Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€10.00
2024 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2024 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.
€20.00
Corolanty House, courtesy of National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Stephen and I visited Corolanty in February 2023. We were delighted to discover that we are related to the Chatelaine of the house, Siobhán Webb, née Bulfin. It was lovely to meet a cousin-by-marriage and to catch up on the family as well as seeing Siobhán’s home. The house belonged to her husband’s family and passed to him from his parents.
Corolanty is a five-bay three-storey over basement country house, the National Inventory tells us it was built c.1730. It has a two-storey addition to north. [1]
Researching Corolanty, I found a great online source of information, The midland septs and the Pale : an account of the early septs and later settlers of the King’s county and of life in the English Pale, by Francis Ryan Montgomery Hitchcock. [2]
This source claims that Corolanty house was built about 1698 by John Baldwin Jnr. whose father had had received a grant of land following the Cromwellian Plantation. This puts its construction earlier than the date of 1730 mentioned in the National Inventory. Before the house, a there was a castle at Corolanty, the ruins of which remain in the stable yard north of the house, consisting of the west walls of the structure and two flanking corner towers.
The house has a Gibbsian door surround and a spider web fanlight. A Gibbsean door surround is an eighteenth century treatment of door or window surround seen particularly in the work of the British architect, James Gibbs (1862-1754), characterised by alternating large and small blocks of stone or intermittent large blocks and a head composed of five voussoirs (the wedge-shaped blocks forming an arch; sometimes given prominence by being proud of the surrounding masonry, or by being of a different colour stone or brick) and a pediment or entablature.
The door is reached by four limestone steps. To the north of the house is a stable yard and the remains of Corolanty Castle. The Inventory tells us that there is a walled garden to the northwest of the house.
Francis Ryan Montgomery Hitchcock tells us that John Baldwin Junior’s father was High Sheriff of King’s County (i.e. Offaly) in 1672. John Baldwin Jr. in turn was High Sheriff of King’s County in 1697, and the following year, his father died, and the son survived for only one more year, dying in 1699.
The current occupant Siobhán is an artist (see her website https://bronzehorses.ie/contact/ ) and I am excited to learn that a sister of John Baldwin Jr, Elizabeth, married John Jervas who was also from Shinrone, County Offaly, and their son Charles Jervas (c. 1675-1739) was the famous artist who painted many portraits. Charles Jervas studied under Godfrey Kneller in London, who also painted many portraits, a Court painter to the British monarchy. Jervas succeeded Kneller as portrait painter for King George I and II. He painted a famous portrait of Jonathan Swift. William “Speaker” Conolly was a patron, and Jervas also painted the Cosbys of Stradbally Hall in County Laois (another Section 482 – see my entry).
Charles Jervas (1675-1739) by Thomas Priscott, after Gerard Vandergucht, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG D8359.Jonathan Swift by Charles Jervas circa 1718, National Portrait Gallery 278.
John Baldwin Jr. had several children. Among them was Thomas (1679-1730), his heir. A daughter Mary married Edward Crow of Spruce Hall, Co. Galway in 1700. Another daughter, Catherine (b. 1677) married Thomas Meredyth (1680-1731), of Newtown, Co. Meath, M.P. in 1704. [see 2]
Thomas married Mary Eyre of Eyrecourt, County Galway, which was a grand house but which no longer exists, though its magnificent staircase is now in a museum in the United States, the Detroit Institute of Arts. It was purchased by William Randolph Hearst for his mansion in California, San Simeon, but it was never installed and was donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts after his death.
The staircase of Eyrecourt, photograph courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.
The interior has original decorative plasterwork and the original staircase. The interior has high ceilings – Siobhán pointed out that this was thought better for health at the time.
Thomas and Mary had two sons and two daughters. The younger son, Thomas, became Attorney General of Jamaica. Daughter Margery (d. 1776) married Charles Sadleir (1684-1729) of Castletown, County Tipperary (a wonderful looking fortified house from around 1600 which still stands), in 1718. The other daughter Lucy never married. [see 2]
Castletown, County Tipperary, courtesy of National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.Margery Baldwin married Charles Sadleir (1684-1729) of Castletown.
The heir, John, Francis Ryan Montgomery Hitchcock tells us, married Mary Wall (1707-1779), daughter of William Wall of Coolnamuck Castle, County Waterford, and was extravagant and dissipated the estate. He died in 1754, and his wife Mary remarried, this time to Hervey Morres (1706-1766), 1st Viscount Mountmorres. He was a widower, his former wife, Letitia Ponsonby, daughter of the 1st Earl of Bessborough, County Kilkenny, having died in 1754. [see 2]
Part of the Corolanty property came into the possession of Dr. Richard Baldwin (no relation of the original Baldwins of Corolanty), Provost of Trinity College. He died in 1750 leaving the whole of his estate to Trinity College. Hitchcock writes: “Though his parentage has been the subject of some dispute, he was not in any way related either to the Corolanty family, the Queen’s County Baldwins, or to the Baldwins of Dublin, who subsequently settled at Boveen, near Shinrone.” [see 2]
In a presentation given in Trinity College Dublin on 12th May 2008, a “Monday Discourse,” Peter Doyle tells us about Richard Baldwin:
“Richard Baldwin ruled as Provost from 1717 to 1758, a span of no less than 41 years. He held office for longer than any other Provost either before or after him, and when I tell you that he was also the oldest ever Provost, you may begin to get a measure of this remarkable man. He was buried in the old College Chapel, and when this was pulled down to make way for the present Chapel in 1798, his remains were transferred to that little graveyard that you can still see tucked away in a corner between the Chapel and the Dining Hall. A simple slab marks the spot.Baldwin was a bachelor, in Holy Orders, as prescribed by the statutes, and his whole life was dedicated to the service of the College. And at the end he put his money where his mouth was, so to speak, for he bequeathed most of his substantial fortune to the College.” [see https://www.tcd.ie/Secretary/FellowsScholars/discourses/discourses/2008_P%20Boyle%20on%20R%20Baldwin.pdf ]
Samuel Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland lists the occupant of Corolanty as R. Hammersley in 1837. Richard Sadleir Hammersley, a captain in the army, lived in Corolanty house Shrinrone with his wife Wilhelmina Sadleir in the early 1800s. He had issue and lived there until the 1860s or so. [3] His daughter Grace married George Nuttall Smith in 1830. His son Richard married his cousin, Mary Sadleir. [4]
At the time Hitchock wrote his book, in 1908, he writes that Corolanty was owned by Edward Francis Saunders, who represented the male line of that family, formerly of Saunders Court, Co. Wexford (demolished in 1891 but an impressive gateway remains), and Newtown Saunders, Co. Wicklow. [see 2]
Corolanty is now owned by the Webb family. Current owner George’s grandfather used to farm it with a horse and plough. There were dog kennels for his hunting dogs.
The Webbs maintain stables and Siobhán showed us a photograph of a hunt gathered by the old castle ruin.
Upstairs has a lovely wide landing with two archways, one of which currently has a curtain hanging from it, presumably to prevent draughts. The broad landing is the width of a room, and leads off to bedrooms. The ceiling of the landing has more fine plasterwork, although one ceiling rose has been damaged.
[4] The Chronicles Of a Puritan Family in Ireland [Smith (formerly) of Glasshouse] by G. N. Nuttal-Smith, M.A., T.C.D. Formerly Rector of Wynberg, Cape of Good Hope, From Notes collected by R. Wm. Smith, Junr., B.A. (Pemb. Coll. Cantab.) Printed by Frederick Hall at The Oxford University Press 1923.
Woodville House is a five bay, two storey over basement house dating from about 1800. The house, situated on a working farm, belongs to the Roche Family who have lived here since 1876. We were shown around by current owner Gerald Roche.
You can book to stay in Woodville on the Airbnb website. [1]
The avenue to the house winds through parkland planted with trees including Sequoia, cedar, pines, cypress and a Wollemi pine, the website tells us. Sheep graze the pasture land.
It is thought that the house was built by the Tottenhams: the first mention of it is as the home of Edward Tottenham. Edward William Tottenham (1779-1860) was son of Charles (1743-1823), an MP from New Ross in County Wexford. Edward William’s grandfather, another Charles (1716-1795) married Anne Loftus, daughter of Nicholas Loftus (d. 1763) 1st Viscount of Ely. Charles’s father, another Charles (“Tottenham in his boots”), married Mary Grogan from Johnstown Castle in County Wexford, so Edward William Tottenham was from well-connected stock.
The website tells us that the house was subsequently lived in by a Reverend Minchen. Patrick James Roche, great grandfather of the present owner, purchased the house in 1876, just sixteen years after the death of Edward William Tottenham. The National Inventory mentions Patrick James Roche (1818-1905): ‘Magistrate [and] Maltster [and] Corn Merchant late of Woodville New Ross County Wexford.’ P.J. Roche shipped his grain to Scotland to be made into whiskey and created a fine malting establishment in New Ross, County Wexford. Current owner of Woodville, Gerald, told us that at one stage 70% of Scottish whisky was made with Irish malt. The Roches also supplied Guinness brewery with malt.
Woodville passed to P.J’s son, another Patrick James (d. 1954). He married Gwendoline née Gallwey from Tramore. The property then passed to Gerald’s father Peter and Peter’s wife Irene née Mathews who went by the unusual nickname of Mocken. Her family were from Mount Hanover in County Meath.
The Enniscorthy Castle website tells us that Patrick J. Roche negotiated with the Earl of Portsmouth for his son Henry J. Roche to live in the castle in Enniscorthy with his wife Josephine Shriver, from 1903.
The Earl of Portsmouth at that time was Newton Wallop (1856-1917), 6th Earl of Portsmouth. He was Deputy Lieutenant of County Wexford.
Josephine’s family was American and married into the famous Kennedy family. Josephine and Henry’s daughter, also named Josephine (“Dodo”), was the last to live in the Castle and it was sold in 1953. Gerald told us that his great grandfather restored the castle and it was given to the nation because of the high death duties on the property.
Enniscorthy Castle, County Wexford, photograph courtesy of Failte Ireland.Woodville House, photograph courtesy of Woodville house website.
The front door is described in the National Inventory: “Round-headed central door opening approached by flight of six cut-granite steps, doorcase with engaged columns on cut-granite padstones supporting “Cyma Recta”- or “Cyma Reversa”-detailed cornice [this refers to the shape of the moulding] on fluted frieze on entablature, and moulded rendered surround framing timber panelled double doors having fanlight.”
The side and back of the house have slate hung surface finish widely regarded as an increasingly endangered hallmark of the architectural heritage of County Wexford, according to the National Inventory. The slate reminded me of Drishane House in County Cork. Gerald told us that the slate is from Bangor in Wales and was used as ballast in ships, and that the slate finish on houses is common in Kinsale in County Cork also, from where grain was also shipped. The slate is better waterproofing than lime plaster.
A 2006 addition to the house cleverly complements the older building: in the photograph above, the wing on the right is the 2006 enlargement. It is beautifully finished to merge with the rest of the house. The left wing was added in 1880 and contains the billiard room.
Woodville house has two gate lodges, one a gothic lodge opposite the river Barrow and the other a 19th century Italianate gate lodge with gates at the southern end of the property. This entrance way and avenue were built after the construction of the now disused railway.
Visitors to the house can view the reception rooms, the former billiard room with faithfully copied and printed original wallpaper and Victorian conservatory by the Messenger Company, Thomas Messenger and Sons (fl. 1797-1920) of Birmingham and London. The walled garden was never let go and is beautifully maintained by its current owners. It covers three quarters of an acre.
One of the rooms has beautiful paint work on the wall by Michael Dillon, which pictures several favourite occupations of the family, including music, fishing and gardening. See http://www.dillonmurals.com/ about his mural work.
The website tells us that a laurel shrubbery to the front of the house is planted with colourful flowering cherry, Paulownia, Crinodendron, and Catalpa, and leads down to the double tennis courts which in turn leads to the water garden.
The water garden was created by Gerald’s parents Peter and Irene. They started it in 1963 and planted under the embankment of the old New Ross to Macmine Junction Railway. The water garden, the website tells us, is a tranquil haven of shade and water-loving plants: ferns, hostas, Arisarum proboscideum (the fetching mouse plant), Clematis, Astilbe and trilliums, as well as Cornus controversa and others. A series of dropping pools are shaded by majestic oaks and a Metasequoia glyptostroboides (the dawn redwood).
The Victorian walled garden at the rear of the house is 0.5 hectares in size with conservatories, vegetable garden, fruit trees, herbaceous borders and lawn. The original box hedging encloses different plantings – although Gerald pointed out how he has been troubled by box blight. The website tells us that the first plant to feature in spring is a Magnolia soulangeana followed by a spring border of snowdrops, crocus & narcissi.
The website describes the plants in the walled garden:
“In May the iris border comes into full bloom, a nearby bed is devoted to blue flowering plants including Chatham Island forget-me-not (Myositidium hortensia). Later the roses present a striking and colourful display contrasting with the box hedging while the reds, yellows and oranges of later summer put in an appearance. Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ flowers in the contemplative garden, a sunny corner and vantage point.“
The garden also provides fresh fruit and vegetables for the household. The website continues:
“The greenhouses designed by Messenger and built by P J Roche in the 1880’s house grapevines, peaches and nectarines as well as exotic and tender flowers plumbago, red and white nerines, vines and an old asparagus fern. A large bed of Crambe maritima (seakale) beloved of the Victorians is maintained as are beds of globe artichoke and asparagus.
“The garden was extensively planted with several varieties of apple, pear and cherry, which carefully pruned and espaliered on frames and against the walls of this sunny garden, provide visual structure and a rich harvest.
“The dairy walk, so called because in the past it was the route taken from farmyard to the dairy in the basement of the house, features a blaze of Embothrium coccineum flowering vigorously in May following on witch hazel (Hamamalis mollis), rhododendrons, camellias and azaelias producing spectactular and colourful effects in early summer.“
Elizabeth Stuart née Yorke (1789-1867). Lady Stuart de Rothesay, with her daughters Charlotte (1817-1861) and Louisa (1818-1891) by George Hayter, photograph courtesy of UK Government Art Collection. She was the daughter of Philip Yorke, 3rd Duke of Hardwicke, and wife of Charles Stuart 1st and last Baron Stuart de Rothesay.Charlotte married Charles John Canning 1st Viceroy of India, 2nd Viscount, 1st Earl Canning; Louisa married Henry de la Poer Beresford 3rd Marquis of Waterford.Philip Yorke (1757-1834), 3rd Duke of Hardwicke, former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1836 by engraver William Giller after Thomas Lawrence, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Having recently revisited the wonderful Casino (“little house”) in Marino, my entry for the Dublin Office of Public Works properties is becoming too long so I have to split it up into several entries, starting today with my entry for the Aras an Uachtaráin, the House of the President, in Phoenix Park. I will be publishing my updated Casino entry soon.
I haven’t been visiting Section 482 properties in the past two months, as I was experiencing “burnout.” As lovely as it is to visit historic properties, it is difficult arranging visits with owners. I feel like I am treading on toes, especially because I will be publishing about my visit, which I can understand alarms owners. It is so much easier visiting public properties. I am also still catching up writing about properties which I visited during the year, and sending entries to owners before publication, seeking approval.
Every weekend which passes, however, without a visit to a Section 482 property is an opportunity missed, and I do hope that the properties which I will not have time to visit this year will continue to be on the Section 482 list next year! Already since I started this project in 2019, some properties have dropped off the list and I have missed the chance to visit.
I’m already excited about the 2024 list, and I will be creating my calendars next year for the 2024 Section 482 properties, which will be available to purchase via this website. Unfortunately the Revenue does not publish the list until late February, so I won’t be able to have the calendars ready at the beginning of the new year. However, I have calendars for sale currently which do not list opening dates for the properties but have all of the pictures of the properties, and which can be used in any year. They would make a good Christmas present!
Section 482 any year calendar A5 size
2024 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2024 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.
