1820s

Rossmore Park, Co Monaghan – demolished

by jenjunebug

Rossmore Park, Co Monaghan

Rossmore Park, County Monaghan, Gillman Collection, 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.

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 

Rossmore Park, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.
Rossmore Park, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.

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.  

Rossmore Park, County Monaghan, courtesy Archiseek.

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.  

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.
Josephine Lloyd (1827-1912) who married Henry Robert Westenra, 2nd (UK) and 3rd Baron (Ireland) Rossmore of Monaghan.
Harriet Murray (1742-1822) married Henry Westenra (1742-1809) and Hester Westenra, could be her daughter, 1775-1858 who married Edward Wingfield (1772-1859).
Henry Robert Westenra, 3rd Baron Rossmore. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot

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.

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.

(Image: Henry Skeath)

The former demesne is now a forest park.

First published in January, 2012.

http://davidhicksbook.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-07-13T01:28:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=39&by-date=false

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. 

Carrowmore House, Carrowmorelacken, Co Mayo – ruin

by jenjunebug

Carrowmore House, Carrowmorelacken, Co Mayo – lost 

Carramore, or Carrowmore House, Ballinrobe, County Mayo, 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.

p. 59. “(Palmer/LG1875; McCormick, sub Knox/IFR) A two storey three bay house of ca 1830 with a fanlighted doorway, incorporating a C18 house. Now the home of Mr and Mrs Niall McCormick.”

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. 

p. 110. “Two storey late 18C house. Now a ruin.”

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31303902/carrowmore-house-carrowmore-carr-by-co-mayo

Carrowmore House, CARROWMORE [CARR. BY.], County Mayo 

Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.

Detached three-bay two-storey over basement country house, built 1819, on a square plan with four-bay two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1901. Vacant, 1911. Damaged, 1920. Damaged, 1939. Occupied, 1942. For sale, 1946. In ruins, 1978. Roof now missing with no rainwater goods surviving on overgrown drag edged tooled cut-limestone dentilated cornice. Overgrown fine roughcast coursed rubble limestone walls with concealed hammered limestone flush quoins to corners. Round-headed central door opening with overgrown cut-limestone platform threshold, and concealed red brick block-and-start surround with no fittings surviving. Round-headed flanking window openings in round-headed recesses with sills now missing, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds with no fittings surviving. Square-headed window openings (remainder) with some retaining cut-limestone sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds with no fitting surviving. Interior in ruins including (ground floor): central hall retaining timber panelled reveals to some door openings. Set in unkempt grounds. 

Appraisal 

A country house erected by Colonel George Jackson (d. 1836) representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of the rural environs of Ballina with the architectural value of the composition, one allegedly repurposing ‘an old house [showing] many traces of great age [including] “spit jacks” and wall ovens’ (ITA 1942), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking gently rolling grounds; the compact, near-square plan form centred on the outline of a ‘fanlighted doorway with sidelights’ (Bence-Jones 1978, 57); the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with the principal “apartments” or reception rooms defined by “arcaded” openings recalling the contemporary Glenmore (1790), Attishane (see 31302907); and the monolithic stone work embellishing the roofline. Although reduced to ruins following a prolonged period of unoccupancy in the later twentieth century, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with remnants of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where neo-Classical plasterwork refinements highlight the now-modest artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (see 31303903); and a walled garden (see 31303904), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of an estate having historic connections with the Jackson family including George Vaughan Jackson JP DL (1806-49); Sir James Jackson (1790-1871), ‘Knight [of the] Grand Cross of the Bath [and] Knight of the Guelphic Order of Hanover [and] a General in her Majesty’s Army late of Carramore [sic] House Ballina County Mayo and of the United Service Club Pall Mall County Middlesex’ (Calendar of Wills and Administrations 1872, 308); Oliver Vaughan Jackson JP DL (1811-87), one-time High Sheriff of County Mayo (fl. 1869); George James Vaughan Jackson (1860-98) of “The Font”, Ballina (see 31204025); and Percy Vaughan Jackson (1862-1943). 

Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31303903/carrowmore-house-carrowmore-carr-by-co-mayo

Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.

Farmyard complex, extant 1838, about a courtyard including (south): Detached five-bay single-storey coach house-cum-stable outbuilding with half-attic on an E-shaped plan with single-bay full-height projecting end bays centred on single-bay full-height pedimented breakfront. Now disused. Hipped slate roof on an E-shaped plan on collared timber construction centred on pitched (gabled) slate roof (breakfront) with roll moulded clay ridge tiles, and no rainwater goods surviving on rendered red brick chevron- or saw tooth-detailed cornice centred on rendered red brick chevron- or saw tooth-detailed pediment (breakfront). Part creeper- or ivy-covered limewashed lime rendered coursed or snecked limestone walls. Segmental-headed central carriageway with concealed red brick voussoirs centred on rusticated cut-limestone keystone. Camber-headed flanking window openings with cut-limestone sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds framing remains of timber casement windows. Interior including (ground floor): timber boarded stalls with cast-iron colonette newel posts. Set in unkempt grounds shared with Carrowmore House with opposing gateways to courtyard. 

Appraisal 

A farmyard complex contributing positively to the group and setting values of the Carrowmore House estate. 

Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31301413/carrowmore-house-carrowmore-tira-by-lack-ph-co-mayo

Carrowmore House, CARROWMORE [TIRA. BY. LACK. PH.], County Mayo 

Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.

Detached three-bay two-storey farmhouse, extant 1838, on an L-shaped plan with three-bay (south-west) or two-bay (north-east) two-storey side elevations. Occupied, 1911. Hipped slate roof on an L-shaped plan with clay ridge tiles, rendered central chimney stack on axis with ridge having corbelled stepped stringcourse below capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on cut-limestone eaves having consoles retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Part creeper-covered lime rendered or fine roughcast walls over coursed rubble limestone construction. Segmental-headed central door opening approached by flight of four lichen-covered cut-limestone steps with dragged cut-limestone surround having chamfered or splayed reveals framing timber panelled door having fanlight. Square-headed window openings including square-headed window openings to rear (north-west) elevation centred on segmental-headed window opening (first floor) with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-six timber sash windows including six-over-six timber sash windows to rear (north-west) elevation centred on sixteen-over-sixteen timber sash window having fanlight. Interior including (ground floor): central entrance hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Set in landscaped grounds with fluted cast-iron colonette piers to forecourt supporting wrought iron “farm gate”. 

