Fancroft Mill and Gardens

Having initially fallen in love with the house and gardens at Fancroft, the new owners hadn’t realised that the 25,000 square foot mill would soon replace their affections. Such has been their labour of love in restoring what must surely be the finest working mill in Ireland. Rescued from imminent loss 5 years ago the mill has been completed renovated with the last of 92 new bespoke replacement windows having been installed just last Monday.
It is a work of art that has been a labour of love for the Sweeneys, who credit Sven Richter and his team of mill experts and artisan woodworkers from Weimar in Germany with bringing this project to completion. For it was they who tooled and whittled the missing pieces, that had long since rotted away. Now, the magnificent wrought iron water wheel is turning again in an almost primeval rhythm which resonates instantly with visitors, especially women for some strange reason?

There is so much to see on the guided tour of the mill, which is by appointment only, that one would need to allow plenty of time to visit the beautiful gardens which seem to follow the millrace throughout and around this vast space. Waves of colourful flower borders ripple and eddy and spill out over into several different gardens each more delightful than the last. There are gorgeous follies, a signature trait of the last owner Angela Jupe a leading Irish landscape gardener who also designed the Cottage by the Well a quintessential romantic hide-away so bring your lover, a bottle of wine and indulge your midsummers night dreams...

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Tour Scotland in 2024 with Susan Byron