Bolton Castle, Moone, Co Kildare
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. 45. “Double gable-ended house of early C18 appearance with a battlemented tower attached. In recent years the home of the eminent gynaecologist Senator Prof R.P. Farnan. Now a Cistercian monastery.”
Not in national inventory
Boakefield, Ballitore, Co Kildare
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. 45. “A two storey five bay mid-C18 house with a high-pitched roof and a rusticated doorway; the front being prolonged by lower wings which though they appear to be contemporary and balance each other in size, are asymmetrical as regards fenestration. The seat of the Boake family.”
Detached five-bay two-storey Classical-style house, c.1770, possibly over basement retaining early fenestration with square-headed door opening to centre ground floor, five-bay two-storey lower lateral wing to north-east and three-bay double-height lower lateral wing to south-west. Refenestrated, c.1990, to wing to north-east. Hipped roof to central block with slate. Hipped gabled roof to lateral wing to north-east with slate. Gable-ended roof to lateral wing to south-west with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Rendered chimney stacks. Cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves course. Rendered walls. Painted. Square-headed window openings. Stone sills. Early 1/1 timber sash windows to central bock. Early 2/2/2 timber sash windows to lateral wing to south-west. Replacement uPVC casement and fixed-pane windows to lateral wing to north-east. Square-headed door opening to central block. Cut-stone Gibbsian surround with double keystone. Timber panelled door. Square-headed door opening to lateral wing to north-east. Cut-stone block-and-start doorcase with keystone. Replacement glazed timber door, c.1990. Set back from road in own grounds. Gravel forecourt to front. Attached two-bay double-height lower outbuilding, c.1775, to south-west retaining early aspect. Gable-ended roof with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast walls. Unpainted. Openings not visible (no openings to front (south-east) elevation).
Appraisal
Boakefield (House) is a fine, Classically-balanced substantial Georgian country house of the mid to late eighteenth century that has been well-maintained to present an early aspect. The scale and fine detailing of the house suggest that it was originally built by a patron of high status in the locality, and it is therefore of social and historic interest, representing the formal architecture employed by the middle class at the time – the house is one of the largest private residences in the immediate vicinity of Ballitore. Composed of graceful proportions, the central block of the house is a prominent feature in the landscape, soaring above the surrounding landscape, and is complemented by the lateral wings. The house retains many important early or original features and materials, including timber sash fenestration (with an unusual triple sash arrangement to the lateral wing to south-west) and cut-stone doorcases – the re-instatement of traditional-style timber fenestration to the wing to north-east would benefit the entire composition. Without extraneous ornamentation, the only concession to decoration are the fine cut-stone doorcases to ground floor, the opening to the central block retaining early fittings. The retention of an early external aspect suggests that the house may retain early or original features and fittings of note to the interior. The house is an important component of the architectural heritage of Ballitore and has been well-maintained for the benefit of future generations.
Blackhall, Clane, Co Kildare
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. 42. “(Wolfe/IFR) A two storey C18 house with a 7 bay front, the 3 centre bays beign recessed. Flat roof, with a fantastic cupola sprouting from it. The seat of Theobald Wolfe, after whom was named Theobald Wolfe Tone, the patriot, whose family were freehold tenants at the Blackhall estate.”
Not in national inventory
Bishopscourt, Straffan, Co Kildare
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. 42. “(Ponsonby, sub Bessborough, E/PB; Ponsoby, V/DEP; Scott, Clonmell, E/PB1935; Kennedy, Bt/PB1970, McGillycuddy of the Reeks/IFR) A large Classical house built ca 1780-90 for Rt. Hon, John Ponsonby, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, in the manner of James Gandon and most probably an early work by Richard Morrison; completed by Speaker Ponsonby’s son, 1st Lord Ponsonby of Imokilly. Four bay entrance front with pedimented portico of four giant Ionic columns; the outer bays have pedimented ground floor windos and circular plaques instead of windows in the upper storey. Roof parapet on dentil cornice. Side elevation with recessed centre and three bay projection at either side, joined by veranda of slender columns with ironwork balcony. Curved bow on other side of house. Imperial staircase. Sold 1838 to 3rd Earl of Clonmell. Re-sold in the present century to E.R. Kennedy, who bred the famous racehorse The Tetrarch. Inherited by Mr Kennedy’s daughter Mrs Dermot McGillycuddy.”
