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Historic Buildings of County Monaghan
Republic of Ireland
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Image right - Castle Leslie
If you have information about any of the Buildings mentioned below please share it here. If you have ancestors linked to any of the places please add them to the project. The object of this project is to provide information about historic buildings in County Monaghan, with links to sub-projects for specific buildings as appropriate. GENi profiles of people associated with those establishments can be linked to this project and/or to individual projects where they have been set up.
Castles, Baronial and Historic houses
... in alphabetical order
Including Castles, Abbeys, Manor Houses, Mansions, Stately Homes, Country houses, Estate houses, Courts, Halls, Parks and other listed buildings of historic interest
Full sizes of the thumbnail images can be seen in the Gallery attached to the project or by clicking the thumbnail image. TIP - Use ctrl+the link to open the image in a separate tab, or use "back" to return to this project page) Sources for the images can be found in the image details as seen in the gallery.
Names with Bold links are to Geni profiles or projects. Other links take you to external biographical web pages. Please copy and paste the bullet used - ● - instead of * when adding items to the list.
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Ballybay House, residence of Edward John Henry Leslie C.M.G., M.V.O; (1890-1966), British Ambassador to Rome, which was destroyed by the IRA on 2nd June 1921. It was two storeys over a high basement, with a three-bay entrance front, the centre of which was recessed, with a Wyatt window above a single-storey Doric portico.
● Bessmont House Detached three-bay three-storey irregular-plan house, mainly remodelling of c.1868 of earlier house of c.1722. Originally a relatively conventional Georgian residence, Bessmount was redesigned by William Barre (architect of the Dawson Monument in the centre of nearby Monaghan town) for William Henderson around 1869.
● Blaney Castle The area of Muckno and Ballynalurgan was granted to Sir Edward Blayney under the Plantation of Ulster in 1607 and 1611. Blayney was a Welsh soldier, and built a stone defensive castle, Blayney Castle, consisting of a fortified house and bawn. The town of Castleblayney has grown up round that original site. Blayney was created the first Baron Blaney in 1621 and the Blayneys occupied the estate until the 1850s. The castle was derelict by the 1790s, by which time the family had moved into a large Georgian house nearby. No trace remains today.
C
● Camla Vale Monaghan. When Rossmore Castle developed a severe case of dry rot after WWII, the 6th Lord Rossmore and his family left the castle to live in Camla Vale, a Georgian house owned by the family. The house was formerly the residence of Lieutenant-Colonel Westenra, brother of Lord Rossmore, A late Georgian house, it was sited outside the demense walls. It is said that spores of the dry rot fungus were brought to Camla Vale when the wine cellar was transferred from the castle. Apparently it too became infested with dry rot. Camla was sold in 1962 and has since been demolished. The walled garden and farmyard still exist, but a large ornamental lake dug as a famine project has being filled in.
● Castle Leslie home to an Irish branch of Clan Leslie. One of a few Irish castles still run by their founding families. Designed by the firm of Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon in 1870 for [Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet, MP. It is situated where an earlier castle stood and never had a defensive purpose. The country house presents a rather dour and austere façade and is sited in such a way so as to mask the gardens to an approaching visitor. To the rear of the house the gardens are relieved by an Renaissance style cloister which links the main house to a single storey wing containing the Library and Billiard Room. In contrast to the exterior designed by W.H. Lynn, the interior shows the hands of Lanyon and John Leslie himself through its strong Italian Renaissance feel.
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Castle Shane a now largely demolished country house that formerly stood on the edge of Castleshane village. The Castle Shane Estate was originally owned by Francis Lucas, eldest son of Henry Lucas and his second wife Alyce Bradocke. Francis was born circa 1553. His descendants held Castle Shane (spelled as two separate words), the country house on the Castle Shane Estate, for many generations. The original castle on the site may have been late medieval. However, the castle was largely rebuilt for Francis Lucas, probably in the late Elizabethan style, around 1591. This was the architectural style chosen when the castle was rebuilt as a country house for the Lucas-Scudamore dynasty, beginning in 1836. The new country house was built in a mixture of the neo-Elizabethan style and the neo-Jacobean style. Castle Shane (the country house) consisted of a four storey tower with corner bartizans and a main three storey block. This mansion burned down in 1920 and very little of it remains. The house had three centre bays with three sided bays to each side with mullioned windows, curvilinear gables and tall neo-Tudor chimneys. All that remains is part of a three storey bay window and gable end - the rest having been demolished. There is also a much extended gatelodge and an unusual bellcote in the walled garden. Most of the former Castle Shane Demesne, which includes the remains of Castle Shane, the country house itself, is now mainly in ruins and belongs in majority to Coillte, the Irish forestry body.
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Dartrey, Rockcorry, - built in 1846 and designed by William Burn as a large Elizabethan Revivial mansion to replace an earlier house on the site. Built for Richard Thomas Dawson, third Lord Cremorne (later first Earl Dartry), facing onto Lough Dromore. On an island in the lake there was also a Mausoleum to the design of James Wyatt from around 1770 which is now roofless. The house was demolished in the 1950s. All that remains of the estate are various gatehouses, the ruined Mausoleum and a fine stable block built around five sides of an octagon.
