Rossmore Castle, also known as Rossmore Park, was a castle on the outskirts of

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

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 ...

. It was built in the Gothic style in 1827 and was the seat of the Barons Rossmore, but fell into disrepair in the 1940s when the family moved to Camla Vale, and was demolished in the 1970s.

History

The building was a 19th-century country house built in the style of a castle. It was originally built for The 2nd Baron Rossmore in

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place in Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...

in the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

by the Irish architect

William Vitruvius Morrison William Vitruvius Morrison (1794 – 16 October 1838) was an Irish architect, son and collaborator of Sir Richard Morrison. Life He was born at Clonmel, County Tipperary, second son of Sir Richard Morrison (1767–1849) and Elizabeth Ould, a gra ...

. The building was dominated by a large square tower with turret and crow-stepped battlements, and had a series of gables and oriel windows. It was extended and remodelled in 1858 by the Irish architect

William Henry Lynn William Henry Lynn (1829–1915) was an Ireland, Irish-born architect with a practice in Belfast and the north of England. He is noted for his Gothic Revival architecture, Ruskinian Venetian Gothic public buildings, which include History of Ches ...

. There was rivalry between Lord Rossmore and the Shirleys of Lough Fea, and they competed for many years as to who could boast the largest room in

; as a result, the drawing room at Rossmore was extended on five occasions, and the house ended up with three towers, and more than 117 windows in at least 53 assorted sizes and shapes. In latter part of the century was known for its social gatherings and gaiety, with

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, being a friend of The 5th Baron Rossmore. The 5th Baron was Lord Lieutenant of Monaghan from 1897 until his death in 1921, when he was succeeded by his son William, who became The 6th

Baron Rossmore Baron Rossmore, of Monaghan in the County of Monaghan, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1796 for the soldier Robert Cuninghame, with remainder to his wife Elizabeth's nephews Henry Alexander Jones (the son of Theophilus ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

dry rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of wood which give it strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resulted in a ...

forced the abandonment of the castle; the family moved to Camla Vale, a more modest Georgian house situated within the estate grounds, and the castle fell into ruins; it was demolished in 1975. Camla Vale was sold in 1962 and has since been demolished. On the death of Paddy Rossmore in 2021, 2,200 acres of the grounds and estate which made up the Rossmore Castle estae were bequeathed to

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is ...

References

{{coord, 54.22581667, N, 6.998522222, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Castles in County Monaghan Buildings and structures demolished in 1975 Demolished buildings and structures in the Republic of Ireland Houses in County Monaghan

History

See also

References