Not in national inventory
Bert, Athy, Co Kildare
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. 41. (Be Burgh/IFR) A gable-ended house of 1725-30, enlarged early in C19 by the addition of two storey Classical overlapping wings, of the same height as the centre block; which is of three storeys over basement with two seven bay fronts. On one front, the top storey is treated as an attic above the cornice and has blank windows. On this front, the wings are of three bays with, on the ground floor, a Wyatt window between two niches. On the other front, the wings project further and are joined by a Doric colonnade. Plasterwork ceiling in drawingroom; screen of columns in dining room. In recent years, the home of Misses Geoghegan.”
https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/11903403/bert-house-bert-demesne-co-kildare
Detached eleven-bay three-storey Classical-style house, c.1780, on a H-shaped plan possibly over basement comprising seven-bay three-storey recessed central block with seven-bay single-storey flat-roofed open loggia to ground floor, three-bay three-storey projecting flanking end bays, three-bay three-storey side elevation to east and seven-bay three-storey Garden Front to south having single-bay single-storey projecting glazed porch to centre and three-bay projecting flanking end bays. Hipped roofs on a H-shaped plan with slate behind parapet wall. Clay ridge tiles. Rendered chimney stacks. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Flat-roof to open loggia behind parapet with iron railings over. Materials not discerned. Nap rendered walls. Ruled and lined. Painted. Rendered dressings including channelled piers to ground floor to end bays, motifs to loggia and decorative panels to upper floors to end bays. Moulded cornice with blocking course parapet wall over. Square-headed window openings (tripartite in round-headed recessed niches to ground floor end bays). Stone sills (balustraded panels to first floor end bays). Moulded architraves (with keystones to first floor; moulded consoles and entablatures to first floor end bays). 2/2 and 6/6 timber sash windows. Square-headed door openings. Moulded keystone with coat of arms over. Replacement timber panelled double doors, c.1995. Square-headed loggia along front (north) elevation with cut-stone columns. Projecting glazed porch to centre Garden Front (south) with ogee-headed domed roof. Fixed-pane windows. Glazed double doors with overlight. Set back from road in own extensive landscaped grounds. Tarmacadam forecourt to front. Lawns to rear.
Appraisal
Bert House is a fine and large country residence that has been well-maintained to retain an early or original appearance. The front (north) and rear (south) elevations of the house are composed of long, imposing ranges of Classical proportions and Classical motifs and are a prominent landmark from the surrounding landscape. Although regular in the dispersion of openings, the front (north) elevation is much ornamented and the use of decorative render of plasterwork is especially noteworthy, being of artistic interest. This is used to add incident to the house through its application on the round-headed recessed panels to the end bays, decorative panels to the upper floors, architraves, stringcourses, and so on. The long, low, flat-roofed loggia is also a feature that is not entirely common to Ireland and is more associated with Italian architecture – at Bert it is used to enhance the entrance front and is gracefully composed of tall, slender columns. The railings over are also a pleasant feature. While the side elevation to east is similarly decorative in its treatment, the elevation to west is comparatively more utilitarian and does not boast any ornate plasterwork. The house retains most of its original external features, including the rendered decorations, multi-pane timber sash fenestration and a slate roof, and this suggests that early features of interest may also survive in the interior. The house is of social and historic significance for having provided much employment in the locality – a role it continues to fulfill at present, where the attendant stables are used for the rearing and training of horses. The house is attractively set in its own extensive landscaped grounds on a hillside overlooking the River Barrow and the Grand Canal and is a picturesque and imposing landmark in the region.
