Castleboro House, County Wexford – now a ruin but very impressive
Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 63. “(Carew, B/PB) A very large and imposing Classical house by Daniel Robertson, of Kilkenny; but ca 1840 for 1st Lord Carew. Its style was unusually archaic for the period in which it was built; for not only did it follow the Palladian plan of a central block flanked by wings and pavillions, but the three storey main block, in which the top storey was treated as an attic, above a boldly-projecting cornice, had an affinity with certain English mansions of early 18C; noteably Wynde’s Buckingham House. But for the inevitable C19 lushness, one might have believed the garden front to date from 100 years earlier than it actually did; it had a central three sided bow with engaged Corinthian columns at the angles supporting the entablature, two bays on either side of the centre and a pair of Corinthian pilasters at each end. The seven bay entrance front was more obviously of its period, having a rather deep two storey Corinthian portico, with a straight entablature which was, in fact, the main entablature of the house carried outwards. As in the garden front, there were pairs of Corinthian pilasters at either end of the facade, the outer one in each case being a corner-pilaster. The wings and pavilions, which were two storey, had more of a neo-Classical flavour in the entrance front; particularly the front walls of the pavilions, which had no windows, but a deep blind central recess with Ionic columns, flanked by niches. The garden front of the wings was plainer, with a central feature of four engaged Ionic columns in the end pavilions. Impressive two storey hall with gallery, two drawing rooms en suite, decorative panels of wallpaper framed with moulding on the walls; one of the two rooms having a screen of Corinthian columns. Two storey library with metalwork gallery.
Burnt 1923, now a ruin, some of the cut-stone having at various times been removed, to Monksgrange and elsewhere.”
Listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland by The Knight of Glin, David J. Griffin and Nicholas K. Robinson, published by The Irish Architectural Archive and The Irish Georgian Society, 1988.
p. 149. A superb classical house built c. 1840 to the design of Daniel Robertson for 1st Lord Carew. Entrance front with very fine Corinthian portico in granite. Impressive interior with two storey entrance hall, imperial staircase and oval drawin groom. The house was burnt in 1923. Now a ruin which must be preserved as it is one of the most significant ruins in the country.”
https://archiseek.com/2012/1840-castleboro-enniscorthy-co-wexford
1840 – Castleboro, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford
Architect: Daniel Robertson
Castleboro was a very large, imposing classical mansion built about 1840 for the 1st Baron Carew. The grand central block of the building presented the appearance of a Venetian Palace, with a frontage of about ninety feet in length.
A projecting semi-hexagon bay dominated the garden front about one third of the garden front. The building’s carvings were especially vigorous with a magnificent granite portico supported by six columns of the Corinthian order dominating the entrance.
Castleboro was laid out with four stepped terraces, with a manicured grass bank on each side desending to an artificial lake. In the centre of the third bank stood a magnificent fountain flanked by two smaller fountains with pools on the immediate upper terrace. The terraces were only second in grandeur to Powerscourt in Ireland.
During the Irish Troubles of the 1920s, the Carews sold off the prize cattle heards and furniture and effects and lived full time in England leaving the house locked up. In February 1923, it was torched by a group of armed men and destroyed. It is now a very impressive ruin.
In Blake, Tarquin. Abandoned Mansions of Ireland. Collins Press, Cork, 2010.
on An Taisce’s Buildings at Risk register
https://www.antaisce.org/buildingsatrisk/castleboro-house-clonroche
- Abandoned ruin
Assessment
- Condition of Structure: Poor
- Level of Risk: High
Appraisal
The building is a roofless shell. None of the original fabric remains other than the external walls. It is suffering from structural problems that could lead to full or partial collapse, and there is an immediate threat of further deterioration.
A classical house of circa 1840, designed by Daniel Robertson, for first Lord Carew. The building is three storey with seven bays and the central block holds a two storey Corinthian porte cochere to front and canted bay to garden front facing onto River Boro. The structure is of significant historic importance and requires conservation works to prevent further deterioration.
