Dromana House
Dromana House ( Irish Teach Dhrom Eanaigh ) is a country house on the Munster Blackwater near the village of Villiers Town between Dungarvan and Youghal in the western part of the Irish County Waterford . The Villiers-Stuart family and their direct descendants lived in the house for over 700 years, making the property one of the oldest in Ireland prior to the 20th century.
history
Dromana House was originally a medieval castle built by the powerful Fitzgerald family in the 13th century, which soon became the FitzGerald-Villiers and finally the Villiers-Stuarts in 1800 , when the son of the Marquess of Bute , "Henry Stuart" in the Family married in.
In the 1640s and 1650s, Dromana House was destroyed after a series of sieges, but rebuilt around 1700, albeit not on the foundations of the old castle. Instead, two simple wings, placed at right angles to each other, were created on the sides of the courtyard wall.
Around 1780, construction began on a new house directly in front of the two wings from the 1700s. Its main facade was two-story and had nine bays . There was a parapet at roof level . All three buildings together followed the line of the former castle courtyard.
Extensive cultivation was carried out up to the 1820s, including a. a huge "ballroom with curved walls". There were also two large enclosed gardens on the property, as well as a bastion and a river gazebo.
In the 1820s, 160 km² of land belonged to the property. Part of this land now forms the Dromana Wood , which Coillte currently manages on a long-term lease. In 1965, the main block of Dromana House, built in 1780, was demolished, signaling the end of an era; the property was dissolved and taken over by the Irish Land Commission ; the previous owners were compensated with almost worthless real estate papers.
There is a full account by Thomas Carlyle of his weekend stay at Dromana House in mid-July 1849. His host was Daniel O'Connell's political protégé, Lord Henry Mount Stuart of the Decries .
Most of the property was split up, while the architecturally remarkable stables just south of the main avenue were also demolished by the Land Commission. The avenue, which stretches for five kilometers from the bridge at Dromana House to the gate of Villierstown, is now publicly owned, while the local district administration is responsible for the well-known gate lodge over the Finisk River in Hindu Gothic style. Only the smaller side wing from the 1700s remains from Dromana House, although it is also of historical importance.
The family had to sell Dromana House in the 1960s, but were able to buy it back in the early 1990s. The Villiers-Stuarts lived in the country house until 2004. James Villiers-Stuart died in August 2004 and was buried in Villierstown Parish Church.
Dromana House is now rented out as a holiday home.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g History of Dromana . In: Dromana House and Gardens . Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Thomas Carlyle: Reminiscences of My Irish Journey in 1849 . 1882. pp. 88-93.
- ↑ Welcome to Dromana House and Gardens . In: Dromana House and Gardens . Retrieved May 24, 2019.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 6 ′ 28.6 " N , 7 ° 51 ′ 56.2" W.