Categories
Architecture Country Houses Luxury

The Hidden Ireland + Temple House Sligo

 Temple of Room 

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‘Exhausted by sunshine, the backs of the crimson chairs were a thin light orange; a smell of camphor and animals drawn from skins on the floor by the glare of morning still hung like dust on the evening chill.’Elizabeth Bowen, The Last September2 Temple House Sligo copyright lvbmag.com

Annaghmore, Lissadell and Temple House. Three great neoclassical country houses resting at the foothills of the rugged mountains which trace the west coast of Ireland in an area forever associated with the poetry of W B Yeats. Built of stone which darkens from gunpowder to charcoal grey in the persistent rain, each house has a deep Doric porch or porte-cochère for shelter from the prevailing wind. Austere elevations cloak rich interiors of unbridled indulgence. One house is private; one is open for guided tours; but only one accepts overnight guests. Enter Temple House (more of the other two later).

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A longstanding member of the Hidden Ireland group of private country houses which offer bed and breakfast accommodation, Temple House is owned by the Perceval family. They’ve lived on the 1,000 acre estate for the last 340 years or so. The twelfth generation, the blonde dynamic duo of Roderick and his wife Helena, act as hosts and together with their suave French chef, cater for the every whim of guests.

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The remains of the Percevals’ original home now form a picturesque crumbling ruin nestled between the current Temple House  and the lake. It was a castle built in 1216 by the Knights Templar who were later to be immortalised in Dan Brown’s pot boiler The Da Vinci Code.

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Most people have difficulty finding enough space in their homes to store all their belongings. Not so the Percevals. With dozens of rooms and miles of corridors lit by hundreds of windows, they never have the excuse that there’s no room for visitors. So they’ve turned this potential problem into an asset. Now guests can recline in splendid isolation in one of six first floor bedrooms. “We enjoy sharing this gem,” confides Roderick.

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Not all guests pay for their accommodation. “The most persistent ghost is Nora,” relates Helena. Nora, otherwise known as Eleanora Margaret Perceval, was the châtelaine of Temple House in the Roaring Twenties (although this being windswept rural Sligo the era was more about fires than flappers). A favourite haunt of hers is the Blue Bedroom. Her best friend was Lady Gaga, wife of Sir Henry Gore-Booth, who lived at nearby Lissadell. Another ghost, this time a male, has been glimpsed at twilight sitting at the writing desk in the guest bedroom corridor, scribbling long forgotten letters to long forgotten lovers under the purple patchwork of reflected light from the etched windows.

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Helena continues, “The part of the house we use as family accommodation was derelict when we moved in. It used to have a very distinct atmosphere… a little unnerving… but this has mellowed in recent times.” A visiting American psychic found the house to be riddled with ghosts. “She even spotted a few knights loitering in the castle ruins,” smiles Helena.

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Temple House wasn’t always as massive. In 1825 Colonel Perceval commissioned John Lynn to design and build a relatively modest two storey five bay wide house. Its porch is clearly discernible in the current side elevation. The family moved into this house while the servants continued to live in the castle. But just 33 years later financial difficulties forced the Percevals to sell up.

Not for long. A knight in shining armour soon came riding back to save the day. The third son of the Colonel, Alexander Perceval, bought back the estate in 1863. “Not large enough!” Alexander declared when he first set eyes on the new aggrandisement plans for the house. He’d made a fortune trading tea in Hong Kong and proceeded to splash out three quarters of a million pounds on rebuilding his ancestral seat.

In 1865 he added a three storey L shaped block directly behind the façade of the Colonel’s late Georgian house, to the design of the English firm Johnstone & Jeanes. The longer arm of the mirror image L stretches across the seven bays of a repositioned entrance front. The tip of the short arm adds a top storey to the middle of the garden front.

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On the entrance front the attic floor ducks behind a heavy balustrade which luxuriantly wraps around the side of the house like a colossal stone tiara. One year later Alexander was dead. His presence lives on in dashes of Chinoserie scattered throughout the interior. Alexander’s son went on to marry Charlotte O’Hara who lived at nearby Tara Annaghmore.

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The inside of the L forms two walls of a courtyard. A long low service wing completes the other two sides. This inner sanctum, devoid of distracting decoration, displays a strange and abstract beauty, its sheer silver grey walls pierced with diamond paned windows. Form doesn’t always follow function on the outer envelope, though. In the dining room behind the majestic Victorian portrait of Jane Perceval (Alexander’s mother who died in the Great Famine) is a false window with the sole purpose of maintaining the harmony of the exterior.

