Burnham House, near Dingle, 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. 50. “(Eveleigh de Moleyns, sub Ventry, B.PB) From its appearance, a three story seven bay Georgian block enlarged by the addition of two storey wings, refaced and embellished in the late C19. Entrance front with central feature of engaged Doric columns supporting sections of entablature and a steep pediment above a balustraded and pedimented Doric porte-cochere; tympana of pediments decorated with acanthus carving. Eaved roof on centre and wings; that of the centre being on a modillion cornice. Garden front with two storey rectangular projections in the centre and three sided bows at the ends of wings. Now an institution.”
Detached seven-bay three-storey late-Georgian house, built c. 1800, with six-bay elevation to rear to north-east having pair of two-bay two-storey flat-roofed advanced bays. Extensively reconstructed and extended, c. 1890, with prostyle tetrastyle granite Doric porte cochere inserted to ground floor having pedimented two-storey granite Doric frontis over. Five-bay two-storey lateral wings added to north-west and to south-east comprising three-bay two-storey links with two-bay two-storey advanced pavilion blocks having three-bay two-storey canted projecting bays to north-east elevations. Extended to south-east, c. 1925, on a U-shaped plan comprising nine-bay two-storey wing with two-bay two-storey gabled advanced end bay to south-east and pair of six-bay two-storey returns to rear to north-west. Attached five-bay double-height chapel, built c. 1925, to south-east with round-headed window openings and single-bay double-height polygonal apse to south-east gable end having bellcote to gable; now in use as school. Pitched and hipped slate roofs with clay ridge tiles, cast-iron profiled gutters forming corona of eaves cornice, rendered chimneystacks with cornices and modillion cornice at eaves. Painted and rendered walls with projecting and incised string courses, recessed plaques between first and second floors having festoons, and having render architrave with keystones at ground floor. Prostyle tetrastyle Doric portico with tetrastyle pedimented centrepiece above – all in limestone. Timber one-over-one pane sliding sash windows to centre block, two-over-two pane sliding sash windows to north west wing and six-over-six sliding sash windows to south wing having limestone sills. Timber double-leaf doors to entrance flanked by pilaster strips with consoles. Interiors are predominantly late-Victorian in style. Stable complex, built c. 1850, to north about a courtyard comprising; detached thirteen-bay two-storey stone-built building on an L-shaped plan with seven-bay two-storey range having series of segmental-headed integral carriage arches to ground floor and six-bay two-storey wing at right angle to south having single-bay single-storey lean-to recessed end bay to south gable end, wing now derelict. Detached five-bay two-storey building retaining early fenestration, now disused and partly derelict. Pair of semi-detached three-bay single-storey buildings retaining original fenestration with square-headed shared integral carriage arch to centre. Detached three-bay single-storey gate lodge, built c. 1850, to west retaining original aspect with single-bay single-storey gabled advanced entrance bay to centre and single-storey canted bay window to north elevation.
https://archiseek.com/2017/1874-burnham-house-dingle-co-kerry/
1874 – Burnham House, Dingle, Co. Kerry
Architect: J.F. Fuller
Originally a three-storey, seven bay Georgian block of around 1790. It was later enlarged by the addition of two-storey wings. Later the house was re-faced by J.F. Fuller and the portico and porte-cochère added creating the house we see today. The garden front has two-storey, rectangular projections in the centre, with three-sided bows at the ends of the wings.
Burnham House was seat of Barons Ventry, the family sold it soon after 1922 to the Irish Land Commission with later internal alterations and extensions by Office of Public Works. It is now Coláiste Ide, an Irish-language secondary boarding school for girls.
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=B
Lord Ventry held a house valued at £49 at Burnham East, barony of Corkaguiny, at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. Lewis mentions that the family lived for much of the time in England and the house was occupied by their agent, David Thompson. The Ordnance Survey Name Books indicate that the house had been built c.1790 at a cost of £4000. Wilson, however, refers to Burnham as the seat of Thomas Mullins in 1786. Later, members of Lord Ventry’s family resided there. It was still owned by Lord Ventry in 1906 when the house was valued at £80 and ancillary buildings at Burnham West valued at £28. The property was sold to the Land Commission in the 1920s and the house became an Irish speaking secondary school for girls, Coláiste Íde, which is still in operation.
