Manderley Castle
| Manderley Castle | |
|
County Dublin | |
|---|---|
 Manderley Castle | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | O25952523 |
| Location: | 53°15’46"N, 6°6’47"W |
| Town: | Killiney |
| History | |
| Built 1840 | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Enya |
Manderley Castle, formerly named "Victoria Castle" and for a while "Ayesha Castle", is a large castellated Irish mansion built in the Victorian style, in Killiney, County Dublin. It is currently owned by the singer Enya.
Features
From the roof of the crenellated turret of the castle, it is possible to see beyond the Irish coast as far eastward as Caernarfonshire. The building is surrounded by 3.5 acre (14,000.0 m²) of gardens which had a number of sylvan walks. A 'secret' tunnel at the bottom of the garden originally gave access to Killiney beach but now is sealed off.[1]
History
Judge Robert Warren built Victoria Castle in 1840[2][3][4] to commemorate Queen Victoria's accession to the throne. The interior was gutted by fire in 1928, then restored by Sir Thomas Power of the whiskey distillery family. He renamed the mansion "Ayesha Castle", after the goddess who rose from the flames in H Rider Haggard's novel She. In 1995, the Aylmer family decided to turn Ayesha Castle into a place of tourist interest, "conver[ting] existing stables to a ground floor apartment and a first floor craft room".[5] The Stable Gallery was established there, and a number of artists displayed their pictures.[6]
Irish musician Enya bought the castle in 1997 for €3.8 million, reportedly outbidding Michael Flatley, who also viewed the house. Based on her interest in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, Enya renamed the castle "Manderley" for the fictional house that plays a central role in the 1938 novel.
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Manderley Castle) |
References
- ↑ Seaside Secrets (2001-05-26). "Life piles of the rich and famous: why a celeb's home is their castle". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/life-piles-of-the-rich-and--famous-why-a-celebs-home--is-their-castle-346615.html.
- ↑ "Nick Reddan's Newspaper Extracts". Members.iinet.net.au. 2011-01-08. http://members.iinet.net.au/~nickred/newspaper/np_abst44.htm.
- ↑ "The Limerick Estate of Sergeant Warren during the Great Irish Famine" (PDF). http://www.ucd.ie/economics/research/papers/2002/WP02.15.pdf.
- ↑ "Dublin City Directory 1850: Waddick - Weekes". Dublin1850.com. http://www.dublin1850.com/dublin1850/xdubdir88.html#warren.
- ↑ "DLR County Council Planning Application". Planning.dlrcoco.ie. http://planning.dlrcoco.ie/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=D95A/0199.
- ↑ "Google search". Google.com. 2004-03-20. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=stable+gallery+killiney.