The Mansion

The Mansion

Welcome to beryl. Thank you for choosing to visit out website. Please feel free to email or call with any questions you may have. We hope to share our wonderful home with you.

Holly & Mary-Ellen Nowell

H I S T O R Y

‘beryl’ – a Precious Gem of the Emerald Family

‘beril’ – an Old English Word Meaning the Meeting of the Hills.

In 1838 local lawyer Edmond Davis commissioned the services of architect Benjamin Ferry to design and undertake the building of a small gothic revival style mansion to be known as Beryl. It would be used as a family home for he and his wife, Mary-Ann.

The next owner was Irish lawyer, Earl Mount Cashell. With the benefit of his affluence, he was able to acquire over 1,000 acres of land surrounding Beryl and used the estate as a hunting lodge. He enjoyed the house until his death in 1916.

The Jenkins family then aquired Beryl and brought up 9 children here. Times were hard and to survive they were forced to sell off much of the land until just 13.5 acres remained. In 1979, the 3 surviving sisters decided to let Beryl benefit from new owners and the Nowell family bought it at auction 4 days after first seeing it and with no time for a survey. The most recent decoration had been 40 years prior and the gardens once so immaculate were deeply hidden beneath a thick blanket of weeds and brambles. Decades later the refurbishment continues! We opened our doors to guests in 1982 to help us keep the ongoing projects afloat, starting with 2 rooms and expanding now to 14. Our love and passion for Beryl continues.