Appraisal 

A farmhouse erected for Roger Palmer (d. 1884) regarded as an important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of north County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition, one succeeding an adjacent house annotated as “Keromore [of] Palmer Esquire” by Taylor and Skinner (1778 pl. 219), confirmed by such traits as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking landscaped grounds; the compact plan form centred on a handsome doorcase not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also showing a Georgian Gothic lace-like fanlight; the slight diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a feint graduated visual impression; and the monolithic stone work embellishing the roofline. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, including some crown or cylinder glazing panels in hornless sash frames: meanwhile, contemporary joinery; chimneypieces; and plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjoining outbuildings (extant 1896); and a wooded walled garden (extant 1838), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having subsequent connections with the McCormick family including Samuel Crozier McCormick (1832-1911), ‘Farmer’ (NA 1911); and Nial McCormick (1888-1980). 

Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.
Carrowmore House, County Mayo, courtesy National Inventory.

http://davidhicksbook.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2017-09-01T14:26:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=8&by-date=false 

WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2017 

Carramore House 

& 

The Vaughan Jackson Memorial Fountain,  

Ballina, Co. Mayo 

The Font in Ballina, Co. Mayo is a well known landmark and is often mentioned when giving directions due to its distinctive appearance and location at the junction of Teeling Street and Bury Street. Now well in to its second century, having been erected in 1901, few may know of the tragic reasons for its construction or its associations with a local country house. The memorial is still emblazoned with the name George James Vaughan Jackson who once resided at Carramore House, a large Georgian mansion about two miles from the town. Today, Carramore is a forgotten ruin and few will know of the connection between this house and the memorial fountain in Ballina. It is interesting to note that  the committee, in charge of commissioning the monument, discussed numerous designs and locations ranging from Crossmolina to Ardnaree. There was even the possibility of surrounding it with metal railings and accommodating drinking troughs for dogs.  

George James Vaughan Jackson was born in 1860 and was the son of Captain Oliver Vaughan Jackson of Carramore House, Ballina. He appears to have been a man who had interests in all things equine, as he was a member of the North Mayo Hunt but also appears to have owned a number of horses, one in particular Bedouin who had won the Cairo Jubilee race in Egypt. It was said that George had come in to the ownership of the Carramore Estate upon the death of his father in 1890. On the night of the 8th April 1898, George James Vaughan Jackson was returning home from Ballina where he had been doing business during the fair day. As turned his horse and trap off the main road at Rehins he encountered  ‘a light from a travelling caravan’ which was drawn up near the side of the road close to the railway bridge. As he drew closer it appeared to be an ‘ encampment of peddlers’  who had a cart piled high with baskets beside which they had lit a fire. As his horse was a young animal, George alighted from the trap and intended to remove the horse from the shafts to lead it past the obstruction in the road. However the horse bolted and broke its reins resulting in the shafts of the trap breaking free and striking George on the side of his body, knocking him to the ground. Once he regained his feet and being unable to find his horse, he walked the two miles to his home, Carramore House. There he was met by his sister, whom he assured that nothing serious had happened to him but the following morning he was feeling extremely unwell. The local doctor was sent for and it was found that George had serious internal injuries from which he would die the next day. It is said that he passed away after ‘ bidding a most affectionate farewell to his mother and sisters’. His large funeral cortege extended to over 140 horse drawn vehicles which left Carramore House and  made their way to the family burial plot in the Crossmolina Church yard. The probate of the will of George James Vaughan Jackson was granted to Dr. Percy V. Jackson also of Carramore House who was a surgeon and a brother of the deceased. His estate was valued at £2,177 7s 9d ( which is nearly €300,000 in today’s money). 

One month after the passing of George it was proposed that a memorial would be erected in his honour. In May of 1898, a meeting was held in the Moy Hotel  in Ballina town where gathered ‘ the friends and admirers of the deceased’. It was the members of the North Mayo Hunt who first intended to erect a memorial however with the volume of support from the people of Ballina for the project, the subscription for the memorial was opened to the public. Firstly it was proposed that a monument would be erected over his grave, however it was then considered that as ‘ he was buried in a remote place….that very few of his friends could have an opportunity to see it‘. Then it was suggested that the memorial should be placed in St. Michael’s Church in Ardnaree, Ballina, however there were a number of objections to that proposal. Eventually it was decided that a water fountain would be erected in the town and that the fountain should be of benefit to both people as well as horses. It was proposed that the fountain should have a statue or the likeness of George placed upon it, however it was agreed that until funds were accumulated, the design of the fountain could not be decided upon. As an illustration for the enthusiasm for the project, by the end of this initial meeting, £67 12s had already been collected. By September of that year £118 10s 6d had been gathered, however the committee were £20 short of what they required and £50 short for the iron railing that was to be placed around the fountain. By March 1899, the committee met again and discussed a design for the memorial fountain, proposed by Harrison & Co., Great Brunswick St.,Dublin which was to be made of limestone. The committee had earlier contemplated a design made of metal but due to budget implications but it was rejected. Also at this meeting it was proposed that as well as having a trough for horses that a trough should also be integrated  for use by dogs. I had thought that this was something what wasn’t included in the final design, but if you look at the fountain today you will see the lower troughs for the use of dogs are found nearer the ground under the main troughs. 

