With all its Georgian grandeur and acres of parkland, Eileen Battersby would happily settle forever in Newbridge House
Afternoon light pays its respects to a large red drawingroom. Dating from 1760, the room is classic Georgian in style and remains fixed at about 1820. Its walls are hung with family portraits and Old Masters of the English, Dutch and Irish schools. A harp once purchased for a young lady stands on the carpet. For all its grandeur, Rococo plasterwork and sense of period, the room is relaxed and welcoming. These paintings were enjoyed, not hoarded, and this was the heart of a much-loved family home.
Newbridge House in Donabate, Co Dublin, is a fine example of the Irish Georgian country residence. It is also unique in that nothing short of love and good fortune has preserved its special atmosphere.
This lovely villa was designed for the Rev Charles Cobbe, Archbishop of Dublin, by James Gibbs and built by George Semple in the 1740s. The Cobbe family remained here until 1985 when the house was purchased by the then Dublin County Council, and it is now owned and sensitively maintained by Fingal County Council in association with the Cobbe family. The parklands, extending over 360 acres, and the grounds are familiar to generations of families, bird-watchers and dog-walkers.
The house itself has retained its character. When it was sold many of the contents were auctioned, some were purchased back by the county council and reinstated, and others were later returned through donations. Other pieces and furnishings owned by the Cobbe family remain in the house. To enter the house is to walk into Irish social history and experience a living sense of 18th and 19th century life. If time can stand still in the best possible way, it clearly has at Newbridge House where heritage has priority over commercial tourism.
In an architectural context, it is important as the earliest building in 18th-century Ireland executed by a leading British architect. Newbridge House, with its simplicity and graceful proportions, was conceived not as a grand gesture, but as a home designed for comfortable living. Here is a Georgian house that - even now, in an age in which relaxation appears ever elusive - it would be easy to live in. It neither overpowers nor intimidates; even the magnificent plasterwork is sufficiently subtle to seduce not startle. A large Portland stone fireplace in the entrance hall invites the idea of setting a fire.
On many an evening the smell of wood burning must have greeted homecomers and visitors, the firelight would have flickered on the polished black and white floor tiles. The diningroom is dominated by two almost full-length windows, and the light flows down along the table. The black Kilkenny marble broken pedimented chimneypiece is believed to be from a lost Gibbs drawing and a collection of blue and white Chinese ware is arranged upon it. Along the opposite wall is a serving table. A pair of silver swans act as a centrepiece on the main dining table - of course, the motif is deliberate. The Cobbe family had an affinity with swans although Charles Cobbe, who was born in 1686 and arrived in Ireland in 1717, had a particular fondness for the pelican which features in the family coat of arms.
By the time Cobbe, who studied holy orders at Oxford and became Archbishop of Dublin in 1743, serving until 1765, decided to build Newbridge House he was already a widower, the father of two sons, and the stepfather of his late wife's two sons from her first marriage.
Books and music were his passions, and as dean of Christ Church he had provided singers for the first performance of Handel's Messiah. Among his large library, most of which was sold off by his son in 1800, was a manuscript copy - in Cobbe's own hand - of Jonathan Swift's autobiography. That Cobbe was a benign presence is obvious from the feel of this house he created and which his son developed.
The famous red drawingroom was added at a later date and few extensions have so dramatically taken over a house as this room. Margaret Coyle, who has been a volunteer guide here for 20 years, knows all the pieces and all the stories. She loves Newbridge House and her enthusiasm offers further layers to a visit.
The library is another of those rooms in which it would be possible to settle forever. There is a beautiful bow window. It is easy to imagine women from the pages of Jane Austen choosing it as a suitable place for an intimate exchange about a forthcoming marriage.
The inner hallway is a graceful space with a stone flagged floor it showcases the Corinthian doorway leading into the red drawingroom. For all the wonders though - and wonders there are, including a sculpture gallery - the most special room of all is the Museum of Curiosities. Created in 1790, this is a rare example of that prevailing 18th and 19th century tradition of the gentleman natural scientist at work, carrying on a practice established in the 16th century of assembling a "cabinet of curiosities" or a private museum featuring mineral, rock and shell specimens. The Cobbe collection began in 1756, when Charles Cobbe's son Thomas and his wife Lady Betty were presented with an ostrich egg, inscribed "laid at Dundalk". The display furniture, wooden cabinets consisting of shelves and drawers, is as interesting as the exhibits. Chinese and Indian influences are also present. The room also provides a vivid insight into the Georgian mind.
Downstairs, the kitchen, which retains its original screen, is resplendent in its impressive array of utensils. It also retains its original dividing screen. In the hanging room, now used for parties waiting for a tour, is a cautionary memorial to a killer hawk which, having murdered 38 young pheasant chicks in the course of a 14-day wave of terror, eventually met a much deserved bad ending.
It is also possible to see the butler's pantry off the diningroom, but the servants' quarters are not open to the public, nor are the bedrooms. Yet the restrictions are minor. There is so much to see in the house, one visit would never be sufficient.
Outside is an impressive square courtyard with a range of red doors and stone buildings including a forge, stables, a carpenter's shop, a dairy and accommodation for a range of animals. Among the residents is a majestic Irish Draught retired brood mare. Now 28, "Shiraz", by Sir Henry, appears serene and peaceful, well pleased with her surroundings. It is a privilege to meet this beautiful, gentle horse. Her small companion is a laconic donkey. Across the yard is a 33-year-old Connemara pony who appears to have discovered the secret of eternal youth and expects to be admired.
Elsewhere, pygmy goats are in conference, although a little one, now a year old and very confident, breaks away and begins following us about.
Joe Kelly has worked at Newbridge Farm for 20 years and is delighted at having the experience of being involved in a traditional working farm. The animals here, including the Kerry cows, are used for breeding and live out their natural lives. Joe has watched the generations of animals from birth to senior citizenship. He knows the cows that want to be petted and "the ones that will butt you with their heads". A pair of peacocks patrol with customary arrogance and then oblige by posing on a stone archway. There is a wide range of birds and chickens. Nearby, pedigree pigs ponder their supper. There is also a fine collection of coaches and carriages, including a gilded state carriage built for the Lord Chancellor in 1790. Extensive cobbling runs through the courtyard and farm. Beyond all this lies the parkland.
A plaque outside the house mentions that it was opened to the public by former government minister Ray Burke in 1986. All this Irish social history has been preserved thanks to the foresight of the Cobbe family and thelocal authority. Long before Lissadell House in Co Sligo, with its rich historic associations, came on the market and the Government would do nothing to protect it, leaving it to private individuals, Newbridge House, handled with love, responsibility and good old-fashioned practicality had proven that heritage can - and does - work effectively. From the wall fabrics to the worn furnishings, to the art, the domestic objects, the stone work, the rich history and the animals outside, time may have stood still but life is continuing at this most atmospheric period house. Newbridge House is heritage without compromises.
James Gibbs in Ireland: Newbridge, His Villa for Charles Cobbe, Archbishop of Dublin, by Alec Cobbe and Terry Friedman, is published by the Cobbe Foundation and the Georgian Society. Newbridge House and Demesne will open every day except Mondays from April 1st. Admission: €7 adults, €3.50 children, €18 family (2+2). Tel: 01-8436064