Clonmannon, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow
– plans for retirement home
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. 87. “(Truell/LGI1912) A late C19 house with a frontispiece rather similar to that of Mount Kennedy. Among its outbuildings is a remarkable little building of brick, with a pedimented and pilasters on a rusticated lower storey; it is rather in the manner of Inigo Jones and would appear to date from late C17 or early C18 and to have been part of an earlier house.”
Clonmannon House (Old), CLONMANNAN, County Wicklow
Detached six-bay two and a half-storey over basement country house, built c.1700. The house is constructed in brick with rubble stone to the basement. The house was originally symmetrical with a three bay wing either side of the three-bay breakfront. The wing to the south side was demolished in the early part of the 20th century and was replaced with a crude single-storey addition. The breakfront front has a rusticated base; to the first floor there are pilasters which support a pediment with an elliptical window opening to the tympanum. The panelled door is set within a flat-headed opening. Window openings are generally flat-headed with six over six timber sash frames. The pitched roof is finished in natural slate with cast-iron rainwater goods. The chimneystack has a slightly corbelled cap with clay pots. The building is set within a well wooded demesne.
Appraisal
This late 17th century or early 18th century Classical style brick house is reminiscent of the work of Inigo Jones. It is important both for its great age and the quality of the original design. It is marred by the loss of the southern wing but remains a valuable heritage asset.
Feb 25, 2016
By Barbara McCarthy
Irish-born princess has reigned for 40 years over her 17th century house which was once part of the Chester Beatty estate
Princess Frances Colonna di Stigliano has reigned over Clonmannon for more than 40 years. She and her first husband purchased it from the Chester Beatty estate in 1968.
At her 17th century sprawling home close to Ashford, Co Wicklow, the first striking impression is her glorious garden, containing tropical plants, lakes, bridges and wonderfully carved wooden furniture, shining brightly despite the wintry bleakness. A winding avenue eventually leads to the Palladian mansion on a small hilltop, to be met by the princess and her one-year- old much-loved Dalmatian, Kabul Two.
“Its lovely isn’t it,” she says as we stand outside her 300-year-old redbrick house. “I used to work as an auctioneer on Merrion Row, just off Baggot Street: that’s how I came across the place. When we bought it, it came with 600 acres and the big house over there,” she said, pointing towards a large Georgian mansion, which was built by the Tuelle family in the 18th century.
According to the original sales catalogue from James Adam & Sons from May 14th, 1968, oil paintings, a library of books and “curious objects of art & vertu” were also sold with the estate, though clearly the lady of the manor has injected much of her own style into both the home and the gardens.
Ms Colonna, who was born Frances Loftus in Connemara, lived in the bigger Georgian mansion with her first husband Kenneth Wilby and their three children for her first years on the estate. Later her eldest daughter Jayne was married briefly to the Carnarvon heir. His family seat is the Jacobethan style Highclere Castle, Berkshire, UK, better known to TV viewers as Downton Abbey.
Recording studio
After Ms Colonna and her husband separated, she sold off parts of the land, including the Georgian house, which had been built in 1780 by the wealthy landowning Truell family. After the Colonna’s sold it in the 1980s, it became the focal point of a retirement village that never quite got off the ground.
The village comprised the main mansion, 46 retirement bungalows and 24 acres of land. People who purchased leaseholds were offered packages including a nursing home and dining and social facilities in Clonmannon House.
Here they could avail of a grand communal drawing room, dining room, library and billiards room. It was planned to deliver a comprehensive scheme of care, but it failed to live up to expectations and ran into financial difficulties in the early 1990s By the turn of the century, it had gone into liquidation three times. In 2001, it was turned into an unauthorised recording studio, and at one point the retirement village was owned by a consortium. But little is known of the main house now. “Its very elusive,” a local business owner said. “As far as we know the nursing home is gone, there are only a handful of people left in the cottages.”
Ms Colonna shakes her head when asked about the house, just a few hundred metres from her own.