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“We believe each generation should leave its mark on the house,” relates Helena. “We’ve painted the dining room a rich ruby red using an authentic Farrow & Ball paint.” It used to be insipid pea green. “Next is the staircase hall. We’ve identified a specific blue in the cornice which we hope to use for the walls. After that will be the sitting room. Perhaps ivory or off-white.”

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Upstairs a rather more relaxed approach has been taken to the fragile interiors. “The Twin Bedroom hasn’t been decorated for 100 years,” laughs Helena, “but that’s a good thing at Temple House!” Signs next to the pair of tall sash windows request guests not to pull the curtains. They’ll fall down. When the shutters are closed at night no light penetrates the bedrooms anyway. “Temple House boasts rooms of enormous proportions,” comments Roderick. One is called the Half Acre Bedroom. “Yet there’s a real sense of intimacy here too.”

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“The first guests we catered for were one challenge which we met and are now adept at,” he says. “We love having groups of friends to stay. Then hosting our first wedding was the next challenge. Organising an arts and music festival was another exciting venture.”

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Irish country houses are increasingly flinging open their doors to the public as a shaky economy triggers innovative ways of making owners ensure estates pay for their upkeep. Ireland’s Blue Book is another association of country houses which also includes historic hotels, castles and restaurants.

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Ardtara, Tankardstown and Marlfield House. Three great neoclassical country houses featured in Ireland’s Blue Book. Like Annaghmore, Ardtara in County Derry relies on plate glass windows in canted bays for its visual serenity. Tankardstown in County Meath was voted Condé Nast’s Best House to Rent in Ireland 2009. “Sublime!” is how Robert Redford describes Marlfield House in County Wexford which has been remodelled by aristo architect Alfred Cochrane.

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Once the bastions of the privileged few, for centuries Irish country houses were hidden away behind high stone walls and locked cast iron gates, their existence barely acknowledged beyond a mile or two’s radius. Now, anyone can experience their otherworldly faded grandeur without the responsibility of their unwieldy financial upkeep.

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Categories
Country Houses

The Hidden Ireland + Hilton Park Monaghan

Powers Hilton

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“The air breathed in is soporific; the distances hold other-worldly gleam.”

Elsewhere erroneously attributed to the better known Irish architect Francis Johnston, the core of the current building was most likely designed by James Jones of Dundalk. The rebuilding followed a fire of 1803 which destroyed much of an earlier house. A letter from Jones to Colonel Madden dated 24 July 1838 refers to various works to be undertaken at Hilton Park. The stables and dovecote, the latter a romantic folly, are probably by Jones. He was also the likely designer of the ‘ride’ which adjoins the rear of the house.

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The ride is a distinctive cast iron colonnade erected at the rear of the house to allow the family to observe horses being broken-in away from the inclement County Monaghan weather. It’s now a handy car port.

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In 1874 County Cavan born William Hague (no, not him) was paid 100 guineas by the residing Madden to redesign the house. It was a surprising commission from an Orangeman to a Catholic ecclesiastical architect. One of his many churches is St Aidan’s in nearby Butlersbridge. Drawings by Hague line the walls of the vaulted breakfast room. “He provided my ancestor with a ‘pick and mix’,” says current owner Johnny Madden, “including ceiling designs for the main rooms.”

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While the campanile, bay window and dome weren’t executed, the Ionic porte cochère, parapet decorations and lower storey rustication were completed. Triangular pediments (without aedicules) float over the piano nobile fenestration. The most dramatic change was the excavation of the basement to form a three storey house. Montalto and Tullylagan Manor are two Northern Irish houses which have been similarly treated, most likely for aesthetic purposes. Johnny Madden believes many of the alterations at Hilton Park were for security reasons:

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“You can’t ram the reception rooms when they’re on the first floor. The porte cochère also acts as a barrier. The central rooms on the front elevation all have metal shutters. And the front door is lined with metal. Hague went on to design the west wing of Crom Castle.” Life is more relaxed these days. Below a sliding sash, handily placed steps provide a quick exit to the gardens.

“If you begin in Ireland, Ireland remains the norm.”

Hague was clearly versatile. Crom is neo Elizabethan. Hilton Park is Italianate. Most of his churches were French gothic. “The house isn’t particularly Irish looking,” observes Johnny.

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Hilton Park is now a large three storey stone block commanding views over 240 hectares of land. The entrance front is divided into four sections: a five bay breakfront framing the three bay porte cochère; three bays on either side of the breakfront; and a single bay wing to the right. “The house isn’t as large as it first seems,” says Johnny’s wife Lucy. “It’s long and narrow.” This is apparent on the side approach from the driveway which reveals the building is just three bays deep in some parts. Hilton Park appears much bigger when looking at the five bay garden front which is elongated by an ancillary wing.

