“Lismore Castle’s 800-year history is everywhere you look, from the stained-glass windows and thick stone walls, to the centuries-old gardens and the exceptional artworks by Old Masters and leading contemporary artists. Available for rent, this exclusive use castle in Ireland’s county Waterford is the perfect retreat for you and your guests.“
You can’t visit the castle inside but you can visit the beautiful gardens.
Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.
If anyone wants to give me a present, could you book me in for a week at Lismore Castle?
Lismore Castle Gardens, Co Waterford, photograph Courtesy of Celtic Routes 2019 for Tourism Ireland (see [1])Lismore Castle Gardens, Co Waterford, photograph Courtesy of Celtic Routes 2019 for Tourism Ireland (see [1])
Mark Bence-Jones writes of Lismore Castle:
p. 186. “(Boyle, Cork and Orrery, E.PB; Cavendish, Devonshire, D/PB)…Now predominantly of early C17 and C19; but incorporating some of the towers of the medieval castle of the Bishops of Lismore which itself took the place of a castle built by King John [around 1185] where there had formerly been a famous monastery founded by St. Carthagh and a university which was a great centre of civilisation and learning in the Dark Ages. The first Protestant Bishop, the notorious Myler McGrath, granted the castle and its lands to Sir Walter Raleigh; who, however, seldom lived here, preferring his house in Youghal, now known as Myrtle Grove.” [2]
Mark Bence-Jones continues the history of the castle: “In 1602, Raleigh sold Lismore and all his Irish estates to Richard Boyle, afterwards 1st Earl of Cork, one of the most remarkable of Elizabethan adventurers; who, having come to Ireland as a penniless young man, ended as one of the richest and most powerful nobles in the kingdom. From ca. 1610 onwards, he rebuilt Lismore Castle as his home, surrounding the castle courtyard with three storey gabled ranges joining the old corner-towers, which were given Jacobean ogival roofs; the principal living rooms being on the side above the Blackwater, the parlour and dining-chamber in a wing projecting outwards to the very edge of the precipice, with an oriel window from which there is a sheer drop to the river far below. On the furthest side from the river Lord Cork built a gatehouse tower, incorporating an old Celtic-Romanesque arch which must have survived from Lismore’s monastic days. He also built a fortified wall – so thick that there is a walk along the top of it – enclosing a garden on this side of the castle; and an outer gatehouse with gabled towers known as the Riding House because it originally sheltered a mounted guard. The garden walls served an important defensive purpose when the castle was besieged by the Confederates 1642, the year before the “Great Earl’s” death. On this occasion the besiegers were repulsed; but in 1645 it fell to another Confederate Army and was sacked.”
Mark Bence-Jones continues the fascinating history: “It was made habitable again by the 2nd Earl of Cork – James II stayed a night here in 1689 and almost fainted when he looked out of the dining room window and saw the great drop – but it was neglected in C18 and became largely ruinous; the subsequent Earls of Cork, who were also Earls of Burlington, preferring to live on their estates in England.“
I’m not sure if it’s this window that nearly made King James II faint! Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Richard Boyle (1612-1698) 1st Earl of Burlington and 2nd Earl of Cork, possibly after Sir Anthony van Dyck c.1640, NPG 893.This photograph shows the portrait of Robert Boyle (1627-1691) on the wall, Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Robert Boyle F. R. S. (1627-1691) by Johann Kerseboom, 1689, courtesy of Science History Institute.He was the brother of the 2nd Earl of Cork.Charles Boyle (c. 1662-1704) 3rd Earl of Cork and 2nd Earl of Burlington, by Godfrey Kneller, courtesy of National Trust Hardwick Hall.Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694-1753) by Jonathan Richardson, courtesy of London’s National Portrait Gallery NPG 4818.
“Through the marriage of the daughter and heiress of the architect Earl of Burlington [Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle (1731-1754), daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, 4th Earl of Cork] and Cork to the 4th Duke of Devonshire [William Cavendish (1720-1764)], Lismore passed to the Cavendishes. The 4th and 5th Dukes took no more interest in the castle than the Earls of Burlington had done; but the 6th Duke [William George Spenser Cavendish (1790-1858)] – remembered as the “Bachelor Duke” – began work at Lismore as soon as he succeeded his father 1811.”
William Cavendish (1720-1764) 4th Duke of Devonshire, after Thomas Hudson, briefly Prime Minister between 1756 and 1757.Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754) daughter of Richard Boyle (1694-1753) 3rd Earl of Burlington 4th Earl of Cork who married William Cavendish (1720-1764) 4th Duke of Devonshire and brought Lismore Castle, County Waterford, into the Cavendish family. Painting after style of George Knapton, courtesy of Chiswick House collection.As the heir of her father, she succeeded to the title of Baroness Clifford of Londesborough suo jure.
We came across the 5th Duke of Devonshire before as he had an affair with and then, after his wife died, married Elizabeth Christina Hervey. Elizabeth Christina had been married to John Thomas Foster (1747-1796), MP for Dunleer, County Louth, of Glyde Court (see my entry on Cabra Castle). After the 5th Duke of Devonshire died, Elizabeth Christina married for a third time, to Valentine Richard Quin 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount Earl, of Adare Manor in Limerick.
William Cavendish (1748-1811) 5th Duke of Devonshire by John Raphael Smith, after Sir Joshua Reynolds publ. 1776, NPG D1752.Lady Elizabeth Foster (1759-1824) née Hervey, as the Tiburtine Sibyl c. 1805 by Thomas Lawrence, National Gallery of Ireland NGI788. She married the 5th Duke of Devonshire, who did not spend time at Lismore Castle.
The 6th Duke, William George Spenser Cavendish (1790-1858), son of the 5th Duke’s first wife Georgiana née Spencer, began work at Lismore as soon as he succeeded his father 1811.
William George Spencer Cavendish (1790-1858) 6th Duke of Devonshire, the “Bachelor Duke,” by George Edward Madeley, National Portrait Gallery of London D15276.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website, the portrait looks like the 6th Duke of Devonshire.Lismore Castle gardens, County Waterford, 20th August 2023.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.
I love the story of the Bachelor Duke: “By 1812 the castle was habitable enough for him to entertain his cousin, Lady Caroline Lamb [nee Ponsonby], her husband William, and her mother, Lady Bessborough, here. Caroline, who had been brought to Ireland in the hope that it would make her forget Byron, was bitterly disappointed by the castle; she had expected “vast apartments full of tattered furniture and gloom”; instead, as Lady Bessborough reported, “Hart handed her into, not a Gothic hall, but two small dapper parlours neatly furnished, in the newest Inn fashion, much like a Cit’s villa at Highgate.” Hart – the Bachelor Duke [He succeeded as the 6th Marquess of Hartington, co. Derby [E., 1694] on 29 July 1811] – had in fact already commissioned the architect William Atkinson to restore the range above the river in a suitably medieval style, and the work actually began in that same year. Battlements replaced the Great Earl of Cork’s gables and the principal rooms – including the dining room with the famous window, which became the drawing room – where given ceilings of simple plaster vaulting.“
From the website, we can see the interiors of the rooms of the Gothic windows we can see from the Lower Garden.
Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.
“The Bachelor Duke, who became increasingly attached to Lismore, began a second and more ambitious phase of rebuilding 1850, towards the end of his life. This time his architect was Sir Joseph Paxton, that versatile genius who designed the Crystal Palace and who, having started as the Bachelor Duke’s gardener, became his close friend and right hand man. During the next few years, the three remaining sides of the courtyard were rebuilt in an impressive C19 castle style, with battlemented towers and turrets; all faced in cut-stone shipped over from Derbyshire. The Great Earl’s gatehouse tower, with its pyramidal roof, was however, left as it was, and also the Riding House.“
Mark Bence-Jones continues: “The ruined chapel of the Bishops, adjoining the range containing the Great Earl’s living rooms, was restored as a banqueting hall or ballroom of ecclesiastical character; with choirstalls, a vast Perpendicular stained glass window at either end, and richly coloured Gothic stencilling on the walls and the timbers of the open roof. The decoration of the room was carried out by John Gregory Crace, some of it being designed by Pugin, including the chimneypiece, which was exhibited in the Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition. The banqueting hall is the only really large room in the castle, the interior of which is on a much more modest and homely scale than might be expected from the great extent of the building; but in fact one side of the courtyard was designed to be a separate house for the agent, and another side to be the estate office. Subsequent Dukes of Devonshire have loved Lismore as much as the Bachelor Duke did, though their English commitments have naturally prevented them from coming here for more than occasional visits. From 1932 until his death 1944, the castle was continuously occupied by Lord Charles Cavendish, younger son of the 9th Duke, and his wife, the former Miss Adele Astaire, the dancer and actress, who still comes here every year. The present Duke and Duchess have carried out many improvements to the garden, which consist of the original upper garden, surrounded by the Great Earl’s fortified walls, and a more naturalistic garden below the approach to the castle; the two being linked in a charming and unexpected way by a staircase in the Riding House.”
[2] 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.
Cornelius Callaghan, M.P., (d.1741), Lawyer Date: 1742 Engraver John Brooks, Irish, fl.1730-1756 After Unknown Artist, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605/6-1675), Aged 51 Date c.1657 by Engraver Abraham Blooteling, Dutch, 1640-1690 After Irish 17th century, Irish, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Harriet de Burgh née Canning, Countess of Clanricarde (1804-1876), married to Ulick John De Burgh, 14th Earl and 1st Marquess of Clanricarde (1802-1874).I think the portrait is by John Lucas.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. Elizabeth was the daughter of Philip Yorke 3rd Earl of Hardwicke; Louisa married Henry de la Poer Beresford 3rd Marquis of Waterford; Charlotte married Charles John Canning 1st Viceroy of India, 2nd Viscount Canning, 1st Earl Canning. Algernon Capell (1670-1710) 2nd Earl of Essex.John Craven Carden, 1st Baronet by Robert Hunter courtesy of Adam’s auction 13 Oct 2015. This portrait of John Craven Carden is in the uniform of the Templemore Light Dragoons, a volunteer regiment raised in response to the withdrawal of regular troops required for the American War but which rapidly acquired political leverage. Carden had inherited large estates in Tipperary acquired in the Cromwellian settlement of the 17th Century. Although without parliamentry influence, Carden represented landed interests which the Castle administration were keen to control. Bribes were measured and Carden was made a baronet in 1787. He proved to be a sound man in the 1798 rebellion and by fortifying the Market House in Templemore denied the town to the rebels. He also leased the land for a barracks (now the Garda Training College) and donated the site of the Catholic Church in 1810.Sarah Cooper née Carleton (born around 1718), wife of Arthur Cooper (b. 1716) of Coopershill, County Sligo.Daughter of Guy Cathcart Carleton of Fermanagh and Mary Brookeof Brookeborough, County Fermanagh.The painting is a portrait by William Hogarth of the 1st Earl of Charlemont, James Caulfeild (1728-1799) aged 13, with his mother, Elizabeth Caulfeild née Bernard (1703-1743)(portrait painted in 1741).James Caulfeild (1728-1799) 4th Viscount, 1st Earl of Charlemont, 1790 by Martin Ferdinand Quadal, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont (1728-1799) by Richard Livesay, British, 1753-1826.Dorothy Bentinck née Cavendish, Duchess of Portland (1750-1794) by George Romney, c. 1772, daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire.She married William Henry Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland who added Cavendish to his name to become Cavendish-Bentinck.William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (1698-1755), former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by Engraver John Faber the Younger, Dutch, c.1695-1756 After Joshua Reynolds, English, 1723-1792, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Catherine Cavendish, Duchess Of Devonshire (1700-1777) née Hoskins or Hoskyn, As Saint Catherine by Charles Jervas (1675-1739), courtesy of Whyte’s auction March 2019. She married William Cavendish 3rd Duke of Devonshire.William Cavendish (1720-1764) 4th Duke of Devonshire, who brought Lismore Castle, County Waterford, into the Cavendish family by his marriage. Painting by Thomas Hudson. Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754) daughter of Richard Boyle (1694-1753) 3rd Earl of Burlington 4th Earl of Cork who married William Cavendish (1720-1764) 4th Duke of Devonshire and brought Lismore Castle, County Waterford, into the Cavendish family. Painting after style of George Knapton, courtesy of Chiswick House collection.William Cavendish (1748-1811) 5th Duke of Devonshire by John Raphael Smith, after Sir Joshua Reynolds publ. 1776, NPG D1752.Elizabeth Christina Foster née Hervey (1759-1824) later Duchess of Devonshire by Angelica Kauffmann courtesy of National Trust Ickworth. She was the daughter of Frederick Augustus Hervey 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry who built Downhill, Co Derry. She married John Thomas Foster MP (1747-1796) and later, William Boyle Cavendish 5th Duke of Devonshire. Last, she married Valentine Richard Quin 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount Earl.Lady Elizabeth Foster (1759-1824) née Hervey, as the Tiburtine Sibyl c. 1805 by Thomas Lawrence, National Gallery of Ireland NGI788. She was the daughter of Frederick Augustus Hervey 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry who built Downhill, Co Derry. She married John Thomas Foster MP (1747-1796) and later, William Boyle Cavendish 5th Duke of Devonshire. Last, she married Valentine Richard Quin 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount Earl.William George Spencer Cavendish (1790-1858) 6th Duke of Devonshire by George Edward Madeley, NPG D15276.Margaret Jones née Cecil (1673-1727) Countess of Ranelagh, 2nd wife of Richard Jones 1st Earl of Ranelagh Engraver: John Smith, English, 1652-1743 After Godfrey Kneller, German, 1646-1723, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.William Chambers in the style of Joshua Reynolds, courtesy of Adam’s auction 13 Oct 2015Major Henry Chavasse (1863-1943). 4th Battalion Scottish Rifles.Anna Georgina Chavasse, née Coghill (d. 1899). She married Reverend William Izon Chavasse (1835-1864). Theresa Susey Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart née Chetwynd-Talbot, Marchioness of Londonderry (1856-1919) by John Singer Sargent, Vicereine 1886-89, wife of Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart , 6th Marquess of Londonderry.