Detached seven-bay (six-bay deep) three-storey over basement country house, built 1840-58, on a Palladian plan centred on (double-height) prostyle tetrastyle Corinthian “portecochère” with three-bay two-storey wings abutting three-bay (five-bay deep) two-storey pavilions; five-bay three-storey Garden Front (south) centred on single-bay full-height bow on an engaged half-octagonal plan. In occasional use, 1911. “Closed”, 1921. Burnt, 1923. Now in ruins. Hipped roofs now missing, paired granite ashlar central chimney stacks on granite ashlar chamfered bases having cut-granite “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornices below capping, and concealed rainwater goods retaining embedded cast-iron downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined walls on moulded cushion course on moss-covered cut-granite plinth with paired cut-granite Corinthian pilasters to corners supporting dentilated “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornice on blind frieze on entablature; part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined surface finish (top floor) with paired cut-granite monolithic pilasters to corners supporting “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornice on blind frieze below parapet. Square-headed central door opening behind (double-height) prostyle tetrastyle Corinthian “porte cochère” with cut-granite columns on plinths having responsive pilasters supporting dentilated “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornice on blind frieze on entablature below parapet, cut-granite step threshold, and cut-granite surround with “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” pediment over on “Acanthus”-detailed fluted scroll consoles. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed cut-granite block-and-start surrounds with no fittings surviving. Square-headed central door opening to Garden Front (south), cut-granite surround with “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” hood moulding over on fluted scroll consoles. Interior in ruins including (ground floor): double-height central entrance hall with round-headed niches centred on opening into saloon; saloon (south) on an oval plan with exposed red brick header Running bond walls; double-height staircase hall (north-east) with round-headed niche to half-landing, and cantilevered iron work to landing; dining room (south-east) with collapsed floor; and drawing room “en-suite” (west) with collapsed floor. Set in unkempt landscaped grounds including overgrown terraces centred on flights of lichen-spotted cut-granite steps.
The shell of a country house erected to a design by Daniel Robertson (d. 1849; Fraser 1844, 184-6) representing an important component of the domestic built heritage of County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition, ‘a Venetian palace…built on the site of [a] former house [1783] destroyed by fire some years previously’ (Lacy 1852, 241), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking ‘[a] demesne of great extent and very richly planted [with] fine views of the neighbouring mountains of Blackstairs and Mount Leinster’ (ibid., 244); the neo-Palladian plan form centred on an impressive “porte cochère” demonstrating good quality workmanship in a silver-grey granite with the corresponding Garden Front centring on a polygonal bow recalling the Robertson-designed Johnstown Castle (1836-72; see 15704226); and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression: meanwhile, aspects of the composition, in particular the “blind” pavilions, illicit comparisons with the James Gandon (1742-1823)-designed Custom House (1781-91), Dublin. Although reduced to ruins during “The Troubles” (1919-23), ‘all that [remained] of the palatial mansion [being] smoke begrimed roofless walls and a heap of debris’ (The People 10th February 1923, 5), the elementary form and massing survive intact together with fragments of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior including, remarkably, some decorative plasterwork enrichments highlighting the now-modest artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, the remnants of an Italianate garden once second only to the Robertson-designed gardens (1840-4) at Powerscourt House, County Wicklow; a coach house-cum-stable outbuilding (see 15702504); a walled garden (see 15702505); a walled garden in the shadow of the seventeenth-century Castle Boro [SMR WX025-009—-]; and ruined gate lodges (see 15702506; 15702508), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of an estate having historic connections with the Carew family including Robert Shapland Carew MP (1787-1856), first Baron Carew and one-time Lord Lieutenant of County Wexford (fl. 1831-56); Robert Shapland Carew MP (1818-81), second Baron Carew and one-time Lord Lieutenant of County Wexford (fl. 1856-81); and Robert Shapland George Julian Carew (1860-1923), third Baron Carew.
