Ambrose Congreve dies aged 104

wellboytoo

RIP Ambrose Congreve who died in London last night at the age of 104

fricatus

Wow, what an age, and what a man - Mount Congreve is the product of a visionary life. Hopefully when it goes into State ownership, it will be taken care of with his memory in mind.

RIP

Bards

I wonder what will happen to the Gardens now?

from http://www.rte.ie/news/

The death has been announced of Ambrose Congreve.

Mr Congreve was 104 and owner of the world famous Congreve Gardens and Estate in Waterford.

He died in hospital London last night after being admitted there on Monday.

He had not been ill and it is believed he died of a heart attack.

He had travelled to London from his home in Waterford for his annual visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.

Mr Congreve turned 104 in the first week in April.

He was owner of the world famous Mount Congreve gardens and estate in Waterford.


The gardens won numerous awards over the years, including 13 Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

Mr Congreve had been in advanced discussions with the Office of Public Works on plans to create a tourist attraction at the magnificent Mount Congreve estate.

The last Government and Cabinet signed off on the Heads of Agreement last October but final contractual arrangements on handing over the gardens to the State had not been signed.

His desire was that his vast gardens on the banks of the River Suir would eventually be left in trust to the State.

Hailing from a distinguished Anglo-Irish family going back more than three centuries, Mr Congreve began creating one of the biggest private plant collections in the world when he was 11 years of age.

The Estate (with 16 miles of pathways) is home to the biggest collection of rhododendrons in Europe.

Ten years ago Mr Congreve was awarded 'the greatest garden in the world' medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

STIG83

RIP to him, 104 is some age.
Think Mount Congreve will go into state ownership now? i could be wrong on that though.

Bards

oops, didn't see the other thread -Mod Please merge

scico rocks

Wonder whats going to happen to the gardens/estate?

Max Powers

That Congrove fella was a legend. He done a deal with Haughey/the State saying no tax and he will give over garden to the state when died. Would be outstanding if they could get the suir valley train into city and stop there also.

Massachusets Horticulture Society called Mount Congrove '' The greatest garden on the planet''. With an endorsement like that its obvious that we should be opening it up to tourists and the public. Went out to see it last year, amazing.

Sully

Bards wrote: »

oops, didn't see the other thread -Mod Please merge

Done

STIG83

Are the gardens open to the public?

thomasm

Had the pleasure of a tour a while back, amazing place that when opened to public as was his wish will become a huge tourist draw. Not sure of the types of trees but was told that some that initially have red leaves for only a couple of weeks in spring were planted in the middle of some with more typical green leaves so for those couple of weeks in spring there would be a stripe of red running through it when viewed from an elevated part of the gardens. He planted these trees with the red leaves knowing it would take 30 or so years for this effect to be seen when they got to the right height That's the level of thought and detail your experiencing out there.

wellboytoo

open thursdays no kids, and other days in groups by appointment only, coffee and snacks as well available lovely way to spend an afternoon

dayshah

How far would Mt Congreve be from the choo choo train station?

Would it be walking distance?

wellboytoo

by road no, used to be a platform there but gone recently due to politics ,its about a twenty minute walk on the tracks from Kilmeadan station to Mt Congreve, but no access in from that side when you get there.

Dan133269

where are the gardens exactly?

kensutz

A brilliant read in The Telegraph today about Ambrose.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/finance-obituaries/8536462/Ambrose-Congreve.html

Luckycharms_74

kensutz wrote: »

A brilliant read in The Telegraph today about Ambrose.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/finance-obituaries/8536462/Ambrose-Congreve.html

Nice find Ken

Silverado

Presumably now the State will complete this takeover now in a proper manner and then the Gardens can be advertised as a major tourist attraction. This is a gilt edged opportunity for Waterford to add to its list of tourist venues.

A property which won an award as a Great Garden of the World would be a serious attraction for any tourist and this is Waterford's chance to benefit by it. The nurseries already have a good payroll and here we can make it even better. Its so close to Waterford city that a tourist could easily take it in on a visit to Waterford Crystal.

Max Powers

There is a danger that the people Ambrose Congreve was paying to maintain the place will have to be left go now, resulting in the place not being maintained by the government. Big questions are:

- who is going to maintain the place?
- what are the states plans, will they continue to open it up and create the world class visitor attraction Congreve had in mind?
- Could it be possible to get the suir valley railway to stop near there and into the city centre. (the railway would need to stop fairly near as older people wont be able for a whole load of walking especially on tiny roads)

Somebody said this is a gilt edged opportunity, totally agree. However, the state could manage to mess up through delays, politics and lack of money.

Dum_Dum

Please God, tell me the State is not the new owner. Surely it must be in some kind of trust so the grubby politicians/banking elite can't get their hands on it?

Psychedelic

Supposedly the gardens were to be handed over to the state but I dunno if that means the OPW will manage it, or someone else. I saw a presentation a few years ago which showed plans to develop the gardens:

• 180 bed hotel and spa
• 40 berth marina
• Country pursuits centre
• Watersports
• Holiday homes
• Garden visitor centre
  • Café
  • Restaurant
  • Shops
  • Car park

That's probably off the cards now though. Hopefully they will at least market the place now. I doubt many local people have ever even heard of the place.

