KEEPING HOUSE ON A VERY GRAND SCALE
REPORTER DAVID MEDCALF VISITED THE PALLADIAN SPLENDOUR OF RUSSBOROUGH HOUSE WHERE MANAGER ERIC BLATCHFORD ENJOYS AN AMAZING VIEW FROM HIS OFFICE WHERE HE WORKS AT A JOB WHICH REQUIRES A VERY LARGE BUDGET
RUSSBOROUGH House near Blessington is back in business after the winter break and after a €500,000 programme of spending. Yes, half a million euro was pumped into the stately Palladian mansion, though manager Eric Blatchford admits that few visitors will notice the difference. The money was invested in unglamorous, unshowy, largely unseen items such as wiring and water pipes which come under the heading of essential maintenance.
The man in charge was just happy to have the money available in the kitty for work which replaced potentially lethal old electrics and leaky plumbing. And he is aware that there will always be a requirement to splash the cash if Russborough is to retain its appeal as one of the best known houses in Ireland. The building constructed in the middle of the 18th century by brewer and property developer Joseph Leeson, a.k.a. the Earl of Milltown, is one of the best known in the country.
On its prominent site beside the N81, the spectacular mansion is impossible to ignore and during the later part of the 20th century its fame was supplemented by association with two notorious callers. Republican revolutionary Rose Dugdale came to remove some of valuable paintings which were hanging on the walls of Russborough at the time. And her example of 1974 was followed 12 years later by the late Martin Cahill, the criminal gang leader known as The General.
The incredibly valuable art which drew such unwelcome attention has long since been removed to the National Gallery but there are other ways of making headlines. One traumatic weekend in 2010, Eric received a phone call at his home in Naas to tell him that the West Wing was on fire. Newspapers of the time carried lurid aerial photos illustrating the daunting extent of the damage caused by the blaze which cost insurers more than a million to put right.
Such unsettling experiences aside, the manager is glad to report that he generally loves coming to work each day. A glimpse out of the window of his office in the East Wing illustrates why, as he never tires of the view which first prompted the building of this remarkable Big House on this particular spot in the 1740s. The swans on the pond are not the originals, of course, but the rolling countryside is pretty much as the original Lord Milltown admired it, with the timeless Wicklow Mountains in the background.
Their lordships’ stewardship of the family’s country seat concluded in 1930 when the estate was sold to Colonel and Mrs Daly who arrived from Galway. They paid £9,000 (a little over €11,000) for a privilege which they enjoyed until 1952. Then the Daly family made way 65 years ago for Alfred and Clementine Beit – he a jaw-droppingly rich former personal assistant to Winston Churchill and she a former London debutante beauty.
It was they who hung the Old Masters on the walls, with priceless works of Rubens, Goya and Velasquez all included along with an incredibly rare Vermeer. On the face of it, the Beits were an unlikely aristocratic pair to settle in the Republic but they made Russborough their home. They were also the first to open the house and grounds to the general public, setting up the not-for-profit trust which was left in command after Alfred died in 1994 and his spouse in 2005.
Under the trust, the gates remained open, with a modest tea room serving tea and scones to those who were curious enough to come call-
ing. In 2007 the trustees placed an eye-catching press advert seeking a manager with a photo of Russborough House over the caption ‘All This Could Be Yours’. It certainly caught the eye of chartered accountant Eric Blatchford who was working in Dublin at the time as an executive with drinks firm Pernod Ricard. Ten years ago, he was ready to make a break from corporate finance and instead take on the conservation of a building more than 250 years old and in need of some active management.
He arrived in his new office with its majestic view to find that Russborough was not well set up to be a major tourist attraction. The old gates may have been wide enough for Lord Milltown’s carriage and horses but modern coach drivers were not prepared to risk scraping their paintwork on the stone pillars. Eric recalls jumping into his own car to ferry tourists up the drive. In reality, most of the coach tours gave Russborough a miss and sailed serenely past, heading for more accessible attractions. One of the new manager’s most urgent tasks was to provide the new, wider entrance off the N81.
The Beits, though they allowed guided tours around the main house, with its splendid function rooms and nine bedrooms, had wanted a quiet life.
‘ The estate had deteriorated through lack of investment,’ says Eric recalling the enormity of his initial challenge. ‘Russborough had fallen into serious disrepair in the decades before I joined.’ The chartered accountant found that he not only had to keep the books but that he was also required to take a slash hook to the brambles which had invaded the rhododendron walk.
Other obvious practical improvements undertaken in the past decade have included provision of 250 secure car park spaces, where before there was room for just 40 vehicles in an area prone to flooding. The old beech hedge maze has been restored, all 20,000 square feet of it, with statue of cupid at its diamond shaped centre. The maze is one of the star turns in a selection of family friendly activities which also embraces a playground and a fairy walk which Eric insists straight-faced comes with at least ten fairies – ‘ they all have names!’
The tea-shop menu has expanded beyond scones to provide lunches and even, when occasion demands, full fine dining. The West Wing has risen from the ashes to provide accommodation to long-term, rent-paying tenants, and a cottage in the grounds is also rented out. The courtyards are alive with artisans and artists, including a blacksmith, a ceramicist, a wood turned and a candle-maker. The national birds of prey centre has moved into what was a farm yard and some days the falcons may be seen exercising over the fields.
The grandly named Hippodrome (riding school) has become one of the most memorable venues in the country with the Celtic Tenors due to perform on June 21. The house or grounds also host an annual classical music festival in May, with a garden show being planned for July 29. The basement of the main house has been cleared to allow visitors see the Beits’ home cinema where high society guests were once entertained. The manager is busy promoting a new tree trail which runs from a hefty sequoia to more recent additions planted by Presidents McAleese and Higgins.
In his job, it never pays to stand still, so Eric is forever considering ways, for example, to bring the old walled garden back to former glory – a task already under way with the help of weekend squads of volunteers from the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland.
Each car parked at a cost of €2 and each toasted sandwich sold in the tea room puts another few bob in the kitty but the finances continue daunting.
‘Running Russborough remains very difficult due to the huge cost and the never ending amount of repair and maintenance,’ is the reality reported by the manager. One of his first tasks was to oversee the installation of a modern waste water treatment plant to stave off the county council’s threat of total closure. Essential roof repairs cost in the order of €250,000 and the oil boiler system had to be replaced for €50,000.
Fáilte Ireland sees the tourism value of the place and it has made a contribution while the Beits’ art education fund called the Apollo Fund has also chipped in generously along with the Government.
Nevertheless, Eric makes no apology for the decision to sell off some items in the Beit art collection, a move which drew some adverse criticism last year. He argues that the best paintings were kept in Ireland, sold to Irish philanthropists who are happy to have them on show at the National Gallery in Ireland.
The trustees could have closed Russborough House long ago but instead they have kept the gates open to visitors who now arrive at a rate of more than 100,000 each year.
The expanding work force has been stretched to include curator Pauline Swords who looks after the remaining paintings and porcelain. And the latest appointment is fundraiser Teresa Crowley who aims to tap into the cultural and charitable budgets of big companies.
‘ There are millions of euro of outstanding repairs and maintenance,’ says Eric Blatchford of the never ending cycle of Russborough renewal. ‘Most of the roof is 275 years old and will need to be repaired. There is no end to it.’
THE ESTATE HAD DETERIORATED THROUGH LACK OF INVESTMENT. RUSSBOROUGH HAD FALLEN INTO SERIOUS DISREPAIR IN THE DECADES BEFORE I JOINED