New Era for Mount Congreve

At one point during its six generations of family history here, Mount Congreve and its majestic gardens were the epitome of grow-your-own sustainability. They even grew their own pineapples inside the Georgian glasshouse.

The gardens at this stunning estate on the banks of the River Suir in Co Waterford have an illustrious history. Filled with heritage, they surround Mount Congreve House, which was built in the 1760s by the celebrated architect, John Roberts, and remodelled in the 1960s.

The gardens were the vision and ambition of Ambrose Congreve, a sixth generation member of the Congreve family. Ambrose began work on Mount Congreve Gardens in the 1950s, inspired by Lionel de Rothchild’s exceptional garden at Exbury in Hampshire in the UK. Congreve’s achievements were acknowledged by Queen Elizabeth, who awarded him a CBE, and by Trinity College Dublin, which granted him an honorary doctorate.

Up to the last years of his very long life, Ambrose could be found in the Mount Congreve Gardens, dispensing orders and advice relating to his beloved plants. In April 2011, he died aged 104, in London en route to the Chelsea Flower Show. His ashes were returned to Mount Congreve and placed in the temple overlooking his gardens, with the River Suir below.

The work started by Ambrose Congreve continues. The estate recently underwent a redevelopment, with an investment of over €7 million from the Rural Regeneration Fund, Fáilte Ireland and Waterford City & County Council. The result is a world-class visitor experience which opened in mid-2023.

Since then work has continued apace. Mount Congreve Gardens teamed up with Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board to annually offer 16 students a QQI Level 5 training in the School of Horticulture based at the gardens. The training is led by award-winning garden designer Gerard Mullen, with knowledge and input from myself and all the gardeners at Mount Congreve.

Since coming on board, the Mount Congreve School of Horticulture students have focused much of their effort on the estate’s four acres of walled gardens. The team of gardeners have shared their knowledge with the students to help breathe new life back into and fully restore the walled gardens’ planting, and add new plantings, filling them with scent, colour and water features.

The walled gardens at Mount Congreve are an integral and iconic part of the overall garden design and visitor experience. Just within these four acres – which have been in continual use for over 270 years – we have herbaceous borders, sweeping lawns, wildflowers and cut flowers for the house, walls covered in wisterias, a maze, and even a banana tree.

In the beautiful Georgian glasshouse, we have tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers and grape vines. In the kitchen garden, we have a range of seasonal vegetables and fruits including apple, pear, damson and plum trees, most root vegetables you could think of, and one of the visitors’ favourites – the peony walkway backed by delphiniums overlooked by climbing roses.

Works on irrigation, new and restorative planting, along with groundworks and restoration of the original glasshouse have all been underway for the last year. We were thrilled to see the first fruits of this labour last summer, and ongoing into the autumn harvest.

The circle of sustainability at Mount Congreve Gardens is returning as these fruits and vegetables are once again supplied to the kitchen in the main house. These days that kitchen prepares a full menu – from breakfast to lunch, dinner and even afternoon tea for visitors to the gardens – at The Stables Café, which is housed in the beautiful new glass-covered courtyard of the east wing of Mount Congreve House.

Mount Congreve’s 70 acres of woodland gardens roll downhill from the elegant 18th-century mansion to the River Suir. They are home to one of the largest private collections of plants in the world, and are particularly renowned for their rhododendron, magnolia and camellia collections. 16 km of meandering walking trails through the woodland offer a wonderful escape to nature, with scenic and peaceful places to sit and relax along the way.

Another first for Mount Congreve Gardens, and another means of sustaining these gardens into the future, is the addition of Ireland’s Forest Hotel to the estate. This is a collection of a variety of accommodations available for short and longer stays at Mount Congreve.

The first self-catering accommodation to be made available was the restored main gate lodge, called ‘Damson’, which offers a two-bedroom haven in the countryside. Three further gate lodges offer “keys to the gardens”, where guests can explore, relax and enjoy the entire estate all to themselves after hours.

Mount Congreve also offers guest accommodation in a range of beautiful, Scandi-style curved-roof forest eco-cabins. These are hand crafted to the highest quality, their shingled wood exteriors ensuring that they blend easily into their forest surroundings. The interiors are ultra-modern, featuring an extremely smart use of space, and accommodating all the desired necessities for short to medium stays. The eco-cabins have a variety of options to cater for couples and families.

It’s no surprise that the prestigious international magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, tipped Mount Congreve House and Gardens on their list as one of the Best Places to Go in the UK and Ireland for 2024.

Mount Congreve House and Gardens are located just 10 minutes from Waterford City. They are open from Wednesday to Sunday inclusive until 2 January 2025. They reopen on 1 February 2025, and move to a 7-day per week opening from late spring to autumn. For further details visit www.mountcongreve.com.

Ray Sinnott started in Mount Congreve in 1989 as a general operative. From there he moved into propagation, which was his first real introduction to the gardens. Ray moved in 1995 to Holland and then to Germany to further his studies in propagation. He returned to Mount Congreve in 2006, working his way up to his current position as estate director.