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● Gola House a.k.a. Golagh The Wrights of Gola, owners of Gola had been planted by King William in the 1660s. James Wright (1615-1700) was a Captain in Cromwell’s army and likely landed with the invasion in 1649. He was granted land, probably in lieu of pay, acquiring lands in Co. Monaghan including the Townland of Gola (Golagh, Gowlea) and also Carrachor Hall, Scottstown in the Parish of Tednavet. In 1664, the lands were listed as belonging to Thomas Coote (a member of a pre-Comwellian English family in Ireland) and then purchsed by James on 1 July 1666. These lands were originally confiscated from Arthur MacMahon, the head of the Irish clan of that name. Legend has it that MacMahon tried to reclaim his land in 1689 when James II was fighting to regain his crown with the backing of Roman Catholics in Ireland, that James Wright and his neighbour John Slack armed themselves and killed MacMahon on the shores of Drumloo. In 1689, James Wright is listed amongst those English Protestants who were forced to forfeit their Irish lands when the Catholic James II set up a parliament in Dublin. When James II was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 by William III, James Wright had his lands restored to him. On February 25th, 1921, members of the IRA burned Gola House to the ground, allegedly singling it out because it was rumoured to have been used as a Military Barracks.The stones of the wrecked house were used to construct the present Roman Catholic Church and the stone coat of arms was thrown down the well, then 85 feet deep, and 30 feet of rubble was thrown on top.
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Hilton Park Situated near the town of Clones, formerly Maddenton - known in the early 17th century as “Killshanless.” That house was altered in 1734 when it was bought by Samuel Madden, in whose family the house remains today, and it was called “Maddenton” before being given its present name in the late 18th century. An accidental fire was started by a servant in 1804 which completely gutted the top two floors and destroyed important works of art. After the blaze the home was re-built by architect James Jones. In 1872, while the interior was amended to the design of local architect William Hague, the house was also re-faced with Dungannon stone and the basement was excavated to create a new ground floor. The Madden family now manage their home as part of the Hidden Ireland group and also hold the annual Flat Lake Festival in the demesne. In 2003 the Irish Georgian Society contributed €4,800 toward the house’s conservation. Now Bed and Breakfast establishment , wedding venue and boutique hotel .
● Hope Castle Castleblayney.
● Recently burned down. Overlooking Muckno Lough, this building occupied the site of the real castle at Castleblayney, the army base which figured in the “Oakboy” revolt of 1763. Thirty years later the castle was in ruins. Twelve bedroom hotel named for the same Hope as the Hope Diamond. The 1799 home was sold in 1853 to the Hope family who also owned and gave their name to one of the world’s most famous gems, the Hope Diamond. From 1900 - 1904 Hope Castle served as a home for the Duke of Connaught, Queen Victoria's son and his family. The duke was the commander of the British Forces in Ireland at that time. The castle eventually became a convent and was later left vacant for many years. In more recent times, the castle was renovated into a hotel but was damaged by fire in 2010. The grounds connect with a public park.
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Maghernacloy - imposing fortified house typical of those built in seventeenth-century Ireland. In keeping with its original purpose it has an imposing presence in the local landscape. Occupied as a residence until 1942 followed by a period of neglect it is, again, in use as a residence by the Byrne family and has received significant repairs in the past decade. The crenellated parapet is a characteristic specific to Irish castles.
○ Maghernacloy Castle: A 16th Century Fortified House, Larry McDermott and Laurence McDermott Clogher Record Vol. 17, No. 3 (2002), pp. 781-784
N
● Newbliss House An early 19th century house of two storeys with a five bay main front. The enclosed porch features two Ionic columns. Owned by the Ker family who largely developed the village of Newbliss, where by 1800 the linen trade was thriving. The garden frontage was of seven bays, the two outermost having shallow bows. Demolished in 1940s.
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Rossmore Castle ruin. 19th-century castle. Originally built by the Warner William Westenra, 2nd Baron Rossmore in 1827 in the Gothic style, it was extended in 1858. Former seat of the Westenra family, Barons Rossmore. The castle stood on the south-western edge of Monaghan Town and was abandoned just after the Second World War. The ruins of the castle were blown up by Monaghan County Council in 1974
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References and Sources
Monaghan Specific
▶︎
General
▷ WIKI List of historical abbeys, castles and monuments in Ireland
▷ Irish Tourism - Buildings in Ireland
▷ Irish Tourist - Historic Buildings
▷ Irish Central - Historical sites to visit in Ireland
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Other Pages for Historic Buildings of Ireland Counties
Historic Buildings of County Cavan
Historic Buildings of County Carlow
Historic Buildings of County Clare
Historic Buildings of County Cork
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Historic Buildings of County Louth
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Historic Buildings of County Wexford
Historic Buildings of County Wicklow
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