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. 177. “Butler, Dunboyne, B/Pb; Cooke, sub Cooke-Collis/IFR; de Sales la Terriere/LG1969) A castle of the Butlers, Lords Dunboyne, romantically situated on a rock high above the Clashawley River, originally with four square corner towers of which three remain; two of them having been altered and added to during C18 and C19 by the Cooke family, to form the present house.”
Multi-period country house comprising five-bay block of c.1600, modified c.1820, with three-storey south, garden, elevation and three- and four-storey north, entrance, elevation and flanked to east and west by projecting four-stage towers of c.1500. Garden elevation of later block projects beyond face of towers. Roof of house not visible. Crenellated parapets to all elevations, having decorative cut-stone copings and dentil course to south elevation and pinnacles with ball finials to corners of towers. Roughly dressed limestone walls. String course and crowsteps to west parapet of west tower. Timber sliding sash windows throughout. Brick surrounds to windows of entrance elevation, segmental-arched three-over-three pane to top floor with pointed arch lights to upper lifts of windows, pointed arched with traceried fanlights elsewhere, six-over-none pane to tall centre-bay windows and six-over-six pane elsewhere. Dressed limestone surrounds to windows of garden elevation, with pointed arch lights to upper lifts of windows, three-over-three pane to top floor, nine-over-six pane to middle floor and six-over-six pane to ground floor. West tower has traceried 15th c. window to first floor of west elevation, pointed arched windows and single- and two-light ogee-headed windows and oculus windows elsewhere. Replacement timber entrance doorway set into four-centred dressed limestone surround, in turn recessed into four-centred opening with brick surround. Five-bay two-storey return of c.1500 to rear of east tower. Return has pitched slate roof with brick chimneystack, rubble walls and 15th c. two-light windows, some with label-mouldings. Crenellated screen wall returns to rear of west tower to enclose courtyard to north of house and has 19th c. limestone armorial plaque over round-headed archway with timber battened double-leaf door. East-west range of outbuildings with integral segmental carriageway terminates north end of screen wall at right angles and leads into second courtyard which is curtain wall of 13th c. castle. Range is multiple-bay two-storey with pitched slate roof, brick chimneys and rubble walls, dressed to south side of archway. South elevation has timber sliding sash windows with limestone sills and dressed voussoirs, six-over-six pane with four-over-four pane flanking archway and some oculi to first floor with pivoted windows. Blocked carriage arch and replacement timber sliding sash windows to north elevation. Wall curving from north-east corner of range connects with donjon. Multiple-bay two-storey range along north-west curtain wall with pitched corrugated asbestos roof, rubble walls and has pointed arch doorways to ground floor and slit vents to first floor. Four-bay two-storey outbuilding in middle of north courtyard has pitched artificial slate roof, rubble limestone walls, square-headed timber sliding sash windows and some arched openings to ground floor with dressed voussoirs. Pointed archway in castle curtain wall, to south of donjon, has sculpted plaque of two-tailed cat and date 1821. Archway leads to rock-cut passage descending to two-storey fortified 16th c. wellhouse. House sited on eminence overlooking Clashawley River. Grounds contain 15th c. dovecote, medieval church and graveyard, remains of deserted medieval settlement. Gate lodges to west and south.
Kiltinan Castle, a of the Butlers, was substantially remodelled by the Cooke family during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The main block, said to be built by E. Cooke Esq., incorporates the 15th c. towers. At the rear is the donjon and curtain wall of a 13th c. castle. The overall form of the house presents an imposing façade, complemented by crenellations and pinnacles. The inclusion of the 15th c. towers and return has resulted in a multi-period residence with the fabric of at least five centuries contained within it. The variety of windows with pointed arch detailing is noteworthy. The courtyards of buildings behind the house add considerably to its setting. The demesne contains a myriad of features of archaeological, historic and scenic interest, including the site of a medieval village, a ruined medieval church, a medieval dovecote and imposing 19th. gatehouses.
Detached circular-plan single-storey dovecote, built c. 1500. Coursed rubble limestone walls and domed roof with limestone coping to top of wall. Square-headed opening to north-west side with roughly dressed limestone lintel.
Appraisal
This dovecote, situated in a prominent location within the grounds of Kiltinan Castle, retains its original form and materials. It is a valuable document and fine example of the extent and activities of this demesne in previous centuries.
Detached three-bay two-storey gateway, built 1842, with gable-fronted end bays and slightly recessed entrance bay. Crenellations with cut-stone copings to parapet. Coursed rubble sandstone walls with croix pommées to ground floor. Square-headed window openings, now blocked up, with limestone sills and label mouldings. Carved limestone date plaque over window above entrance arch. Tudor-arch archway with cut-stone voussoirs and double-leaf cast-iron gates. Sweeping rubble sandstone walls flanking gatehouse and terminated by roughly dressed sandstone piers having rough crenellations. Post box with crown and royal insignia of Queen Victoria to west sweep wall.
Appraisal
The southern entrance to Kiltinan Castle, prominently situated at a junction, presents a commanding and imposing façade to the roadway. Once the seat of the Butlers, Kiltinan Castle was substantially remodelled by the Cooke family during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The architecture of the gateway is modelled on that of the castle hence the crenellations and medieval motifs such as the croix pommées. The gateway is notable for its large size and decorative detailing such as the label mouldings.
