- Mount Congreve is an 18th-century Georgian estate and mansion situated near the village of Kilmeaden in County Waterford, Ireland. The architect was John Roberts, a Waterford-based architect who subsequently designed and built most of the 18th-century public buildings in Waterford, including both cathedrals. The House is situated close to the Southern bank of the River Suir approximately 7 kilometres from Waterford City. It overlooks County Kilkenny to the North.
- John Congreve assembled the Mount Congreve Library, an interesting and valuable collection of books, many of which bore a unique bookplate comprising the arms of Congreve impaling those of Ussher. The library was catalogued by John Congreve’s grandson and namesake and a catalogue of the library was published in 1827.
- Ambrose Christian Congreve who died 2011 and is responsible for the famous gardens of the estate , was awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth for services to horticulture and also won 13 Gold Medal awards at the Chelsea Garden Show in London for this garden.
- The gardens comprise seventy acres of intensively planted woodland garden and a four-acre walled garden. The entire collection consists of over three thousand different trees and shrubs, more than two thousand Rhododendrons, six hundred Camellias, three hundred Acer cultivars, six hundred conifers, two hundred and fifty climbers and fifteen hundred herbaceous plants.[6] It is internationally recognised for its rare species of plants and also its plant nurseries.
- The gardens are open to the public each Thursday to Sunday.
Visitor Information
February – May
Thursday – Sunday & Bank Holidays 11:00 – 17:30
June – August
Daily 11:00 – 17:30
September – December
Thursday – Sunday & Bank Holidays 11:00 – 17:30
Open year-round for guided tours, weather permitting.
Closed: November to end of February. The gardens may close in extreme weather for safety.
Last admission: 16:00
Approx. visit duration: Allow at least 90 minutes
Admission Prices 2020
Adult: €7.00
Seniors (aged 65+): €6.00
Child (U16): €3.00
Child (U3): Free when accompanied by an adult.