Above are the front and rear elevations of Towerhill, County Mayo, a house believed to date from the close of the 18th century when built for Isidore Blake, whose descendants continued to own the property until 1948 when the building’s contents were auctioned and the place itself subsequently stripped of everything that might be removed, slates from the roof, floorboards and doorcases, chimneypieces and so forth. Of six bays and two storeys over basement, Towerhill is unusual in that all four sides of the house are pedimented, and finished to the same high standard; the architect responsible for this work is unknown. The property is now owned by the state’s forestry body, Coillte, which accounts for its neglected condition.
It looks like a missed opportunity to reuse the building for holiday accommodation or other leisure activities.
So very sad
Like many places in Mayo, the location is somewhat remote. Leisure attractiveness, therefore, would have been limited. I also suspect that Coillte would not want visitors tramping around their property.
We have to put the 1948 dismantling of this structure in perspective of the turmoil/economics after the war. If I remember, focused preservation of historic structures didn’t emerge until at least a decade later? Just a victim, sadly indeed, of the times.