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. 178. “(Levinge, Bt/Pb) An imposing Gothic-Revival castle of ca 1830, by James Shielf, built for Sir Richard Levinge, 6th Bt. The main bloc, dominated by two square turrets, is joined to a gate tower by a lower range. Arcaded Gothic central hall. Oak carvings; Elizabethan style staircase. Sold, ca 1940, to P. Dunne-Cullinan. Now the home of Baron and Baroness von Prondzynski.”
Originally Sir Richard Morrison was requested to design the castle, but neither of his two designs were accepted.
The client then contacted the Dublin architect and builder James Shiel probably on account of his work at Tullynally in nearby Co. Longford. Still a family home today Knockdrin may have included part of an existing eighteenth century house, that Shiel added Gothic trimmings to.
Earlier Houses: The current house replaced a Norman castle that was destroyed by fire in the late 18th century.
Built / Designed For: Sir Richard Levinge
House & Family History: Knockdrin is a castellated house that replaced a Norman castle that was destroyed by fire in the late 18th century. The new House was then redesigned and enlarged in the Gothic Revival style, circa 1830, by James Shiel for Sir Richard Levinge, 6th Bt., and lord lieutenant of Westmeath. The first Sir Richard Levinge was lord chief justice of Ireland and a member of the lords commissioners, who were appointed by the crown to settle all the land questions which had arisen in Ireland after the Cromwellian Conquest, the Restoration, and the Williamite Wars. Sir Richard purchased the Knockdrin Estate from the Tuites, a Norman-Irish family (the Levinge family came to Ireland with the Williamites in the late 17th century). During the late 19th and early 20th centuries Lord Randolph and Lady Churchill were frequent visitors to Knockdrin. During the Emergency (World War II), the House was taken over for troop accommodation and was occupied by a company of the 6th (Dublin) Infantry of the Irish Army. The Army left in 1945 and returned the House to the Levinge family, who sold up in 1946 to Paddy Dunne-Cullinan, who made the House his seat until 1961, when he sold the Estate to a German couple, Hans and Irene von Prondzynski. Until the mid-19th century Knockdrin was known as High Park; the property was renamed Knockdrin after a hill on the Estate.
Collections: A pair of George III Irish giltwood girandoles, circa 1780, likely made for Sir Charles Levinge, 5th Bt., of Knockdrin, sold at Christie’s at the Glin Castle sale of May 7, 2009 for £20,000, against an estimate of £15,000-25,000.
Garden & Outbuildings: The Estate ran to 12,000 acres when the Levinge family purchased it from the Tuites in the late 17th century; today the Estate encompasses 1,000 acres, laid out as a hunting ground (the arable land is leased).
Architect:James Shiel
Date: Circa 1830 Designed: Enlarged House in Gothic Revival style for Sir Richard Levinge, 6th Bt.
Seat of: Ferdinand von Prondzynski
Past Seat of: Tuites family, until 18th century. Sir Richard Levinge, 18th century; Levinge family here until 1946. Paddy Dunne-Cullinan, 1946-61
KNOCKDRIN CASTLE, MULLINGAR, COUNTY WESTMEATH, IRELAND A splendid eighteenth century Gothic Revival Castle majestically positioned within a rolling parkland estate of some 500 acres [202 hectares]. Quoting Excess €5 million. Knockdrin Castle is one of the finest picturesque castellated country houses built in Ireland during the first half of the 19th Century. The castle was built by Sir Richard Levinge [1785-1848], who commissioned building the Gothic Revival style castle residence circa 1810. Within the gardens there is also the remains of a Medieval 16th Century, thought to date to circa 1550. A most striking feature at Knockdrin is the top-lit staircase made of carved oak, like the doors throughout the castle. An abundance of natural light provided by a central glazed dome. The elaborate first floor gallery is decorated with fluted shafts and a sequence of ogee-headed niches around the walls. Reception rooms on the ground floor include a reception hall, drawing room, dining room, ballroom and library. The accommodation within the castle extends to some 19,375 square feet and provides 7 principal bedrooms [12 in total], including the Crown Bedroom where British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill stayed during the War of Independence [his parents being regular hunting visitors to the estate]. 4 estate lodges complete the accommodation. In the Irish War of Independence [1917 to 1921] the rail line between Mullingar and Dublin was bombed and was out of commission. It is locally alleged that Winton Churchill, who was staying at Knockdrin Castle, turned up at the local station demanding to go to Dublin. A local policeman is said to have told him this was not possible, to which Churchill replied ‘I don’t think you realise who I am’.
To which the policeman is said to of wittily replied ‘Even if you were the Station Masters son we could not get you on a train to Dublin.’ The picturesque is also celebrated beyond the castle with an attractive undulating topography throughout the estate, which includes belts of highly productive arable lands along with commercial woodland and a large lake [Lough Drin], where the footprint of a lakeside Tea House is still visible.
The castle is privately and centrally positioned within the lands and enjoys uninterrupted views over estate lands to the distant hills beyond. In all the estate extends to some 500 acres [202 hectares] comprising some: 160 acres [65 hectares] in arable lands; 250 acres [101 hectares] in woodland; 80 acres [32 hectares] in a lake and the balance of circa 10 acres [4 hectares] comprised of the castle with its immediate gardens and the farmstead. Additional lands adjoining the estate, up to some 680 acres [275 acres], are possibly available to additionally purchase. Similarly a sale of the castle on less lands may also be considered.
The location is picturesque and unspoilt but easily accessible with Dublin city centre and Dublin International airport each within driving times of about 60 minutes. The M4 motorway being easily accessible with a driving time of 5 minutes to the nearest intersection. The large town of Mullingar is about a 10 minute drive from Knockdrin. The smaller towns of Castlepollard and Cloughan are about a 15 and 8 minute drive away respectively. The village of Crookedwood is 2.2 miles (3.6 km) away. Adjacent to the estate is a Petrol Station which has a small grocery and newsagents shop.
Knockdrin Castle is thought to be the first house in Ireland to have both central heating [a hot air based system] and electricity. Benefitting from major upgrading some 50 years ago and well maintained since Knockdrin Castle is structurally in good repair but, given the passage of time, requires upgrading. Knockdrin Castle represents an excellent opportunity to acquire one of Ireland’s premier and sizable castle estates. Eircode N91 AOK7 [Property Specific Address Code] GPS location 53.567419, -7.323021 Selling Agent David Ashmore [PSRA Licence 003640]
Knockdrin Castle, Knockdrin, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, photograph courtesy Sotheby’s.Knockdrin Castle, Knockdrin, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, photograph courtesy Sotheby’s.Knockdrin Castle, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Knockdrin Castle, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Knockdrin Castle, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Knockdrin Castle, Knockdrin, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, photograph courtesy Sotheby’s.Knockdrin Castle, Knockdrin, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, photograph courtesy Sotheby’s.Knockdrin Castle gate, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
THE LEVINGE BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WESTMEATH, WITH 5,017 ACRES
The first of this name on record is LEVINGE or Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1013, who crowned CANUTE in 1017, and died in 1020; next is LEVINGE or Lyfing, Bishop of Worcester and Crediton in 1046, whose nephew possessed, at the time of the Domesday survey, six lordships in Derbyshire and two in Nottinghamshire.
THOMAS LEVINGE, elder brother of Mr Sergeant Levinge, MP and Recorder of Derby during the reign of JAMES I, purchased the Manor of Parwich, Derbyshire, in 1561.
He married Dorothy, daughter of John Beresford, of Newtown Grange, Derbyshire, and was grandfather of
RICHARD LEVINGE, of Parwich, barrister and Recorder of Chester, who married, in 1653, Anne, daughter of George Parker, of Park Hill, Staffordshire, aunt of Thomas, Earl of Macclesfield, LORD CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND, and was father of
THE RT HON SIR RICHARD LEVINGE (1656-1724), Knight, of the Inner Temple, Parwich, Derbyshire, and High Park, Mullingar, County Westmeath, Recorder of, and MP for Chester, 1690-95, Derby, 1710-11, who wedded firstly, in 1680, Mary, daughter and co-heir of Sir Gawen Corbyn, Knight, of London, by whom he had three sons and three daughters; and secondly, in 1723, Mary, daughter of Robert Johnson, one of the Barons of the Exchequer in Ireland, and by her had one son, Richard, of Calverstown, County Kildare.
Sir Richard, MP for Blessington, 1692-3, Longford Borough, 1698-9 and 1703-13, Kilkenny, 1713-14, was created a baronet in 1704, designated of High Park, County Westmeath.
Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR RICHARD LEVINGE, 2nd Baronet (c1690-1748), of Parwich, and High Park (Knockdrin Castle), MP for County Westmeath, 1723-7, Blessington, 1727-48, who wedded, in 1718, Isabella, daughter of SIR ARTHUR RAWDON Bt, of Moira, County Down; but dying without issue, in 1748, was succeeded by his brother,
SIR CHARLES LEVINGE, 3rd Baronet (1693-1762), who espoused, in 1722, Anne, daughter and co-heir of Major Samuel Greene MP, of Killaghy Castle, County Tipperary, and was succeeded by his only child,
SIR RICHARD LEVINGE, 4th Baronet (c1723-86), High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1764, who married firstly, in 1748, Dorothea, daughter and co-heir of William Kennedy MP, of County Longford, and had issue,
CHARLES, his successor; Richard; Anne; Dorothea; Frances.
Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR CHARLES LEVINGE, 5th Baronet (1751-96), High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1791, who wedded, in 1779, Elizabeth Frances, only daughter of Nicholas Reynell, of Reynella, County Westmeath, and had issue,
RICHARD, his successor; Charles, Lieutenant-Colonel; Selina; Caroline; Anne; Frances.
Sir Charles was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR RICHARD LEVINGE, 6th Baronet (1785-1848), of Knockdrin Castle, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1808, who espoused, in 1810, Elizabeth Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Rancliffe, and had issue,
RICHARD GEORGE AUGUSTUS, his successor; George Charles Rawdon; Reginald Thomas John; Augustus Frederick; Charles Vere; Vere Henry; William James, father of the 9th Baronet; Edward Parkyns; Harry Corbyn, High Sheriff of Co Westmeath, 1886; Elizabeth Anne; Georgiana Frances Caroline.
Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son, SIR RICHARD GEORGE AUGUSTUS LEVINGE, 7th Baronet (1811-84), of Knockdrin Castle, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1851, MP for County Westmeath, 1857-65, Lieutenant-Colonel, Westmeath Rifles, who married firstly, in 1849, Caroline Jane, daughter of Colonel Lancelot Rolleston; and secondly, in 1870, Margaret Charlotte, daughter of Sir George Campbell; the marriages, however, were without issue, when the baronetcy devolved upon his brother,
SIR VERE HENRY LEVINGE, 8th Baronet (1819-85), of the Madras Civil Service, who died unmarried, when the title reverted to his cousin,
SIR WILLIAM HENRY LEVINGE, 9th Baronet (1849-1900), who wedded, in 1876, Emily Judith, daughter of Sir Richard Sutton Bt, and had issue,
RICHARD WILLIAM, his successor;
Thomas Vere;
Reginald Augustus;
Charles Horace;
Bernard George;
Gerald Henry;
Dorothy Mary Gertrude; Beatrice Maud Cecil.
Sir William was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR RICHARD WILLIAM LEVINGE, 10th Baronet (1878-1914), DL, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1908, who espoused, in 1910, Irene Marguerite, daughter of J H C Pix, and had issue,
RICHARD VERE HENRY, his successor.
Sir Richard, an army officer killed in action during the First World War, was succeeded by his only child,
SIR RICHARD VERE HENRY LEVINGE, 11th Baronet (1911-84), MBE, of Knockdrin Castle, who espoused firstly, in 1935, Barbara Mary, daughter of George Jardine Kidston, and had issue,
RICHARD GEORGE ROBIN, his successor;
Michael James;
Elizabeth Anne; Patricia Mary; Susan Maureen; Mary Irene.
He married secondly, in 1976, Jane Rosemary, daughter of John Thomas Stacy, without further issue.
Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR RICHARD GEORGE ROBIN LEVINGE, 12th Baronet (1946-), who married firstly, in 1969, Hilary Jane, daughter of Dr Derek Mark, and has issue,
RICHARD MARK, born in 1970.
Sir Richard wedded secondly, in 1978, Maria Isabella, daughter of daughter of Prince Ferdinando d’Ardia Caracciolo dei Principi di Cursi, and has further issue,
KNOCKDRIN CASTLE, near Mullingar, County Westmeath, is an impressive Gothic-Revival mansion of about 1830 by James Shiel.
It was built for Sir Richard Levinge, 6th Baronet,
The main block comprises two square turrets, joined to a gate-tower by a lower range.
There is an arcaded Gothic central hall; oak carvings; and an Elizabethan-style staircase.
During the 2nd World War the castle was requisitioned for troop accommodation and was occupied by a company of the 6th (Dublin) Infantry of the Irish Army.
The army left in 1945 and handed the castle back to the Levinges.
Sir Richard William Levinge, 10th Baronet, was High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1908.
The Levinge family owned Knockdrin until 1946, although the 11th Baronet (later a Director of Guinness Ltd) had not been resident there for some time.
In that year the estate was sold to Paddy Dunne-Cullinan, who remained at Knockdrin until 1961, when he in turn sold the estate to Hans and Irene Freiherr von Prondzynski from Germany.
The arable land is now leased out, but the family continues to live in the castle.
Former residences ~ Johnston House, Chapelizod, County Dublin; Castlemount, Castleknock, County Dublin; Clohamon House, Ferns, County Wexford.
The entrance to Knockdrin, County Westmeath. Like the main house, this was designed for Sir Richard Levinge around 1810 by Richard Morrison. The high-romantic and intentionally asymmetrical style of arched gateway flanked by dummy turret on one side and taller octagonal tower on the other serve as a prelude to what lies at the end of the drive: a full-blown castle. For more on Knockdrin, see Knock Knock, August 5th 2013.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
The popularity of the gothic style for domestic buildings in early 19th century Ireland owed something to a desire among landed families to suggest longer residence here than was often actually the case. The Levinges, for example, only came to this country in the aftermath of the Williamite Wars when the Derbyshire-born lawyer William Levinge was appointed Irish Solicitor-General and Speaker of the House of Commons; he later became Attorney-General and Lord Chief Justice. As a reward for his services, in 1704 he received a baronetcy and duly became Sir Richard Levinge of High Park in the County of Westmeath. Today the property is known as Knockdrin, built close to a late mediaeval castle once belonging to the Tuite family; it was their lands that Sir Richard acquired and on which he built a new house. However by the early 19th century this had fallen into disrepair and so the sixth baronet, also called Sir Richard Levinge, embarked on a rebuilding programme that would give him a splendid gothic castle and all the links with an ancient past this implied.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
It is not known for certain who was responsible for the design of Knockdrin Castle. Sir Richard Morrison produced a design for the entrance front but while elements of this were incorporated into the eventual building it cannot be attributed to him. Instead Knockdrin is assigned to James Shiel, believed to have trained in the office of Francis Johnston an architect who created some of the finest gothic revival castles in Ireland, not least Charleville, County Offaly. Like Charleville, Knockdrin’s late-mediaeval trappings are lightly worn: this is essentially a Georgian country house in fancy dress. The entrance front presents a degree of asymmetry, primarily thanks to a long castellated curtain wall leading to a two-storey gatehouse providing access to the service courtyard. But the battlemented main block, of rubble limestone with dressed window surrounds and featuring a wide fanlit doorway flanked by square towers, has only superficial quirks, such as a slim turret on the south corner. And notice how standard rectangular sash windows are used on the upper storeys.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
A similarly familiar sense of order can be found inside where once more the usual forms are followed, albeit decked out in gothic flummery. As in so many Irish houses the rear of the entrance hall has a screen but in this instance it is composed of three pointed arches supported on slender cluster-shafted columns. Doors to either side open onto the library and dining room (the latter now regrettably divided in two). But another door provides access to Knockdrin’s most striking feature: a top-lit staircase with the stairs (like the doors throughout the building) made of carved oak. The elaborate first floor is decorated with a gallery of fluted shafts and sequence of ogee-headed niches around the walls. Abundant light provided by a central glazed dome helps to create a fluid, elegant space possessing none of the heaviness customarily associated with the Gothic Revival movement. On the other hand, despite high ceilings emblazoned with plasterwork of Tudor roses and the like, the enfilade of ground floor reception rooms – ballroom, drawing room, library – is less distinguished, although a line of full-length, south-facing windows means that like the staircase hall they are exceptionally bright.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin remained in the possession of the Levinge family until the last century. Within weeks of the outbreak of the First World War the tenth baronet, another Sir Richard Levinge, was dead after being hit in the neck by a bullet as he walked along a trench at Ypres. His widow and only son moved to England and the house was let to various tenants; at one point it served as a school and in the early 1940s was occupied by members of the Irish army who inevitably inflicted a certain amount of damage on the building. Finally in 1943, the greater part of the estate having already been broken up by the Land Commission, the castle and surrounding land was sold by the Levinges, thereby ending a link of almost 250 years. The present owners bought the place in 1961 and have cared for it ever since. One should not try to make exaggerated claims for Knockdrin. It is certainly not a house of the first importance, but can be considered noteworthy as an example of the transition from classicism to gothic, when the latter was still a style and not yet an ideology and the former’s principles survive beneath a veneer of ornamentation. Below is a portrait of Sir Richard, the sixth baronet who commissioned the house. The picture was painted by the minor English artist Thomas Shew in 1828 and includes a view of Knockdrin, presumably imaginary since Shew never came to Ireland.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Knockdrin, County Westmeath, photograph courtesy Robert O’Byrne.