€20.00
Office of Public Works Properties in Dublin:
1. Áras an Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park, Dublin
2. Arbour Hill Cemetery, Dublin
3. Ashtown Castle, Phoenix Park, Dublin – closed at present
4. The Casino at Marino, Dublin
5. Customs House, Dublin
6. Dublin Castle
7. Farmleigh House, Dublin
8. Garden of Remembrance, Dublin
9. Government Buildings Dublin
10. Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin
11. Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Dublin
12. Iveagh Gardens, Dublin
13. Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
14. National Botanic Gardens, Dublin
15. Phoenix Park, Dublin
16. Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin
17. Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin – historic rooms closed
18. St. Audoen’s, Dublin
19. St. Enda’s Park and Pearse Museum, Dublin
20. St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
“Áras an Uachtaráin started life as a modest brick house, built in 1751 for the Phoenix Park chief ranger. It was later an occasional residence for the lords lieutenant. During that period it evolved into a sizeable and elegant mansion.
“It has been claimed that Irish architect James Hoban used the garden front portico as the model for the façade of the White House.
“After independence, the governors general occupied the building. The first president of the Republic of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, took up residence here in 1938. It has been home to every president since then.” [1]
Phoenix Park was originally formed as a royal hunting Park in the 1660s, created by James Butler the Duke of Ormond. A large herd of fallow deer still remain to this day. Since it was a deer park it needed a park ranger. One of the park chief rangers was Nathaniel Clements (1705-1777), who was also an architect, and it was he who built the original house in 1751 which became the Aras. He was appointed as Ranger and Master of the Game by King George II in 1751. Clements was also an MP in the Irish Parliament.
Photograph from the National Library, from when the building was the Vice Regal Lodge.This is the front which faces Chesterfield Avenue.Photograph is by Robert French, and the photograph is part of the Lawrence Photographic Collection, Date: between circa. 1865-1914, NLI Ref: L_ROY_00335The Vice-Regal Lodge (Lord Lieutenant’s Residence), Phoenix Park, Dublin After John James Barralet, Irish, 1747-1815, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Clements accumulated much property including Abbotstown in Dublin, and estates in Leitrim and Cavan. In Dublin, he developed property including part of Henrietta Street, where he lived in number 7 from 1734 to 1757. For more about him, see Melanie Hayes’s wonderful book The Best Address in Town: Henrietta Street, Dublin and its First Residents, 1720-80 published by Four Courts Press in 2020. Another house he designed, which is sometimes on the Section 482 list, is Beauparc in County Meath, and another Section 482 property, Lodge Park in County Kildare. Desmond Fitzgerald also attributed Colganstown to him, a house we visited in 2019, though this is not certain. [2]
7 Henrietta Street, recently for sale, photograph courtesy of myhome.ie, built for Nathaniel Clements, who also built the house that has become Aras an Uachtarain.Number 7 Henrietta Street, from myhome.ie. The interior retains an original double-height open-well staircase and early dog-leg closed-string service stair with original plasterwork and joinery throughout. Laid out by Luke Gardiner in the 1720s, Henrietta Street is a short cul-de-sac containing the finest early Georgian houses in the city, and was named after Henrietta Crofts, the third wife of Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton and Lord Lieutenant in 1717-1721.
We attended a few of President Higgins’s summer parties at the Aras. These are open to the public, by booking tickets.
The Entrance Hall of the Áras dates from 1751 from the time of Nathaniel Clements, and features a magnificent barrel-vaulted ceiling with plaster busts in the ceiling coffers.
The Council of State Room is part of the original 1751 house. The ceiling, installed by Nathaniel Clements in 1757, is by Bartholomew Cramillion and depicts three of Aesop’s Fables – the Fox and the Stork, the Fox and the Crow and the Fox and the Grapes.
The administration of the British Lord Lieutenant bought the house from Nathaniel Clements’ son Robert 1st Earl of Leitrim in 1781, to be the personal residence for the Lord Lieutenant. In 1781 the Viceroy, or Lord Deputy, was Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle. The building was rebuilt and named the Viceregal Lodge. At first it served as a summer residence, while the Viceroy stayed in Dublin Castle for the winter. The first “Lord Lieutenant” was his successor, William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland.
The house was extended when acquired for the Viceroys to reflect its increased ceremonial importance. Mark Bence-Jones tells us that after being bought by the government, the house was altered and enlarged at various times. David Hicks tells us in his Irish Country Houses, A Chronicle of Change that all those who were awarded the position of Lord Lieutenant were from titled backgrounds and accustomed to grand country houses in England, so they found the Viceregal Lodge to be unimpressive. The 3rd Earl of Hardwicke, Philip Yorke, was the first Lord Lieutenant after the Act of Union in 1800, in 1801-1806. Yorke supported Catholic emancipation. In 1802 Yorke employed Robert Woodgate, a Board of Works architect, to make some alterations to the house, adding new wings to the house.
Photograph from the National Library of Ireland.This is the garden side of the house.The double height pedimented portico of four gian Ionic columns was added in 1815 by architect Francis Johnston.Photograph is by Robert French, and the photograph is part of the Lawrence Photographic Collection, Date: between circa. 1865-1914, NLI Ref: L_CAB_02652.Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke, (1757-1834), Former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Date 1836 Engraver William Giller, British, c.1805-after 1868 After Thomas Lawrence, English, 1769-1830, photograh courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Additional work was carried out by Michael Stapleton – who was an architect as well as noted stuccadore – and Francis Johnston. In 1808, when Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond was Lord Lieutenant, Johnston added a Doric portico to the entrance front, and the single-storey wings were increased in height.
In 1815, Johnston extended the garden front by five bays projecting forwards, and in the centre of this front he added the pedimented portico of four giant Ionic columns which is the house’s most familiar feature.
It was not until the major renovations in the 1820s that the Lodge came to be used regularly by Lord Lieutenants. In the 1820s the Lord Deputy was Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, 2nd Earl of Mornington, brother of the Duke of Wellington of Waterloo fame. See my footnotes for some portraits of Vicereines and Viceroys who may have lived in the Aras.
Richard Colley Wellesley (1760-1842), 2nd Earl of Mornington and 1st Marquess Wellesley by John Philip Davis courtesy of National Portrait Gallery in London NPG 846.
Maria Phipps née Liddell, Marchioness of Normanby (1798-1882),Vicereine 1835-39, laid out the gardens along with Decimus Burton in 1839-40. Decimus Burton also designed many gardens in London including St. James’s Park, Hyde Park Corner and Regent’s Park. He was also an architect.
In 1849 the east wing was added, which houses the new State Dining Room. The financing of any royal visit was a matter of concern for Lord Lieutenants as they had to finance any improvements to the Viceregal Lodge. It was during the tenure of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800-1870), that Queen Victoria visited, with the idea that this would boost morale after the famine.
Queen Victoria planted a Wellingtonia Gigantea tree which is still standing (others have planted trees also, including Queen Alexandria and Barak Obama, Charles de Gaulle, John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II and King Juan Carlos of Spain).
In 1854 the west wing was added, also designed by Jacob Owen. Queen Victoria visited again in 1853, and at this time the Viceregal Lodge was connected to the public gas supply, in order to illuminate the reception rooms and also to provide public lighting throughout Phoenix Park.
A new part of the West Wing was added for the visit of George V in 1911, during the Lord Lieutenancy of John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair.
The office of Lord Lieutenant was abolished in 1922 when the Irish Free State came into being. From 1922 until 1932 it was the residence of the Governor General of the Irish Free State. In 1922 Tim Healy was sworn in as Governor General. Over the following weeks, the former Viceregal Lodge was attacked and came under heavy fire on regular occasions.
The State Dining Room contains furniture by James Hicks of Dublin. The early 19th century fireplaces were originally a gift to Archbishop Murray of Dublin in 1812 “by his flock” for his residence at 44 Mountjoy Square, and were brought to the house in 1923, upon the sale of the house in Mountjoy Square, by the first Governor General of the Irish Free State, Tim Healy.
In 1937 when the office of President of Ireland was established, the house became the house of the president. The first President was Douglas Hyde (President of Ireland 1938-1945).
During the incumbency of President Sean T. O’Kelly, in 1948, a mid-C18 plasterwork ceiling attributed to Cramillion representing Jupiter and the Four Elements, with figures half covered in clouds, was brought from Mespil House, Dublin, which was then being demolished, and installed in the President’s Study, one of the two smaller rooms in the garden front of the original house, which we did not see.
The Mespil House ceiling was brought here at the instigation of Dr. C.P. Curran, who was also instrumental in having casts made of the plasterwork by the Francini, or Lafranchini, brothers, at Riverstown House, Co. Cork, which then seemed in danger; and which have been installed in the ballroom and in the adjoining corridor.
The State Reception Room (formerly the ballroom) features a plaster cast of a Lafranchini panel in the ceiling. The Lafranchini brothers were 18th century Swiss stuccodores who also worked on Carton and Castletown Houses. See my entry about Riverstown House https://irishhistorichouses.com/2022/10/05/__trashed/.
The State Corridor, also called the Lafranchini Corridor, leads from the Entrance Hall past the State Reception Room. This corridor was originally part of the orchestra pit for the adjoining ballroom. It was created as a corridor in the 1950s. One side of the corridor is lined with bronze busts of Irish Presidents mounted on marble columns and the other side features stucco panels showing classical figures. These too are casts taken from Riverstown House.
Later additions to the gardens were carried out by Ninian Niven, who designed Iveagh Gardens in Dublin. The gardens contain many Victorian features including ceremonial trees, an arboretum, wilderness, pleasure grounds, avenues, walks, ornamental lakes and a walled garden, which contains a Turner peach house and which grows the food and flowers organically.
Some of the Viceroys and Vicereines who lived there may include (portraits below are from the 2021 exhibition of Vicereines that took place in Dublin Castle): William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck the 3rd Duke of Portland and his wife Dorothy (Viceroy 1782), George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 11st Marquess of Buckingham (Viceroy 1782), Charles Manners the 4th Duke of Rutland (1754-1787), Viceroy 1784-87, and his wife Mary Isabella, Charles Lennox the 4th Duke of Richmond and his wife Charlotte (Viceroy 1807-1813), Hugh Percy 3rd Duke of Northumberland and his wife Charlotte Florentia (Viceroy 1829-30), Constantine Henry Phipps 1st Marquess of Normanby and his wife Maria Phipps (Viceroy 1835-39), James Hamilton 1st Duke of Abercorn and his wife Louisa (Viceroy 1866-68 and 1874-76), Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, 3rd Baron Grantham, 6th Baron Lucas and his wife Henrietta Cole from Florence Court, County Fermanagh (Viceroy 1841-1844), Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry and his wife Theresa (Viceroy 1886-89), John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (Viceroy 1868-74 and 1882-5), John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair (Viceroy 1886 and 1905-1915)and Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne (Viceroy 1915-1918).
Kilmokea is listed under section 482 as Tourist Accommodation. The owners open the gardens to the public for a small fee. The stables and coach house have been converted to self-catering rental.
The main lawn at the rear of the house – surrounded by perenniel borders – and some fine topiary.Photograph created by George Munday, Tourism Ireland, 2014, taken from Ireland’s Content Pool care of Failte Ireland. [1]
Mark Bence-Jones tells us in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988) that it is a former glebe house, that is, it was on the grounds of the church, built in 1794 (the National Inventory says 1806 – the website explains that it was not finished and occupied until the later date). It served as the residence for the Whitechurch parish Church of Ireland rector. The website for the house tells us that it is located on the site of an ancient monastery.
Kilmokea is on Great Island, which is not actually an island, although it is largely surrounded by water. The website tells us that the River Barrow, which converges with the River Nore just upstream from New Ross, forms the “island’s” western boundary, and the inner reaches of Waterford Harbour border Great Island to the South. The Campile River, to the east, also flows into Waterford Harbour, while the connecting isthmus to the ‘mainland’ of County Wexford is largely low-lying and prone to floods, hence the name Great Island. It was previously known as “Hervey’s Island” as it was part of the barony belonging to Anglo-Norman Hervey de Montmorency.
The National Inventory tells us that the composition of the house is attributed to Francis Johnston (1760-1829) “confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on scenic vistas overlooking landscaped grounds with the meandering River Barrow in the near distance; the near square plan form centred on a restrained doorcase; and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression.”
It is a two-storey over basement house, roughly square, with a three-bay facade protected by a later porch. The garden front is of four bays and the rooms at the rear are set high above the lawn and treated as a piano nobile.
Photograph created by Chris Hill, Tourism Ireland, 2014, taken from Ireland’s Content Pool care of Failte Ireland.
The National Inventory lists the rectors who lived here: Reverend Thomas Hancock (d. 1836); Reverend Joseph Miller (d. 1838); Reverend John Keefe Robinson (d. 1862); Reverend Edward Moore (d. 1865); and Reverend Robert Gordon Stowell Greer (1871-1929), ‘Rector of [Whitechurch] Parish for 29 years.’
The gardens were created by previous owners David and Joan Price, from whom the current owners purchased the property. The website tells us that when the Prices purchased the property in 1948 it was dilapidated, and they restored and extended the house, removing the external rendering and stripping and waxing the internal joinery by hand.
The subtropical microclimate allows many rare and tender plants to flourish. The Prices surrounded the house with a series of interconnecting garden ‘rooms’ of varying size. Across the road the garden continues with a reconstructed millpond which feeds a small stream, which winds its way through a woodland garden to the River Barrow.
In 1997 Mark and Emma Hewlett purchased the property. They have extended and enhanced both house and garden, and built a new conservatory. Upstairs was completely renovated.
The entrance door inside the porch is topped by a spiderweb fanlight, leading to a generous entrance hall. The National Inventory tells us that the carved timber door surrounds, the moulded plasterwork cornice and acanthus ceiling rose are original to the house.
The National Inventory tells us that the drawing room (north-west) retains a carved timber surround to the door opening framing a timber panelled door, and carved timber surrounds to window openings with framing timber panelled shutters. It retains a cut-black marble Classical-style chimneypiece, and moulded plasterwork cornice to the ceiling centred on “Grape and Vine”-detailed plasterwork ceiling rose.
The National Inventory tells us that the staircase is on a dog leg plan with replacement turned timber “spindle” balusters supporting a carved timber banister terminating in a volute. The study, now an office, has a cut-white marble Classical-style chimneypiece. It retains a picture railing below a moulded plasterwork cornice to the ceiling which is centred on a plasterwork ceiling rose.
There’s a leisure area in a stone building with an indoor heated swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, aromatherapy treatments and a gym area. An all weather tennis court and croquet lawn complete these facilities which are for the use of residents.
Kilmokea Country Manor has won numerous awards for its hospitality and fine dining. Kilmokea is also a member of Hidden Ireland and has been recommended by Alastair Sawday’s special places to stay in Ireland, Karen Brown’s Ireland Charming Inns and Itineraries, Georgina Campbell’s guide to Ireland and The Hidden places of Ireland.
orange: “whole house rental” i.e. those properties that are only for large group accommodations or weddings, e.g. 10 or more people.
green: gardens to visit
grey: ruins
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€15.00
The province of Ulster contains counties Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone.
For places to stay, I have made a rough estimate of prices at time of publication:
€ = up to approximately €150 per night for two people sharing (in yellow on map);
On September 9th 2023 all Landmark Trust properties in Northern Ireland will be open to visitors, from 10am-4pm. See their website for details, https://irishlandmark.com/ as booking will be required, but booking is not open yet. Subscribe for updates to find out when you need to book to make a visit.
Down:
1. Audley’s Castle, County Down
2. Bangor Castle Park, County Down
3. Castle Ward, County Down
4. Dundrum Castle, County Down
5. Hillsborough Castle, County Down
6. Montalto Estate, County Down
7. Mount Stewart, County Down
8. Newry and Mourne Museum, Bagenal’s Castle, County Down
9. Portaferry Castle, County Down
Places to stay, County Down
1. Barr Hall Barns, Portaferry, County Down€
2. Castle Ward, Potter’s Cottage in farmyard and Castle Ward bunkhouse
10. St John’s Point Lighthouse Sloop, Killough, County Down: Irish Landmark property € for 3-4
11. Tullymurry House, Tullymurry road, Donaghmore, Newry, County Downsleeps 8, € for 8
12. Tyrella, Downpatrick, County Down, BT30 8SU – accommodation €
Whole house County Down
1. Ballydugan House, County Down(weddings)
2. Drenagh Estate and Gardens, County Down (weddings)
3. Tullyveery House, County Down
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€15.00
Places to visit in County Down:
1. Audley’s Castle, Castle Ward, County Down
Audley’s Castle, Castle Ward by Bernie Brown for Tourism Ireland 2014.
