Whenever there is a discussion about whether history should be compulsory at junior cycle, or the subject is dismissed as a list of boring dates, or wherever archaeology is perceived only as the retrieval of artefacts, it’s worth remembering history is really all about ourselves, and how our past shaped us.
At Ballymurrin Quaker farmstead, a few miles inland from Brittas Bay near Kilbride, Co Wicklow, history comes to life at the threshold, below the lintel, behind the door, and at your fingertips. From the first glimpse of the U-shaped complex, on a 1.5-acre plot tucked into the shelter of gentle hills, you sense the peace and calm that attracted the first Quaker families here during a time when religious persecution was rife.
Since 1994 the farmstead has been the family home of conservation architects Philip and Delphine Geoghegan, who describe it as “a complex group of buildings with a magical simplicity”, a physical embodiment of unshowy, egalitarian Quaker principles that’s described in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as of “middling variety”. Now on the market through Knight Frank with an asking price of €1.5 million, Ballymurrin House, at Ballymurrin Lower, comprises three main elements alongside the original, now uninhabited, farmhouse built by Ambrose and Anne Judd in 1668, when the farm covered about 223 acres.
The second dwelling, now called the coach house, accommodated generations of the Bates family and incorporated a forge; to this, in about 1690, was added the five-bay farmhouse that now serves as the core of the complex. This was in turn enlarged by the addition in about 1720 of a dower wing, now called Box Tree Cottage. At right angles to this three-phase structure, on opposite sides of the rectangular courtyard and garden, are the milking parlour – now a two-bed, self-catering unit – and the stable block.
The charm of the main block lies in its human scale and its lack of flourish. “This house feels hand-made,” says Delphine. The two-storey building is one room deep, drawing light from east and west, and while the three phases are currently separated, for short-let purposes, they could be reopened into one contiguous home simply by removing shelves and other later inserts from the party walls.
To describe the accommodation in conventional terms, numbering bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces, almost does Ballymurrin House a disservice, as there is so much flexibility within the 306sq m (3,938sq ft) of the main block, and some architectural features that are hinted at in one part appear in full on the other side of the wall.
At one end of the cosy kitchen in the farmhouse, which was built about 1690 and has a floor area of 117sq m (1,905sq ft) , is a huge original fireplace with a bread oven to the side. Beyond this is a bright livingroom with a built-in cupboard in which it’s thought the Quakers used to store Bibles and minutes books for meetings that were held in the house. At the other end of the kitchen, the Geoghegans discovered a second inglenook fireplace that had been blocked for two centuries; this turns out to be the other side of the coach-house forge. At some point a staircase replaced the original ladder and on the turn of the stairs is a little pantry that, says Philip, is apparently “where the priest used to hide during penal times; he could climb from there up into the roof space”.
A more conventional way to access the attic is a new Stira from the recently remodelled bathroom, beside a bedroom off the blue-arched landing. At the other side of the landing is the main bedroom, off which is another room that serves as a studio/office but could work as a walk-in wardrobe and en suite. The main house is warmed by the chimney and insulated with sheep’s wool. “It has a thick woolly hat,” says Delphine.
At the other side of this wall, the coach house 112sqm (1,205sq ft), with original entrance wide enough for a cart, has a lovely downstairs bedroom that opens out to a raised patio that’s perfect for sunny breakfasts. There is an accessible bathroom and the white-floored, lime-washed kitchen has a sink and shelving built into an antique cupboard. Opposite this is the original fireplace of the forge. Standing inside that – beside an upright piano – is one thing but, once upstairs, the full scale of it is quite another, with horse hair and straw visible in the original daub.
The Geoghegans put a lot of work into restoring this long wide room, from which they ran their architectural practice. Restoration involved repairing ancient roof beams and conserving the stonework; historical modifications to the windows are visible in the front wall while Velux windows let in more light from above. From the glass doors, with a Juliet balcony, there is a good view of the original farm building, which has been cleared of ivy. Philip’s thorough research into the Quakers of the area – many of whom are buried in the quiet little plot a few hundred metres uphill towards Doll’s Rock – is distilled into display panels and illustrated booklets for visitors.
At the far end of the building is Box Tree Cottage, where the front door leads into the kitchen/living/diningroom. The painted pine units here, as in the main house, were built by previous owners the Strawbridges; a window at one end borrows light from the stairwell. Here is the most decorative detailing in the entire complex, with little tassels and fans in the window frame, and delicate woodwork on the handrail. There is a bathroom on the ground floor, and a large and a small bedroom upstairs. The floor area is 77sq m (828sq ft).
The Geoghegans’ respect for authenticity shines through every numbered stone, every daub of hand-mixed plaster, every carefully placed roof slate. Over almost three decades they have uncovered secrets and, as their daughter Christina puts it, “added chapters”. These include upgrading the milking parlour with sustainable methods that were (literally) groundbreaking in 2004 and featured on TV (Ballymurrin was also a finalist on RTÉ’s Home of the Year in 2017). As well as geothermal heating, there is a UV water filtration system and a biocycle effluent treatment system.
The milking parlour makes unusual use of Bangor roof slates, which are fixed in a regular way at the front, but at the rear the smaller slates form an appealing plaid-like “hit and miss” pattern. The long, double-height internal space, covering 116sq m (1,248sq ft) is handsomely pared back, with a generous living space, free-standing kitchen units, two unfussy bathrooms and two bedrooms, with red-framed windows and doors opening out to a pretty garden bordering the first farmhouse.
Across the front garden, which is dotted with chestnut, cherry and birch trees and has a hornbeam-hedged “cockail bar” patio, is the stable block, where the roof and the stone walls have been repaired and stabilised. There are original cobblestones underfoot and traces of a hayloft overhead. New owners could convert this section to accommodation, subject to planning permission; the complex is listed, thanks to the Geoghegans’ efforts through Wicklow partnership funding and other section 482 tax relief that ensures it is open to the public for 60 days a year, though this may change after the property is sold.
While appearing a rural idyll, Ballymurrin is well served by shops and schools in Wicklow town and Rathnew, with Brittas Bay a short drive and Fleming’s shop uphill at nearby Barndarrig selling, as Delphine sums up, “croissants, creosote and coleslaw”. The views from the shop across the Wicklow fields are free, but priceless.