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
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. 285. “(Wilmot-Chetwode/LGI1912) A two storey five bay late-Georgian house with a fanlighted doorway; extended at the back by a lower wing linking it to a three storey bow end block with a four story polytonal tower. Recently the house of Mr and Mrs Denis Quirke.”
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy National Inventory.
Detached five-bay two-storey late-Georgian house, built c.1820, with two-storey lower returns to rear. Double-pitched and hipped slate roofs with nap rendered chimneystack and profiled cast-iron rainwater goods with lion mask motifs. Nap rendered walls with ruled and lined detail, limestone plinth and sill/stringcourse to first floor. Square-headed window openings, set into recessed arches to ground floor level, with limestone sills and three-over-six and six-over-six timber sash windows. Diastyle Doric portico to entrance with timber door and wrought-iron fanlight over. Timber panelled internal shutters to window openings; vaulted ceiling to porch with coffers having plaster centrepieces. House set back from road in own grounds; landscaped lawns to site; gravel drive and forecourt to approach; sandstone step to entrance. Group of detached rubble stone outbuildings to site. Detached gate lodge to site (12800404).
Detached gable-fronted gate lodge, built c.1880. Double-pitched slate roof with decorative red clay ridge tiles and limestone ashlar chimneystack on a hexagonal plan. Nap rendered rendered walls, painted, with limestone ashlar pediment to gable. Square-headed window openings with limestone sills and timber casement windows. Timber door. Interior not inspected. Gatelodge set back from road in grounds shared with main house at right angles to road; landscaped lawns surround lodge; gravel drive to front. Gateway to site comprising group of limestone ashlar piers with flanking walls having round-headed recessed niches and wrought iron gates and railings.
Woodbrook, County Laois courtesy National Inventory.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
I’VE said it before and I’ll say it again. Some homes are born great while still others have greatness thrust upon them. In the case of Woodbrook House in Portarlington, however, it happens to be both.
I mean, check out the history on this one for a start. The Woodbrook Estate came into being on the marriage of Knightly Chetwood (do you think he was bullied?) to Hester Brooking at St Michans Church in Dublin in 1698.
By 1713, Knightly, now doubtless Knightrider, befriended Jonathan Swift and a long friendship began. In fact, Swift travelled to Woodbrook frequently, and used it as his weekend retreat where the bulk of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ was written in the library.
To think that Swift, like all men with ideas above their Luas station, spent many an hour musing on the little people in this very room. Sure don’t we all.
Not content with being born great, Woodbrook House then began to have greatness thrust upon it in the form of extensive and sympathetic restoration, most of which has occurred in the last three years.
This home is now back to its 18th century glory with a bang. In fact a wing from this century, complete with a four storey tower that was banjaxed in the 1970s (weren’t we all) has now been reinstated.
The restoration has been massive and systematic. All roofs have been replaced using 18th century slate where required, timber sash windows, rewiring, oil fired heating system, new plumbing and sewage system, broadband, alarms – you name it, it’s been done.
My favourite is the Canadian hot tub on the tower roof terrace – the perfect place from which to ponder awhile about those that have less.
With a reception hall, stair hall, six reception rooms, orangerie, a master bedroom suite with twelve further bedroom suites and a selection of offices and stores on offer, it is difficult to see who wouldn’t want to buy this home.
Whether thinking of a commercial or private use or both, quite frankly, Woodbrook House is simply the best. Carpe diem.
For further information contact Savills Hamilton Osborne King 01 663 4350 or visit www.savills.ie
Probably where Swift wrote part of Gulliver’s Travels
Woodbrook since the rebuilding by Ray Simmons. Image Courtesy ofJJ Dunne NBD PhotographyAs it was in 1980
In 1918 Walter Strickland wrote an article on Woodbrook in the Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society , Vol. IX., which is available as a download at the end of this article. As he had access to the Chetwood papers, his account is unlikely to be ever bettered. In summary Knightley Chetwood acquired the lands that had belonged to his wife’s family on his marriage to Hester Brooking in at St Michan’s Church in 1698 (something that he appears to have overlooked when they separated later in life). There was probably an existing building on the site as he was writing from Woodbrook in 1712. By 1715 he had engaged builders and was consulting his father-in-law’s friend Jonathan Swift about the gardens. He had the usual problems that anyone has when building a house, such as when the brick layer, John Mulloy, disappeared with the property of other tradesmen on the site. It is hard to make sense of the drawing reproduced in the Kildare Archaeological Society of the 18th century house. There is a very grand neo-classical doorway, perhaps taken from one of the seven architects’ designs (including one by James Gandon) that Valentine Knightley Chetwood commissioned pre 1771 that were not executed due to Valentine’s death that year – it has a slight resemblance to Gandon’s design for the entrance to the Rotunda. That door is said to be where the 5 storey tower is in the later building. In Colum O’Riordan’s House and Home, describing the Chetwood drawings at the Irish Architectural Archive, he describes the ground floor survey of 1770 as showing “a warren – a vaguely L shaped building with an indeterminate number of accretions around an older core”
A drawing of the pre 1815 house that was reproduced in the Kildare Arch. Journal in 1918
In the late 1790s or early 1800s part of Woodbrook was destroyed by fire. Jonathan Chetwood, working with the architect James Shiel, rebuilt it about 1816, building the present entrance and hall, the dining-room and drawing-room, and changed the entrance from its former position facing the lake. The library and range of rooms beyond, including the great kitchen, part of the old house, remained though portions of the upper part were afterwards altered by Edward Wilmot Chetwood and his successors, who also added the tower on the side facing the lake, near where the old entrance had been. Elizabeth Hester Chetwood, granddaughter of Crewe Chetwood, (a younger brother of Valentine Knightley Chetwood of Woodbrook), married Robert Rogers Wilmot and had a son Edward Wilmot who took the name Chetwood in 1839 when he inherited Woodbrook.
The old kitchen was a large room with an arched fire-place at one end, and at the opposite end a great dresser filling the whole wall. On the top of this dresser are painted these lines : BE CLEANLY. HAVE TASTE. HAVE PLENTY. NO WASTE.
The west wing kitchen at Castletown House, Kildare – the quote from Matthew is Conolly’s response to the servants’ imprecation on the opposite wall “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”The Galleried Kitchen at Strokestown House
The gallery which ran around the side was put up in 1858 by Lady Janet Wilmot Chetwood, in order, it is said, that she might be able to visit and superintend her kitchen without going down stairs and along the passage leading to it. In the 1940s the poet John Betjeman stayed often and fell in love with the house, and its galleried kitchen (from which the mistress could drop the menu of the day to the cook below).
Jane(tta) Erskine had married Edward Wilmot-Chetwode in 1830, the year after her father John Thomas Erskine, 25th/8th Earl of Mar had OD’ed on opium. The fifteen 1840 murals, which had been attributed to Edwin Hayes, were commissioned for her to remind her of Scotland. Hayes, now known as a great marine artist, was also a noted set painter and created highland castle murals. There are very similar murals by Hayes at Manor Kilbride in Wicklow (which was designed by Cobden for George Ogle Moore circa 1843). However the estate agents marketing the house in 2022, Conway Estates, state recent research proved them to be the work of Scottish artist David Ramsay Hay . It is one of 3 complete rooms of his work known to survive the others being 73 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2 and the staircase hall at Preston Hall in Scotland .
Murals by Hayes at Manor Kilbride, Wicklow
There was a vaulted room beneath the study, accessed through a trapdoor. This is where the historic correspondence with the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Chandos, Swift and others was stored in trunk. Fortunately the Swift letters had been transcribed in 1856 for Swift’s biography. The rest were destroyed by damp.
The Land Commission took over the 250 acre estate from the 100 year old Gladys Chetwood- Aiken in 1965 “The richly planted and picturesque lawns” described in Thomas Lacy’s 1863 “Sights of Our Fatherland” rapidly disappeared beneath the subsistence farming dictums and dictates of Oliver J and Dev. In 1969 Oliver J had the sale of 300 excellent ash beech and elm trees and 6 tons of cut beech at Woodbrook Demesne.
Denis Quirke, who had already devastated the demesne of Bert House with his notions of prairie stud farming, bought the house and 100 acres, and cleared even more of the tree and hedges, destroying the largest heronry in Ireland. The Quirkes sold in 1976, and Denis Quirke died soon afterwards.
