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Rockingham Estate was a house and estate near
In 1771, the King family moved from their house in Boyle to the newly built Kingston Hall on what is now the Rockingham estate. The footprint and walled gardens of this house still exist and indicate its substantial size. It was later referred to as Kingston Lodge or the Steward's Lodge.
Rockingham house was later developed by Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton and designed by one of the preeminent architects of the day, John Nash around 1809–10. The planned gardens were designed by John Sutherland around the same time and included servant's tunnels, follies, lodges and miniature castles.
In 1822, a third story was added to the house and the grand dome was removed significantly distorting Nash's original design.
A number of other notable structures were also built on the estate around the same time including stables (1845) and a later gothic lodge and entrance gate.
The house was largely damaged by a fire in 1860 and was at that stage rebuilt.
In 1903, the house became one of the residences of
15 Getty Images views of the house in 1954
Boyle, County Roscommon
Boyle (; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara ...
, Ireland covering much of the area which now makes up Lough Key Forest Park.
History
In 1771, the King family moved from their house in Boyle to the newly built Kingston Hall on what is now the Rockingham estate. The footprint and walled gardens of this house still exist and indicate its substantial size. It was later referred to as Kingston Lodge or the Steward's Lodge.
Rockingham house was later developed by Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton and designed by one of the preeminent architects of the day, John Nash around 1809–10. The planned gardens were designed by John Sutherland around the same time and included servant's tunnels, follies, lodges and miniature castles.
In 1822, a third story was added to the house and the grand dome was removed significantly distorting Nash's original design.
A number of other notable structures were also built on the estate around the same time including stables (1845) and a later gothic lodge and entrance gate.
The house was largely damaged by a fire in 1860 and was at that stage rebuilt.
In 1903, the house became one of the residences of William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, (25 May 1867 – 29 June 1932) was a British aristocrat, politician, and military officer who served as the List of Governors-General of Australia, fourth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 190 ...
who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
from 11 August 1902 to 11 December 1905.
In 1918, the house was raided by Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
members in order to procure arms.
Rockingham House again burned down in a fire started by an electrical fault in 1957.
What remained of the estate was sold by Sir Cecil Stafford-King-Harman, to the Irish 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 ...
in May 1959. The Land Commission officially took control of the estate in November 1959.
The remains of the house were finally demolished in 1971.
In 1973, a brutalist concrete viewing tower known as the Moylurg tower was built on the site of the house.
See also
* McDermott's CastleExternal links
15 Getty Images views of the house in 1954
References
{{Castles in Connacht, state=collapsed Houses in County Roscommon Castles in County Roscommon John Nash (architect) buildings Demolished buildings and structures in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures demolished in 1971