A Bon Mot Cast in Stone
“Margaret and Laura Bowe inherited good taste from their parents,” states architect Alfred Cochrane. He worked on Marlfield House Hotel over a 15 year period starting in 1982. “Mary their mother has incredible style and she wanted more accommodation. My work at Marlfield is Postmodern. I wanted the Conservatory to be a room away from the house, not directly attached. It’s inspired by Richard Turner’s Botanic Gardens Belfast and the National Botanic Gardens Dublin glasshouses as well as Brighton Pavilion. The pond front of the single storey wing is designed to resemble a French hunting lodge. I had to insert a fire wall into the Staircase Hall of the original house. The Bowes bought superb 18th century fireplaces like the one in the Library. Great artists were brought on board: Marina Guinness and Victoria Ormesby-Gore created the Print Room and Nat Clements painted the murals in the Entrance Hall. Mary’s husband Ray dammed a stream to create the pond.”
Alfred’s work augments Marlfield’s presence both physically and aesthetically. Creative clients helped. “We’re all mad about design,” declares Laura Bowe. “Our family all have a good eye. I worked in Alfred’s practice for a while.” Mary and Ray bought the house and 15 hectares from the widowed Lady Courtown in 1977. It was built in 1852 by the 4th Earl of Courtown as a dower house. The house is tall, slim and elegant. Three storeys: four bay entrance front; four bay corresponding garden front with a two bay breakfront; and two bay bowed side elevation. The other side adjoins a two storey ancillary wing. Faced with rugged semi coursed rubblestone and red brick quoins. A parapet free pitched roof over deep eaves is punctuated by tall chimneystacks. The 5th Earl swapped some of the ground floor multi pane windows for plate glass sashes in 1866. “Courtown House was across the road,” comments Laura. “It was sold to the Irish Tourist Board in 1948 and pulled down.” Jeremy Williams records in his 1994 guide Architecture In Ireland 1837 to 1921, “Courtown House, the seat of the Earls of Courtown, was much modified during the 19th century … William Burn was involved in remodelling the house.” The 9th Earl, James Patrick Montagu Winthrop Stopford, recently enjoyed a weekend at Marlfield.
The vivid reinvention of the former dower house, a joyous revivication, begins at the entrance to the grounds. In place of traditional stone pillars are Alfred’s whimsical wrought iron columns supporting wry wiry pineapples. This design is shadowed in a gazebo on the lawn. The entrance portico of the house bridges the gap between Neoclassicism and Postmodernism. There’s a layering of stylistic language at play, apropos for a polyglot architect. A Doric centrepiece steps forward from smooth stone bays; it’s deconstructed to become not so much a broken pediment as a broken temple ‘glued’ together with glazing. Beyond lies the vast semicircular Entrance Hall partly mirrored in plan by a bowed external water feature. A picture gallery connects the Entrance Hall to the State Suites of the single storey wing: the French Room, Georgian Room, Morland Room, Print Room, Sheraton Room and Stopford Room. “Inspiration for the Print Room came from Mariga Guinness’s work at Leixlip Castle and of course Lady Louisa Connolly’s famous Print Room at Castletown,” notes Margaret. “When the doors are pulled across the bed alcove, wedding ceremonies are often performed in this room.”
There are another 13 bedrooms, all with marble bathrooms, upstairs in the main house. Guests can dream and more in coronet, fourposter and half tester beds. The Conservatory on the garden front balances the State Room wing on the entrance front. History, luxury, harmony, geometry and symmetry: all are important at Marlfield, a billet-doux to hospitality. The Conservatory, an adventurous addition, is a tripartite triumph in cast iron and glass. A central projection balloons up to a storey high ogee shaped dome. The vertical frame of distinctive lattice metal pilasters topped by stylised Ionic capitals is as stylish as anything produced in the Regency era. The Ionic order with cerebral associations bestowed upon it by Vitruvius has long carried intellectual heft. Soaneian mirrored cornicing, cills and starburst ceiling roses reflect the omnipresent brilliance.
“I worked with Alfred and his business partner Jeremy Williams in the summer vacations while I was studying architecture,” says Albert Noonan. “I was involved in drawing the magnificent curvilinear Conservatory. Extending a period property is full of design challenges. Alfred tackled these challenges with confidence, building on historic references to create a statement piece that harmonises well with the original building both inside and out. The Conservatory is a joy to walk around and the interior with frescoed walls brings the beautiful gardens into the Dining Room. Stylistically it has not dated and looks as good today as when it was first built.” It reminds us of sitting in the conservatory of Ballyfin, County Laois, or Rokeby Hall, County Louth.
