Charleville Castle

It seems that most castles, or fortresses, in Ireland were built by the British, primarily for military purposes. Throughout history, battles raged back and forth, ownership's & alliances changed hands.  Few castles were built solely as a residence. This is one of them. 

  

What I have been able to gather about this Castle, and its location, is a hate-love relationship with Britain. Certainly not your typical ‘family’ castle. I find their history more fascinating than the actual structures.  The Castle was designed by Sir Francis Johnson in a gothic-revival style, construction began in 1798 and took over 14 years to complete. It is said, “the wonderful craftsmanship involved is mainly due to the skills of Irish people.”  A fun note about the design is the two towers on either side of the main structure.  The one on the left resembles the 'queen' in chess, the one on the right resembles the 'king'; therefore when guest were finished with their dinner the men would retire to the right tower and the women to the left. 

Back in 1577, the Queen of England, Elizabeth 1^st, gifted 1,700 acres of Oak forest (in Ireland) to the Moore family.  This raised the Moore family to an Earldom status – Earl of Charleville.  Due to the lack of a direct male heir the title lapsed in 1764 and the lands were inherited by a 6-month-old Charles William Bury – Grandnephew of the last Earl.  

As a little side story – it just so happened on the Earls 21^st birthday (1785) one of the hot-air balloons being used in celebration crashed and burned nearly destroying the entire town of Tullamore. Being a man of considerable wealth, his estate and trustees sponsored the rebuilding the city. Ten years later construction on the castle began. Due to his generosity Charles William Bury was raised to the restored Earldom of Charleville, as the first Earl of the second creation in 1806. Just about this same time the Grand Canal was being constructed which connected Tullamore with Dublin – bringing considerable wealth with it. For years the estate grew to approx. 24,000 acres.   However, over the years - due to changing fortunes and times, also meant new ownership for most of the lands.  Currently the estate is 100 acres.

“The castle is the direct outcome of grand and magnanimous ideas following the brutal suppression of a terrible and bloody insurrection which engulfed Ireland in 1798 by Britain.”

It was on April 8, 1861 that little Lady Harriet, age 8, fell to her death while playing on the 3^rd floor staircase off the main entrance.  They say she haunts the castle to this day.  Many have claimed to have seen and even heard her over the years.

Borrowed picture from the internet

Harriet Bury, age 8

The tile of Earl lapsed again in 1885 (sadly due to lack of male heir) and the estate passed to a niece, Emily, who was already married at the time. So, to comply with terms of the inheritance, title deeds, etc, they took on the name Howard-Bury.  Upon her death in 1931 her son, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury inherited Charleville Castle.  He chose to remain in his home, Belvedere House, which he had inherited some years earlier.  The castle was left with minimal care taking staff.  It’s told that the Colonel even had the roof removed to avoid paying property levies on it.  Given the condition of the castle authorities agreed to deem it as a ‘ruin’.  The Colonel died in 1963, a celebrated British soldier, explorer, botanist and conservative politician.   So, you can imagine when the Irish revolution came about in 1916, this abandoned home was broken into and whatever the Colonel had not previously sold off, was taken or partially destroyed by the Irish.  The estate remained abandoned from 1912–1970. 

It gets a little hinky here – It’s my understanding that a farmer either owns the estate and lands, or uses the lands and stables for his livestock.  Anyway, turns out a “group of persons”, including a family by the name of Vance from the USA took up a long-term lease on the castle with the sole intention of ‘gradual restoration'.  The Vance family lives on the 2^nd floor of the castle, the 3^rd floor is completely in ruins and unsafe and the main floor is used for tours and numerous events throughout the year.

Our limited tour was given to us by a summer intern from France, Damian. Besides volunteer interns, there is a large group of talented craftsmen & women, who volunteering their time. They ask for a small donation for the tour. This group is proud of the fact that most of the first floor did not suffer critical damage, but there is little left of the original furnishings or chandlers. Most of the rooms that we could see have been altered from their original state.  Even the ceiling in the dining room which was originally stenciled in gold by William Morris in the late 1860’s had been painted purple. They don’t claim to have original furnishings; even built-in bookcases have been altered to support mirrors. There are numerous hidden doors and hidden indoor window shutters.  Movies have been filmed here and some of the sets remain.  The staircase where Harriet fell has been deemed unsafe and roped off.  Sadly, the basement, kitchen and dungeons are not accessible to the public. Along with the small Gothic chapel (no roof).

In fact, we were unable to tour the grounds at all because they are preparing for their biggest money maker event of the year - The Castlepalooza/Irish Music Festival 2017 this coming weekend. Equipment and men were preparing 5 stages throughout the grounds for a 3-day concert, over 20 different bands and camping for the faithful.  Perhaps a thousand folks are expected. Damian said there will be some events in the main ballroom, but he did not know what.

So they continue to make money any way they can. 

PHOTO ALBUM