Lisnabin, Killucan, Co Westmeath
Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 187. “(Purdon/IFR) A C18 house castellated ca 1840 for Edward Purdon with battlements and slender polygonal turrets at the corners and on either side of the entrance door. Circular stair hall.”
Lisnabin Castle, LISNABIN, County Westmeath
Detached three-bay two-storey (with dormer storey) castellated country house, built c.1824, having corner turrets on octagonal plan to corners and (slightly taller) turrets on octagonal plan to each side of central bay to entrance façade (northeast). Three-storey battlemented tower (on square-plan) rising from the centre of the house. Curved section of battlemented curtain wall runs away to the northwest side terminated by castellated gateway with pointed segmental-headed arch having cast-iron double gates, which is flanked by two-storey octagonal turrets. Gateway gives access to stable block and coach house (15402032) behind castle (southwest). Hipped natural slate roof with dormer range (added c.1912) hidden behind battlemented parapet. Constructed of rubble limestone with extensive ashlar limestone trim, including projecting string courses, chamfered plinth course and dressings to openings. Turrets constructed of ashlar limestone with incised cross motifs. Doorcase set in section of dressed limestone. Square-headed window openings with hoodmouldings over, chamfered cut stone sills and twelve-over-twelve pane timber sliding sash windows with decorative timber tracery to heads. Pointed-arched window openings with hoodmouldingsover to central two octagonal towers. Central square-headed doorcase in chamfered surround with timber double doors with Gothic decoration. Doorcase flanked by sidelights. Set back from road in extensive mature grounds with stable block/ coach yard southwest (15402032), range of outbuildings arranged around a central courtyard to the south (not accessed) and a gate (15402015) and gate lodge to the northeast (15402033). Located to the northwest of Killucan in mature parkland.
Appraisal
A fine and distinguished early nineteenth-century castellated country house, which retains its early form, character and its important early fabric. Lisnabin has a distinctive picturesque appearance that has an instant visual appeal. It has the appearance of a typical late-Georgian symmetrical house with an applied layer of Gothic detailing to the exterior and is not really a Gothic castle on the sprawling irregular scale of Knockdrin Castle (15401322) or Tullynally Castle (15400321), for example. Lisnabin Castle was reputedly built for Edward Purdon in 1824 after the previous house burnt down in 1819. Some sources suggest that this house is the castellation of a late eighteenth-century structure, which was not an uncommon practice during the early nineteenth-century (for example Killua Castle, Clonmellon 15306023). It is not impossible that the shell of the burnt out house was used in the construction of the present edifice, which could explain its unusually symmetrical form for a Georgian Gothic castle. This is difficult to confirm as the interior layout/plan is similar to many early nineteenth-century country houses in Ireland and the castle was described as ‘a handsome castellated mansion recently erected’, by Lewis in his ‘Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’, published in 1837. The Purdon Family had a number of other country seats in Westmeath during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including nearby Huntingdon House (15402011), Joristown House, Raharney (demolished) and Curristown House, Killucan (demolished). Lisnabin was the site of a ‘castle’ recorded in the Down Survey (1654-6). It is possible that some of the fabric was incorporated into the present structure. Lisnabin Castle remains an important element of the architectural heritage of Westmeath and forms the centerpiece of an attractive collection of demesne related structures with the associated outbuildings to the south and southwest (15402032) and the gate (15402015) and gate lodge (15402033) to the northeast.
Main entrance gates serving Lisnabin Castle (15402014), built or re-erected c.1860, comprising four crenellated ashlar limestone gate piers (on square-plan), having associated cast-iron gates and railings with decorative cast-iron supports. Carved coat of arms of the Purdon Family to the front face (northeast) of each of the gate piers. Rubble limestone (curved) screen walls run away to northwest and southeast forming (gravel) forecourt to exterior of gates. Located to the northeast of Lisnabin Castle (15402014) with attendant gate lodge to south (15402033). Estate wall runs away to the north.
Appraisal
An elegant set of entrance gates, which make a suitably fine first impression on entry to the Lisnabin Castle Demesne (15402014). The construction in tooled ashlar limestone and the very fine cast-iron gates and railings exhibit high quality craftsmanship of artistic merit. The carved stone coat of arms of the Purdon Family, the original owners of Lisnabin Castle, adds an extra dimension of historical merit to this gateway. The associated estate walls complete this fine composition, which forms an appealing self-contained pair with the attendant gate lodge to the southwest (15402033). These gates were erected or re-erected in the mid nineteenth-century (Ordnance Survey Map 1837) and may have been moved from a previousmain entrance to the northwest of the present gate.
Stable block and coach yard to the rear (southwest) of Lisnabin Castle (15402014), built c.1824, comprising central advanced two-bay two-storey section with three-storey tower (on square-plan) with battlemented parapet over with Irish Crenellations, flanked to the northwest and southeast by lower two-bay two-storey sections with central segmental-headed carriage arches. Pitched natural slate roofs to lower two-storey sections with battlemented parapet over two-storey central section. Constructed of rubble limestone with ashlar limestone trim and dressings. Square-headed window openings with timber casement windows and cut-stone sills. Cast-iron security bars to ground floor openings. Square-headed doorcases with battened timber half doors. Stable block and coach yard is accessed through a pointed segmental-headed carriage arch, flanked by octagonal turrets, having cast-iron double gates to the northwest side of the castle. Crenellated curtain wall screens complex from view on approach to Lisnabin Castle from the northeast. Extensive complex of rubble stone single and two-storey outbuildings (hipped natural slate roofs) to the south, arranged around a central cobbled courtyard (not accessed). A number of single-storey detached rubble limestone structures with square-headed openings lies to the south of this southern courtyard.
Appraisal
A suitably fine early-to-mid nineteenth-century stable block and complex of outbuildings associated with Lisnabin Castle (15402014). It is built in a Gothic castellated style, which mirrors the form and architectural style of the main house itself. This complex is built to a very high standard with good quality limestone masonry used throughout and is of architectural merit in its own right. This substantial complex gives an interesting insight into the complex and extensive resources required to maintain a large country estate in the nineteenth century. It is an integral element of the architectural heritage of Westmeath and forms part of an important group of related structures within the Lisnabin House Demesne, along with the main house itself and the main entrance gates (15402015) and gate lodge (15402033) to the northwest. The extensive collection of outbuildings to the south (not accessed), arranged around a central courtyard, and the detached single-storey structures behind this complex (south) complete this important composition.
Irish Historic Houses 