Castlewellan Castle, Castlewellan, Co. Down

Located some thirty or so miles south of Belfast, the historic town of Castlewellan (in Irish Caisleán Uidihilín- Uidililín's castle) sits in the shadows of the famous Mourne Mountains. The town owes much of its history to Annesley family. Of English decent the family established themselves in the area in the  1740s, purchasing a standing castle from the Magennis family. Presumably they used the castle as their principle dwelling place until the mid-nineteenth century century, when the present castle was erected. In the meantime the family had made considerable improvements to Castlewellan, erecting two noble squares at opposite ends of the town. In 1789, Francis Charles was created first Earl Annesley. The castle we see today was built for the fourth earl, William Richard. The earl, who also served as an MP for an English constituency, ordered work to commence for his new castle in the early 1850s. He selected the Scot William Burn as architect. In Ireland Burn had been well-known for the magnificent Muckross House in Killarney, Co. Kerry but had an impressive reputation as was of the leading proponents of the Scots Baronial style, a style which he went on to employ at Castlewellan.

Built at the considerable sum of just over £18,000 the castle was completed by 1859. Essentially a large four storey rectangular shaped tower house, the family motto virtutis amore (from the love of valour) is proudly displayed over the castle's main entrance. It remained in the hands of the Annesley's until the 1960s, when it passed to the Northern Irish Department of Agriculture. In 1973 it was badly damaged by a terrorist bomb while in the following year it was purchased by a Christian organisation who turned it into a retreat and conference centre. It continues to act as such to this day.

Rossmore Castle, Co. Monaghan

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that a good number of the featured houses and castles no longer exist. Some have been demolished, some burned deliberately, while others have simply been victims of neglect. So when finding a country house that you did not know had existed there is always that initial sense of awe and excitement, tinged with a little sadness. This unfortunately was the case with this week's featured entry, Rossmore Castle. To be honest I was completely unfamiliar with it, and came across it by chance when looking for images of the more well-known Castle Leslie. It was a pleasant surprise though. The beautiful castle was situated on the outskirts of Monaghan Town. The castle seen below was built in two stages, and both date from the nineteenth century. Rossmore was built for Warner Westenra (1765-1842), the second baron Rossmore. The Westerna's, whose lineage was Dutch, had inherited the title upon the death of the first baron, Robert Cunninghame (d. 1801). The house continued as the principle residence of the Westernas until the 1950s, when dry rot eventually forced the family to relocate to another property within the grounds. The house was ultimately doomed, being demolished in 1974. 

Lord Rossmore commissioned William Vitruvius Morrison to erect a new home. Morrison might be familiar to readers of this blog, having designed both Glenarm Castle and Templemore Abbey. Work commenced in 1829, with Tudor Gothic the chosen style. Much of this earliest house can be seen on the  left of the picture above, in the form of the large square turreted tower and adjoining wing. Significant additions were made in the 1850s, this time in the Scots baronial style, making it one of the largest country houses in the lakeland counties. 

While the quality of this image is not perfect it really does illustrate the size of the castle well. It also shows more clearly the two buiulding stages, with the ealrier Tudor style house on the left, and the Scots baronial wing to the right. 

Lough Eske Castle, Co. Donegal

Now renowned as a luxury hotel, the Lough Eske estate has a long and rich history stretching back centuries. The present castle and estate traces its heritage to the early seventeenth century and the Plantation of Ulster. The area had long been a stronghold of the O'Donnell family, one of the leading aristocratic Gaelic Irish families. In the wake of the defeat of the Gaelic Irish at the Battle of Kinsale, and the subsequent Flight of the Earls in 1607, the area was settled by a large numbers of Scots settlers, who were given large swathes of land. One of these families was the Knox family, who built a large house there, probably in the 1620s. Through marriage the estate and house passed into the Brooke family in the early eighteenth century. The Brooke's replaced the Jacobean mansion in the 1750s with a new house, which was in turn replaced in the later nineteenth century by the present Lough Eske Castle. 

In 1859 Thomas Brooke commissioned Fitzgibbon Louch (1826-1911) to design his new home. Louch, who originally hailed from Co. Tipperary, was at this time relatively unknown, but subsequently went on to design the impressive Magee College at nearby Derry. Louch's design was essentially Elizabethan with elements of Tudor, a fanciful design influenced heavily by the Romantic movement. Most fanciful was the tower, reminiscent of a medieval tower house or castle, with its turrets and crenelations. Its steep pitched roof and tall chimney stacks were more Elizabethan or Tudor than medieval, as were the large bay windows.

In 1894 the castle and estate were sold to General George White. In 1930 the castle was reinvented as a hotel, a relatively short lived incarnation which lasted only until 1939, when it was disastrously destroyed by fire.The ruined house then remained derelict until 2007, when it was restored. It now functions as a luxury five star hotel.

A view of Lough Eske 

Swiss Cottage, Cahir, Co. Tipperary

Up to now the majority of houses and castles featured in this blog have been reasonably conventional. Most have been nineteenth century neo-Gothic, with the the occasional Elizabethan and Jacobean example thrown in for good measure. Today, however, I thought to include something a little more fanciful, in the form of Swiss Cottage. Perched along the banks of the River Suir, the cottage is situated on the outskirts of the small town of Cahir. Well-known for its large medieval castle, Cahir owes much of its history to the Butler family, the barons Cahir. 

