Ballinamona Park, 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. (Carew/IFR) A 2 storey basically 18C centre block of four bays, with single storey 3 bay wings added 1866. Centre block has an eaved roof carried on a bracket cornice; C19 entablatures over ground floor windows, fanlighted doorway and elegant late-Georgian portico with coupled Ionic columns of wood. In its present form, the house is a rebuilding following a fire 1894, which gutted the centre block. Before the fire, the centre block was of three storeys: presumably the ‘well built house’ mentioned by Charles Smith in his History of Waterford 1746 as the seat of Thomas Carew; a house built on the site of a house or castle of 1488, the foundations of which can be seen in the present basement. Panelled hall; large drawing room opening into a charming C19 conservatory which, like the portico, survived the fire. Dining room with carved oak overmantel. The house still faces along the ‘handsome canal’ which existed in Smith’s time, but it is now more of a lake, having been given a naturalistic appearance in C19.
On a hill in the park there is a C16 brick watch-tower, occupying the site of an older Danish tower. Particularly handsome farm buildings, including barns with massive stone pillars carrying their roofs. Robert Carew of Ballinamona, the son of Thomas Carew who owned the estate when it was described by Smith, was known as “Boots” Carew from having once attended a Parliamentary debate in his boots. Sold ca 1984.”
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=B
In 1848 Ballinamona was held in fee by Thomas Carew when it was valued at £51. In 1814 Leet notes it as the residence of Robert Carew. Lewis refers to it as the seat of T. Carew in 1837. Smith, writing in 1774, describes it as a “well-built house” while Wilson, writing twenty years later refers to it as ” a beautiful seat with large demesnes”. Brady notes that it was rebuilt following a fire in the late nineteenth century. By 1906 it was owned by Robert Thomas Carew (jun) and valued at £70. It is still extant.
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Detached four-bay two-storey over basement house, c.1775, originally four-bay three-storey incorporating fabric of medieval castle, 1488, to basement with prostyle tetrastyle Ionic portico to centre, and three-bay two-storey side elevations having single-bay two-storey breakfront to south-east. Extended, 1866, with three-bay single-storey flanking lateral wings added to north-west and to south-east. Burnt, 1894. Extensively reconstructed, post-1894 – 1896, producing present aspect. Hipped slate roofs (behind parapets to wings) with clay ridge tiles, rendered chimney stacks (on axis with ridge to main block), and cast-iron rainwater goods (on moulded corbels to main block). Flat roof to portico not visible behind blocking course. Painted rendered walls with cut-stone dressings to wings including frieze, moulded cornices, and blocking course to parapets. Square-headed window openings (in tripartite arrangement to breakfront to side (south-east) elevation) with rendered sills, moulded rendered surrounds, and moulded entablatures to ground floor main block and to wings on consoles. Replacement 1/1 timber sash windows, post-1894 – 1896, with 1/1 sidelights to tripartite openings. Elliptical-headed door opening under prostyle tetrastyle Ionic portico approached by flight of six cut-limestone steps (having paired columns on pedestals with responsive pilasters supporting frieze, moulded cornice, and zinc-lined blocking course) with rendered Composite surround supporting archivolt, timber panelled double doors with engaged Composite flanking columns supporting entablature, decorative sidelights, and fanlight. Interior with timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set back from road in own grounds with gravel forecourt, and landscaped grounds to site. (ii) Attached seven-bay single-storey cast-iron conservatory, 1866, to south-west with five-bay single-storey side elevations. Hipped glazed roof in iron frame with hipped glazed lantern to apex having decorative cresting and finials. Square-headed window openings with fixed-pane iron windows (with pointed-arch panels) having casement sections over, and iron casement windows to lantern.
A well-appointed, substantial house, rebuilt in the late nineteenth century to designs prepared by R. St. G. Moore (fl. 1894), which has been well maintained to present an early aspect with important salient features and materials intact, both to the exterior and to the interior. The remains of medieval fabric to the basement are of archaeological importance, and attest to a long-standing presence on site. An elegant portico and fine rendered detailing throughout enhance the architectural value of the composition. The survival of an early iron conservatory is also of significance, and augments the setting quality of the house. The house is of additional importance in the locality for its associations with the Carew family.
Irish Historic Houses 