Table of Contents Page Foreword by An Taoiseach Mr. Bertie Ahern TD 2 Acknowledgements 3 Executive Summary 4 Section 1 Compiling the Study 7 1.1 Aims 7 1.2 Choice of houses and procedure 7 1.3 Terminology 8 Section 2 Historical Background 9 Section 3 Survey Findings 13 3.1 Present function of historic houses 13 3.2 Cultural heritage importance 15 3.3 Conservation issues 20 3.3 (i) Houses in the ownership of original families 20 3.3 (ii) Houses in state ownership 23 3.3 (iii)Houses in the ownership of institutions and organisations 24 3.3 (iv) Houses in new private ownership 25 3.4 Further sources of threat 26 3.4 (i) Income/Funding 26 3.4 (ii) Decline in tourism 28 3.4 (iii) Taxation 30 3.4 (iv) Insurance 33 Section 4 National Trust Legislation 34 Section 5 Summary of Key Findings 38 Section 6 Key Recommendations 40 References 44 Appendix I Schedule of Houses in Survey and Location Map 45 Appendix II Summary of Findings for each House 49 1 FOREWORD The stated policy of Government ‘ to ensure the protection of our heritage and to promote its enjoyment by all’ is the outcome of an increased awareness and appreciation of the value of our heritage in recent years, both for its own value and the economic and educational benefits that arise from it. To facilitate this commitment by Government, I placed heritage, including both the built and natural environment within the remit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, as Local Authorities, under central Government, share responsibility for the implementation of heritage policies. The built heritage includes a wide variety of structures from terraced houses to thatched cottages, bridges and boundary walls to canals and castles, but the ‘Big House’ has a special place in Irish architectural history. Once considered not to be part of our patrimony, these magnificent eighteenth and nineteenth century houses, built by Irish builders, are now increasingly valued for their architectural significance and for the wealth of superb interior decoration created mainly by Irish craftspeople. However, the problems of upkeep of these great houses in today’s world are obvious, and have now been accurately chronicled in this study. Ideally, the best way for ensuring the survival of many of these important houses is for them to continue in the loving care of the original owners. Sadly, less than fifty houses, with their all important family contents, remain in the hands of the families which built them, and many of these are finding it difficult to survive. Some houses in state-ownership, or occupied by institutions such as schools, are facing similar difficulties. A number of houses which have come on the market in recent years have been fortunate to fall into the hands of new owners who have meticulously restored and refurbished to a high standard as well as keeping the landscaped settings intact. Conservation requirements can clash with the changes necessary to adapt these historic buildings for modern use and to attract the tourist. Planning legislation should not mean the inflexible preserving of the status quo; neither should it permit works which devalue the intrinsic historical worth of the buildings and settings. Informed and enlightened judgements need to be made when dealing with the built heritage and balanced solutions should be sought. The survival of this important part of Ireland’s built heritage is of major concern to Government. Houses and owners vary in their needs and I welcome this study of a sample fifty of these historic houses and the outlining of the problems faced by each individual house, both private and in state ownership. The author, Dr. Terence Dooley, has produced a detailed and independent view of the situation.. This study will be an invaluable tool in the consideration and formation of policy on the preservation and enhancement of our historic houses which will include consideration of the structures and legal frameworks which, in the light of international experience, might most effectively address our needs. I congratulate the Irish Georgian Society and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for the initiative shown in commissioning this informative and timely study. Bertie Ahern TD Taoiseach September 2003 2 Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge the kind support of the officers and staff of the Irish Georgian Society, particularly Desmond FitzGerald Knight of Glin; Sir David Davies; Mary Bryan; Donough Cahill; Estelle Gittins, Lisa Lambert and Elspeth O’Neill; Dave Fadden and Liam O Connell of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government; John Ducie, vice-chairman of An Taisce; Frank Carr of KPMG; those at Bord Fáilte and the Heritage Council who answered my numerous queries, and