Baron Chichester (1613)
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (1563–1625)
Arthur Chichester (1563-1625) Baron Chichester Of Belfast (c) Belfast Harbour Commissioners; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation.
Baron Chichester and Viscount Chichester (1625)
Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester (1568–1648)
Arthur Chichester, 2nd Viscount Chichester (1606–1675; created Earl of Donegall in 1647)
Earl of Donegall (1647)
Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall (1606–1675)
Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall (died 1678)
Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (1666–1706)
Anne Barry née Chichester (1697-1753) Countess of Barrymore, 3rd wife of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore.She was the daughter of Arthur, 3rd Earl of Donegall.Lady Anne Chichester, Countess of Barrymore (d. 1753) Attributed to Philip Hussey, she was daughter of Major-General Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (1666-1706) and his wife Lady Catherine Forbes (d. 1743), and she married James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore, and was the mother of James Smith-Barry.
Arthur Chichester, 4th Earl of Donegall (1695–1757)
Lady Lucy Ridgeway was the eldest daughter and co-heir of Robert Ridgeway, 4th Earl of Londonderry (d. 1713/14), she married Arthur Chichester, 4th Earl of Donegal (1695-1757), by Jonathan Richardson courtesy of Sothebys L11304.
Arthur Chichester, 5th Earl of Donegall (1739–1799; created Baron Fisherwick in 1790 and Earl of Belfast and Marquess of Donegall in 1791). He married Anne née Hamilton (1731-1780) who was the daughter of James Brandon Douglas Hamilton 5th Duke of Hamilton, Scotland. Arthur the 5th Earl of Donegall was the son of John Chichester (1700-1746), who was the son of Arthur 3rd Earl of Donegall.
Anne Chichester née Hamilton, Countess of Donegall (1731-1780), who married Arthur Chichester 5th Earl of Donegall.She was the daughter of James Brandon Douglas Hamilton 5th Duke of Hamilton, Scotland.
Marquess of Donegall (1791)
Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall (1739–1799)
Arthur Chichester (1739-1799) 1st Marquess of Donegall, by Thomas Gainsborough, courtesy of Ulster Museum.He was the grandson of the 3rd Earl of Donegall.
George Augustus Chichester, 2nd Marquess of Donegall (1769–1844)
George Augustus Chichester (1769-1844) 2nd Marquess of Donegall, courtesy of Belfast Castle.
George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall, Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus (1797–1883). He married Harriet Anne née Butler (1799-1860), daughter of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall.
Harriet Anne née Butler (1799-1860) Countess of Belfast, wife of George Hamilton Chichester 3rd Marquess of Donegal and daughter of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall.Frederick Richard Chichester (1827-1853), Earl of Belfast, Courtesy of Ulster Museum.He was the son of the 3rd Marquess of Donegall.Frederick Richard Chichester (1827-1853) Earl of Belfast courtesy of Ulster Museum.
Edward Chichester, 4th Marquess of Donegall (1799–1889)
George Augustus Hamilton Chichester, 5th Marquess of Donegall (1822–1904)
Edward Arthur Donald St George Hamilton Chichester, 6th Marquess of Donegall (1903–1975)
Dermot Richard Claud Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall (5th Baron Templemore) (1916–2007)
Arthur Patrick Chichester, 8th Marquess of Donegall (b. 1952) [1]
Portrait c. 1740 of Archbishop Robert Clayton (1695–1758) and Katherine née Donellan by James Latham, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland. Known for his unorthodox views, at the time of his death Robert Clayton was facing charges of heresy.Robert Clayton (1695–1758) Bishop of Cork and Ross, in Iveagh House on St. Stephen’s Green.Robert Clements, later First Earl of Leitrim, by Pompeo Batoni, about 1753–1754, Hood Museum of Art.Robert Clements (1732-1804) 1st Earl of Leitrim by Gilbert Stuart courtesy of Christie’s Irish Sale 2001.Colonel Henry John Clements (1781-1843) of Ashfield, Co. Cavan by Martin Cregan, courtesy of Christie’s Irish Sale 2001. He was the son of Henry Theophilus Clements (1750-1795), a brother of the 1st Earl of Leitrim, and Catherine Beresford (1761-1836).He married Louisa Stewart (1778-1850) of Killymoon, Country Tyrone, daughter of James Stewart (1741-1821).Charlotte Florentia Percy née Clive (1787-1866), Duchess of Northumberland (1787-1866), by Martin Cregan.She was the daughter of Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powys, and she married Hugh Percy, Earl Percy.John Clotworthy (d. 1665), 1st Viscount of Massereene, courtesy of Clotworthy House.Archbishop Charles Cobbe (1687-1765) of Newbridge House, Dublin Charles Cobbe (1687-1765), Protestant Archbishop of Dublin Date 1746 by Engraver Andrew Miller, English, fl.1737-1763 After Francis Bindon, Irish, 1690-1765, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Charles Cobbe, P. Archbishop of Dublin, (1687-1765) by Engraver Andrew Miller, English, fl.1737-1763 After Francis Bindon, Irish, 1690-1765, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Elizabeth Cobbe née de la Poer Beresford (1736-1806), wife of Thomas Cobbe (1733-1814) of Newbridge House, Dublin, in a costume evocative of Mary Queen of Scots, miniature, Cobbe Collection.This portrait was painted the year that Marmaduke Coghill (1673-1739) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, attributed to Francis Bindon, courtesy of Adam’s auction 15 Dec 2019. A firm adherent to the ‘castle’ administration he had ‘inherited’ from his father the position of Judge of the Prerogative Court and had enriched himself sufficiently to re-build Drumcondra House, probably using Edward Lovett Pearce. He had a penchant for commissioning outstanding pieces of silver from the Dublin silversmiths such as the extraordinary cistern in the Ulster Museum and the Monteith in Waterford. There is a monument to him by Peter Scheemakers in Drumcondra Church. Francis Bindon (1690 – 1765) is the most likely artist to have painted this portrait.Marmaduke Coghill (1673-1738). Never married, he lived in Belvedere House, Drumcondra before building a house at Clonturk, afterwards known as Drumcondra House, he lived there with his sister Mary until his death. Adam’s auction 9 Mar 2014.Admiral Josiah Coghill (1773-1850), 3rd Baronet Coghill, of Coghill, Co. York, UK.Anna Georgina Chavasse, née Coghill (d. 1899). She married Reverend William Izon Chavasse (1835-1864).
I refer to Timothy William Ferres’s terrific blog to look at the Cole family of Florence Court in County Fermanagh, a National Trust property.
William Cole married Susannah, daughter and heir of John Croft, of Lancashire, and widow of Stephen Segar, Lieutenant of Dublin Castle, by whom he left at his decease in 1653,
MICHAEL, his heir; John, of Newland, father of Arthur, 1st BARON RANELAGH; Mary; Margaret.
Called Elizabeth Cole Lady Ranelagh, probably really Catherine Cole née Byron (1667-1746) Lady Ranelagh attributed to John Closterman courtesy of National Trust Florence Court. She married Arthur Cole, 1st Baron Ranelagh.
The elder son,
MICHAEL COLE, wedded, in 1640, Catherine, daughter of Sir Laurence Parsons, of Birr, 2nd Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and dvp, administration being granted 1663 to his only surviving child,
SIR MICHAEL COLE, Knight (1644-1710), of Enniskillen Castle, MP for Enniskillen, 1692-3, 95-9, 1703-11, who espoused firstly, Alice (dsp 1671), daughter of Chidley Coote, of Killester; and secondly, 1672, his cousin, Elizabeth (d 1733), daughter of Sir J Cole Bt.
Sir Michael was succeeded by his only surviving child,
JOHN COLE (1680-1726), of Florence Court, MP for Enniskillen, 1703-26, who espoused, in 1707, Florence, only daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey Bt, of Trebitch, in Cornwall.
Florence Bourchier Wrey (d. 1718), courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.She married John Cole (1680-1726) who built Florence Court, and named it after her.
John and Florence had the following children:
Henry (Rev); JOHN (1709-67) his heir; Letitia; Florence.
Mr Cole was succeeded by his younger son, John Cole (1709-67) MP for Enniskillen, 1730-60. John married in 1728 Elizabeth, daughter of Hugh Willoughby Montgomery, of Carrow, County Fermanagh. Mr Cole was elevated to the peerage, in 1760, in the dignity of Baron Mountflorence, of Florence Court, County Fermanagh.
John Cole (1709-1767) 1st Baron Mountflorence of Florence Court, County Fermanagh, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.
John and Elizabeth had the following children:
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY (1736-1803) his heir; Arthur, m in 1780 Caroline Hamilton; Flora Caroline; Catherine.
His lordship was succeeded by his elder son, WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY, 2nd Baron (1736-1803), MP for Enniskillen, 1761-7, who was created Viscount Enniskillen in 1776; and advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1789, as EARL OF ENNISKILLEN.
William Willoughby Cole (1736-1803) 1st Earl of Enniskillen, by Nathaniel Hone, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.He was the son of John Cole 1st Baron Mountflorence.
William Willoughby Cole married, in 1763, Anne, daughter of Galbraith Lowry Corry, of Ahenis, County Tyrone, and sister of Armar Corry, Earl of Belmore, and had issue,
JOHN WILLOUGHBY (1768-1840) his successor, who became 2nd Earl; Galbraith Lowry (Sir), GCB, a general in the army; William Montgomery (Very Rev), Dean of Waterford; Arthur Henry, MP for Enniskillen; Henry, died young; Sarah; Elizabeth Anne; Anne; Florence; Henrietta Frances.