Swiss Cottage was built in the early 1810s by Richard Butler, the tenth baron Cahir and soon to be earl of Glengall (1816). Butler employed the talents of the eminent English architect, John Nash. When commissioned, Nash was already highly sought after, having been appointed the architect to the regent, George, Prince of Wales in 1806. Nash undertook monumental commissions such as Regent's Street and Regent's Park in London. For Butler to secure Nash's services was, therefore a major coup. Building on the cottage commenced in 1810, and took around four years to complete. The house was not designed to be lived in, but rather as somewhere to entertain family and guests. In that sense it can be described as a cottage ornée. These type cottages, which exuded an overt rustic quality, had become popular in the late eighteenth century. The largest and possibly most well-known is Marie-Antoinette's Hemeau de la Reine at Versailles, near Paris. 

The cottage's deliberately asymmetrical look and the curvature of lines was designed to make it appear at one with nature. The balconies and verandas included exposed tree trunks, all included to add authenticity and oneness with its surrounds. Inside the cottage was fitted out suitably for the purpose it was built, with a music room and various entertaining rooms, all highly decorated in a rustic style. 

A view of the River Suir with the cottage visible in the distance 

New Facebook page

Just to let everyone know that I've now set up a new Facebook page. The address is www.facebook.com/bygoneirelandpics. The page is now in the format of a business/organisation page but will have all same notification features and image galleries as before. By' liking' the page you should receive daily updates of new blog entries. As always your support is greatly received. Don't forgot that I'm extremely greatful for comments and feedback on any of the entries. Also if you feel that you would like me feature a particular building or site please let me know and I'll do my best! 

Strancally Castle, Co. Waterford

Located a few miles downstream from the towns of Lismore and Cappoquin, Strancally Castle sits picturesquely overlooking the glorious River Blackwater. The west Waterford landscape is adorned with many great houses, and Strancally sits comfortably amongst its contemporaries. The current castle is nineteenth century, but the estate is the site of a much older castle, dating from the Norman period. The castle is believed to have built by the Norman-Welsh invader, Raymond Fitzgerald in the twelfth century. This castle was certainly inhabited into the seventeenth century, and possibly later. By the nineteenth century Strancally had come into the hands of the Keily family. 

Like so many of the castle and houses featured on the blog thus far, Strancally can be described as a neo-Gothic style house. Built as a dwelling house, and with no serious defensive structures, the castle was erected c. 1830 by John Keily (?1765-1843). Keily had briefly served as MP for Clonmel 1819-20 but had not been returned in the 1820 election. He chose the Pain brothers, George and Richard to design his home. The house contained the usual neo-Gothic architectural accompaniments, bearing a striking similarity with Dromoland Castle, which the Pain brothers also designed. Keily not only owned the castle but also a sizeable estate, amounting to some 5,000 acres. Strancally remained in the hands of the Keily family until 1856, when it was sold to the Whitelock Lloyd family. The house is now privately owned by the Buckley-Allen family. 

Above one can see the River Blackwater with the remains of the original medieval castle to the right. Legend has it that the castle contained a famous 'murdering hole' in one of its bedrooms. This sinister device came in the form of a concealed trapdoor, which when opened would propel the victim directly to river beneath! 

Glenarm Castle, Co. Antrim

Glenarm is situated on the stunningly picturesque Antrim Coast. Famed for its rugged beauty and coastline the county of Antrim is located on the island's far northeastern reaches. On a clear day the coast of Scotland is visible. And it is to the Scotland that this part of the country owes much of its history and heritage, Antrim having been heavily populated with Scots settlers from the late sixteenth century onwards. However, the connection with Scotland had long predated this migration; since the thirteenth century Glenarm had been home to the MacEoin Bissets, a land owning family whom had come to Ulster from Scotland. In the sixteenth century it came into the hands of another Scots family, the McDonnells. In 1636 the McDonnells rebuilt an already existing medieval castle. Unfortunately for them though the renovated castle was sacked in 1642 by an invading Scots force. The family then returned to Dunluce Castle, dubbed Ulster's 'lost town', where they remained until the mid-eighteenth century, returning eventually to Glenarm. 

In 1750 the family resettled at Glenarm, Dunluce having been effectively abandoned. The shell of the standing ruin at Glenarm was used as the base for a new Palladian mansion. Like many other existing houses in Ireland, Glenarm was affected by the growth of the Romantic movement, with substantial changes being made to its appearance in the early nineteenth century. While some houses were remodeled as neo-Gothic style castles, a few took on the appearance of Jacobean mansions. This was the case at Glenarm, where the house was given flanking towers, crenelations, and a Jacobean style porch.

Above is an image of the gatelodge, or barbican as it was commonly known. The lodge was built as part of the renovations of the early nineteenth century, erected in 1826 by the countess of Antrim. The McDonnells were granted the title 'earl of Antrim' in 1620 by James I. Although receiving favour, the family were looked upon with some suspicion, especially in the tumultuous seventeenth century, as they had had remained Catholic, resisting efforts to conform to Protestantism. The title is still in use to this day, Alexander McDonnell being the fourteenth earl of Antrim. The castle is now a major centre for tourism and culture, with many events promoting cultural ties with Scotland.

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