Quadrant entrance gateway, built c. 1840, comprising pointed archway flanked by crenellated two-stage towers presenting V-plan to roadside. Coursed roughly dressed sandstone walls with cut-stone string course and eaves course. Square-headed arrow slit openings to towers and carved sandstone oculi to spandrels of archway. Double-leaf cast-iron gates. Crenellated screen walls to each side of gateway, with pointed arch pedestrian entrances, one blocked. Sweep walls terminated by crenellated dressed sandstone piers.
Appraisal
This imposing gateway, a fine example of castellated architecture, forms the west, main, entrance to Kiltinan Castle. The architecture of the gateway is modelled on that of the castle hence the use of medieval motifs such as the crenellations and the skilfully-made arrow slits. The gateway represents a striking roadside feature.
Kiltinane Castle was the seat of the Cooke family in the 18th and 19th centuries. Lewis describes the castle as the seat of R. Cooke, it “consists of an ancient circular tower …. and a residence erected on the old site by the late E. Cooke”. In the mid 19th century the buildings were valued at £38+ and held by Robert Cooke in fee. Noted by Slater in 1894 as the seat of Robert Cooke. Sold by the Cookes in the 1920s to Mrs le Terrier, Kiltinan Castle now belongs to Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Blayney Castle, (also known as Hope castle), Co Monaghan
Blayney Castle (or Hope Castle), Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
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.
(Blayney, B/DPE; Hope.LG1937; Pelham-Clinton-Hope, Newcastle, D/PB) A three storey five bay Georgian block, built near the site of a C17 “Plantation Castle”; refaced and embellished during the Victorian period. Entablatures over windows; scrolled cresting on roof parapet; segmental pediment with arms on garden front. Entrance front with central curved bow, to which a projecting porch, and a canopy of ornamental cast iron work and glass, was added. Top storey treated as attic, above cornice. Lower service wing, and single-storey four bay C19 addition with roof on bracket cornice prolonging garden front. Centre first floor window of garden treated like a niche, sheltering a statue. Sold 1853 by 12th and last Lord Blayney to Henry Hope, of Deepdene, Surrey, son of Thomas HOpe, the great exponent of neo-Classicism and a member of the Scottish-Dutch banking family, famous for its ownership of the Hope Diamond. Passed by descent to Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton-Hope, afterwards 8th Duke of Newcastle. Now a convent.”
Blayney Castle (or Hope Castle), Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Blayney Castle (or Hope Castle), Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Blayney Castle (or Hope Castle), Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Blayney Castle (or Hope Castle), Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Blayney Castle (or Hope Castle), Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Mary Cairnes, Lady Blayney (c. 1703–1790) after Robert Home, courtesy of Sothebys , Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings.She married Cadwallader Dominic Blayney 7th Baron Blayney of Monaghan.She was the daughter of Alexander Cairnes, 1st Baronet.She married secondly Colonel John Murray, MP, from Glenalla House, near Rathmullan in Donegal.Dowager Lady Cunninghame, prob Elizabeth Murray who inherited vast estates of Alexander Cairnes. Adams auctioh house tells us she should be called Lady Rossmore, and that she married Bernard Cunninghame of Mount Kennedy, but I think she she married Robert Cuninghame, 1st Baron Rossmore. Courtesy Adam’s 5 Oct 2010, Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1739-1808). She was also a daughter of Colonel John Murray MP and his wife Mary Cairns.
Blayney Castle, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.Blayney Castle, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.Blayney Castle or Hope Castle, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.
The area of Muckno and Ballynalurgan was granted to Sir Edward Blayney under the Plantation of Ulster in 1607 and 1611. Blayney was a Welsh soldier, and built a stone defensive castle, Blayney Castle, consisting of a fortified house and bawn.
The town of Castleblayney has grown up round that original site. Blayney was created the first Baron Blaney in 1621 and the Blayneys would continue to occupy the estate until the 1850s. The castle was derelict by the 1790s, by which time the family had moved into a large Georgian house nearby. No trace remains today.
Blayney Castle or Hope Castle, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.Blayney Castle or Hope Castle, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.
Known also as Blayney Castle after the plantation castle nearby (from which the town gets its name), Hope Castle has had many owners and uses over the years. Originally a three storey 5 bay Georgian block, it was sold in 1853 by the twelfth and last Lord Blaney to the Hope family after whom the famous Hope Diamond is name.
Henry Hope had the house extended, and the facade of the house received many embellishments including scrolled cresting on the roof parapets and at one stage an ornamental cast iron and glass porch canopy. After the Hopes, it was used as a military base and later as a convent.
The building has suffered greatly during its lifetime – after being an convent, it remained empty for many years and was taken over the the local County Council who demolished the 19th century additions to the garden and main fronts and renovated the building. Its most interesting internal feature – a Soanesque toplit upper stair landing was destroyed during the building’s phase of dereliction. It has since been badly damaged by fire and is currently boarded up and derelict. The estate still has a good stableyard and cast-iron gateway with matching gatehouses.