The 1840 OS map vs an aerial view of 2000
In the 1970s the devastated demesne featured in an IGS exhibition in Portlaoise called “Open Your Eyes”. Few did. The new owners were an absolute disaster area, whose idea of restoration was to demolish pretty much everything apart from Shiel’s 1816 villa – the great kitchen and all the original 1700s building were turned into rubble. Such dumb dolts and blockheads should be confined to spaces where they can’t do too much damage. The truncated house was bought by Jim and Brenadette Robson who offered elegant country house accommodation to tourists, long before Ireland’s Ancient East was fashionable.
The emasculated building in the 1990sThe 1816 vaulted front hall with its inlaid floor, probably of oak, photographed in the 1990s
The historian and photographer Robert Vance viewed Woodbrook “Many moons ago” He writes “The OS showed woods and an ornamental lake within the acreage to be sold. On arrival I saw the woods were clear-cut and the roots had been used to fill in the lake. The parkland was now overgrown with rushes. The farmer pointed out the stump of a walnut tree he had cut. It had been planted by Jonathan Swift 250 years previously. The early buildings, servants’ wing and stables were left as a vast pile of brick, rubble and nettles behind the house.”
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The very shook remains struggled on and it was for sale again in 1990 for £200,000 and then again in 1998, for €550,000
The current owner, Ray Simmons, has rebuilt a replica of the demolished part of the house and planted trees.
An impressive and substantial late Georgian house comprising 2 and 3 storeys privately set within its own lands . Extensive any sympathic restoration over the last number of years included the rebuilding of a mid 18th century wing complete with 4 storey tower and undertook much of the structural repairs necessary but repairs in some parts of the residence are incomplete.
Woodbrook House represents an opportunity for a potential purchaser to complete and decorate the house to their liking and perhaps would consider a commercial use subject to the necessary planning consents . Approx. 39 ha / 98 acres with the laid out to pasture and tillage interspersed with maturing parkland trees.
About 1,398 square meters/ 15,078 square feet comprising in brief : reception hall, stair hall, 6 reception rooms, kitchen, Orangerie, Master Bedroom Suite, 12 further bedroom suites, a number of offices and stores. Gate Lodge ( 1 bedroom ), large selection of stone outbuildings and yards and two walled gardens. •
Portarlington 4km • Emo 7.5km • Portlaoise 16km • Kildare 14km • Dublin 80km • Dublin Airport 60-minute drive • The Heritage Killenard Hotel & Golf Club 5 minute drive • Ballyfin House 25 minute drive • The K- Club 50 minute drive • The Curragh Racecourse 25 minute drive • Punchestown Racecourse 45 minute drive (times approximate)
History The Woodbrook Estate came in to being on the marriage of Knightly Cherwood to Hester Brooking at St. Michael’s Church Dublin in 1698 . Hester brought 620 acres of land and Tinakill Castle with her as a dowry and in 1700 the couple set upon building a residence there . A letter dating as early as 1712 describes “the continued building works and improvements” to the property. In 1713 Cherwwod befriended Jonathan Swift when the latter returned to Ireland as Dean of St. Patrick’s. A long friendship and correspondence ensued . Swift travelled frequently to Woodbrook, using it has his weekend retreat , and it is here in the library he penned much of Gullivers Travels. Unfortunately, as with many of Swifts friendships, he and Cherwood had a falling out and spent their latter years not speaking to each other. On February 17th 1752 , Chetwood died in London.
His son Valentine, who in 1758 was High Sherrif of Co. Laois , succeeded him. He in turn passes away in 1771 and was succeeded by his son Jonathan . The family continued to reside on the estate until 1963 until the blood line ran out .
The original house was a modest 2 storey property comprising drawing room, ding room, library and 4 bedrooms, but like many Irish country houses embellished as family circumstances allowed.
Entrance Hall; with ornate domed ceiling. Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Entrance Hall; with ornate domed ceiling, Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
In 1750 a grander 3 storey wing was added incorporating a 4 storey tower.
A fire in 1790 saw the demise of the drawing room but cleared the way for the now existing Regency wing.
The drawing room houses a collection of wall paintings depicting scenes of Scottish Castles, created to remind the new Mrs. Cherwood, a daughter of the Earl of Mann and descendant of the Kings of Scotland, of her homeland. The paintings, executed in the style of Watteau, remain intact to day and have only recently been proved to be the work of Scottish artist David Ramsay Hay. It is one of 3 complete rooms of his work known to survive the others being 73 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2 and the staircase hall at Preston Hall in Scotland.
Drawing room: with original grey marble fireplace. Suite of oil paintings by David Ramsy Hay depicting scenes of Scotland . Wired for phone , smoke alarm and music.
Suite of oil paintings by David Ramsy Hay depicting scenes of Scotland, Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
Dining Room ; with original Kilkenny marble fireplace. Silver cupboard. Wired for phone. Smoke alarm, music and service bell to kitchen .
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
Staircase Hall: with ornate ceiling and decorative arched window .
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
Library: with original fitted bookcases including a “secret door “ and original Kilkenny marble fireplace. Wired for phone, smoke alarm. Music and tv Breakfast Room; with original Kilkenny marble fireplace. Wired for phone, smoke alarm and music.
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King..Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
Kitchen: with full range of bespoke cupboards and granite counter tops . Full range of integrated appliances including two oven Aga, 4 electric ovens, twin microwaves, twin dishwashers, 5 ring gas hob, twin 6ft refrigerators. Trapdoor to vaulted 17th Century cellar . Wires for phone, smoke alarm and music. Galleried Hall: over lit by ornate dome. Grey a marble fireplace . Wired for phone, smoke alarm and music. Billiard Room : with fireplace . Wired for phone, smoke alarm and music. Study : Anteroom with fireplace leading to octagonal study . Wired for phone, smoke alarm and music. Orangerie : with double glazed pvc roof . 4 pairs of timber double doors with fanlights opening to south facing garden. Master suite with fireplace . Wired for phone, smoke alarm, tv and security lights on the grounds. Leading to dressing room and master bath plumbed for bath separate shower, wc, twin whb, twin heated towel rails. 12 further bedrooms all with bathrooms ensuite . Smoke alarm and phone. All ensuites plumbed for bath/shower, wc, whb and heated towel rail . A selection of offices and store rooms including strong room. Gardens and grounds At the entrance to the estate there is a Gate Lodge with a kitchen, living room, shower room and mezzanine bedroom . Extensive yards behind the house comprise a large range of stone outbuildings in varying repair, some benefit ting being re roofed in natural slate. Immediately beyond these yards lie 2 walled gardens. The lands are laid out to pasture and in crop and benefit from extensive tree planting (c 1,000) throughout the estate including a very impressive avenue of Lime trees and planting to reestablish the parkland lost in the 1970’s. Also filled in around this time was a large lake in the field off to the right of the avenue and north and east of the house which could possibly be reinstated . Fixtures & Fittings A full inventory is available on request and separate negotiation. Title Freehold Title Protected Status Woodbrook House is a listed protected structure .
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
Synopsis of restoration work to date Extensive and sympathetic restoration has been undertaken in the last number of years to restore the property to its former 18th Century glory and reinstate the 18th Century wing complete with 4 storey tower that was lost in the 1970’s . Great effort has been taken when restoring , rebuilding or replacing to use materials sympathetic to the original craftmanship of the house . The schedule of works to date to the main house include ; restoration and replacement of all roofs using reclaimed 18th Century slate where required: replacement of all windows with traditional timber sash windows, reinstating the original hand spun 18th Century glass where possible and taking the opportunity to install a “Ventrolla” draught exclusion system to all windows .
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
The current owner undertook much of the structural repairs necessary but repairs are incomplete; complete rewiring with 5 separate zones ; installation of new gas fired heating system with 5 separate zones; insulation of new plumbing with 2.5 bar pressure to power showers to all bedroom suites; installation of a new well with all bathing water passing through a water softener system; installation of a “Puraflow” sewage treatment system with superfluous capacity fro present accommodation, i.e. could potentially take accommodate extension/conversion of outbuildings subject to the necessary consents; new insulation and fireproofing throughout, wired for high specification integrated fire alarm system; wired for 3 phone lines wireless broadband, and Phonewatch, fittings throughout and the replacement of all gutters and down pipes .
Features
*An impressive and substantial Late Georgian House. *Approximately 39 Hectares (98 Acres) . *Vendor would consider splitting the Estate in two Lots . *Lot 1 – Woodbrook House, Gate Lodge on approx. 10 Acres . *Lot 2 -Approx. 89 Acres of Land .
