A Brief History of Hayfield Manor
Although Hayfield Manor has only been part of the hospitality industry with the past 20 years, the five star hotel located in Cork city is steeped in history with its story dating back to the early 1800’s. It all began many years ago when Richard Perrott married Hannah Mary Barnes in 1815. Richard and Hannah lived at Hayfield Manor, and they had thirteen children between 1816 and 1843. Richard Perrott went on to become the sole owner of the Hive Iron Works in Cork, one of the most important of its time, in place of his Father-in-law.
The estate which lies in the heart of Cork City, located beside University College Cork, was subsequently owned by the Musgrave family, the famous Cork merchants. The Musgrave family company is a wholesaler that supplies groceries to a network of franchisees who take over the running of its retail brands. These retail brands range from Supervalu and Centra in Ireland, Budgens and Londis in the UK and Dialprix in Spain. The history of the Musgraves dates back to 1876, when brothers Thomas and Stuart Musgrave set up a trading company in Cork. Over the years, they have been involved in many sectors, including tea, sweets, and hotels, before finally settling on running cash-and-carry’s and supplying the grocery trade.
Hayfield house fell into a state of disrepair until the Scally Family took it over and rebuilt the hotel to five star standard in 1995. The hotel opened its doors to the public and began welcoming guests in 1996 and to this day remains Cork city’s premier five star hotel. The hotel’s popular casual dining restaurant, Perrott’s Garden Bistro, is named in honour of Richard Perrott. The Scally Family have also honoured tradition of the property by maintaining and developing Hayfield Manor with all the ambience and charm of the traditional manor house.
A drawing of the original house can be seen in the hotel today and it clearly shows that the Scally Family paid close attention to the original design when rebuilding the house to five star standard. The main staircase by reception is a replica of the original staircase of the old house. The hotel does still hold some remaining pieces from the old manor house such as the fireplace in the lobby which is the original fireplace from the house and also some floor tiles which are located in the Lobby area. The grounds and trees are over 150 years old. The beautiful Weeping Willow by the main entrance even has a preservation order on it. The walled gardens to the back of the hotel are based on Muckross Gardens in Killarney.
Since it's opening in 1996, Hayfield Manor has been recognised for providing a high quality product and exceptional service.