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2013/06/castleboro-house.html
THE BARONS CAREW WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WEXFORD, WITH 17,830 ACRES
The CAREWS are one of the few families now remaining who can trace their descent without intermission from the Anglo-Saxon period of English history. For a long series of years, they maintained an elevated position among the landed proprietors of Devon.
A scion of the English stock settling in Ireland was ancestor of the CAREWS of that kingdom, of whom,
ROBERT CAREW wedded Anne, sister of Lawrence Hyde, of Cottington, and had issue,
ROBERT, his heir;
Lawrence;
Peter;
William;
Richard;
Henry.
Mr Carew died before June, 1661, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
ROBERT CAREW JP, of Bally Born, County Wexford, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1711, who married, in 1710, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Shapland, a wealthy merchant of Wexford, and had issue,
ROBERT, his heir;
SHAPLAND, succeeded his brother;
Thomas, of Ballinamona;
Ellen.
Mr Carew died in 1721, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
ROBERT CAREW, of Castle Boro, MP for Waterford, 1740, who dsp and was succeeded by his brother,
SHAPLAND CAREW (1716-80), of Castleboro, County Wexford, Barrister, MP for Waterford City, 1748-76, wedded Dorothy, daughter and co-heir of Isaac Dobson, and had issue,
ROBERT SHAPLAND, his heir;
Elizabeth; Eleanor; Dorothea; Mary; Dobson.
The son and heir,
ROBERT SHAPLAND CAREW (1752-1829), of Castleboro, MP for Waterford City, 1776-1800, espoused Anne, daughter and heir of the Rev Dr Richard Pigott, of Dysart, Queen’s County, and had issue,
ROBERT SHAPLAND, his heir;
Dorothea; Elizabeth Anne; Ellen.
Mr Carew was succeeded by his son,
ROBERT SHAPLAND CAREW (1787-1856), of Castleboro, who married, in 1816, Jane Catherine, daughter of Major Anthony Cliffe, of Ross, by Frances his wife, eldest daughter of Colonel Deane, MP for County Dublin, and had issue,
ROBERT SHAPLAND, his heir;
Shapland Francis;
Anne Dorothea; Ellen Jane.
Mr Carew was elevated to the peerage, in 1838, in the dignity of BARON CAREW, of County Wexford.
His lordship was installed, in 1851, as a Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (KP).
- Robert Shapland Carew, 1st Baron (1787–1856);
- Robert Shapland Carew, 2nd Baron Carew (1818–81);
- Robert Shapland George Julian Carew, 3rd Baron;
- George Patrick John Carew, 4th Baron (1863–1926);
- Gerald Shapland Carew, 5th Baron (1860–1927);
- William Francis Conolly-Carew, 6th Baron (1905–94);
- Patrick Thomas Conolly-Carew, 7th Baron (b1938).
The heir apparent is the present holder’s son, the Hon William Patrick Conolly-Carew.
CASTLEBORO, near Enniscorthy, County Wexford, was a very large, imposing, Classical mansion of about 1840, built for the 1st Baron Carew.
The main block was of three storeys, the top storey used as an attic; a central, three-sided bow with Corinthian columns at the angles supporting the entablature; two bays on either side of the centre and a pair of Corinthian pilasters at each end.
The grand centre of the building presented the appearance of a Venetian palace, about ninety feet in length and, at the front, extended a façade of elegant and elaborate workmanship.
A projection of a semi-hexagon figure occupied about one third of the garden front (above), while the mansion extended a similar distance on each side.
A highly ornamental entablature ran along the entire building above the second story and was supported in the centre by four Corinthian columns with very rich capitals and by two pilasters of the same order on the right and left extremities.
A very rich and highly ornamental cut stone string course ran above the first storey with rosettes and scrolls.
The entrance front (below) displayed a lofty and magnificent portico supported by six columns of the Corinthian order.
The architect, Robertson, suffered from gout and, whilst the building was in progress, it was said he was pushed around sitting in a wheelbarrow with the plans in one hand and a bottle of fine wine in the other!