“The castle is named after its late 16th-century owners, the Audleys, an Anglo-Norman family who held land in the area in the 13th century, It was sold, with the surrounding estate, to the Ward family in 1646 and used in 1738 as an eye-catching focus of the long vista along Castle Ward’s artificial lake, Temple Water.
The site comprises of a number of paths to allow you to get to the Castle.“
2. Bangor Castle Park, County Down
Bangor Castle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, [between ca. 1865-1914], Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
“This impressive building was built for the Hon Robert Edward Ward [1818-1904] and his family in 1852. It is presently the headquarters of Ards and North Down Borough Council who use the mansions spectacular grand salon as the council chamber. The building is situated in the grounds of Castle Park alongside North Down Museum and is just a short walk from Bangor Castle Walled Garden.
“CS Lewis visited North Down on many occasions throughout his life and regularly returned to the area. He enjoyed the beautiful view over Belfast Lough from the grounds of Bangor Castle. As Lewis himself once said “Heaven is Oxford lifted and placed in the middle of County Down”.
Bangor Castle, County Down, photograph courtesy of Glenn Norwood, North Down Brorough Council.
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 30. “(Ward, sub Bangor, V/PB; Bingham, Clanmorris, B/PB) An Elizabethan-Revival and Baronial mansion by William Burn, built 1847 for Robert Ward, a descendant of 1st Viscount Bangor. Mullioned windows; oriels created with strapwork; rather steep gables with finials. At one end, a battlemented tower with a pyramidal-roofed clock turret. Partly curved quoins, very characteristic of Burn. Inherited by Robert Ward’s daughter and heiress, Matilda Catherine, wife of 5th Lord Clanmorris [John George Barry Bingham, 5th Baron Clanmorris of Newbrook, County Mayo]. Featured in Peers and Plebs by Madeleine Bingham. Now owned by the town of Bangor.”
3. Castle Ward, County Down
Castle Ward, County Down, 13 August 2006 Picture by David Cordner http://www.davidcordner.com :Tourism Northern Ireland (see [1])
“The current Castle Ward is a particularly unusual building, famed for having been built with two completely different architectural styles, both inside and out.
“One half is built in the classical Palladian style, with the other half which faces out across Strangford lough built in the more elaborate Gothick style.
Castle Ward, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Castle Ward.Castle Ward, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
“The story told for the reason behind this unusual decorative scheme is that the original builder of the house, Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor, did not agree with his wife Lady Anne [Anne Bligh (1718-1789, daughter of John Blight 1st Earl of Darnley] on the décor. Bernard was more classical in taste with Lady Anne prefering the fashionable Gothick style, leading them to split the house down the middle. This story is compounded by the fact that they separated not long after the house was finished with Anne leaving Castle Ward for good. This hint of scandal has carried this story through the years, but let us consider instead that Anne and Bernard set out to build the house exactly as it is – not a marriage of compromise, but a triumph of collaboration.
Castle Ward, courtesy of National Trust.Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor.
“When Bernard and Lady Anne inherited the estate in 1759 they set about building themselves a fine new house, one which would be symbolic of their union and exist as a statement of the Ward family’s bold and forward-thinking place in the world. Castle Ward was completed in 1766 and by 1781 they had been created Viscount and Viscountess Bangor in the Peerage of Ireland.
“Lady Anne’s grandfather was the nephew of the Duchess of York – wife of King James II, and a first cousin of Queen Anne. This royal ancestry shows itself in the choice of the Gothick style. The ceiling in the Morning Room is copied from the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey where Anne’s maternal family were permitted to be buried due to their royal blood. Rather than the house becoming known as an architectural monstrosity, the couple aimed for it to be a masterpiece, striving against convention and rooting the Ward family as bold, modern thinkers with an impressive past.
“The unusual combination of styles has long been a point of joy or novelty for guests, having a ‘marmite’ appeal. On a visit to Castle Ward, writer and poet John Betjeman referred to the ceiling in the Boudoir as “like sitting under a cow’s udder”, and the comment has stuck. Others comment on the otherworldly feeling created in the exotic grandeur of the Gothick side.
“Please check the homepage for opening times of the mansion house before planning your visit, as they may change seasonally. There is no need to book your visit in advance.“
Michael Ward, Father of Bernard Ward of Castle Ward.Anne Hamilton (1692-1760), mother of Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor. She was the wife of Michael Ward (1683-1759) and daughter of James Hamilton (1640-1707) and Sophie Mordaunt (1654-1735).Anne Hamilton (1692-1760) wife of Michael Ward.Sophia Ward, a sister of Bernard Ward of Castle Ward, she married Arthur Upton (1714/5-1763) of Castle Upton, County Antrim.
The website also tells us more about owner Anne Ward:
“Castle Ward – the story of a warring couple, divided in opinion and styles leading to a house with two sides. Perhaps the story is a little more complicated – here we delve deeper into the background of Lady Anne Bligh, co-architect of Castle Ward.
“Given that Lady Anne Ward was co-creator of the dichotomous style of Castle Ward, it is surprising how few of her possessions or papers are left in the collection. Hers’ remains a hidden history. Having left Castle Ward and her husband Bernard in 1770 shortly after the completion of the house, she has become a symbol of mystery and speculation, made notorious and unusual because of her independence of mind and spirit.“Given that Lady Anne Ward was co-creator of the dichotomous style of Castle Ward, it is surprising how few of her possessions or papers are left in the collection. Hers’ remains a hidden history. Having left Castle Ward and her husband Bernard in 1770 shortly after the completion of the house, she has become a symbol of mystery and speculation, made notorious and unusual because of her independence of mind and spirit.
“The public expression of her personal tastes in the Gothick style at Castle Ward, clashed dramatically with her husband’s preferred classical style, and this has resulted in the condemnation of Lady Ann as unusual. History has found it difficult to understand the architectural choice that was reached by Lady Anne and Bernard, seeming as a legacy to their failed marriage. Whilst Bernard is remembered as the maker of the classical side of the house, symbolically representing reason, balance and order, Lady Anne in contrast represents an ‘otherness’ which she expressed in Gothick architecture – seemingly conveying her fantastical, whimsical and unconventional personality.
“The Royal blood from her maternal grandparents gave Lady Anne the hauteur and confidence to do as she pleased. Her grandfather, the Earl of Clarendon was the nephew of the Duchess of York, wife of James II, and a first cousin of Queen Anne. Queen Anne was her mother Theodosia’s Godmother, and as such Theodosia was allowed to marry in Westminster Abbey. This was something Lady Ann was keen to highlight in her choice of architecture at Castle Ward, even copying the plasterwork from the Henry VII Chapel and recreating it in the Morning Room as a reminder of her royal connections.
“The Earl of Clarendon also prompted perception of the family as “eccentric” by accounts of them acting out their role as Colonial Governor of New York dressed in articles of women’s clothing which challenged social boundaries of the period. Historians have been unable to confirm the accuracy of these accounts nor the motivations behind the Earl’s alleged presentation of gender non-conformity. Whatever the accuracy or reason, contemporaries condemned the Earl and considered it to be a sign of ‘great insanity’, however the Earl remained protected and often handsomely rewarded by their cousin Queen Anne. This connection provided crucial protection from critics.
“Elizabeth Hastings, Countess of Moira who knew the family decribed them as having ‘an hereditary malady’. Members were noted as experiencing varied mental health issues. Lady Anne was accused of having ‘a shade of derangement in her intellects’. Her brother, Lord Darnley, was convinced he was a teapot and was reluctant to engage in sexual activity lest ‘his spout would come off in the night’; Lady Anne’s son Nicholas was declared ‘a lunatic’ in 1785 but details about this are scant.
“Lady Anne’s relationship with a woman, prior to her two marriages [she was previously married to Robert Hawkins-Magill of Gill Hall, County Down], has also been the source of popular speculation and of academic debate. At 21, Lady Anne embarked on a six year relationship with Letitia Bushe, a woman considered much inferior in status and wealth, but much more experienced in the world with a great intellect and close friend of Mrs Delany. From the surviving correspondence of Letitia Bushe, it is clear that she was besotted with Lady Anne who was some fifteen years her junior, writing in 1740:
‘This Day twelvemonth was the Day I first stay’d with you, the night of which you may remember pass’d very oddly. I cannot forget how I pity’d you and how by that soft road you led me on to love you… that first Sunday at Bray, when you were dressing and I lay down on your Bed – ‘twas then I took first a notion to you’.
“Academic research has suggested that this instance of same-sex love and desire provided Lady Anne with ‘an alternative outlet for emotional needs and energies, free of the complex web of economic and social considerations that surrounded relations between men and women of the propertied classes’ at this time.
“Sadly none of Lady Anne’s correspondence to Letitia Bushe survives – in true Lady Anne style she remains an enigma, true to herself regardless of tastes or conventions, and a symbol of ‘the three-dimensional complexity of human life’.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p.78. Castleward: “Ward, Bangor, V/PB) A grandmid-C18 house of three storeys over basement and seven bays; built 1760/73 by Bernard Ward (afterwards 1st Viscount Bangor), and his wife, Lady Anne, daughter of 1st Earl of Darnley, to replace an earlier house. Probably by an English architect; and faced in Bath stone, brought over from Bristol in Mr Ward’s own ships. It seems that the Wards could not agree on the style of their new house; he wanted it to be Classical; but she was of what Mrs Delany called “whimsical” taste and favoured the fashionable new Strawberry Hill Gothic. The result was a compromise. The entrance front was made Classical, with central feature of a pediment and four engaged Ionic columns rising through the two upper storeys, the bottom storey being rusticated and treated as a basement. The garden front, facing over Strangford Lough, was made Gothic, with a battlemented parapet, pinnacles in the centre, and pointed windows in all its three storeys and seven bays – lancet in the central breakfront, ogee on the other side. All the windows have delightful Strawberry Hill Gothic astragals. This front of Castleward, and Moore Abbey, Co Kildare, are the only two surviving examples of mid-C18 Gothic in major Irish country houses which are not old castles remodelled. The interior of Castleward is remarkable in that the rooms on the Classical side of the house are Classical and those on the Gothic side Gothic; thus the hall – now the music room – has a Doric frieze and a screen of Doric columns; whereas the saloon has a ceiling of fretting and quatrefoils, pointed doors and a Gothic chimneypiece. The dining room, with its grained plaster panelling, is Classical and the sitting room is Gothic with spectacular plaster fan vaulting. Mr Ward, however, managed to be one up on his wife in that the staircase, which is in the middle of the house, is Classical; lit by a Venetian window in one of the end bows. If we believe Lady Anne, this was not the only time when he got his own way at her expense, for, having left him, as it turned out, for good, she wrote accusing him of bullying her. In C19, a porch was added to one of the end bows of the house, making a new entrance under the staircase; so that the hall became the music room. In the grounds there is a four storey tower-house, built at the end of C16 by Nicholas Ward; also a temple modelled on Palladio’s Redentore, dating from ante 1755; it stands on a hill, overlooking an early C18 artificial lake, or canal. On the death of 6th Viscount, 1950, Castleward was handed over in part payment of death duties to the Northern Ireland Government, who gave it, with an endowment, to the National Trust. The house and garden are now open to the public, and the Trust has set up various projects in different parts of the estate.”
Edward Ward, son of Bernard, 1st Viscount Bangor.Arabella Crosbie, wife of Edward Ward (1753-1812), daughter of William, 1st Earl of Glandore.Edward Ward, 3rd Viscount Bangor, son of Edward (1753-1812), nephew of Nicholas, 2nd Viscount Bangor.Harriet Margaret Maxwell is the wife of the 3rd Viscount Bangor, and daughter of Reverend Henry Maxwell, 6th Baron Farnham of Farnham estate in County Cavan(now a hotel).Edward Ward, 4th Viscount Bangor, courtesy of National Trust.
“Hillsborough Castle has been a grand family home and is now the official home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and a royal residence. Members of the Royal Family stay at Hillsborough when visiting Northern Ireland.
“Viewed by some as a politically neutral venue, Hillsborough has played an important role in the Peace Process in Northern Ireland since the 1980s.
“In 2014, Historic Royal Palaces took over the running of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens and began an ambitious project to restore the house and gardens to its former glory.
“Hillsborough, originally the settlement of Cromlyn (meaning Crooked Glen) in mid-Down, became part of the Hill family estates in the early 1600s. Moyses Hill, the landless second son of an English West Country family, joined the army to seek his fortune in Ireland, where he supported the Earl of Essex, a military leader sent by Elizabeth I.
“At this time, the land was still in the hands of Irish chiefs of the Magennis family. But the defeat of Irish chieftain Hugh O’Neill in 1603 opened the way for men such as Moyses Hill to establish themselves as landowners in Ireland. The Hills bought some 5,000 acres of land, then gradually added to this over the next 20 years until the whole area around the present Hillsborough had passed from the Magennises to the Hills.
“Successive generations of this ambitious family began to rise, politically and socially, in Ireland. Within 50 years they were one of the most prominent landowning families in the area; their estates stretched for over 130 miles from Larne, north of Belfast to Dun Laoghaire, south of Dublin, around 115, 000 acres in total.
“Wills Hill was the first Marquess of Downshire and his diplomatic skills as a courtier cemented the family’s position in society.
Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, (1718-1793), later 1st Marquess of Downshire, After Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Irish, 1740-1808. Photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
“From 1768-72 he held the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies. He had grown very powerful in government and served the royal family, for which he was awarded his title in 1789.
“Wills Hill famously hosted American founding father Benjamin Franklin, but contrary to popular myth, when they met at Hillsborough in 1771, the two men got along well together.
“Wills Hill built not only this house but also the Courthouse in The Square. He also built the terraces around The Square and other buildings in the town.
“Hillsborough is unusual for an Irish Big House as it is not a country house around which a town grew; rather it was built as a townhouse, forming one side of a neat Georgian square.
“The road to Moira once passed directly below the windows, and opposite the house were a variety of shops, houses and the Quaker Meeting House.
“The 3rd and 4th Marquesses, also commissioned a lot of work on the house, giving it the outward appearance it has today.
Hillsborough Castle & Gardens, Tourism Northern Ireland 2017 (see [1])
“When the house was being altered in the 1840s, the family decided to expand the gardens and so rebuilt the road, houses and Quaker Meeting House all further away. The old road was absorbed into the landscaping of the gardens, and the south side of the house was opened out to allow views of the ‘picturesque’ gardens.
“Successive generations of the Hill family enjoyed the house as a family home, renovating and redecorating in the latest styles and improving the gardens.
“However, by the end of the 19th century they were spending more time on their estate in England, at Easthampstead Park in Berkshire or their seaside home at Murlough House in County Down. The sixth Marquess’ uncle and guardian, Lord Arthur Hill remained at Hillsborough Castle to look after his nephew’s estate. The family first rented out Hillsborough in 1909, then sold it completely in 1925.
“It was bought by the British government, for around £24,000 (equivalent to £1.3m today) to be the residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland.
“Following Partition in 1921, Governors were appointed to represent the monarch in Northern Ireland, replacing the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland who had previously lived at Dublin Castle. The house became known as Government House, remaining the official residence of the Governors for over 50 years.”