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The entrance door opens into a small gothick hall decorated with polychromatic encaustic floor tiles, coral walls and ribbed vaults. Most of the ground floor rooms have vaulted ceilings, a reminder they were once in the basement. The estate office and morning room are accessed off the hall. A pair of double doors leads into the double height staircase hall which is panelled on the ground floor. The gothick theme continues in the first floor barrel vaulted dining room on the garden front. An enfilade of Italianate reception rooms is positioned across the entrance front.

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Stained glass windows add drama to the staircase hall; plate glass windows add light to the reception rooms. The upper section of the staircase is lit by a tall arched Georgian window. Two blind windows in the corner guest bedroom provide balance to the entrance front. All the guest bedrooms are grouped around an upper landing and corridor to the rear of the house. the corridor ceiling slopes under the slant of the pitched roof. The section of the house closest to the driveway is used as the family wing.

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“Nothing can happen nowhere. The locale of the happening always colours the happening, and often, to a degree, shapes it.”

Bold quotes by Elizabeth Bowen

Categories
Design Luxury

Chivas 18 + Pininfarina

Whisky Mist Paolo Pininfarina lvbmag.com

New year, new article, new collaboration. In a world exclusive, you heard it here first. Chivas Regal 18 Year Old and Pininfarina have come together for the first time to create a limited edition. Under wraps until now, we are delighted to reveal – breaking with Scotch whisky tradition – the three expressions of the Chivas 18 by Pininfarina limited edition.

Colin Scott lvbmag.com

Paolo Pininfarina himself provides the headline: “Italian style means a sense of proportion, simplicity and harmony of line and we applied this sensibility to the designs we developed for Chivas 18.” Both companies share a rich heritage in crafting stimulating experiences in luxury. Pininfarina has been trailblazing Italian design and engineering since 1930. Established in 1909, master brand Chivas Regal is the original luxury whisky blend. Pininfarina’s Creative Director, Paolo Trevisan, also recognises the spirit (no pun) of the partnership. “We both have passion and strong knowledge. Pininfarina design is about aerodynamics, how air affects shape. Chivas 18, naturally, is symbolised by liquid. I was fascinated to learn that each drop of Chivas 18 captures 85 flavours. Multisensory complexity yet delivered with such precision. The partnership was a perfect marriage of values and mutual respect. It’s been inspiring.” That inspiration takes the form of a streamlined drop. It unites both houses in their ongoing quest for beauty, harmony and, ultimately, pleasure.

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And now for Limited Edition 1. A blue metallic finished outer case is reminiscent of prestigious car metalwork. The rich wood veneer interior represents the oak barrels intrinsic to the ageing process of Chivas 18. Paolo Pininfarina calls this “the cold and warm effect”. All three expressions include a specially designed bottle of Chivas 18 with Pininfarina’s design notes visible on the metalised crest. The Italian company’s logo is proudly emblazoned on the capsule and neck wrap. A mere snip at £90 (that’s the Duty Free price so pick it up on your return from Rosa Alpina).

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Limited Edition 2 features the same design cues while taking the expression of the partnership further. It features a solid wood inlay and is even more aerodynamic. Proudly presenting the limited edition bottle, it also includes two glasses designed by Pininfarina which reflect the drop design. Each unit is individually numbered to highlight its limited edition status. Perfect for opening in the limo back home from the airport. Yours for £360.

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Colin Scott is Master Blender of Chivas Regal. He developed an early passion for Scotch whisky growing up near an Orkney distillery. Colin is the third generation of his family to dedicate their lives to the whisky industry. As guardian of the renowned Chivas Regal signature style, he says, “Chivas 18 is smooth, flowing, excellent, warming. Scottish culture glorifies craftsmanship. Pininfarina’s glass references the drop. It sits beautifully in your hand – a translation of exceptional harmony in every drink. Limited Edition 2 takes Chivas 18 to another stratosphere.” Chivas 18 Mascherone by Pininfarina is the ultimate status symbol for your home. Inspired by the mascherone, the original wooden frame that was used to refine automobile shapes, it marks the pinnacle of the partnership. Hand assembled in Cambiano by Pininfarina, Limited Edition 3 has an oak internal structure clad in aluminium. Illumination from the base brings this collector’s piece to life. Only five Mascherones will be on display globally. Otherwise, it’s made to order. If you have to ask, chances are you can’t afford it.

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