Inside this classical Kildare mansion with two bars and 17 bedrooms
A Kildare mansion that’s seen many romantic moments
Classical mansion: Bert House
Eithne Tynan
September 15 2017 02:30 AM
‘I know, let’s call it Bert,” one of the brothers must have said. “This house…” – sweeping his eyes over the seven-bay, three-storey edifice with its Italian-style first-floor loggia and its magnificent ornamental plasterwork – “…looks like a Bert.”
Consider the possible conversation 300 years ago between William Burgh and his brother Thomas when they were deciding what to name William’s classical mansion which had finally been completed near Athy, Co Kildare.
Once you’ve finished building your colossal stately home, all that remains is to choose a name for it.
You might spend months musing on the matter, or else the name might come to you in a single moment of dizzying inspiration.
The year was around 1720 (though some sources say 1709); William was the owner of the house and his brother Thomas was the architect. Thomas was also responsible for various important Dublin buildings such as the Trinity Library, Dr Steevens’ Hospital, the Royal Barracks (now Collins Barracks), and the Old Custom House, which was replaced by a Gandon-designed building later in the century. It is perhaps just as well Burgh wasn’t given responsibility for naming any of those, or we may have ended up with Trinity Library being called something like Ernie or Cedric.
Bert House has been going by the same unassuming name since then, and in the intervening three centuries has gained even more stature and become even less unassuming itself.
One of the 17 bedrooms
It was extended in the early 19th century to add the two side wings, and, at 24,000 sq ft, it’s the largest mansion in south Kildare.
Much of the Bert Demesne has been hived off though. The former coaching yard has been turned into Bert House Stud, also on the market recently, and the Bert House estate itself has been reduced to six acres. Six resplendent acres they are though, hugging the banks of the River Barrow and with a stately, tree-lined avenue a kilometre long.
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It has been bought and sold many times as a family home, and in more recent years has been obliged to pay for itself as a country house hotel specialising in wedding parties.
For that purpose, it has gone by the more grandiose name of De Burgh Manor, Bert sounding perhaps not quite chic enough for a couple bent on spending all their savings on their big day.
Ornate plasterwork adorns the ceiling of a reception room
It’s now on the market again for €1.5m, and is a lot of house for the money.
The selling agents point out that it would make “an idyllic property for a large country residence”, and for a buyer who does intend to convert it back to its intended use as a family home, the biggest difficulty is likely to be shooing away prospective brides from the grounds.
The grounds lead down to the River Barrow
The 24,000 sq ft is spread out over three floors and a basement, and consequently the hoovering will be a Sisyphean job. Like painting the Forth Bridge, you will no sooner be finished than you’ll have to start again.
Some reconfiguration of the layout will also be necessary. The basement, for example, has a bar, a sauna, a snooker room and a dance studio, together with various storerooms and ladies’ and gents’ changing rooms and toilets.
There’s another bar on the ground floor, which is probably at least one bar too many for a private house.
The ground floor is also where the best of the reception rooms are, complete with beautiful plasterwork ceilings with overseeing cherubs, original sash windows, and fine old fireplaces. These include a drawing room, a dining room, a breakfast room and kitchen, as well as a TV room and a living room.
Then there are 17 bedrooms, all en suite, and one of them – positioned for marketing purposes as the Bridal Suite – has a bathroom with a free-standing claw-foot bath.
The back of the property faces southwest towards the River Barrow. There’s a formal garden out here with a fountain, together with a patio and rose garden. Beyond this, there’s a lawn culminating in a flight of steps down to the riverbank. Directly in front of the house and at the end of the avenue is a forecourt for parking.
The nearest village is Kilberry, almost at the end of the old avenue that now leads to the Bert House Stud and hence less than a kilometre away. There’s a quaint, early 19th-century church there, in the graveyard of which all the old Burghs (later known as de Burghs and distant ancestors of the singer Chris) of Bert House are buried.