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 152. “(Hill, Downshire, M/PB; Dixon, Glentoran, B/PB) A large, rambling, two storey late-Georgian mansion of a warm, golden-orange ashlar; its elevations rather long for their height. It appears to incorporate a much smaller house of ca 1760, but was mostly built later in C18, to the design of R.F. Brettingham, by Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, a prominent member of Lord North’s Cabinet at the time of the American War. The work was not completed until 1797, four years after 1st Marquess’s death. In 1830s and 1840s, the house was enlarged and remodelled, to the design of Thomas Duff, of Newry, and William Sands. The pedimented portico of four giant Ionic columns in the middle of the long seventeen bay garden front – originally the entrance front – which is the principal exterior feature, dates from this period; as does the present appearance of the pedimented front adjoining to the left, with its asymmetrical projecting ends; as well as the treatment of the elevations of the two ranges at right angles to each other which form two sides of the entrance forecourt; one of them having a rather shallow single-storey portico of four pairs of coupled Ionic columns. The forecourt, with its magnificent mid-C18 wrought iron gates and railings, brought here 1936 from Rich Hill, Co Armagh, is on one side of the main square of the charming little town of Hillsborough, which is reminiscent of the Schlossplatz in a small German capital. Although the house backs onto a sizeable demesne, with a lake, the park is on the opposite side of the town. Its chief feature is Hillsborough Fort, a star-shaped fort built by Col Arthur Hill ca 1650. The gatehouse of the fort was rebuilt most delightfully in the Gothic taste ca 1758, perhaps to the design of Sanderson Miller himself. Hillsborough Castle became the official residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland 1925, and consequently became known as Government House; from then, until 1973, when the post of Governor was abolished, it was occupied by successive Governors (all PB); namely, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, 4th Earl Granville, 2nd Lord Wakehurst, Lord Erskine of Rerrick, and Lord Grey of Naunton; during this period, the house was frequently visited by members of the British Royal Family. In 1934 the house was seriously damaged by fire, and in the subsequent rebuilding the principal rooms were done up in a more palatial style, with elaborate plasterwork. The future of the house is now uncertain.”
“For the first time in its history, this mystical and enchanting estate, set in magnificent natural surroundings, is open to visit.
“Nestled in the picturesque County Down countryside, Montalto is a privately-owned demesne steeped in history dating back to the 1600s. It is famously the site of ‘The Battle of Ballynahinch’ which took place during the Irish rebellion in 1798. It is also home to an exotic plant collection initially created by ‘The Father of Irish Gardening’, Sir Arthur Rawdon.
“Montalto Estate aims to reconnect visitors with nature through access to a range of captivating gardens and beautiful walks and trails. The visitor experience includes: public access to the estate’s beautiful gardens along with unique and surprising garden features; historic walks and trails; and an exciting play area where children can explore, learn and wonder at their natural surroundings. A purpose built centre, designed in keeping with the look and feel of the estate, includes a welcome area featuring interpretation of the estate’s history; a stylish café offering flavoursome and beautifully presented food; and a shop that offers a mix of estate produce, local craft products and many other unique and exceptionally designed items.
“The beautiful gardens include an Alpine Garden, a Winter Garden, a Cutting Garden, a Walled Garden, a Formal Garden and the Orchard situated within a wildflower meadow. Both the Winter Garden and Alpine Garden will always be accessible whilst the other gardens will be accessible whenever possible as they are working gardens. Four champion trees are located around the lake and the pinetum and over the past three years over 30,000 trees have been planted here.
“Active families will enjoy the Woodland Trail and low wood. The impressive purpose built tree house, which was handcrafted onsite, features rope bridges, monkey bars and treetop views kids of all ages will enjoy. Mini explorers can enjoy the smaller tree house and natural play area. Everything within this area has been designed to fuel the imagination through exploration and discovery.
“For tranquil and picturesque walks you can enjoy the stunning views of The Lake Walk and The Garden Walk. Catch a glimpse of some of the wonderful wildlife that calls Montalto Estate their home or simply take in the beautiful seasonal displays and reconnect with nature.”
“Montalto, nestled beautifully in the heart of the picturesque Co. Down countryside, is a privately-owned demesne which dates back to the early 1600s.
“In pre-plantation times the estate was originally owned by Patrick McCartan. However, due to his involvement in the 1641 Rebellion, his Ballynahinch lands were confiscated, and in 1657 the townland was purchased by Sir George Rawdon [and Patrick McCartan was executed]. Circa 1765, his descendant Sir John Rawdon – First Earl of Moira [1720-1793] – built a mansion property on the estate: this is the house that we now know as Montalto House.
“Sir John’s ancestor, Sir Arthur Rawdon – The Father of Irish Gardening – had earlier amassed a large collection of exotic foreign plants at Moira Castle. Many of Sir Arthur’s plants were transferred to Montalto when his grandson Sir John moved onto the estate.
“During the Battle of Ballynahinch (part of the 1798 Rebellion), rebels occupying Montalto House are attacked by the militia. The mansion sustains some fire and artillery damage. Francis Rawdon-Hastings – 2nd Earl of Moira and Montalto resident – is a respected British military officer during the American War of Independence. He is a close friend of the Prince Regent, later King George IV. For ten years he is Governor General of India, carrying huge military and political responsibilities. He sells the Montalto Estate soon after the 1798 Rebellion and later becomes 1st Marquess of Hastings in 1816.“
John Rawdon 1st Earl of Moira married three times: first to Helena Perceval, daughter of John Perceval 1st Earl of Egmont, Co. Cork; next to Anne Hill, daughter of 1st Viscount Hillsborough, and finally to Elizabeth, daughter of Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon, England. His heir is Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings.
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira, courtesy of Lady Lever Art Gallery.
“In 1803 David Ker of Portavo purchased the estate. In 1910 Richard – the last of the Kers to reside at Montalto – is finally forced to sell the estate.In 1912 Arthur, [Arthur Vesey Meade] 5th Earl of Clanwilliam [County Tipperary], purchases Montalto for £20,000.
“The Earl fights in the Boer War (where he is badly wounded), and with the Guards in France in WW1. His wife Lady Muriel cares for wounded Allied officers during their convalescence at Montalto.
“In 1979 the house is purchased by the Hogg Corry Partnership. In 1988 Corry withdraws. In 1995 it is purchased by the Wilson family. Working with local architects Hobart and Heron, as well as John O’Connell – a leading conservation architect from Dublin, specialising in Georgian architecture – they setabout a programme of works to restore the house, grounds, and outbuildings to their former glory.
“The estate has been almost exclusively, a family home since Lord Moira built the first house here. Nowadays Montalto offers visitors the use of 400 acres of rolling Irish countryside, which includes wonderful trails and gardens and a chance to explore this historic demesne and reconnect with nature.“”The estate has been almost exclusively, a family home since Lord Moira built the first house here. Nowadays Montalto offers visitors the use of 400 acres of rolling Irish countryside, which includes wonderful trails and gardens and a chance to explore this historic demesne and reconnect with nature.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 209. “(Rawdon, Moira, E/DEP; Ker/IFR; Meade, Clanwilliam, E/PB) A large and dignified three storey house of late-Georgian aspet; which, in fact, was built mid-C18 as a two storey house by Sir John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira, who probably brought the stuccodore who was working for him at Moira House in Dublin to execute the plasterwork here; for the ceiling which survives in the room known as the Lady’s Sitting Room is pre-1765 and of the very highest quality, closely resembling the work of Robert West; with birds, grapes, roses and arabesques in high relief. There is also a triple niche of plasterwork at one end of the room; though the central relief of a fox riding in a curricle drawn by a cock is much less sophisticated than the rest of the plasterwork and was probably done by a local man. 2nd Earl, afterwards 1st Marquess of Hastings, who distinguished himself as a soldier in the American War of Independence, and was subsequently Governor-General of India, sold Montalto 1802 to David Ker, who enlarged the windows of the house, in accordance with the prevailing fashion. In 1837, D.G. Ker enlarged the house by carrying out what one would imagine to be a most difficult, not to say hazardous operation; he excavated the rock under the house and round the foundations, thus forming a new lower ground floor; the structure being supported by numerous arches and pillars. It was more than just digging out a basement, as has been done at one or two other houses in Ulster; for the new ground floor is much higher than any basement would be; the operation made the house fully three storeyed. Entrance front of two bays on either side of a central three sided bow; the front also having end bows. Shallow Doric porch at foot of centre bow. Ground floor windows round-headed; those above rectangular, with plain entablatures over the windows of the original ground floor, now the piano nobile. Parapeted roof. The right hand side of the house is of ten bays, plus the end bow of the front; with a pilastered triple window immediately to the right of the bow in the piano nobile, balanced by another at the far end of the elevation. The left-hand side of the house is only of three bays and the bow, with a single triple window’ the elevation being prolonged by a two storey wing with round-headed windows. Various additions were built at the back of the house and at the sides during the course of C19; a ballroom being added by D.S. Ker, grandson of the David Ker who bought the estate. In 1837 ground floor there is an imposing entrance hall, with eight paired Doric columns, flanked by a library and a dining room. A double staircase leads up to the piano nobile, where there is a long gallery running the full width of the house, which may have been the original entrance hall. Also on the piano nobile is the sitting room with the splendid C18 plasterwork. Montalto was bought ca 1910 by 5th Earl of Clanwilliam, whose bridge refused to live at Gill Hall, the family seat a few miles to the west, because of the ghosts there. In 1952, the ballroom and a service wing at the back were demolished.”
7. Mount Stewart, County Down
Mount Stewart, County Down, by Art Ward for Tourism Northern Ireland, 2016. (see [1])
Bagenal’s Castle, County Down, Courtesy of Tourism Northern Ireland, 2010. (see [1])
The Discover Northern Ireland website tells us:
“Bagenal’s Castle is a sixteenth century fortified house and adjoining nineteenth century warehouse. It houses Newry and Mourne Museum and Newry Visitor Information Centre.
“During restoration work on the Castle many original features were uncovered including fireplaces, windows, doorways, gun loops and a bread oven. These have been interpreted for the visitor and drawings were commissioned to illustrate how the various living quarters of the castle would have functioned in the sixteenth century. Highlights include a restored Banqueting Room which is used throughout the year for seasonal and family events.“During restoration work on the Castle many original features were uncovered including fireplaces, windows, doorways, gun loops and a bread oven. These have been interpreted for the visitor and drawings were commissioned to illustrate how the various living quarters of the castle would have functioned in the sixteenth century. Highlights include a restored Banqueting Room which is used throughout the year for seasonal and family events.
“The Museum’s diverse collections include material relating to prehistory, Newry’s Cistercian foundations, Ulster’s Gaelic order and the relationship with the English Crown; the building of a merchant town and the first summit level canal in the British Isles. You can also discover the history of the ‘Gap of the North’, the historic mountain pass between Ulster and Leinster located to the south of Newry. One of the key main exhibitions, ‘A Border Town’s Experience of the 20th Century’, examines local attitudes to major political and economic events of the 20th century. There are also permanent exhibitions on farming, fishing and folklore in the Mournes and South Armagh.”
“Portaferry Castle is a 16th-century tower-house, built by the Savage family and prominently located on the slope overlooking Portaferry harbour within sight of Strangford and Audley’s Castles across the water. Simpler than the earlier ‘gatehouse’ tower house, it is square in plan with one projecting tower to the south where a turret rises an extra storey and contains the entrance and stair from ground floor to first floor.
There are three storeys and an attic, and like early tower-houses it has spiral stairs. However, like some later tower houses it lacks a stone vault as all floors were originally made of wood.
***THE CASTLE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR REPAIRS AND WILL NOT OPEN THIS YEAR”
Places to stay, County Down
1. Barr Hall Barns, Portaferry, County Down– self catering €
“Barr Hall Barns are 18th Century period cottages in an outstanding tranquil location with panoramic views across Strangford Lough to the Mourne Mountains.
We are based just outside the seaside village of Portaferry, at the very southern tip of the Ards Peninsula, overlooking Barr Hall Bay which is protected by the National Trust.
With idyllic walking routes right at our doorstep, come escape to an area of natural outstanding beauty and enter the truly magical setting of Barr Hall Barns.“
and Florida Manor Gambles Patch, Hollow View and Meadow Green.
The website tells us: “Dating back to 1676, Florida Manor, an original Irish Georgian Estate has undergone sympathetic refurbishment. Within the estates original stone perimeter wall lies 200 acres of extensive landscaped grasslands, private lakes, walkways and bridal paths.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 297. “(Gordon/IFR) A C18 house consisting of a three storey principal block with a recessed centre, linked to lower wings by curved sweeps with balustrades and pilasters. Projecting enclosed porch, also balustraded and with Ionic columns. quoins. Originally the seat of the Crawfords; passed by marriage to the Gordons C18. The house became ruinous in the present century but has been restored as two dwellings.”
“A tower with pepper-pot bartizans rising from a hill at the southern end of the demesne, completed 1862 to a design by William Burn. It was built in honour of his mother, Helen, Lady Dufferin, one of three beautiful and lively sisters who were the granddaughters of Richard Brinsley Sheridan; in a room near the top of the tower, lined with delicate Gothic woodwork, the walls are adorned with poems on bronze tablets expressing the love between mother and son; including a poem written specially for Lord Dufferin by Tennyson:
The website tells us: “Kiltariff Hall is a Victorian Country House on the outskirts of the small market town of Rathfriland. Built by our great-grandfather William Fegan in 1888, the house is set at the end of a short drive and is surrounded by mature oak, sycamore and pine trees. It is run myself, Catherine and my sister Shelagh who grew up in Kiltariff when it was a working farm. We are both passionate and knowledgeable about the Mourne area and believe that providing good locally produced food is key to ensuring guests enjoy their stay.“
Narrow Water, photograph by Chris Hill 2005 for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool (see[1]).
The website tells us:
“Narrow Water Castle is the private home of the Hall family who have lived at Narrow Water since 1670, originally in the Old Narrow Water Keep situated on the shoreline of Carlingford Lough which is now a national monument.
As a private home the castle is not open for public admission. It does however occasionally open its doors for weddings and exclusive events.
In 1816 construction began on the new Castle by Thomas Duff, a well-known Newry architect who also designed the Cathedrals in Newry, Armagh and Dundalk. The Elizabethan revival style castle is made from local granite and built next to the existing house, Mount Hall (1680). It was completed in 1836.
The self catering apartments are located in the original hub of the castle (Mount Hall), dating back to 1680. Mount Hall joins the Elizabethan revival part of the castle to the courtyard.“
Number 2: The apartment opens into an elegant open plan, living room and dining room with open fire. We have used several antique pieces of furniture to hint of times gone by. We are happy to provide logs if our guests wish to use the fire.
There are two spacious, beautifully furnished bedrooms, one of which is en-suite.
Number 6: This 2 bedroom luxury apartment is the perfect place to escape and unwind. Both bedrooms are en-suite. There is a grand open plan living /dining area with a unique feature skylight and exposed beams. The living area is adorned with antique furniture has a wood burning stove for cosy nights by the fire. The modern kitchen is fully equipped and the dining area seats six comfortably. A quality sofa bed allows this apartment to accommodate up to six guests. This apartment is on the first floor with access via the original stone staircase dating to the 1680s
Slieve Donard hotel, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
The website tells us: “Slieve Donard was originally built by the Belfast and County Down Railway as an ‘end of the line’ luxury holiday destination. Construction started in 1896 and was completed and officially opened on 24th June 1898 at the cost of £44,000. It was one of the most majestic hotels of its time and was almost self-sufficient with its own bakery, vegetable gardens, pigs, laundry and innovatively a power plant, which also provided electricity for the railway station.
Slieve Donard hotel, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Slieve Donard hotel hall, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Slieve Donard hotel staircase, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
Slieve Donard typified the idea of Victorian grandeur and luxury with its Drawing Room, Grand Coffee Room, Reading and Writing Room, Smoking Room, Billiard Room and Hairdressing Rooms—you can’t help but conjure up scenes of great style and decadence. ‘One could even partake of seawater baths, douche, spray, needle and Turkish baths all provided by an electric pump straight from the sea.
Slieve Donard hotel drawing room, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Slieve Donard hotel, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Slieve Donard hotel dining room, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.Slieve Donard hotel billiard room, Newcastle, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
In 2021, Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners acquired Slieve Donard Resort and Spa, which will become the first Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts property in Northern Ireland and the fourth hotel in the collection.“
Slieve Donard hotel and spa, courtesy of Hastings Hotel, 2017, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see[1])
9. St John’s Point Lighthouse Sloop, Killough, County Down€ for 3-4
St John’s Lighthouse Killough by Bernie Brown 2014 for Tourism Ireland. (see [1])
“This fabulous period home is a historic Irish country farm house. Set on wonderful gardens including an orchard, Tullymurry House is an ideal base for golf, fishing, hiking, walking, beach, and other outdoor pursuits.“
11. Tyrella, Downpatrick, County Down, BT30 8SU– accommodation €
“Tyrella House is a luxury B&B and wedding venue located in the heart of picturesque County Down, with its necklace of pretty fishing villages. A fine 18th century house surrounded by glorious wooded parkland with its own private beach just a short walk from the house, Tyrella offers a tranquil and relaxing getaway.
