Ballinakill House, Waterford, Co. Waterford
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. 17. “(Power/IFR) A gable-ended late C17 or early 18C house of 2 storeys with a dormered attic, incorporating an old tower-house which is not visible from the outside. Five bay front, made irregular ca 1770 by the insertion of two much larger windows in the upper storey at one end, lighting the first floor drawing room which was formed at that time. Porch with two Tuscan columns and pediment. Lower two storey one bay wing. Slightly curving C18 wooden staricase going up to the top of the house, and lit by small fanlighted windows. Spacious first floor landing with shouldered doorcases. On one side of the landing is a room in the old tower, which has a recently uncovered stone fireplace, as well as a small C18 chimneypiece of black marble. On the other side is the drawing room, which has a magnificent plasterwork ceiling of ca. 1770, with foliage and husk ornament in compartments, and a cornice of flowers. The room also has particularly fine C18 joinery; a dado, a shouldered doorcase and shouldered and scrolled architraves around the windows, which are on three sides, those at one end commanding a spectacular view of Waterford Harbour. Originally the seat of the Dobbin family, sold 1778 to Nicholas Power, whose son, Nicholas Mahon-Power, ceased to occupy it when he acquired the nearby Faithlegg House 1819. It was subsequently acquired by another branch of the Dobbins, from whom it was inherited by Mrs. Patricia Gossip. Mrs Gossip and her son, George Gossip, have, over the past few years, been carrying out a thorough and sympathetic restoration of the house. The drawing room ceilng, part of which had fallen, was restored by Mr William Garner under the auspices of the Irish Georgian Society 1970.”
Detached three-bay two-storey over basement house with half-dormer attic, c.1750, incorporating fabric of medieval tower house, c.1550, retaining early fenestration with single-bay single-storey pedimented advanced Doric porch to ground floor. Extended, c.1775, comprising two-bay two-storey end bay with dormer attic to right (east). Renovated and extended, c.1850, comprising single-bay two-storey end bay to left (west). Renovated, c.1975, with half-dormer attic remodelled. Pitched slate roof (gabled to half-dormer attic windows; hipped to end bay to left (west)) with clay ridge tiles, rendered chimney stacks, timber eaves to half-dormer attic windows, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves. Unpainted rendered walls. Square-headed window openings with stone sills. 6/6 timber sash windows, and 1/1 timber sas sash windows having margins. Timber casement windows, c.1975, to half-dormer attic. Square-headed door opening under cut-stone pedimented Doric porch on two cut-stone steps with timber panelled door. Interior with timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set back from road in own grounds with gravel forecourt, landscaped grounds to site, and random rubble stone boundary wall to perimeter.
An important house of many periods, the earliest of which is reputed to be a medieval tower house, and the evolution of which is clearly expressed on the exterior through the random arrangement of openings of various proportions. Subsequently well maintained, the house presents an almost entirely intact early aspect – however, the remodelled openings to the half-dormer attic do not enhance the visual appeal of the composition.
Ballinakill House
By Joe Falvey. Published on Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
The item I did two weeks ago on the “Big Houses” along the Dunmore Road proved very popular to judge by the response and hits on the web-site. I had a more detailed history of some like Waterford Castle, Glenville House, Elva/Ardkeen House, while with some others I just had their care of construction, others again I had no date – of which I would like to learn more. Why not contact me at joefalvey@eircom.net if any of you readers can add to our pool of knowledge? The Ardkeen library site: www. Ardkeen.ie is also an invaluable resource on all matters local. In my review of these houses I meant to include the information I came across on Ballinakill House which I discovered there, so here goes.
Ballinakill House
Ballinakill was occupied by the Normans and in 1210 King John, on his trip to Ireland, is said to have stopped at the “land of the Thomas Fitzanthony” at Ballinakill (or Ballymackylle). After the Norman Invasion the powerful Dobbyn (or Dobbin) family settled in Waterford.
Ballinakill House, which overlooks the river Suir, Little Island, became the seat of the Dobbyn family until it was sold in 1788 to Nicholas Power whose son, Nicholas Mahon-Power, lived in Ballinakill until he acquired the nearby Faithlegg House in 1819. The house was bought by another branch of the Dobbyns and was inherited by Mrs. Patrica Gossip. I was acquainted with three of her sons, John, George and Randal and daughter Priscilla (who sadly died as a young mother). George ran a restaurant at the house for a couple of years. The house was eventually sold a few years later and remains a private residence.
Ballinakill is a two storey late 17th or early 18th century house and incorporated an old tower house not visible from the outside – the house has spectacular views of the Waterford Harbour. It is described in Egan’s 1894 Directory as “close to the Water’s edge rising as if from the rock, its quaint appearance enshrouded in trees denoting a romantic home”
Irish Historic Houses 