The long association of the Coddington family with Oldbridge House will end with the sale of the estate.
The Coddington family purchased the lands at Oldbridge in 1729 and since 1750 have lived here in the three storey Georgian mansion that is Oldbridge House.
Times have changed, however. The owners Nicholas and Katherine Coddington have plans to move to Canada where they have family. They are preparing the house and its contents for sale at public auction. The accompanying estate of almost three hundred hectares including the site of the Battle of the Boyne will go under the auctioneer's hammer. It is a pragmatic decision, as according to Nicholas Coddington.
These houses are beyond their useful life.
In January of this year Nicholas and Katherine Coddington were held captive at gunpoint in their home for 11 hours. This was the second robbery in two years, where valuable portraits, antiques and silverware were stolen. Nicholas Coddington says it was a very frightening experience.
One of the unique features of the estate is its right the Coddingtons had to lay salmon traps accross the River Boyne. It is not known what will become of the estate's fishery, which has been rented to a local angling club since the 1970s after a series of fish-in demonstrations were organised as part of a campaign to bring private fisheries into public ownership.
The sale of Oldbridge House, however, raises questions over the role of the state in preserving our architectural and cultural heritage.
When the Coddingtons go, a part of Irish history will go with them.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 June 1984. The reporter is Jacqueline Hayden.