Tyrella House has been owned by the Corbett family for over 60 years, and was bought by John Corbett after the Second World War to train race horses.
His son, David Corbett began running B&B in the 1990s, which continues to this day. In 2020, the day to day running of the B&B was taken over by his son, John and his wife Hannah.“
“At Ballydugan we can provide accommodation and an oasis of relative calm for the Bride’s immediate family. Also if absolute adherence to tradition is important then we haveBallymote Country Housenearby, where we can ensure that the paths of the Bride and Groom will not cross prior to the wedding.“
2. Drenagh Estate and Gardens, County Down (wedding venue)
It tells us “Nestled in beautiful parkland and surrounded by our gardens, you will find our grand Georgian Mansion House which is perfect for weddings, family get togethers, corporate events and much more.“
The website tells us the history of the McCausland family who own the property:
“The family name McCausland goes back more than 900 years to an O’Cahan named Anselan, son of Kyan, King of Ulster. Anselan was forced to leave Ireland in about 1016 on account of his share in a ‘memorable stratagem where he and other young Irishmen dressed in women’s attire surprised and slaughtered their Danish oppressors’ (The Vikings). When Malcolm II of Scotland heard of Anselans feats he invited him to become his Master of Arms and ‘bestowed ample lands upon him in The Lennox’.
Twelve generations later, in the 1540s, his descendant Baron Alexander McAuslane returned to Ulster with his brother Andrew and settled in the Strabane area. The first McCausland to live at Drenagh (then called Fruithill) was Robert McCausland, Alexander’s grandson. Robert was bequeathed the Estates when he married the daughter of William Conolly, a wealthy self-made man and speaker of the Irish Parliament. [I don’t think this can be correct as William Conolly didn’t have a daughter]
Robert named his first son Conolly in reverence to his father-in-law; the name is still used in alternate generations to this day. A large painting of Robert and his family now hangs in the dining room at Drenagh. The first Conolly married the heiress Elizabeth Gage from Bellarena (five miles up the coast) and had a son, Conolly, who also formed another lucrative union with Theodosia Mahon from Strokestown House, Co. Roscommon [see my entry on Strokestown].
It was their son Marcus McCausland (1787-1862) who was responsible for commissioning Sir Charles Lanyon to build the present house. The former house (Fruithill) can be seen through a window painted in the portrait of Robert McCausland and his family. Marcus and his wife, Marianne, nee Tyndall from The Fort at Bristol, produced an heir Conolly Thomas(1828-1902). A delightful portrait of him dressed in his Eton cricketing clothes also hangs in the dining room at Drenagh.
Conolly Thomas’s son Maurice Marcus lived through both the best and worst of times at Drenagh as in 1902, through the Irish Land Acts; the Government compulsorily purchased 75% of the Estate. Drenagh was lucky; many Irish Estates were taken off their owners in their entirety. Some say this was no bad thing, as landlords the Irish landed gentry could be brutal in their treatment of their tenantry, indeed some were burnt out before they could be bought out.
Conolly Robert, Maurice’s son, fought in the 2nd World War and was so profoundly affected by what he experienced that he changed his Faith to Catholicism. This he did despite knowing he had signed a codicil to his fathers will barring him from inheriting should he become a Catholic. The will was contested but it was found that although the codicil applied to Conolly Robert, it did not do so to any of his direct descendants. So, on his death in 1968, his son Marcus inherited Drenagh.
Sadly four years later in 1972 Marcus was shot dead by the IRA.
Currently Marcus’s son Conolly Patrick lives at Drenagh.“
“Tullyveery House is an exclusive and intimate wedding and private events venue nestled in the rolling drumlins of County Down, convenient to Belfast. The family-owned Georgian House and Victorian courtyard area surrounded by mature private grounds and gardens provide a stunning rural backdrop overlooking the Mourne Mountains.
Tullyveery House remains a family home and working farm. The Georgian house, built between 1825 and 1828, was extended between 1867 and 1890.
Thomas Heron (1711-1776), one of the grandsons of a trio of brothers, decided in 1752 to move from his home at Killinchy and rent land and a house in Tullyveery townland, near Killyleagh.
Surviving farm survey maps made in 1760 show a dwelling and a farm of over 100 acres, the majority of which was let out to under-tenants. The family continued to expand and prosper, by growing flax and having it spun into thread in the local area, prior to carting to Belfast.
Thomas had a son, Francis (1750-1810), who was raised at Tullyveery, decided to move his household to an existing and somewhat better quality house at Ardigon townland, about a mile away, leaving Tullyveery as the ‘junior’ house. The Tullyveery freehold was subsequently bought in 1804.
Thomas’s son, James (1785-1839), inherited Tullyveery in 1816 and, as a 31 year old bachelor, then built between 1825-1828 the Georgian house that stands there today. In 1866-1867, his son, also called James, eventually demolished the remains of the single-story thatched house and used the square-cut stone masonry to face the existing courtyard buildings, now being used today to host weddings and events. A large three-story Victorian rear extension was finally added in the 1890s.
More recently, in 1973, the custodianship of Tullyveery passed to Colin Heron, from his father. Colin’s career resulted in him spending extended periods of time away from Tullyveery during which Michael, Colin’s brother, maintained the house and grounds, and operated a working farm. Colin returned to live in Tullyveery permanently in 2000. In 2012 he decided to diversify from farming. After much research and consideration, he decided to offer a private alternative to a hotel wedding and opened the home and grounds to couples for weddings and events. Colin also worked with TV’s Apprentice Nick Hewer as he travelled around Northern Ireland helping farms diversify on the BBC programme ‘The Farm Fixer’, which spurred him on to pursue this new path for Tullyveery.
In 2019 the custodianship of Tullyveery was passed down to the next generation and Charles (Colin’s nephew) is looking forward to taking Tullyveery from strength to strength. However, the vision for, and philosophy of, Tullyveery has not changed and you can be assured of the same high standards, seamless weddings and memorable parties that Tullyveery has become renowned for.
The latest project at Tullyveery has been to convert our private Orchard Garden into a space suitable for ceremonies, receptions and parties. Charles remembers sneaking into the Orchard as a child to ‘steal’ apples and to go into the fruit cage to pick fresh raspberries and gooseberries. It is fantastic to now be able to share this space with our guests while also adding a much needed covered garden area to the list of spaces available.
orange: “whole house rental” i.e. those properties that are only for large group accommodations or weddings, e.g. 10 or more people.
green: gardens to visit
grey: ruins
2025 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2025 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.
€20.00
The province of Ulster contains counties Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone.
For places to stay, I have made a rough estimate of prices at time of publication:
€ = up to approximately €150 per night for two people sharing (in yellow on map);
On September 9th 2023 all Landmark Trust properties in Northern Ireland will be open to visitors, from 10am-4pm. See their website for details, https://irishlandmark.com/ as booking will be required, but booking is not open yet. Subscribe for updates to find out when you need to book to make a visit.
3. Drenagh House, County Derry – whole house rental, 22 guests
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
“Built around 1619 by Sir Baptist Jones, Bellaghy Bawn is a fortified house and bawn (the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house). What exists today is a mix of various building styles from different periods with the main house lived in until 1987.” Open on Sundays.
“Hezlett’s picturesque thatched cottage exterior hides a fascinating early timber frame dating from 1690, making it one of the oldest vernacular domestic buildings in Northern Ireland. The story of the house is told through the experiences of the people who lived there.“
The house at Liffock became home to the Hezletts in 1766 and stayed within the family for the next 200 years until the National Trust acquired it in 1976. The National Trust website tells us:
“Isaac Hezlett (1720-1790) was the first Hezlett to live in the cottage at Liffock. He acquired the dwelling and some land in 1766. At this point in his life he was married to his second wife Esther and had two sons; Samuel from his first marriage with Margaret Kerr and Jack, half-brother to Samuel.When Samuel’s father died, he inherited the farm at the age of 37 and about five years later he married Esther Steel. She was 22 years his junior and they had eight children.Samuel was intimidated by local insurgents to join the United Irishmen; his half-brother Jack was an ardent supporter. He was threatened to be hanged from the Spanish chestnut tree in his own garden.By 1798 the rebellion was at its height and the two brothers were on opposite sides of the war. 30,000 lives were lost when the rebels were finally defeated. Jack escaped to the recently created United States of America while Samuel remained with his family in their home at Liffock until he died in 1821.
“Samuel’s eldest son Isaac (1796-1883) married Jane Swan (1805-1896) in 1823. He built a two-storey extension to form a new self-contained unit for his mother and sisters. This extension could be regarded as forerunner of what we call today a ‘granny-flat’. Isaac also increased the acreage farmed at Liffock.Hugh (1825-1906), Samuel and Jane’s eldest son, increased the acreage of the farm once more. By putting his education to good use he made the farm more productive; more cash crops were grown and the herds of dairy cattle and sheep were increased. The outputs from the farm which generated income included the cash crops of flax, barley, potatoes, oats and turnips, in addition to wool, milk, calves, pigs and eggs. Hugh also oversaw an extensive re-modelling of the farmyard and outbuildings.In 1881 the Gladstone Land Act paved the way for further Acts which enabled tenant farmers to buy the land they had hitherto rented. So by the early 20th century the Hezletts were not tenant farmers but owner-occupiers.
“In 1976, with funds provided by Ulster Land fund and the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society the National Trust acquired the house from the third Hugh Hezlett (1911-1988).”
3. Mussenden Temple, Downhill Demesne, County Derry
Mussenden Temple by Matthew Woodhouse 2015 for Tourism Ireland.
“Downhill Demesne delves into a life and landscape steeped in history and nature. There’s much to explore as you enter this enchanting estate. Wander around the 18th-century demesne and discover dovecotes and gardens as you stumble upon a spectacular temple.”
Downhill Demesne, County Derry, photograph byPocket Squares
The house of Downhill is now a ruin.
Downhill House, County Derry, photograph byPocket Squares
The National Trust website tells us:
“2018 marked the 250th anniversary of the arrival of Frederick Augustus Hervey in the Diocese of Derry. He was consecrated as Bishop in St Columb’s Cathedral in March 1768. Frederick was a man of many parts as well as being a cleric he was a scientist with a deep interest in volcanology; he was a collector of art; he travelled extensively and spoke German, French and Italian fluently; he took a keen interest in Irish politics and music; he was a powerful proponent of religious equality; and he was a builder of churches, bridges and roads.
“He is remembered by us for his association with the Giant’s Causeway and the creation of the Downhill Demesne. A keen volcanologist, Frederick ‘discovered’ the Giant’s Causeway in the sense that he publicised what was then an isolated, seldom-visited spot and was the first to study it in a wider scientific context and pass on his findings to his learned friends throughout Europe. He also created Downhill House and the Mussenden Temple, Northern Ireland’s most iconic building, as his country retreat.
“The Earl Bishop is largely regarded as being his own architect at Downhill but it was the Cork born Michael Shanahan who drew up most of the building plans and was, for most of the time, his buildings works superintendent. The mason James McBlain executed all the decorative carving and much of the subsequent building for the Earl. Italian stuccadores were also employed, chief among whom was Placido Columbani.
“Downhill is characterised by a three storey front, facing south and with two long wings at the back of this. Originally these wings terminated in domes topped with ornamental chimney-pots. The wings were continued in ranges of outbuildings, forming inner and outer yards, and ending towards the sea in two immense curving bastions of basalt.
“The main house block was faced with freestone from Dungiven quarries, about 30 miles away. The basement is rusticated and the storeys above decorated with pairs of Corinthian pilasters, topped by Vitruvian scroll course, a cornice and parapet.
“Sadly the interior of the house shows little of its original character. The house was almost entirely gutted by a fire which broke out on a Sunday in May 1851. The library was completely destroyed and more than 20 pieces of sculpture had been ruined. Most of the paintings were rescued, but a Raphael, The Boar Hunt, was reported destroyed.
“In his later years, the Earl Bishop spent very little time in Ireland. His Irish estates were administered by a distant cousin, Henry Hervey Aston Bruce, who succeeded him following his death in 1803.
“In 1804 Henry Hervey Aston Bruce was created a baronet and Downhill remained with the Bruce family until at least 1948, though the family rarely lived there after around 1920.“
“The only other occupation of the house came about during WWII when the site was requisitioned by the RAF. The house was subsequently dismantled after the war and its roof removed in 1950.”
Frederick Augustus Hervey also built Ballyscullion in Derry and Ickworth in Suffolk, England. He built them not only to indulge his love of architecture, but to house his large collection of paintings, furniture and statues. He first encountered his architect, Michael Shanahan, when he was Bishop of Cloyne in Cork. David Hicks tells us in his Irish Country Houses, a Chronicle of Change that Hervey took Shanahan on a trip to Italy between 1770-1772 in order to make sketches of various items of interest that could be incorporated into his home. Shanahan took up residence in the Hervey estate in Derry and acted as the Earl Bishop’s architect in residence.
Mussenden Temple, Downhill Demesne, County Derry, photograph byPocket Squares
The Bishop created Mussenden Temple in memory of Mrs Frideswide Mussenden, a cousin who died in 1785. Shanahan was the architect. It is believed that the Bishop used it as a private library, and permitted local Catholics to use the ground floor for mass. He left Downhill and Ballyscullion to Mrs Mussenden’s brother, Reverend Henry Aston Bruce. In doing so, he disinherited his wife and son, with whom he had quarrelled.
Frideswide Mussenden was born Frideswide Bruce. Her parents were Henrietta Aston and James Bruce. Henrietta Aston was daughter of Rev. Hon. Henry Hervey-Aston, son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, who was the brother of Bishop Frederick Augustus’s father. The Bishop’s heir was therefore only distantly related, quite a blow to the disinherited wife and son.
He was disinherited by his father the 4th Earl of Bristol.
Reverend Bruce who inherited Downhill and Ballyscullion dismantled the latter in 1813, perhaps due to window taxes, and transferred its furniture and art to Downhill. A fire in 1851 destroyed Downhill and much of its contents. The house was rebuilt to some degree to the design of John Lanyon between 1870-74.
Reverend Bruce was created a British Baronet in 1804. His son became 2nd Baronet and grandson, 3rd Baronet of Downhill. It was passed to the 4th, 5th and 6th Baronets. By the 1950s most of the contents of the house has been sold and the house dismantled and surrounding land sold. The estate is now in the care of the National Trust.
4. Springhill House, County Derry
Springhill House and Gardens Courtesy of Tourism Northern Ireland 2007.
“Springhill has a beguiling spirit that captures the heart of every visitor. Described as ‘one of the prettiest houses in Ulster’, its welcoming charm reveals a family home with portraits, furniture and decorative arts that bring to life the many generations of Lenox-Conynghams who lived here from 1680. The old laundry houses one of Springhill’s most popular attractions, the Costume Collection with some exceptionally fine 18th to 20th century pieces.
New Visitor Reception offering a retail and grab and go catering offer. Celebrated collection of costumes, from the 18th century to 1970s. Visit our second-hand bookshop and pick up a bargain.
Walks: Beautiful walled gardens and way marked paths through the parkland. Children’s adventure trail play park and natural play area. A variety of events throughout the year. There are three walks available: Beech Walk, Snowdrop Walk, Sawpit Hill Walk.“
Visitor Facilities: Historic house, garden, shop, refreshments, guided tours. Suitable for picnics and country walks. Programme of events available. House: admission by guided tour (last admission 1 hour before closing). Open Bank Holiday Mondays and all other public holidays in Northern Ireland. Closed 25 and 26 December. Visitor Centre has café and shop. See Information tab for full Opening Times and Prices. Access for visitors with disability and facilities for families. Dogs welcome on leads in grounds/garden only. Available for functions.