John Willoughby Cole (1768-1840) 2nd Earl of Enniskillen, later 1st Baron Grinstead, by Thomas Robinson, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.John Willoughby Cole (1768-1840) 2nd Earl of Enniskillen and 1st Baron Grinstead (1768-1840).Lady Henrietta Cole, Lady Grantham, later Countess de Grey (1784-1848), Vicereine 1841-44, from Florence Court, Fermanagh.She was the daughter of William Willoughby Cole the 1st Earl of Enniskillen.Florence Townley-Balfour née Cole (1779-1862) daughter of William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl of Enniskillen, she married Blayney Townley-Balfour. Painting by Richard Rothwell, courtesy of National Trust Florence Court.
JOHN WILLOUGHBY Cole 2nd Earl (1768-1840) married, in 1805, the Lady Charlotte Paget, daughter of Henry, 1st Earl of Uxbridge. The 2nd Earl of Charlotte had the following children:
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY (1807-86) his successor, who became the 3rd Earl of Enniskillen.
Henry Arthur; John Lowry; Lowry Balfour; Jane Anne Louisa Florence.
William Willoughby Cole (1807-1886) 3rd Earl of Enniskillen, by William Robinson, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY, 3rd Earl (1807-86), Honorary Colonel, 3rd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, married firstly, in 1844, Jane, daughter of James Casamaijor, and had issue,
John Willoughby Michael, styled Viscount Cole (1844-50);
LOWRY EGERTON, 4th Earl;
Arthur Edward Casamaijor;
Florence Mary; Alice Elizabeth; Charlotte June; Jane Evelyn.
He wedded secondly, in 1865, Mary Emma, daughter of Charles, 6th Viscount Midleton.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,
LOWRY EGERTON, 4th Earl (1845-1924), KP JP DL MP, who wedded, in 1869, Charlotte Marion, daughter of Douglas Baird.
Charlotte Marion Baird (1851/2-1937) Countess of Enniskillen, by Henry Richard Graves, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh. She married Lowry Egerton Cole, 4th Earl of Enniskillen.
Nicholas Conway Colthurst (1789-1829) 4th Baronet of Ardrum, County Cork, by Martin Arthur Shee, courtesy of Eton College.He was Member of Parliament (M.P.) for the City of Cork between 1812 and 1829. His son the 5th Earl married Louisa Jane Jefferyes, through whom he acquired Blarney Castle.Ambrose Congreve reading a newspaper at Clonbrock House, Ahascragh, Co. Galway, National Library of Ireland Ref. CLON422.
Timothy William Ferres tells us of the line of the Conolly family who owned Castletown House in County Kildare. [2] It was built by William Conolly (1662-1729), Speaker of the House of Commons in Ireland during the reign of Queen Anne, First Lord of the Treasury until his decease during the reign of GEORGE II, and ten times sworn one of the Lords Justices of Ireland.
William Conolly (1662-1729) of Castletown, County Kildare.
William Conolly married, in 1694, Katherine Conyngham, sister of Henry 1st Earl.
Katherine Conolly née Conyngham (c. 1662-1752) who married William Conolly, pictured with her great-niece Molly Burton. Portrait by Charles Jervas.
Speaker Conolly, MP for Donegal, 1692-9, Londonderry, 1703-29, was succeeded by his nephew, William James Conolly (1706-54).
I’m not sure but the top portrait looks like Katherine Conyngham to me, who marries William Conolly.William Conolly, M.P. (d.1754) by Anthony Lee c. 1727 courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland NGI 421
William James Conolly (1706-54) married Anne Wentworth, eldest daughter of Thomas, 1st Earl of Strafford.
Lady Anne Conolly née Wentworth (1713-1797), daughter of Thomas Wentworth (1672-1739) 1st Earl of Strafford). She was married to William James Conolly (1712-1754), of Castletown, County Kildare. Painting attributed to Anthony Lee, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.She was the mother of Thomas Conolly (1734-1803).Lady Anne Conolly (born Wentworth (1712/1713-1797), daughter of Thomas Wentworth (1672-1739) 1st Earl of Strafford). She was married to William James Conolly (1712-1754), of Castletown, County Kildare.She was the mother of Thomas Conolly (1734-1803).
They had issue,
THOMAS (1734-1803) his heir; Katherine, m. Ralph, Earl of Ross; Anne, m. G. Byng; mother of Earl of Strafford; Harriet, m. Rt Hon John Staples, of Lissan; Frances, m. 5th Viscount Howe; Caroline, m. 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire;
[2]
Thomas Conolly (1734-1803). He was the son and heir of William James Conolly (d.1754) of Castletown House, by his wife Lady Anne Wentworth. Thomas Conolly married Lady Louisa Lennox, a daughter of Charles Lennox, the 2nd Duke of Richmond. Thomas Conolly (1738-1803), 1758 by Anton Raphael Mengs, National Gallery of Ireland PGI 4458Portrait called The Honourable Harriet Molesworth (1745-1812), wife of John Staples (1736-1820) (probably Harriet Conolly, d. 1771), by Francis Cotes, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.
Ferres continues, telling us that Thomas Conolly, MP for County Londonderry, 1761-1800, wedded, in 1758, Louisa Augusta Lennox, daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox.
The pastel on the top left is Thomas Conolly (1734-1803), Louisa’s husband.Thomas Connolly of Castletown by Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1739-1808), courtesy Adam’s auction 28 March 2012.Lady Louisa Connolly née Lennox (1743-1817) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, (1739-1808), courtesy Adam’s 28 Sept 2005. She was the daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox.Louisa Conolly née Lennox (1743-1817) who married Thomas Conolly (1734-1803).
Thomas and Louisa had no children so the estate passed to a grand-nephew, Edward Michael Pakenham (1786-1849) who assumed the surname Conolly in 1821. Now Edward Michael Conolly of Castletown, County Kildare, and Cliff, County Donegal, Lieutenant-Colonel, Donegal Militia, MP for County Donegal, 1831-49, he married in 1819, Catherine Jane, daughter of Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker, by the Lady Henrietta Taylour his wife, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Bective. They had issue,
THOMAS (1823-1876) his heir; Chambré Brabazon, d 1835; Frederick William Edward, d 1826; Arthur Wellesley, 1828-54; John Augustus, VC; Richard, d 1870; Louisa Augusta; Henrietta; Mary Margaret; Frances Catherine.
Thomas Conolly (1823-1876), painting by William Osbourne.
Thomas married, in 1868, Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Shaw, of Temple House, Celbridge, County Kildare.
Sarah Eliza Conolly née Shaw, wife of Thomas.Thomas Conolly (1823-1876) and his wife Sarah Eliza. Sarah Eliza was the daughter of a prosperous Celbridge paper mill owner, Joseph Shaw. Her substantial dowry helped to fund her husband’s adventurous lifestyle! A photograph album which belonged to her brother Henry Shaw, of a visit to Castletown, was rescued from the rubble of his home in London when it was destroyed by a German bomb in 1944. Sadly, he died in the bombing. The photograph album is on display in Castletown.
Thomas and Sarah Elizabeth had several children:
Thomas (1870-1900), killed in action at S Africa; William, 1872-95; EDWARD MICHAEL, of whom hereafter; CATHERINE, Baroness Carew, mother of 6th BARON CAREW.
Mr Conolly was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,
EDWARD MICHAEL CONOLLY CMG (1874-1956), of Castletown, Major, Royal Artillery, who died unmarried, when Castletown passed to his nephew,
William Francis (Conolly-Carew), 6th Baron Carew. [2]
Albert Cunningham (d. 1691) first colonel of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, by Willem Wissing c. 1690, courtesy of British Cavalry Regiments website and wikipedia.Albert Conyngham (d. 1691), courtesy of National Trust Springhill.William Burton Conyngham (1733-1796), teller of the Irish Exchequer and treasurer of the Royal Irish Academy, 1780 engraver Valentine Green, after Hugh Douglas Hamilton, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Katherine Conolly née Conyngham (c. 1662-1752) who married William Conolly, with her great-niece Molly Burton. Portrait by Charles Jervas.
On his terrific website, Timothy William Ferres tells us about the Conyngham family of Springhill, County Derry in Northern Ireland: [3]
Colonel William Cunningham, of Ayrshire settled in the townland of Ballydrum, in which Springhill is situated, in 1609.
Colonel Cunningham’s son, William Conyngham, known as “Good Will” (d. 1721) married Ann, daughter of Arthur Upton, of Castle Norton (later Castle Upton), County Antrim, by his wife Dorothy, daughter of Colonel Michael Beresford, of Coleraine. William “Good Will” Conyngham died in 1721, and was succeeded by his nephew,
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 “Goodwill” Conyngham was succeeded by his nephew George Butle Conyngham (d. 1765). He married , in 1721, Anne, daughter of Dr Upton Peacocke, of Cultra.
George Butle Conyngham (d. 1765), courtesy of National Trust, Springhill, County Derry.Anne Peacocke (d. 1754), Mrs George Butle Conyngham, courtesy of National Trust, Springhill, County Derry.
George Butle Conyngham and Anne née Peacocke had children William (1723-84), the heir to Springhill, and David, successor to his brother, John who died unmarried in 1775 and a daughter Anne (1724-1777) who married in 1745 Clotworthy Lenox.
Called Anne Conyngham (1724-1777) Mrs Clotworthy Lenox, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry. She was the daughter of George Butle Conyngham.
David who succeeded his brother William died without issue so Springhill passed to his nephew George Lenox (1752-1816), son of his sister Anne, and George adopted the surname of Conyngham. George married, first, Jean née Hamilton (d. 1788), daughter of John Hamilton of Castlefin. They had a son, William Lenox-Conyngham (1792-1858).
Jean Hamilton (d. 1788), wife of William Conyngham (1723-1774) by Joshua Reynolds, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.
George married, second, in 1794, Olivia, fourth daughter of William Irvine, of Castle Irvine, County Fermanagh.
William Burton Conyngham (1733-1796), teller of the Irish Exchequer and treasurer of the Royal Irish Academy, 1780 engraver Valentine Green, after Hugh Douglas Hamilton, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.William Burton Conyngham (1733–1796) by Anton Raphael Mengs c. 1754-58, courtesy of wikipedia.He was the son of Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham, and he inherited Slane Castle as well as Donegal estates from his uncle William Conyngham who died in 1781.William Burton Conyngham, engraving After GILBERT STUART courtesy of Adams Country House Collections auction Oct 2023.
Slane Castle passed to William Burton Conyngham’s nephew Henry Conyngham (1766-1832) 1st Marquess Conyngham. Henry married Elizabeth Denison.
Elizabeth née Denison, Marchioness Conyngham (1769-1861), wife of Henry 1st Marquess.Elizabeth Conyngham née Denison, wife of Henry 1st Marquess by Thomas Lawrence 1821 courtesy of Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.Elizabeth Conyngham (née Denison), Marchioness Conyngham (1769–1861) by George Chinnery, English, 1774-1852.Maria Conyngham (died 1843), daughter of 1st Marquess of Slane by Sir Thomas Lawrence courtesy of Metropolitan museum.Francis Nathaniel Conyngham (1797-1876) 2nd Marquessof Slane, County Meath, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Edward Cooke, (1755-1820), Under-Secretary of State for Ireland Date: 1799 Engraver William Ward the Elder, English, 1766-1826 After William Cuming, Irish, 1769-1852.Arthur Cooper, b. 1716, of Coopershill, County Sligo.Sarah Cooper née Carleton (born around 1718), wife of Arthur Cooper (b. 1716) of Coopershill, County Sligo.Daughter of Guy Cathcart Carleton of Fermanagh and Mary Brookeof Brookeborough, County Fermanagh.Arthur Brooke Cooper (c. 1775-1854) of Coopershill, County Sligo.