BER Details
BER: Exempt
Woodbrook, Portarlington, County Laois courtesy Savills Hamilton Osborne King.
The name Woodbrook has been given to a number of houses in different parts of Ireland, and the natural assumption would be that it derives from the property having once had a brook in woodland. In the case of Woodbrook, County Laois, however, it combines the second syllable of original owner Knightley Chetwood’s surname along with the first syllable of that of his wife Hester Brooking: hence Woodbrook. An article written by Walter Strickland and published in the Journal of the Archaeological Society of the County of Kildare in 1918 provides a detailed account of the origins of the Chetwood family and their arrival in Ireland following the restoration of Charles II in 1660. There is some uncertainty as to how Knightly Chetwood, whose family had been impoverished English gentry, managed to acquire the lands in County Laois on which Woodbrook now stands: Strickland proposes that it may have come to him via his spouse, but without being able to say precisely how this should have been the case. In any case, some years after the couple’s marriage in August 1700, despite living contentedly in County Meath, he embarked on a project to build a residence on his midland’s property, albeit with some reluctance: at one stage he implored a friend to find him another house in Meath, since otherwise he would be condemned to ‘go and live in a bog in a far off country.’ Indeed, being as Strickland says ‘an uncompromising Tory,’ following the accession of George I in 1714, Chetwood found it best to live, if not in a bog then certainly in a far-off country, spending a number of years in mainland Europe before returning to Ireland around 1721 when he took an oath of allegiance to the Hanoverian monarch and abjured the Stuart pretender. It may have only been after this time that serious work commenced on the house at Woodbrook.
We know more about the early development of the Woodbrook estate than would usually be the case thanks to surviving correspondence between Knightley Chetwood and Dean Swift, who not only provided its proprietor with advice but visited the place on a number of occasions. There was likely some kind of residence already on the site, not least because Chetwood was able to write letters from there even before his new house had been built. Strickland cites a note from Swift to his host dated 6th November 1714 and composed when he had arrived at Woodbrook to find the Chetwoods away from home. The following month, after the dean’s departure, Chetwood informed him, ‘This place I hate since you left it.’ Swift is believed to have been responsible for planting a grove of beech trees close to the house, although these were cut down in 1917 for sale to the then-Government. The two men also make regular reference to an area of the estate called the ‘Dean’s field.’ Once Chetwood returned from his self-imposed exile and turned his attention to erecting a new house, Swift’s opinion was again sought, the dean recommending in June 1731, ‘I can only advise you to ask advice, to go on slowly and to have your house on paper before you put it into lime and stone.’ Unfortunately, it was around this time that the friendship of almost twenty years came to an end. Chetwood seems to have had a tricky, volatile character. He had already become estranged from his wife, husband and wife formally separating in 1725, and he was inclined to find himself embroiled in rows on a regular basis: that he and Swift should fall out accordingly seems to have been inevitable. Chetwood died in London in 1752 and Woodbrook then passed to his elder surviving son, Valentine but since he spent most of his life out of Ireland, it was the younger son Crewe Chetwood who stayed in Laois. The next generation, Jonathan Cope Chetwood, did live at Woodbrook from the time he inherited the property in 1771 until his own death in 1839. As he had no immediate heir, the estate went sideways passing to Edward Wilmost, a great-grandson of Crewe Chetwood, who duly took the additional surname of Chetwood. However, following the death during the Boer War of Edward Wilmot-Chetwood, Woodbrook passed to another branch of the family, being inherited by Major Harold Chetwood-Aiken; his widow lived there until 1965 when what remained of the estate was taken over by the Land Commission.
The evolution of the house now standing at Woodbrook is complex, even by Irish standards. The original building commissioned by Knightley Chetwood can be seen in a pencil drawing reproduced in Strickland’s 1918 article and shows the long east-facing entrance front, seemingly single-storey but with two-storeys visible to one side and dominated by a great doorcase beneath a steeply-pitched roof. A 1770 ground floor survey is described by Colum O’Riordan in House and Home as depicting ‘a vaguely L shaped building with an indeterminate number of accretions around an older core.’ Much of this structure appears to have been damaged or destroyed in a fire in the early 19th century, after which Jonathan Cope Chetwood undertook extensive alterations to the house, not least the addition of a new neo-classical entrance front facing south. Designed c.1815 by James Shiel, it included a spacious hall off which opened drawing and dining rooms. The older part of the building contained the library and staircase, and, beyond these, service quarters including a double-height kitchen one wall of which was filled with a great dresser and above which, according to Strickland, were painted the words ‘BE CLEANLY. HAVE TASTE. HAVE PLENTY. NO WASTE.’ Later in the 19th century, further changes took place, not least in the drawing room where the walls were covered with 15 murals representing scenes of the Scottish Highlands: still extant (although some are currently undergoing restoration), they were painted in 1840 by artist David Ramsay Hay, commissioned by Lady Jane Erskine, daughter of the 25th/8th Earl of Mar and wife of Edward Wilmot-Chetwood, as reminders of her native country. At some unknown date, a five-storey polygonal tower was added towards the rear of the house on the east side. Alas, the later decades of the last century were not kind to Woodbrook. All the ancient trees, not least those lining the avenue to the house, were all cut down in 1969. The lake to the immediate east, created by Jonathan Cole Chetwood, also suffered devastation causing the loss of what was said to have been the largest heronry in the country. Then, in the 1970s, the owners of the house demolished almost all of what had stood behind Shiel’s early 19th century extension, everything that had remained from the original building constructed by Knightley Chetwood, along with the great kitchen and the polygonal tower. This strangely truncated property somehow survived until the present century when another owner ambitiously reconstructed the sections that had been reduced to rubble just a few decades earlier. In consequence, at least on the exterior, Woodbrook looks much as it did when still occupied by the last members of the Chetwood family. Just under two years ago, the house and surrounding lands changed hands once more, and the current owners have embarked on an ambitious and admirable programme of restoration and restitution, with thousands of trees being planted, the lake being brought back to life and the surrounding lands improved. Similar considerate work is taking place inside the building so that in due course Woodbrook will once again take its place among County Laois’s finest country houses. It’s always thrilling to visit a property which is undergoing renewal, and the owners of Woodbrook deserve all the applause and support they can get.
After Monday’s post about the main house at Woodbrook, County Laois, here are the the south gate lodge and gate screen into the estate. The lodge itself is a curious structure which may, or may not, have been designed by James Shiel at the same time as he was coming up with proposals for the house. The facade is dominated by an substantial ashlar pediment with window beneath, the latter flanked by deep recesses, one of which has a door into the building. So generous are the recesses that the pediment has to be supported by a pair of slender iron columns. The gate screen itself, of limestone ashlar and wrought iron, is more standardised with its piers, quadrant walls and arched niches in the outer sections. Here also is an old milestone advising that Dublin lies 47 miles distant.
Castle – April 30, May 1-2, 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, 28-30, June 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, July 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, 30-31, Aug 1, 13-23, 27-29, Sept 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 11am-3pm
Garden – Mar 19-22, 26-29, Apr 2-6, 9-12, 16-19, 23-26, 30, May 1-4, 7-10, 14-17, 21-24, 28-31, June 1, 4-7, 1-14, 18-21, 25-28, July 2-5, 9-12, 16-19, 23-26, 30-31, Aug 1-3, 6-9, 13-23, 27-30, Sept 3-6, 10-13, 17-20, 24-27,9am-5pm
Fee: castle fee – adult €17, child entry allowed for over 8 years €9, garden fee – adult €9, child €4, family ticket (2 adults + 2 children) €24, adult season ticket €60, family season ticket €73.50, special needs visitor with support carer €4, child 5 years or under is free
2026 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2026 Diary of Historic Houses (opening times and days are not listed so the calendar is for use for recording appointments and not as a reference for opening times) send your postal address to jennifer.baggot@gmail.com along with €20 via this payment button. The calendar of 84 pages includes space for writing your appointments as well as photographs of the historic houses. The price includes postage within Ireland. Postage to U.S. is a further €10 for the A5 size calendar, so I would appreciate a donation toward the postage – you can click on the donation link.
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We visited Tullynally Castle and Gardens when we were staying near Castlepollard with friends for the August bank holiday weekend in 2020. Unfortunately the house tour is only given during Heritage Week, but we were able to go on the Below Stairs tour, which is really excellent and well worth the price.
In 2021 I prioritised seeing Tullynally during Heritage Week, and we went on the upstairs tour!
According to Irish Historic Houses, by Kevin O’Connor, Tullynally Castle stretches for nearly a quarter of a mile: “a forest of towers and turrets pierced by a multitude of windows,” and is the largest castle still lived in by a family in Ireland [1]. It has nearly an acre of roof! It has been the seat of the Pakenham family since 1655. I love that it has stayed within the same family, and that they still live there. I was sad to hear of Valerie Pakenham’s death recently – she wrote wonderful books of history and on Irish historic houses.
