Maquette of a Mansion
Gatelodges are one of the exciting distractions of driving round rural Ireland. Each one poses and poses questions. Is it in the same style as the Big House? Is it more adventurous? Has it outlived the Big House? Due to their diminutive size and often far flung locations, many are unoccupied although there are always ways to extend them sympathetically. Enter the Irish Landmark Trust, saviour of follies and farmhouses, lighthouses and gatelodges, restoring them as human and dog friendly holiday accommodation.
If Tullymurry House (near Newry, County Down) was the perfect getaway to celebrate a wintry milestone birthday with fellow elites, Salterbridge Gatelodge (on the edge of Cappoquin, County Waterford) is the ideal romantic retreat for early spring. Dating from about 1850, this stone gatelodge is in the severe Grecian idiom best exemplified on this island by English architect Francis Goodwin’s Lissadell House (outside Carney, County Sligo). The plainest of pilasters and parapets define its hard edges. An octagonal storey height double chimneystack is more English Tudor than Ancient Greece and hints at the shape of an internal feature. The chamfered entrance bay shape is internally mirrored to form an octagonal dining hall. A sensitively designed rear extension contains the kitchen.
Is Salterbridge Gatelodge the same style as Salterbridge House? Yes and no: the Big House also has plain stone pilasters and parapets but is otherwise rendered with Wyatt windows in the Regency mode. Is it more adventurous? On a par except for that double chimneystack: otherwise there is nothing over the top about the architecture of either the gatelodge or house. Has it outlived the Big House? No: fortunately Salterbridge House is also in great condition. In 2021, the 11 bedroom house and its 55 hectare estate was sold for €3.25 million to the Vernons who are only the third family to own the property. Robert O’Byrne celebrates the revival of the architectural white elephants of last century in his splendid latest book The Irish Country House: A New Vision (2024).