Albert reminisces, “As a young architect I was impressed by the uplifting experience of visiting Alfred’s projects. His designs deliver on functionality but they also incorporate creative details that add a sense of intrigue and visual interest. This approach to design influenced my career – I endeavour to create designs that not only meet clients’ brief of functionality but also create appropriate environments that are uplifting and pleasurable experiences for the end user.”
In a mark of approval, a continuum of tradition, an aligment of the story arc, a refinement of the built form, he would return to Marlfield to design the restoration and conversion of the coach house, potting shed and gardener’s tool shed into The Duck. The hotel and restaurant share the same avenue but then it forks off into different, albeit abutting, worlds. “The Duck is a meeting point for all directions in good or bad weather,” Margaret clarifies. “People come in the summer to sit on the terrace. People come in the winter to be near the fire. It sits 100 for lunch and 120 for dinner.” There’s a rustic feel inside: exposed stone walls and timber panelling. “The beauty of the restaurant is it overlooks the kitchen garden. There’s a kilometre long walk around the meadow. This whole place is in use, all 36 acres.”
Two years later, Albert designed the remodelling of the tiny Gatelodge, transforming it into a spacious two bedroom single storey residence. “It’s extremely popular,” confirms Margaret. “People never stay once.” A pair of simple gate pillars marking the entrance to the Gatelodge garden is repeated in the hedge opposite lining the avenue: that symmetry in action. He recalls, “The original Gatelodge was a classic and modest design and the extended building retains these attributes externally. Internally, we created visual interest through elevated ceilings and a varied palette of materials and textures including exposed brick walls, timber panelling, stone flooring and earthy muted colours. Laura has a great eye for furniture and fixtures that convey a sense of luxury and comfort.” An opaque circular ceiling window – like the one over the Staircase Hall of Alfred’s County Wicklow home – lights the Lobby leading into the large open plan Reception Room.
“Following on from the Gatelodge project, the Bowes wanted to provide more bedroom accommodation,” remarks Albert. “Rather than extend the main house it was decided to provide five freestanding Pond Suites. They’re of a contemporary design intended to complement the woodland setting. Each Suite has large windows and a terrace orientated to capture great views over the pond and island.” Margaret adds, “They’re called The Peacock, The Fox, The White Heron and The Blue Heron. We named the two bedroom suite The Nest.”
He continues, “The Pond Suites are constructed in a lightweight timber frame walling sitting on bored pile foundations to minimise disruption to the ground beneath. The floors are floating just above ground level. Main exterior walls are clad in cedar which will transform into a silver grey finish over time. The rear walls and monopitched roofs are clad in black coated zinc. We used Crittal steel windows. The monopitched design maximises the height of the façade glazing.”
As night falls and sun sets, dinner in the Conservatory hits more high notes than a Wexford Festival Opera diva. First there’s the prelude of parmesan and spice bread which sides the Courgette and Goat’s Cheese Canapé. Mozart in a mouthful. Seared Irish Scallops (roast apple purée, Granny Smith crisp) form the brisk and lively first movement of this incredible edible symphony. Pachelbel on a plate. Roast Onion Soup is lyrically relaxing. Bach in a bowl. Fillet of Pan Seared Halibut (concasse of tomato, sugar snap peas, mussels, lemon beurre blanc) ups the tempo and pumps the mood music. Tchaikovsky on the tastebuds. Marlfield Garden Rhubarb Millefeuille (vanilla pastry cream, candied ginger) provides a rollocking finale. Pudding is La Passione. Encore will be breakfast and encore une fois coffee and shortbread while the car pulls up for departure.
“I joined the team in 1994 after working in event management in London,” Margaret concludes. “Laura arrived back in 2004 after leaving the film industry. She is responsible for brand development and I take care of the sales department. On a daily basis, we manage the hotel together. Ireland is essentially a rural country and I’ve lived in the countryside for much of my life. My love of nature is my way of expressing the attachment, this Irish identity.” A tortoiseshell runs past into the herbaceous border. Margaret mourns, “George the peacock and the ginger cat died a couple of years ago. In July and August, George was always crowing, calling out for a lady. There are three cats now. They just appear! There are lots of birds too.” On cue, a heron swoops out of the pond, past two gliding ducks.
Five years after opening, Marlfield became a member of the coveted Relais et Châteaux group. Add sustainability to its list of qualities. The Gatelodge has triple glazed windows and a heat pump. That open plan layout is never draughty. “We strive to constantly reduce our carbon footprint,” assures Margaret. “We operate on green energy and are moving towards biogas. The Pond Suites are close to zero carbon. Our menus use local produce within a radius of a few kilometres. Over the last two years we have planted at least 150 trees.”
Courtown House long gone, Marlfield House is in its golden era. The dowager is now the doyenne.