The current incarnation of the Castle is in the romantic Gothic Revival style, and it stands in a large wooded demesne near Lake Derravaragh in County Westmeath.
We stayed for the weekend even closer to Lake Derravaragh, and I swam in it!
The lands of Tullynally, along with land in County Wexford, were granted to Henry Pakenham in 1655 in lieu of pay for his position as Captain of a troop of horse for Oliver Cromwell. [2] [3] His grandfather, Edward (or Edmund) Pakenham, had accompanied Sir Henry Sidney from England to Ireland when Sir Sidney, a cousin of Edward Pakenham, was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. [4]
A house existed on the site at the time and parts still exist in the current castle. It was originally a semi-fortified Plantation house. When Henry Pakenham moved to Tullynally the house became known as Pakenham Hall. It is only relatively recently that it reverted to its former name, Tullynally, which means “hill of the swans.”
Henry was an MP for Navan in 1667. He settled at Tullynally. He married Mary Lill, the daughter of a Justice of the Peace in County Meath and left the property to his oldest son by this marriage, Thomas (1649-1706) who became a member of Parliament and an eminent lawyer. Henry remarried after his first wife died, this time to Anne Pigot and he had at least two more children with her.
Thomas, who held the office of Prime Sergeant-at-law in 1695, married first Mary Nelmes, daughter of an alderman in London. Thomas married a second time in 1696 after his first wife died, Mary Bellingham, daughter of Daniel, 1st Baronet Bellingham, of Dubber, Co. Dublin. His oldest son, by his first wife, Edward (1683-1721), became an MP for County Westmeath between 1714 and 1721. A younger son, Thomas (d. 1722) lived at Craddenstown, County Westmeath.
Edward (1683-1721) married Margaret Bradeston and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Pakenham (1713-1766) [see 3]. After her husband died in 1721, Margaret married Reverend Ossory Medlicott. Edward’s younger son George Edward (1717-1768) became a merchant in Hamburg.
Thomas (1713-1766) married Elizabeth Cuffe (1719-1794), the daughter of Michael Cuffe (1694-1744) of Ballinrobe, County Mayo. Her father was heir to Ambrose Aungier (d. 1704), 2nd and last Earl of Longford (1st creation). Michael Cuffe sat as a Member of Parliament for County Mayo and the Borough of Longford. In 1756 the Longford title held by his wife’s ancestors was revived when Thomas was raised to the peerage as Baron Longford. After his death, his wife Elizabeth was created Countess of Longford in her own right, or “suo jure,” in 1785.
Michael Cuffe had another daughter, Catherine Anne Cuffe, by the way, who married a Bagot, Captain John Lloyd Bagot (d. 1798). I haven’t found whether my Baggots are related to these Bagots but it would be nice to have such ancestry! Even nicer because his mother, Mary Herbert, came from Durrow Abbey near Tullamore, a very interesting looking house currently standing empty and unloved.
Thomas’s son, Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford (1743-92) had Pakenham Hall enlarged in 1780 to designs by Graham Myers who in 1789 was appointed architect to Trinity College, Dublin. Myers created a Georgian house. The Buildings of Ireland website tells us that the original five bay house had a third floor added at this time. [5]
The oldest parts still surviving from the improvements carried out around 1780 are some doorcases in the upper rooms and a small study in the northwest corner of the house. We did not see these rooms, but Christine Casey and Alistair Rowan tell us that the study has a dentil cornice and a marble chimneypiece with a keystone of around 1740. [see 2] The oldest part of the castle is at the south end, and still holds the principal rooms.
Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford, married Catherine Rowley, daughter of Hercules Langford Rowley of Summerhill, County Kilkenny, in 1768. He was in the Royal Navy but retired from the military in 1766, when he succeeded as 2nd Baron Longford. He was appointed Privy Counsellor in Ireland in 1777.
Admiral Thomas Pakenham (1757-1836), a younger brother of Edward Michael Pakenham, the 2nd Baron Longford, built another house on the Tullynally estate, Coolure House, around 1775, when he married Louisa Anne Staples, daughter of John Staples (1736-1820), MP for County Tyrone and owner of Lissan House in County Tyrone – which can now be visited, https://www.lissanhouse.com/ . Their son Edward Michael Pakenham (1786-1848) inherited Castletown in County Kildare and he legally changed his name to Edward Michael Conolly. Louisa Anne Staples’s mother was Harriet Conolly, daughter of William Conolly (1712-1754) of Castletown, County Kildare.
Coolure House, on the Tullynally estate, built for Admiral Thomas Pakenham around 1775. Photograph from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford (1743-1792) by Robert Hunter, auctioned Sotheby’s June 2008.The catalogue tells us that the sitter was the son and heir of Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford of Pakenham Hall, County Westmeath and his wife Elizabeth Cuffe who was created Baroness of Longford in 1785. He served in the Royal Navy from 1765 to 1766 and served as M.P. for County Longford in Ireland. On the 25th June 1768 he married Catherine, daughter of Hercules Rowley of Summerhill, County Meath. He was a popular political figure and Lord Harcourt wrote on 17th October 1774: “My Lord Longford is a man of ability, an able speaker in the House of Lords and greatly respected in this County.”
Edward Michael Pakenham 2nd Baron Longford and his wife Catherine née Rowley had many children. Their daughter Catherine (1773-1831) married Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, but it was an unhappy marriage. The daughter of the current occupant of Tullynally Thomas Pakenham and his wife Valerie, Eliza Pakenham, published Tom, Ned and Kitty: An Intimate History of an Irish Family, about the Duke of Wellington and the family’s relation to him. Kitty fell for the local naval man, Arthur Wellesley, but the family refused to let her marry him. He promised her that he would return and marry her. He went off to sea, and she was brokenhearted. He returned as the Duke of Wellington and did indeed marry her. He, however, was not a very nice man, and is reported to have said loudly as she walked up the aisle of the church to marry him, “Goodness, the years have not been kind.”
When Edward died in 1792 his son Thomas (1774-1835) inherited, and became the 3rd Baron Longford. When his grandmother Elizabeth née Cuffe, who had been made the Countess of Longford in her own right, died in 1794, Thomas became 2nd Earl of Longford.
Tullynally was gothicized by Francis Johnston to become a castle.
We came across Francis Johnson (1760-1829) the architect when I learned that he had been a pupil of Thomas Cooley, the architect for Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh (who had Rokeby Hall in County Louth built as his home). Johnston took over Cooley’s projects when Cooley died and went on to become an illustrious architect, who designed the beautiful Townley Hall in County Louth which we visited recently. He also enlarged and gothicized Markree Castle for the Coopers, and Slane Castle for the Conynghams. His best known building is the General Post Office on O’Connell Street in Dublin. We recently saw his house in Dublin on Eccles Street, on a tour with Aaran Henderson of Dublin Decoded.
Thomas the 2nd Earl sat in the British House of Lords as one of the 28 original Irish Representative Peers. Casey and Rowan call Francis Johnston’s work on the house “little more than a Gothic face-lift for the earlier house.” He produced designs for the house from 1794 until 1806. On the south front he added two round towers projecting from the corners of the main block, and battlemented parapets. He added the central porch. To the north, he built a rectangular stable court, behind low battlemented walls. He added thin mouldings over the windows, and added the arched windows on either side of the entrance porch.
Terence Reeves-Smyth details the enlargement of Tullynally in his Big Irish Houses:
“Johnson designed battlements and label mouldings over the windows, but as work progressed it was felt this treatment was too tame, so between 1805 and 1806 more dramatic features were added, notably round corner turrets and a portcullis entrance, transforming the house with characteristic Irish nomenclature from Pakenham Hall House to Pakenham Hall Castle.”
“During the early nineteenth century, a craze for building sham castles spread across Ireland with remarkable speed, undoubtedly provoked by a sense of unease in the aftermath of the 1798 rebellion. Security was certainly a factor in Johnson’s 1801 to 1806 remodelling of Tullynally, otherwise known as Pakenham Hall, where practical defensive features such as a portcullis entrance were included in addition to romantic looking battlements and turrets. Later enlargements during the 1820s and 1830s were also fashioned in the castle style and made Tullynally into one of the largest castellated houses in Ireland – so vast, indeed, that it has been compared to a small fortified town.”
Thomas married Georgiana Emma Charlotte Lygon, daughter of William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp (UK) in 1817. He was created 1st Baron Silchester, County Southampton [U.K.] on 17 July 1821, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords.