The sad remains of Hope Castle, County Monaghan. Built on the edge of Castleblayney, the house – like the town – owes its existence to the Blayney family who settled here at the start of the 17th century. Initially they lived in a castle built by Sir Edward Blayney, created first Baron Blayney in 1721 but at the end of the 18th century his descendant, the 11th Lord Blayney commissioned a new house designed by Dublin-born Robert Woodgate who for several years had worked in London for Sir John Soane. In 1853 the 12th Lord Blayney sold the estate to the rich Henry Thomas Hope; he enlarged and remodelled the building in what has been called ‘a frivolous kind of Italianate classicism.’ Occupied by Queen Victoria’s son the Duke of Connaught for several years at the start of the last century when he served Commander of the Forces in Ireland, Hope Castle was sold in 1928 and served as a military barracks and then a county hospital before being occupied until the mid-1970s by Franciscan nuns. It was then acquired by the local county council, which leased it to an hotelier who was permitted to strip out all of Woodgate’s interiors. In 2010 the building was badly damaged by arsonists and has remained in a sorry state ever since.
THE BARONS BLAYNEY WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY MONAGHAN, WITH 24,546 ACRES
SIR EDWARD BLAYNEY(1570-1629), Knight, a native of Wales, said to be descended from Cadwallader, King of Cambria and a younger son of the Prince of Wales, had been employed from his youth in the armies of ELIZABETH I.
He accompanied Robert, Earl of Essex, as Colonel, into Ireland, 1598, where he obtained both wealth and renown in the subsequent wars.
Sir Edward, Governor of Monaghan, was granted the thirty-two townlands of Ballynalurgan and in 1611 he obtained the termon of Muckno as well.
Blayney built a castle, around which a Planter village soon began to develop.
This was the origin of the present town of Castleblayney.
Sir Edward married Anne, second daughter of the Most Rev Dr Adam Loftus, Lord Archbishop of Dublin, CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, by whom he had, with six daughters, two sons,
HENRY (Sir), his successor; ARTHUR (Sir), of Castle Shane.
Sir Edward was elevated to the peerage by JAMES I, in 1621, in the dignity of BARON BLAYNEY, of Monaghan.
His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,
HENRY, 2nd Baron, who wedded, in 1623, Jane, daughter of Gerald, Viscount Drogheda, by whom he had two surviving sons and five daughters.
His lordship, who was a military man, was slain at the battle of Benburb, County Tyrone, 1646, and was succeeded by his elder son,
EDWARD, 3rd Baron (c1625-69), who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,
RICHARD, 4th Baron (c1625-70), who was high in favour with CROMWELL, and had been appointed, in 1656, the usurper’s custos-rotulorum of County Monaghan, and escheator of County Tyrone.
His lordship espoused firstly, in 1653, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Mr Alderman Vincent, of Dublin, MP, by whom he had several children; and secondly, Jane, daughter of John Malloch.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
HENRY VINCENT, 5th Baron, who wedded Margaret Moore, eldest sister of John, 1st Lord Tullamore, by whom he had an only surviving child, Elinor.
His lordship fled Castleblayney at the outbreak of the Williamite wars and was chosen as commander-in-chief of the Protestant forces raised to defend Monaghan and Armagh against JAMES II, who transmitted it to his brother,
WILLIAM, 6th Baron, who married, in 1686, Mary, eldest daughter of William, 1st Viscount Charlemont, and dying in 1705, was succeeded by his only surviving son,
CADWALLADER, 7th Baron (1693-1732), who married Mary, daughter of the Hon John Tucket, and niece of Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and had issue.
His lordship espoused secondly, Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Alexander Cairnes Bt, of Monaghan.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
THE VERY REV CHARLES TALBOT, 8th Baron (1714-61), Dean of Killaloe, at whose decease, without surviving issue, the title devolved upon his brother,
CADWALLADER, 9th Baron (1720-75), who married, in 1767, Sophia, daughter of Thomas Tipping, of Beaulieu, and had issue,
CADWALLADER DAVIS, his successor; ANDREW THOMAS, succeeded his brother; Sophia; Mary.
His lordship, a lieutenant-general in the army, was succeeded by his elder son,
CADWALLADER DAVIS, 10th Baron (1769-84); at whose decease, unmarried, the title reverted to his brother,
ANDREW THOMAS, 11th Baron (1770-1834), a lieutenant-general in the army, who wedded, in 1796, Mabella, eldest daughter of James, 1st Earl of Caledon, and had issue,
CADWALLADER DAVIS, his successor; Anne; Charlotte Sophia.
His lordship was succeeded by his son,
CADWALLADER DAVIS, 12th Baron (1802-74), MP for County Monaghan, 1830-34, at whose decease, unmarried, the title expired.
THE CALEDON CONNECTION
The Caledon estate in County Tyrone is just a few fields away from that of the Leslies in Glaslough, County Monaghan, and the Earls of Caledon themselves owned some land in County Monaghan.
Because of the family connection between the lst and 2nd Earls and the 11th Lord Blayney, who was their son-in-law and brother-in-law respectively, the correspondence between Blayney and the two earls yields a lot of information about his military and political careers; for example, the siege of Alexandria and as a prisoner of war in Napoleonic France.