The town of Athy is about six kilometres to the south, along the course of the Barrow. There are nine or ten trains a day from Athy to Dublin, and the journey takes about an hour. Alternatively, you can get to the capital by car by joining the M7 outside Monasterevin, some 17 kilometres away.
Bert House is for sale with Sherry FitzGerald O’Reilly in Naas, (045) 866 466, and has an asking price of €1,500,000.
Bert House
Kilberry, Athy, Co Kildare
Asking price: €1,500,000
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald O’Reilly, Naas, (045) 866 466
Used to have whole house accommodation
“Beautiful self catering, Georgian Manor centrally located in the hearth of Kildare in a very private setting. De Burgh Manor comprises of 15 bedrooms all ensuite. The ground floor consists of a double reception room, drawing room, dining room, bar, library , breakfast room and kitchen. Situated on c. 6 acres of grounds overlooking the River Barrow.“
The website also tells us about the history:
“De Burgh Manor was built circa 1709 [the National Inventory says it was built around 1780] by Thomas Burgh [1670-1730] of Oldtown [built ca 1709 by Thomas Burgh (1670-1730), MP, Engineer and Surveyor-General for Ireland, to his own design. The centre block was burned 1950s. A house has now been made out of one of the wings. He also designed Kildrought house, a Section 482 property] for his brother William Burgh later known as Captain William De Burgh and who became Comptroller and Auditor General for Ireland. Thomas Burgh was Barracks Overseer for Ireland from 1701 and was also responsible for [building] – the Library at Trinity College Dublin, Collins Barracks Dublin – now a museum – and Dr Steeven Hospital Dublin.
“William De Burgh was born in 1667 and had a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Elisabeth. Thomas, born in 1696, eventually became a Member of Parliament for Lanesboro, Co. Longford. Freeman of Athy Borough and Sovereign of Athy, in 1755 he married Lady Ann Downes, daughter of the Bishop of Cork & Ross. Her mother was a sister to Robert Earl of Kildare. Her brother, Robert Downes, was the last MP for Kildare in 1749 and was Sovereign of Athy.
“Thomas had two sons, William and Ulysses [Ulysses was actually the grandson of Thomas, son of another Thomas]. William born in 1741 went on to represent Athy as an MP in Parliament between 1768 and 1776. A monument to his memory by Sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott, a statue of faith, which depicts him with a book in one hand and a scroll in the other and stands in York Minster. He wrote two books on religion and faith.
“Ulysses, born in 1788 succeeded to the title of Lord Downes [2nd Baron Downes of Aghanville] on the death of his cousin William Downes who was made Lord Chief Justice in 1803 and created Lord Downes on his retirement in 1822. It was Ulysses De Burgh who presented the Town Hall Clock to Athy in 1846 and it was he who had the wings added to Bert House. [Mark Bence-Jones writes of Bert: “enlarged early in C19 by the addition of two storey Classical overlapping wings, of the same height as the centre block; which is of three storeys over basement with two seven bay fronts.”]
“Ulysses’ daughter Charlotte was the last of the De Burgh’s to call Bert House home with her husband Lt. General James Colbourne [2nd Baron Seaton of Seaton, co. Devon]. Charlotte and James came to Bert House in 1863 as Lord and Lady Seaton after the death of Lord Downes. It was sold by them in 1909 to Lady Geoghegan who then sold it onto her cousin, Major Quirke.“
Belan, County Kildare
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. 35. “(Stratford, Aldborough, E/DEP) One of the largest of C18 gable-ended houses, built 1743 for John Stratford, MP, afterwards 1st Earl of Aldborough, to the design of Richard Castle in collaboration with the amateur architect, Francis Bindon…The house was still intanct and furnished 1837, but was afterwards abandoned by the family, who fell on evil days before the extinction of the earldom 1875. It has long been a ruin. The rotunda temple and two obelisks survive in nearby fields.”
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. 85. A large three storey gable ended house designed by Richard Castle and Francis Bindon. Abandoned in the mid 19C. The ruins have been demolished. Superb stables and follies remain.
