Castleboro House, Castleboro, Co. Wexford

Not far from the villages of Clonroche and Rathnure stands what was once one of Ireland's great country houses: Castleboro. Now little more than an abandoned, derelict shell, it symbolized the wealth and prosperity of Ireland's landed classes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its burning and subsequent abandonment in the early twentieth century in turn were, however, signs of the difficulties that many landed families would face from then on. Castleboro presently sits in a precarious position; abandoned and open to the elements, a fate shared by unfortunately far too many great Irish houses. 

Castleboro traces its history to the 1780s when a local landed family, the Carews, erected a considerably large Classical house. They had been land owners in counties Wexford and Waterford by this stage for over a century. Improvements were made to it c. 1819, but was ravaged by fire in 1839. By then Casteboro was the principle possession of Robert Carew, 1st Baron Carew. The Oxford educated Carew was a long serving MP for Wexford, serving also as lord lieutenant of County Wexford. Carew choose the architect, Daniel Robertson to complete his renovated house. Robertson had worked extensively in both England and Ireland, and had completed a number of houses in Ireland's south east when he was commissioned by Carew. The new house would be Palladian in style, partly incorporating the remains of the previous Castleboro House.  

The image above shows the characteristically Palladian style of Robertson's house. The central block contained elements of the burned house, but was enlarged, and given its Palladian appearence by the addition of the two storey wings on either side. The outstanding element of the central block was the Ionic porte cocheré. This portico (porch) allowed horse-drawn carriages to pass through so as the passengers would be protected from the weather when alighting. 

One of the greenhouses located at Castleboro. 

Bessborough House (now Kildalton College), Fiddown, Co. Kilkenny

While many of us who come from the south-east of Ireland will no doubt be familiar with this week's featured country house, we probably know it by its modern name: Kildalton College. As I child I remember going on a school tour to Kildalton, an agricultural college run by Teagesc, the Irish agriculture and food authority. If my memory serves me correctly our visit focused little on the house's long and illustrious history, but was concerned more with matters agricultural! Thus for many years I presumed the house had always been referred to as Kildaton. In more recent times I learned a little more about it and its history, coming to learn that when it was conceived it was given the name of Bessborough House. Named after the earls of Bessborough, the house dates from the 1740s, although much altered in the twentieth century. The family for whom Bessborough House was built, the Ponsonbys, were an aristocratic family of English decent. The peerage 'earl of Bessborough' was created in 1739 (previously the family's senior title was 'Viscount Duncannon' and 'Baron Bessborough') for Brabazon Ponsonby. The first earl had previously served as M.P. for Newtownards in Co. Down and later for Co. Kildare and had recently married Sarah Margetson of Bishopscourt Hall near Nass, Co. Kildare when building began on his new home.

Brabazon's marriage to the wealthy Sarah Margetson may have spurred him onto commissioning his new home near the small village of Fiddown. The architect he favoured for his project was Francis Bindon (d. 1765). Though more well-known as a portrait painter, Bindon's architectural portfolio was not insignificant; his most famous work being Russborough House, Co. Wicklow. Ponsonby's new home was designed in the Classical style: a four storey nine bay central building flanked on either side by extending wings; a common addition to many Palladian houses. The porch seen in the image above was an addition from the late nineteenth century.

Bessborough House continued to be one of the family homes into the twentieth century. In 1923 the house was burnt and severely damaged. A thorough and complete reconstruction, faithful to the original designs, took place and was completed by 1929. However, the Ponsonbys were never again to reside at Bessborough, having relocated to Stansted Park near Chichester in England. Bessborough was house was in turn purchased in 1940 by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a male Catholic religious who established a novitiate there. It continued to be used for this purpose until the late 1960s. In 1971 it was bought by Teagesc who established an agricultural college there.

Lord and Lady Bessborough 

Moydrum Castle, Athlone, Co. Westmeath

A town of some 20,000 people, Athlone is best-known for being at the geographical centre of Ireland. An historic town enlarged by the Anglo-Normans in the twelfth century, it boasts a number of sites worthy of a visit. Not far from the town is a site not normally on visitors' 'to see' list: Moydrum Castle. While not as ancient as the town's Norman castle, Moydrum nonetheless has an interesting history, connected primarily with the Handcock family. Like a great many of Irish landowning families, the Handcocks came to Ireland in the seventeenth century, in the wake of the Cromwellian conquest. Although  one of the leading landowners in the midlands, they remained without a title, or peerage, until 1812, when William Handcock was created 1st Baron Castlemaine. An MP for Westmeath, this title, we are told, was granted largely as a result of his support for the passing of the Act of Union in 1801, in which the Irish parliament in Dublin was dissolved. William had already married favourably, being wed to Florinda Trench, daughter of the 1st earl of Clancarthy. 

The castle seen in the picture above was largely the work of an early nineteenth century refurbishment of an already existing house. The original house was erected c. 1750, and was most probably a typical Irish country house incorporating elements of the Classical style. As architectural tastes began to change in the early nineteenth century the house was given a Gothic appearance, changing it from a 'house' to a 'castle. This was done so around 1812, under the supervision of Sir Richard Morrison. Morrison obtained an impressive reputation for 'gothicising' houses, one of the most famous examples being Shelton Abbey in Co. Wicklow, which I featured on the blog some months back. From the images one can easily see how the the existing house was given its Gothic appearance; the turrets on the four corners, the off-centred tower with its great Gothic window, and the crenelations, all giving  it  the 'castle' feeling.

The castle remained in the hands of the Handcock family into the twentieth century. Like many country houses Moydrum was caught up in the atrocities committed during the Civil War. In 1921 the house was burned by the local IRA brigade and rendered uninhabitable. The family subsequently relocated to England with the house being left in the ruinous state that one can see today. An interesting aside is that the house was used on the cover of the U2 album The Unforgettable Fire in 1982 and has subsequently become a popular destination for the band's many fans! 

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