Survey Data

Garden No.

GA4927


Landscape Elements

Ancient Remains, Buildings/Artefacts


Townland

Tyrone


Present on Ordnance Survey

First Edition: Yes, sheet 115

Second Edition: Yes, area reduced

Revised Edition: Yes, area reduced


Description

A large demesne set on gently rolling landscape south of the Kilcogan River estuary. The impressive c.1780 house was constructed on a slightly elevated site by the St.George family as was neighbouring Kilcolgan Castle a little later. It was abandoned in the early 20th century and burnt in 1920, now remaining as a ruin. The pre-1837 gate and lodge are gone without trace. The pre-1837 approach route is now a public road serving recent ribbon development of bungalows. Remains of various pre-1837 outbuildings remain as ruins. The walls of a pre-1837 subdivided walled garden remains as do the ruins of an impressive pre-1837 apple-works building. The pre-1837 parkland and histoirc field structure were subidvided post-1893. Nothing remains of the pre-1837 and c.1870 woodlands. A pre-1837 pier survives along with a pre-1837 walled coal yard with two ruined structures. A pre-1837 causeway and dam remain east of the quay.

Site Data

Principal Building

1: Detached seven-bay three-storey over basement country house, built 1779, facing south with three-bay cental breakfront and single storey portico, four-bay side elevations. Now a ruin.

Ornamental Garden

None

Ornamental Garden Building

None

Ornamental Garden Structure

None

Plant Collection

None

Outbuilding

3: Outbuildings, pre-1837, on east and west sides of a L-plan farmyard west of house. Stable yard having single-storey and two-storey outbuildings, built c.1780, comprising three-bay two-storey carriage house to west range, three-bay single-storey stables to east range, and multiple-bay single-storey outbuildings to north-west and north ranges. Now rroofless. Carriage house has rubble limestone walls, with oculus window openings to first floor having tooled surrounds. Central round-headed door opening having tooled Gibbsian surround. Square-headed carriage openings having segmental relieving arches with cut-stone voussoirs, and cut-stone surrounds with recessed panels to lintels. Single-storey stables having pitched slate roof, dressed limestone walls, square-headed door openings having tooled stone surrounds similar to two-storey block, and timber double half-doors. Multiple-bay block has remnants of pitched slate roof, roughcast rendered walls, and square-headed openings. Remains of rubble stone walls enclosing yard, and to walled garden to east. (NIAH)

Productive Garden

4: Walled garden, pre-1837, on north side of farmyard. Slightly offset division wall to middle having arched opening in wall with cut-stone surround and uneven stone voussoirs. Garden walls or rubble stone, now largely overgrown

Productive Garden Building

5: Detached eleven-bay single-storey apple-works building, pre-1837, in east walled garden, central five bays having stone low-set arches, rendered rubble-stone walls elsewhere. Diverse other detached structures in both sections of walled garden, pre-1837, now gone.

Parkland

Large parkland to south and north of house, pre-1837, with solitary trees. Now all gone.

Woodland

Shelter belts to south, east and to shoreline to north, pre-1837, now gone

Farmland

Historic parkland and field structure subdivided post-1893

Water

Estuary to Kilcolgan River to north.

6: Small lake to east, now overgrown

Avenue, Drive or Walk

2: Meandering route, pre-1837, from east, past site of Kilcolgan Castle and nearby church. Route passing close to house front to turn south a little further to the west and looping back south of the house through a shelterbelt. Straight connection north to farmyards from turn west of house. Route now a public road connecting further to the southwest, return loop now gone.

Gate Lodge or Gateway

Gate and single-storey lodge, c.1801, to east. Now gone

Boundary or Boundary Wall

Low rubble-stone walls throughout

Other

7: Quay, pre1837, on shore north of house. Base of large rubble-stones with stone mooring posts.

8: Triangular coalyard south of quay, pre-1837. Boundary walls of rubble stone with string course and rubble-stone crenellations. Segmental arch openings to north and south ends having cut-stone voussoirs. Long detached single-storey structure, in centre of enclosure, having rubble-stone walls, and large square-headed opening to one gable end with relieving arch above, stucture not in use after c.1870. Further structure along south perimeter wall, pre-1837, now overgrown.

9: Rubble-stone causeway and dam, east of quay, creating fish pond

Historical/Cultural Association

Tyrone was built in the early 19th century. It is described in the OS Name Books as "a beautiful residence" in the 1830s. At the time of Griffith's Valuation, it was in the possession of Christopher St.George and was valued at £50. In 1894 Slater notes it as the seat of Robert J.K. St.George. The family ceased to live there in the early twentieth century. (NUIG, Landed Estates)

…..After enjoying his magnificent house for about 20 years , Christopher St. George handed it over to his son and retired to Kilcolgan Castle, nearby, where he lived with a "chère amie", turning Catholic to please her. In 1808, the great house was described as standing stark on its eminence, "without a tree, bush or offices in sight"; later woods grew up around it….However, the family had not come down in the world nearly as much as Violet Martin ("Martin Ross") imagined when she visited Tyraone in 1912, which gave her the inspiration for The Big House of Inver, written after her death by Edith Somerville. When she saw it, the house stood empty, having been abandoned by the family 1905, though they continued to own it. From then until 1920, when it was burnt, it was the favourite haunt of trippers from the neighbouring towns, who were allowed to dance in the dining room……(Bence-Jones)

Mary Augustus Beaufort reported from a visit with her father to the house in 1808 that "from the Spot where his Father had built his Castle, which seems to stand prettily, there leads a narrow road, Hedgerowed, with large trees for about a mile, it leads to a small neat looking church well embosommed in old Trees - a turn to the right leads to the gate of Entrance - a low gate, with the prettiest low unpretending neat piers I ever saw". (J.A.K. Dean)

Overview
Site Footprint Visible Yes
Boundary Defined Yes
Significant Development No
Architectural Features
Principal Building Yes
Garden Building No
Buildings of Indeterminate Purpose No
Gateways and Gatehouses No
Avenues, Drives and Walks
Avenue No
Drive or Walk No
Garden Features
Ornamental Garden No
Walled Garden Yes
Orchard No
Parkland Yes
Woodland No
Natural Water Feature Yes
Artifical Water Features No
Allée No
Vista No
Other No
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