Rossmore Park, Co Monaghan
Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 247. “(Westenra, Rossmore, B/PB) A C19 castle of great size and complexity; partly Tudor-Gothic, of 1827, by William Vitruvius Morrison; and partly Scottish Baronial, of 1858, by William Henry Lynn. The 1827 range, built for 2nd Lord Rossmore, dominated by a square tower and turret topped with crow-step battlements; and having a line of gables and oriels. Various small additions were made at one end, in order to enlarge the drawing room; according to the story, Lord Rossmore vied with Mr Shirley of Lough Fea, as to which of them could build a bigger room. The 1838 range dominated by a smaller and more massive tower with a polygonal turret and cupola, a balustraded parapet and other Scottish Baronial touches; also by a slender square tower with a spire. Eventually the combined ranges boasted of at least 117 windows, of 53 shapes and sizes. the three towers together produced a romantic silhouette, particularly as the castle was magnificently situated on a hilltop, overlooking a landscape of woods and lakes. In the later Victorian and Edwardian days, Rossmore was noted for its gaiety; the then (5th) Lord Rossmore, known as “Derry,” being one of the brighter sparks of the Prince of Wales’s set, and author of some lively memoirs called Things I can Tell. Post WWII, the castle became severely infested by dry rot and was abandoned by 6th Lord Rossmore in favour of Camla Vale. Now demolished.”
Listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland by The Knight of Glin, David J. Griffin and Nicholas K. Robinson, published by The Irish Architectural Archive and The Irish Georgian Society, 1988.
https://archiseek.com/2009/1858-rossmore-castle-monaghan-co-monaghan
1858 – Rossmore Castle, Monaghan, Co. Monaghan
Architects: William Vitruvius Morrison / W.H. Lynn
Also known as Rossmore Park, Rossmore Castle was a 19th century castle of great size and variety. Originally built in 1827 to the designs of William Vitruvius Morrison in Tudor Gothic, it was extended in 1858 by W.H. Lynn. The 1827 range was dominated by a square tower with turret and crow stepped battlements and a line of gables and oriel windows.
Lord Rossmore and the Shirleys of Lough Fea had competed for many years for the largest room in County Monaghan with the result that the drawing room at Rossmore was extended five times and resulted in the elongated area seen in the left of the photograph. Eventually the Castle had at least 117 windows of 53 different sizes and shapes and the three towers produced a romantic silhouette when viewed from the surrounding hills in the demense.
In the later years of the 19th century Rossmore was known for its gaiety with the 5th Lord Rossmore being a friend of the Prince of Wales. After the Second World War, dry rot forced the abandonment of the castle in favour of Camla Vale. Rossmore Castle has since been demolished.
https://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/01/rossmore-park.html
THE BARONS ROSSMORE WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY MONAGHAN, WITH 14,839 ACRES
The family of CAIRNES of that ilk is of very ancient standing in Scotland. In 1363, DAVID II gave a renewal charter of the two Baronies of East and West Whitburn, Linlithgowshire, to WILLIAM DE CARNYS, and Duncan his son and heir.
This William had issue,
Duncan;
John;
William, father of JOHN, of whom presently;
Alexander.
The grandson,
JOHN CAIRNIS, of Cults, Aberdeen, son of William and heir of his uncle Alexander, was Custumar (customs officer) of Linlithgow, 1406-22, and Scutifer (shield-bearer) to the Earl of Douglas.
He died in 1456, leaving three sons, of whom the eldest,
JOHN CAIRNIS, of Cults and of Orchardton, Custumar of Linlithgow, 1449-56, served in the wars under JAMES II, and died ca 1493.
His son, or grandson,
WILLIAM CAIRNIS, of Orchardton, summoned as a minor Baron 1527, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Patrick Agnew, of Lochnaw, and died 1555, having had, with other issue,
William;
JOHN, of whom presently;
PETER;
HENRY.
The second son,
JOHN CAIRNIS, of Cults, Esquire to MARY Queen of Scots, wedded, in 1555, Margaret, daughter of Alexander McCulloch, of Killaster, and died in 1568, leaving issue, his second son,
JOHN CAIRNIS, of Cults, who sold most of the estates, espoused Margaret Hamilton, and died in 1603, leaving issue,
ALEXANDER CAIRNIS, of Blairboys, who sold the remainder of the lands of his family, settled in Ulster 1609, as general agent for the Scottish Undertakers in Donegal.
He died ca 1635, leaving issue, his eldest son,
JOHN CAIRNES, of Parsonstown, or Cecil, County Tyrone, MP for Augher, 1639-40, who married Jane, daughter of Dr James Miller, MD, of Monaghan, and had issue, with two daughters,
ALEXANDER (Sir), 1st Baronet;
William, of Dublin, MP for Belfast, 1703-6;
HENRY (Sir), 2nd Baronet.
