Florence Court is a large 18th-century house and estate located 8 miles south-west of

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is set in the foothills of

Cuilcagh Cuilcagh () is a mountain on the border between County Fermanagh (in Northern Ireland) and County Cavan (in the Republic of Ireland). With a height of it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of ...

Mountain. The nearby village is distinguished by the one-word name

Florencecourt Florencecourt is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 census it had a population (with Drumlaghy) of 135 people. It is situated within Fermanagh and Omagh district. Historically the area was called "Mullanashanga ...

. It is owned and managed by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and is the sister property of nearby

Castle Coole Castle Coole (from Logainm
– Castle Coole – scanned record 2) is a

Crom Estate.

History

The history of the building of Florence Court is subject to conjecture and the current house was built in at least two, if not three, phases. The first house on the site was built by John Cole (1680–1726) and named after his wife Florence Bourchier Wrey (died 1718). She was the daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet (c. 1653–1696) of Tawstock, Devon. An anonymous history of Fermanagh written in 1718 describes John Cole's house as being 'very costly and sumptuous' but in 1739 Rev. William Henry described this building as being 'but small, being only the left wing of a grand building, designed by Mr Cole, which he did not live to execute'. The architects of the current house are unknown. The central block was built first and various dates from 1730 to 1764 are proffered for its construction. It has been attributed to the German architect

Richard Cassels Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Although ...

(or Castle) who worked at nearby Castle Hulme in 1728-9 and Florence Court shares similarities with some of Cassels' other Irish houses. An estate map of 1768 shows the central block, standing alone, as having a heavily framed oculus window (in place of the current pair of windows and large, squat niche) on the second floor. This was a recurring device in Cassels' work. Were Cassels involved, dating the initial phase of building to 1730 may be plausible. On the other hand, Mr Henry's account nine years later does not mention there being a new house, lately built. Rowan suggests the plans could have been drawn up by Cassels, but not executed until a much later date, pointing to the 'old fashioned' style of the house; and reflects that 'the design, for all its charm, is far too gauche for assels. Rowan, Alistair, The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster (Comprising the Counties of Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh and Tyrone), Penguin, London, 1979 p.300 The baroque plasterwork in the library and study at the front of the house appear to date from an earlier period to the rich rococo plasterwork in the dining room, drawing room and stair hall on the western side of the house, and the floorboards in these two rooms differ in width from those elsewhere in the house. It is conjectured that the central block may have been completed in two phases, with the rooms at the back of the house, along with the Venetian room, finished by 1764, when John Cole's son, Lord Mount Florence, held a famous housewarming party. The colonnades and pavilions were built c. 1771 and are attributed to the Italian engineer and architect Davis Ducart. These are built of dressed sandstone as opposed to the rendered limestone rubble of the central block. The south and stable yards are by the mason Andrew Lambert. The Introduction to the Enniskillen Papers proposes there may have been an addition stage to completing the front we know today, pointing out that the heavily rusticated window dressings may have been 'an afterthought by another, less accomplished hand'. They do not feature on the facade shown on the 1768 estate map; the introduction suggests further work may have been 'a vain attempt to harmonise he central blockwith the sophisticated cut-stone of the links and pavilions'. Whether there was a final phase is a matter of conjecture. The 1979 National Trust guidebook points out the similarity between the unusual pedimented doorcase at Florence Court with the doorcase of the now ruinous Nixon Hall at nearby Gransha (built c. 1780). Major improvements were made on the estate c. 1778–80. These included the landscaping of the park by William King and his laying out of the new drive, and the building of the Grand Gates. Florence Court was the seat of the Earls of Enniskillen until 1973. John Henry Michael Cole, 5th Earl of Enniskillen transferred the house and fourteen acres surrounding it to the National Trust in 1953. In 1955 a devastating fire destroyed the upper floors of the house. Sir Albert Richardson was entrusted with leading the National Trust's restoration and extensive efforts have since returned Florence Court to much of its former glory. Some rooms on the upper floors, however, remain closed.

