Kilmacud House
NAME KILMACUD HOUSE/BELVOIR/ST MARGARETS
AREA LOCATION STILLORGAN, Kilmacud Road Upper on the section that runs from the Kilmacud Road Lower to the junction at Stillorgan Heath.
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838-1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of Kilmacud East and it is annotated as St Margaret’s and Kilmacud House respectively.
GENERAL Kilmacud House previously known as Belvoir and St Margaret’s dates from c1820. A rendered two storey over part basement, three bay house with five large attractive 20 pane Wyatt windows. The beautiful neo-classical cut-stone portico is balustraded and decorated with wreaths and is supported on Ionic columns. It was advertised for sale in the Irish Independent in 1919 as a house on 44 acres. It is north facing with a bow to the east end. Some features have survived, the most impressive being the cast iron balustrade on the stairs, a cast iron fireplace and the portland stone floor in the entrance hall. Two marble fireplaces also survive and some very ornate plasterwork to the ground floor which was probably created or restored in the 1950's. The house went on fire in May 1918 and the first floor was badly damaged as was the roof which was replaced with the current flat roof.
The house is adjacent to the Carmelite Monastery and sides onto the Upper Kilmacud Road. It is currently in a sorry condition with some very un-impressive 20th Century additions including ugly iron fire escapes. It was used as both charity home and French school before becoming a refugee centre in 1996. The house has had many occupants over the years. The Hoey family (coal merchants) who donated some of their land for the building of a school and the old church (now Fruitworld) and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity who also donated some of the land for the building of the present St Laurence’s Church being but two.
In 1828 after the death of Dowager Lady Aylmer, the house was advertised for sale in Saunders Newsletter. It was described as being in complete repair with splendid views of Dublin Bay & Howth, the furniture less than 5 years old with a walled garden of over an acre that contained green houses with rare plants. Included in that sale was the stabling for eight horses, a coach houses, barn, cow house and piggery. One point of interest from the sale notice is the mention of a stream running through the grounds presumably now culverted.
Its gate lodge (demolished in 1960) was on the lower Kilmacud Road close to the site of the Mill House Pub and described as 'Italianate picturesque' in design with a bellcast roof which gave it an peculiar oriental look.
YEAR BUILT circa 1790
VALUATION In 1912 the valuation was 130 pounds and in the 1901 census it is noted as having 12 rooms occupied by family.
ARCHITECT Unknown, but porch, Imperial staircase and gate lodge (1852) attributed to John Skipton Mulvany.
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneus newspapers, Registry of Deeds, OSI maps and NAI Census & Wills.
OCCUPANTS
1799 - 1819 James Williams, Church warden & Treasurer of Stillorgan Church
1819 - 1820 To Let by James Williams
1821 - 1828 Lady Aylmer
1828 - 1849 Thomas Mooney, JP
1852 Anne Booth
1852 - 1871 Mr Robert Hoey
1880 - 1885 Vacant
1891 - 1892 Henry Gray Croly
1885 - 1895 Mr Bruere Volkes Mackay
1895 - 1918 Arthur Creagh Daly
1918 - 1920 Thomas Joseph O’Neill
1920 - 1949 Dwyer Family
1949 - 1995 Sisters of Our Lady of Charity (Home for Elderly Ladies)
1996 - 2013 Refugee Centre (Victory Christian Fellowship)
2013 - 2016 Bank of Scotland- NAMA – Vacant
2016 Sold as a development opportunity
2017 March - windows boarded up
2018 Under development see DLRCoCo Planning DAC 134/2018
STAFF
1849 Andrew Magrane, Gatekeeper
1901 Lizzy Connaughton, Childs maid
Thomas Downy, Herd
William Preastly, Coachman
Bridget Daly, Cook
Julia Tarell, Parlour Maid
1911 Matilda Kerr, Kate Stone, Margaret McVoy
CURRENT
STATUS Extant and vacant 2017. Under serious threat by property developers. House is a protected structure and trees are covered under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) No SES/13/28 since 1989. The rear of the house is covered in ivy and the render is falling away. 2018 - Trees removed and house building in progress.