By June of 1901 a decision had been made on the final design of the fountain and Mr. E.E. Atkinson wrote on behalf of the Jackson Memorial Committee requesting the permission of the Urban Council to erect the memorial, which was given. In August 1901, the fountain was completed by the contractors opposite ‘Baxter’s Corner’ in the town of Ballina. It was made of Aberdeen granite, cost £184.00 and stood on a hexagonal concrete foundation. It was made by Scott & Rae, Bothwell St.,Glasgow and was erected in Ballina under the supervision of their very capable representative, Mr. Robert Taylor. The company of Scott and Rae were established in Glasgow in 1881, it appears they had completed a number of public drinking fountains in their native Scotland and usually worked in pink granite. The fountain is composed of three large drinking troughs for either ‘ cattle or horses‘, and rising from the centre is a red and grey granite column diagonally carved and topped by a grey granite ball. Above one of the troughs is a bronze shield having an engraving of a horse. Above another trough was a tablet with the inscription: 

‘To the memory of 

George James Vaughan Jackson 

Carramore, Ballina, 

Who died on the 10th day of April 1898′ 

On either side of this main plaque were smaller tablets with the inscriptions ‘ Erected by public subscription’ and ’He passed from among us in the prime of life, respected and beloved by all‘. However the fountain wasn’t fully completed at this time as the Memorial Committee did not have the funds to undertake a number of works themselves. The entire cost for the project came to £184 ( which is would be about €25,000 in today’s money) but the fund had only raised £179 however the contractors in an act of generosity remitted the difference. Now that the fountain was it in place, it was still necessary that guard stones should be erected around the monument to protect it from damage from cart wheels for which the committee had not the funds.  Therefore the committee asked the Urban Council if they would be in a position to complete these works and in early photographs of the memorial we can see that these were indeed put in place. 

A close up of an old building Description automatically generated, Picture 
This grainy newspaper photo from 1957 is one of the few images  I can find of Carramore before the removal of its roof. 

 
The family home of the Vaughan Jackson family was Carramore situated about two miles from Ballina town. It was a two storey over basement Georgian house built around 1819. The house is surrounded by a large walled garden and an impressive coach house which is still in relatively good condition today. After the death of George for whom the memorial was erected, Carramore House passed to his brother Percy and in later years in October 1920, £75 was claimed by him for malicious damage to Carramore House. Whether this was the reason or not, Percy left Carramore to live in England in 1926 having previously resided at Carramore for 27 years. Percy Vaughan Jackson died in Herts, England in 1943. The house then came in to the ownership of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Reid and in 1935 it was reported that their son Ivan, of the Indian Medical Service, was to be married in Rawalpindi, India. By this time, Miss Beryl Reid, a daughter of the owners of Carramore, was visited by a a reporter who was covering her various enterprises at the house.  They were amazed at her achievements in the garden and the intricate planted beds in the area to the front of the house that she had created. Miss Reid appears to have been an enterprising woman for her time, she had constructed three large glass houses, one alone measured 125 x 30 foot and was in addition to the two older smaller glasshouses that already existed on the site. In July 1935, she had over 2,000 tomato plants growing and 10,000 chrysanthemums plants waiting to go to market. In the 1930’s Carramore was also advertised as a guest house, so its appears Miss Reid was doing everything possible to make an income from the property. In 1936, Thomas Reid died, leaving his wife and their two unmarried daughters responsible for Carramore. In 1939 the house suffered a fire and one bedroom was burnt out, it was reported that two sisters Phyllis and Beryl Reid and their invalid mother, Florence, were present in the house at the time. The fire was started by a wireless set which the sisters fought for three hours on their own with buckets of water. In April 1944, Beryl’s and Phyllis’s mother died and she was buried in St. Michael’s Church in Ballina.   

A close up of a map Description automatically generated, Picture 
 This map illustrates the extensive house that Carramore once was with extensive outbuildings and a walled garden Picture ( above)  Copyright : OSI 

As a result of this, in August 1946, Carramore House was advertised in the national press for auction under the instruction of  the representatives of the late Mrs. Florence Eleanor Reid, in the advertisement the house is described as ‘a Magnificent Gentleman’s Residence’. The accommodation of the house extended to four reception rooms,  lounge, front hall, kitchen and twelve apartments ( which must mean bedrooms). The grounds included a walled garden, coach house and tomato houses with room for 3,000 plants. A person who visited the house in the 1940’s recorded that the family had only retained forty acres around the house and that the library of Carramore contained over 3,000 books.  In November 1957, it was reported that Carramore was to be demolished as it had recently been purchased with its land by two local farmers.  

A large brick building with grass and trees Description automatically generated, Picture 
 

 
Today (shown above) the walls of Carramore still stand, shrouded in ivy but this house like the history of its occupants is forgotten. The font that now stands in Ballina is one of the few tangible connections we have with Carramore House and the Vaughan Jackson family. As the town of Ballinahas changed around the font, it became necessary in 1968 to move it 12 feet further back from the edge of the road and it was moved again in 1983 to its current location.  
 
While the Vaughan Jackson memorial is one of the few attractive pieces of sculpture that we have in Ballina, the area around this memorial has never been designed or landscaped in such away to show off its true beauty. It might be something to be considered by Mayo County Council, as next year will mark 120 years since the death of the man the fountain commemorates. 

Ashburn, Limerick, County Limerick – no longer extant 

by jenjunebug

Ashburn, Limerick, County Limerick – demolished

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. 12. “A 2 storey house of 1829 built onto a three storey C18 house. Three bay front with central breakfront and semi-circular Ionic porch; roof parapet and corner pilasters. Bought 1870 by the Dunphy family; sold 1949, demolished ca. 1960.” 

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. 