Mark Bence-Jones writes about Springhill House in A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 263. “(Lenox-Conyngham/IFR) A low, white-washed, high roofed house with a sense of great age and peace; its nucleus late C17, built ca 1680 by “Good Will” Conyngham [1660-1721], who afterwards played a leading part in the defence of Derry during the Siege. Altered and enlarged at various times; the defensive enclosure or bawn with which it was originally surrounded was taken down, and two single storey free-standing office wings of stone with curvilinear end-gables were built early C18 flaking the entrance front, forming a deep forecourt. Col William Conyngham, MP, added two single-storey wings to the house ca 1765, which was when the entrance front assumed its present appearance: of seven bays, the windows on either side of the centre being narrower than the rest, and with a three sided bow in each of the wings. In the high roof, a single central dormer lighting the attic. The hall has C18 panelling; behind the hall is an early C18 staircase of oak and yew with alternate straight and spiral twisted balusters. The Gun Room has bolection moulded oak panelling which could be late C17 or early C18, though it cannot have been put into this room until much later, for there are remains of C18 wallpaper behind it. The large and lofty drawing room in the right-hand wing is a great contrast after the small, low-ceilinged rooms in the centre of the house; it has a modillion cornice and a handsome black marble chimneypiece. Though essentially a Georgian room, it has been given a Victorian character with a grey and green wallpaper of Victorian pattern. Next to the drawing room, in the garden front, is the dining room, added ca 1850 by William Lenox-Conygham; a large simple room of Georgian character, with a red flock paper and a chimneypiece of yellow marble brought from Herculaneum by the Earl of Bristol Bishop of Derry and presented by him to the family. The garden front, which is irregular, going in and out, facing along an old beech venue to a ruined tower which may originally have been a windmill. Transferred to the Northern Ireland Trust by W.L Lenox-Conygham, HML, shortly before his death in 1957. Springhill is featured in his mother, Mina’s book An Old Ulster Home and is open to the public.”
William Conyngham (d. 1721), “Good Will”, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.Ann Upton (1664-1753) wife of William “Goodwill” Conyngham (1660-1721), daughter of Arthur Upton (1623-1706) of Castle Upton, County Antrim, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.
William Conyngham married Ann Upton, daughter of Arthur Upton of Castle Upton, County Antrim (this still exists and is privately owned), MP for County Antrim. Springhill passed to their daughter Anne who married David Butle, a merchant. Their son George took the name Conyngham and inherited Springhill. Although he had sons, Springhill passed through the line of his daughter, Ann (1724-1777) who married Clotworthy Lenox (1707-1785). Their son took the name George Lenox-Conyngham (1752-1816) when he inherited. George married twice: first to Jane Hamilton, and their son William Lenox-Conyngham (1792-1858) added the dining room to Springhill. George married secondly Olivia Irvine of Castle Irvine (also called Necarne; the park around Necarne Castle can freely be visited during daytime. The ruin of the castle itself is boarded up, so its interior can not be visited), County Fermanagh. One of their descendants was Jack Nicholson who inherited Enniscoe in County Mayo.
George Butle Conyngham (d. 1756), courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.Anne Peacocke (d. 1754), Mrs George Butle Conyngham, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.Called Anne Conyngham (1724-1777) Mrs Clotworthy Lenox, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.Clotworthy Lenox, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.George Lenox-Conyngham (1752-1816) courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.William Lenox-Conyngham (1792-1858) courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.Chalotte Melosina Staples (1786-1847), wife of William Lenox-Conyngham (1792-1858), daughter of John Staples (1736-1820) of Lissan, County Tyrone, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.
Springhill passed then from William Lenox-Conyngham (1792-1858) and his wife Charlotte Mesolina Staples of Lissan, County Tyrone, to their son William Fitzwilliam Lenox-Conyngham, and it was his grandson William Lowry Lenox-Conyngham who left it to the Northern Ireland Trust.
Places to stay, County Derry
1. Ardtara Country House and restaurant, County Derry €€
“Ardtara is over 120 years old, but its story goes back much further. Back to the origins of the linen industry in Northern Ireland. The house was built by Harry Clark as a romantic and lively family home around 1896. Harry was a restless adventurer who was coerced to join his family’s linen business with promises of global travel and the freedom to pursue his ambitions. Clark’s linen business was already over 150 years old at the time and was famous for producing fine linens from Flax using the ancient process of beetling.”
2. Brown Trout Inn, Aghadowey, Nr Coleraine Co. Derry, BT51 4AD€
“Whether it’s for a drink, dinner, a weekend break or a round of golf we want you to enjoy the Brown Trout experience.
“At the Brown Trout Inn we know that relaxing means different things to different people. For some, food and drink is all-important. Our menu offers fresh locally sourced produce ranging from ‘taste of Ulster’ favourites like honey-grilled gammon and buttery champ to slow-roasted lamb shanks and not forgetting fresh fish, including grilled trout of course.
“For others, putting their feet up is the closest thing to heaven. Our Courtyard accommodation offers space, comfort and quality – the cottages hold NITB four-star status. All our accommodation is easily accessible for wheelchair users and guests with disabilities and all rooms are dog-friendly. Wifi access is free throughtout the hotel.“
3. Roselick Lodge, County Derry – whole house rentalfor 8 guests, three night minimum
“Dating back to 1830, this sympathetically restored Georgian property offers a tranquil rural setting midway between Portstewart and Portrush. Whilst retaining many of the original features and charm, the open plan extension has been adapted to suit modern living. The accommodation comprises three main reception areas, a Magnificent Family Kitchen /Living and Dining area, a cosy and tastefully decorated Snug with open fire, access to south facing Orangery and large secluded cottage gardens. Upstairs are four well proportioned bedrooms sleeping up to eight guests and a spacious first floor balcony with sea views. Minimum 3 night stay.“
Ashbrook House, County Derry, photograph courtesy of Ashbook House facebook page.
“The earliest part of the house was built in 1830 by Sir Henry Brooke Baronet for use by his tenants. It was then enlarged to create the beautiful Georgian dower house that you see today. Generations of the historic Brooke family are woven into the fabric of the house – quite literally, in the case of the exquisite needlepoints created by Christopher’s maternal grandmother that can be found in various rooms. Ashbrooke’s latest custodians are Christopher Brooke and his wife Amanda, whose tireless efforts have restored the historic mansion to full glory.”
Nestled in beautiful parkland where you will find our grand Georgian Mansion House which is perfect for weddings, family get togethers, corporate events and much more.
Mark Bence-Jones writes about Drenagh House (formerly Fruit Hill) in A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 107. “(McCausland/IFR) The earliest major country house by Charles Lanyon, built ca 1837 for Marcus McCausland, replacing an early C18 house on a different site. Of significance in the history of C19 Irish domestic architecture in that it is a competent late-Georgian design by an architect whose buildings in the following decade are definitely Victorian. Two storey; o an attractive pinkish sandstone ashlar. Five bay entrance front with the centre bay recessed and a single-storey Ionic portico in which the outer columns aer coupled. Adjoining front of six bays with two bay pedimented breakfront; the duality of the elevation being emphasised rather than resolved by the presence of three giant pilasters, supporting the pediment. Rear elevation of one bay between two three sided bows, with fanlighted tripartite garden door. Lower service wing at side. Balustraded parapet round roof and on portico. Single-storey top-lit central hall with screen of fluted Corinthian columns; graceful double staircase with elegant cast iron balusters rising from behind one of these screens. Rich plasterwork ceilings in hall, over staircase and in drawing room; simpler ceilings in morning room and dining room. At the head of the stairs, a bedroom corridor with a ceiling of plaster vaulting and shallow domes goes round the central court or well, the lower part of which is roofed over to form the hall. Very large and extensive outbuildings. Vista through gap in trees opposite entrance front of house to idyllic landscape far below, the ground falling steeply on this side; straight flight of steps on the axis of this vista leading down to bastion terrace with urns. Chinese garden with circular “moon gate,” laid out by Lady Margaret McCausland 1960s. Gate lodge by Lanyon with pedimented Ionic portico.”
Charles Lanyon (1813-1889) courtesy of Queen’s University Belfast.
Kevin V. Mulligan writes in The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (p. 83) [1] that Ardress is the best preserved example of a gentleman’s farmhouse in South Ulster, due to its ownership by the National Trust. The discovernorthernireland website tells us:
“Ardress is nestled in the apple orchards of County Armagh and offers afternoons of fun and relaxation for everyone. Built in the 17th century as a farmhouse, Ardress was remodelled in Georgian times and has a character and charm all of its own.
• Elegant Neo-classical drawing-room with plasterwork by the Dublin plasterer Michael Stapleton • Attractive garden with scenic woodland and riverside walks • Home to an important collection of farm machinery and tools • Rich apple orchards • On display is the 1799 table made for the speaker of the Irish Parliament upon which King George V signed the Constitution of Northern Ireland on 22nd June 1921
Visitor Facilities: Historic house, Farm yard, Garden, Shop, Guided tours, Suitable for picnics, Programme of events.”
Mulligan writes that it is a mid-Georgian house with a two storey facade of seven bays, with a small Tuscan portico in the centre, and it was later enlarged to nine bays by the addition of a slightly lower quoined wings. It began as a smaller five bay house with basement, and Mulligan tells us that it was probably built for Thomas Clarke.
The National Trust website tells us: “Clarke and Ensor families who lived at Ardress from the late 1600s to the mid 20th-century. See how the originally modest farmhouse was enlarged and re-modelled over the years. Some of the furnishings are original while others have made their way back here. Highlights include the drawing room, dining room and a fine collection of paintings on loan from Stuart Hall in County Tyrone.
Past our brand new visitor reception area you’ll find the traditional, cobbled farmyard. Pop into the different outbuildings such as the smithy, byre and threshing barn to get a flavour of old-time rural life. The whole family will love meeting the friendly chickens, goats and donkey, and there’s also a children’s play area.
Bring your walking boots and set off on the Lady’s Mile (really three-quarters-of-a-mile, if you’re counting). This circular, woodland path is a real highlight of any visit, especially in spring when it’s full of wildflowers. There are some great views back to the house and look out for Frizzel’s Cottage, an 18th-century mud-walled house which is now fully refurbished.
Ardress sits in the heart of Armagh’s rich apple-growing country. Visit in May to see the orchards burst into vibrant whites and pinks, truly a memorable sight. During Apple Blossom Sundays (12 and 19 May), there will be orchard tours, local cider, local honey, music, country crafts and family fun. Be sure to come back in October for the Apple Press Days, when you can pick your own apples. Kids can also press their own apple juice.”
George Ensor (1769-1843), he wrote several books and pamphlets on radical topics including ‘Defence of the Irish and Anti-Union’. He died at the family seat Ardress House Co. Armagh in 1843.
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 11. “(Ensor/LG1894) A two storey five bay gable-ended house of ca. 1664 with two slight projections at the back; enlarged and modernized ca. 1770 by the Dublin architect, George Ensor – brother of better-known architect, John Ensor – for his own use. Ensor added a wing at one end of the front, and to balance it he built a screen wall with dummy windows at the other end. These additions were designed to give the effect of a centre block two bays longer than what the front was originally, with two storey one bay wings having Wyatt windows in both storeys. To complete the effect, he raised the façade to conceal the old high-pitched roof; decorating the parapet with curved upstands and a central urn; the parapet of the wings curving downwards on either side to frame other urns. Ensor also added a pedimented Tuscan porch and he altered the garden front, flanking it with curved sweeps. Much of the interior of the hosue was allowed to keep its simple, intimate scale; the oak staircase dates from before Ensor’s time. But he enlarged the drawing room, and decorated the walls and ceiling with Adamesque plasterwork and plaques of such elegance and quality that the work is generally assumed to have been carried out by the leading Irish artist in this style of work, Michael Stapleton. Ardress now belongs to the Northern Ireland National Trust and is open to the public.” [2]
2. The Argory, County Armagh
The Argory was built in the 1820s on a hill and has wonderful views over the gardens and 320 acre wooded riverside estate. This former home of the MacGeough – Bond family has a splendid stable yard with horse carriages, harness room, acetylene gas plant and laundry. Take a stroll around the delightful gardens or for the more energetic along the woodland and riverside way-marked trails. Photo by Brian Morrison 2009 for Tourism Ireland. [3]
“The Argory was built in the 1820s and its hillside location has wonderful views over the gardens and 320 acre wooded estate bordering the River Blackwater. This former home of the MacGeough–Bond family has a splendid stable yard with horse carriages, harness room, acetylene gas plant and laundry. Take a stroll around the delightful gardens or for the more energetic along the woodland and riverside way-marked trails.
Fascinating courtyard displays Garden, woodland and riverside walks with wonderful sweeping views Snowdrop walks and superb spring bulbs Adventure playground and environmental sculpture trail Enjoy afternoon tea and award winning scones in Lady Ada’s tea room
Joshua MacGeough (1747-1817), by Joseph Wilson, he was father of Walter MacGeough-Bond (1790-1866).Courtesy of National Trust, The Argory.
The National Trust website tells us: “The Argory is the home of Mr Bond, the last of four generations of the MacGeough Bond family. Designed by brothers Arthur and John Williamson of Dublin (who also did work for Emo Court in County Laois), the house was built by Mr Bond’s great-grandfather, Walter. The Argory was gifted to the National Trust in 1979. Designed in approximately 1819, started in 1820 and finished about 1824, The Argory came into existence due to a quirky stipulation in a will. Created with Caledon stone in coursed ashlar blocks with Navan limestone window sills, quoins and foundations, the interior of this understated and intimate house remains unchanged since 1900.
“The house was largely closed up at the end of the Second World War, with Mr Bond, the last owner, moving into the North Wing. What you see today is a result of four generations of collecting, treasured by Mr Bond, displayed as he remembers it from his childhood.”
Walter MacGeogh-Bond (1790-1866) by Francis Grant courtesy of National Trust The Argory.
Walter MacGeough-Bond added Bond to his surname in 1824, so he must have inherited from his great-grandfather Walter Bond. He married twice, first to Mary Isabella Joy, with whom he had a daughter, and then to Anne Smyth, daughter of Ralph Smyth of Gaybrook, County Westmeath, and his wife Anna Maria Staples, daughter of Robert 7th Baronet Staples, of Lissan, Co. Tyrone. Walter and Anne had several more children.
Of The Argory, Mark Bence-Jones writes (1988):
p. 12. “(MacGeough Bond/IFR) Built ca. 1820 by Walter MacGeough (who subsequently assumed the surname of Bond), to the design of two architects, named A. and J. Williamson, one or both of whom worked in the office of Francis Johnston. A house with imposing and restrained Classical elevations, very much in the Johnston manner, of two storeys, and faced with ashlar. Main block has seven bay front, the centre bay breaking forward under a shallow pediment with acroteria; Wyatt window in centre above porch with Doric columns at corners. Unusual fenestration: the middle window in both storeys either side of the centre being taller than those to the left and right of it. Front prolonged by wing of same height as main block, but set back from it; of three bays, ending with a wide three-sided bow which has a chimneystack in its centre. Three bay end to main block; other front of main block also of seven bays, with a porch; prolonged by service wing flush with main block. Dining room has plain cornice with mutules; unusual elliptical overdoors with shells and fruit in plasterwork. Very extensive office ranges and courtyards at one corner of house; building with a pediment on each side and a clock tower with cupola; range with polygonal end pavilions; imposing archway. The interior is noted for a remarkable organ and for the modern art collection of the late owner. Now maintained by the National Trust.” [4]
The property passed through the family, to Joshua Walter MacGeough-Bond, to his son Walter William Adrian MacGeough Bond (1857-1945) and finally to his son, Walter Albert Nevill MacGeough Bond.
“Brownlow House or Lurgan Castle, so named presumably after the Rt. Hon. Charles Brownlow [1795-1847], who built it in 1833, was created Baron Lurgan in 1839, was owned by the Brownlow family until the turn of the century. Changing fortunes resulted in property being sold to the Lurgan Real Property Company Ltd. and subsequently the House and surrounding grounds were purchased on behalf of Lurgan Loyal Orange District Lodge. The legal document of conveyance is dated 11 July 1904. In appreciation of the effort of the late Sir William Allen, KBE, DSO, DL, MP in obtaining the House, an illuminated address was presented to him by District Lodge and now hangs in the Dining Room beside the portrait of Sir William painted by Frank McKelvey. He together with Messrs. Hugh Hayes, John Mehaffey, George Lunn Jun. and James Malcolm Jun. were the first Trustees.