Timothy William Ferres also tells us of the Coote family. Charles Coote (1581-1642), 1st Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County (Laois): “The Peerage” website tells us that in 1600 he went to Ireland as Captain of 100 Foot under 8th Lord Mountjoy, Queen Elizabeth I’s Lord Deputy of Ireland. He fought in the siege of Kingsale in 1602. He held the office of Provost Marshal of Connaught between 1605 and 1642, for life. He held the office of General Collector and Receiver of the King’s Composition Money for Connaught in 1613, for life. He held the office of Vice-President of Connaught in 1620. He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) in 1620. He was created 1st Baronet Coote, of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s Co. [Ireland] on 2 April 1621. He held the office of Custos Rotulorum of Queen’s County in 1634. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Queen’s County [Ireland] in 1639. Before 1641 he held Irish lands, mostly in Conaught, worth £4,000 a year. He held the office of Governor of Dublin in 1641. In 1642 he helped relieve Birr, King’s County (now County Offaly), during the Uprising by the Confederation of Kilkenny, his successful operations there and elsewhere in the area, which was called Mountrath, suggesting the title by which his son was ennobled.
He married Dorothea, youngest daughter and co-heir of Hugh Cuffe, of Cuffe’s Wood, County Cork, and had issue, Charles (c.1610 –1661)1st Earl of Mountrath; Chidley (d. 1688) of Killester, Co Dublin and Mount Coote, County Limerick; RICHARD (1620-83) 1st Baron Coote of Colloony, County Sligo, ancestor of the EARL OF BELLAMONT (1st Creation); Thomas, of Coote Hill; Letitia (married Francis Hamilton, 1st Bt of Killaugh, co. Cavan).
Charles Coote 1st Earl of Mountrath (c.1610 –1661), 2nd Baronet, ca. 1642, before he was ennobled, Circle of William Dobson. By Christina Keddie – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42002789
Charles Coote (c.1610 –1661), 1st Earl of Mountrath married first, Mary Ruish, who gave birth to his heir, Charles Coote (d. 1672) 2nd Earl of Mountrath, Queen’s County. The 1st Earl of Mountrath, Queen’s County, also had the titles 1st Baron Coote of Castle Cuffe, in Queen’s Co. [Ireland] and 1st Viscount Coote of Castle Coote, Co. Roscommon [Ireland].
Charles Coote (c.1610 –1661), 1st Earl of Mountrath married secondly Jane Hannay, and she had a son Richard (1643-1700), who married Penelope, daughter of Arthur Hill of Hillsborough, County Down. Their daughter Penelope Rose married Charles Boyle (d. 1732) 2nd Viscount Blesington. Another daughter, Jane (d. 1729) married William Evans, 1st and last Baronet of Kilcreene, County Kilkenny.
Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountrath married Alice, daughter of Robert Meredyth of Greenhills, County Kildare. His daughter Anne (d. 1725) married Murrough Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington (d. 1718). His son Charles (1656-1709) succeeded as 3rd Earl of Mountrath, and he was father to the 4th, 5th and 6th Earls.
Charles Coote (d. 1715) 4th Earl of Mountrath, c. 1710 by Charles Jervas. He died unmarried.Diana Coote (1696-1766), Countess of Mountrath, wife of 6th Earl, 1746 by Thomas Hudson, National Gallery of Ireland NGI293.
The son of Algernon Coote (1689-1744) 6th Earl of Mountrath, Charles Henry Coote (d. 1802) 7th Earl of Mountrath had no legitimate male issue and the earldom and its associated titles created in 1660 died with him. The barony of Castle Coote passed according to the special remainder to his kinsman, Charles Coote. The baronetcy of Castle Cuffe also held by the Earl passed to another kinsman, Sir Charles Coote, 9th Baronet.
Let us return now to Charles Coote (1581-1642), 1st Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County (Laois) and trace the line of his younger son, RICHARD COOTE (1620-83), for his hearty concurrence with his brother, SIR CHARLES, 2nd Baronet, in promoting the restoration of CHARLES II, was rewarded with the dignity of a peerage of the realm; the same day that his brother was created Earl of Mountrath, Richard Coote was created, in 1660, Baron Coote, of Colloony.
In 1660, Richard was appointed Major to the Duke of Albemarle’s Regiment of Horse; and the same year he was appointed one of the commissioners for executing His Majesty’s declaration for the settlement of Ireland. He was, in 1675, appointed one of the commissioners entrusted for the 49 Officers. In 1676, the 1st Baron resided at Moore Park, County Meath, and Piercetown, County Westmeath. He married Mary, second daughter of George, Lord St. George, and had issue: RICHARD (1636-1701) his successor; Thomas (d. 1741) Lætitia (married Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth of Swords); Mary (married William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy); Catherine (married Ferdinando Hastings); Elizabeth (married Lt.-Gen. Richard St. George).
Following his decease, in 1683, he was interred at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
RICHARD, 2nd Baron (1636-1701), Governor of County Leitrim, 1689, Treasurer to the Queen, 1689-93, MP for Droitwich, 1689-95, who was, in 1688, one of the first to join the Prince of Orange. In 1689, he was attainted in his absence by the Irish Parliament of JAMES II. His lordship was created, in 1689, EARL OF BELLAMONT, along with a grant of 77,000 acres of forfeited lands.
Richard Coote (1636-1700/01) 1st Earl Bellomont By Samuel Smith Kilburn (d. 1903) – New York Public Library digital libraryhttp//:digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?423861, Public Domain, https//:commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13014278
Richard 1st Earl of Bellomont was Governor of Massachusetts, 1695, and Governor of New York, 1697-1701. The King had sent Lord Bellomont to New York to suppress the “freebooting.” Unfortunately he was responsible for outfitting the veteran mariner William Kidd, who turned into “Captain Kidd,” who terrorised the merchants until his capture in 1698.
According to Cokayne “he was a man of eminently fair character, upright, courageous and independent. Though a decided Whig he had distinguished himself by bringing before the Parliament at Westminster some tyrannical acts done by Whigs at Dublin.”
The 1st Earl of Bellomont wedded, in 1680, Catharine, daughter and heir of Bridges Nanfan, of Worcestershire, and had issue, NANFAN (1681-1708) his successor as 2nd Earl of Bellomont, and RICHARD (1682-1766), who succeeded his brother.
NANFAN, 2nd Earl (1681-1708) married Lucia Anna van Nassau (1684-1744), daughter of Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk, in 1705/6 at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, London. Nanfan died at Bath, Somerset, from palsy, without male issue, when the family honours devolved upon his brother, RICHARD, 3rd Earl (1682-1766), who, in 1729, sold the family estate of Colloony, County Sligo, for nearly £17,000.
In 1737, he succeeded his mother to the estates of Birtsmorton, Worcestershire. Macaulay described him as “of eminently fair character, upright, courageous and independent.” On his death the earldom expired.
The last Earl was succeeded in the barony of Coote by his first cousin once removed, CHARLES, 5th Baron (1736-1800), KB PC, son of Charles Coote [1695-1750] High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1719, MP for Granard, 1723-27, Cavan County, 1727-50MP for County Cavan, 1761-6, who was son of the HON THOMAS COOTE (c. 1655-1741) a Justice of the Court of the King’s Bench of Ireland, younger son of the 1st Baron. This Thomas’s daughter Elizabeth married Mervyn Pratt (1687-1751) of Cabra Castle.
Sir Charles succeeded his cousin, Richard, in 1766, as 5th Baron Coote; and was created, in 1767, EARL OF BELLAMONT (3rd creation). His lordship was created a baronet, in 1774, designated of Donnybrooke, County Dublin, with remainder to his natural son, Charles Coote, of Dublin.
SIR CHARLES COOTE (1736-1800), KB PC, of Coote Hill (afterwards renamed Bellamont Forest) had an illegitimate son, Charles Coote (1765-1857) who despite his illegitimacy became 2nd Baronet of Bellamont). Charles 1st Earl married, in 1774, the Lady Emily Maria Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of James, 1st Duke of Leinster, and had issue, Charles, Viscount Coote (died age seven, 1778-86); Mary; Prudentia; Emily; Louisa. Following his death in 1800, the titles became extinct as he left no legitimate male issue, though he was succeeded in the baronetcy according to the special remainder by his illegitimate son Charles, 2nd Baronet.
Finally, let us return now to Charles Coote (1581-1642), 1st Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County (Laois) and trace the line of his son Chidley Coote (d. 1668). Chidley lived in Mount Coote, County Limerick (later called Ash Hill, a section 482 property, see my entry). He had a son, Chidley (d. 1702) who married Catherine Sandys. They had a daughter Catherine (d. 1725) who married Henry Boyle 1st Earl of Shannon. Another daughter, Anne, married Bartholomew Purdon, MP for Doneraile and later Castlemartyr of County Cork. They had a son Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill in County Limerick. He married Jane Evans (d. 1763) and it was their grandson Charles Henry Coote (1754-1823) who succeeded as 2nd Baron Castle Coote in 1802. He was the son of Reverend Charles Coote (1713-1796) and Grace Tilson (d. 1766). Another son was Lt.-Gen. Sir Eyre Coote (1762-1823).
Major General Eyre Coote (1762-1823), Governor of Jamaica, 1805 by engraver Antoine Cordon after J.P.J. Lodder, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.He was son of Reverend Charles Coote (1713-1796) and Grace Tilson (d. 1766).Eyre Coote (1726-1783) attributed to Henry Robert Morland, c. 1763, National Portrait Gallery of London NPG124. He was the son of Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill in County Limerick and Jane Evans (d. 1763).Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote (1726-1783) Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies (1777-1783) by John Thomas Seton, courtesy of the British Library.He was the son of Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill in County Limerick and Jane Evans (d. 1763).
Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill and Jane Evans (d. 1763) had a daughter Elizabeth who married John Bowen. Reverend Childley Coote and Jane Evans’s son Robert (d. 1745) inherited Ash Hill and married his cousin Anne Purdon, daughter of Bartholomew Purdon and Anne Coote. Robert Coote and Anne Purdon’s grandson was Charles Henry Coote (1792-1864) who succeeded as 9th Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County, who married Caroline Elizabeth Whaley (d. 1871), daughter of John Whaley (d. 1847) of Dublin.