“I know the previous owners built it because this house became too small for them, but I’m not quite sure what happened to it after we sold it. I know there was quite a lot of controversy,” she adds. “But it was a great party house. We had lots of parties up there, it was a great spot for entertaining in those big old rooms.”
Set in a wooded demesne, it is a little more modest than the latter, especially after the south wing was demolished in the early part of the 20th century and replaced with a single-storey annex.
“When we moved down here in 1984, the house was in ruins. We did it up using salvage materials, some of which came from the Hibernian Hotel in Dublin.”
By “we”, she is referring to her husband, Florentine prince Prospero Colonna (of an Italian noble family made powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying a pope and other religious and political leaders), and their two daughters, who are now both in their 30s.
“We met while I was training horses in Wicklow,” she explains. Unlike many country houses, the house is warm, without the usual brittle window frames, cold bathrooms, Superser heaters and indoor breezes you come to expect.
The long kitchen table between the fireplace and the window provides a great spot for tea, but we don’t hang around. “I’ll show you around the house; you must see the dungeon downstairs,” she says, as we wander through the drawingroom and dining area on the ground floor, romantic and quirky rooms, yet homely, with some lovely Italian pieces from her husband’s side of the family.
“This is the fun room. We used to have lots of parties down here,” she says, as we walk down wooden stairs to the basement room, dominated by a large oval table and red velvet chairs.
“Cromwell’s army used to hang their clothes to dry by the fireplace after battle.”
Tented ceiling
Back on the landing and up the main stairs, a delightful sittingroom with twin wing back armchairs and a large fireplace awaits. It is reminiscent of a country house parlour. The first floor boasts opulent guest bedrooms with bottled water and glasses on the bedside tables and panelled bathrooms.
On the next level again there are more bedrooms decorated in bright yellow and blue, with fabric walls and ceilings and another drawing room with a fireplace.
On the top floor is a particularly impressive step-up bath, with a tented ceiling and large Italian beds adding to the general ambience. “We haven’t done anything to it since we did it up 30 years ago,” she says.
There are many endearing features throughout the house; and in particular paintings by her daughter Vittoria Colonna, an award-winning Irish film director living in Los Angeles.
They decorate the walls along the unused stable at the back of the house, converting the small bungalow by the gardens into a kind of art gallery. “There’s no electricity in here,” she says of the small house. “Which is fine, we use candles when we have people in.”
For Princess Colonna, her passion is her garden, where she works most days. “I’m out every day. But we need to do more for the bees. It’s so important to have the right plants for bees to be able to pollinate.”
Paddy Rossmore. Photographs. Edited by Robert O’Byrne. The Lilliput Press, Dublin 7, 2019.
“The Truells of Clonmannon were a clerical family, beginning with the Rev. Hold Truell (b. 1701) who for many years served as both a rector and as justice fo the peace. Despite marrying twice and having several children, he was outlived only by his younger son, the Rev. Robert Truell: it was either he or his own son, Robert Hold Truell, who was responsible for funding a school in the vicinity of Clonmannon. By that date the famiily had moved out of the property seen here into a larger residence close by. Paddy’s photograph shows the centrepiece of an earlier house, the date of its construction unknown. Stylistically the two-storey and three-block is indebted to the early seventeenth century English architect INigoJones. On the other hand, its design has been attributed to Dubliner Michael Wills who was a cousin of the Truells, and a date of c. 1755 proposed for its construction. Although the basement is of rubble stone, the rest of the building is in brick with rusticated groundfloor and then pilasters on the upper storey supporting a pediment with an elliptical window at its centre. Originally it was flanked on either side by recessed three-bay wings with raised basements but that to the south was demolished in the early part of the last century and replaced with a single-storey extension, thereby giving the house an unfortunately lop-sided appearance. However, happily it still stands and remains in use as a private dwelling.”
