Grandeur and Glow at Emsworth

Built in 1790 and designed by architect James Gandon, the same name behind Dublin’s Custom House, the Four Courts and the King’s Inns, Neill’s home, Emsworth, is the stuff of architectural dreams, with an interior that is sympathetic to its roots and an extension that pays homage to old and new.

- EDITORIAL BY EMMA DEIGHAN. PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHILIP LAUTERBACH.

Emsworth, at any time of the year, is spectacular, but at Christmas there is a potent magic about the place. Homeowner Neill calls in Luxury Garland to literally light up its period-rich rooms and the more modern extension at the rear of the home.

James Gandon was commissioned to design this house to link it to the neighbouring estate of Abbeville. The result is believed to be the only surviving Gandon-built villa, making it something of a rarity in Irish architecture.

At around 10,000 sq ft (between the main house and the guesthouse), Neill extended this property in later years, adding a more modern element.

Elsewhere this home carries all the hallmarks of Gandon's work. From the staircase to the symmetry of the Georgian proportions, the Gandon influence is everywhere. The home and grounds are made up of five reception rooms and four bedroom suites, with a refurbished guesthouse set within 17 acres of landscaped gardens with terraces, sports courts, a heated pool, outdoor dining areas and a gym complex. A feature lake, mature woodland and 58 acres of agricultural land leased to Teagasc complete the picture.

A Hartley's glasshouse where Neill and his family grow tomatoes at one end and a lemon tree at the other, a water statue by Orla de Brí with a red pomegranate at its foot, the same fruit they now cultivate, and a collection of beehives all make this property far more than a residence. It is a hive of activity.

'It is an amazing place,' homeowner Neill says, fresh from the NFL weekend in Dublin, where the home played host to US visitors, including the Mayor of Orlando.