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Historic Buildings of County Westmeath
Republic of Ireland
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Image right - Middleton Park House
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 Westmeath, 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.
A
● Athlone Castle, Restored Castle
B
● Balleagny Castle
● Ballinlough Castle, Intact Castle
● Ballynagall House, (notes from Abandoned Houses of Ireland by Tarquin Blake, p,306), After the Anglo-Norman invasion, Hugh de Lacy obtained thousands of acres in Westmeath, and gave the lands of Baile na n Gall or 'Town of the Foreigners' to his Followers. 1720, Col. A. Reynell bought and built Reynell Castle - Ballynagell House was built over the castle -" a splendid mansion, extensively planted". It was sold, and re-sold. 1981, dismantled.
● Balrath Castle
●
Belvedere House built in 1740 as a hunting lodge for Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere. Further notes: " a hazardous history: while Lord Rochefort and his brother lived with a wall of jealousy between them. at the house". The house was owned by Rex Beaumont, in 1963. In 1982, Westmeath Co, Council restored the Lodge, now open to the Public.
○ WIKI Belvedere House and Gardens
● Billestown Castle
● Boleyvillish Castle
● Brackagh Castle (aka Coolalough)
C
● Carlanstown Castle
● Carn Castle
● Carrick Castle
● Castlelost Castle
● Clare Castle
● Clonyn Castle, Intact country house
D
● Delvin Castle
● Donore Castle
E
● Emper Castle
F
● Fore Abbey
G
H
● Heathstown Castle
● Hilltown Castle
I
J
K
● Kilbride Castle
● Killagh Castle
● Killeenbrack Castle
● Killua Castle, Currently Under Restoration
● Kiltober Castle
● Knockdrin Castle, Intact Castle
L
● Laragh Castle
● Low's Castle
M
● Martinstown Castle
●
Middleton Park House Middleton Park House was built c. 1850 by George Augustus Boyd-Rochfort, who commissioned architect George Papworth to design it and oversee its construction. George Augustus Boyd-Rochfort's mother Jane MacKay, Countess of Belvedere was the eldest daughter of the last Earls of Belvedere (the title ceased as there were no male descendants). The Rochfort’s came to Ireland as part of the Cromwellian settlement, and controlled vast estates of in excess of 25,000 acres. King George III stood as Godfather to one of them, and they were high ranking members of the peerage. Mr. Boyd was granted permission to change his name to Rochfort Boyd in 1867 by a petition to the House of Lords. A noted stud was established on the estate and it was the venue for point to points and a starting or finishing point for the Westmeath Hunt. The Rochfort Boyd’s sold the House in the late 1950s, and the much of contents of the house auctioned. It was bought by a German family who sold up in the 1960’s to the O’Callaghan’s who in turn sold to Barney Curley, who famously raffled it in 1986. Subsequent owners broke up the estate up into many smaller parcels. The stud farm ceased to operate around this time as well.
Legend has it that Lawrence of Arabia's father was married to one of Mr Boyd-Rochfort’s daughters - Edith - but who also had five illegitimate sons by Miss Sarah Lawrence his children’s Governess. One of these was T E Lawrence of Arabia. It is not recorded where he was actually conceived, but he was born in Wales.
○ WIKI Middleton Park House
○ MPH History
● Moate Castle owned by the Clibborn family.
● Moydrum Castle, Castle Ruin
● Mullingar - Bishop’s Palace, - Built to designs by William Hague, at a cost of £10,000, after he won a competition for its design. This building replaced an earlier parochial house, which still stands to the east in a much altered form as part of a community centre.
N
● Newcastle Castle (I)
● Newcastle Castle (II)
● Nugent Castle, Ruin
O
P
● Pakenham Hall - see Tullynally Castle below
● Pilkington House
● Portlick Castle (Killeenmore House) - Restored Castle
Q
R
● Rathcastle
● Rattin Castle
S
● Scurlockstown Castle
● Shurock House House outside of Moate - Homan family
● Simonstown Castle
● St Munna's Church
● Syonan Castle
T
● Taghmon Castle
●
Tullynally Castle, Restored Castle. Formerly Pakenham Hall 18th century. Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford was living there from 1713-1766. There is a drawing by his younger brother George E Edward Pakenham done in 1738, when it had 2 storeys. A third storey was added in 1780. From 1801 - 1806, Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford lived in the house. He was brother of Peninsular War General Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford and of Catherine Sarah Dorothea Pakenham who was the wife of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The 2nd Earl employed Francis Johnston to give the plain Georgian house a Gothic look by adding a battlemented parapet and round corner turrets. Prior to these changes the name of the house was "Pakenham Hall House"; by the end of the renovations it was "Pakenham Hall Castle". Between 1829 and 1842 further changes were made under Edward Michael Pakenham, 3rd Earl of Longford. The house was one of the first in the British Isles to be centrally heated, the system designed by Richard Lovell Edgeworth, (who eventually fathered 22 children by four wives), one of which was the novelist Maria Edgeworth. Other connections - Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford (WW! casualty); his son Edward Arthur Henry Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford, playwright and founder of of the Gate Theatre; Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford British politician, author, and social reformer; Thomas Frank Dermot Pakenham, 8th Earl of Longford writer. The 7th Earl restored the original Irish name of Tullynally.
○ Burkes Guide to County Houses; Volume 1 - Ireland by Mark Bence-Jones; Page277
● Tyrrellspass Castle, Intact Castle
U-V
W
X-Y-Z
References and Sources
Westmeath 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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