ordnance Survey Name Books describe it as “spacious and handsome, having a fine plain front”. It was valued at £70 in the mid 19th century, the seat of the Earls of Donoughmore until 1983, though Walford mentions Samuel H. Goold-Adams of Knocklofty in 1885. The Irish Tourist Association surveyor writes that Knocklofty was De Valera’s headquarters for a time during the Civil War. Until recently it served as a hotel but in 2013 it was offered for sale.
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2018/01/1st-earl-of-donoughmore.html
THE EARLS OF DONOUGHMORE OWNED 4,711 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TIPPERARY
AND 2,878 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY WATERFORD
THE RT HON JOHN HELY-HUTCHINSON (1724-94), an eminent lawyer and statesman of Ireland (son of Francis Hely, of Gortroe, County Cork, by a daughter of Christopher Earbury or Earberry), married, in 1751, CHRISTIANA, daughter of Abraham Nickson, of Munny, County Wicklow, and niece and heir of Richard Hutchinson, of Knocklofty, County Tipperary (in consequence of which marriage he assumed the additional surname of HUTCHINSON), and had issue,
RICHARD, his heir;
JOHN, 2nd Earl;
Francis, of Lissen Hall; father of the 3rd Earl;
Augustus Abraham;
Christopher;
Lorenzo;
Christiana; Mary; Prudence; Margaret.
Mr Hely-Hutchinson obtained a peerage for his wife, CHRISTIANA, in 1783, in the dignity of Baroness Donoughmore, of Knocklofty, County Tipperary.
Her ladyship died in 1788, and was succeeded in the barony by her eldest son,
RICHARD HELY, 2nd Baron (1756-1825); who was advanced to a viscountcy, as Viscount Donoughmore; and further advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1800, as EARL OF DONOUGHMORE.
His lordship died unmarried, when the family honours devolved upon his brother,
JOHN HELY, 2nd Earl (1757-1832), GCB, a general in the army, Governor of Stirling Castle, Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, who died unmarried, when the honours he had inherited passed to his nephew,
JOHN, 3rd Earl (1787-1851), KP, who wedded firstly, in 1822, Margaret, daughter of Luke, 1st Viscount Mountjoy, and had issue,
RICHARD JOHN, his successor;
Margaret.
He espoused secondly, in 1827, Barbara, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel William Reynell, and had further issue,
John William, b 1829;
Kathleen Alicia; Frances Margaret; Jane Louisa.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
RICHARD JOHN, 4th Earl (1823-66), who married, in 1847, Thomasina Jocelyn, daughter of Walter Steele, and had issue,
JOHN LUKE GEORGE, his successor;
Walter Francis (Sir);
Patrick Maurice;
Granville William;
Margaret Frances; Mary Sophia.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
JOHN LUKE GEORGE, 5th Earl (1848-1900), KCMG JP DL, who wedded, in 1874, Frances Isabella, daughter of General William Frazer Stephens, and had issue,
RICHARD WALTER JOHN, his successor;
Nina Blanche; Evelyn; Norah; Margarita Oonagh Isabella.
His lordship was succeeded by his only son,
RICHARD WALTER JOHN, 6th Earl (1875-1948), KP JP DL, who espoused, in 1901, Elena Maria, daughter of Michael Paul Grace, and had issue,
JOHN MICHAEL HENRY, his successor;
David Edward;
Doreen Clare.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
JOHN MICHAEL HENRY, 7th Earl (1902-81), Colonel, Royal Armoured Corps (TA), MP for Peterborough, 1943-5, who married, in 1925, Dorothy Jean, daughter of John Beaumont Hotham, and had issue,
RICHARD MICHAEL JOHN, his successor;
Mark;
Sara Elena.
His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,
RICHARD MICHAEL JOHN, 8th Earl (1927-), who sold Knocklofty Estate in 1985.
KNOCKLOFTY HOUSE, near Clonmel, County Tipperary, was the mansion of the Earls of Donoughmore.
The estate is almost four miles west-south-west of Clonmel.
The mansion stands on an extensive natural terrace on the left bank of the River Suir.
It commands a delightful prospect of the richly wooded slopes and highly adorned rising grounds of the Waterford side of the valley.
The demesne is – or was – extensive, containing some of the finest old elms and limes in the counties of Tipperary and Waterford.
The 18th century mansion comprises a three-storey central block, with two-storey, gable-ended wings projecting forward on the entrance front to form a three-sided court.
The centre block consists of seven bays, and the wings comprise two bays in their gable ends.
In the early 1800s a single-storey corridor was built along the front of the centre block, joining the wings, embellished with wreathes and Doric pilasters.
The central garden front, overlooking the River Suir, comprises five bays with an exceptionally long, two-storey service wing.
The demesne spreads across the River Suir into County Waterford, including Kilmanahan Castle, formerly a separate property.
