Knocklofty House, positioned above the banks of the River Suir in Co. Tipperary on the Donoughmore Estate has a fascinating history. In 1633 the Hutchinson family set sail from Boston, Lincolnshire bound for the New World and landed in the New England area. William Hutchinson married Ann Marbury who owned Rhode Island, however the family were chased from Rhode Island by the Puritans in 1637 and Ann and her children were killed by the Indians in 1643. The grandson of Edward Hutchinson was Thomas Hutchinson and the first Governor of Massachusetts Bay.
Richard Hutchinson returned to England in 1648 and joined Oliver Cromwell in 1650 for his campaign in Ireland. When the campaign was completed Cromwell rewarded him with a gift of several thousand acres of land in Tipperary and Waterford and the house at Knocklofty, the central position of which is the present day library. Richard died in London in 1670 and was succeeded at Knocklofty by his son Ezekiel. When Ezekiel died at Knocklofty in 1699 he was buried in St. Mary’s Church of Ireland, Clonmel. Baroneses Donoughmore was created by Letters Patent in 1783.
The Right Honourable Richard Hely Hutchinson was created Earl of Donoughmore in 1800. Knocklofty remained the seat of the Earls of Donoughmore until 1983.
The house dates from the late 17th century with subsequent 18th and 19th century additions. The entrance front of the house is in the form of a three storey central block, comprising seven bays with two two storey gable-ended wings, which form an attractive three-sided court. In the early 19th century a single storey corridor with a domed porch was built along this front by the Clonmel Architect, William Tinsley. The entrance front is decorated by two stone eagles surmounting the gable-ends of the wings and Doric pillars, wreathes and acroteria outside the ground floor corridor.
On the river front the central block of five bays is extended by a two storey wing, and the terrace commands magnificent views over the River Suir.
Internally the house embodies the best features of Irish Georgian decorative architecture. The entrance hall opens through arches on either side into book-lined galleries leading to the drawing room at one end and the panelled dining room at the other. The central feature is the two storey library comprising on three sides an upper gallery with a wrought iron balustrade and beautifully ornamental bookcases. The delicate plasterwork on the ceiling is 18th century.
