Ardgillan Castle
| Ardgillan Castle | |
| County Dublin | |
|---|---|
 Ardgillan Castle from the gardens | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | O21866118 |
| Location: | 53°35’12"N, 6°9’37"W |
| History | |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Fingal Council |
| Website: | ardgillancastle.ie |
Ardgillan Castle is a country house near Balbriggan in County Dublin. It is set within a two-hundred acre country estate, the Ardgillan Demesne, which is today a public park.[1]
Features
The house overlooks Barnageera Beach, the Irish Sea and Balbriggan.
With castellated embellishments, the castle consists of two storeys over a basement, which extends under the south lawns. When occupied, the ground and first floors were the living accommodation while the west and east wings were servants' quarters and estate offices. The basement was the service floor, the kitchen and stores. The castle has now been restored and is open to visitors.
Ardgillan Demesne is open to visitors, with a mix of woodlands and large grass open spaces. The park contains a walled herb garden, rose garden,[2] Victorian conservatory or glasshouse, tea rooms and an ice house. A children's playground was built in 2006.
Facilities and activities for visitors
The ground floor rooms and kitchens of the Castle are open to visitors for guided tours. Tea rooms are located off the main reception area and are open during the Castle opening times. Upstairs, the former bedrooms are used for classes and exhibitions, including a permanent exhibition of the "Down Survey" colour maps and text. Rooms are also available for small group meetings and workshops.
Past events
In 2005 the estate was host to a number of open-air concerts in the summertime. No more concerts have been held at the venue since.
From 2016 to 2019, Paws at Ardgillan was open on the castle's gardens. Housed in the former gardener's cottage, it was billed as "a new café that gives dog walkers the opportunity to dine with their dogs". It was considered unique in a public park in Ireland to have dogs sitting with their owners while eating.[3] Nevertheless it was not profitable and was shut down in 2019 due to food safety concerns, later reopening so as no longer to accommodate dogs.
History
The previous owner of the land was Robert Usher a wine merchant from Tallaght. When Reverend Robert Taylor bought the land it was quite a wooded area so he employed some out-of-service soldiers from Bangor, County Down in County Down and paid them 1p and a meal a day as well as bed every night: they also received a tot of Irish whiskey from Bushmills which was brought in for 2 shilling 2 pence a gallon.
The house was built by the Reverend Robert Taylor in 1738. The house remained in the Taylor family until 1962 when the estate was sold to Henrich Potts of Westphalia.
In 1982 the estate was sold to the local council, who renovated the house and it was officially opened to the public in 1992.
Ghost of "The Lady's Stairs"
According to local folklore, the ghost of a woman was believed to haunt the bridge (known locally as "The Lady's Stairs") that exists over the Dublin to Belfast railway line at the end of the property near the sea shore. It is said that the lady's husband was a frequent swimmer, and when he did not return one night, the lady went to the bridge to await his return. However, her husband had died while swimming, and she stayed at the bridge hopelessly awaiting his return until she herself died.
The bridge was damaged by a truck strike in 2006 and was eventually renovated and reopened in 2007.
The more accepted version of the story is that Lord Langford of Summerhill House in Meath brought his recently wed wife to Ardgillan Castle while he went hunting in Scotland. Against the advice of the household, she went swimming (in November) and was drowned. Lord Langford himself died a short while later.
The "Lady's Stairs" bridge links Ardgillan Demense with the coast over the R127 (Skerries to Balbriggan) road. The bridge can be entered by concrete stairs, a short walk from the estate's car park number one and a long walk from car park number two. The bridge has high metal fencing with small holes. The railway line can also be seen from the top of the hill near the playground.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ardgillan Castle) |