Thanks to a generous donation from Tower Insurance the beautiful Library in the Milntown House has recently been restored to represent what it may have looked like in its original form.
The magnificent Milntown House sits at the heart of the estate’s 15 acres of beautiful gardens and woodland. Step inside on one of the public house tours (Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm) and the superb team of volunteers will guide you around its beautifully elegant rooms and detail the powerful Christian dynasty who occupied Milntown for 500 years, and the vision of Sir Clive Edwards, who left the Estate in trust for the benefit of the Manx people.
As part of Milntown’s on-going plan to restore the main rooms of the house, the Library, which dates from the 1830s, has been lavishly redecorated in Gothic style. The wallpaper has been printed by Watts of Westminster using an original Augustus Pugin design and the three windows have been hung with magnificent tasselled curtains featuring ornate pelmets and voile day-curtains.
As the room was created and used by Deemster John Christian, who remodelled the house in 1830, the Manx bog oak library cases have been filled with law books from the period, as well as other appropriate early Victorian reading material. The books have all been cleaned and catalogued by volunteers from The Arts Society.
Advice on the decorative style has been given by Mervin Stokes MBE, and the Milntown trustees are particularly grateful to Tower Insurance for their generous donation to make this restoration possible. As a charity (Registered No 754) The Milntown Trust do not receive any government funding and rely on the generosity of the local community to keep the estate running for the benefit of the public.
The Milntown cafe is open daily (except Tuesdays and during TT and MGP race weeks) and offers breakfasts, lunches and tempting afternoon teas and treats all year round. Plant enthusiasts can watch the gardens transform throughout the seasons and chat with the dedicated and experienced gardeners who are always willing to share their expertise. The cafe and the estate are also available for private event hire. With stunning surroundings and first-class facilities, Milntown makes the ideal venue for your special event.
Photo - Richard Pinhorn (Estate Manager, Milntown), Charles Guard (Trustee of Milntown), Peter Gallagher (Managing Director, Tower Insurance), Mervin Stokes MBE.
