Salthill House

Klassifizierung: Herrenhaus
Land: Irland
Region: County Donegal
Adresse: Salthill House, Mountcharles, Donegal
Epoche / Stil: Late-eighteenth-century

Salthill House was constructed as the residence for an estate agent on the Conyngham lands near Mountcharles in County Donegal. Positioned on a wooded ridge approximately one mile from the main estate residence, the house commands southerly views across parkland and meadow toward Donegal Bay, with distant vistas of mountain ranges including Barnesmore, Clogher Hill, Ben Bulben, Knocknarea, and peaks in Sligo and Achill. The architect Thomas Ivory may have designed the property around 1770, though attribution remains uncertain. The structure exhibits gable ends, two storeys above a high basement, and a five-bay facade with a shallow single-bay breakfront. The round-headed cut-stone doorcase with sidelights is mirrored by a round-headed pediment window. Interior modifications occurred circa 1820 with the installation of a staircase, though the house retains its late-eighteenth-century character with much original joinery and glazing intact. Historical occupants included Hugh Montgomery as the initial resident, followed by Francis Montgomery (1824), Leonard Cornwall (1838) and Robert Russell (1857-1881). The property subsequently changed hands multiple times before acquisition in the early 1980s. The walled garden underwent extensive restoration and replanting over three decades. Original gravel paths were complemented with hedges and grass pathways, and planting emphasises perennials, shrubs, vegetables, herbs and fruit trees suited to northern conditions. New woodland was established eastward with mown paths, while the gravel avenue and yards feature raked curvilinear patterns. The surrounding region offers dramatic natural scenery of mountains, lakes, river valleys and coastal promontories. Slieve League's sea cliffs rise nearly two thousand feet above Donegal Bay. Available as a film location; garden visits individually or by group arrangement, and hosts concerts, plays and recitals.