most particularly those house owners, managers, representatives and architects who so willingly gave of their time and offered much appreciated hospitality: Lord Altamont; Brian Bellew; Michael Bolton; Hon.Garech Browne; Charles Clements; Rebecca Cogan; John Coote; Martin Corrigan; Thomas Cosby; Jean Costello; Barbara Dawson; Lord Dunsany; Laurence Feeney; Bill Finlay, Desmond FitzGerald Knight of Glin; Mother Magdalena Fitzgibbon; Sir Josslyn and Lady Gore Booth; Major and Mrs. Hamilton; James Howley; Breda and Norman Ievers; Andrew Kavanagh; Brendan Kiernan; Susan Kellett; Margaret and Patrick Kelly; Knights of Columbanus [Billy Roe]; Eileen Lawlor; Samantha Leslie; Michael Lynch; John Madden; Lord and Lady Meath; Sean Moran; Lord Henry Mount Charles; Pyers O’ Conor Nash; Sir John and Lady Nugent; John O’Driscoll; Austin O’Sullivan; Thomas and Valerie Pakenham; Sandra Peavoy; Michael Penruddock; Alexander Perceval; Jim Reynolds; Lord Rosse; Sisters of Sion [Sister Phil]; Michael Sword; Mrs. Sidney Waddington; David Wall; Lord Waterford; Egerton Shelswell- White. Finally the author would like to express his gratitude to the National University of Ireland and to the Department of Modern History, National University of Ireland Maynooth. The author Dr. Terence Dooley is author of The decline of the big house in Ireland: a study of Irish landed families, 1860-1960 (2001). He is currently NUI Fellow in the Humanities, attached to the Department of Modern History, National University of Ireland Maynooth. 3 Executive Summary Due to an amalgam of economic, political and social reasons, only a very small proportion of historic houses (defined in this study as the country and town houses of the Irish landed class) survive in Ireland today in the ownership of their original families. Others have passed into the ownership of the state or of institutions and organisations whereby their functions have changed radically from private residences to hotels, country house bed and breakfasts, schools and colleges, hospitals, government offices, and even a prison. Many more have disappeared completely from the Irish landscape having been burned during the revolutionary period 1920-23, or simply abandoned or demolished since the 1920s. The preservation of all remaining historic houses, as well as their contents and their surroundings, is now a national imperative. They provide the only architectural evidence of the intermediate historical period between the golden era of the landed class in the early eighteenth century and their gradual decline from the late nineteenth century. Their preservation need not be seen as a celebration of the landlord system that facilitated their construction but rather a celebration of the great artistic achievements of the architects who designed them and the everyday works of craftsmanship of those who embellished them. The importance of historic houses, their parks and gardens to Irish and European cultural heritage is now generally accepted. The Irish government, through its participation in the Granada Convention of 1985, has committed itself to safeguarding the built heritage of Ireland for the wider good of the future generations of Europeans. *** This study set out to underscore the importance to Ireland’s heritage of the surviving historic houses in this country, to ascertain their current status, identify the potential threats to their future and make recommendations to safeguard that future. For this purpose fifty houses were selected. Four categories of houses were subsequently identified: those owned by the original families; those owned by the state; those owned by institutions and organisations and those in new private ownership (that is, houses more recently acquired by entrepreneurs and wealthy business people.) It was found that those owned by the original families are of particular importance because most of them retain at least some of their original contents, something that adds immeasurably to their historical integrity. The main body of this report finds the houses, with very few exceptions, are faced with difficulties which threaten their existence in the future unless immediate steps are taken to avert these threats. The state of the houses surveyed varies very much according to the funds which have been available to sustain their maintenance. Their present condition also varies greatly according to the levels of commitment which it was possible for previous generations to give to their conservation and restoration. The financial pressures on the original 4 family owners of historic houses during the twentieth century has had dramatic conservational consequences. With very few exceptions, large areas of most of these houses have fallen into disrepair, simply because