THE EARLS OF ALDBOROUGH OWNED 964 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILDARE
It is said that the family of STRATFORD can be traced from the time of ALFRED THE GREAT; but our account shall commence in 1660 with ROBERT STRATFORD, a younger branch of the house of MEREVALE, and the first who settled in Ireland, one of the original burgesses in the charter constituting Baltinglass a borough.
Robert Stratford, MP for County Wicklow, 1692-3, married, in 1662, a daughter of Oliver Walsh, of Ballykilcavan, Queen’s County, by whom he had issue,
EDWARD, his successor;
Francis, Consul at Bordeaux, dsp;
Grace; Mary; Elizabeth; Abigail; Jane; Anne; Catherine.
Mr Stratford died in 1699, and was succeeded by his elder son,
EDWARD STRATFORD (1664-1740), who purchased Great Belan, and other lands in County Kildare, from the Viscount Fitzhardinge.
This gentleman was a staunch supporter of the Revolution, and entertained WILLIAM III at Belan.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Euseby Baisley, of Ricketstown, County Carlow, and had, with a daughter,
Robert;
Eusebius;
JOHN, of whom presently.
The youngest son,
JOHN STRATFORD (c1697-1777), MP for Baltinglass, 1721-59, during the reigns of the first three GEORGES, was raised to the peerage, in 1763, in the dignity of Baron Baltinglass.
He was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1776, as Viscount Aldborough.
His lordship was further advanced, in 1777, to the dignities of Viscount Amiens and EARL OF ALDBOROUGH.
He married Martha, daughter and co-heir of the Ven. Benjamin O’Neale, Archdeacon of Leighlin, by whom he had six sons and nine daughters.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
EDWARD, 2nd Earl (1736-1801), who espoused firstly, Barbara, daughter of the Hon Nicholas Herbert, of Great Glemham, in Suffolk; and secondly, in 1788, Elizabeth, only daughter 1st Baron Henniker, though the marriage was without issue.
His lordship was succeeded by his brother,
JOHN, 3rd Earl (1740-1823), MP for Baltinglass, 1763-75, who wedded, in 1777, Elizabeth, daughter of the Hon and Rev Frederick Hamilton, and great-granddaughter of William, 3rd Duke of Hamilton; by whom he had three daughters,
Louisa;
Elizabeth;
Emily.
His lordship died without male issue, and was succeeded by his brother,
BENJAMIN O’NEALE, 4th Earl (1746-1833), MP for Baltinglass, 1777, who married, in 1774, Martha, only child and heiress of John Burton, and niece and heiress of Mason Gerard, by whom he had issue,
MASON GERARD, his successor;
Eliza; Sophia.
His lordship was succeeded by his only son,
MASON GERARD, 5th Earl (1784-1849), who wedded, in 1804 (divorced 1826) Cornelia Jane, a daughter of Charles Henry Tandy, of Waterford, by whom his lordship had an only child,
BENJAMIN O’NEALE, 6th Earl (1808-75), Captain, 15th Light Dragoons, who died unmarried, at Alicante, Spain, when the titles expired.
BELAN HOUSE, near Ballitore, County Kildare, was said to have been one of the biggest 18th century gable-ended houses in Ireland
It was built in 1743 for the 1st Earl of Aldborough by Richard Castle, in collaboration with Francis Bindon.
Belan comprised three storeys; an eleven-bay front; three centre bays and the two outer bays breaking forward.
A central Venetian window was above the tripartite doorway.
The roof parapet had recessed panelling and urns.
There was also an elegant stable block; and a domed Doric rotunda in the park.
Belan House remained intact, though uninhabitable, until 1837, when the family left owing to impecunious circumstances.
During the lifetime of the 4th Earl, owing to his reckless gambling and extravagant mode of living, the property became heavily mortgaged.
After 1823, the estate became neglected.
During Lord Aldborough’s absence abroad, it is said that the family lawyer, a man named Lewis, illegally obtained a long lease of Belan and, together with a friend of his named Mercer, brought about the dismantlement of the house and demesne by gradually auctioning off every stick and stone they could move.