Castleboro was laid out with four stepped terraces, with a manicured grass bank on each side desending to an artificial lake.
In the centre of the third bank stood a magnificent fountain flanked by two smaller fountains with pools on the immediate upper terrace.
During the Irish Troubles of the 1920s, the Carews sold off the prize cattle herds and furniture and effects and lived full time in England.
The entrance front was of seven bays, with a deep, two-storey Corinthian portico.
The wings and pavilions, two-storey, were mainly neo-Classical; the garden front (below) being more plain.
A lengthy article in The People of 1923 entitled “Castleboro Burned: Lord Carew’s Mansion In Flames: Now A Mass Of Debris” states:
‘Castleboro, the ancestral home of the Right Hon. Lord Carew was burned to the ground on Monday night, and all that remains now of the palatial mansion are smoke begrimed roofless walls and a heap of debris.
The reason for the destruction of one of the finest residences in Leinster remains a mystery to all but those who were responsible for the destructive work which will only add more thousands to the bill that the Co Wexford will have to foot when the time of reckoning comes.
The work of destruction was perpetrated shortly after ten o’clock on Monday night. Between nine and ten the farm steward, Mr. Robert Richardson…was knocked up at his residence by armed men.
On answering the knock he was compelled to hand over the keys of a store in which some barrels of paraffin oil were stored.
These the armed men took possession of and rolled them from the farm yard to the main building and brought with them hay, which they also got in the farm yard.
Then it would appear that they soaked the hay in the paraffin and scattering it through the main building set it alight with the result that in a short time the whole place was ablaze…
Entrance to the house was gained through the French bay windows which would appear to have been broken by the butt end of rifles.
The noise of the breaking of the glass was plainly audible in the farm yard and tongues of flames leaping up to the sky after a short space of time conveyed the first intimation of what the advent of the armed men breaking in on their peaceable surroundings meant while they were left powerless to attempt to save their master’s property…
It was impossible to do anything to extinguish the conflagration which had taken a complete hold of the building and which appeared to have been fired in several places. The fire raged furiously for some hours and completely destroyed the fine building’
‘The building of the mansion cost, it is stated, £200,000 [£16 million in 2011], so that a claim which will undoubtedly be lodged is likely to run into a very big sum.
Castleboro was always famous for its gardens and through the liberality of the present Lord Carew visitors were allowed to stroll through the grounds, a privilege that was largely availed of in the summer months.
The scene of Monday night’s fire was visited by large numbers of people on Tuesday and the terrible work was condemned on all sides.
The people of the district were always liberally treated by the Carew family and the wanton destruction of their beautiful home was learned with feelings of horror and dismay’ (The People 10th February 1923).
Lord Carew did not live to see his claim for compensation satisfied and died on the 29th April 1923, less than three months following the destruction of his home.
Castleboro House survives as an impressive ruin in a somewhat bleak setting, the parkland to the north now used for grazing and the truncated terraces to the south – once second only to those at Powerscourt House, County Wicklow.
Other former seats ~ Woodstown, County Waterford; Crowcombe Court, Taunton, Somerset.
Former town residence ~ 28 Belgrave Square, London.Carew arms courtesy of European Heraldry. First published in July, 2011.