Description

The house features exquisite

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

decoration and fine Irish furniture, many pieces of which were acquired for the property by the National Trust and others loaned from other Irish houses. The majority of the original furnishings were removed when the Cole family moved to

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

in 1973 but many were returned at the bequest of Nancy Cole, Dowager Countess of Enniskillen on her death in 1998.

Gardens

Pleasure Garden

The expansive pleasure garden was landscaped in the mid-19th century, with panoramic views of Benaughlin and

mountains. It features Victorian specimen trees and displays of both temperate and semi-tropical plants, principally rhododendrons.

Summer House

Also known as the heather house. The present structure is a reconstruction of an 18th-century thatched summer house. It is located on a prominent spot at the top of the pleasure garden, with views of the garden and Benaughlin mountain. The structure was rebuilt by the National Trust in the late-1980s to designs based on 19th-century photographs of the feature. The foundation and cobbled floor are the only parts of the 18th-century structure that remain. In 2015 the summer house was burnt to the ground by vandals. It was rebuilt in 2016, with a significant proportion of the funding for the project raised from the local community.

Florence Court Yew

The most notable tree on the estate is the Florence Court Yew. This specimen is survivor of the two original Irish Yew (''

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family (botany), family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Bri ...

'' 'fastigiata') saplings discovered in 1767 by local farmer George Willis on Cuilcagh mountain. As the Irish Yew can be propagated only from cuttings, this tree is the progenitor of almost all Irish Yews worldwide. The yew is located within the site of the John Cole's early 18th-century gardens, approximately one mile southeast of the house. These formerly extensive gardens are now largely lost with the exception of the surviving remains of the 18th-century rock garden, located opposite the yew. The rock garden formerly contained stone tables and chairs but is currently overgrown.

Walled Garden

The four acre walled garden was laid out in the 18th-century and extended in the 1870s by Charlotte, Countess of Enniskillen. It features a rose garden, two ponds, orchards of heirloom variety fruit trees and a working vegetable garden. The 1870s Rose Cottage on the western edge of the garden was formerly the head gardener's dwelling. It was restored from a derelict condition in the 1990s and is now let as a holiday cottage. In September 2017 a National Trust project to restore the garden to its 1930s condition was awarded a grant by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. The project includes plans to rebuild two long glass houses that formerly ran along the length of the north wall. The tennis courts behind the north wall were replaced by Forestry Service offices in the 1970s.

Cane Cottage

An 18th-century cottage built from bamboo was formerly located west of the house. It served as a tea house but fell into disrepair during the second half of the 20th century and was demolished in the 1970s.

Lady Well

The Lady Well is a natural spring well located approximately three quarters of a mile east of the house at the bottom of the Broad Meadow.

Park

Landscape

The 18th-century landscaped park is framed by Benauglin and Cuilcagh mountains. It was laid out c. 1778–80 by William King for William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen. King's work included the present undulating main drive, replacing the earlier straight east avenue which ran from the centre of the main front of the house. The path of the original drive remains visible on aerial photographs. The Larganess and Finglass rivers flow through the estate, most of which is occupied by

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

and forestry, principally

Larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

. The Glen Wood

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

is a semi-natural oak woodland conserved by the Forestry Service near to the old deer park on the southwest edge of the demesne.

Gate lodges

The Grand Gates date from c. 1778. They are flanked by a pair of symmetrical bay fronted lodges with hipped roofs facing the road and gables to the rear. Each comprises a single room. The current double sash windows were installed in the 1920s, replacing the original square Georgian glazing. The original chimney stacks have been demolished and the walls of the lodges, which were originally harled, are now rendered and painted. For many years the gates were painted red but are now black. The south lodge is a

picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...

one and a half story cottage built to replace an earlier lodge in the 1870s. The cottage is three bays wide with a front gabled porch, built from coursed rubble with dressed sandstone door and window surrounds.

Quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

bargeboards A bargeboard or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to conceal the otherwise exposed end grain of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof. The word ''bargeboard'' is pro ...

decorate the porch and side gables. The original sash windows have been replaced by simple modern glazing. The Old Gate lodge at the end of the north avenue was built c. 1800. It was originally a single story three bay cottage, later extended to its present T plan.

Rural industry and engineering

Sawmill

A working water-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

stands on the edge of the pleasure garden. It includes an exhibition on the history of the building, the timber industry on the estate and the mid-1980s restoration of the building and machinery. The

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

has the name 'William Maxwell circa 1848' at its centre although who Maxwell was is obscure. The machinery includes the original mid-19th century water-powered saw and two early-20th century electrical saws. Behind the mill is the

millpond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...

and the rebuilt millrace. The headrace runs off the Larganess river and is approximately one and a half miles long. The main part of the building is built of limestone rubble and dates to the 18th century. It was extended and converted to a sawmill in the 1840s. A brick extension housing an office was added later in the 19th century. The building's original use is unknown although several long vertical apertures along each side of the building have the appearance of gun loops and may indicate the building had an earlier military function, possibly as a barracks.

Carpenter's workshop and cottage

In the vicinity of the sawmill are a restored carpenter's workshop and cottage. Items including wheels, furniture and coffins were made here for both the estate and the local area.

Hydraulic Ram

Near to the sawmill is a working Victorian

hydraulic ram A hydraulic ram pump, ram pump, or hydram is a cyclic pump, cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device ...

. It uses water pressure from the

to generate enough force to pump water uphill to the house. The hydraulic ram was replaced as the house's water supply following connection to mains water in the 1950s and now pumps into the millrace.

Eel house bridge

The Eel house is a single-arched 18th-century bridge crossing the Larganess river, located at the southwest corner of the pleasure garden. The bridge passes close to two small fords which slow the river at this point. Eel was formerly abundant in the Larganess and traps were set across the river here as it was an optimal place to catch them. The resulting catch was stored in the room behind the opening to the left of the arch.

Forge

Behind the cattle yard is a preserved 18th century

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

still used occasionally for demonstrations.

Tilery

In the 1850s

William Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen, (25 January 180712 November 1886) styled by the courtesy title Viscount Cole until 1840, was an Irish palaeontologist and Conservative Member of Parliament. He also served as the first Imper ...

set up Florencecourt Tilery to provide local employment, utilising rich clay deposits in the vicinity of the

Arney River The Arney River is a small river in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, feeding from Lower Lough MacNean and into Upper Lough Erne. It meanders through a wide, flat Glacial Trough between the uplands of Fermanagh, Belmore Mountain and the Cuilc ...

. The works were located approximately two miles northeast of the estate and remained open until the deposits were worked out in the early 20th-century. The principal items manufactured were bricks, water pipes, roof tiles and hollow insulated floor tiles, similar to Roman

hypocaust A hypocaust () is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm the upper floors a ...

tiles. The floor tiles were commonly used in the kitchens of dwellings in surrounding areas, whilst the roof tiles appear to have been used only for outbuildings. The use of these materials is a distinctive feature of the

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

of southwest Fermanagh, otherwise rare and possibly unique in Irish vernacular architecture of the period.