The Reeks, Beaufort, County Kerry

by jenjunebug

The Reeks, Beaufort, County Kerry

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. 241. “(McGillycuddy of the Reeks/IFR) A two storey five bay late Georgian house with an eaved roof and a pilastered porch, doubled in length with an addition of the same height and in the same style, so as to form a continuous front of ten bays, in which the original porch, now no longer central, remains as the entrance. The end two bays of the addition project slightly.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/21305704/the-reeks-whitefield-co-kerry

Detached L-plan five-bay two-storey house, built c. 1825, possibly incorporating fabric of earlier house, built c. 1720. Single-bay single-storey flat-roofed projecting porch to centre and five-bay two-storey lower return to rear to north-west. Renovated and extended to south-west, post-1921, on an L-shaped plan comprising three-bay two-storey lateral wing with two-bay two-storey projecting end bay to south-west having three-bay side elevation and nine-bay single-storey return to rear to north-west. Pitched and hipped roof slate roofs with rendered chimneystacks having cornices, overhanging eaves with plastered soffit and cast-iron gutters and downpipes. Ruled-and-lined rendered walls with limestone plinth. Timber six-over-six pane sliding sash windows with limestone sills. Paired render pilasters and entablature to timber double-leaf glazed door with carvings. Round-headed paired two pane windows to sides of porch. Walled garden, built c. 1820, to south-west with red brick walls. 

http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=R 

Rev. William de Moleyns was leasing this property from Lord Ventry’s estate at the time of Griffith’s Valuation, when it was valued at £4 15s, on a holding of 140 acres. It appears on the 1893 edition of the Ordnance Survey map as Reeks View. It is still extant.   

In O’Hea O’Keeffe, Jane. Voices from the Great Houses: Cork and Kerry. Mercier Press, Cork, 2013. 

p. 261. The McGillycuddy of the Reeks represents a cadet branch of the great O’Sullivan clan descended from Milesian royalty (the mythical ancestors of the Irish race). The first recorded usage of MacGiolla Mochuda (McGillycuddy) as a patronymic can be traced to Ailinn O’Sullivan, Bishop of Lismore, in the mid thirteenth century. Like other such families, the McGillycuddys’ fortunes ebbed and flowed during a thousand years of conflict over Irish soil. Yet unlike most other Gaelic chieftains, the McGillycuddys managed to survive the destruction of teh old Gaelic order during the Cromwellian and Williamite periods, eventually conforming to the established church as did other Kerry families such as the MacCarthy Mor, the FitzGeralds and the FitzMaurices. The family was thus able to retain its lands and indeed obtain additional lands in Kerry which, before the Land Acts of the late nineteenth century, extended to over 15,500 acres. 

p. 269. The beautiful old house in Beaufort is now home of members of the o’Sullivan clan…Solicitor PHilip O’Sullivan with his wife June and their children Aisling and Philip. 

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-reeks.html

THE McGILLYCUDDY OF THE REEKS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KERRY, WITH 15,518 ACRES 

CORNELIUS or CONNOR McGILLYCUDDY was born ca 1580; died by shipwreck, 1630, having married firstly, Joan, daughter of the Rt Rev John Crosbie, Lord Bishop of Ardfert; and secondly, Sheelagh, daughter of Richard Oge McCarty, of Dunguile, by whom he had a son, Niell, and a daughter. 

By his first wife he had, with other issue, 

DONOUGH McGILLYCUDDY (1623-c1695), of Carnbeg Castle, County Kerry, Sheriff of County Kerry, 1686. 

This Donough obtained a grant of arms from Sir Richard Carney, Ulster King of Arms, in 1688. 

He wedded, in 1641, Marie, youngest daughter of Daniel O’Sullivan, of Dunkerron, County Kerry, and had issue, 

CORNELIUS, the heir; 

Daniel, Colonel, Captain Monck’s Regiment; father of DENNIS. 

Mr McGillycuddy was succeeded by his elder son, 

CORNELIUS McGILLYCUDDY, who married Elizabeth McCarty and dsp 1712, being succeeded by his cousin, 

DENNIS McGILLYCUDDY, who married, in 1717, Anne, daughter of John Blennerhassett, by whom he had issue, with four daughters, 

DENNIS, his heir; 

CORNELIUS, succeeded his brother; 

John, dsp; 

Philip, dsp. 

He died in 1730, and was succeeded by his eldest son, 

DENNIS McGILLYCUDDY (1718-35), who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother, 

CORNELIUS McGILLYCUDDY, born ca 1720, who wedded, in 1745, Catherine, daughter of Richard Chute, of Tullygaron, and had issue, 

Denis, b 1747; d unm; 
RICHARD, succeeded his father; 
FRANCIS, succeeded his brother; 
Daniel; 
Eusebius; 
Cornelius; 
Charity; Mary Anne; Margaret; Ruth; Avis; Agnes. 

The eldest son, 

RICHARD McGILLYCUDDY (1750-1826), of The Reeks, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1793, espoused, in 1780, Arabella Mullins, daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Ventry. 

He dsp 1826, and was succeeded by his brother, 

 
FRANCIS McGILLYCUDDY (1751-1827), of The Reeks, who wedded Catherine, widow of Darby McGill, and daughter of Denis Mahony, of Dromore, County Kerry, and had issue, 

RICHARD, his heir; 
Denis; 
Daniel; 
Frances; Mary Catherine; Elizabeth. 

Mr McGillycuddy was succeeded by his son, 

 
RICHARD McGILLYCUDDY (1790-1866), of The Reeks, who married firstly, in 1814, Margaret (d 1827), only daughter of Dr John Bennett, and had issue, a daughter, Dorothea. 

He wedded secondly, in 1849, Anna, daughter of Captain John Johnstone, of Mamstone Court, Herefordshire, and had further issue, 

RICHARD PATRICK, his heir; 
DENIS DONOUGH CHARLES, of The Reeks; 
John; 
Charles; 
Niell; 
Agnes; Anna Catherine; Mary Ruth; Sylvia Emily. 

Mr McGillycuddy was succeeded by his eldest son, 

RICHARD PATRICK McGILLYCUDDY (1850-71), of The Reeks, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother, 

DENIS DONOUGH CHARLES McGILLYCUDDY OF THE REEKS (1852-1921), DSO, Lieutenant RN, who married, in 1881, Gertrude Laura, second daughter of Edmond Miller, of Ringwood, Massachusetts, USA, and had issue, 

ROSS KINLOCH; his heir; 

Richard Hugh (1883-1918). 

The elder son,  

ROSS KINLOCH McGILLYCUDDY OF THE REEKS (1852-1950), DSO, Lieutenant, 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, wedded Victoria, daughter of Edward Courage, of Shenfield Place, Essex, and had issue, 

JOHN PATRICK, his heir; 
DERMOT; 
Denis Michael Edmond (1917-44); 
Phyllida Anne. 