According to Rowan and Casey it may have been his wife Georgiana Lygon’s “advanced tastes” that led to the decision to make further enlargements in 1820. They chose James Sheil, a former clerk of Francis Johnston, who also did similar work at Killua Castle in County Westmeath, Knockdrin Castle (near Mullingar) and Killeen Castle (near Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath).
At Tullynally Sheil added a broad canted bay window (a bay with a straight front and angled sides) towards the north end of the east front, with bartizan turrets (round or square turrets that are corbelled out from a wall or tower), and wide mullioned windows under label mouldings (or hoodmouldings) in the new bay.
One enters into a large double height hall. It is, Terence Reeves-Smyth tells us, 40 feet square and 30 feet high. I found it impossible to capture in a photograph. It has a Gothic fan vaulted ceiling, and is wood panelled all around, with a fireplace on one side and an organ in place of a fireplace on the other side.
The hall, Casey and Rowan tell us, has a ceiling of “prismatic fan-vaults, angular and overscaled, with the same dowel-like mouldings marking the intersection of the different planes…The hall is indeed in a very curious taste, theatrical like an Italian Gothick stage set, and rendered especially strange by the smooth wooden wainscot which completely encloses the space and originally masked all the doors which opened off it.” [6] As this smooth wainscot and Gothic panelled doors are used throughout the other main rooms of the house and are unusual for Sheil, this is probably a later treatment.
“Visitors entering the castle will first arrive in the great hall – an enormous room forty-feet square and thirty feet high with no gallery to take away from its impressive sense of space. A central-heating system was designed for this room by Richard Lovell Edgeworth, who earlier in 1794 had fitted up the first semaphore telegraph system in Ireland between Edgeworthstown and Pakenham Hall, a distance of twelve miles. In a letter written in December 1807, his daughter Maria Edgeworth, a frequent visitor to Pakenham Hall, wrote that “the immense hall is so well warmed by hot air that the children play in it from morning to night. Lord L. seemed to take great pleasure in repeating twenty times that he was to thank Mr. Edgeworth for this.” Edgeworth’s heating system was, in fact, so effective that when Sheil remodelled the hall in 1820 he replaced one of the two fireplaces with a built-in organ that visitors can still see. James Sheil was also responsible for the Gothic vaulting of the ceiling, the Gothic niches containing the family crests, the high wood panelling around the base of the walls and the massive cast-iron Gothic fireplace. Other features of the room include a number of attractive early nineteenth century drawings of the castle, a collection of old weapons, family portraits and an Irish elk’s head dug up out of a bog once a familiar feature of Irish country house halls.” [see 1]
There is a long vaulted corridor that runs through the house at first-floor level which Rowan and Casey write is probably attributable to Sheil.
The ground floor of the main house contains Lord Longford’s study, the dining room, library, drawing room, Great Hall, Lady Longford’s sitting room, Plate room and Servant’s Library.
From the Great Hall we entered the dining room, which used to be the staircase room.
The dining room, drawing room and library were all decorated in Sheil’s favoured simple geometrical shaped plasterwork of squares and octagons on the ceiling. [6]
We can see that the windows in the dining room are in the canted bow which was added by James Shiel. The room is hung with portraits of family members. The ceiling drops at the walls into Gothic decoration ofprismatic fan-vaults with dowels similar to those in the Hall, though less detailed.
Tullynally Castle, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath, photograph by Thomas Pakenham for Failte Ireland, 2015.
Georgina née Lygon, wife of the 2nd Earl, was well-read and wealthy. She and her husband were friendly with the Edgeworths of nearby Edgeworthstown. She was responsible for developing the gardens, planting the trees which are now mature, and creating a formal garden. Her husband died in 1835 but she lived another forty-five years, until 1880. She and her husband had at least eight children. Their son Edward Michael Pakenham (1817-1860) succeeded to become 3rd Earl of Longford in 1835 while still a minor.
We then went to the library. The library was started by Elizabeth Cuffe, wife of the the 1st Baron Longford, and continued by Georgiana, wife if the 2nd Earl. Again, it’s hard to capture in a photograph, while also being on a tour.
The portrait over the fireplace in the library is Major General Edward Michael Pakenham (1778-1815), brother of the 2nd Earl of Longford. Major General Pakenham (whose sword in the red sheath is in the front Hall) was killed in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, between Britain and the United States of America, in the “War of 1812.”
Another brother of the 2nd Earl of Longford was Lieutenant General Hercules Pakenham (1781-1850). He married Emily Stapleton, daughter of Thomas Stapleton, 13th Lord le Despenser, 6th Baronet Stapleton, of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Hercules inherited Langford Lodge in County Antrim, from his mother Catherine Rowley (it no longer exists). Hercules served as MP for Westmeath.
When he reached his majority, the third Earl, Edward Michael, who was called “Fluffy,” along with his mother, made further enlargements from 1839-45 with two enormous wings and a central tower by another fashionable Irish architect, Sir Richard Morrison. The wings linked the house to the stable court which had been built by Francis Johnston. The addition included the large telescoping octagonal tower.
“Fluffy” Edward Michael Pakenham, 3rd Earl of Longford (1817-1860).A description of the castle, at Tullynally.
Terence Reeves-Smyth writes:
“More substantial additions followed between 1839 and 1846 when Richard Morrison, that other stalwart of the Irish architectural scene, was employed by the Dowager Countess to bring the house up to improved Victorian standards of convenience. Under Morrison’s direction the main house and Johnson’s stable court were linked by two parallel wings both of which were elaborately castellated and faced externally with grey limestone. Following the fashion recently made popular by the great Scottish architect William Burn, one of the new wings contained a private apartment for the family, while the other on the east side of the courtyard contained larger and more exactly differentiated servants’ quarters with elaborate laundries and a splendid kitchen.”
Casey and Rowan describe Morrison’s work: “On the entrance front the new work appears as a Tudoresque family wing, six bays by two storeys, marked off by tall octagonal turrets, with a lower section ending in an octagonal stair tower which joins the stable court. This was refaced and gained a battlemented gateway in the manner of the towers that Morrison had previously built as gatehouses at Borris House, County Carlow [see my entry on Borris House] and Glenarm Castle, County Antrim. The entrance porch, a wide archway in ashlar stonework, with miniature bartizans rising from the corners, was also rebuilt at this time. Though Morrison provided a link between the old house and the family wing by building a tall octagonal tower, very much in the manner of Johnston’s work at Charleville Forest, County Offaly [see my entry Places to visit and stay in County Offaly], the succession of facades from south to north hardly adds up to a coherent whole. The kitchen wing, which forms an extension of the east front, is much more convincingly massed, with a variety of stepped and pointed gables breaking the skyline and a large triple-light, round-headed window to light the kitchen in the middle of the facade.“
On the tour, our guide told us of the various additions. She told us that “Fluffy” lived with his mother and chose to follow the fashion of living in an apartment in a wing of the house.
On the “downstairs tour” we toured the wings of the castle that had been added by Fluffy and his mother. A wing was built for the staff, and it was state of the art in the 1840s when Richard Morrison built these additions. Fluffy never married, and unfortunately died in “mysterious circumstances” in a hotel in London.
When Fluffy died his brother William (1819-1887), an army general in the Crimean War and long-serving military man, became the 4th Earl of Longford.
Terence Reeves-Smyth continues:“After the third Earl’s death in 1860 his brother succeeded to the title and property and proceeded to modernise the castle with all the latest equipment for supplying water, heat and lighting. Except for a water tower erected in the stable court by the Dublin architect J. Rawson Carroll in the 1860s, these modifications did not involve altering the fabric of the building, which has remained remarkably unchanged to the present day.”
The further additions in 1860 are by James Rawson Carroll (d.1911), architect of Classiebawn, Co Sligo, built for Lord Palmerston and eventually Lord Mountbatten’s Irish holiday home in the 1860s.
The 4th Earl married Selina Rice-Trevor from Wales in 1862. Her family, our guide told us, “owned most of Wales.” His letters and a copy of his diary from when he arrived home from the Crimean War are all kept in Tullynally.
Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.
We can even read his proposal to Selina:
Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.
William the 4th Earl installed a new plumbing system. He also developed a gas system, generating gas to light the main hall. The gas was limited, so the rest of the light was provided by candles, and coal and peat fires. His neighbour Richard Lovell Edgeworth provided the heating system.
The next generation was the 5th Earl, son of the 4th Earl, Thomas Pakenham (1864-1915). He was also a military man. He married Mary Julia Child-Villiers, daughter of Victor Albert George Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Island of Jersey and they had six children.
The family are lucky to have wonderful archives and diaries. Mary Julia Child-Villiers was left a widow with six children when her husband died during World War I in Gallipoli. The downstairs tour shows extracts from the Memoir of Mary Clive, daughter of the 5th Earl of Longford.
Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.