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE 20 March 2017
AREA LOCATION STILLORGAN, Kilmacud Road Upper on the section that runs from the Kilmacud Road Lower to the junction at Stillorgan Heath.
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838-1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of Kilmacud East and it is annotated as St Margaret’s and Kilmacud House respectively.
GENERAL Kilmacud House previously known as Belvoir and St Margaret’s dates from c1820. A rendered two storey over part basement, three bay house with five large attractive 20 pane Wyatt windows. The beautiful neo-classical cut-stone portico is balustraded and decorated with wreaths and is supported on Ionic columns. It was advertised for sale in the Irish Independent in 1919 as a house on 44 acres. It is north facing with a bow to the east end. Some features have survived, the most impressive being the cast iron balustrade on the stairs, a cast iron fireplace and the portland stone floor in the entrance hall. Two marble fireplaces also survive and some very ornate plasterwork to the ground floor which was probably created or restored in the 1950's. The house went on fire in May 1918 and the first floor was badly damaged as was the roof which was replaced with the current flat roof.
The house is adjacent to the Carmelite Monastery and sides onto the Upper Kilmacud Road. It is currently in a sorry condition with some very un-impressive 20th Century additions including ugly iron fire escapes. It was used as both charity home and French school before becoming a refugee centre in 1996. The house has had many occupants over the years. The Hoey family (coal merchants) who donated some of their land for the building of a school and the old church (now Fruitworld) and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity who also donated some of the land for the building of the present St Laurence’s Church being but two.
In 1828 after the death of Dowager Lady Aylmer, the house was advertised for sale in Saunders Newsletter. It was described as being in complete repair with splendid views of Dublin Bay & Howth, the furniture less than 5 years old with a walled garden of over an acre that contained green houses with rare plants. Included in that sale was the stabling for eight horses, a coach houses, barn, cow house and piggery. One point of interest from the sale notice is the mention of a stream running through the grounds presumably now culverted.
Its gate lodge (demolished in 1960) was on the lower Kilmacud Road close to the site of the Mill House Pub and described as 'Italianate picturesque' in design with a bellcast roof which gave it an peculiar oriental look.
YEAR BUILT circa 1790
VALUATION In 1912 the valuation was 130 pounds and in the 1901 census it is noted as having 12 rooms occupied by family.
ARCHITECT Unknown, but porch, Imperial staircase and gate lodge (1852) attributed to John Skipton Mulvany.
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneus newspapers, Registry of Deeds, OSI maps and NAI Census & Wills.
OCCUPANTS
1799 - 1819 James Williams, Church warden & Treasurer of Stillorgan Church
1819 - 1820 To Let by James Williams
1821 - 1828 Lady Aylmer
1828 - 1849 Thomas Mooney, JP
1852 Anne Booth
1852 - 1871 Mr Robert Hoey
1880 - 1885 Vacant
1891 - 1892 Henry Gray Croly
1885 - 1895 Mr Bruere Volkes Mackay
1895 - 1918 Arthur Creagh Daly
1918 - 1920 Thomas Joseph O’Neill
1920 - 1949 Dwyer Family
1949 - 1995 Sisters of Our Lady of Charity (Home for Elderly Ladies)
1996 - 2013 Refugee Centre (Victory Christian Fellowship)
2013 - 2016 Bank of Scotland- NAMA – Vacant
2016 Sold as a development opportunity
2017 March - windows boarded up
2018 Under development see DLRCoCo Planning DAC 134/2018
STAFF
1849 Andrew Magrane, Gatekeeper
1901 Lizzy Connaughton, Childs maid
Thomas Downy, Herd
William Preastly, Coachman
Bridget Daly, Cook
Julia Tarell, Parlour Maid
1911 Matilda Kerr, Kate Stone, Margaret McVoy
CURRENT
STATUS Extant and vacant 2017. Under serious threat by property developers. House is a protected structure and trees are covered under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) No SES/13/28 since 1989. The rear of the house is covered in ivy and the render is falling away. 2018 - Trees removed and house building in progress.
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE 20 March 2017