Duckett's Grove ''(
Irish: Garrán Duckett)'' is a ruined 19th-century
great house
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...
and former
estate in
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Belonging to the Duckett family, the house was formerly the focal point of a estate,
and dominated the local landscape of the area for more than two centuries.
The interior of the house was destroyed by a major fire in the 1930s and is now inaccessible.
The surrounding gardens, including two inter-connecting walled gardens, are now managed by
Carlow County Council
Carlow County Council () is the local authority of County Carlow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and ...
and open as a public park.
History
Duckett's Grove was built c.1745 on an estate covering more than of the
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...
countryside. Originally, the structure was designed as a standard two-storey over-basement
Georgian country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
. From the mid 1820s, it was redesigned in a castellated
Gothic revival style by English architect
Thomas Cobden for then owner and head of family, John Dawson Duckett.
This extension of the building was funded by a number of previous strategic marriages into wealthy merchant families, and resulted in some of the original Georgian features of the building being removed or hidden.
The building incorporates a number of towers and turrets of varying shapes – round, square and octagonal.
One tall, solid granite octagonal viewing tower rises from the structure. Duckett's Grove is further elaborately ornamented with
oriels and
niches containing statues.
Several statues on pedestals surrounded the building and lined the approaches. The house is situated in the town land of Rainstown, approximately 10 km from
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...
and 9 km from
Tullow
Tullow (; ), formerly Tullowphelim (), is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 5,138. Tullowphelim is the name of both a townland and civ ...
, with the broader estate comprising several large town lands and parts of others. At its height, the house had a staff of eleven gardeners to maintain the grounds alone.
After the death of William Duckett in 1908, last in the male bloodline, his second wife, Maria Georgina Duckett, lived on in the property until .
By this time she was no longer on speaking terms with her only daughter, Olive (William's stepdaughter).
The outcome of this was the disinheritance of her daughter following her death 1937, leaving her what is known as "the angry shilling", just one shilling, from an estate valued at £97,735 ().
Following the departure of the Ducketts, the estate was managed by agents until 1921, and was subsequently managed by local farmers, and later by the
Land Commission
The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower ...
.
The division and sale of the estate lands was completed by 1930. During this time the building was empty. During the War of Independence, it was used as a base by the local
IRA and its
flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations.
The term is usually, though not necessarily, appl ...
. Possibly due to the Duckett's good treatment of their tenants and employees over the years, the interiors and furniture were left intact upon the IRA's departure from the house.
The house was destroyed by fire overnight on 20 April 1933.
The exact cause of the fire has not been determined,
however, locals reported a minor fire the week before, which they had managed to extinguish. This led to speculation about the cause of the eventual destructive fire.
Current use
In September 2005,
Carlow County Council
Carlow County Council () is the local authority of County Carlow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and ...
acquired Duckett's Grove and commenced with the restoration of two inter-connecting walled gardens. It was officially opened in September 2007 for use as a public park.
The first of the gardens, the "Upper Walled Garden", was planted with historical varieties of shrub roses and a collection of Chinese and Japanese peonies. It is mainly planted with flowering shrubs including ''
Echium,
Watsonia,
Acanthus,
Daphniphyllum
''Daphniphyllum'' is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Daphniphyllaceae and was described as a genus in 1826. The genus includes evergreen shrubs and trees mainly native to east and southeast Asia, but also found in the Indian Subconti ...
,
Acradenia,
Arbutus
''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...
,
Cornus
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...
,
Iris,
Eryngium,
Beschorneria'' and ornamental
bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – berry (botany), botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called pla ...
.

The second garden, the "Lower Walled Garden", was once the site of the family old orchard, and now contains a variety of fruits, including figs and historical varieties of Irish apples. The borders were planted to contain a variety of shrubs and perennials.
On 17 March 2011, Duckett's Grove was featured in an episode of SyFy's show ''
Destination Truth'' during a 4-hour live investigation special to find out if the ruins are haunted by a
Banshee Ghost.
Duckett's Grove is open to the public during daylight hours and admission is free. There are craft and gift shops located in the courtyard which are often open during the weekend and for events, including an annual Christmas fair.
See also
*
Carlow County Museum
*
List of country houses in County Carlow
This is a list of the historic " Big Houses" () of County Carlow, Ireland. The term is a direct translation from Irish and refers to the country houses, mansions or estate houses of the historical landed class in Ireland.
This page lists 88 ...
*
Oak Park, County Carlow
References
External links
Duckett's Grove on carlowtourism.comDuckettsgrove.ie
{{Historic Irish houses , state=collapsed
1740s establishments in Ireland
Buildings and structures completed in the 1740s
Residential buildings completed in the 18th century
Buildings and structures in County Carlow
Gardens in County Carlow
Reportedly haunted locations in Ireland
Country houses in Ireland
Gothic Revival architecture in Ireland
Burned buildings and structures in Europe