The original, intricate gate piers are notable.
The 7th Earl and Countess were kidnapped from Knocklofty House in 1974 by an IRA gang and held captive for four days before being released in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
The family left several years later.
The estate was recently for sale.
Other residence ~ Palmerstown House, near Dublin.
The Tipperary Gentry. Volume 1. By William Hayes and Art Kavanagh. Published by Irish Family Names, c/o Eneclann, Unit 1, The Trinity Enterprise Centre, Pearse St, Dublin 2, 11 Emerald Cottages, Grand Canal St, Dublin 4 and Market Square, Bunclody, Co Wexford, Ireland. 2003.
Hely-Hutchinson
https://theirishaesthete.com/2020/10/12/knocklofty/
Knocked from a Lofty Place
Around 11pm on June 4th 1974, John Hely-Hutchinson, 7th Earl of Donoughmore and his wife Dorothy returned to their home, Knocklofty, County Tipperary having been out to dinner. As the couple got out of the car, a number of men ran towards them waving guns. They seized the elderly pair and when Lord Donoughmore, then aged 71, resisted, he was struck on the head a number of times. He and his wife were then forced into a car and driven away their eyes covered so that they could not see where they were being taken. The kidnap made international headlines, not least because there appeared to be no motive for the crime. In fact, the Donoughmores had been picked almost at random, their captors being members of a maverick IRA unit who sought to influence official policy on an on-going hunger strike in British jails by five IRA prisoners, including the Price sisters. But at the time this was unknown and the family thought that perhaps ransom money was sought. Later the couple explained that once they reached their place of captivity, they had been well treated and well fed. Senior Stewart of the Irish Turf Club, Lord Donoughmore was always keen to hear the racing results, and was provided with newspaper sports pages, the details of which he was evidently happy to share with his captors. ‘We did not talk about politics with them,’ he said, ‘but they know a lot more about racing now.’ Meanwhile, nationwide efforts were underway to find the couple and protests held in the local town of Clonmel against the kidnapping. Those responsible now found themselves in bad odour with senior IRA figures because a ntionwide police and army search had caused considerable problems for the organisation. Then, happily ongoing mediation led to the hunger-strike being called off and after four days, the Donoughmores were driven to Dublin and in the early hours of the morning released in the middle of Phoenix Park.
The Hely-Hutchinsons can be traced back to the Ó hÉalaighthe or O’Healy clan in County Cork, based around Donoughmore which lies some 12 miles south-west of Mallow. Like so many other families, they lost much of their territory and power during the 17th century, However, by the early 18th century one Francis Hely, described in contemporary reports as a gentleman, was living in Gortroe, to the west of Mallow. In 1724 he and his wife Prudence had a son, John Hely, who after studying at Trinity College Dublin was called to the Bar and rose to become one of the most notable lawyers and politicians of the period, also serving as Provost of his Alma Mater for many years. In 1751 John Hely married Christiana Nickson of Wicklow, great-niece and heiress of one Richard Hutchinson whose own forebear had been granted by the English crown some 1,200 acres of land around Knocklofty in County Tipperary: the married couple duly changed their name to Hely-Hutchinson. Despite his brilliant career, John Hely-Hutchinson declined a peerage but instead his wife was created Baroness Donoughmore, a recollection of her husband’s family background. Their eldest son Richard duly inherited the title on his mother’s death, before in turn being created Viscount Donoughmore and then in 1800 Earl of Donoughmore. He commissioned the construction of the present house at Knocklofty, the entrance front of which had a central block of seven bays and three storeys flanked by gable-ended two-storey wings that come forward to create a forecourt. At some point, a third inner bay was added to these wings while in the early 19th century along the front of the house a single storey corridor was added, with a three-bay domed projection at its centre. Other extensions were made to the building later in the same century, resulting in a very substantial house, along with several adjacent service wings. Inside, curiously, the largest reception space is not the drawing room but, at the centre of the house overlooking the gardens, a double-height library, a wrought-iron gallery running around three sides. Some of this work was presumably undertaken by the second Earl who inherited title and estate from his unmarried elder brother; rising to the rank of General the former had enjoyed a distinguished military career, not least in Egypt during the French Wars, and as a result had been granted his own title as Baron Hutchinson of Alexandria and Knocklofty. But he too died unmarried and so title and estate passed to a nephew John Hely-Hutchinson, from whom subsequent generations were descended.