Mr McGillycuddy was succeeded by his eldest son, 

 
JOHN PATRICK McGILLYCUDDY OF THE REEKS (1909-59), who wedded, in 1945, Elizabeth Margaret, daughter of Major John Ellison Otto, and had issue, 

RICHARD DENIS WYER; 
Sarah Elizabeth. 

Mr McGillycuddy was succeeded by his only son, 

 
RICHARD DENIS WYER McGILLYCUDDY OF THE REEKS (1948-2004), who married, in 1984, Virginia Lucy, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon Hugh Waldorf Astor, and had issue, 

Tara Virginia, b 1985; 
Sorcha Alexander, b 1990. 

Richard McGillycuddy was succeeded in the title by his first cousin, 

(DERMOT PATRICK) DONOUGH McGILLYCUDDY OF THE REEKS (1939-), who married, in 1964, Wendy O’Connor, daughter of George Spencer, and has issue, 

PIERS EDWARD DONOUGH, b 1965; 
Michael Dermot, b 1968; 
Jocelyn Patrick Spencer, b 1970; 
Lavinia O’Connor, b 1966. 

THE REEKS, near Beaufort, County Kerry, is a two-storey, five-bay, late Georgian house. 

It has an eaved roof and pilastered porch, doubled in length with an extension of the same height and style. 

Effectively this forms a continuous front of ten bays, the original porch, no longer central, remaining the entrance. 

The two end bays of the extension protrude slightly.  

AT THE end of the 19th century, before the Land Purchase Acts, Richard McGillycuddy’s grandfather, whose mother had injected American money into the family, distinguished himself in the 1st World War, winning the DSO and the Légion d’Honneur. 

From 1928 to 1936, he sat in the Senate of the Irish Free State as a supporter of the moderate WT Cosgrave and an opponent of the republican Eamon de Valera. 

In the 2nd World War, he returned to the colours and became a regular informant on what was happening in neutral Ireland. 

His grandson, Richard Denis Wyer McGillycuddy, was born in 1948. Richard’s father, the senator’s son, who had succeeded in 1950, himself died in 1959 as a result of wounds sustained during the 2nd World War in the Northampton Yeomanry. 

At the time Richard was only 10 and still at his preparatory school before going on to Eton. 

His English mother, although never feeling at home in Ireland, carried on dutifully at Beaufort to preserve the family inheritance for her son. 

Every August, she organised a rather gentrified cricket match played on the lawn of the house – but it was abandoned around 1970 after young Richard, who had little interest in cricket and was not watching, was knocked unconscious by a mighty drive by a visitor who had played for the Cambridge Crusaders. 

The young McGillycuddy’s passion was cars, and he went into the motor trade in London after a brief sojourn at the University of Aix-en-Provence. 

He was unreceptive to the efforts of his uncle Dermot, a Dublin solicitor much beloved of McGillycuddys of every class and creed, to interest him in Ireland. 

Tall and dashing, the rugged and auburn-haired young McGillycuddy of the Reeks was much in demand in London among the Sloane Rangers. 

Eventually, in 1983, at the age of 35, he married Virginia Astor, the granddaughter of the 1st Lord Astor of Hever. 

Feeling that he had little in common with the local people in Kerry, McGillycuddy decided to sell The Reeks, and moved to France, where he acted as a property consultant to prospective British purchasers of chateaux and lesser French properties. 

After the birth of his second daughter in 1990, the family returned to live in Ireland – not, however, in their ancestral territory, but nearer Dublin, where they rented a succession of houses, the last of them in Westmeath. 

He continued to dabble in property, and latterly sold insurance; but it was a handicap that his upper-class English demeanour disappointed expectations raised by his Irish-sounding name. 

Although he could be charming in the appropriate company, he did not relate well to Irish people outside his own class. 

Meanwhile, despite poor health, his wife carved out a niche for herself doing valuable work as a prison visitor. 

McGillycuddy was active in the council of Irish chieftains who had been recognised by the Irish Genealogical Office. 

Richard McGillycuddy was survived by his wife and two daughters. 

He was succeeded by his first cousin, Donogh, who lives in South Africa. 

Moyode Castle, Co Galway – ruin 

by jenjunebug

Moyode Castle, Co Galway – ‘lost’ 

Moyode Castle, County Galway, collection: Bertie Donohue, 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.

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. 220. “(Persse/IFR) An imposing C19 castle, with a three sided bow….now an ivy-covered ruin.” 

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.

p. 76. “A large early 19C castle built by the Persse family. Now a ruin.”

Stradbrook House, Blackrock, Co Dublin – demolished 

by jenjunebug

Stradbrook House, Blackrock, Co Dublin – demolished 

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. 266. “Acton/IFR) A two storey bow-ended house of ca 1820.”

Kenure Park, Co Dublin – demolished 1978

by jenjunebug

Kenure Park, Co Dublin – demolished 1978

Kenure House on auction day September 1964, Col. Palmers last day at Kenure before leaving for the last time, courtesy of Kenure Park facebook page.

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. 163. “(Palmer, of Castle Lackin/PB1911; Fenwick-Palmer/LG1965) A large mic-C18 three storey house, grandly refaced 1842 to the design of George Papworth…Sold 1964 by Col R.G. Fenwick-Palmer, demolished except for the portico 1978.” 

Kenure postcard from c1940/50. A great photo of the drive up to the main house and front lawns. Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Kenure Park, County Dublin, entrance c. 1960 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.

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.

p. 60: “A large early to mid 18C house altered c. 1770 when the two large bowed drawing rooms were created. These rooms had magnificent rococo ceilings and carved doorcases, that on the ground floor having a superb Doric chimneypiece. The house was altered and enlarged again in 1842 for Roger Palmer Bart, to the design of George Papworth. Papworth refaced the house and added the granite Corinthian portico. He also created the entrance hall, the library and the central top-lit staircase hall. Teh hosue was sold in 1964 and became derelict before its demolition in 1978. Samples of the rococo ceilings were saved by the OPW. Only the portico remains.

Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Kenure Park, County Dublin, photograph Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.

Paddy Rossmore. Photographs. Edited by Robert O’Byrne. The Lilliput Press, Dublin 7, 2019. 

“The lands in this part of the country north of Dublin came into the possession of the Butler familiy in the early fourteenth century, bu tthe first house on this site was only built some four hundred years later by James Butler, second Duke of Ormonde. After the failed Jacobite Rising of 1715 and his voluntary exile to France, the duke’s lands were forfeited and subsequently purchased by Henry Echlin, a lawyer who was created a baronet in 1721. In the second half of the eighteenth century, Kenure came into the possession of the granddaughter Elizabeth, who had married Francis Palmer, originally from County Mayo. It was the third Palmer Bt, Sir William, who owned Kenure in 1827 when it was severly damaged by fire, and who some fifteen years later commissiioned architect George Papworth to refurbish the building. …The last of hte Palmer family to own the house sold the contents in a four day sale in Sept 1964 after which Kenure , acquired by the local authority, sat empty and a prey to vandals until demolished – other than the portico – in 1978.” 

One of the final images of Kenure House intact around 1970. Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.

In Blake, Tarquin. Abandoned Mansions of Ireland II: More Portraits of Forgotten Stately Homes. Collins Press, Cork, 2012. 

Kenure Park, County Dublin, photograph Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
The Kenure Grand staircase of marble, gold plate and mahogany, it disappeared before Dublin City Council announced demolition. Kenure Park, County Dublin, photograph Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Kenure Park, County Dublin, photograph Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
The Grand staircase leading up to the second floor where you can see the doors to Sir Rogers Study and the Red drawing room or picture gallery as it was also known. Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Kenure Park, County Dublin, photograph Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
Kenure Park, County Dublin, photograph Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
The Daly parlour located on the first floor at the front of the house was used mainly for hosting guests at Kenure. Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.
On the second floor to the back of the house attached to the master bedroom was one of the main dressing rooms seen here. Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.
The magnificent stained glass ceiling and stunning rococo and palladian plasterwork in ruin after the lead from the roof was stolen. Courtesy Kenure Park facebook page.

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2013/09/kenure-park.html

THE PALMER BARONETS, OF CASTLE LACKIN, WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY MAYO, WITH 80,990 ACRES

THEY OWNED 3,991 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DUBLIN 

ROGER PALMER (alleged to have been the third son of Edward Palmer, of Nayton and Casterton, Norfolk) went over to Ireland and had a grant of Castle Lackin, and many other lands in County Mayo, in 1684. His signature appears to the address from the nobility and gentry of County Mayo to CHARLES II in 1682.

The Palmer family had come to Ireland in 1681 from Norfolk, and had acquired lands in County Mayo, where by the end of the 19th Century, they had amassed 80,000 acres. 

THOMAS PALMER, of Castle Lackin, County Mayo, second son of Roger Palmer, of Palmerstown, in the same county, was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROGER PALMER (1729-90), MP for Jamestown, 1761-8, Portarlington, 1768-83, who was created a baronet in 1777, designated of Castle Lackin.

Sir Roger wedded Miss Andrews, and had issue,

JOHN ROGER, his successor;
WILLIAM HENRY, succeeded his brother;
Sophia.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR JOHN ROGER PALMER, 2nd Baronet, who married Mary, only daughter of the Rev Thomas Althem, and was succeeded at his decease, in 1819, by his brother,

SIR WILLIAM HENRY PALMER, 3rd Baronet, of Castle Lackin, who espoused Alice, daughter of _____ Franklin, and had issue,

WILLIAM HENRY ROGER, his heir;
Francis Roger;
John Roger;
Charlotte Alice; Augusta Sophia; Ellen Ambrosia.

Lady Eleanor Ambrose Palmer Born to Michael Ambrose of swords, a wealthy brewer, Ambrose spent her life campaigning and advocating for justice for her fellow catholic countrymen for crimes against humanity committed upon them by the English Crown. Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.

Sir William died in 1840, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR WILLIAM HENRY ROGER PALMER, 4th Baronet (1802-69), who married and was succeeded by his only son,

Ellen Mary Palmer was the daughter of the 4th Palmer Baronet. She was known to be ahead of her time as she would participate in many male only or dominated sports and pastimes including horse racing and the hunt. Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR ROGER WILLIAM HENRY PALMER, 5th and last Baronet (1832-1910), MP for Mayo, 1857-65, High Sheriff of County Mayo, 1888.

Col. Roderick George Fenwick Palmer seen here at the front of Kenure, known simply as Roddy, was the last Palmer to occupy Kenure Park. Photograph courtesy of Kenure Park Facebook page.
Lady Palmer the last Lady of Kenure was married to the last palmer baronet, Sir Roger Palmer. Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.

The Palmers owned a number of seats, including Keenagh Lodge, Crossmolina, and the ruinous Castle Lackin in County Mayo; Cefn Park, near Wrexham, North Wales; Glenisland, Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Their principal Irish seat (through marriage) was Kenure Park, near Rush, County Dublin, where the estate comprised 3,991 acres.

Lieutenant-General Sir Roger Palmer, 5th and last Baronet, MP for Mayo, 1857-65, was Ellen Palmer’s only brother.

He resided at Kenure with his wife, Gertrude Millicent, until his death in 1910.

Lady Palmer survived her husband for many years. She continued to spend much of her time in Kenure (above) until her death in 1929.

There are people in Rush who still remember the parties held in the house for the children of the town.

Sir Roger and Lady Palmer left no heirs, and the property devolved to Colonel Roderick Henry Fenwick-Palmer, who had fought in the 1st World War, and still bore the marks of shrapnel wounds to his face.

He had property of his own in Wrexham, North Wales, and only came to Kenure in the summer.

A plain man, he was not given to living the high life, apart from dining occasionally with friends, such as the late Lord Revelstoke.

He spent a lot of money trying to keep the house in repair.

