Kilcreene House and Lodge, Kilkenny, Co Kilkenny

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. 166. “(Evans, Bt/EDB; De Montmorency, Bt/PB; Smithwick/IFR) A very important late C17 house. Of two storeys over basement; “U”-shaped, the two wings projecting on either side of the entrance front and each having two  bays in its end. High, sprocketed roof on bracket cornice. Brick chimney stacks with recessed panels. Front prolonged by screen walls with niches and large rusticated arches. Good quoins. Later pilastered porch. Six bay garden front, the two outer bays on either side breaking forward. Single storey entrance hall, with stairs in separate room at side of hall. Very fine chimneypieces, notably one of grey Kilkenny marble with a scroll pediment. The house was demolished in fairly recent years; some of the chimneypieces are at Bonnettstown Hall and one is at Kilcreene Lodge.” 

Kilcreene Lodge:

(Smithwick/IFR) A pleasant two storey stucco faced Victorian house, built ca 1860 by J.W. [John William] Smithwick, incorporating an older, smaller house. Four bay front with triangular pediments on console brackets over ground floor windows, and gabled wing at one end. Roof of main block on bracket cornice. Irregular adjoining garden front, with single-storey curved and balustraded bow; decorative ironwork cresting on ridge of roof. Ornate overdoors in the hall and drawing room, the latter being large and handsome room in Louis Quinze style. Good late C17 or early C18 chimneypiece brought from Kilcreene House in billiard room. Attractive garden with lake spanned by bridge.” 

The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy: Kilkenny. Volume 1. Art Kavanagh, 2004. 

Smithwick of Kilcreene. 

p. 193. Kilcreene House, the home of the Smithwick family for many generations and now a hospital, was first built, according to Peter Smithwick, in 1660. The lands of Kilcreene were originally owned by the Rothe family and then after the Cromwellian war it was acquired by Sir Henry Bayley Meredith [he was married to one of the Butlers of Lanesborough]. This Smithwick family bought the lands from the Merediths. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/12401927/kilcreene-lodge-kilcreen-crannagh-by-kilkenny-co-kilkenny

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Detached four-bay two-storey house, redeveloped 1863, incorporating fabric of earlier house, c.1675, with two-bay two-storey recessed wing to right having single-bay single-storey lean-to advanced glazed porch leading to full-height gabled canted projecting bay, and three-bay two-storey higher return to west having bowed bay window to left ground floor. Completed, 1884-90. Hipped slate roofs (lean-to to porch; half-polygonal to projecting bay incorporating gable) with terracotta ridge tiles, rolled lead ridges having wrought iron finials to apexes, decorative timber bargeboards, and cast-iron rainwater goods on overhanging timber eaves having carved timber consoles. Painted rendered walls with panelled piers to bow bay window supporting frieze, moulded cornice on consoles, and balustraded parapet having moulded coping. Square-headed window openings (paired round-headed window openings to projecting bay) with painted sills, moulded rendered surrounds having triangular pediments to ground floor on consoles (entablature to ground floor projecting bay on consoles), and one-over-one timber sash windows having timber casement windows to return. Square-headed openings to bowed bay window with panelled pilaster surrounds having entablatures on consoles, and French doors having overlights. Square-headed door opening with timber panelled door having sidelights, and overlight. Interior with carved timber architraves to door openings (some with moulded friezes supporting entablatures; some with foliate consoles flanking friezes supporting entablatures) having timber panelled doors, decorative plasterwork cornices to ceilings, and carved Kilkenny limestone fireplace, c.1800, incorporating scroll pediment. Set back from road in own grounds with landscaped grounds to site. 

Appraisal 

Having origins in a mid to late seventeenth-century range intended as a flax (linen) miller’s house a middle-size lodge redeveloped by Charles Geoghegan (1820-1908) for John William Smithwick (1833-94) represents a pleasant Victorian merchant’s villa forming an important element of the domestic architectural legacy of County Kilkenny. Displaying characteristic robust detailing the various rendered and timber accents enhance the Italianate theme identifying the architectural design significance of the composition. Having been well maintained the historic fabric survives substantially intact both to the exterior and to the interior where features including Victorian joinery, decorative plasterwork, an early fireplace salvaged from nearby Kilcreene House (c.1675; demolished, post-1950), and so on all exhibit high quality traditional craftsmanship. Set in mature grounds the house together with the outlying estate makes an appealing visual impression on the road leading into Kilkenny City from the west. 

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/kilcreene-lodge-kilkenny-r95-vka4/4507479

Eircode: R95 VKA4 

For sale 12/6/21 

€3,250,000. 