Detached eleven-bay single- and two-storey coach house-cum-stable outbuilding, dated 1815, on a U-shaped Palladian plan with single-bay (five-bay deep) double-height pedimented “pavilion” end bays centred on three-bay two-storey pedimented breakfront. Now disused. Pitched slate roofs on a U-shaped plan with pitched (gable-fronted) slate roofs (end bays) centred on pitched (gable-fronted) slate roof (breakfront), clay ridge tiles, lichen-covered cut-granite coping to gables on cut-granite “Cavetto” kneelers, and no rainwater goods surviving on slate flagged eaves. Coursed rubble stone walls (breakfront) retaining sections of Roman Cement render on moulded cushion course on cut-granite plinth with cut-granite pilasters supporting weathervane finial-topped “Cavetto” pediment on blind frieze; coursed rubble stone walls (end bays) on moulded cushion course on cut-granite plinth with cut-granite pilasters to corners supporting “Cavetto” pediments on blind friezes; fine roughcast surface finish to courtyard (south) elevation with concealed cut-granite flush quoins to corners. Segmental-headed central integral carriageway below coat-of-arms with cut-granite “Cavetto” archivolt centred on keystone. Square-headed flanking window openings with “Cyma Recta”- or “Cyma Reversa”-detailed sills on fluted consoles, and panelled pilasters supporting “Cyma Recta”- or “Cyma Reversa”-detailed pediments on “Acanthus”-detailed fluted consoles framing six-over-six timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings in tripartite arrangement in segmental-headed recesses (end bays), cut-granite sills, timber mullions, and cut-granite lintels framing six-over-six timber sash windows having four-over-four sidelights. Pair of round- or segmental-headed door openings to courtyard (south) elevation with concealed dressings framing timber boarded doors having overpanels. Round-headed central window opening in bipartite arrangement (first floor) with cut-granite sill, timber mullion, and concealed red brick block-and-start surround framing four-over-four timber sash windows having “fanlight” overpanel. Series of elliptical-headed carriageways with red brick block-and-start surrounds framing timber boarded double doors. Square-headed window openings (first floor) with cut-granite sills, and cut-granite block-and-start surrounds centred on keystones framing timber boarded fittings. Set in grounds shared with Castleboro House.
Appraisal
A coach house-cum-stable outbuilding contributing positively to the group and setting values of the Castleboro House estate with the architectural value of the composition, one attributed without substantiation to Martin Day (d. 1861) of Gallagh (Williams 1994, 377), confirmed by such attributes as the neo-Palladian plan form centred on ‘a commodious arch in the middle of a handsome front…finely ornamented in the Doric style’ (Lacy 1852, 245); the silver-grey granite dressings demonstrating good quality workmanship; and the pedimented roofline.
Detached single-bay single-storey gate lodge with dormer attic, built 1844, on a shallow T-shaped plan with (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle pedimented Doric portico; two-bay single-storey rear (south) elevation. Now in ruins. Pitched roof on a shallow T-shaped plan now missing. Part creeper- or ivy-covered rendered, ruled and lined walls with cut-granite “Cyma Recta”- or “Cyma Reversa”-detailed cornice on blind frieze on entablature. Square-headed central door opening behind (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle pedimented Doric portico approached by flight of overgrown cut-granite steps with cut-granite pilasters centred on cut-granite columns supporting cut-granite “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” pediment on blind frieze on entablature, and concealed red brick block-and-start surround with no fittings surviving. Square-headed flanking window openings with sills now missing, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds with no fittings surviving. Square-headed window openings (remainder) with cut-granite sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds with no fittings surviving. Interior in ruins. Set back from road at entrance to grounds of Castleboro House.
Appraisal
A gate lodge contributing positively to the group and setting values of the Castleboro House estate with the architectural value of the composition, one eliciting comparisons with the Daniel Robertson (d. 1849)-designed Bagenalstown Courthouse (1826), County Carlow, confirmed by such attributes as the ‘[placement] on a platform of rich granite…approached by a capacious flight of several steps of the same material’ (Lacy 1852, 241); the temple-like frontage demonstrating good quality workmanship; and the pedimented roofline ‘[preparing] the mind of the tourist for the rich treat that he may expect soon to enjoy [when visiting Castleboro House]’ (ibid., 242).
Gateway, extant 1903, on a symmetrical plan comprising pair of margined rock faced granite ashlar piers on margined rock faced cut-granite chamfered plinths having cut-granite pyramidal capping supporting wrought iron double gates with margined rock faced granite ashlar outer piers on margined rock faced cut-granite chamfered plinths having cut-granite pyramidal capping supporting wrought iron gates. Road fronted at entrance to grounds of Castleboro House.