He was finally defeated by rising costs on a property which was not making money.

Part of the estate had already been sold years before.

He eventually sold Kenure to the Irish Land Commission, in 1964, for £70.000.

Most of the land was divided up among local farmers.

The remainder was sold to Dublin County Council for housing and playing fields. 

The woodland was cleared and all that now remains of the trees, which once dominated the skyline, is a small area around the main gate.

The front gate lodge is now the local Scouts’ Den.

The gate lodge at Skerries Road belongs to Rush Cricket Club, which has beautifully refurbished it.

The Gate-Keeper’s Lodge, the walled garden, the Steward’s Lodge, the pond and shady avenues, have all gone the way of the big house itself. Only the portico remains, a stark remainder of what once was there.

The contents of the house were auctioned in September 1964, the auction lasted four days and realised £250,000, which would be over £1,000,000 in present day values.

Socially, Kenure had been a place apart from the ordinary life of the town, but it had been there for hundreds of years, an essential part of the Rush scene.

The general feeling was one of regret and disbelief that it was disintegrating.

As landlords, the Palmers had not been the worst.

However, there had been some evictions, and one action, which is still adversely remembered, was the removal of some of their tenants from their ancient holdings in order to lengthen the main avenue and have the main entrance gate near the town.

Nevertheless the Palmers were in many ways beneficent to Rush.

They gave land for the Catholic and Protestant churches, for a presbytery and for a teacher’s residence.

In 1896, when the Catholic church was being refurbished, they donated the seating for the nave, and a brass memorial tablet in the church testifies to this.

A portion of the estate was allocated to the local cricket club, and it was certainly the most beautifully situated cricket pitch in north County Dublin.

Dublin County Council was left with an empty mansion, for which they could find no buyer.

The house continued to deteriorate.

During this time it was rented to a film company and a few films were made there, including “Ten Little Indians,” “Rocket to the Moon,” and “The Fall of Fu Manchu.”

In 1978, after a series of incidents in which the house was vandalized and set on fire, with the inevitable water damage that resulted from the fire engines having to put out the blaze, the house was in a very dangerous condition structurally.

The County Council decided it had no choice but to demolish the house.

Within a few days, all that was left of this once great house was a mountain of rubble, from which the massive portico arose, forlorn and lonely against the sky.

First published in September, 2011. Select bibliography: KENURE HOUSE AND DEMESNE

Photograph and notes courtesy of facebook page for Kenure Park.

https://theirishaesthete.com/2025/03/31/kenure-park/

Two Days to Demolish the Work of Centuries

by theirishaesthete


Rush is a coastal town lying some 15 miles north of central Dublin. Following the Anglo-Norman settlement in the late 12th century, much of the land in this area fell under the control of the Butler family, although the latter’s main base was further south in what are now Counties Kilkenny and Tipperary. As a result, during the medieval period the property was leased to a succession of tenants. In the mid-17th century, the estate was owned by James, the 12th Earl of Ormond and future first Duke of Ormond and according to the Civil Survey of 1654, the property was then occupied by one Robert Walsh. Estimated to extend to 300 acres, and valued at £120, the estate consisted of ‘one Mansion House of stone & one slated house of Office, a Barne & Stable slated, one thatcht Barne two other houses of office thatcht, six tenements, five cabbins part of an old castle Valued by ye Jury at five hundred poundes, a garden plott, one young orchard with some young trees set for ornament, a ruined Chappell of Ease, one horse mill now out of use & one decayed Pigeon House.’ Subsequently, a branch of the Hamilton family held the estate: within the walls of the ruined St. Catherine’s church is a tomb remembering ‘the affable, obliging, exemplary, wise, devout, most charitable, most virtuous and religious, the RT. Hon George Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane’ who died there in 1668. However, the Rush property was once more in the possession of the Butlers until 1715 when the second Duke of Ormond’s was attainded after he had fled to France and given his support to the Jacobite cause. The estate was then acquired by Henry Echlin whose great-grandfather Robert Echlin had moved from Scotland to Ireland where he was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor in 1612. A judge and ardent bibliophile, Henry Echlin was created a baronet in 1721 and on his death four years later, the title and estate in Rush passed to his grandson, Sir Robert Echlin. The latter’s wife Elizabeth (née Bellingham) continued the family’s engagement with books, being a writer and friend of Samuel Richardson (she is remembered for having penned an alternative, less shocking, end for Clarissa). Like George Hamilton before him, Sir Robert, who died in 1757, is buried in the now-ruined St Catherine’s church, his tomb reading 
‘Here lies a man without pretence,
Blessed with plain reason and common sense,
Calmly he looked on either life and here
Saw nothing to regret or there to fear.
From nature’s temperate feast rose satisfied
Thanked Heaven that he lived, and that he died.’
Readers familiar with the works of Alexander Pope will recognised that the first two lines are a variant of those written by the poet for his On Mrs Corbet, who died of a Cancer in her Breast, while the other four come from Pope’s epitaph to Elijah Fenton. 






Sir Robert Echlin had no direct male heir and so the Rush estate and baronetcy passed to his nephew, Sir Henry Echlin who appears to have been something of a wastrel and who dissipated the greater part of his inheritance before dying suddenly in 1799. Long before then, gambling debts had cost him the Rush estate which in 1780 was bought by his cousin Elizabeth. A daughter of Sir Robert, she had been left a mere shilling by her father who disapproved of what he deemed Elizabeth’s unsuitable marriage to Francis Palmer of Castle Lacken, County Mayo (for more on the Palmers and Castle Lacken, see https://theirishaesthete.com/2022/09/12/castle-lacken). Thus the estate passed into the hands of the Palmers who chose to rename the place Kenure Park (from the Irish Ceann Iubhair, meaning the Headland of the Yew Trees), by which it has been known ever since. Francis and Elizabeth Palmer’s son, Roger, on his death in 1811 bequeathed ‘May Money’ to the area. According to the terms of his will, £2,500 was to be laid out in Ireland ‘in proper securities at 6% p.a. compound interest, and I desire that the interest be employed every succeeding year, in the month of May, for the purpose of giving a marriage gift to ten women. Never married, between the ages of twenty & thirty-two years, at the rate of £10 each.’  Furthermore, ‘They must be from the poorest & born upon any part of my estate in the County of Dublin, but women born in the environs of the town of Rush, within two miles of my estate be preferred.’ Seemingly this fund still exists, although now dormant. Meanwhile, successive generations of Palmers lived on the estate until the death without a direct male heir of Lt. General Sir Roger Palmer, fifth baronet, in 1910. Kenure Park then passed to Colonel Roderick Henry Fenwick-Palmer who retained the property until 1964 when, unable to maintain it any longer, he sold the place to the Irish Land Commission for £75,500. Most of the land was divided between local farmers, with the rest acquired by Dublin County Council for housing and playing fields.





