Castle Durrow
Castle Durrow ( Irish Caisleán Darú ) is a country house in Durrow in County Laois, Ireland . The early 18th century house is built in the prepalladian style and is surrounded by formal gardens, as was popular in the 18th century. It is considered one of the finest country homes in County Laois.
history
Colonel William Flower (from 1733 Baron Castle Durrow ) had the house built between 1712 and 1716 as a family residence. In 1751 his son, Henry Flower, 2nd Baron Castle Durrow , was raised to Viscount Ashbrook . This title is now held by the descendant in a direct line, Michael Flower, 11th Viscount Ashbrook , (* 1935).
The Flower family owned the property until 1922; then they were forced to sell and returned to England . Castle Durrow was bought by a Mr. Maher from Freshford , County Kilkenny , who was primarily interested in the property's chippable timber. The Land Commission later took over the agriculturally usable parts of the property, while the Forestry Department took over the open forest.
After the country house had been vacant for a number of years, it was converted into a school ( St. Fintan's College and Convent ) in 1929 and in 1998 Peter and Shelley Stokes bought the building and converted it into the luxurious Castle Durrow Country House Hotel .
Sources and web links
- Commons : Castle Durrow - collection of images, videos and audio files
- History of Castle Durrow . In: Castle Durrow Country House Hotel . Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- Castle Durrow, Durrow, Co Laois . In: Ireland's Blue Book . Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- Julie Ann Godson: The Water Gypsy. How a Thames Fishergirl Became a Viscountess . CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
Coordinates: 52 ° 50 ′ 45.9 " N , 7 ° 24 ′ 4.8" W.