The cut-stone work of the parapet and other parts of the house were sold, and used in the erection of public buildings in Athy; the furniture and chimney pieces were parted with, and the statuary in the grounds suffered a similar fate; the doors and shutters are said to have been used for flooring the stable lofts at Newtown House, near Bolton Castle.
For miles around there is hardly a place which does not possess some fragments of Belan’s former grandeur.
At Bolton Castle, in the garden, is a block of composite, bearing the Aldborough crest.
The great iron gates within view of the hall door at Carton House originally hung at the Belan gate lodge.
The only trace now showing the extent of Belan demesne in former times are three stone obelisks.
STRATFORD HOUSE, Stratford Place, the family’s London residence, is now the premises of the Oriental Club.
The building was constructed in the 1770s for the 2nd Earl, who paid £4,000 for the site (formerly occupied by the Lord Mayor of London’s Banqueting House) along with the Robert Adam-inspired building.
The House was variously remoulded over the years with new plumbing and a second storey on the east and west wings in the 1890s.
However it was in 1908 when Lord Derby bought the lease that the most extensive alterations were set in motion.
He purchased additional property in Marylebone Lane, removed the stables and built a Banqueting Hall with a grand ballroom above (the last privately owned ballroom to be built in this country).
It was a spectacular room of Italian design which was converted when the house was acquired by the Oriental Club.
When Stratford House was purchased by the Oriental Club in 1960, it was necessary to make certain alterations, as the needs of a Club were different to those of a town house of the nobility.
The ballroom was converted into two floors of bedrooms, additional lifts were installed and alterations to the Banqueting Hall were made, which is now the Dining Room.
The recent addition of eight new bedrooms continues the Oriental Club’s tradition of providing a welcoming and comfortable home-from-home for its Members in the centre of London.
First published in August, 2013. Aldborough arms courtesy of European Heraldry.
In Blake, Tarquin. Abandoned Mansions of Ireland II: More Portraits of Forgotten Stately Homes. Collins Press, Cork, 2012.
https://theirishaesthete.com/2013/09/30/splendours-and-follies/
Leixlip House, Leixlip, Co Kildare
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. 183. “(Nesbitt, sub Beaumont-Nesbitt/LGI1958; West sub Colthurst/PB; Carvill, sub Eustace-Duckett/IFR) A three storey five bay mid-C18 house, with a two storey bow-fronted wing. The home of Gen. Brady, whose daughter married J.D.Nesbitt 1800. In the present century, the home of A.W. West, and more rectly, of Mr and Mrs Michael Carroll.”
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. 85. A very attractive early to mid 18C house. Good interior. A bow fronted wing was added in the early 19C. Recently destroyed by fire. Now a ruin.
Leixlip House (Hotel), Captain’s Hill, NEWTOWN (LEIXLIP ED), Leixlip, County Kildare
Detached five-bay three-storey over basement house, built 1772, possibly retaining some early fenestration with two-bay three-storey shallow return to rear to north-west. Extended, c.1875, comprising four-bay three-storey recessed wing to right (east) with single-bay three-storey red brick bowed projecting to centre. Renovated, c.1990. Now in use as hotel. Hipped roof with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Rendered chimney stacks. Cast-iron rainwater goods on eaves course. Flat-roofed to wing behind parapet walls. Materials not visible. Coursed squared rubble limestone walls. Coursed squared rubble limestone walls to wing with red brick to bowed projecting bay. Irregular coursed rubble stone to rear elevations to north. Shallow segmental-headed window openings to ground floor. Square-headed window openings to remainder (including wing) with some round-headed window openings to rear to north. Stone sills. Red brick dressings to some openings. Cut-stone voussoirs. 6/6 and 6/3 timber sash windows (possibly original). Some replacement uPVC casement windows, c.1990. Square-headed door opening approached by flight of four cut-stone steps. Cut-stone surround with moulded cornice and lintel over having double keystone. Timber panelled door. Fixed-pane sidelights. Set back from road in own grounds. Tarmacadam forecourt/carpark to front. Section of iron railings to basement. Gateway, c.1775, to south comprising pair of cut-stone piers with moulded capping having ball finials. Renovated, c.1990, and relocated to current position with replacement iron gates.