WONDERFULLY SPACIOUS, RICH WITH HISTORY AND SURROUNDED BY GLORIOUS GROUNDS OF SOME 4HA (10ACRES), KILCREENE LODGE IS A RARE AND EXTRAORDINARY GEM. SPECIAL FEATURES – Fully restored and maintained 17th Century Italianate Mansion with Jacobean and Victorian features. – 5 exquisite flowing reception rooms, ideal for entertaining – Notable and beautiful period detailing – 8 bedrooms – Rich history former residence of Walter Smithwick – Private setting in lush grounds in the heart of Kilkenny city – c. 4ha(10acres) of grounds on own private Lake DESCRIPTION Set overlooking a weir on a private lake which runs into the River Breagagh and downtown to meet the Nore, Kilcreene Lodge occupies an extraordinary location. Secluded on its private almost ten-acre estate, it is just a short walk to the Medieval core of Kilkenny City. Lovingly maintained and presented as a signature historic home, it has also been beautifully modernised to add the luxury and comforts of contemporary living. Find beautiful and graceful formal rooms, across which film stars and aristocracy have danced. Throughout the years, luminaries including Tyrone Power and James Cagney, Lord Iveagh and Miranda Guinness have enjoyed the beautiful hospitality Kilcreene Lodge has to offer. Further back, Daniel O’Connell, known as the Irish Liberator, was a beloved and frequent guest. A bright and welcoming home, with graceful proportions throughout, you will find space to entertain, places to work and ample family accommodation to relax. History is elegantly layered, as the earliest Jacobean parts of the house, dating from 1690, meet Victorian spaces with wonderful stained glass, as contemporary additions are seamlessly incorporated. These are all held together by an Italianate theme, based on the timeless Classical principals of architecture. Kilcreene is noted by the Inventory of Architectural Heritage, most particularly for the preservation of its original features, and for the quality of its craftsmanship. Yet this is not a museum piece of a house, rather an extraordinary and stunningly beautiful home, in which you can fully enjoy all the wonderful qualities it has to offer. 

HISTORY Originally built in 1690, the year King William triumphed at the Battle of the Boyne, Kilcreene Lodge was once a peaceful miller’s house. There is still a small water wheel on the river, as a memory of this time. A quiet spot, surrounded by mature woodlands and forestry and acres of rolling fields, it would have been a short horse ride to the markets of Kilkenny City. Almost two hundred years later, John William Smithwick spotted the opportunity of this wonderful location, and employed Charles Geoghegan to almost quadruple the size of the house. Geoghegan also worked on Annagh’s Castle in Kilkenny, and was responsible for some of the beautifully Italianate bank buildings at Foster Place and Dame Street in Dublin. He was also passionate about water supply, and Kilcreene is said to have been the first house in County Kilkenny with running water in the bathroom. The building followed the fortunes of the famous Smithwick brewing family, growing as they grew in prosperity, and increasingly hosting the famous and notable of each passing era: from Daniel O’Connell to Tyrone Power, and James Cagney to the Guinnesses. Successive generations have added their own stamp, all the while preserving what was best about the house they inherited. In 1999 Kilcreene was purchased by Gerry and Christine Byrne who lovingly restored the original house and sympathetically extended by building on the Lake room and a Master suite. This means that, today, there is still running water in the eight bathrooms, but they are now exceptionally lavish ensuites. The property has a host of reception rooms as well as a fully fitted Kitchen which features original ceramic brick wall tiles, painted units and Aga cooker. The house is complemented by all the modern conveniences you could need for catering the kind of parties this house so richly deserves. As Kilkenny City has grown to the thriving and cultural spot it is today, Kilcreene retains a beautiful sense of timelessness and tranquillity. It is a rare and quiet gem, at peace with itself and its extraordinary place in the world. KILCREENE LODGE Layers of time blend beautifully at Kilcreene Lodge. Fronting onto the private Lake, the entrance hall, with its warm tiled floor and stunning sweeping staircase is actually a newer addition, created to knit the Period elements of the house together. 

From here, 5 exquisite reception rooms, ideal for entertaining. Firstly an exceptionally large and graceful triple aspect Lake room, opens to a sun terrace looking on to the weir and tranquil waters, and is the most wonderful space for entertaining. This graceful reception room leads to the dining room, while to the right, there is an equally beautiful and spacious drawing room, music room and living room. The Lake room, dining room and drawing room all have commanding fireplaces and interconnect. The second hall is currently a jewel box of a music room, with particularly wonderful plasterwork.

The dining room is notable for its rich and deeply polished parquet floor and timber ceiling, while the other reception rooms display ornate plasterwork. To the rear of the house there is a bright kitchen, large study, from which you can hear the sounds of birdsong, and the trickling waters. The office leads to a charming sunroom, with double doors out onto a decked area for al fresco dining, a peaceful retreat with planted sloping bank with watercourse which gives a fantastic backdrop. There are also storerooms, utility rooms, a boot room and cloakroom.

Upstairs, there is a very elegant gallery landing with arching columns, skylights and ornate plasterwork. The master suite is triple aspect, with a balcony. It has a walk-in wardrobe, and the ensuite is a beautiful open space with a gorgeous free-standing bath that has its own delicious garden and lake views. There are eight bedrooms which are all ensuite, and a gym. The second main bedroom has its own balcony and its fitted ensuite also has balcony access. These are bedrooms to savour and truly enjoy.

GARDENS AND GROUNDS A winding lime tree-lined drive leads to Kilcreene Lodge, where the house is beautifully surrounded by lawns and sheltered by mature trees. There is c.4ha (10 acres) in all, including a gravelled parking area, and stone patios at the front, overlooking the Lake and weir. The gardens have been designed to enjoy lovely private spots, classic lighting, decks, sheltered lawns, a small water wheel and feature fountain. There are little bridges, places to walk in peace, and a hard tennis court. Also find a separate garage building with an upper floor and plenty of storage for all your gardening needs.  

 
See Ancestry.co.uk John William Smithwick 

Listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland by The Knight of Glin, David J. Griffin and Nicholas K. Robinson, published by The Irish Architectural Archive and The Irish Georgian Society, 1988.

p. 92. A very important late 17C house. It had an “H” shaped plan. Flanking screen walls were added to the entrance front in the 18C and a single storey porch was added in 19C. Very fine interior with interesting 18 C chimneypieces. The house was sold in 1947 and has since been delmolished. Seat of General Drummond in 1814.