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While archaeologists believe there is evidence of habitation on The Marlbrook estate dating back to the Bronze Age, the earliest surviving human imprint is an early Christian ring fort, probably of the Uí Faoláin clan, which now overlooks the 16th green of the Padraig Harrington designed golf course.
From the 12th to the 16th centuries, Cistercian monks expertly farmed the lands around the monastery located at the existing St Patrick’s Church in nearby Marlfield village. They named the area Inis Leamhnachta – ‘The River Meadow of the New Milk’.
Shortly after the infamous Siege of Clonmel, the lands at Marlfield, named after the fine-grained rock, or ‘marl’, found in the area, were bought by the Bagwell family.
Marlfield House, the centrepiece of the estate, was completed in 1785 by Colonel John Bagwell. The surrounding estate was sculpted into majestic rolling countryside in the early 1800’s in the style of the famous English landscape gardener Capability Brown; many of The Marlbrook’s grand old oak, beech and walnut trees date from this period.
The main entrance gates are guarded by handsome twin Doric lodges designed by William Tinsley of Clonmel; they are considered the finest examples of their type in Ireland. |
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