Spur Royal Castle
| Spur Royal Castle | |
| Tyrone | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | H56135380 |
| Location: | 54°25’47"N, 7°8’9"W |
| Village: | Augher |
| History | |
| Built 1827 | |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
Spur Royal Castle, also known as Augher Castle is a grand country house outside Augher in Tyrone.
The house is a Grade A listed building.[1]
History
The estate was long a strategic location: by the time of the Nine Years' War Augher was a garrison town held by Queen Elizabeth's Lord Deputy of Ireland, to disrupt the army of the Earl of Tyrone. In 1613, as part of the Plantation of Ulster, an area of 315 acres around Augher was granted to Sir Thomas Ridgway, who had been the Treasurer at War for Ireland. Ridgway developed the town so well that within two years the King granted it a borough charter.
Ridgeway built a fortified house in about 1615; a square, three-storey Plantation-style castle, with a peculiar triangular tower in the middle of each of its sides. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the castle (then held by James Erskine) was successfully defended against rebel attack. After Erskine's death, Augher Castle and the estate passed into the ownership of the Richardson family who retained the estate well into the 19th century.
The Jacobean castle burnt down in 1689 by the Jacobites. The house of today, built in 1832, was a restoration from the ruins in 1832: part of the bawn of the original house is incorporated into the present house, now known as Spur Royal Castle.
Grounds
The mansion is situated in a well-wooded demesne of 220 acres: far smaller than the estate once was. The house stands on the edge of a picturesque lake, surrounded by lawns and sheltering trees.
Outside links
- Augher Castle: 'Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland'
- Parks and Gardens: Spur Royal