For sale July 2022
€1,500,000
A charming red-brick built house dating back to c.1700 constructed in the style of famed architect Inigo Jones and previously owned by philanthropist and collector Chester Beatty. Clonmannon is built upon and forms part of an original Norman Keep in an elevated position overlooking its beautifully landscaped grounds with mature specimen trees, rolling lawns and ornamental lakes of approx. 10 acres. Extending to approximately 430 sq. m / 4,630 sq. ft. over four floors the historical appeal and overall period charm of Clonmannon cannot be overstated. The original front door opens into an impressive entrance hall with timber columns to the right of which is the drawing room with attractive marble fireplace opening through to a study. To the left of the entrance hall is the full depth party room, with large open hearth, ideal for entertaining. A flight of steps leads to the kitchen with exposed beamed ceilings and raised fireplace with solid fuel burner. There is a back door onto the sunny rear courtyard from here. Further ground floor accommodation includes a utility room, office and a flight of steps down to the dramatic dungeon style dining room with open fireplace. On the first floor return is a bright and sunny living room with a wood burner and lovely far reaching views across the grounds. To the right is an attractive double bedroom and bathroom also with lovely views. There is a traditional nursery to the front of the house with two small single bedrooms adjacent, and another bathroom. Ascending another flight of stairs there are two large double bedrooms in the eaves space with wonderful timber beams, both with en-suite bathrooms and an abundance of storage space. There are period features throughout this incredibly interesting home to include timber sash windows, working shutters, original polished brick floors etc. The grounds of Clonmannonare particularly special with a sunken yard laid out with multiple loose boxes to the rear with historical stone walls dating back to the time of Cromwell. Now covered in concrete, underneath are said to be the original cobbles. In addition there is a gallery / studio which provides for an ideal events space to the back of the yard while there are also 4 WCs, including one disabled bathroom for larger parties. An old Cromwellian loo can be found at the end of the ‘studio’ while there is also an old lime kiln, and stone bridge, both wonderful focal point of the grounds. Electric security gates provide access to Clonmannon with the gravelled avenue meandering through rolling lawns, flower borders and a number of lakes with a multitude of seating areas spanning the grounds which have clearly been developed over the years with passion. A particularly attractive feature is the Japanese style bridge in likeness to that of Monet’s at Giverny while there is a purpose built barbeque area overlooking the water providing for further entertaining opportunities. There is an irrigation and pump system installed to water the grounds during the dry months taking water from the ponds. There are 25 acres of forestry adjoining Clonmannon which can be purchased by separate negotiation, perhaps for grazing horses as the property once operated as a stud farm. Clonmannon is situated less than 600m from Clonmannon Bay Beach for which it has direct access, 7km from the village of Ashford and approximately 10km from Wicklow town. There are useful local amenities in Wicklow town while Ashford is a charming village through which the Vartry River flows on the way from Roundwood to Wicklow’s Broadlough, and where the Mount Usher Gardens and visitor centre are a sought-after amenity. The village has a choice of neighbourhood shops, two schools and good leisure facilities including the Devils Glen Equestrian Centre in the grounds of nearby Glanmore Castle. For film maker enthusiasts, the hugely successful Ashford Studios is just 4.5km away. The Roundwood Lakes, Glendalough and Brittas Bay are all within easy driving distance; with world-class golf available at Druids Glen and hunting with the Bray Harriers. DART services at Bray and Greystones allow easy rail access to Dublin City Centre (approx. 40 minute drive) while the motorist is facilitated by the N11 nearby. Dublin Airport is approximately 68km / 1hr drive (traffic dependent).
Accommodation
Note: Please note we have not tested any apparatus, fixtures, fittings, or services. Interested parties must undertake their own investigation into the working order of these items. All measurements are approximate and photographs provided for guidance only.
Features
- Period features throughout
- Timber sash windows with working shutters
- Sunken yard with multiple loose boxes
- Gallery / studio space with guest WC facilities
- Approx. 10 acres of manicured grounds
- Direct access to beach
- Gas fired central heating & well
Irish Historic Houses 