“Brownlow House, built in an age of grandeur and cultured tastes, is an imposing building. It has retained much of the atmosphere of bygone days and one can readily pause and still imagine what life was like when it was occupied as a dwelling.”
Mark Bence-Jones writes of Brownlow House (1988):
p. 49. (Brownlow, Lurgan, B/PB) A large Elizabethan-revival house by William Playfair, of Edinburgh, built from 1836 onwards for Charles Brownlow, 1st Lord Lurgan, whose son, 2nd Baron, owned the famous greyhound Master McGrath, and whose brother-in-law, Maxwell Close, built Drumbanagher, also to the design of Playfair. Of honey coloured stone, with a romantic silhouette; many gables with tall finials; many tall chimneypots; oriels crowned with strapwork and a tower with a lantern and dome. The walls of three principal reception rooms are decorated with panels painted to resemble verd-antique; while the ceilings are grained to represent various woods. The grand staircase has brushwork decoration in the ceiling panesl, and the windows are filled with heraldic stained glass. Sold 1903 to the Orange Order, its present owners, by whom it is used for seasonal functions. Its grounds have become a public park.”
4. Derrymore House, Bessbrook, County Armagh – National Trust, open to public.
The National Trust website tells us that Derrymore House is a late 18th-century thatched house in gentrified vernacular style.
“The name Derrymore is derived from ‘doire’, the Irish for an oak grove and ‘mór’, meaning large. Derrymore was the home of Isaac Corry (1753-1813), MP for Newry from 1776. He commissioned John Sutherland (1745-1826), the leading landscape gardener of the day, to carry out improvements to the land. Sutherland enhanced the existing woodland by planting thousands more trees. Oak, chestnut, pine and beech trees now dominate the woodlands, which contain some very fine mature specimens. The picturesque thatched house was built for Corry, in the style of a ‘cottage orné’, which gives it a rather romantic feel. It is surprisingly large inside with reception and bedrooms on the ground floor, and service rooms in the basement.
“Isaac Corry was Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer in 1800, when the Act of Union with Britain was passed. It followed a time of extreme political unrest. The Act removed parliamentary control from Dublin to London, a highly contentious move. Many who supported the union were seen as betraying Ireland in the interests of economics and trade, while others saw it as an economic and political necessity. As MP for Newry and supporter of the linen industry, Corry was keen to ensure solid trade links. The Act was also meant to deliver Catholic Emancipation, but to the dismay of many, including Corry, this part of the Act was not ratified.
“Corry sold Derrymore in 1810 and retired to his Dublin house, where he died in 1813. After passing through several hands, Derrymore was bought by John Grubb Richardson (1815-1890), owner of the Bessbrook linen works and village and a member of the Society of Friends.
“By the mid-19th century the linen industry had become a major part of the Ulster economy. Industrialisation brought in ever more sophisticated engineering. The Craigmore Viaduct, visible from Derrymore demesne, opened in 1852, creating a major transport link between Dublin and Belfast. The linen business at Bessbrook grew from a small mill, with weaving carried out on looms in people’s own cottages (piece work), into an impressive series of flax, spinning and weaving mills, spear-heading new developments in damask weaving, and established a world-wide reputation for Richardson Linens.
“John G. Richardson invested heavily in Bessbrook, creating a model village around the large mill, run on Quaker principles of mutual respect between managers and workers. Good housing, religious tolerance, playing fields and schools helped create a thriving and settled community. No public house ensured that there was no need for a police station, nor for a pawnshop.
“John G. Richardson let Derrymore house to tenants and built The Woodhouse for his own family in the northern part of the demesne. He created informal gardens through the rocky woodland, making use of the granite rock from local quarries, enhanced the walled garden and built entrance lodges.
“In 1940, soldiers of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry arrived in Bessbrook as a defence against German invasion of Northern Ireland from across the Irish border. In 1943, the troops were replaced by the US Army Quartermaster Depot Q111-D until August 1944.
“After the war, John S.W. Richardson, a descendant of John G Richardson, offered Derrymore House to the National Trust. In the 1970s the “Troubles” impacted Bessbrook and Derrymore. The mill was turned into a major base for the British Army and was known as the busiest military heliport in Europe. Corry’s association with the Act of Union led to bombs being planted at Derrymore house on several occasions between 1972 and 1979; one firebomb damaged the house. The caretaker, Mr Edmund Baillie and his two sisters lived in the house and luckily were unhurt, but their safety and the survival of the house were largely due to Mr Baillie’s personal courage in moving some of the bombs away from the building. The Trust was forced to close the house and remove the contents for safe keeping; it opened again in the late 1980s. In 1985 John Richardson generously bequeathed the rest of Derrymore demesne to the National Trust, including The Woodhouse, walled garden and various lodges.
“The National Trust has worked with a number of partners to enhance access to Derrymore Demesne with a focus on local visitors, providing better footpaths, parking, toilet facilities and a children’s play area to ensure that everyone can enjoy the beauty of Derrymore in harmony with nature and wildlife and its historic past.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes:
p. 102. “(Corry/LG1886) A single-storey thatched cottage ornee of Palladian form, consisting of a bow-fronted centre block and two flanking wings, joined to the main block by diminutive canted links. The central blow of the main block is three sided, and glazed down to the ground, with mullions and astragals; it is flanked by two quatrefoil windows, under hood mouldings. There is also a mullioned window in each wing. Built ante 1787 by Isaac Corry, MP for Newry and last Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer. The Act of Union is said to have been drafted in the fine drawing room here. Now owned by the Northern Ireland National Trust and open to the public.“
“Milford House was the one of its age. The most technologically advanced house in 19th century Ireland – the first in Ireland to be lit with hydro electricity. The creation of Robert Garmany McCrum, self made industrialist, benefactor and inventor who revolutionized the linen industry. His son William invented the penalty kick rule in football (which makes Milford world famous!) and his daughter Harriette was a founding member of the women’s suffragette movement in Ireland. By 1880 Milford House had six bathrooms each with a Jacuzzi and Turkish bath and a waterfall in the dining room. From 1936 to 1965 it was home to the Manor House School.
“Today Milford House is one of the top ten listed buildings at most serious risk in Northern Ireland.”
p. 206. “A two storey vaguely Italianate C19 house. Camber-headed windows; three sided bow; pedimented three bay projection. Elaborate range of glasshouses running out at right angles from the middle of the front. The seat of the McCrums, of the firm of McCrum, Watson & Mercer, damask manufacturers, of Belfast.”
Crannagael House, photograph by Brian Morrison, 2018, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool (see [3]).
The website tells us:
“Crannagael House, owned and occupied by Jane and John Nicholson, is nestled in the heart of the County Armagh countryside and is approximately 3 miles from M1 junction 13 and 5 miles from Portadown on the B28, Moy – Portadown Road.
“It is a grade 2 listed Georgian house and is still owned by the same family that built it in the mid 18th century. It is surrounded by gardens, parkland and mature woodland, and the accommodation overlooks an apple orchard – a delight when the blossom is out in May!
“Nicholsons have lived at Crannagael House since 1760. Subsequent generations were involved in the linen industry and then in 1884 one Henry Joseph Nicholson, the current owner’s great grandfather, imported the first 60 Bramley Seedling trees to Armagh from Southwell in Nottinghamshire, and the rest as they say is history!
“The self contained apartment on the East wing comprises several bedrooms, bathroom and downstairs shower with wc (both with wonderful views of the orchard!)and a fully fitted kitchen, dining area and lounge.”
“Killeavy Castle Estate is the perfect antidote to the modern fast paced world. As the centrepiece of 350 acres of mixed farm and woodland in County Armagh’s stunning Slieve Gullion, it’s the ideal place to escape, retreat, relax and unwind. Easily accessible only 10 minutes outside Newry City and one hour from both Belfast and Dublin Airports makes it Northern Irelands premier Hotel and Spa destination.
“At Killeavy Castle Estate we are all about living life more slowly and in the present; cherishing those ahhh moments for when the distractions of the modern world finally ebb away and you get closer to the things that matter most. Whether that’s nature, history, loved ones or even yourself, this secluded country Estate will provide everything you need to emerge fully rejuvenated.
“Perfect for a unique getaway, wedding or special celebration, take a closer look at everything the Estate has to offer from a beautifully restored Castle, boutique Hotel accommodation, superb cuisine with ingredients sourced from our local farm, Spa and endless opportunities for walking in a stunning location.”
“Killeavy Castle is a Grade A listed historical building originally designed in 1836 by architect George Papworth of Dublin. Formally known as Killeavy Lodge, the Foxall family had their home rebuilt in the style of the pre-Victorian Gosford Castle with towers, Tudor windows and a medieval-style door transforming the modest farmhouse into a home fit for a king.
“Situated on the eastern base of Slieve Gullion, the original castle and surrounding grounds brought a new element to the beautiful landscape. The building contained a basement level with a kitchen, store rooms, servant’s quarters and an underground tunnel to allow servants to enter and exit the building unseen. Above was a parlour and wine cellar, with an adjoining drawing room, library and conservatory. On the top level were six bedrooms, four dressing rooms and bathrooms. There was a beautiful walled garden and an ornamental water wheel.
“The Bell family took ownership of the property in 1881, but in recent years the building fell into disrepair. Fortunately, the facade remained intact and, surrounded by fir plantations and lush farmland, it has been returned to its former glory.
The Architect
“George Papworth (1781-1855) was the younger brother of English architect John Buonarotti Papworth. He established himself in Ireland and designed many notable buildings including Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital and the King’s Bridge in Dublin. His drawings of Killeavy were exhibited in the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1836.
Killeavy’s Journey From Family Home to Historic Hotel
“We are proud to have brought a stunning piece of architectural heritage and Northern Ireland history back from the brink of ruin. When we took ownership of Killeavy Castle Estate, we saw its incredible potential and decided to restore it to its former glory.
“Our mission was to fully restore Killeavy Castle Estate so that locals and visitors alike could enjoy it for generations to come. In 2019, we opened the Killeavy Castle to the public as a historic hotel, wedding venue, spa and visitor attraction.
“Since then, we have welcomed countless visitors from around the world. Guests flock to our Estate to appreciate our meticulously restored 19th century Castle, manicured gardens, unspoiled woodlands, and authentic working farm.
Killeavy Castle Estate Today
“Today, the Killeavy Castle Estate comprises our 19th-century Castle, a four-star boutique-style Hotel with 45 guestrooms in our restored Mill and Coach House, and a three-guestroom luxury self catering Gatelodge.
“Our guests can also enjoy our fine dining restaurant, casual bistro bar and luxury spa facilities. Comfort and class are our guiding principles, bringing the opulence of days gone by to everyone who visits our Estate.“
From the website: “Welcome to Newforge House, a historic family-run country house offering warm hospitality, luxurious rooms and delicious local seasonal food in tranquil surroundings. Set on the edge of the small village of Magheralin, Newforge is an oasis of calm and the perfect location for your romantic break or a special occasion with friends and family. Our central location, only 30-minute drive from Belfast, makes Newforge an ideal base for touring Northern Ireland.”
Newforge House, County Armagh, photograph by Brian Morrison 2016, for Northern Ireland Tourism, Ireland’s Content Pool (see [3]).
“Elmfield Estate has been a family home for generations and of the Shaw family for the last 60 years. It has evolved through the years, from a modest dwelling house and stable yard in the 18c to an impressive Victorian Scottish baronial style house with turrets and ziggurat balustrades, built by the wealthy linen barons in the mid-1800s. The estate ran into disrepair after the second world war but was saved by the Shaws who have lovingly restored the house, farm, and gardens room by room lawn by lawn. Elmfield has certainly been a place of transformation and vision over the last 60 years. When Derek and Ann’s three children were little, they enjoyed the freedom and wildness that only a semi-derelict estate can offer. To turn that into what you see today is down to Derek’s vision.
“There are more than 300 years of fascinating history to be discovered here, from the history of the founding, design and redesign of the house to the plans for the grounds and courtyards. Over the years more than one family dynasty of linen merchants has called Elmfield their home, and the layers of heritage here offer deep insights into Northern Ireland’s once-dominant linen industry.
“During World War II Elmfield was home to a very different cohort of people, housing German and Italian prisoners of war within its grounds. Some years after the war a comprehensive restoration of the Elmfield Estate was completed by the Shaw family and forms the basis of what you can see today, enabling the estate to host rewarding holistic experiences that include mindfulness and meditation walks, self-discovery retreats, corporate wellness and leadership programmes, and transformative deep yoga residencies.”
[1] Mulligan, Kevin V. The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster, Armagh, Cavan and Monaghan. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2013.
[2] p. 11. 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.
[4] p. 12, 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.
Timothy William Ferres tells us in his wonderful blog [1]:
THE RT HON THOMAS TAYLOR (1662-1736), who was created a baronet, 1704, designated of Kells, County Meath, and sworn of the Privy Council in 1726. Sir Thomas wedded Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Cotton Bt, of Combermere, and had issue, THOMAS (1657-96) his heir; Robert (Very Rev) (d. 1744), Dean of Clonfert; Henry; James (1700-1747); Henrietta; Salisbury (married first William Fitzgerand, Bishop of Clonfert and second, Brig.-Gen. James Crofts, son of James Scott, 1st and last Duke of Monmouth); Anne.
Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son, THE RT HON SIR THOMAS TAYLOR (1657-96), 2nd Baronet, MP for Maidstone, 1689-96, Privy Counsellor, who married Mary, daughter of John Graham, of Platten, County Meath, and left, with a daughter, Henrietta (who married Richard Moore of Barne, County Tipperary), an only son,
THE RT HON SIR THOMAS TAYLOR, 3rd Baronet (1724-95), KP, MP for Kells, 1747-60, who wedded, in 1754, Jane, eldest daughter of the Rt Hon Hercules Langford Rowley, by Elizabeth, Viscountess Langford, and had issue,
THOMAS (1757-1829) his successor; Robert, a general in the army; Clotworthy (1763-1825) created 1st Baron Langford of Summerhill, he took the surname Rowley when his wife Frances Rowley inherited her uncle Lord Langford’s estate; Henry Edward, in holy orders; Henrietta (married Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker (1762-1834) of Kilcooley Abbey, County Kilkenny).
Sir Thomas was elevated to the peerage, in 1760, in the dignity of Baron Headfort; and advanced to a viscountcy, in 1762,as Viscount Headfort. His lordship was further advanced, in 1766, to the dignity of an earldom, as Earl of Bective.
Thomas Taylour (1724-1795) 1st Earl of Bective wearing the star and sash of the Order of St. Patrick by Gilbert Stuart and studio courtesy of Sotheby’s, Public Domain,https//:commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27947645.jpgReverend Henry Edward Taylor of Ardgillan Castle, County Dublin, who was a son of Thomas Taylour (1724-1795) 1st Earl of Bective.
In 1783 he was installed as a Founder Knight of St Patrick (KP), and sworn of the Privy Council of Ireland. His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son, THOMAS, 2nd Earl (1757-1829), who espoused, in 1778, Mary, only daughter and heir of George Quin, of Quinsborough, County Clare, and had issue: THOMAS (1787-1870) his successor; George; Mary; Elizabeth Jane.
Thomas Taylour (1757-1829) 1st Marquess of Headfort by Pompeo Batoni courtesy of Google Art Project By Pompeo Batoni – 9QE_ZzFPQzDZiQ at Google Cultural Institute, Public Domain, https//:commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29800995
Mary née Quin (the daughter of George Quin and Caroline Cavendish) The Marchioness of Headfort, wife of Thomas Taylour (1757-1829) 1st Marquess of Headfort, holding her Daughter Mary, 1782, by Pompeo Batoni, Google_Art_Project 6wGvrQuQJ1yERA at Google Cultural Institute, Public Domain,https//:commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29801821.jpg
His lordship was created, in 1800, MARQUESS OF HEADFORT.