Appraisal
A gateway not only contributing positively to the group and setting values of the Castleboro House estate, but also clearly illustrating the continued development or “improvement” of the estate in the later nineteenth century.
Detached three-bay single-storey gate lodge, built 1862, on a T-shaped plan centred on (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle pedimented Roman Doric portico; two-bay single-storey side elevations. Now in ruins. Roof now missing with granite ashlar central chimney stack on axis with ridge having lichen-covered cut-granite capping supporting terracotta or yellow terracotta pots. Part creeper- or ivy-covered lichen-spotted granite ashlar walls on overgrown plinth with cut-granite panelled pilasters to corners supporting remains of “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornice on blind frieze on monolithic entablature. Pair of round-headed niches centred on square-headed door opening behind (single-storey) prostyle tetrastyle pedimented Roman Doric portico with cut-granite columns on overgrown plinths having panelled responsive pilasters supporting “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” pediment on blind frieze on monolithic entablature, and cut-granite monolithic surround with no fittings surviving. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” sills, and cut-granite surrounds with panelled pilasters supporting “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” pediments on “Acanthus”-detailed fluted consoles. Interior in ruins. Set back from road at entrance to grounds of Castleboro House.
Appraisal
An ivy-enveloped gate lodge contributing positively to the group and setting values of the Castleboro House estate with the architectural value of the composition, one spurred on by the opening (1862) of a railway station at Ballywilliam by the Bagenalstown and Wexford Railway (BWR) Company (Lacy 1863, 480), confirmed by such attributes as the compact plan form centred on a pillared portico; the construction in a silver-grey granite demonstrating good quality workmanship; and the pedimented roofline (cf. 15701522).
https://theirishaesthete.com/2015/06/03/at-the-castle-gates/
The remains of the principal gate lodge at Castleboro, County Wexford. The main house (burnt in 1923) had been built around 1840 for the first Lord Carew to the designs of Daniel Robertson of Kilkenny. The single-storey lodge, marking the entrance of a new approach to the house through its parkland, dates from some twenty years later and features a tetrastyle Roman Doric portico. Sad to see this crisp granite building slip into what appears to be irreversible decay.
https://thestylesofdanielrobertson.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/classical/#more-31
Classical architecture has long been associated with the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The signature elements of this style can be seen in the form of the dominating columns and pediments. Despite the Doric order of columns being preferred as an elegant design feature, Robertson chose the elaborate Corinthian columns for Castleboro.
Castleboro House was built on the site of a former house built c. 1783 which was destroyed by fire. In 1837, Lord and Lady Carew requested the designs of Robertson for their new home. Designed in the Classical architectural style, Robertson was capable of showcasing his design skills with such a magnificent house. Many clients commissioned Robertson for designs during the mid 19th century, thus putting Robertson in the market for an apprentice. Wexford man Martin Day oversaw many of Robertson’s work, acting as a 19th century foreman, to deal with the projects on site while Robertson was designing another. Castleboro was completed in 1844.
Unfortunately for the Carew family, the house was burned down by members of the Republican Army in the 1920’s. Since then, the house never fully regained it’s once spectacular features such as the Corinthian porte Cochère, a feature found on another Robertson design such as Ballinkeele House, also in Co. Wexford. The Neo-Palladian style was one that was rarely seen on the landscape, making it a significant loss to the area when it was forcefully attacked.
Remnants of the front polygonal bow garden can still be seen, traces of which are similar to that of the gardens found at Johnstown Castle, also designed by Robertson some years earlier. Ruins of gate lodges remain to contribute to the historical value of the area. The residents of the time reportedly allowed visitors entry into their vast garden, a trip that was extremely popular during the summer months especially.
Currently there is now use for Castleboro House as it is roofless and deemed extremely unsafe to enter. It is in private ownership, however access to the grounds is prohibited.
Irish Historic Houses 