Caroline Elizabeth Coote née Whaley (d. 1871), daughter of John Whaley (d. 1847) of Dublin courtesy of wikitree, uploaded by Desmond William Kelly Lynch SD. She married Charles Henry Coote (1792-1864) who succeeded as 9th Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County.Charles Eyre Coote (1801-1858), third son of Chidley Coote (1776-1843) and Anne Hewitt, by James Butler Brenan RHA (1825-1889) courtesy Whyte’s Sept 2003.James Corry (c. 1643-1718), MP, Colonel by Thomas Pooley courtesy of National Trust Castle Coole.He was the father of John Corry, MP (d. 1726).Colonel John Corry, MP (1666–1726), attributed to Thomas Pooley, courtesy of National Trust Castle Coole, County Fermanagh.Elizabeth Corry (1715-1791) (?) later Mrs Archibald Hamilton (d. 1752) and finally Mrs James Leslie of Leslie Hill, County Antrim, possibly by Anthony Lee courtesy of National Trust Castle Coole.She was the daughter of Colonel John Corry, MP (1666–1726).Sarah Corry (1709-1779) later Mrs Galbraith Lowry Corry, by Anthony Lee courtesy of National Trust, Castle Coole, County Fermanagh.She was the daughter of Colonel John Corry, MP (1666–1726).Martha Leslie née Corry (1704/5-1759) possibly by Anthony Lee courtesy of National Trust Castle Coole.She married Edmund Leslie, MP, of Leslie House, County Antrim.She was the daughter of Colonel John Corry, MP (1666–1726).Probably Edmund Corry né Leslie (d. after 1764), MP by Irish school; or else Leslie Corry (1712-1740/41), MP, courtesy of National Trust Castle Coole. Edmund Leslie married Martha Corry, and added Corry to his surname to become Edmund Leslie-Corry.Mary Armar née Corry (1710-1774) Mrs Margetson Armar by Anthony Lee courtesy of National Trust Castle Coole.She was the daughter of Colonel John Corry, MP (1666–1726).Pole Cosby and his Daughter Sarah, by James Latham, portrait courtesy of Gallery of the Masters website. Sarah (b. 1730) married, first, Arthur Upton (1715-1768) of Castle Upton in County Antrim, after his first wife Sophia Ward had died, and secondly, Robert Maxwell (d. 1779) 1st and last Earl of Farnham. https://www.galleryofthemasters.com/l-folder/latham-james-pole-cosby.htmlThe Archers, John Dyke Acland and Dudley Alexander Sydney Cosby (1732-1774), 1st Baron Sydney and Stradbally, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Mrs. Sydney Cosby, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Could it be Emily Ashworth (d. 1863), wife of Sydney Cosby (1807-1840)?General William Cosby (c. 1690-1736) by Charles Jervas 1710, Governor of New York, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Anne Boyle née Courteney, Countess of Cork and Orrery (1742-1785) Engraver James Watson, Irish, c.1740-1790 After Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Irish, 1740-1808, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.She married Edmund Boyle 7th Earl of Cork, 7th Earl of Orrery.Portrait Of A Lady traditionally identified as Caroline Courtenay Née Smith-Barry, courtesy of Whyte’s Sept 2007, daughter of James Smith-Barry (1746-1801) of Fota House, County Cork, she married George Courtenay of Ballyedmond House, County Cork (no longer exists).Mary Creighton (or Crichton) née Hervey, Countess of Erne, with her daughter Lady Caroline Creighton (or Crichton), later Lady Wharncliffe by Hugh D Hamilton courtesy of Christie’s 2004. Mary was daughter of Frederick Augustus Hervey 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry, who built Downhill in Derry, and she married John Creighton (or Crichton) 1st Earl Erne of Crom Castle.Henrietta Paulet née Crofts, Duchess of Bolton (1682-1730) daughter of James Crofts (Scott), 1st and last Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II. She married Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton.I think this is Jane Crosbie (c. 1713-1753), who married Thomas Mahon (1701-1782) of Strokestown, County Roscommon.She’s the daughter of Maurice Crosbie, 1st Baron Brandon.Arabella Crosbie (d. 1813) who married Edward Ward (1753-1812) of Castle Ward, County Down, by Anna Maria Frances Blackwood Price, courtesy of National Trust, Castle Ward. William Crosbie 1st Earl of Glandore, County Cork, son of 1st Baron Brandon.James Cuffe, 1st Baron Tyrawley, (1748-1821), Barrack-Master General and First Commissioner of the Board of Works in Ireland Date 1802 by Engraver John Raphael Smith, English, 1752-1812 After William Cuming, Irish, 1769-1852, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.A portrait of Jane Cuffe (1719-1806), daughter of James Cuffe of Ballinrobe, County Mayo, wife of George Jackson (1717-1789) of Enniscoe, County Mayo.Elizabeth Cuffe (1719-1794) who married Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford. She became Countess of Longford in her own right, through her father Michael Cuffe (1694-1744), who was heir to Ambrose Aungier, 2nd and last Earl of Longford (1st creation).
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Waterford:
1. Ballysaggartmore Towers, County Waterford
2. Bishop’s Palace Museum, Waterford
3. Cappagh House (Old and New), Cappagh, Dungarvan, Co Waterford– section 482
4. Cappoquin House & Gardens, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford– section 482
3. Cappoquin House holiday cottages, County Waterford
4. Dromana, Co Waterford – 482, holiday cottages€
5. Faithlegg House, Waterford, Co Waterford – hotel €€
6. Fort William, County Waterford, holiday cottages
7.Gaultier Lodge, Woodstown, Co Waterford€€
8. Richmond House, Cappoquin, Co Waterford – guest house
9. Salterbridge Gate Lodge, County Waterford €
10. Waterford Castle, The Island, Co Waterford €€
11. Woodhouse, County Waterford.
Whole House Rental County Waterford
1. Glenbeg House, Jacobean manor home, Glencairn, County Waterford P51 H5W0€€€ for two, € for 7-16 – whole house rental
2.Lismore Castle, whole house rental
Waterford:
1. Ballysaggartmore Towers, County Waterford
Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph by Chris Hill, 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]The Towers, Ballysaggartmore, Lismore, Co Waterford Courtesy of Luke Myers 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]
Mark Bence-Jones tells us (1988): p. 27. “(Keily, sub Ussher/IFR, Anson, sub Lichfield, E/PB) A late-Georgian house built round a courtyard, on the side of a steep hill overlooking the River Blackwater, to which a new front was subsequently added… A seat of the Keily family. Arthur Keily [1777-1862], who assumed the name of Ussher 1843, built two remarkable Gothic follies in the demesne, to the design of his gardener, J. Smith; one of them a turreted gateway, the other a castellated bridge over a stream. The house was bought at the beginning of the present century by Hon Claud Anson, who sold it 1930s. It was subsequently demolished. The follies remain, one of them being now occupied as a house.” [2]
The National Inventory describes this bridge and its towers:
“Three-arch rock-faced sandstone ashlar Gothic-style road bridge over ravine, c.1845, on a curved plan. Rock-faced sandstone ashlar walls with buttresses to piers, trefoil-headed recessed niches to flanking abutments, cut-stone stringcourse on corbels, and battlemented parapets having cut-stone coping. Three pointed arches with rock-faced sandstone ashlar voussoirs, and squared sandstone soffits. Sited in grounds shared with Ballysaggartmore House spanning ravine with grass banks to ravine…Detached five-bay single- and two-storey lodge, c.1845, to south-west comprising single-bay single-storey central block with pointed segmental-headed carriageway, single-bay single-stage turret over on a circular plan, single-bay single-storey recessed lower flanking bays, single-bay single-storey advanced end bay to right, single-bay single-storey advanced higher end bay to left, and pair of single-bay two-storey engaged towers to rear (north-east) on square plans….Rock-faced sandstone ashlar walls with cut-sandstone dressings including stepped buttresses, battlemented parapets on corbelled stringcourses having cut-stone coping, and corner pinnacles to central block on circular plans having battlemented coping. Pointed-arch window openings with paired pointed-arch lights over, no sills, and chamfered reveals. Some square-headed window openings with no sills, chamfered reveals, and hood mouldings over. Square-headed door openings with hood mouldings over….Detached five-bay single- and two-storey lodge, c.1845, to north-east comprising single-bay two-storey central block with pointed segmental-headed carriageway, single-bay single-storey flanking recessed bays, single-bay two-storey advanced end bay tower to right on a square plan, single-bay two-stage advanced higher end tower to left on a circular plan, and pair of single-bay two-stage engaged towers to rear (south-west) elevation on circular plans…Although initial indications suggest that the lodges are identical, individualistic features distinguish each piece, and contribute significantly to the architectural design quality of the composition. Well maintained, the composition retains its original form and massing, although many of the fittings have been lost as a result of dismantling works in the mid twentieth century. The construction in rock-faced sandstone produces an attractive textured visual effect, and attests to high quality stone masonry.”
Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph by Chris Hill, 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph Courtesy Celtic Routes, 2020, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph Courtesy Celtic Routes, 2020, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph Courtesy Celtic Routes, 2020, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph by Chris Hill, 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]
The National Inventory describes the gateway: “Gateway, c.1845, comprising ogee-headed opening, limestone ashlar polygonal flanking piers, and pair of attached two-bay single- and two-storey flanking gate lodges diagonally-disposed to east and to west comprising single-bay single-storey linking bays with single-bay two-storey outer bays having single-bay three-stage engaged corner turrets on circular plans…Limestone ashlar polygonal piers to gateway with moulded stringcourses having battlemented coping over, and sproketed finial to apex to opening with finial. Sandstone ashlar walls to gate lodges with cut-limestone dressings including stepped buttresses, stringcourses to first floor, moulded course to first stage to turrets, and battlemented parapets on consoled stringcourses (on profiled tables to turrets) having cut-limestone coping. Ogee-headed opening to gateway with decorative cast-iron double gates. Paired square-headed window openings to gate lodges with no sills, chamfered reveals, and hood mouldings over. Square-headed door openings with chamfered reveals, and hood mouldings over. Pointed-arch door openings to turrets with inscribed surrounds. Trefoil-headed flanking window openings with raised surrounds, and quatrefoil openings over. Cross apertures to top stages to turrets with raised surrounds. All fittings now gone. Interiors now dismantled with internal walls and floors removed.
“An impressive structure in a fantastical Gothic style, successfully combining a gateway and flanking gate lodges in a wholly-integrated composition. Now disused, with most of the external and internal fittings removed, the gateway nevertheless retains most of its original form and massing. The construction of the gateway attests to high quality stone masonry and craftsmanship, particularly to the fine detailing, which enhances the architectural and design quality of the site. The gateway forms an integral component of the Ballysaggartmore House estate and, set in slightly overgrown grounds, forms an appealing feature of Romantic quality in the landscape.“
The Gate Lodge, Ballysaggartmore, Lismore, Co Waterford Courtesy of Luke Myers 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]Ballysaggartmore Towers, Lismore, photograph by Chris Hill, 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]
2. Bishop’s Palace Museum, Waterford
Bishop’s Palace, Waterford, photograph from the National Library of Ireland, flickr constant commons.
Mark Bence-Jones writes (1988):
p. 282. “The Palace of the (C of I) Bishops of Waterford; one of the largest and – externally – finest episcopal residences in Ireland. Begun 1741 by Bishop Charles Este to the design of Richard Castle. The garden front, which faces over the mall and new forms a magnificent architectural group with the tower and spire of later C18 Cathedral, by John Roberts, is of three storeys; the ground floor being treated as a basement and rusticated. The centre of the ground floor breaks forward with three arches, forming the base of the pedimented Doric centrepiece of the storey above, which incorporates three windows. In the centre of the top storey is a circular niche, flanked by two windows. On either side of the centre are three bays. Bishop Este died 1745 before the Palace was finished, which probably explains why the interior is rather disappointing. The Palace ceased to be the episcopal residence early in the present century, and from then until ca 1965 it was occupied by Bishop Foy school. It has since been sold.”
Bishop’s Palace, Waterford by Keith Fitzgerald, 2014, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]
Archiseek adds: “It has now been extensively restored to showcase artefacts and art from Waterford’s Georgian and Victorian past. The two main facades are quite different: one having seven bays – the central bay having an more elaborate window treatment and a Gibbsian doorway; the other facade has eight bay with a more elaborate entrance and shallow pediment with blank niches.” [3]
The National Inventory explains about the designs of Richard Castle and John Roberts:
“An imposing Classical-style building commissioned by Bishop Miles (d. 1740) and subsequently by Bishop Charles Este (n. d.), and believed to have been initiated to plans prepared by Richard Castle (c.1690 – 1751), and completed to the designs prepared by John Roberts (1712 – 1796). The building is of great importance for its original intended use as a bishop’s palace, and for its subsequent use as a school. The construction of the building in limestone ashlar reveals high quality stone masonry, and this is particularly evident in the carved detailing, which has retained its intricacy. Well-maintained, the building presents an early aspect while replacement fittings have been installed in keeping with the original integrity of the design. The interior also incorporates important early or original schemes, including decorative plasterwork of artistic merit. Set on an elevated site, the building forms an attractive and commanding feature fronting on to The Mall (to south-east) and on to Cathedral Square (to north-west).”