The Taylour family became very much involved in the political life of the locality, and several members of the family served as MPs for Kells and the county of Meath. [1]
An information board in the museum tells us that Geoffrey and Maurice Esmonde were the estate’s first owners, who arrived as part of the Anglo-Norman invasion in 1169. Geoffrey Esmonde built the original Johnstown Castle, which was a plain and modest tower house. His son Maurice built a second tower house at Rathlannon Castle, the remains of which are on the grounds to this day.
Information board at Johnstown Castle.
Our guide Mary told us that the Esmondes tower house used to stand in front of the current Johnstown Castle, but it was taken down. See below an old photograph – the old tower is the part covered in ivy in the photo.
The Esmondes lived here for 500 years until they lost their lands during the invasion of Oliver Cromwell, as they were Catholics. Our guide Mary told us that Cromwell slaughtered over 3000 people in Wexford.
There is a chapter on the Esmonds of Ballynastragh in The Wexford Gentry by Art Kavanagh and Rory Murphy. They tell us that it is believed that Geoffrey de Estmont was one of the thirty knights who accompanied Robert FitzStephen to Ireland in 1169 when the latter lead the advance force that landed at Bannow in county Wexford. Geoffrey built a motte and baily at Lymbrick in the Barony of Forth in Wexford, and his son Maurice built a castle on the same site. After Maurice’s death in 1225 the castle was abandoned and his son John built a castle on a new site which was called Johnstown Castle. John died in 1261. [2]
James Esmonde, an early Esmonde living at Johnstown Castle, married Isabel Rosseter, daughter of Thomas Rosseter who owned Rathmacknee Castle in County Wexford – this is a tower house that still stands and is a National Monument. It remained occupied until 1760s and in the nineteenth century it was restored by Hamilton Knox Grogan-Morgan who also owned Johnstown Castle.
James’s grandson, Walter or William, married Margaret Furlong, daughter of Michael of Horetown, County Wexford. They had several children. Their younger son Patrick held the office of Sheriff of Carlow in 1627. He married Katherine Gough and their son Laurence (about 1570-1645) was created 1st Lord Esmonde, Baron of Lymbrick, Co. Wexford, for his services to the crown.
It was an elder son of Walter or William Esmonde and Margaret Furlong, Robert, who inherited the Johnstown estate, which then passed to Robert’s son William. William was MP for Wexford in 1634. However, in the following decades the Esmondes lost the estate.
Lieutenant Colonel John Overstreet was granted Johnstown Castle estate in 1652 in lieu of payment for fighting in Cromwell’s army. When Overstreet died, his wife married another Cromwellian, Edward Withers, who took over the ownership of the castle as Overstreet had no offspring. Withers and his new wife also had no children. Withers and his wife sold the castle to John Reynolds, who had married a niece of John Overstreet, Elizabeth Lacy.
John Reynolds and his wife had three daughters, who were co-heirs to the Johnstown estate. Their daughter Mary married John Grogan (1653-1720), and this is how the property passed into Grogan ownership in 1692. [3]
John Grogan was the son of Cornelius Grogan, a yeoman who brought some property in the town of Wexford. [see 3]
The Grogan family and their descendants lived at Johnstown Castle until 1945 when it was handed over to the state. Our guide told us that it was given in lieu of death duties. Nearly all of the furniture was sold, but fortunately some has been recovered.
John Grogan (1653-1720) and Mary Reynolds had a son Cornelius (1687-1724). Cornelius’s son John (1717-1783) married an heiress, Catherine Knox of Rathmacknee, County Wexford. Catherine’s father was Andrew Knox, and her mother was Mary Grogan, daughter of John Grogan (1653-1720) who had acquired Johnstown Castle by his wife, Mary Reynolds. Mary Grogan was John’s daughter by his second wife, Anne Livingston.
After Mary’s husband Andrew Knox died, she married a second and third time. Her second husband was William Hore (1680-1745) of Wexford, whose first wife had been Dorothy Ponsonby, daughter of William, 1st Viscount Duncannon. After William Hore died, Mary née Grogan married Charles Tottenham (1685-1758, Tottenham “in his boots” as he was called for once wearing his boots into parliament, since he was running late).
Charles Tottenham “in his Boots”, 1731 by James Latham, National Gallery of Ireland 411. He married Mary née Grogan after her previous husband died.In 1731 a proposal that an Irish tax surplus be given to the British treasury caused consternation, and Tottenham, though ill, rode up to Dublin from County Wexford as he was MP for New Ross and he was anxious to vote on the proposal. A serjeant-at-arms tried to stop Tottenham from entering the Parliament house in his muddy boots but Tottenham strode inside, ever after being given the nickname “Tottenham in his boots.”
Another daughter of John and Anne née Livingston was Sarah (1699-1777). She married William Morgan, Mayor of Waterford. They had a son, Samuel, who left a fortune to a later occupant of Johnstown Castle, as we shall see later.
John Grogan (1717-1783) and Catherine Knox had a son Cornelius (1738-1798) who succeeded to the family estates and served as high sheriff of County Wexford and from 1783-1790, MP for Enniscorthy in the Irish parliament.
Cornelius had a bridge built, Wexford bridge, and charged a toll from those crossing. During the rebellion of 1798 Cornelius joined the insurgents, the United Irishmen and he was beheaded for his treason in 1798 and his head was hung on Wexford bridge, along with two other landlords turned rebels, John Henry Colclough and Bagenal Beauchamp Harvey.
The Johnstown estate was restored to his younger brother, John Knox Grogan (1760-1814), on payment of a heavy fine.
Information board at Johnstown Castle.
The information board tells us that the younger brother John Knox Grogan (1760-1814) set about rebuilding and enlarging the castle, and laying out the ornamental gardens. According to the National Inventory, he hired James Pain (1779-1877) of Limerick and work was carried out from 1810-1814.
Second, John Knox Grogan (1760-1814) married Elizabeth Fitzgerald, daughter of James Stephen Fitzgerald of Ballythomas, County Laois.
Following John Knox Grogan’s death, his son Hamilton Knox Grogan (1808-54) continued the building works. He hired Daniel Robertson, who created the castle as we see it today.
In 1827 Hamilton Knox Grogan inherited more land from a cousin of his father, Samuel Morgan (1737-1827) of Ardcandrisk, County Wexford (see above; the house has been demolished). He added Morgan to his surname then, to become Hamilton Knox Grogan-Morgan, becoming the largest landowner without a title in Ireland.
Mark Bence-Jones tells us about Johnstown Castle (1988):
p. 161. “(Esmonde, bt/PB; Grogan-Morgan; LG1863; Forbes, Granard, E/PB; FitzGerald, sub Leinster, D/PB) An old tower house of the Esmondes, engulfed in an impressively turreted, battlemented and machicolated castle of gleaming silver-grey ashlar built ca 1840 for Hamilton Knox Grogan Morgan [1808-54], MP, to the design of Daniel Robertson [d. 1849], of Kilkenny. The entrance front is dominated by a single frowning tower with a porte-cochere projecting at the end of an entrance corridor and a Gothic conservatory at one end.”
“Detached three-bay three-storey over basement country house, built 1836-72, on an asymmetrical plan centred on single-bay full-height breakfront with single-bay (four-bay deep) single-storey projecting porch-cum-“porte cochère” to ground floor; five-bay three-storey Garden Front (south) with single-bay four-stage turrets on circular plans centred on single-bay full-height bow on an engaged half-octagonal plan…A country house … enveloping a seventeenth-century house remodelled (1810-4) by James Pain (1779-1877) of Limerick (DIA), confirmed by such attributes as the asymmetrical plan form centred on ‘a splendid porch…formed by beautiful Gothic arches with neat light groinings’ (Lacy 1852, 259); the construction in a blue-green rubble stone offset by glimmering Mount Leinster granite dressings not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also producing a sober two-tone palette; the diminishing in scale of the multipartite openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with the principal “apartments” defined by a polygonal bow; and the battlemented turrets producing an eye-catching silhouette: meanwhile, aspects of the composition clearly illustrate the continued development or “improvement” of the country house ‘under the munificent and highly-gifted Lady Esmonde who never tires of affording employment to the skilful artisans whom she herself has trained’.”
Hamilton Knox Grogan Morgan married Sophia Maria Rowe (1805-1867), daughter of Ebenezer Radford Rowe of Ballyharty, County Wexford.
Hamilton Knox Grogan Morgan’s daughter Jane inherited the estate. Sophia and Hamilton were not happily married, our guide told us. They had no sons, just two daughters. After Hamilton died his wife remarried in 1856, this time to Thomas Esmonde (1786-1868) 9th Baronet of Ballynastragh, County Wexford.
Sophia Maria Knox Grogan Morgan née Rowe (1805-1867) and her second husband, Thomas Esmonde (1786-1868) 9th Baronet.
Sophia was allowed to remain living in the house, and her husband moved in with her.
There is a story that in order to inherit the estate, the daughters were made to run a race to see who would win, and thus inherit! Jane won the race.
The other daughter of Hamilton Knox Grogan Morgan, Elizabeth Geraldine, married Robert Tilson FitzMaurice Deane (1826-1857), son of Matthew Fitzmaurice Deane, 3rd Baron Muskerry of County Cork. In 1854 his name was legally changed to Robert Tilson FitzMaurice Deane-Morgan by Royal Licence.
Jane married George Arthur Forbes (1833-1889), 7th Earl of Granard, County Longford. Jane did not get along well with her mother. Her mother was a Protestant, and Jane and her husband converted to Catholicism. They built a church in Newtown Forbes in Longford. Jane’s mother tried to disinherit her but her new will was signed with an “x” and the judge said it didn’t stand up in court.
Jane Colclough Grogan-Morgan (1834-1872), and next to her picture is George Arthur Forbes (1833-1889) 7th Earl of Granard.
Jane was charitable and on her death there was a headline announcing “death of princess,” our guide told us. The Earl of Granard married a second time after Jane died, and had several more children. He lived in Castle Forbes in County Longford. He married Frances Mary Petre, daughter of William Bernard Petre, 12th Baron Petre of Writtle, Co. Essex in England.
Jane and George Arthur had two daughters, Sophia Maria Elizabeth and Adelaide Jane Frances. Sophia married Henry Christopher Grattan-Bellew, 3rd Baronet Bellew, of Mount Bellew, Co. Galway. Adelaide married Maurice Fitzgerald (1852-1901), son of the 4th Duke of Leinster, of Carton House in County Kildare. They inherited the estate at Johnstown Castle.
Maurice Fitzgerald (1852-1901)and his wife, Adelaide.Henry Grattan Bellew, 3rd Baronet, b.1860, married Sophia Forbes, daughter of the Earl of Granard, by Dermod O’Brien, courtesy of Adam’s auction 10 Oct 2017. He represented one of the few Catholic aristocratic families who survived Cromwellian deportation to Connaught. Mount Bellow was an architecturally significant house with a fine library of books; the former destroyed, the latter dispersed.Information board at Johnstown Castle.
Adelaide (1860-1942) converted to Protestantism to marry the Maurice Fitzgerald (1852-1901). Like her mother, she undertook much charity work. She brought the first motorised ambulance to County Wexford.
Adelaide and Maurice had four children: Geraldine (1881-1954), Gerald Hugh (1886-1914), Kathleen (1892-1930) and Marjorie (1896-1899).
Geraldine married Gerald More O’Ferrall (d. 1951) of Lissard House, County Longford (now demolished). Adelaide and Maurice’s son Gerald died in WWI in France. He had married Dorothy Violet Charrington from England. After his death, she remarried, to Thomas William Jefferies of Wexford.
A daughter of Maurice Fitzgerald and Adelaide Jane, Geraldine, married Gerald More O’Ferrall.
Kathleen married Major Michael Lakin (1881-1960) of Horetown House, County Wexford, and it was their son Maurice Victor Lakin (d. 1919) who inherited the estate. His brother Gerald fought in World War II and died in Africa in 1943. Kathleen died tragically in a horse riding accident when she was just 37 years old.
Wedding photograph of Michael Lakin (1881-1960) of Horetown House who married Kathleen Fitzgerald (1892-1930) in 1914. He is next to Inez Charlotte Grace Casberd-Boteler, I presume as she is listed as Lady Henry Fitzgerald, and Henry was another son of Charles William Fitzgerald, 4th Duke of Leinster. She is next to the wife of Maurice Fitzgerald, Adelaide Jane Frances née Forbes, who is next to Captain Gerald Fitzgerald (1851-1893), 5th Duke of Leinster. Is the centre is Captain Michael Lakin’s father, also Michael, 1st Baronet Lakin, of The Cliff, Co. Warwick. He is next to Bell Irvine, best man, who is next to Miss C. Paget (bridesmaid), and Miss. D Charrington. The page is Andrew Horsburgh Porter, and Kathleen the bride is seated.Horetown House, County Wexford, photograph courtesy of Horetown website.
Maurice Victor Lakin, pictured below, was the last man to privately own the castle and estate before handing it over to the state.
Johnstown Castle, County Wexford.
Maurice Victor Lakin gifted it to the state in 1945.
The Grogan-Morgan family tree.Explanation of the handover to the state and Department of Agriculture.
After walking through the entrance corridor a room is reached called the “Apostles’ Hall” due to the wooden carvings. The National Inventory continues:
“A prolonged period of unoccupancy notwithstanding, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where encaustic tile work; the so-called “Apostles Hall” with ‘oak panelling and carving of the most costly description’ (Lacy 1852, 268); contemporary joinery ‘by poor Mooney who may be said to have lived and died in the employment of the munificent proprietor [and who was] succeeded by another native genius [named] Sinnott’ (ibid., 269); restrained chimneypieces in contrasting neo-Classical or Egyptian Revival styles; and geometric ceilings recalling the Robertson-designed Wells House (1836-45), all highlight the considerable artistic significance of the composition.“
From the Apostles Hall you enter a top-lit three storey galleried space. Our guide told us that this used to be a music room. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it: “top-lit triple-height “Grand Hall” on a square plan retaining tessellated “Asphaltum” tiled floor, clustered colonette-detailed carved timber surrounds to door openings framing Gothic-style timber panelled doors, arcaded galleries (upper floors) with carved timber hand rails, and fan vaulted plasterwork ceiling centred on replacement glass block-filled mass concrete dome.” [4]
As well as hosting musical events in this space, tenants would be given Christmas dinner here. Mary told us that the owners were good to their tenants.
The next room is the: “bow-ended dining room (south) retaining clustered colonette-detailed carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with clustered colonette-detailed carved timber surrounds to opposing window openings framing Gothic-style timber panelled shutters on Gothic-style timber panelled risers.”
The National Inventory tells us that Armorial panels over the glazed-in carriageway and on the dining room chimneypiece show a coat of arms combining three bears heads couped and muzzled [Forbes] centred on a griffin sergeant [Morgan] representing the marriage of George Arthur Hastings Forbes (1833-89), seventh Earl of Granard, and Jane Colclough Morgan (1840-72) with Order of Saint Patrick motto “QUIS SEPARABIT MDCCLXXXIII [Who Will Separate Us 1783]” recognising the earl’s investment as a Knight of the Order of Saint Patrick (K.P.) in 1857.
After giving the property to the state, the Lackin family moved to France. They retained the hunting, fishing and burial rights to the property. Recently Victor Lackin’s grandson visited, and he fished in the lake, and had his photograph taken by his ancestor’s portrait. He is very like Hamilton Knox Grogan-Morgan!
The castle hosted students from the Botanic Gardens from 1949-56. Our guide told us about Tom Walsh, I jotted down a note that he was the first agricultural student in Ireland, who sent students to America. They returned and took soil samples, and now we have the best quality beef and dairy industry in the world, due to the work done with soil. It was another Tom Walsh who started the Wexford Opera Festival.
Information board at Johnstown Castle.Information board at Johnstown Castle.
After learning about the agricultural work carried out in Johnstown Castle we went to the basement to see the kitchen and servants areas.
We left the castle through the servants and goods entrance, a tunnel from the basement that is 85 metres long! It is the longest such tunnel in Ireland.
The National Inventory continues: “Furthermore, a “Terrace Garden”; a stable complex; folly-like towers and turrets overlooking an artificial lake ; a walled garden; and nearby gate lodges, all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a largely intact estate.“
Irish Historic Houses 