The fire

Early on the morning of 22 March 1955, a fire broke out on the first floor landing at Florence Court, adjacent to Lady Enniskillen's bedroom. Whilst fire brigades almost had control of the fire by 9am, dry weather conditions helped re-ignite the blaze. Flames reached the roof of the building which crashed down into the hall, so that by the evening around two-thirds of the Florence Court interior lay in ruins. Lady Enniskillen, born Mary Cicely Nevill (daughter of Hugh Nevill), discovered the fire, which broke out during one of her husband's rare absences from home. After rushing downstairs to the servant's quarters to raise the alarm, she went to nearby Killymanamly House to telephone the elderly 5th Earl of Enniskillen (1876–1963), who was at the Ulster Club in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, to tell him that the house was on fire. He is said to have cried "What the hell do you think I can do about it?". Much of the damage to the interior of Florence Court was caused by the gallons of water pumped onto the flames. The dining room, with its exquisite plasterwork decoration, was saved only by the prompt action of local builders Bertie Pierce and Ned Vaughan who, on the instructions of Viola Grosvenor, later the Duchess of Westminster, drilled six holes in the flat part of the ceiling to allow the water which had accumulated on the floor above to quickly drain away and thereby preventing ceiling collapse. Two of these holes are still evident in the dining room today. Florence Court Estate Autumn

The fire was only one of a series of events in the 1950s and 60s at Florence Court which marked the end of an era for the house and family. Following World War II falling agricultural prices, rising wage costs, death duties and a drastic reduction of the size of the demesne, the lifestyle of the 5th Earl of Enniskillen and his second wife Mary (née Nevill), was increasingly difficult to sustain. To secure the long-term future of the house, Lord Enniskillen gave Florence Court to the National Trust in 1953. It was opened to the public the following year. In 1956, the 5th Earl's only son and heir Michael, Viscount Cole, died suddenly aged 36; he was unmarried. In 1961, as the restoration of the house was nearing completion, Hurricane Debbie devastated the estate. In 1963, the 5th Earl and his wife, Lady Enniskillen, died within three months of each other. The 5th Earl, upon his death, was succeeded by his nephew,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

David Lowry Cole, (1918–1989), in 1963, who became the 6th

Earl of Enniskillen Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The tit ...

. David Enniskillen (as he was popularly known) had spent much of his life in the

Colony of Kenya A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often o ...

, having been elected a member of the

Legislative Council of Kenya The Legislative Council of Kenya (LegCo) was the legislature of Kenya between 1907 and 1963. It was modelled on the Westminster system. It began as a nominated, exclusively European institution and evolved into an elected legislature with univers ...

in the early 1960s, just before

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. In 1955, he was divorced from his first wife Sonia (née Syers), stepdaughter of his uncle the 5th Earl (who died in 1963 with his wife, Sonia's mother). By her, he had issue: one son and one daughter. David Enniskillen and his second wife, Nancy,

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Enniskillen (née Nancy MacLennan; formerly a diplomat with the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

), moved back to Florence Court, living there from 1964 until 1973. In that year, in the early years of

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, the Earl and Countess of Enniskillen left Florence Court, moving over to Kinloch House in Kinloch,

, in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. David Enniskillen thus became the last Earl of Enniskillen to actually live in Florence Court. He was succeeded by his only son Andrew Cole, 7th Earl of Enniskillen, in 1989. Andrew Enniskillen continues to live on a estate in Kenya."Kenya considers the life and death of its game"
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', accessed 11 February 2023

Film and television

During the spring of 2012, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

filmed parts of '' Blandings'', a television comedy, at Florence Court. Most of the series, however, was filmed at

Crom Castle Crom Castle ( Irish: ''Caisleán na Croime'') is a country house on the shores of Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the seat of the Earls Erne. Standing within the Crom Estate and a formal garden, the castle is bui ...

. The series was first broadcast on

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

during January and February 2013.

References

*''50 Years Since the Fire'' – An Exhibition to Celebrate the Reconstruction of Florence Court, The Print Factory: Enniskillen (not in print)

External links

Florence Court at the National TrustVirtual Tour of Florence Court Northern Ireland
– Virtual Visit Northern Ireland {{Authority control National Trust properties in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Fermanagh Enniskillen Historic house museums in Northern Ireland Grade A listed buildings Museums in County Fermanagh Palladian architecture in Northern Ireland Country houses in Northern Ireland Legislative Council of Kenya Cole family (Anglo-Irish aristocracy) Richard Cassels buildings