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2013/03/burnham-house.html
THE BARONS VENTRY WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KERRY, WITH 93,629 ACRES
This noble family derives from a common ancestor with that of Molyneux, Earls of Sefton, namely,
SIR RICHARD MOLYNEUX, Knight, of Sefton, Lancashire, from whom descended
WILLIAM MOLYNS, of Burnham, Norfolk, descended from the ancient family of MOLYNS of Sandhill, Hampshire, itself a scion of the old baronial house of DE MOLEYNS OF HENLEY, whose heiress of line, ELEANOR MOLEYNS, married Sir Robert Hungerford, Knight.
Mr Molyns married firstly, the daughter and heir of William Montague; and secondly, Emily, daughter William Walrond, of Bovey, Devon, by whom he had a younger son,
RICHARD MOLEYNS or MOLINS, of Mitford, Norfolk, who wedded Jane, eldest daughter of Sir Alexander Culpeper, Knight, of Bedgebury, and was father of
FREDERICK WILLIAM MULLINS, a colonel in the army, who settled in Ireland, and obtained considerable grants in the province of Ulster, which he sold, and purchased estates in County Kerry.
Mr Mullins sat in two successive parliaments in the reign of WILLIAM III.
He wedded Jane, daughter and co-heiress of the Very Rev John Eveleigh, Dean of Cork, and by had issue,
FREDERICK;
Richard;
Edward;
Samuel.
The eldest son,
FREDERICK MULLINS (1663-95), wedded, in 1685, Martha, eldest daughter of Thomas Blennerhassett, and granddaughter maternally of Dermot, 5th Baron Inchiquin, and by her had issue, an only son,
WILLIAM MULLINS, of Burnham, County Kerry, who espoused, in 1716, Mary, daughter of George Rowan.
Mr Mullins died in 1761, and left, with a daughter, Anne, an only son,
THOMAS MULLINS (1736-1824) who was created a baronet, 1797; and elevated to the peerage, in 1800, as BARON VENTRY, of Ventry, County Kerry.
He wedded, in 1775, Elizabeth, daughter of Townsend Gunn, of Rattoo, in the same county, and had issue,
WILLIAM TOWNSEND, his successor;
Townsend, father of THOMAS TOWNSEND AREMBERG, 3rd Baron;
Thomas;
Richard;
Edward, a major in the army;
Frederick, in holy orders;
Theodora; Elizabeth; Arabella; Charlotte; Catherine; Helena Jane.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
WILLIAM TOWNSEND, 2nd Baron (1761-1827), who espoused firstly, in 1784, Sarah Anne, daughter of Sir Riggs Falkiner Bt, and had issue,
ANNA;
Elizabeth.
His lordship wedded secondly, in 1790, Frances Elizabeth, only daughter of Isaac Sage, which marriage was dissolved, 1796; and thirdly, in 1797, Clara, daughter of Benjamin Jones, and had issue,
THOMAS (1798-1817).
The 2nd Baron died without male issue, when the honours devolved upon his nephew,
THOMAS TOWNSEND, 3rd Baron (1786-1868).
- Arthur William Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 6th Baron (1864–1936)
The heir apparent is the present holder’s only son Hon. Francis Wesley Daubeney de Moleyns (born 1965).
BURNHAM HOUSE (or Manor), near Dingle, County Kerry, comprises a three-storey, seven bay Georgian block enlarged by the addition of two-storey wings, which were re-faced during the late 19th century.
The entrance front boasts engaged Doric columns which support sections of entablature and a steep pediment above a porte-cochère.
The roof is eaved on the centre and wings; while the centre has a modillion cornice.
The garden front has two-storey, rectangular projections in the centre; with three-sided bows at the ends of the wings.
Burnham House was sold to the Irish Land Commission in the 1920s and is now a girls’ boarding school.
Other former residence ~ Lindsay Hall, Branksome, Dorset.
First published in April, 2011.
Irish Historic Houses 