Six Mansions of Lota

 

 

"Lota" seems to be synonymous with an Irish word for an allotment of land; it may also have associations with "lochta", a loft, or elevated site.  The area lies partly in what was the Medieval townland of Lotabeg, and enjoys a choice situation on the north bank of the River Lee.  The rolling south-facing slopes are ideally sited for the winter sun; a perfect location for the mansions of Cork's "merchant princes". 

Lotabeg:  Starting on Lower Glanmire Road near Tivoli , "Little Lota" is the only one of the six to remain solely a private home.  Its distinctive stone entranceway ("O'Callaghan's Gates") includes a George Pain-designed Ionic arch surmounted by a statue of an Irish wolfhound.  Known sometimes to schoolchildren as "the black dog", this landmark commemorates a hound that saved a 19th century owner of the property, D. O'Callaghan M.P., from drowning in the nearby Lee.  The square late-Georgian house was built around 1800, planned by the elder Abraham Hargreave for Sir Richard Kellett.  It contains a fine cantilevered stairway.  The expansive wooded grounds convey, to me at least, something of an eerie atmosphere.

Lough Eric:  Built in the late 1700s for an Italian nobleman, this has metamorphosed into Fleming's Restaurant (Ph:021-821621), offering accommodation and classic French cuisine.  It has a friendly, intimate feeling and is tastefully decorated with portraits and other memorabilia from the early 19th century.  Produce from the terraced gardens in the five acre grounds is used in the restaurant.  In earlier times there was an ornamental lake in which a young lady of the house apparently drowned after hearing of the death of her lover, who was abroad with the British armed forces.  "The Pink Lady of the Lake"  reportedly haunts the property.  The present owner returned the building to its original delicate pink shade ("the pink house") on the advice of a local.  Good luck has followed.

Lotamore:  This two storey late-Georgian house was erected in 1798.  Among its various 19th century owners were the Perriers, a prominent merchant family of Huguenot origin who fled religious persecution in Brittany during   the 1680s.  They supplied this city with several Mayors.  "Big Lota" was later the Cork offices of the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes; it is now a four-star guesthouse operated by Mairead Harty. (Ph:021-822219)  The interior has a gracious Georgian ambience.  A fountain and an overgrown walled-garden hint at former glories, which are being slowly restored.

 

Source: www.ucc.ie/research/nfp/archive3/page8.html