Belvedere House, County Westmeath
Belvedere House (also Belvidere House , Irish Teach Belvidere ) is a country house about 8 km south-southwest of Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland . The mid-18th century house is set in gardens on the northeast bank of Lough Ennell .
description
The house, with its two floors and three bays , of which the middle one is set back, is not too large, but is due to its thermal bath windows (window with basket arch lintel , divided into three panes in width) and its typical 19th century, dramatic terracing as architecturally remarkable. When the Earl of Belvedere decided to use the house as their main residence, he commissioned Barthelemij Cramillion , a French plasterer, to decorate it with rococo stucco ceilings , which are among the most exquisite in the country.
The landscaped, 64 hectare property is home to the largest and most spectacular folly in Ireland, The Jealous Wall (Eng .: "The Jealous Wall"). The Earl had it built so he wouldn't have to look at the neighboring house, which belonged to his brother George , with whom he had fallen out. There is also an enclosed Victorian garden and many acres of woodland on the property .
history
In 1740 Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere , had Belvedere House built as a hunting lodge by Richard Cassels , one of the most famous Irish architects of Palladianism . He had his wife locked up at the former family residence , Gaulstown House , because he suspected an affair between her and his brother Arthur . Arthur was later tried and fined £ 20,000 for which he was unable to pay. He had to spend 18 years in the debt prison in Dublin and was only released after his brother Robert died. Robert's wife was also only released after the death of her husband in 1774.
The property then fell to Robert's son, George Rochfort, 2nd Earl of Belvedere . This was 1761-1776 Member of Parliament for Westmeath and 1762 High Sheriff of Westmeath. He moved to England in 1798 and died there in 1814. When his widow also died in 1828, Belvedere House fell to her grandson Brinsley Butler, 4th Earl of Lanesborough . He rarely stayed on the property, which after his death in 1847 fell to his cousin, Charles Brinsley Marlay . Marlay moved into the house and during the time of his ownership the thermal windows were installed on the upper floor and the terraces were laid out. He commissioned Ninian Niven , the curator of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Glasnevin , to draw plans for the enclosed garden.
After World War II , Charles Howard-Bury , a soldier, climber, and botanist restored the house and gardens. He was never married and upon his death in 1963, Rex Beaumont , his 30-year friend and colleague, inherited the property and sold it to Westmeath County Council in 1982 for £ 250,000.
After a multi-million pound restoration, the property is now open to the public and attracts around 160,000 visitors annually. There are also music festivals and intimate theater performances in the gardens on weekends.
swell
- Belvedere House, County Westmeath . In: Ask about Ireland . Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- The Belvedere Story . In: Belvedere House Gardens & Park . Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved on May 23, 2019.
Web links
- Belvedere Experience . In: Belvedere House Gardens & Park . Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- Belvedere House Gardens & Park website. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
Coordinates: 53 ° 28 '37.2 " N , 7 ° 22' 4.8" W.