Historic Irish Country House For Sale in Co. Kildare

Special Features
– An elegant late Georgian country residence built in 1822
– The main house and pleasure grounds are fully restored and future proofed
– A delightful two acre walled garden which has lovingly been brought back to its former glory
– Splendid stone coach yard, stable yard and farmyard. Oozing with potential for future development
– Gate lodge
– Former museum, restaurant and shop
– Mature trees giving an extremely private and peaceful setting
– The lands are divided into grassland and woodland
– A further c. 69 ha (172 acres) available by further negotiation
– Underfloor heating on the ground floor
– Fully rewired and replumbed
– Renovated sash windows and shutters throughout
– All internal doors renovated
– New sunroom added
– Newcastle design kitchen
– All chimneys relined
– Original fireplaces throughout
– New septic tank
– New bathrooms throughout
– M4 motorway 9.6km
– Dublin airport 64km
– Dublin city 55km
All times and distances are approximate.

A classically elegant late Georgian country house, Ballindoolin has been at the heart of Kildare affairs since it was built in 1822. With gorgeous proportions, beautiful aspect, generous spaces and marvellous craftsmanship, the house has been exquisitely restored by its current owners.

Set on some 96.3 hectares (238 acres) of lush farmlands including tillage land, grass land and woodland. Ballindoolin House has both a coach yard and a stable yard. Its outbuildings include a former museum, restaurant and shop. There is a wonderful two acre walled garden that has also been fully restored to create an unforgettable setting. Important to the story of the coming of age of today’s Ireland, a wealth of family papers from Ballindoolin, dating right back to its earliest days are now in the care of nearby Maynooth University. M4 motorway 9.6km (under a 10-minute drive), Dublin airport 64km (under an hour drive), Dublin city 55km (under an hour drive)

A Country Estate in Georgian Ireland
Ireland in the Georgian era was one of the jewels of the Empire. Dublin was considered by many to be preferable to London, and property had prices to match. The city was noted for its splendour, and for the wit and generosity of its inhabitants.

The same was true outside the city. In Patricia McCarthy’s lively Life in the Country House in Georgian Ireland, she describes feasts and innovative ideas. That great chronicler of the era, Mrs Delaney, writes of how “you are not invited to dinner to any private gentleman of a thousand a year or less that does not give you seven dishes at one course, and Burgundy and Champagne.” The owners of Barbavilla in Co Westmeath had a trap door in their dining room that led directly to the cellar, so refreshments could be hoisted directly up.

Ballindoolin House would have been no different. With its vast estate there was plenty to farm and enjoy. Pleasure was also pursued, which can be seen from the presence of the rose garden and parterre in the beautiful walled garden.

The Ballindoolin House papers describe dinners and soirees, hunting parties, and country house weeks and weekends. Other intriguing features at Ballindoolin House include its extensive cellars, and at ground level, a second staircase, reached via a discrete wooden door. Running parallel to the main formal stairs, it meant that your servants could bid you good night as you retired and then race up, unseen, to welcome you to your bedroom, candle lit, ready to tuck you in.

Ballindoolin was built after the 1801 Act of Union, when Dublin’s role in the Empire’s social life had declined, many of the titled nobility absenting themselves and returning to London. And yet those who loved Ireland stayed on, adding their own stories to the tapestry of Ireland today. In the ownership of a single family since 1890, the last of their generations to live at Ballindoolin carried on the tradition of hospitality, by running a hugely popular restaurant, Tyrrells, in the former coach yard.

History
A house has existed at Ballindoolin since 1730, when the wealthy Bor family settled in County Kildare. Dutch bankers, they almost certainly had connections with the Dutch East India Company, a thought borne out by the Hindu Gothic plasterwork in the main entrance hall. Ballindoolin House as you find it today was built in 1822, modelled on Grange More in Westmeath, which belonged to another branch of the family. Grange More is now a ruin, but Ballindoolin has been fully and painstakingly restored in thoughtful detail right down to the recreation of the original drawing room wallpaper.

The Estate Papers of Ballindoolin, which include letters, ledgers, notes and farm diaries are now in the care of Maynooth University, where Dr Ciaran Reilly is making a full study. From these we can discover that when the house passed from the Bors to their land agent, William Tyrrell in 1890, it became a bastion of politics, Tyrrell being passionately committed to the Union with the United Kingdom. Like so many of Ireland’s great houses, Ballindoolin was attacked, and yet it survived, and the Tyrrells stayed on, remaining socially sought after by the community, such is the way of this welcoming part of the world.

Indeed, Ballindoolin remained in the ownership of descendants of the Tyrrell family until 2017, when it was sold to the present owners. The Ballindoolin papers show dinners, visits and parties for the local gentry, and as time moved into the Modern era, Ballindoolin continued to play its part. When William Upton Tyrrell was wounded at the Battle of the Somme, he came to Ballindoolin to recuperate. Returning to the front, he joined the airforce, and it is believed that aerial photographs of Edenderry from 1918 were taken by William Upton on a rare flight home. A huge renovation project began in the early 1990s, including reroofing, replumbing and rewiring. The Ballindoolin papers were vital in ensuring that the restorations were in keeping with the original template. A Great Gardens Restoration grant supported the returning of the extraordinary walled gardens to their former glories.