Bishop’s Palace, Waterford City Courtesy Leo Byrne Photography 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]Bishop’s Palace, Waterford by Keith Fitzgerald, 2014, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]
3. Cappagh House (Old and New), Cappagh, Dungarvan, Co WaterfordX35 RH51– section 482
www.cappaghhouse.ie Open dates in 2024: April, June, Aug, Wed & Thurs, May & Sept, Wed, Thurs & Sat, National Heritage Week, Aug 17-25, 9.30am-1.30pm Fee: adult/OAP/student/€5, child under 12 free
www.cappoquinhouseandgardens.com Open dates in 2024: Apr 8-13, 15-20, 22-27, May 1-4, 6-18, 20-25, Aug 12-31, 9am-1pm Gardens open all year, except Sundays, 9am-4pm
Fee: house/garden €15, house only €10, garden only €6
www.curraghmorehouse.ie Open dates in 2024: May, June, July, Sept, Fri-Sun and Bank Holidays, National Heritage Week, Aug 17-25,10am-4pm Fee: adult/OAP/student, house/garden/shell house tour €22, garden €9, child under12 years free
www.dromanahouse.com Open dates in 2024: June 1-July 31, Tues-Sun and Bank Holidays, Aug 17-25, 2pm-6pm Fee: adult/OAP/student, house €10, garden €6, both €15, child under 12 years free, R.H.S.I members 50% off
The website tells us: “Fairbrook House garden and museum, Kilmeaden, Co.Waterford, Ireland X91FN83 A romantic walled garden at the river Dawn laid out between ruins of the former Fairbrook Mill (since 1700). OPEN MAY – SEPTEMBER”
Mount Congreve House and Gardens, Co Waterford Courtesy Celtic Routes 2019 for Tourism Ireland (see [1])
The website tells us: “Mount Congreve House and Gardens situated in Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford, in Ireland’s Ancient East is home to one of “the great gardens of the World”. Mount Congreve House, home to six generations of Congreves, was built in 1760 by the celebrated local architect John Roberts.
“The Gardens comprise around seventy acres of intensively planted woodland, a four acre walled garden and 16 kilometres of walkways. Planted on a slight incline overlooking the River Suir, Mount Congreve’s entire collection consists of over three thousand different trees and shrubs, more than two thousand Rhododendrons, six hundred Camellias, three hundred Acer cultivars, six hundred conifers, two hundred and fifty climbers and fifteen hundred herbaceous plants plus many more tender species contained in the Georgian glasshouse.“
The house was built for John Congreve (1730-1801), who held the office of High Sheriff of County Waterford in 1755. His grandfather John was Rector of Kilmacow, County Kilkenny, and his father Ambrose (1698-1741) played a leading role in the affairs of Waterford city. When Ambrose died his widow married Dr. John Whetcombe, Bishop of Clonfert and later Archbishop of Cashel.
John Congreve (1730-1801) married Mary Ussher, daughter of Beverly Ussher, MP, who lived at Kilmeadon, County Waterford.
Mark Bence-Jones tells us of Mount Congreve (1988):
p. 213. “(Congreve/IFR) An C18 house [the National Inventory says c. 1750] consisting of three storey seven bay centre block with two storey three bay overlapping wings; joined to pavilions by screen walls with arches on the entrance front and low ranges on the garden front, where the centre block has a three bay breakfront and an ionic doorcase. The house was remodelled and embellished ca 1965-69, when a deep bow was added in the centre of the entrance front, incorporating a rather Baroque Ionic doorcase, and the pavilions were adorned with cupolas and doorcases with broken pediments. Other new features include handsome gateways flanking the garden front at either end and a fountain with a statue in one of the courtyards between the house and pavilions. The present owner has also laid out magnificent gardens along the bank of the River Suir which now extends to upwards of 100 acres; with large scale plantings of rare trees and shrubs, notably rhododendrons and magnolias. The original walled gardens contains an eighteenth century greenhouse.”
Ambrose Ussher Congreve (1767-1809) inherited the estate and married Anne Jenkins.
Ambrose and Anne’s son John (1801-1863) was their heir.
Ambrose and Anne’s daughter Jane married John Cooke of Kiltinane Castle in County Tipperary. Daughter Mary married Reverend John Thomas Medlycott who lived in Rockett’s Castle in Portlaw, County Waterford. Their son Ambrose died unmarried.
John was Deputy Lieutenant and also High Sheriff of County Waterford. He married Louisa Harriet Dillon from Clonbrock in County Galway, daughter of Luke Dillon (1780-1826) 2nd Baron Clonbrock.
Their son Ambrose (1832-1901) inherited the estate, and he also held the positions of Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff for County Waterford. He married a cousin, Alice Elizabeth, daughter of Robert 3rd Baron Clonbrock.
Ambrose Congreve reading a newspaper at Clonbrock House, Ahascragh, Co. Galway, National Library of Ireland Ref. CLON422.
John (1872-1957) the son of Ambrose and Alice Elizabeth joined the military and fought in World War I. He married Helena Blanche Irene, daughter of Edward Ponsonby 8th Earl of Bessborough in County Kilkenny. Their son Ambrose Christian (1907-2011) worked for Unilever and then with the firm founded by his father-in-law, Humphreys and Glasgow. He inherited Mount Congreve and developed and improved the garden. In April 2011 Mr. Congreve was in London en route to the Chelsea Flower Show, aged 104, when he died. He married but had no children. The estate was left in Trust for the Irish people.
2012 Auction Catalogue for Mount Congreve.
Mount Congreve Gardens was closed for new development works but has reopened. An article by Ann Power in the Mount Congreve blog, 22nd Sept 2021, tells us:
“The 70-acre Mount Congreve Gardens overlooking the River Suir and located around 7km from the centre of Waterford City will close on October 10th 2021. The closure is to facilitate the upcoming works on Mount Congreve House and Gardens as it will be redeveloped into a world-class tourism destination with an enhanced visitor experience which is set to open for summer 2022.
“Funding of €3,726,000 has been approved under the Rural Regeneration Development Fund with additional funding from Failte Ireland and Waterford City & County Council for the visitor attraction, which is home to one of the largest private collections of plants in the world. The redevelopment and restoration of the Estate is set to provide enhanced visitor amenities including the repair of the historic greenhouse, improved access to grounds and pathways, and provision of family-friendly facilities. Car parking & visitor centre with cafe & retail.
“The project is planned for completion in 2022 and will create a new visitor centre featuring retail, food and beverage facilities, kitchens, toilets, and a ticket desk while also opening up new areas of the estate to the public including parts of the main house which has never been accessible to the public before.“
The website tells us: “The Woodland gardens at Mount Congreve were founded on the inspiration, generosity and encouragement of Mr. Lionel N. de Rothschild. He became arguably, the greatest landscaper of the 20th Century and one of the cleverest hybridists. He died in 1942. The original gardens at Mount Congreve had comprised of a simple terraced garden with woodland of ilexes and sweet chestnuts on the slopes falling down to the river. The Gardens are held in Trust for the State.
Mount Congreve Estate Gardens, Co Waterford Courtesy Sonder Visuals 2017 for Tourism Ireland (see [3]). In April 2011 Mr. Congreve was in London en route to the Chelsea Flower Show, aged 104, when he died. His ashes were returned to Mount Congreve and placed in the temple overlooking his gardens and the River Suir below.
“The original gardens at Mount Congreve had comprised of a simple terraced garden with woodland of ilexes and sweet chestnuts on the slopes falling down to the river. Ambrose Congreve began planting parts of these in his late teens but it was not until 1955 that he began to make large clearings in the woodlands to create the necessary conditions where his new plants would thrive. With the arrival of Mr. Herman Dool in the early sixties, the two men began the process that would lead to Mount Congreve’s recognition as one of the ‘Great Gardens of the World’. Up to the very last years of his life, Mr Congreve could be found in the gardens dispensing orders and advice relating to his beloved plants.“
Mount Congreve Estate Gardens, Co Waterford Courtesy Sonder Visuals 2017 for Tourism Ireland (see [1])From “In Harmony with Nature, The Irish Country House Garden 1600-1900” in the Irish Georgian Society, July 2022, curated by Robert O’Byrne.
The Presentation Convent, photograph from National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Open dates in 2024: Jan 2-31, Feb 1-4, 6-29, Mar 1-17, 19-28, 30-31, April 2-30, May 1-5, 7-31, June 4-28, July 1-31, Aug 1-4, 6-30, Sept 2-30, Oct 1-27, 29-31, Nov 1-29, Dec 2-23, 27-30, closed Bank Holidays, 8.30am-5.30pm Fee: Free
The National Inventory tells us it is a:
“Detached ten-bay two-storey over basement Gothic Revival convent, built 1848 – 1856, on a quadrangular plan about a courtyard comprising eight-bay two-storey central block with two-bay two-storey gabled advanced end bays to north and to south, ten-bay two-storey over part-raised basement wing to south having single-bay four-stage tower on a circular plan, eight-bay two-storey recessed wing to east with single-bay two-storey gabled advanced engaged flanking bays, six-bay double-height wing to north incorporating chapel with two-bay single-storey sacristy to north-east having single-bay single-storey gabled projecting porch, and three-bay single-storey wing with dormer attic to north…
“An attractive, substantial convent built on a complex plan arranged about a courtyard. Designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812 – 1852) in the Gothic Revival style, the convent has been well maintained, retaining its original form and character, together with many important salient features and materials. However, the gradual replacement of the original fittings to the openings with inappropriate modern articles threatens the historic character of the composition. The construction of the building reveals high quality local stone masonry, particularly to the cut-stone detailing, which has retained its original form. A fine chapel interior has been well maintained, and includes features of artistic design distinction, including delicate stained glass panels, profiled timber joinery, including an increasingly-rare rood screen indicative of high quality craftsmanship, and an open timber roof construction of some technical interest. The convent remains an important anchor site in the suburbs of Waterford City and contributes to the historic character of an area that has been substantially developed in the late twentieth century.” [7]
House, April 2- 30, May 1-31, June 4-29, Aug 1-31, Tue-Sat, National Heritage Week, Aug 17-25, 1pm-5pm
Garden April- Sept, Tue-Sat, 1am-5pm
Fee: adult €6, OAP/student €4, child free.
Places to stay, County Waterford
1. Annestown House, County Waterford – B&B€
Annestown House, County Waterford, photograph from National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie
We were lucky to stay at the cottages at Annestown House in May 2023! I swam in the sea every day there, in the wonderful bay. The house was advertised for sale the following month.
Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. We stayed in the blue converted stables in back.
It was a heavenly place to stay, as the setting was so lovely, and we were able to sit out and look at the view over the sea. Rabbits emerged on the lawn regularly, and I enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching them venture out across the lawn, which used to be a tennis court and croquet lawn.
The first part of the house seems to have been built around 1770 for Henry St. George Cole. The Landed Estates database tells us that he was a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Board of Waterford Port. His death is reported in contemporary newspapers in 1819. Mark Bence-Jones tells us it was bought around 1830 by the Palliser family.
The National Inventory gives us more detail on its construction: “Detached six-bay two-storey house with dormer attic, c.1820, retaining early fenestration with single-bay two-storey gabled entrance bay, single-bay two-storey gabled end bay having single-bay two-storey canted bay window, three-bay two-storey wing to north originally separate house, c.1770, and three-bay two-storey return to west. Extended, c.1920, comprising single-bay single-storey lean-to recessed end bay to south.“
Mark Bence-Jones tells us of Annestown:
p. 5. “(Palliser, sub Galloway/IFR) Rambling three storey house at right angles to the village street of Annestown, which is in fact two houses joined together. The main front of the house faces the sea; but it has a gable end actually on the street. Low-ceilinged but spacious rooms; long drawing room divided by an arch with simple Victorian plasterwork; large library approached by a passage. Owned at beginning of 19C by Henry St. George Cole, bought ca. 1830 by the Palliser family, from whom it was inherited by the Galloways.”
Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie.
The advertisement by Savills Residential & Country Agency with myhome.ie describes the interior:
“Entering through a porch, this opens into an impressive hall, which offers access to the main reception rooms which include the dining room and drawing room which are most impressive. Located on the right wing of the house is the games room while on the left wing is the kitchen and breakfast room. A staircase in the rear hall leads up to the first floor where there is the master bedroom suite. There are 6 further bedrooms (two ensuite) and a bathroom on this level. On the second floor, there are two additional attic rooms and a shower room.…While the accommodation has been extended since its original construction, the house has been beautifully maintained with many notable period features which include hardwood floors, architraves, decorative fireplaces, sash and cash windows, cornices and ceiling roses.“
Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie.
Timothy William Ferres tells us that Reverend John Bury Palliser (1791-1864) lived here. He was Rector of Clonmel. His father was John Palliser of Derryluskan, County Tipperary and his mother Grace Barton from Grove House in County Tipperary.
The Reverend Palliser married Julia Phillida Howe. Their son and heir was Wray Bury Palliser (1831-1906). A younger brother died aged just 25 in the China War, in China.
Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. Annestown House, courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie.
Wray was High Sheriff of County Waterford in 1883, Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace. He married Maria Victoria Josephine Gubbins, daughter of Joseph Gubbins of Kilfrush House in County Limerick. They had a daughter, Alice Grace Palliser who died aged only 15. The property therefore passed via a brother of Reverend John Bury Palliser, Wray Bury Palliser of Derryluskan, to his son William (1830-1882). William was in the military and married Anne Perham.
His daughter Mary Jane Sybil (1874-1940) married Major Harold Bessemer Galloway in 1908, who was from Scotland. Their son Ian Charles joined the military and lived in Tynte Park in County Wicklow and in Scotland. Their son Wray Bury Galloway (1914-1994) lived in Annestown. He married Mary Clayton Alcock from Wilton Castle in County Wexford – we have also stayed in Wilton Castle, a Section 482 property!
It remained with the Galloway family until 2008, Timothy William Ferres tells us. John and Pippa Galloway ran a restaurant in th house, and John had been restaurant manager in Waterford Castle hotel.
The converted stables and barn where we stayed at Annestown House, photograph courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie. The stable yard at Annestown House, County Waterford, converted into holiday accommodation, photograph from National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.I sat here on the lawn at Annestown to watch the rabbits, photograph courtesy of Savills Residential & Country Agencyand myhome.ie.
Ballyrafter House, County Waterford, photograph from myhome.ie
I’m not sure if this is still a hotel as it was advertised for sale in 2020. The Myhome website tells us: “Ballyrafter House was built circa 1830, on the commission of the Duke of Devonshire, one of the wealthiest men in England, whose Irish Seat is the nearby Lismore Castle. Initially intended for the Duke’s Steward, it soon became a hunting and fishing lodge for his guests.“
Inside Ballyrafter House, photograph from myhome.ie
Faithlegg House Hotel, Co Waterford, Courtesy Colin Shanahan_ Faithlegg House Hotel 2021, for Tourism Ireland. (see [1])
Mark Bence-Jones describes Faithlegg House (1988):
p. 123. (Power/IFR; Gallwey/IFR) A three storey seven bay block with a three bay pedimented breakfront, built 1783 by Cornelius Bolton, MP, whose arms, elaborately displayed, appear in the pediment. Bought 1819 by the Powers who ca 1870 added two storey two bay wings with a single-storey bow-fronted wings beyond them. At the same time the house was entirely refaced, with segmental hoods over the ground floor windows; a portico or porch with slightly rusticated square piers was added, as well as an orangery prolonging one of the single-storey wings. Good C19 neo-Classical ceilings in the principal rooms of the main block, and some C18 friezes upstairs. Sold 1936 by Mrs H.W.D. Gallwey (nee Power); now a college for boys run by the De La Salle Brothers.”
The Faithlegg website tells us that the house was probably built by John Roberts (1714-1796): “a gifted Waterford architect who designed the Waterford’s two Cathedrals, City Hall, Chamber of Commerce and Infirmary. He leased land from Cornelius Bolton at Faithlegg here he built his own house which he called Roberts Mount. He built mansions for local gentry and was probably the builder of Faithlegg House in 1783.”
The website tells us of more about the history of the house:
“Faithlegg stands at the head of Waterford Harbour, where the three sister rivers of the Barrow, Nore and Suir meet. As a consequence, it has been to the fore in the history of not just Waterford but also Ireland. For it was via the harbour and these rivers that the early settlers entered and from the hill that we stand under, the Minaun, that the harbour was monitored. Here legend tells us sleeps the giant Cainche Corcardhearg son of Fionn of the Fianna who was stationed here to keep a watch over Leinster.
“A Norman named Strongbow landed in the harbour in 1170 and this was followed by the arrival of Henry II in October 1171. Legend has it that Henry’s fleet numbered 600 ships and one of the merchants who donated to the flotilla was a Bristol merchant named Aylward. He was handsomely rewarded with the granting of 7000 acres of land centred in Faithlegg. The family lived originally in a Motte and Baily enclosure the remains of which is still to be seen. This was followed by Faithlegg Castle and the 13th century church in the grounds of the present Faithlegg church dates from their era too. The family ruled the area for 500 years until they were dispossessed in 1649 by the armies of Oliver Cromwell. The property was subsequently granted to a Cromwellian solider, Captain William Bolton.
“Over a century later in 1783 the present house was commenced by Cornelius Bolton who had inherited the Faithlegg Estate from his father in 1779. Cornelius was an MP, a progressive landlord and businessman. Luck was not on his side however and financial difficulties followed. In 1819 the Bolton family sold the house and lands to Nicholas and Margaret Mahon Power, who had married the year before. It was said that Margaret’s dowry enabled the purchase. The Powers adorned the estate with the stag’s head and cross, which was the Power family crest. It remains the emblem of Faithlegg to this day.”
Margaret, the website tells us, was the only daughter and heiress of Nicholas Mahon of Dublin. She married Nicholas Power in 1818 and the couple came to live in Faithlegg. It was not a happy marriage and, following a legal separation in 1860, she returned to live in Dublin where she died in 1866.
“The House passed to Hubert Power, the only son of Pat & Lady Olivia Power, and in 1920 upon Hubert’s death, it passed to his daughter Eily Power, in 1935 Eily and her husband sold the House to the De la Salle order of teaching brothers after which it acted as a junior novitiate until 1986.
“The last remaining gap in history is from 1980’s until 1998 when it was taken over by FBD Property and Leisure Group.“
6. Fort William, County Waterford, holiday cottages
Fort William, County Waterford, photograph from National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
p. 126. “Gumbleton, sub Maxwell-Gumbleton/LG1952; Grosvenor, Westminster, B/PB) A two storey house of sandstone ashlar with a few slight Tudor-Revival touches, built 1836 for J. B. [John Bowen] Gumbleton to the design of James & George Richard Pain. Three bay front with three small gables and a slender turret-pinnacle at either side; doorway recessed in segmental-pointed arch Georgian glazed rectangular sash windows with hood mouldings. Tudor chimneys. Other front of seven bays; plain three bay side elevation. Large hall, drawing room with very fine Louis XI boiseries, introduced by 2nd Duke of Westminster, Fort William was his Irish home from ca 1946 to his death in 1953. Afterwards the house of Mr and Mrs Henry Drummond-Wolff, then Mr and Mrs Murray Mitchell.”
Fort William, County Waterford, photograph from National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
The Historic Houses of Ireland gives us more detail about the house, including explaining its name:
“In the early eighteenth century the Gumbleton family, originally from Kent, purchased an estate beside the River Blackwater in County Waterford, a few miles upstream from Lismore. The younger son, William Conner Gumbleton, inherited a portion of the estate and built a house named Fort William, following the example of his cousin, Robert Conner, who had called his house in West Cork Fort Robert. The estate passed to his nephew, John Bowen Gumbleton, who commissioned a new house by James and George Richard Pain, former apprentices of John Nash with a thriving architectural practice in Cork.
“Built in 1836, in a restrained Tudor Revival style, the new house is a regular building of two stories in local sandstone with an abundance of gables, pinnacles and tall Elizabethan chimneys. The interior is largely late-Georgian and Fortwilliam is essentially a classical Georgian house with a profusion of mildly Gothic details.
“Gumbleton’s son died at sea and his daughter Frances eventually leased the house to Colonel Richard Keane, brother of Sir John from nearby Cappoquin House. The Colonel was much annoyed when his car, reputedly fitted with a well-stocked cocktail cabinet, was commandeered by the IRA so he permitted Free State troops to occupy the servants’ wing at Fortwilliam during the Civil War, which may have influenced the Republican’s decision to burn his brother’s house in 1923.
“When Colonel Keane died in a shooting accident, the estate reverted to Frances Gumbleton’s nephew, John Currey, and was sold to a Mr Dunne, who continued the tradition of letting the house. His most notable tenant was Adele Astaire, sister of the famous dancer and film star Fred Astaire, who became the wife of Lord Charles Cavendish from nearby Lismore Castle.
“In 1944 the Gumbleton family repurchased Fortwilliam but resold for £10,000 after just two years. The new owner was Hugh Grosvenor, second Duke of Westminster and one of the world’s wealthiest men. His nickname ‘Bend or’ was a corruption of the heraldic term Azure, a bend or, arms the Court of Chivalry had forced his ancestor to surrender to Lord Scroope in 1389 and still a source of irritation after six hundred years. Already thrice divorced, the duke’s name had been linked to a number of fashionable ladies, including the celebrated Parisian couturier Coco Chanel.
“Fortwilliam is in good hunting country with some fine beats on a major salmon river, which allowed the elderly duke to claim he had purchased an Irish sporting base. Its real purpose, however, was to facilitate his pursuit of Miss Nancy Sullivan, daughter of a retired general from Glanmire, near Cork, who soon became his fourth duchess.
“They made extensive alterations at Fortwilliam, installing the fine gilded Louis XV boiseries in the drawing room, removed from the ducal seat at Eaton Hall, in Cheshire, and fitting out the dining room with panelling from one of his sumptuous yachts. He died in 1953 but his widow survived for a further fifty years, outliving three of her husband’s successors at Eaton Lodge in Cheshire. Anne, Duchess of Westminster was renowned as one of the foremost National Hunt owners of the day. Her bay gelding, Arkle, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on three successive occasions and is among the most famous steeplechasers of all time.
“Fortwilliam was briefly owned by the Drummond-Wolfe family before passing to an American, Mr. Murray Mitchell. On his widow’s death it was purchased by Ian Agnew and his wife Sara, who undertook a sensitive restoration before he too died in 2009. In 2013 the estate was purchased by David Evans-Bevan who lives at Fortwilliam today with his family, farming and running the salmon fishery.“
“Gaultier Lodge is an 18th Century Georgian Country House designed by John Roberts, which overlooks the beach at Woodstown on the south east coast of Co. Waterford in Ireland. Enjoy high quality bed and breakfast guest accommodation next to the beach and Waterford Bay. Relax and unwind in the tastefully decorated rooms and warm inviting bedrooms. Enjoy an Irish breakfast each morning.”
8. Richmond House, Cappoquin, Co Waterford – guest house
Richmond House, Cappoquin, County Waterford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
“The Earl of Cork built Richmond House in 1704. Refurbished and restored each of the 9 bedrooms feature period furniture and warm, spacious comfort. All rooms are ensuite and feature views of the extensive grounds and complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access is available throughout the house. An award winning 18th century Georgian country house, Richmond House is situated in stunning mature parkland surrounded by magnificent mountains and rivers.
“Richmond House facilities include a fully licensed restaurant with local and French cuisine. French is also spoken at Richmond House. Each bedroom offers central heating, direct dial telephone, television, trouser press, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, tea-and coffee-making facilities and a Richmond House breakfast.”
