A Future for Irish Historic Houses - Irish Heritage Trust

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donors to gift their properties to the trusts and others to donate the funding that will be necessary to protect them into the future. As a preliminary step the issue of the efficacy, feasibility and practicality of legislating for national trust-type organisations to manage historic house properties and other heritage-type properties needs to be researched and analytically appraised from the public policy perspectives, in the widest sense, of costs and benefits. 6.4 Grants or low interest loans are essential and need to be targeted at those original owners in need of financial assistance who want to retain their houses and contents intact and who are willing to provide good access to the public. While section 482 has been of great benefit to owners, it needs to be reviewed and modified in the light of the contents of this study. These modifications are over and above the reforms that should be made to ensure that present beneficiaries under section 482 give satisfactory access to the public and adhere to the spirit of the law. If owners persistently make it difficult for members of the public to gain access to houses, the benefits of section 482 should be withdrawn. In particular, there needs to be a distinction with regard to the exemptions and concessions allowable to original owners who may be financially struggling to preserve their houses and new purchasers who have the private wealth to restore houses themselves. It should be recognised that fiscal arrangements should be geared more towards those original families who most need them in order to maintain their homes. 6.5 Specific tax concessions need to be considered in relation to those houses currently held in legal structures such as trusts and companies to which present tax exemptions do not apply. Owners claim they are unable to dismantle these structures because of the huge costing involved. There is a tendency in official circles to view this problem with little sympathy because it is perceived they were created in the first place to avoid taxation rather than to benefit the historic property. Whether that is the case or not the stage has now been reached whereby it is more important to preserve the built heritage than it is to benefit from a relatively insignificant taxation bill. The owners who might benefit from any such measures would have, in turn, to accommodate access to houses and contents. 6.6 There seems to be a great deal of confusion amongst owners regarding the nature of tax concessions and grant assistance. It would be of great assistance to many owners if a general paper on tax legislation could be prepared, perhaps by an organisation such as the Irish Georgian Society, outlining entitlements in a coherent fashion (although it should be emphasised that each owner has a responsibility to look after his/her own fiscal affairs.) 6.7 Greater resources should be made available for the existing conservation grants scheme operated by the local authorities and the Heritage Council. At present, local authority budgets for heritage protection are completely inadequate. Of great concern is the fact that funding for conservation grants operated by local authorities is now being cut. Funding for 2002 was 40 per cent down on the 2001 levels. 41
6.8 Grants should be subject to some degree of means testing which would facilitate targeting of grant assistance to the owners who do not have the financial capability to undertake the necessary works of care and maintenance. 6.9 The possibility of the remission of rates in respect of historic houses (or parts of), which are being used for commercial purposes, should be investigated. The difficulties in this respect are exemplified by the case of Strokestown Park in County Roscommon where the National Famine Museum is located. The owners find themselves in the position of getting local authority grants but simultaneously being billed with substantial local authority rates because the historic property is being used for commercial purposes. 6.10 The possibility of exempting certain funds from taxation which are being generated specifically for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings should be investigated (including the disposal of property or artefacts associated with the historic house which is intended to be conserved.) This could be similar in some respects to the rollover relief allowed to owners of land acquired for infra-structural projects. 6.11 Some policy initiatives should also be considered to alleviate the extra insurance burdens on the owners of historic properties, particularly, though not exclusively, those that have been included by local authorities in the record of protected structures. 6.12 There is an invaluable historical resource existing in many of the historic houses surveyed in the form of estate archives, generally well preserved and in some cases dating back several hundred years. These estate records often reveal the economic, social, political and cultural life of local communities over a span of many generations. Urgent consideration needs to be given to preserving this valuable historical resource and to accommodating access for scholarly endeavour. 