More recently in 2017, the present owners have undertaken an even more painstaking restorations, including future proofing this beautiful Estate for generations to come. The restoration process is just completed after four years of extensive works to include rewiring, replumbing, renovation of the sash windows and shutters, all internal doors were taken off, dipped and repainted. All the flooring on the ground floor was replaced and underfloor heating added, all the chimneys were relined. A new conservatory added off the newly fitted Newcastle design kitchen. The roof and many of the outbuilding’s roofs were redone by the previous owner through the section 482 relief utilised at that time. A large Eco-system septic tank is newly installed. New bathrooms throughout. Fully alarmed, electric gates. The original coving was in good order and a specialist was brought in to work on any parts that required attention. The joists were upgraded. A new back stairwell was added, as the original was in poor condition. The main avenue, forecourt, walkways and car park are now in excellent order, making this a wonderful home for generations to come.

Inside Ballindoolin House
A classic four-bay three storey over basement Georgian country house, Ballindoolin is built from local limestone. Fully refurbished and sensitively and painstakingly restored, there are seven bedrooms, providing ample scope to create a wonderful and elegant family home. The Estate’s remarkable formal rooms, stables and yards however also lend huge possibility for different and extended uses.

The entrance hall has its original fireplace, a stone flagged floor and Hindu Gothic plasterwork detailing. Off this, there are matching dual aspect reception rooms to left and right. These again have their original fireplaces, while all the windows have been matched and replaced, all shutters refurbished and replaced where necessary, right down to the scalloped details in the drawing room. The dramatic drawing room wallpaper was entirely recreated from surviving samples

The drawing room leads to an equally elegant dining room, while across the inner hallway, the kitchen is a light-filled space, by Newcastle Design including an Aga, and with a very charming sunroom off. There are parallel staircases, one formal, and one formerly for servants.

The first floor has four bedrooms, all en-suite, and two with walk in wardrobes. These rooms have been beautifully updated, with unique wallpapers in each, while the bathrooms are exceptionally well appointed. The top floor has a further three bedrooms, two en-suite and a dramatic library which would also work well as a home office with its amazing light and views. A full utility room is also found on this level. The top floor could easily work as a self-contained unit.

The basement is gloriously atmospheric, including the former Georgian kitchens, wine cellars, plant room and more. These vaulted spaces are rich with potential.

Accommodation
Basement Level: Hallway, former kitchen, former laundry room, servants’ room, dairy and meat room, storerooms, cellar, wine cellars, fuel room and plant room.

Ground Level: Hallway, inner hall, twin staircases, drawing room, dining room, living room, kitchen, wc, sunroom.

First Floor: Large landing, four bedrooms all en-suite, two with walk-in wardrobes.

Upper Floor: Landing, three bedrooms, one en-suite, two sharing a Jack and Jill bathroom, shower room, library and full utility room. This level would work very well as a self-contained suite.

Approximately 1105.8 sqm (11,902.7 sqft)

Gardens and Grounds
Reached via an avenue, past a charming gate lodge, Ballindoolin House is completely private with mature trees and landscaped gardens. The gate lodge itself was designed by the famous William Morrison, originally for the Duke of Abercorn, and has a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

To the rear of the main house, there are two very large yards, including stables, two coach houses with huge potential for staff ccommodation, a tack room, hay barn and further outbuildings. These spaces were created for the golden age of horse-drawn transport and are exceptionally atmospheric. Currently they also include a museum building, showing the history of Ballindoolin, as well as a restaurant and shop. Behind the yards is a spectacular two-acre walled garden, restored under the Great Gardens Restoration scheme.

The walled garden is both fascinating and beautiful. There are melon pits, complete with spaces to dig in warming manure necessary for growing these exotic fruits on Irish soil. Bordered by roses and shrubs, the gardens include separate herb, nut, fruit and vegetable gardens, all wonderfully presented. A formal parterre complete with sundial draws you into the space.

Trees at Ballindoolin include oak, ash, sycamore, horse chestnut, hornbeam, hazel, holly and scots pine. Such is the generosity of the apple trees, Ballindoolin has also been producing a notable cider – for the enjoyment of those on the estate.

Farmlands
The farmlands are well fenced and have good drainage. This is high quality, old permanent pasture.

Location
Ballindoolin House is extremely well located, under an hour from Dublin city and airport and 10 minutes from the M4 motorway. The town of Edenderry is less than a 10-minute drive for all your shopping requirements. The towns of Enfield and Kinnegad are less than a 20-minute drive. The university town of Maynooth is less than a 40-minute drive.

Services
– Well Water
– Septic Tank
– Fully Rewired
– Three Phase Power
– Oil Fired Central Heating
– Underfloor Heating on Ground Floor with Separate Heat Pump
– Two oil burners which does all the water, heating and radiators

BER Details
Exempt