Seven years after being kidnapped, the seventh Lord Donoughmore died in 1981 and soon afterwards Knocklofty was placed on the market. In 1984 the house and 105 acres were bought by a couple for £750,000 and sections of it developed as apartments in a time-share scheme, then a new concept in Ireland, while the rest was turned into an hotel. A nine-hole golf course was installed in the grounds, a swimming pool in the building and other facilities like tennis and squash courts created. Initially the business seemed to go well but within a decade it had failed badly. Protracted court proceedings with creditors ensued and in October 1991 the property was placed on the market with an asking price of £1.5 million. Failing to secure a buyer, Knocklofty went into receivership and in 1993 was again advertised for sale, this time with an expected price of £500-600,000. The complexity of dealing with the established timeshare commitments made by the previous owners seems to have deterred many potential purchasers. In any case, again there were no takers, so at the end of the year the place was once more offered on the market, this time with a disclosed reserve of £360,000, less than half of what had been paid for it a decade earlier, and less than a quarter of the asking price in 1991. Finally it sold to a local businessman, Denis English, who had previously bought another historic house in the same area, Marlfield (currently on the market) which he divided into self-contained apartments.
After buying the place, Denis English announced his intentions to convert Knocklofty into a series of apartments, as he had already done at Marlfield. However, the place continued to operate as before as an hotel until the advent of an economic recession at the end of the last decade. In 2013 the house was once more offered for sale, this time on 80 acres and for a price of €3 million. Two years later, that figure appears to have dropped to €1.9 million. Matters then grew more complicated when court proceedings were taken by US private equity group Cerberus Capital Management for possession of the property; it transpired that in 2014 the company had acquired a loan portfolio from Ulster Bank, which included a number of loans made to Knocklofty’s owner. He in turn disputed the matter and further legal arguments ensued until, in May 2017, it was announced that the High Court had granted Cerberus the right to take control of the property. All should have been resolved then but, alas, that does not look to have been the end of the matter. Although there has been no further reports on the matter, it looks as though dispute between relevant parties continues. Meantime, the looser in this, Knocklofty, has stood empty and falling into ever-greater disrepair. As these photographs demonstrate, unless circumstances are resolved soon, this has all the makings of a Jarndyce v Jarndyce scenario, with an equally unsatisfactory outcome.
https://www.abandonedni.com/single-post/a-return-for-knocklofty
A return for Knocklofty..
I first visited this glorious country mansion back in 2021. A lot has changed from then. The house was taken over by a certain group of people and it’s condition has declined rapidly due to lead and copper theft. I posted last week regarding the dome ceiling that has collapsed in one of the rooms due to the lead being removed. Here are some shots of the ceiling 👇
Here it is in 2021 ☝️
The ceiling now ☝️
From above ☝️
How did it come about? I got a call a few months back from the gentleman who has recently bought Knocklofty. I was delighted to hear that he’s taken on this huge project and that the building will be sympathetically restored and brought back to life! This angel of a man was gifted my book for Christmas and has bought another mansion that has a chapter my book. He has started renovation work on it already and I am due a revisit there in the next few weeks. I can’t wait to see it and post up the progress for you all 👏
Knocklofty is a sprawling 40,000 sq ft country mansion that was built in 1790 and is one of Irelands largest homes. The mansion – Georgian with Victorian extensions has some jaw dropping features, a drawing room with parquet flooring, gold and white plasterwork ceilings, carved wood fireplaces and not to mention a two storey library 👇 The grounds also come with 80 acres of parklands. This really is the Irish Downton Abbey!
Through the grandeur there is also a colourful history. In the 1970s the house was owned by Lord and Lady Donoughmore. They came home from the house one evening to be greeted by masked men, Lord Donoughmore who was 71 at the time resisted however the masked men hit him over the head and bundled the couple into the back of a van.
They had just been kidnapped by the IRA, but it wasn’t for ransom money, it was to influence policy on an on-going hunger strike that was taking part in Northern Ireland. Over the course of four days, they became friendly with the captors, they said they were fed well, and they did not speak about politics with them. After some mediation in the early hours of the morning the Donaghmores were driven to Dublin and released in the middle of Phoenix Park. Seven years later Lord Donoughmore died, and the mansion was placed on the market.
In 1984 it was bought with 105 acres and sections of the property were developed as apartments in a time share scheme, which was the first in Ireland. The remaining sections were turned into a hotel.
Facilities were also added, squash courts, swimming pool and a leisure centre. All went well initially but within a decade it had failed. The estate went into receivership and back onto the market.
Finally in 1991 it was purchased by a local businessman, and it continued to run as a hotel until renovations would begin to renovating sections into apartments. Unfortunately, this also failed, and the banks took possession of the house in 2017.
Visible reminders of the hotel still remain. This looks to have been the check in desk.
Each of the doorways have detailed archways, with gold leaf impressions.
Not to mention the wood panelling, some with secret doorways!
Work has begun and there is a full team of men on site working to get the roof repaired and water tight.
Plans for Knocklofty are not set in stone yet, the immediate goal is to stop the water getting in and to start repairs. This will be no mean feat but so worthwhile.
Irish Historic Houses 