The eldest son,
ALEXANDER CAIRNES (1665-1732), MP for Monaghan Borough, 1710-13, County Monaghan, 1713-14, 1715-27, Monaghan Borough, 1727-32, was created a baronet, in 1708, designated of Monaghan.
He wedded, 1697-8, Elizabeth, daughter of John Gould, of Hackney, and sister of Sir Nathaniel Gould, by whom he had issue,
William Henry, died unmarried;
MARY, of whom presently.
Sir Alexander died in 1732, when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his brother, Sir Henry Cairnes, 2nd and last Baronet.
his only surviving child,
MARY CAIRNES, espoused firstly, in 1724, 7th Baron Blayney. He dsp 1732.
She married secondly, in 1734, Colonel John Murray, MP for Monaghan, and by him had issue,
Frances Cairnes, m 1st Earl of Clermont;
ELIZABETH, m (as below) General Rt Hon R Cuningham, 1st Baron Rossmore;
Anne; Mary; Harriet.
The Dowager Baroness Blayney died in 1790; her son-in-law was Robert, 1st Baron Rossmore.
Lineage of Westenra
THE WESTENRAS, descended from the family of VAN WASSENAER, of Wassenburg, were of great antiquity in Holland, and they bore the augmentation of the SEAHORSE, in reference to the valour of an ancestor who, during the Duke of Alba’s campaigns, was actively employed against the enemy, and undertook to swim across an arm of the sea with important intelligence to his besieged countrymen.
WARNER WESTENRA settled in Ireland during the reign of CHARLES II, and with his brothers, Derrick and Peter Westenra, became a free denizen of that kingdom, by act of parliament, in 1662.
In 1667, Colonel Grace sold the town and lands of “Clonlee, Brickanagh, and Lyagh” [sic], in the King’s County, to this Warner Westenra, merchant, of the city of Dublin.
He married Elizabeth Wyhrantz, and had issue,
HENRY, his successor;
Elizabeth, m Rt Rev Simon Digby.
Mr Westenra died in 1676, and was succeeded by his son,
HENRY WESTENRA, who inherited likewise the estates of his cousin, Peter Westenra, MP for Athboy, 1692.
Mr Westenra wedded, in 1700, Eleanor, second daughter of Sir Joshua Allen, Knight, and sister of John, 1st Viscount Allen, by whom he had surviving issue,
WARNER, his successor;
Henry;
Peter;
Elizabeth; Jane; Penelope.
He died in 1719, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
WARNER WESTENRA, MP for Maryborough, 1728-55, who espoused, in 1738, the Lady Hester Lambert, second daughter of Richard, 4th Earl of Cavan, and had issue,
HENRY, his successor;
Richard;
Joseph;
Castilinna; Eleanor.
Mr Westenra was was succeeded by his eldest son,
HENRY WESTENRA, MP for Monaghan, 1818-26, Seneschal of the King’s Manors in Ireland, who married, in 1764, Harriet, daughter of Colonel John Murray MP, and had issue,
WARNER WILLIAM, his heir;
Henry;
Mary Frances; Harriet Hesther.
He was succeeded by his eldest son,
WARNER WILLIAM WESTENRA (1765-1842), of Rossmore Park, County Monaghan, who wedded firstly, in 1791, Mary Anne, second daughter of Charles Walsh, of Walsh Park, County Tipperary, and had issue,
HENRY ROBERT, his successor;
Richard;
John Craven;
Charles;
Marianne.
He espoused secondly, in 1819, Augusta, fourth daughter of of Francis, Lord Elcho, and sister of Francis, 7th Earl of Wemyss.
Mr Westenra succeeded to the barony of ROSSMORE on the decease of ROBERT CUNINGHAME, 1st Baron Rossmore, in 1801.
***********************
ROBERT CUNINGHAME (1726-1801), son of the late Colonel David Cuninghame, of Seabegs, Stirling, a General in the army, and Colonel, 5th Dragoons; MP for Tulske, 1751-60, for Armagh, 1761-8, for Monaghan, 1769-96, and for East Grinstead, 1788-9; was elevated to the peerage, in 1796, in the dignity of BARON ROSSMORE, of Rossmore Park; and having no issue by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Murray, and co-heir of her mother Mary, Dowager Lady Blayney, sole heir of Sir Alexander Cairnes Bt, the patent of creation contained a reversionary clause conferring the Barony, at his lordship’s decease, upon the heirs male, at the time being, of two of her ladyship’s sisters successively; namely, Anne, the wife of the Rt Hon Theophilus Jones; and Harriet, the wife of Henry Westenra.