During Blayney’s long incarceration, the 2nd Earl of Caledon looked after his financial, domestic, and political affairs, thus being drawn into the Monaghan sphere.
This brought political figures such as Dawson and Leslie beating a path to Caledon’s door, because during this period he was the representative of Blayney and ‘the Blayney interest’.
On his return, Blayney was given a seat in parliament for Caledon’s infamous ‘rotten borough’ of Old Sarum, Wiltshire. Later, he attempted to get Caledon to use his influence with the Government to get him elected an Irish Representative Peer.
This yields a very illuminating and often pained correspondence between the two men.
HOPE CASTLE, Castleblayney, County Monaghan, formerly known as Blayney Castle after the plantation castle nearby (from which the town gets its name), has had many owners and uses over the years.
Originally a three storey, five bay Georgian block, the house received many embellishments during the Victorian era including scrolled cresting on the roof parapets and at one stage an ornamental cast iron and glass porch canopy.
In 1853, Cadwaller, 12th and last Lord Blayney, sold the Castle and estate to Henry Thomas Hope from Deepdene in Surrey, a former MP at Westminster.
Thereafter the Castle was renamed Hope Castle, as it still called.
Hope gave the Georgian Castle with its splendid prospect a Victorian makeover that the present building retains, externally at least.
After his death in 1862, Hope’s wife Anne inherited the estate.
Soon after 1887, the Castle and demesne fell to the next heir, a grandson of Hope: Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton-Hope, famous for having sold the renowned family heirloom, the Hope Diamond.
From 1900 until 1904, the Castle became the residence of Field-Marshal HRH The Duke of Connaught, Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.
After 1916, Lord Henry no longer resided in the Castle nor in Ireland.
On becoming 8th Duke of Newcastle in 1928, he later sold both the Castle and the estate, which was broken up and used in part for local political patronage.
In 1919-21, the Castle was used as a barracks by the British Army.
Some time afterwards it functioned as a hospital; and from 1943-74, it was occupied by Franciscan nuns who also managed an adjacent guest house.
After some years of neglect, the Castle has been used for catering and hotel purposes set in what is now a Leisure Park with golf course.
In October 2010, the Castle was burnt down in an arson attack.
The building has suffered greatly during its lifetime – after being an convent, it remained empty for many years and was taken over the the local County Council who demolished the 19th century additions to the garden and main fronts and renovated the building.
Its most interesting internal feature – a Soanesque top-lit upper stair landing, was destroyed during the building’s phase of dereliction.
The estate still has a good stable-yard and cast-iron gateway with matching gatehouses.
Hope Castle can be found near the town of Castleblayney in County Monaghan. Perched high on a hill overlooking an expanse of water known as Lough Muckno, the castle is hidden by trees and accessed from the town through impressive entrance gates. The town of Castleblayney is the third largest in County Monaghan and its development is closely linked to the influential Blayney family. From the late 1700s the Blayneys were responsible for the creation of local industry and the construction of a number of the public buildings in the town. A few months after I began to compile this piece, I learnt that the castle had been deliberately burnt to the ground. As a result of the loss of this building I felt I had to highlight its history and beauty, in the hope it would rally local people to ensure that it is restored. It is also fascinating that the family that gave their name to the worlds most famous gem stone also lent their surname to this castle in Monaghan.
The entrance front of Castle Hope with its large extension added by Henry Thomas Hope in the 1860s. The Hope family crest is emblazoned on the castle in the centre of this facade. Accreditation- The National Library of Ireland
In the 1600s, the lands around Lough Muckno were owned by the Blayney family who built the original castle that preceded the existing building. The eleventh Baron Blayney, Lord Andrew Thomas Blayney eventually built a new castle near the site of the original ancestral seat. It is little wonder that the site for the new castle was chosen as it enjoys one of the most spectacular views of Lough Muckno and the surrounding countryside. Robert Woodgate who designed the new castle in 1799 had previously served as an apprentice to the architect John Soane in London. In the same year, he also set up his Irish practise in Dublin and secured the commission from Baron Blayney in County Monaghan. Woodgate wrote to Soane, his former employer, in November 1799 and enclosed a sketch of Castle Blayney. The grateful apprentice recorded the following in the accompanying letter- ‘Sketch of the first house I ever built as a small tribute due for your former kindness to me’. The completed three storey, five bay block of Castle Blayney now stood on the hill overlooking the lough but its completion would also mark the end of the Blayneys connection with the estate. The eleventh Baron was a generous man and in 1814 he donated a painting of St. Sebastian to be used as an alter piece in the local Catholic Church which stood on land that he had donated in 1803.During the time that the eleventh Baron Blaney succeeded to the Monaghan estate he did much to improve the town of Castleblayney and he was responsible for its streetscape and development of local industry. Lord Blayney died on April 8, 1834 and was succeeded by his son Cadwallader Davis Blayney, the twelfth and last Lord Blayney. In 1853, the Hope family purchased the remainder of the Blayney estate under the Encumbered Estates Act 1849 for £180,000
The castle is now boarded up since it was destroyed by fire in 2010. The substantial wing built by Henry Thomas Hope was demolished around the time the castle was renovated in the 1980s leaving the building as it appeared when it was first built. Accreditation- Photograph by Ellie Ross
The most famous diamond in the world which shares its name with a castle
in Monaghan once owned by Henry Hope