In his book Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988) Mark Bence-Jones describes it: “a three storey late Georgian block. Five bay front with Doric porch; three bay side. Eaved roof on bracket cornice. In 1814, the residence of Michael Keane; in 1914, of Gerald Villiers-Stuart.“
Waterford Castle Hotel, photo by Shane O’Neill 2010 for Tourism Ireland. (see [1])
The Archiseek website tells us that Waterford Castle is: “A small Norman keep that was extended and “restored” in the late 19th century. An initial restoration took place in 1849, but it was English architect W.H. Romaine-Walker who extended it and was responsible for its current appearance today. The original keep is central to the composition with two wings added, and the keep redesigned to complete the composition.“
The National Inventory adds: “Detached nine-bay two- and three-storey over basement Gothic-style house, built 1895, on a quasi H-shaped plan incorporating fabric of earlier house, pre-1845, comprising three-bay two-storey entrance tower incorporating fabric of medieval castle, pre-1645…A substantial house of solid, muscular massing, built for Gerald Purcell-Fitzgerald (n. d.) to designs prepared by Romayne Walker (n. d.) (supervised by Albert Murrary (1849 – 1924)), incorporating at least two earlier phases of building, including a medieval castle. The construction in unrefined rubble stone produces an attractive, textured visual effect, which is mirrored in the skyline by the Irish battlements to the roof. Fine cut-stone quoins and window frames are indicative of high quality stone masonry. Successfully converted to an alternative use without adversely affecting the original character of the composition, the house retains its original form and massing together with important salient features and materials, both to the exterior and to the interior, including fine timber joinery and plasterwork to the primary reception rooms.”
Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort 2021 County Waterford, from Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [1])Photograph Courtesy of Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort, 2021, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [1])Waterford Castle Hotel, photo by Shane O’Neill 2016 for Tourism Ireland. (see [1])
11. Woodhouse, County Waterford – gate lodge and cottages
We visited Woodhouse on a day trip with the Cork Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society on a gloriously sunny day on May 24th, 2023. The home owners Jim and Sally Thompson welcomed us into their home, and historian Marianna Lorenc delivered a wonderful talk about the history of the house and the family who lived there.
“The original house was built in the early part of the 17th century by the Fitzgerald family (a branch of the MacThomas Geraldines of the Decies).
An old estate map of Woodhouse.An information board in the museum.
“While in the ownership of the Uniacke family it was passed by inheritance to the Beresford family and subsequently sold by Lord William Beresford in ca 1970. The House has since been extended over the years to become an impressive six bay window residence with bright and spacious rooms overlooking this private estate with the River Tay flowing through.”
The website gives us a detailed description of the history of the house so I will quote it here:
“The house of Woodhouse as we see it at present was built in at least three stages.
“The first one dates back to early 1600’s and the Munster Plantation, when the Messenger for Court of Wards and Liveries, an English Protestant and Undertaker (in other words Planter), James Wallis Esq., rented the lands of Woodhouse, Carrigcrokie, Stradballymore, Ballykerogue and others from the fellow Elizabethan settler and land distributor Richard Beacon. The latter gentleman was awarded the lands of the Catholic FitzGerald family in Co. Limerick and Co. Waterford (Woodhouse) by the Queen in appreciation for having performed his duties as her majesty’s attorney for the province of Munster. After leasing the land James Wallis had built a fine stone house, a mill, a walled garden accompanied by a numerous outbuildings and weirs (river dams) in the river Tay. The original house was built in an Elizabethan style on a rectangular plan.“
James Wallis (ca. 1570-1661).
“During the 1641 Rebellion in Ireland, James Wallis Esq. was forced out of Woodhouse by rebels and despite his detailed Deposition made in 1642 describing the damage to his house and the loss of his goods, as well as the favourable court ruling in his favour in 1653, he never returned to the property.“
At Woodhouse, County Waterford.
“The 1654 Civil Survey states that the owner of Woodhouse was then Thomas FitzGerald. Two generations later his grandson Major Richard MacThomas FitzGerald (then of Prospect House in Kinsalebeg, Co. Waterford) was facing large debts and had no way of paying them back so he had to sell the house and lands in 1724. Richard MacThomas Fitzgerald received over £8000 for this property but could only retain £840 while the rest was required to cover his debts.
“The new owner of Woodhouse was Richard MacThomas Fitzgerald’s distant relative and close neighbour Thomas Uniacke Esq. of Ballyvergin, Barnageehy and Youghal. It was then that the second phase of development for Woodhouse started. Thomas’ sons, Borr and Maurice Uniacke, invested heavily into renovating the dilapidated house and completely changed its character by developing it into a Georgian structure. There is no evidence to confirm who the architect of the changes was so it’s quite possible that the wealthy Uniacke family used the “Pattern Books” and hired traveling stonemasons to introduce the changes. The house was substantially enlarged and its functionality vastly changed. At this time the Woodhouse estate was is thought to have consisted of about 2500 acres in total.
“What the house looked like, may be seen at one of Borr Uniacke’s granddaughter’s amateur painting which was likely done in the first half of 1800s.“
Colonel Robert Uniacke (1756-1802).
“Woodhouse remained with the Uniacke family for about 130 years but in 1853 the Estate changed hands again. It did not entirely leave the Uniacke family inasmuch as the last heiress of this branch of the family, Frances Constantia Uniacke, having inherited Woodhouse from her older brother, Robert Borr Uniacke in 1844, married George John Beresford the grandnephew of the 1st Marquess of Waterford. Frances and George John took on the responsibility for the house and had the house and the outbuildings further extended. Owing to his sufferings caused by severe gout, at the back of the main house he had built a Turkish bath. We also know that construction of the boat house in nearby Stradbally Cove (which in contemporary nautical charts was called the Blind Cove) was done at this time.“
George John Beresford (1807-1864).
“For almost a century after that Woodhouse did not see any major changes and once again it became in need of extensive work to save it. Most of the eight Beresford children of George John and Frances Beresford married but none of them had children of their own. In 1933, the last surviving daughter of the couple, Lady Emily Frances Louisa (Beresford) Hodson bequeathed Woodhouse (the main house, 550 acres of land and the village of Stradbally) to her distant cousin Lt. Lord Hugh Tristram de la Poer Beresford Royal Navy, the sixth child of the 6th Marquess of Waterford. At the time of Lady Hodson’s death Lord Hugh was Aide De Camp to the Governor General of South Africa, yet he still managed to order renovation works including the installation of electricity and running water to the house. There is an extensive written evidence of his endeavours, which describes the works undertaken.
Emily Frances Louisa (née Beresford) Hodson(1861-1934).At Woodhouse, County Waterford.
“In 1936 Lord Hugh Beresford made his last will and testament and bequeathed Woodhouse to his older brother Major Lord William Mostyn de la Poer Beresford. When in 1941 Lt. Cmdr. Lord Hugh Beresford was killed in action during the Battle of Crete, the will and testament were probated and when in 1944 Major Lord William Beresford returned from the war he took on Woodhouse, its lands and the village of Stradbally. Hence the third stage of structural development for Woodhouse began. Until his return however, the Estate was looked after by Arthur Hunt Esq. who had been the agent for the Beresford family since the late 1800s.
“Upon his return from the war, Lord William Beresford moved into Woodhouse. He found the Estate to be quite run down and badly in need of repairs.
“Lord William introduced considerable changes not only to the structure of the main house, but he also developed the land and garden in such a way that they yielded large crops. Every week he transported the rich surplus of vegetables, fruits and dairy products to Waterford where they were sold in the first Co-Op in town.
“Lord William and his wife Rachel are remembered as a good and kind people who successfully ran Woodhouse as a working farm and they put all their energy into making it a self-sufficient establishment.”Lord William and his wife Rachel are remembered as a good and kind people who successfully ran Woodhouse as a working farm and they put all their energy into making it a self-sufficient establishment.
“The year 1971 was the year when everything had changed for Woodhouse. It was the first time in 250 years that it was sold outside of the Fitzgerald/Uniacke/Beresford Anglo-Irish family. In that year Lord William sold the Estate to Mr. John McCoubrey who farmed and bred his cattle here and, thanks to the auspicious nature, he succeeded in that enterprise. However only one year later Mr. McCoubrey decided to move on and he, too, sold Woodhouse.
“In 1972 Mr. John Rohan bought the house and all the lands. The new owner began extensive renovations to the main house and, being the Master of the Waterford Hunt, built stables for his horses and kennels for his dogs in the walled garden. He also purchased and installed the beautiful black gate at the main entrance to the Estate.“
“Ten years later, in 1983 Woodhouse changed hands again and was purchased as an investment by a company owned by Mr. Mahmoud Fustok and his associates from the Middle East. Mr. Fustok never occupied Woodhouse but chose to make it available to Dr John O’Connell, an Irish parliamentarian, and his friends. The house was adjusted to their style, but no major renovations took place between 1983 and 2006.
“After 23 years under Mr. Fustok’s ownership Woodhouse was purchased by two Irish business partners – Mr. Aidan Farrell and Mr. Charles O’Reilly-Hyland. After their purchase these two owners sold some land parcels of Woodhouse to interested parties and made some improvements to the Estate but did not make it their residence. Eventually in 2012 they decided to sell the entire estate.“
“The new purchasers, Jim Thompson and his wife Sally, took on the task of renovating and modernizing the vastly run-down house, cottages, outbuildings and lands. Their initiative involved an enormous amount of effort and patience but ultimately was successful. The works extended into every part of the large Estate (500 acres) and was achieved over a period of six years with the support and encouragement of the people of Stradbally.“
“After many years of being forgotten and with no sufficient means to sustain itself, Woodhouse was brought back to life by various experts – architectural, building, landscape, and farm – who guided the Thompsons through the long renovation process. This commitment to bring Woodhouse back to its former glory proved very successful and as of 2019 – 400 years after the house was originally built – Woodhouse is a vibrant estate once more.“
We gathered at the ancilliary buildings for coffee and a chat before Marianna’s introduction to the house’s history. She has published a book that was for sale, along with Julian Walton.
After our talk, we visited the house and then the walled garden. The website tell us:
“When Woodhouse changed hands in 2012 a project was undertaken to bring the walled garden back to its former glory. Today the Walled Garden and Orchard have a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and many types of flowers and, thanks to Paddy Kiely and his excellent team of skilled workmen, has developed in a place of beauty in tune with nature as it was planned when originally built.An oasis of calm and tranquility situated right in the centre of the Estate, the beautifully restored Walled Garden is a perfect venue for small intimate weddings and gatherings. Completely enclosed and surrounded by high stone walls the walled garden has flowers beds, beautiful green lawns, a raised pergola overlooking the entire garden and a soothing water feature. As well as providing a beautiful backdrop for weddings the Walled Garden is also an ideal venue for a variety of special events. Whether you are looking to toast a birthday or anniversary or hold a charity event the Walled Garden adds a special atmosphere to any occasion. For more information please get in touch1woodhouseestate@gmail.com “
Glenbeg House, County Waterford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
The website tells us: “Tranquil historic estate accommodating guests in luxury. Glenbeg, a historic castle which has been sensitively restored, preserving its historic past, whilst catering to the needs and comforts of modern living.
“Glenbeg Estate is the maternal home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who visited during his life time and wrote some of his early work while visiting with his family here. You and your party will have exclusive use of the property during your stay.“
“Lismore Castle’s 800-year history is everywhere you look, from the stained-glass windows and thick stone walls, to the centuries-old gardens and the exceptional artworks by Old Masters and leading contemporary artists. Available for rent, this exclusive use castle in Ireland’s county Waterford is the perfect retreat for you and your guests.“
Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Lismore greenhouse, photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.Photograph courtesy of The Hall and Lismore Castle website.
[2] 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.
Irish Historic Houses 