His lordship died in 1801, and the only son of Mrs Jones, Alexander Jones, having predeceased him, unmarried, the barony devolved upon Mrs Westenra’s eldest son, WARNER WILLIAM WESTENRA, 2nd Baron Rossmore.
- Robert Cuninghame, 1st Baron Rossmore (d 1801);
- Warner William Westenra, 2nd Baron (1765–1842);
- Henry Robert Westenra, 3rd Baron (1792–1860);
- Henry Cairnes Westenra, 4th Baron (1851–74);
- Derrick Warner William Westenra, 5th Baron (1853–1921);
- William Westenra, 6th Baron (1892–1958);
- William Warner Westenra, 7th Baron (b 1931).
The heir apparent is the present holder’s only son, the Hon Benedict William Westenra (b 1983).
ROSSMORE CASTLE, County Monaghan, was a very large and complex mansion, constructed on the outskirts of Monaghan town in Tudor-Gothic style in 1827 by the the 3rd Lord Rossmore, to the designs of William Vitruvius Morrison.
An extension was added in 1858 in Scottish-Baronial style, designed by William Henry Lynn.
A main feature of the original building was a large square tower and turret with crow-step battlements.
The extension also featured two towers, one with a polygonal turret and cupola, the other a smaller square tower with a spire.
The building underwent further smaller changes, a number of which were inspired by a competition which had developed over the years between Lord Rossmore and Mr Shirley of Lough Fea, as to which of them could claim to have the largest room in County Monaghan.
The remarkable consequence was that the drawing-room in Rossmore Castle was enlarged five times.
Eventually the combined changes and additions resulted in a building with three towers and over 117 windows in 53 different shapes and sizes.
After the 2nd World War, the house developed a severe case of dry rot, and the 6th Baron and his family were forced to leave the castle and take up residence in Camla Vale, a Georgian house owned by the family and situated within the estate grounds.
The mansion was demolished in 1975.
The former demesne is now a forest park.
First published in January, 2012.
Oscar Wilde once said ‘to lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune, but to lose both looks like carelessness’. The same could be said of County Monaghan and its castles, for my first book I was developing two chapters about two wondrous architectural creations in Monaghan. However imagine my surprise to discover that absolutely nothing of these great buildings remain but a few steps, outbuildings and gate lodges. The first of these is Dartrey which was completed in the midst of the Great Irish Famine in 1847. It was originally designed to extend and incorporate a house from the 1770’s known as Dawson’s Grove, with the old and the new house being divided by a substantial wall. The house cost its owner, Richard Dawson, who later became the first Earl of Dartrey, £30,000. It was a vast Elizabethan Revival mansion and the architect chosen for these improvements was William Burn. The house had a very long facade with legions of mullioned windows, oriel windows, Tudor chimneys and curvilinear gables.
In March 1856, a fire is believed to have destroyed the original part of the house which would have been the Dawson’s Grove section. The fire broke out in the roof as a result of a defective chimney and completely destroyed the north-eastern wing. Furniture, pictures and statues were saved as numerous people fought to bring the fire under control. Rooms lost in this fire included the drawing room and her ladyship’s boudoir. The house was insured and the damaged section was replaced, as a result the house that now existed was a totally ‘new’ house that contained nothing of the original Dawson’s Grove.
A major change took place in the finances of this house and family in less than 100 years after its completion. The last owner of the house was Lady Edith Windham who was the daughter of the second Earl of Dartrey, Vesey Dawson. Vesey Dawson, the second Earl of Dartrey died in June 1920 after a long illness at Dartrey. He was born on the 22nd April 1842 and succeeded to the Earldom upon the death of his father in 1897. He married Julia daughter of Sir George Orby Wombwell in 1882 and had two daughters. During the First World War, he and Lady Dartey produced large amounts of vegetables in the gardens and terraces that surrounded the castle. He was succeeded to the title by his brother Hon Edward Stanley Dawson born in 1843. Lady Edith Windham, the grand daughter of the first Earl disposed of the house contents in 1937 with a four day sale which included a number of paintings by El Greco, Zoffany, Reubens and Coates. A broadcasting or speaker system was used so bidding could be heard in the different rooms of the house. Also included in the auction were 5,000 books from the library, it is un-imaginable that one house could contain so many books but these were all contained in one room. There auction created a bit of a stir in the antiques world as buyers travelled from Dublin, Northern Ireland and Great Britain with special buses put in place to ferry expectant bidders to and from the castle. Lady Edith had previously moved in to the Stewards Cottage and a number of years after the auction she then made arrangements to have the house demolished. Therefore the man that originally built the house was only separated from the lady who demolished the house, by only one generation. In March 1946, the demolition sale of the castle was advertised and consisted of 500 lots which included beams, flooring, rafters, moldings, skirting’s, the solid oak staircase, oak doors, window casings, brick, 5,000 slates, mantelpieces in white and cream marble. The sale handled by Samuel Brown, an auctioneer from Monaghan. Lady Edith claimed she had no option as the rates were too high and a buyer was not forth coming. A company from Dublin called Hammond Lane Foundry were engaged to carry out the destruction of this architectural masterpiece; however one imagines they were more interested in the lead in the roof than architectural salvage. The process of demolishing the family seat supposedly made Lady Edith a profit of £3,000 but one wonders if this figure could be considered a profit, when it cost her descendant ten times that amount to build the house in the first place.
