tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post6258558988444613355..comments2024-03-28T14:38:09.470+00:00Comments on Patrick Comerford: Searching for elephants and finding an Olympic medallist in CharlevillePatrick Comerfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00558394038241172440noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-42933957691663095192023-05-05T22:58:25.488+01:002023-05-05T22:58:25.488+01:00Great account about "The Park" and great...Great account about "The Park" and great to read the comments also with the family connection to the house. I also have a connection, of a different sort, in that I lived in the house as a very young child when it had been purchased by the Heffernans and turned into flats, one of which was rented by my parents (ground floor right). It is a real shame to see this house so abandoned, with the grounds destroyed. But this is common unfortunately around Charleville. My parents moved to Belfort House, on the Kilmallock Road, after living in The Park; it was was also divided into flats at that stage. Belfort House was purchased by Golden Vale/Kerry some time in the 1970s (?) and knocked down by them and nothing remains of its existence. And very unfortunately a very similar fate may await Moatville House (Limerick Road); it has been purchased by Kerry and the last time I managed to see the house, when the gate was briefly unlocked, it looked like it was in a perilous state, with large holes in the masonry. This was a house that was lived in relatively recently - late 1990s I would guess - so to see it so easily and rapildly be let to decline is a real shame. Moatville is older than Sanders Park and was apparently built on the footprint of the original Boyle grand house at Deer Park. That grand house was first a victim of the politics of the 1690s, and since then has been a victim of negligence and planning decisions. For both The Park and Moatville to be allowed to succumb to dereliction is a real tragedy for Charleville's rich history. Finally, at a different level of the built heritage, some of the oldest houses in Charleville lie very close to Sanders Park, namely two small cottages on the southern side of The Turetts; apparently these were built by Roger Boyle to house the workers (I think Dutch weavers but they may have come from England) he brought in to populate and build up his new town in the 1660s. (He may have been emulating his father's establishment of Clonakilty.) These humble cottages, which, amazingly, were still lived in up until the 1970s/1980s at least, are now also being slowly falling into ruin on Charleville's first street. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-11275736538241298222021-04-14T09:57:25.871+01:002021-04-14T09:57:25.871+01:00There is a photo of Sanders Park in its heyday her...There is a photo of Sanders Park in its heyday here:<br />http://landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-show.jsp?id=3829<br /><br />Joc SandersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-31653688040029200252021-04-14T09:55:15.870+01:002021-04-14T09:55:15.870+01:00There is a photo of Sanders Park in its heyday her...There is a photo of Sanders Park in its heyday here:<br />http://landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-show.jsp?id=3829Joc Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290924194054115128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-33991072869665892142021-04-13T22:56:45.994+01:002021-04-13T22:56:45.994+01:00I live in Charleville and have an interest in loca...I live in Charleville and have an interest in local history and was interested when I came across this blog which I very much enjoyed reading. I notice various old buildings throughout the town, including this house.<br /><br />As of 2021, there’s currently a planning application for housing on land located behind the house. I notice the County Council has requested further details to be taken into consideration concerning the architectural heritage of the house and surrounds, including a “masterplan that includes the refurbishment and reuse of the Protected Structure and outbuildings”. So I believe the house will continue to stand, although more land is being sold off which will further devalue the context of the site. Link to planning application with documents (http://planning.corkcoco.ie/ePlan/AppFileRefDetails/206603/0).<br /><br />I don’t know when the estate was originally sold, but I believe it was acquired by the Binchy family, then the Heffernan family in the 1950’s. Based on some brief research I did, I understand it was eventually sold again in the 1970’s and carved up into different lots. The grounds of the house were of course demolished for a housing estate in the 1970’s and 1980’s. I don’t think such planning decisions would be granted in the 21st century. I would love to see what the house and grounds looked like before the above happened and also the interior of the house, but I’ve only ever found one or two photo’s to my disappointment.<br /><br />I imagine the original owners would be slightly “dismayed” if they saw the condition of everything now - grounds demolished and a housing estate built to the front door of the house. The grounds of old houses are as integral as the house itself, it’s a pity nobody had the good sense to just leave it be and build elsewhere (there’s not exactly a shortage of land around the town…).<br /><br />Perhaps if the Council had acquired the entire estate when it was sold, it could have been preserved, similar to the Doneralie Court estate also in North Cork. Maybe that would have been a satisfactory outcome for preserving the past and a way of life that is now of a different time. James.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07530435489149547909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-89038511295382445802018-09-29T12:15:07.154+01:002018-09-29T12:15:07.154+01:00Thank you, Patrick. It is sad to see the old house...Thank you, Patrick. It is sad to see the old house in the state it is in now. It has a new roof, no doubt because it is a protected structure and the county council insisted. But windows have been left open to the elements and the stairs and ceilings are down. I expect the owners are waiting for it to be declared a dangerous structure so that it may be demolished.<br />Joc Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290924194054115128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-33940764697704443042018-09-29T11:50:21.841+01:002018-09-29T11:50:21.841+01:00Correction made Joc, thank you for pointing this o...Correction made Joc, thank you for pointing this out. I never realised as I was looking at the house that there was this connection ... I should have realised. Patrick Patrick Comerfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00558394038241172440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561249004966522983.post-15155759031741928002018-09-29T11:43:56.747+01:002018-09-29T11:43:56.747+01:00Thank you for posting this, Patrick.
The Sanders...Thank you for posting this, Patrick. <br /><br />The Sanders of Charleville Park aka Sanders Park are my lot. Evelyn Francis Sanders (1864-1909), who in 1903 married Maria Elizabeth Coote Townshend (1865-1942), is my Grandfather. However Maria, who was always known as Mynie, was born in Ireland, not Calcutta - I would be glad if you would make the correction, in case the mistake gets propogated further. <br /><br />Evelyn was a civil engineer educated at TCD and went to India as a young man to build railways for the Bengal Nagpur Railway. Mynie followed him out to Calcutta. He retired on health grounds and died in 1909, leaving her a widow when my father was 3 years old.<br /><br />In February 2017 I visited the old BNR Headquarters in the Calcutta district of Garden Reach still known as BNR Colony, now the headquarters of the South Eastern region of India Railways. The staff there are very proud of their railway and its history, and greeted me vey warmly. My grandfather is named on a brass plaque in the grand entrance as Chief Engineer when the headquarters building was opened.Joc Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290924194054115128noreply@blogger.com