A succession of houses were constructed on what eventually became known as the Kenure estate. The scant remains of what is thought to be a late-medieval tower house lie to the north of the later Palmer residence, and this may have been the ‘Mansion House of stone’ mentioned in the Civil Survey of 1654. In any case, that building was succeeded by another, constructed either during the time of the dukes of Ormond or else soon after the estate came into the hands of the Echlins. A description of this house survives, since it was visited in June 1783 by the antiquary Austin Cooper who noted that ‘About half a mile from the (Roman Catholic) Chapel is Rush House, once the seat of the Echlin family, and which now belongs to a Mr. Palmer. It is a large quadrangular building in the old style, terminated by a hewn parapet ornamented with urns. In the front is a small pediment supported by four Tuscan pillars, which evidently appears to be a modern addition. The situation of it is low, but the view of the sea agreeable. The improvements about it are very neat and kept in good order.’ This late 17th/early 18th century house appears to have remained intact until the outbreak of fire in 1827 but the damage cannot have been too serious since photographs show both the bow-ended drawing room and the room above it had elaborate rococo ceilings in the style of Robert West. In 1842-44 extensive work was carried out on the building to the designs of George Papworth, the exterior refaced in stucco in the manner of a Nash London terrace and a tremendous pedimented Corinthian portico of granite added to the facade. Inside, the entrance hall was given engaged Doric columns and walls covered in yellow scagliola. Beyond this rose a top-lit Imperial staircase with ornate wrought-iron scrolled balustrading, further Doric columns on the ground floor and Ionic pilasters above. All  survived until 1964 when the house was sold and a four-day auction held to dispose of the contents, which realised a total of some £250,000. Contemporary reports noted that a pair of Buhl cabinets went for just £120, while a Chinese Chippendale display cabinet, sold to a London dealer, made £6,800, seemingly the highest price yet paid for a single piece of furniture at auction in Ireland. Today these figures seem absurdly low. To give a couple of examples: in June 2008, that same Chinese Chippendale cabinet was sold at auction by Christie’s for more than £2.7 million. And in October 2006, two mid-18th century chairs attributed to the London cabinet makers William and Richard Gomm and once part of a set of five in Kenure Park, sold for US$408,000.  Meanwhile, an undignified fate awaited the house itself, which was left standing empty by the county council, subject to the inevitable decay and equally inevitable assault by vandals who eventually managed to set fire to the place. Finally, after 14 years of neglect, the authority sought tenders for Kenure Park’s demolition, although after local petitioning, Papworth’s great portico was left standing, a melancholic reminder of what had been lost. As a headline in the Irish Times noted in September 1978, it took ‘Two Days to Demolish the Work of Centuries…’

https://theirishaesthete.com/2025/04/04/kenure-park-2/

Kenure Park

by theirishaesthete



After Monday’s post about the melancholy fate of Kenure Park, County Dublin, here are the other remains of the estate: two gate lodges. The first of these, close to the centre of Rush town and erected around the mid-19th century, stands inside curved quadrant walls of wrought iron concluding in granite piers with vermiculated bands and concluding in spherical finials, this work. believed to date from c1740. The lodge itself, of single storey and three bays with a pedimented central breakfront, appears to be currently unused and suffers from having the render stripped from its exterior. The second lodge, which lies to the north of the now-demolished house, is again of single storey and three bays with a central pedimented breakfront. Thought to date from c.1830, the building retains its render which features boldly vermiculated quoins. In this case, however, the gate piers are in a much poorer state of repair.

Portaferry House, County Down

by jenjunebug

Portaferry House, County Down

Portaferry House, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

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. 232. “(Nugent, sub Douglas-Nugent/IFR) A dignified house of 1821, by William Farrell, who apparently worked on a plan produced by Charles Lilley 1790, the three storey centre of the house being very possibly a three storey block of 1770s. The centre of the entrance front is of five bays, with a central Wyatt window in each of two upper storeys; and a porch with paired Ionic columns and Ionic end piers. On either side of the centre there is a wide, three-sided bow, ofonly two storeys but as high as the rest of the front. Ionic columns in hall and some good plasterwork. The house stands in beautiful parkland overlooking the entrance to Strangford Lough.”  

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/11/portaferry-house.html

Marble Hill, Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal

by jenjunebug

Marble Hill, Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal

Marble Hill, County Donegal, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

https://marblehillhouse.com/

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. 201. “An early C19 house of two storeys over basement. Three bay front, Wyatt window in centre above handsome pedimented Grecian porch, with two Ionic columns, 2 bay side.Eaved roof on bracket cornice. Lower wing at back. Garden laid out by Mr Lanning Roper. Now the home of Mrs Jobling-Purser.” 

Loughveagh, Gartan, Co Donegal  

by jenjunebug

Loughveagh, Gartan, Co Donegal  

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. 194. “(Chambers/LG1863) From its appearance, a C19 remodelling of a two storey C18 house. Five bay gable-ended front, with small central pediment-gable. Side elevation extended to five bays by three bay return with small gable. Attic lit by windows in the gables.”  

Not in national inventory 

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.

p. 55. “Large picturesque villa designed by John Hargrave of Cork c. 1825 for D. Chambers. Demolished c. 1970.”