One of the few elements that survive today and give some impression of the architectural splendour of the original house is the Dawson Mausoleum which recently underwent a spectacular restoration. The Mausoleum was built to commemorate Lady Anne Dawson who died in 1769 and contains a life sized marble sculpture of the deceased, her husband and son gathered around an urn that contained her ashes. The domed building that contained this sculpture was designed by the architect James Wyatt and was situated in the demesne that once surrounded Dartrey. Over the years the building became derelict and the sculpture was vandalised, with pieces of the statue being broken off and stolen. Now that the Mausoleum is restored a recent appeal has located the head of one of the statues in Dublin. However the hands, feet and angels wings still remain at large.
The second architectural jewel lost to the county of Monaghan was Rossmore Castle whose decline was hastened when it developed dry rot. This castle, as can be seen in the pictures, was something akin to a Walt Disney creation with its towers and turrets.
A succession of extensions in order to claim the title of the largest drawing room in Monaghan enlarged the floor area of the castle over the years. Rossmore Castle was a large Tudor Revival house built in 1827 to the design of William Viturvius Morrison for the second Lord Rossmore. In 1825, Richard Morrison was engaged in producing plans to rebuild the house then known as Cortolvin Hills for Lord Rossmore. In 1854, William Deane Butler produced plans for remodelling the house but these were not executed. The house was altered and enlarged 1858 to the design of William of William H. Lynn. Eventually the combined changes and additions resulted in a building with three towers and over 117 windows in 53 different shapes and sizes. One feature of the house was its drawing room which enlarged on a number of occasions due to Lord Rossmore competing with his neighbour Mr. Shirley of Lough Fea to have the largest room in the county. A competition Lord Rossmore eventually lost.
The early 1900’s the Rossmore’s seemed to have a run of bad luck. It was reported in August 1906, Lord Rossmore was ill in the castle and was confined to his room for the previous week. He had intended to go to his large, recently built, shooting lodge on his mountain. In April 1907, Lord and Lady Rossmore’s eldest son William was injured while mounting his pony near the castle. The pony bolted, William’s foot became entangled in the stirrups and he was dragged for some distance. He suffered a fractured skull and a broken leg. However a happy event was recorded in 1908 when the Duke of Connaught paid a visit to the castle. He again returned in 1909, where he stayed overnight and then travelled to Lord Rossmore’s mountain in Glasslough for grouse shooting. In the early part of the twentieth century Rossmore remained unoccupied for long periods as the fifth and sixth Barons decided to live in England which resulted in the uncontrolled spread of dry rot.
The Rossmore Family made a valiant attempt to brave the dry rot at Rossmore but when the mushrooms appeared on the drawing room ceiling it was hard to make any guests believe they were there for decorative purposes. The time came for them to abandon the castle for another family property when they had to ask their guests to wipe their feet on a disinfected mat so not to spread the spores of the dry rot. One wonders if it was the social embarrassment or the actual dry rot that led to the demolition of the house. In May 1946, contents of the castle advertised by Battersby & Co and that they had been removed to the Dower House, Camla, Rossmore Park. The auction which was to take place included antique furniture, Chippendale Mirrors, oil paintings statues, tapestries, china, carpet chandeliers and of course the obligatory billiards table. The oil paintings included works from Dutch, English, Flemish and Italian schools and comprised of portraits, battle scenes and landscapes. Now with the castle denuded of its contents, a demolition sale took place in September 1946 and lots included joist, rafters, bricks, slates, fireplaces, doors, windows, shutters, water tanks, bathroom fittings
The house remained unoccupied, was unroofed during the Second World War and finally demolished in 1975 and the grounds of the castle were sold to the Irish State in the 1960’s. The family moved to a nearby dower house called Camla Vale after the castle became uninhabitable due to the dry rot. The dry rot spores are believed to have traveled in the corks of the bottles from the wine cellar of the castle and as a result their new home also became infested. Today Rossmore is a public park with only a few elements such as the entrance steps and terraces of the castle surviving.
Irish Historic Houses 