A niche on the rear elevation of the castle still contains a statue that once overlooked a formal garden.Accreditation- Photograph by Ellie Ross
The estate had been sold to Henry Thomas Hope of Surrey who was a member of the Scottish-Dutch banking family, famous for their ownership of Hope Diamond. The diamond was a supposedly cursed jewel that had passed through both the French and British Royal families and had supposedly brought ruin to whoever owned it. Henry Thomas Hope had the building in Monaghan refaced and embellished during the 1860s which included the addition of the Hope family crest to the parapet of all the facades of the castle. A large extension was added to the building which now became a modern country retreat for the extremely affluent family. Inside a large collection of art treasures were amassed which included a gallery of pictures by the Dutch and early English masters. Henry Thomas Hope died in 1862 and the castle eventually passed to his grandson, Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton. Between 1900 and 1904, Hope Castle was occupied by the Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, during his appointment as Commander in Chief to Ireland. It was said at the time that the Duke and Duchess experienced a great deal of difficulty in finding an Irish home as they did not wish to spend all their time in the official residence at the RoyalHospital in Kilmainham, Dublin. The Irish residence associated with the office of Commander in Chief was not thought to be suitable for habitation by such high ranking royals as the grounds of the residence were far from private and its location was thought to be in an inferior part of the city. The residence of the Lord Lieutenant and the Chief Secretary in the Phoenix Park would have been suitable but neither of these residents could vacate those houses. The large administrative staffs associated with these official roles could not be moved easily without huge disruption. Several other houses such as Castletown House in Kildare were considered before the Duke settled on Castle Hope in Monaghan which he leased from Lord Henry Francis Hope.
Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught (The National Portrait Gallery, London)
The garden front of the castle that overlooks Lough Muckno, the large drawing room of the house was contained behind the large projecting bay window that can be seen in this picture.Accreditation- Photograph from The Irish Historical Picture Company
Leonie Leslie
It is believed that Castle Hope was chosen as it was located near the home of Leonie Leslie, a prominent socialite at the time, who lived at Castle Leslie. She was a close friend of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught but it is alleged that she was a closer friend of the Duke. The royal couple arrived in Castle Blayney in June 1900 and received a warm welcome from the local people; both the gates to the castle and the whole town were decorated with bunting and flags. The Duke had taken the castle for the summer season in 1900 with an option of leasing it for a further five years. It was thought at the time that Castle Hope would become an official royal residence and that Queen Victoria would visit her son here. She never graced Castle Hope with her presence before her death in 1901 and the Duke of Duchess of Connaught ended their association with the castle in 1904.
The entrance gates to the castle in the 1900s around the time that Duke and Duchess of Connaught were in residence. The presence of police officers also gives credence to this assumption.Accreditation- The National Library of Ireland.
Today the handsome gates piers and adjoining lodges are a distraction surrounded by parked cars, incongruous signage and electric wires.Accreditation- Photograph by Ellie Ross
Lord Henry, the castle’s owner, lived beyond his means which eventually led to marriage troubles and financial woes. He was forced to sell the Hope Diamond in 1901 for £29,000, which would be over two million pounds in today’s money, but this was not sufficient to plug the gapping hole in his finances. Lord Henry Francis Hope had mortgaged the estate in Monaghan heavily and ceased to live there from 1914. After this, the castle was occupied by every army that the country had seen since 1919 which included the Auxiliaries, Black and Tans and the Free State Army. It was also recorded that after the ratification of the treaty that the Crown forces were evacuated from Hope Castle on January 16, 1922.
Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton
(The National Portrait Gallery, London)
None of these occupants had caused serious damage to the stately pile’s contents and in 1926, an auction of the property of Lord Henry Francis Hope was announced. The contents of the castle consisting of antique furniture, paintings, china and the entire furnishings contained in the billiard room, drawing room, boudoir, library, smoking room, bedrooms, servant’s quarters and kitchen were to be auctioned. The sale of the furniture was the final severance of the connection that the Hope Family had with the town of Castleblayney and the auction attracted a huge attendance for the sale of the 1,400 lots. A lot of the large antique furniture sold quite cheaply due to its large size not being suitable for the average family home of the time. Items dispatched for sale included a grand piano and a billiard table which were sold to the nearby Hope Arms Hotel. Over the following years, the castle remained empty and unoccupied until it was used as a temporary hospital between 1932 and 1937 while the new county hospital was being built. It again lay idle for a number of years until it was purchased by a Franciscan Order of nuns who lived there from 1942 until the early 1970s. The Franciscan Sisters had purchased their new home in Monaghan as their previous convent in Londonhad been lost in the blitz during the Second World War. They sought permission to come to Monaghan in December 1941 and secured a loan of £6,000 to establish their convent in Castleblayney. In 1951 the lands of the Hope Estate was taken over by the Land Commission and divided up among the former tenants of the estate. In later years the Franciscan Sisters ran the castle as a guesthouse and they had converted the ballroom into a chapel.
A gravel path led directly from the French doors of the drawing room,down to the shores of Lough Muckno and a boat house. Accreditation- The National Library of Ireland.