6.13 While planning laws are essential and generally well received by owners, there is a need for a degree of flexibility in implementation that will allow families to generate the income that is necessary to maintain a property. The installation of facilities that do not damage the integrity of the house should not be prevented by the planning regime. If rules and regulations are applied too rigidly, even where they are passed with the best of intentions, it might limit the ability of house owners to generate income. In particular there should be consistency in the application of the planning legislation by the various local authorities. Under the present planning legislation, there needs to be a mechanism for a review body allowing owners a degree of flexibility where there is dispute over preserving the integrity of the building or developing it in a way that will allow for a greater degree of commercial use that is necessary to sustain the house. Each application needs to be looked at on an individual basis. Such a mechanism might also prove conciliatory in situations where owners find themselves at odds with government officials they perceive to be meddling rather than helpful. 6.14 An appreciation of the historical and cultural heritage values should be promoted through exhibitions of historic house art, contents and archive collections, conferences and so on to raise public awareness. Houses should be regarded as an educational 42
Page 2 and 3: Table of Contents Page Foreword by
Page 4 and 5: Acknowledgements The author would l
Page 6 and 7: family owners of historic houses du
Page 8 and 9: Section 1. Compiling the Study 1.1
Page 10 and 11: Section 2. Historical Background At
Page 12 and 13: a distance from their houses. In 19
Page 14 and 15: Section 3. Survey Findings 3.1 Pres
Page 16 and 17: - Russborough, Co. Wicklow, is owne
Page 18 and 19: all the known examples of houses of
Page 20 and 21: It is not just the houses themselve
Page 22 and 23: The present condition of these also
Page 24 and 25: - Repair estate walls and garden wa
Page 26 and 27: - which needs to be eradicated imme
Page 28 and 29: o Killruddery can no longer be main
Page 30 and 31: Attracting significant numbers of p
Page 32 and 33: Some difficulties arise which relat
Page 34 and 35: and heritage at Birr is in imminent
Page 36 and 37: Ireland the Local Government (Plann
Page 38 and 39: able to accompany these finances wi
Page 40 and 41: There remain a number of owners, mo
Page 44 and 45: asset, offering a unique insight to
Page 46 and 47: APPENDIX I Schedule of Houses in Su
Page 48: LOCATION MAP 47
Page 52 and 53: Abbey Leix, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois Ab
Page 54 and 55: Aldborough House, Dublin Aldborough
Page 56 and 57: Ardgillan Castle, Balbriggan, Co. D
Page 58 and 59: Avondale, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow Avo
Page 60 and 61: Ballinlough Castle, Clonmellon, Co.
Page 62 and 63: Ballyfin Co. Laois Ballyfin is loca
Page 64 and 65: Ballyhaise House, Ballyhaise, Co. C
Page 66 and 67: Bantry House, Co. Cork Bantry House
Page 68 and 69: Barmeath Castle, Dunleer, Co. Louth
Page 70 and 71: Beaulieu, Drogheda, Co. Louth Beaul
Page 72 and 73: Bellamont Forest, Cootehill, Co. Ca
Page 74 and 75: Bellinter, Navan, Co. Meath Bellint
Page 76 and 77: Belvedere, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
Page 78 and 79: Birr Castle, Birr, Co. Offaly Birr
Page 80 and 81: Borris House, Borris, County Carlow
Page 82 and 83: Castle Leslie, Glaslough, Co. Monag
Page 84: Charlemont House, Dublin Charlemont
Page 87 and 88: - Clonalis House places in context
Page 89 and 90: - The demesne is one of the most ex
Page 91 and 92: - Dunsany has historical associatio
Page 93 and 94:
that a large volume of people trave
Page 95 and 96:
- The plasterwork has been restored
Page 97 and 98:
o The neo-Classical plasterwork of
Page 100 and 101:
Headfort, Kells, County Meath. Head
Page 102 and 103:
Hilton Park, Clones, Co. Monaghan H
Page 104 and 105:
Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford Johns
Page 106 and 107:
Killadoon, Co. Kildare. Killadoon i
Page 108 and 109:
Killruddery, Bray, Co. Wicklow Kill
Page 110 and 111:
King House, Boyle, Co. Roscommon Ki
Page 112 and 113:
Kylemore Abbey, Letterfrack, Co. Ga
Page 114 and 115:
Lambay Castle Lambay Castle is situ
Page 116 and 117:
Ledwithstown, Ballymahon, Co. Longf
Page 118 and 119:
Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford. Lism
Page 120 and 121:
Lissadell House, Co. Sligo Lissadel
Page 122 and 123:
Luggala, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow Lug
Page 124 and 125:
Malahide Castle, Malahide, Co. Dubl
Page 126 and 127:
Mount Ievers, Co. Clare. Mount Ieve
Page 128 and 129:
Newbridge House, Donabate, Co. Dubl
Page 130 and 131:
Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin Rath
Page 132 and 133:
Russborough, Co. Wicklow Russboroug
Page 134 and 135:
Shelton Abbey, Arklow, Co. Wicklow
Page 136 and 137:
Slane Castle, Slane, County Meath.
Page 138 and 139:
Stradbally Hall, Stradbally, Co. La
Page 140 and 141:
Strokestown Park, Strokestown, Co.
Page 142 and 143:
Temple House, Ballymote, County Sli
Page 144 and 145:
Townley Hall, Drogheda, Co. Louth T
Page 146 and 147:
Tullynally Castle, Castlepollard, C
Page 148 and 149:
Tyrone House, Dublin Tyrone House i
Page 150 and 151:
Westport House, County Mayo Westpor
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