Cliff House Garden, Killiney, Co Dublin The home of David McGeough and Briony Wilkinson
CLIFF HOUSE, the home of lawyer David McGeough and his partner, Briony Wilkinson, commands an enviable view of the sparkling waters of Killiney Bay. This rocky flank of south Co Dublin was once a threadbare landscape of gorse and scrubby trees overlying the granite hills that fall down to the sea. In the middle of the 19th century, a number of elegant houses sprang up on the steep slopes: some, including Cliff House (then Green Hill), were designed by the well-known Irish architects Deane & Woodward. Other buildings devised by the neo-Gothic-loving duo were the Kildare Street Club and Trinity College Museum in Dublin and the Oxford University Museum. Green Hill was completed in 1862 for Joseph and Fanny Robinson, renowned members of the Dublin music scene: he was a baritone, composer and conductor; she a virtuoso pianist and composer.
The house, set on about 1½ acres, was subject to the stipulation that it should cost a minimum of £1,500 to construct, in order to maintain the upmarket status of the area. It remains one of the most exclusive niches in Ireland: Bono’s house is across the road, whereas Enya’s fairy-tale castle is further up the hill.
Mr McGeough purchased the property in 2005 from Simple Minds guitarist Charlie Burchill. He set about stabilising the garden’s many terraces and returning the plot to its former grandeur. The site enjoys a remarkable microclimate, sheltered from wind, facing south-south-east and warmed by the giant storage-heater properties of the underlying granite. Frost is rare and the good acid soil promotes abundant and rapid growth. This favoured slope is like a miniature Mediterranean on steroids.
Denne historien er fra October 11, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 11, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