The boarded up windows of the drawing room of the castle once overlooked Lough Muckno which is considered to rival the famous Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry.Accreditation- Photograph by David Hicks
In 1979, the castle and the remaining estate lands were offered for sale which extended to 1,000 acres but only fifty-five acres were deemed to be agricultural land as over 900 acres were occupied up by Lough Muckno and its twelve islands. The castle was described as having a floor area of 22,500 sq.ft. which included five reception rooms, twenty-six bedrooms and four bathrooms. There were also coach houses, stables, two gate lodges, farm buildings and a boat house. An asking price of £500,000 was sought and eventually in the 1980s the castle and surrounding lands were purchased by Monaghan County Council. The nineteenth century additions built by Henry Thomas Hope were demolished and the surviving main block of the building was renovated. The eighteenth century castle was leased and operated as a fourteen bedroom hotel for the next number of decades.
A niche on the rear elevation of the castle still contains a statue that once overlooked a formal garden.Accreditation- Photograph by Ellie Ross
The castle once was surrounded by gardens that contained elaborate planting, statues and stone balustrades topped with flower filled urns.Accreditation- Photograph From the National Library of Ireland
In 2010, the townspeople of Castleblayney were shocked to hear that a fire had swept through Hope Castle which caused extensive interior damage. The alarm was raised by Gardai who were on an early morning patrol when they discovered a huge fire was raging inside the building. Fire units from all the neighboring towns were called but serious damage had been done, the castle had been unoccupied at the time and the fire was started maliciously by trespassers. The blaze ripped through the building leaving large sections of the castle destroyed and many of the antiques that furnished its reception rooms were also lost. For the moment Hope Castle remains cordoned off behind a high fence that shields it from public view. Behind this hoarding is a scene of desolation of broken windows and blackened walls, a view reminiscent of the house burnings of the 1920s. I sincerely hope that this building is restored as a resource that can be enjoyed by the local community and the tourists of Castleblayney. Surely this building could become a place where the history of the many famous people associated with this castle could be recorded. How many buildings in Ireland have their history’s interwoven with the world’s most famous diamond and members of the British Royal family?
As a result of the fire, the castle is now surrounded by hoardings that prevents public access but this also inhibits the replication of the above historical image. Architecturally, the facades of this side of the building remain relatively unchanged.Accreditation- Photograph by Ellie Ross
Comparing the aerial photograph above and the period ordinance survey
map belowillustrates the reduction in size of the Castle
Kanturk Castle, County Cork courtesy Breda O’Mullane, photograph licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Bence-Jones, Mark. 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. 162. “A very large three storey semi-fortified Jacobean house, built ca 1609 by MacDonagh MacCarthy, Lord of Duhallow; consisting of a rectangular centre block with two regular three bay fronts, one having a Jacobean doorway with detached columns, a freize and a cornice, and four boldy-projecting corner-towers…. The house was never completed; MacCarthy, on hearing that his English settler neighbours were making complaints to the Privy Council that he was building a fortress, had the building stopped in a fit of rage; and ordered the glass tiles which had been made for covering the roof – so as to provide the equivalent of a skylight – to be broken up.”
Kanturk Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
Paddy Rossmore. Photographs. Edited by Robert O’Byrne. The Lilliput Press, Dublin 7, 2019.
“Kanturk Castle is an outstanding example of the fortified houses being built throughout Ireladn in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. However, unlike many of the others it seems not to have been completed or occupied. During the later Middle Ages, the south-west of the country (much of what is now counties Kerry and Cork) was dominated by the MacCarthy Mors, Kings of Desmond. Following the death of the last King Donal IX in 1596 leaving only an illegitimate son, a dispute broke out between various members of the family over who was entitled to claim his position.
One of the contenders was Dermot MacOwen MacCarthy, simultaneously in dispute with a cousin, Donogh MacCormac MacCarthy, for the title of Lord of Duhallow (one of the three subordiate septs of Desmond). Yes in 1598 the two men joined forced to attack Castle Hyde, home of the settler Arthur Hyde, which after a three-day siege was captured and burnt. They then revereted to their earlier quarrel over the Lordship of Duhallow which, following hte death of Donogh during a skirmish in the Clare-Galway region in 1601, Dermot secured for himself. Soon afterwards he began work on the construction of a new residence in Kanturk, a popular legend being that it was built by seven stonemasons each named John (for a time the building was known as ‘Carrig-na-Shane-Saor’ the Rock of John the Mason.)
Work on the site seems to have stopped in 1618 after English settlers in the area objected to the castle being too large and too fortified. Kanturk Castle later passed into the hands of one of those settler families, the Percevals; in 1900 the widow of a descendant presented it to England’s National Trust. More recently, it in turn passed on the title deeds to An Taisce and is cared for by the Office of Public Works.”
The Buildings of Ireland. Cork City and County. Frank Keohane. Yale University Press: New Haven and London. 2020.
The fortified houses of the late C16 and early C17 constitute a bridge between the medieval tower house and the modern mansion. They were built by old Norman families, at Castle Lyons and Ightermurragh (Ladysbridge); by city merchants, such as the Archdeacons at Monkstown; by English settlers, at Baltimore, Coppinger’s Court (Rosscarbery) and Mallow; and by Gaelic chiefs, at Coolnalong (Durrus), Mount Long (Oysterhaven), Kanturk, Dromaneen (Mallow) and Reendiseart (Ballylickey). Twenty-two such houses survive in Cork.