Since 1915 the family have been writers (before that, they were mostly military). Edward the 6th Earl (1902-1961) was a prolific playwright who restored the Gate Theatre in Dublin and taught himself Irish, and with his wife Christine, created the Longford Players theatrical company which toured Ireland in the 30s and 40s. He served as a Senator for the Irish state between 1946 and 1948.
His sister Violet Georgiana, who married Anthony Dymoke Powell, wrote many books, and her husband was a published writer as well. Another sister, Mary Katherine, who married Major Meysey George Dallas Clive, also wrote and published. Their sister Margaret Pansy Felicia married a painter, Henry Taylor Lamb, and she wrote a biography of King Charles I.
A brother of Edward, Frank (1905-2001), who became the 7th Earl after Edward died in 1961, and his wife Elizabeth née Harman, wrote biographies, as did their children, Antonia Fraser, Rachel Billington and Thomas Pakenham the 8th Earl of Longford. Antonia Fraser, who wrote amongst other things a terrific biography of Marie Antoinette and another wonderful one of King Charles II of England, is one of my favourite writers. She is a sister of the current Earl of Longford, Thomas, who lives in the house. They did not grow up in Tullynally, but in England. Thomas’s wife Valerie has published amongst other books, The Big House in Ireland.
There was a handy chart of the recent family on the wall in the courtyard café:
Tullynally, County Westmeath.
Stephen noted with satisfaction that Thomas Pakenham does not use his title, the 8th Earl of Longford. That makes sense of course since such titles are not recognised in the Republic of Ireland! In fact Stephen’s almost sure that it is against the Irish Constitution to use such titles. This fact corresponds well with the castle’s change in name – it was renamed Tullynally in 1963 to sound more Irish.
When we visited in 2020 we purchased our tickets in the café and had time for some coffee and cake and then a small wander around the courtyard and front of the Castle. One enters the stable courtyard, designed by Francis Johnston, to find the café and ticket office.
The coach was passed down to Olive Pakenham-Mahon of Strokestown, Roscommon (another section 482 property, see my entry), who was Dean Henry’s great granddaughter. Olive sold it to her cousin Thomas Pakenham, the present owner of Tullynally. It was restored by Eugene Larkin of Lisburn, and in July 1991 took its first drive in Tullynally for over a hundred years. Family legend has it that the coach would sometimes disappear from the coachhouse for a ghostly drive without horses or coachman! It was most recently used in 1993 for the wedding of Eliza Pakenham, Thomas’s daughter, to Alexander Chisholm.
Tullynally, County Westmeath.
The tour brought us through the arch from the first courtyard containing the café, into a smaller, Morrison courtyard.
Richard Morrison spent more time working on the laundry room than on any other part of the house.
Our guide described the life of a laundress. After the installation of the new laundry, water was collected in a large watertank, and water was piped into the sinks into the laundry.
A laundry girl would earn, in the 1840s (which is during famine time), €12/year for a six day week, and start at about fourteen years of age. A governess would teach those who wanted to learn, to read and write, so that the girls could progress up in the hierarchy of household staff. There was even a servants’ library. This was separate of course from the Pakenham’s library, which is one of the oldest in Ireland. There was status in the village to be working for Lord Longford, as he was considered to be a good employer. His employees were fed, clothed in a uniform, housed, and if they remained long enough, even their funeral was funded. There was a full time carpenter employed on the estate and he made the coffins.
The laundry girls lived in a world apart from household staff. They ate in the laundry. Their first job in the morning would be to light the fire – you can see the brick fireplace in the first laundry picture above. A massive copper pot would be filled with water, heated, and soap flakes would be grated into the pot. The laundry girls would do the washing not only for their employers but also for all of the household staff – there were about forty staff in 1840. As well as soap they would use lemon juice, boiled milk and ivy leaf to clean – ivy leaves made clothes more black. The Countess managed the staff, with the head housekeeper and butler serving as go-between.
William, the 4th Earl of Longford, had a hunting lodge in England and since he had installed such a modern laundry in Tullynally, he would ship his laundry home to Pakenham Hall be washed!
Next, the washing would be put through the mangle.
The girls might have to bring laundry out to the bleaching green. A tunnel was installed so that the girls avoided the looks and chat of the stable boys, or being seen by the gentry. William also developed a drying room. Hot water ran through pipes to heat the room to dry the clothes.
The next room was a small museum with more information about the castle and family, and included a receipt for the iron end of a mangle, purchased from Ardee Street Foundry, Brass and Iron Works, Dublin. We live near Ardee Street!
Tullynally, County Westmeath.
This information board tells us details about the staff, as well as giving the layout of the basement:
The basement contained the Bake room, boot room, beer cellar, servant’s hall, brushing room, butler’s pantry, footman’s bedroom, and across the courtyard, the bacon room.
By 1860 Pakenham Castle was run in the high Victorian manner. The Butler and Housekeeper managed a team of footmen, valets, housemaids and laundry maids, whilst Cook controlled kitchen maids, stillroom maid and scullery maids. A stillroom maid was in a distillery room, which was used for distilling potions and medicines, and where she also made jams, chutneys etc. There was also a dairy, brewery and wine cellar. The Coachman supervised grooms and stable boys, while a carpenter worked in the outer yard and a blacksmith in the farmyard. Further information contains extracts from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1859), detailed duties of a housemaid, a laundry-maid, and treatment of servants. The estate was self-sufficient. Staff lived across the courtyard, with separate areas for men and women. There were also farm cottages on the estate. Servants for the higher positions were often recruited by word of mouth, from other gentry houses, and often servants came from Scotland or England, and chefs from France.
Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.Tullynally, County Westmeath.
We are also given the figures for servants’ wages in 1860.
Tullynally, County Westmeath.
Next, we headed over toward the kitchen. On the way we passed a water filter system, which was a ceramic jar containing an asbestos and charcoal filter system. However, staff were given beer to drink as it was safer at the time than water. We saw a container used to bring food out to staff in the fields – the food would be wrapped in hay inside the container, which would hold in the heat and even continue to cook the food. We stopped to learn about an ice chest:
The ice chest would be filled with ice from the icehouse. We were also shown the coat of a serving boy, which our tour guide had a boy on the tour don – which just goes to show how young the serving boys were:
A serving boy wearing this uniform would carry dishes from the kitchen to the dining room, which was as far from the kitchen as possible to prevent the various smells emanating from the kitchen from reaching the delicate nostrils of the gentry. The serving boy would turn his back to the table, and watch mirrors to see when his service was needed at the table, under the management of the butler. Later, when the ladies had withdrawn to the Drawing Room, to leave the men to drink their port and talk politics, the serving boy would produce “pee pots” from a sideboard cupboard, and place a pot under each gentleman! Our guide told us that perhaps, though she is not sure about this, men used their cane to direct the stream of urine into the pot. The poor serving boy would then have to collect the used pots to empty them. Women would relieve themselves behind a screen in the Drawing Room.
In the large impressively stocked kitchen, we saw many tools and implements used by the cooks. Richard Morrison ensured that the kitchen was filled with light from a large window.
This kitchen was used until around 1965. The yellow colour on the walls is meant to deter flies. Often a kitchen is painted in blue either, called “Cook’s blue,” also reputed to deter flies. Because this kitchen remained in continuous use its huge 1875 range was replaced by an Aga in the 1940s.
Candles were made from whale blubber. Candles made from blubber closer to the whale’s head were of better quality.
The housekeeper would have her own room, which our guide told us, was called the “pug room” due to the, apparently, sour face of of the housekeeper, but also because she often kept a pug dog!
Next we were taken to see Taylor’s room. Taylor was the last Butler of the house. We passed an interesting fire-quenching system on the way.
This would normally be the end of the tour, but since we were such a fascinated, attentive group, the guide took us into the basement to see the old servants’ dining hall.
The gardens, covering nearly 30 acres, were laid out in the early 19th century and have been restored. They include a walled flower garden, a grotto and two ornamental lakes.
Here is the description of the gardens, from the Irish Historic Houses website:“The gardens, illustrated by a younger son in the early eighteenth century, originally consisted of a series of cascades and formal avenues to the south of the house. These were later romanticised in the Loudonesque style, with lakes, grottoes and winding paths, by the second Earl and his wife [Thomas (1774-1835) and Georgiana Lygon (1774-1880)]. They have been extensively restored and adapted by the present owners, Thomas and Valerie Pakenham, with flower borders in the old walled gardens and new plantings of magnolias, rhododendron and giant lilies in the woodland gardens, many collected as seed by Thomas while travelling in China and Tibet. He has recently added a Chinese garden, complete with pagoda, while the surrounding park contains a huge collection of fine specimen trees.” [7]
Irish Historic Houses 