Strancally Castle is a country house in

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

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 is located on the River Blackwater, close to the town of

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

History

The original Strancally castle was built by

Raymond le Gros Raymond (or Redmond) Fitz William Fitz Gerald (died 1185–1198), nicknamed ''Le wikt:gros#Norman, Gros'' ("the Large"), was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Raymond was among the first of a small band of Nor ...

. It was then reputedly occupied by Spaniards, who lured the local landowners to a banquet and then dropped them through a secret trapdoor into a flooded cave. When news of the murder hole leaked out the Spanish were routed and the castle destroyed. The present building was designed and built around 1830 by

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and

George Richard Pain George Richard Pain (1793 – 26 December 1838) was born into a family of English architects. His grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother also James Pain, James. George Richard served as an apprentice architect to Jo ...

for John Keily, MP for

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

, and the

High Sheriff of County Waterford The High Sheriff of County Waterford was the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Waterford. Initially, an office for a lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became an annual appointment following the Provisions of Oxford ...

for 1819–20. It stands in front of the ruin of the original Desmond castle. In 1856 the castle, in an estate of 5000 acres, was bought by 24-year-old George Whitelocke Lloyd of a wealthy Anglo-Irish manufacturing family. He was appointed High Sheriff of Waterford for 1859–60. His son William Whitelocke Lloyd was an army officer who fought in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and was an accomplished artist. The estate eventually came into the possession of the Irish Land Commission, who sold off the land piecemeal before selling the house with a remaining 160 acres.

References

{{coord, 52.069, -7.877, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Castles in County Waterford Historic houses in County Waterford 1830 establishments in Ireland