Irish country houses have historically provided the perfect bolt-hole for British “celebs” needing to escape the predations of Fleet Street and salacious London gossip mongering.
Two centuries ago, in 1812, British aristocrat William Lamb (better known to history as Lord Melbourne and who later became Chief Secretary for Ireland and then Queen Victoria's first prime minister) borrowed Belline House near Piltown on the south Co Kilkenny estate from his pal, the Earl of Bessborough.
Lamb needed to get his wife – who was at the centre of an immense public scandal – away from London. Lady Caroline Lamb had had a very public affair with the playboy poet Lord Byron whom she famously described as "mad, bad and dangerous to know".
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Byron ungallantly dumped her, and her mortified husband decided that a temporary spell in rustic obscurity, and exposure to the bracing air of the Comeragh Mountains, might cool her ardour.
Tree-lined avenue
The house remained in the Bessborough earldom's ownership until the 1930s and has since had a succession of owners and occupants of somewhat lower profile.
The current owner, businessman James Coleman bought the property for a reputed €3 million in 2003, and is now selling Belline House on 91 acres, by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €1.85 million.
The main residence, accessed via a long tree-lined avenue, is a well-maintained, distinctive-looking nine-bedroom period mansion – three storeys over basement – of some 725sq m (7,803sq ft). The rooms are big, bright and spacious and the house is in generally good order although some refurbishment will be needed.
But, like all country estates there’s a lot more accommodation: a gate lodge, two guesthouses and, not for the faint- hearted these, two apartments overlooking a stallion yard.
The grounds contains some interesting architectural follies. The house is flanked by twin detached circular pavilions with conical roofs – once used as pigeon houses.
On a bend in the avenue is a very unusual and, more recently, controversial rustic lodge in the form of a Doric temple made out of tree trunks.
Although a protected structure – described by the Irish Georgian Society as an “architectural gem” – it partially collapsed into ruin two months ago and needs to be fully restored. According to the agent, following legal proceedings the owner is now working with Kilkenny County Council on a plan to restore the lodge.
Belline also features substantial equestrian facilities including a fully-enclosed American Barn with a large indoor arena and viewing gallery. There’s stabling for 45 horses.
The lands are well sheltered and include some 50 acres of grazing pasture, 40 acres of mature woodland, with the balance comprising the pleasure grounds surrounding the house.
Belline House is a short walk from Piltown village; Carrick on Suir is 6km away and Waterford airport 21km. Access to the M9 Waterford-Dublin motorway is a 10-minute drive from the house.