In comparison to tower houses, these houses are better lit, have thinner walls, lack vaults, and feature timber floors and staircases as well as integral fireplaces. They are also notably symmetrical in plan and elevation, and some, such as Kanturk, incorporate proto-classical features. They generally retain some defensive features, such as door yetts, gunloops, bartizans and crenellated parapets, [p. 18] although their wall-walks were not all continuous, and in cases such as Mount Long and Monkstown were barely accessible. The other notable feature is the use of towers or turrets, influenced no doubt by the Elizabethan fashion for a quasi-military appearance derived from an earlier chivalric age. The arrangement of the towers gives rise to distinctive plan-forms: U plan (Coolnalong), Y-plan (Mallow and Coppinger’s court), L-plan (Dromaneen (Mallow) and Mossgrove (Templemartin), cross-plan (Kilmaclenine, Ightermurragh), X-plan (Kanturk, Monkstown, Mount Long, Aghadown), Z-plan (Ballyannan (Midleton), and T-Plan (Reendiseart). Baltimore, Carrigrohane, Castle Lyons, Myrtle Grove (Youghal) and Castlemartyr aer simple rectangular blocks. A number of Jacobean bawns with circular corner towers also survive, at Ballinterry (Rathcormac), Dromiscane (Millstreet), Dromagh, Clonmeen (Banteer) and Mossgrove.”
Blackrock Castle, Cork, from the National Library of Ireland, flickr constant commons.
The Archiseek website tells us:
“Blackrock Castle lies on the shore of the river Lee, in the city of Cork, in County Cork in Ireland.
“The circular watchtower of Blackrock Castle was built in 1604, on the site of an earlier fort. With its 2.2 meter thick walls, it was designed to withstand cannon fire. It was built to defend the city against attacks from pirates and the Spanish, who had landed at Kinsale 3 years earlier. But it also served to protect the English Lord Deputy Mountjoy against the citizens of Cork, who had been slow to acknowledge King James I.
“Later Blackrock Castle was used by the Mayors of Cork for the Admiralty Court. Also known as the Maritime Court, it exercised jurisdiction over all maritime caes and offences.
“In 1827 the castle was gutted by fire following the annual Corporation banquet. Two years later, in 1829, it was rebuilt and enlarged in Gothic Revival style.
“Later it was used as a meeting place, a private residence, a restaurant and commercial offices before it was acquired by the Cork City Council in 2001. At present the castle houses an astronomy center/museum especially aimed at children.” [1]
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photographic Collection, National Library of Ireland.Blackrock Castle from Views in Ireland after Thomas Sautelle Roberts courtesy Adams Irish Old Masters 15 May 2025
1829 – Blackrock Castle, Co. Cork
Architect: James Pain
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy Archiseek.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy Archiseek.Blackrock Castle and the River Lee, County Cork 1796, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.
Detached castellated fortification, re-constructed 1829, having circular five-storey crenellated tower to the north-west on to the Lee River with two crenellated towers to south set in courtyard bounded by curtain wall with single- and two-storey buildings. Retaining elements of earlier phases of building. Restored and converted to use as an observatory with a new building constructed to the south-east, c.2005. Squared coursed limestone walling with cut limestone crenellations, capping stones and stringcourses. Double lancet windows in square-headed openings with hood mouldings to the second and third floors of the north side of the large tower having stone mullions and tracery. Smaller lancet and narrow square-headed window openings to the remainder of the buildings having small pane timber casements and some hood mouldings. Replacement sheeted timber door to depressed three-centred-arched opening and two glazed and timber doors in elliptical-arched openings, all leading on to courtyard. Pointed arch gateway to river set in gatehouse with cut limestone crenellated turrets to corners. Rubble limestone curtain wall with remnants of lime render to southern wall. Pedestrian gateway to east set in crenellated limestone surround. Crenellated gateway in south wall comprising Tudor-arched opening set in ashlar limestone crenellated wall flanked by ashlar limestone crenellated towers with timber gates. Pedestrian gateway to east. Set on south bank of river, overlooking the harbour.
Appraisal
This landmark building has undergone a number of reconstructions since the first tower was built on this site, c.1582. The present building mainly dates from 1828-29 when the building was rebuilt under the direction of James and George Richard Pain. The castle embodies a huge amount of architectural and social history gathered over five centuries during which time the building was used as a defence fortification to guard the river, a sentinel tower to guide shipping, a light house, a private residence, a restaurant and now an observatory. The limestone construction displays fine craftsmanship in its stonemasonry with different techniques and phases of development visible throughout the building.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.
Freestanding ashlar entrance gateway, built c.1825. Central carriage arch comprises four-centred Tudor-style arch surmounted by crenellated parapet with square-profile ashlar crenellated turrets having single blind arrow loops supporting arch and flanking recent double-leaf timber gate. Four-centred Tudor-style arch to pedestrian entrance with segmental coping adjoining single store gatehouse to the east. Rubble stone wall surmounted by recent railings to the west. Commemorative plaque on western turret records the rebuilding of the castle in 1828.