Appraisal
Leixlip House (Hotel) is a fine and imposing late eighteenth-century house that has been well-maintained to present an early aspect. The house is of considerable social and historical significance, representing the dwellings of the prosperous class in Leixlip in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Originally composed on an almost symmetrical plan of graceful Classical proportions centred about a fine cut-stone doorcase, the house was extended in the late nineteenth century to include a recessed wing having a bowed bay feature typical of the period of construction. The construction of both portions of the house in coursed squared limestone walls with cut-stone dressings is a fine example of the high quality of stone masonry traditionally practised in the locality – this is particularly evident in the doorcase, which has retained a crisp intricacy. The house appears to retain many important early or original features and materials, including multi-pane timber sash fenestration and a slate roof having cast-iron rainwater goods – some of the windows to the rear (north) elevation have been replaced with inappropriate uPVC models and this ought to be discouraged in future renovation works. The retention of an early external aspect suggests that the house may retain early or original features and materials to the interior. The original context of the house is now lost, the grounds having been partitioned for the purpose of residential developments and the gateway has been relocated to a new entrance in to the grounds. Originally composed of stone work of similar quality to the house, the repointing undertaken in the relocation of the piers has resulted in badly formed joints, and this ought to be addressed in future works to the site.
€1m for boutique hotel in Co Kildare
Georgian manor house was converted into 19-bedroom Leixlip House Hotel in 1996
Wed, Feb 18, 2015, 01:16
Hotel and bar operator the Towey Group is to sell the prestigious Leixlip House Hotel in Leixlip, Co Kildare.
John Ryan, of CBRE, is quoting €1 million for the 19-bedroom boutique hotel, which has captured a good share of the wedding market in the area.
The Georgian manor house dates back to 1774 and was cleverly converted into hotel use in 1996 without losing any of its elegance and style. Good use has been made of the available space to accommodate a restaurant and a function room .
The 19 bedrooms include five superior rooms and 10 standard rooms in the main house and four more in the coach house. All rooms come with TV, direct-dial telephone and tea and coffee facilities.
The ground floor includes a reception area, a lounge bar and the award-winning Bradaun Restaurant, which can seat 50 diners. The function room, with its own private entrance and bar, can accommodate up to 140 diners. There is a lapsed planning permission to convert the basement area from use as storage to a new bar and lounge.
John Ryan says the sale offers “an excellent opportunity to acquire a beautifully appointed and unique boutique hotel that oozes charm and character”. It also has the advantage of an established level of turnover, much of it coming from wedding receptions.
Sandford House, Co Kerry
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. 254. “A gable-ended C18 houseof two storeys over a basement. Five bay front with pedimented breakfront; Venetian window above tripartite doorway. In 1814, the residence of Nicholas Neilan. Now demolished.”
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. 82. A two storey 18C gable ended house. In 1814 the seat of Nicholas Neilan. Demolished.
Sallow Glen, Tarbert, Co Kerry
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. 254. “(Sandes/LGI1912) A gable-ended three storey early or mid-C18 house with a later porch; to the back of which a two-storey wing was added at right angles later in C18; the wing being of three bays with a three sided bow, and having bold string courses. From 1917-42, Sallow Glen was the house of Mr and Mrs John Dinan, now demolished.”
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. 82. A plain early to late 18C three storey gable-ended house. A large two storey wing was added to the rere in the late 18C. In 1814 the seat of Thomas Sands. House demolished but parts of the stables remain.
Ripley House, Caragh Lake, Co Kerry
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. 242. “(Fitzmaurice/IFR) Gable-ended C19 house with eaved roof and three sided bow.”
Not in national inventory
Irish Historic Houses 