Richhill Castle is a 17th-century Grade A listed country house in the large village of Richhill, in the townland of Legacorry,

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, Northern Ireland, roughly halfway between Armagh and

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

. It is a two-storey building with a gabled attic in the high-pitched roof. It consists of a five-bay central range flanked by two wings, all with Dutch-style gables.

History

The Legacorry estate was acquired in 1610 by Francis Sacherevall, a planter from Leicestershire, who constructed a house on the 1000-acre site. The property passed down to his granddaughter Anne, who had married Major Edward Richardson. The present house was constructed between 1664 and 1669 for Major Richardson, who served as MP for

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

from 1661 to 1689 and was appointed

High Sheriff of Armagh The High Sheriff of Armagh is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Armagh. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his/her ...

for 1665–66. The estate and village then came to be known as Richhill. It was inherited by Edward's son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, twice MP for Co. Armagh (1692–95 and 1715–27) and High Sheriff in 1690, who died without an heir in 1727. The property passed to his brother John and thence to John's grandson

, also MP for Co. Armagh from 1783 to 1798 and High Sheriff for 1777. He commissioned ornate gates and railings eighteen to twenty feet high topped with the Richardson family's coat of arms from the Thornberry Brothers of Armagh. These were removed in 1936 "for safe keeping" to

Hillsborough Castle Hillsborough Castle is an official British government, government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,

, then the residence of the governor of Northern Ireland. William married twice and left three daughters, none of whom had children. The estate therefore passed in 1881 to the Richardson's of Rossfad House, Co. Fermanagh, inherited by Colonel John Mervyn Archdall Carleton Richardson, JP and Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff in 1888. Since that time there have been various owners, including Major Robert Gordon Berry, the Northern Ireland Education Authority and Sam Hewitt. Sam Hewitt sold it in 1959 to the Lyttle family, the present owners, who have restored much of the house and garden. There are plans to raise a trust fund and put the building into community use.

References

{{Places of Interest in County Armagh Country houses in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Armagh Grade A listed buildings