Appraisal
The entrance to the castle is an early-nineteenth-century interpretation of a medieval castellated gateway. Executed in high quality stonework, the composition is balanced and the four-centred arch is an attractive centrepiece. It was probably designed by George Richard and James Pain, architects to the Admiralty Court of the City Corporation, who were responsible for the restoration work at the castle at the time.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.
Staggered single-bay single-storey former gate lodge, built 1828, to east of southern gateway into castle. Flat roof hidden by crenellated parapet. Rubble limestone walls with cut limestone string course and copings to crenellations. Square-headed openings with bipartite windows having one-over-one timber sliding sash windows. Recent glazed extension facing courtyard, now in use as café.
Appraisal
The castle, originally built in 1604 by Lord Deputy Mountjoy to protect the passage to the city along the river, was restored in 1828 to a design by George Richard and James Pain at the behest of the Admiralty Court of the City Corporation. It was used as a banqueting room and to hold court sessions. It is an important landmark in the defensive architecture of Cork Harbour. The restoration is a fine example of an early nineteenth century interpretation of a late medieval fortified watch tower enclosure. The craftsmanship of the ashlar parapets and entrance is reserved for these areas so as to reinforce the appearance of strength of the main walls.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
‘About half-past two o’clock on Tuesday morning, Blackrock Castle was observed to be on fire, and in a few minutes presented a very imposing sight. The waters were illuminated, and the surrounding hills completely lit, presenting more the appearance of noon-day than of a dark night. Immediately after the cupola blazed with the greatest splendour, the heavy leads caught fire and sent to the river a liquid body of burning lead, the concussion between the red-hot lead and water sending forth a crash resembling the noise of artillery; the rain which fell about the time on the burning lead roof, yielding a noise like the fire of musketry. The whole presented a grand and awful sight, and continued burning with unabated fury for upwards of three hours. The roof has completely disappeared, and the timbers in the wall were burning this morning at seven o’clock. Fortunately, the inmates escaped unhurt. Had the wind been in another direction, the surrounding houses would probably have been destroyed. The fire is supposed to have been caused by a slate having broken the glass of the river light which is kept on Blackrock Castle for the use of ships, and the fire caught the roof.’ Dublin Morning Register, March 2nd 1827.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Located on a limestone outcrop in the river Lee to the immediate east of Cork city, Blackrock Castle was originally built in the early 1580s and maintained by the local burghers according to a contemporary document, ‘to resist pirates and other invasion’ (it should be remembered that as late as 1631, the coastal village of Baltimore, further to the west was sacked by pirates and more than 100 of its residents carried off into slavery in Algiers). The first castle was little more than a watch tower which also served to help guide ships into Cork harbour. However, in the early 17th century, Ireland’s Lord Deputy Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy caused the building to be enlarged and reinforced, with walls over seven feet thick and the main circular tower having a diameter of some 34 and a half feet. Returned by James I to the citizenry of Cork in 1608, this structure held artillery intended to repel any would-be invaders venturing up the river. In 1722, the castle was damaged by fire and, according to Charles Smith’s Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork (1750), the corporation spent £296 refurbishing the building, this work including the creation of ‘a very handsome octagon room, from whence is a delightful prospect of the harbour, from Passage to Cork.’ Here, according to Smith, ‘the mayors of Cork hold an admiralty court, being, by several charters, appointed admirals of the harbour.’ In addition, on the first day of August each year, the mayor and corporation held an ‘entertainment’ in the building, ‘at the charge of the city.’ Such remained the case until February 27th when a serious fire, as described above in the Dublin Morning Register, largely destroyed the old castle.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
In December 1827, Cork Corporation voted a sum of £800, and the Harbour Commissioners a further £200 towards the cost of rebuilding Blackrock Castle. The job was entrusted to architect siblings James and George Pain, both pupils of John Nash, who had each come to Ireland during the previous decade and established thriving practices. As designed by the Pains and completed within two years, Blackrock Castle looks like a medieval fortress, its dominant feature being a large circular tower to which is attached a much more slender and somewhat taller turret: the latter continued to have navigation lights on its roof to aid shipping. Around the tower, a series of battlemented walls enclose a courtyard, helping to confirm the image of a romantic gothic castle. Despite being described in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society in 1914 as ‘one of the prettiest and most striking objects to be seen on the river Lee’, the building thereafter suffered from neglect for much of the last century,. It was leased to a professor of botany in the 1930s and then sold in the 1960s to a group of local businessmen, after which it served as a bar, a restaurant, commercial offices and, for one period, as a private residence. In 2001 Blackrock Castle was bought back by Cork Corporation for IR£825,000 and a programme of restoration was undertaken. For almost 20 years, the building has housed an observatory run by Munster Technological University and laboratories staffed by astronomical researchers from the same institution. Although open to the public and hosting exhibitions, because the castle always served practical purposes, internally there is little of decorative interest, other than a fine limestone chimneypiece from the second quarter of the 17th century and originally in a since-demolished house called Ronayne’s Court. Better to rejoice in the handsome exterior, with the waters of the river Lee washing against a sequence of towers and turrets.
Blackrock Castle, County Cork, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Irish Historic Houses 