Location Gorey, County Wexford Completed 1852 | Country Ireland | |
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Marlfield House, County Wexford is an Irish country house built in 1852 and was one of the two houses owned by the Earls of Courtown. It was a dower house on the Courtown estate and is a good example of a rural regency style house. Owning two residences was not uncommon for wealthy families during the 19th century and the Stopfords (the family name of the Earls of Courtown) were no exception. Guests regularly came to stay at both Marlfield and Courtown House, the principal family home, located about three miles from Marlfield. The Stopford family was ultimately unable to support their lavish lifestyle and Courtown House no longer exists. Marlfield House was further improved in 1866 by James Thomas Stopford (1794-1858), fourth Earl of Courtown. The house has historic connections with James Walter Milles Stopford (1853-1933), sixth Earl of Courtown, Major James Richard Neville Stopford OBE (1877-1857), seventh Earl of Courtown, and James Montagu Burgoyne Stopford (1908-1975), eighth Earl of Courtown. It is now a hotel.
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Architecture
Marlfield House was built in 1852 and modified in 1866 and is an important part of the 19th-century heritage of the area around Gorey. It is a medium-sized house with a T-shaped floor plan. The two sides are bowed and three stories high; the garden front is four stories with a breakfront. The walls are rubble-stone on a cut-granite base, with red brick quoins at the corners. The interior retains timber door surrounds and doors, fine plasterwork, and classical-style chimneypieces, some in white marble.
Hotel
Marlfield House was purchased from the Earls of Courtown by Mary and Ray Bowe in 1977 and following extensive restoration involving the introduction of six state rooms was opened to guests in 1978. Marlfield is one of Ireland's most luxurious historic country house hotels. Each room at Marlfield is completely different and decorated with fabrics, tapestries, paintings and flowers and many rooms have four-poster beds. The six state rooms are particularly luxurious. The official star rating of the hotel is 4 stars and it is classified by Fáilte Ireland.
Notable guests
Notable guests include film director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks who stayed at the hotel for two months in the summer of 1997 while filming Saving Private Ryan on Ballinesker beach in the village of Curracloe in County Wexford.
Other notable guests include Peter Ustinov, Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Duke of Kent, Robert Redford, Margaux Hemingway & James Bond star Pierce Brosnan.