Dum_Dum

Psychedelic wrote: »

Supposedly the gardens were to be handed over to the state but I dunno if that means the OPW will manage it, or someone else. I saw a presentation a few years ago which showed plans to develop the gardens:

• 180 bed hotel and spa
• 40 berth marina
• Country pursuits centre
• Watersports
• Holiday homes
• Garden visitor centre
  • Café
  • Restaurant
  • Shops
  • Car park

That's probably off the cards now though. Hopefully they will at least market the place now. I doubt many local people have ever even heard of the place.

Sounds like a vulgar playground for the nouveau riche.

zeppe

I agree with dumdum, I'm sure Ambrose Congreve wouldnt have wanted a Celtic Tiger type development on his amazing gardens.

In my opinion what they should do and the quicker the better IMO is open the gardens more widely to the public straight away, daily instead of the current thursdays only and let kids in too(I hated that antiquated rule!). Get decent parking in along with a garden visitor centre and restaurant/cafe. As unobtrusive as possible to fit in with the gardens.

Improve the back Kilmeaden road greatly(resurface/get rid of blind bends /put in cycle path?) and advertise well from the new Cork Rd roundabout at Kilmeaden and also from the Waterford outer ring road. The railway is an added bonus and it definitely could stop at the estate. Open the Cosy Thatch again too, best pub in the world IMO and its on the back road too. The whole thing could be an absolute tourist goldmine. We need sustainable tourism, its what we do best these days . We cant compete as an industrial city anymore. Someone needs to do it quickly though, like the Crystal development in the Viking quarter which has been an unqualified success.

Minstrel27

Psychedelic wrote: »

I doubt many local people have ever even heard of the place.

I certainly haven't

Silverado

Well now you just have. Go out an visit, you'll enjoy. Their website is http://mountcongreve.com/index.html

calvin_zola

one of Buttlerstown GAA's greatest ever players

dayshah

zeppe wrote: »

The whole thing could be an absolute tourist goldmine. We need sustainable tourism, its what we do best these days . We cant compete as an industrial city anymore. Someone needs to do it quickly though, like the Crystal development in the Viking quarter which has been an unqualified success.

I wouldn't rule out the role of industry. Tourism isn't enough to keep all the pubs and restaurants going.

However, I think we could definitely market the county better, and the City is the gateway to the county.

Just look at Ardmore. It has a round tower, arguably more historical value than glendalough, but not so many tourists. The county is dotted with pretty little villages (Stradbally, Dunmore, Ardmore, Lismore etc), and Mt Congreve adds to this.

I really like the cyclepath idea. Could one be put in beside the railway? Tourists could rent bike in the City, cycle along the suir to Kilmeadan, and see the gardens.

PennyJellies

Dum_Dum wrote: »

Please God, tell me the State is not the new owner. Surely it must be in some kind of trust so the grubby politicians/banking elite can't get their hands on it?

I think it going to the State is a fantastic idea. We are all part of the state, so wouldn't that be better than one individual owning it?

Dum_Dum

PennyJellies wrote: »

I think it going to the State is a fantastic idea. We are all part of the state, so wouldn't that be better than one individual owning it?

The government is not your friend.

dayshah

Dum_Dum wrote: »

The government is not your friend.

Well they're my friend. I went out to Shortt's for a few pints with them last night.

natterjack

I knew Ambrose well and all I can say is "ni bheidh a leithead ann aris"....
A visitor once wrote about Exbury, Lionel de Rothschild's garden who was his gardening mentor. It was like Heaven with the gates left open.

He has left us all a piece of heaven on the banks of the Suir, a wonderful legacy of a truly extraordinary man. An inspiration to those who knew him.

From the earth we come and to the earth we return in between we garden.

Ar dheis De go rabh a anam dilis.

M

fuzzy dunlop

zeppe wrote: »

I agree with dumdum, I'm sure Ambrose Congreve wouldnt have wanted a Celtic Tiger type development on his amazing gardens.

In my opinion what they should do and the quicker the better IMO is open the gardens more widely to the public straight away, daily instead of the current thursdays only and let kids in too(I hated that antiquated rule!). Get decent parking in along with a garden visitor centre and restaurant/cafe. As unobtrusive as possible to fit in with the gardens.

Improve the back Kilmeaden road greatly(resurface/get rid of blind bends /put in cycle path?) and advertise well from the new Cork Rd roundabout at Kilmeaden and also from the Waterford outer ring road. The railway is an added bonus and it definitely could stop at the estate. Open the Cosy Thatch again too, best pub in the world IMO and its on the back road too. The whole thing could be an absolute tourist goldmine. We need sustainable tourism, its what we do best these days . We cant compete as an industrial city anymore. Someone needs to do it quickly though, like the Crystal development in the Viking quarter which has been an unqualified success.

IIRC Ambrose Congreve was in favour of the development as he was in essence "the developer". I think Ambrose Congreve is a lot more wily than people give him credit for. The thing about the Gardens is that they are fantastic but are very specialised.What I mean is I can't actually visuaiize a scenario where they are like a public park. Giving the public the same access to them as say the phoenix park would potentially put valuable gardens at risk. The phoenix park when you remove the zoo is essentialy just grazing land for deer. Mount Congreve is a different beast entirely.