Belleek Castle

Last updated

Belleek Castle, originally known as Belleek Manor, [1] is a 19th-century manor house in Ballina, County Mayo in Ireland. Now operated as a hotel, the house was built between 1825 and 1831 in a neo-Gothic style. [2] The 10-room hotel has a museum in its basement containing what is reputed to be Grace O'Malley's bed. [3] It also has a collection of fossils and armoury and a bar named for the Spanish Armada in Ireland. Several structures on the site, including the manor house itself, a nearby mausoleum and 19th-century entrance archway, are included in the Record of Protected Structures maintained by Mayo County Council. [4]

Contents

History

The gate tower to Belleek Manor was built in the 1870s to designs by James Franklin Fuller Gatehouse belleek forest park.jpg
The gate tower to Belleek Manor was built in the 1870s to designs by James Franklin Fuller

The manor house is reputedly built on the site of a 13th-century tower house. [2] This structure was the ancestral home of the Earls of Arran, before passing to the Baronets of Belleek Manor.

The current building, known as Belleek Manor, was built by Sir Francis Knox-Gore, 1st Baronet between 1825 and 1831. [1] [6] While the design of the house is traditionally associated with the Irish architect John Benjamin Keane, [7] some sources suggest that Frederick Darley Junior was also a "likely design source". [1] It is a five-bay two-storey (over basement) country house with some Tudor-style and some Gothic-style design elements. [1]

The house and its estate stayed in the Knox-Gore family until 1942 when rising costs made them sell. Between 1942 and 1961, the estate changed hands multiple times, eventually ending up in the possession of Mayo County Council in 1961. [2] It was bought in the 1960s by Marshall Doran, a retired sailor, raconteur and adventurer. After he bought Belleek Manor, he set about making it into a home for himself and his family and his collection of medieval artefacts. [3] The house was converted, by the Doran family, [8] into a hotel that is now known as Belleek Castle. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castlepollard</span> Village in County Westmeath, Ireland

Castlepollard is a village in north County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossmolina</span> Town in County Mayo, Ireland

Crossmolina is a town in the historical barony of Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the civil parish and Catholic parish in which the town is situated. The town sits on the River Deel near the northern shore of Lough Conn. Crossmolina is about 9 km (5.6 mi) west of Ballina on the N59 road. Surrounding the town, there are a number of agriculturally important townlands, including Enaghbeg, Rathmore, and Tooreen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Daly (died 1791)</span> Irish politician

Denis Daly of Carrownakelly and Dunsandle Castle, Loughrea, County Galway, was an Irish landowner and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adare Manor</span> Manor house and hotel in County Limerick, Ireland

Adare Manor is a manor house located on the banks of the River Maigue in the village of Adare, County Limerick, Ireland, the former seat of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. The present house was built in the early 19th century, though retaining some of the walls of the 17th-century structure. It is now the Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, a luxury hotel, and contains the Michelin-starred Oak Room restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran</span> Irish peer (1734–1809)

Arthur Saunders Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran, KP, PC (Ire), styled The Honourable Arthur Gore from 1758 to 1762 and Viscount Sudley from 1762 to 1773, was an Irish peer and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rappa Castle</span> Ruined building in County Mayo, Ireland

Rappa Castle is a ruined castle located in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland.

Sir Ralph Gore, 4th Baronet was a Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. He is now chiefly remembered for building Belle Isle Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenmare House</span>

Kenmare House is located on the east shore of Lough Leane and was the principal residence of the Brownes of Killarney, Earls of Kenmare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Franklin Fuller</span>

James Franklin Fuller (1835–1924) was an Irish actor, architect and novelist.

The Knox-Gore Baronetcy, of Belleek Manor in the County of Mayo, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 5 December 1868 for Francis Knox-Gore, Lord Lieutenant of Sligo. The title became extinct on the death of the second Baronet in 1890.

The High Sheriff of Leitrim was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Leitrim, Ireland from c.1582 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Leitrim County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Leitrim unless stated otherwise.

The High Sheriff of Sligo was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Sligo, Ireland, from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Sligo County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Sligo unless stated otherwise.

The High Sheriff of Mayo was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Mayo, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Mayo County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Mayo unless stated otherwise.

The High Sheriff of Wexford was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wexford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Wexford County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Wexford unless stated otherwise.

The High Sheriff of Donegal was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland, from the late 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Donegal County Sheriff. The High Sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Donegal unless stated otherwise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballina, County Mayo</span> Town in County Mayo, Ireland

Ballina is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west. The town occupies two baronies; Tirawley on the west bank of the Moy River, and Tireragh, a barony within County Sligo, on its east banks. At the 2022 census, the population of Ballina was 10,556.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucan Manor</span> Georgian-Palladian house in Dublin, Ireland

Lucan Manor is a Georgian-Palladian house and estate in Lucan, County Dublin. A manor house, it is remembered particularly for its association with the Sarsfield family. A castle or house has been recorded on the site since at least the 12th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Arran (Ireland)</span> Title in the peerage of Ireland

Earl of Arran is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It is not to be confused with the title Earl of Arran in the Peerage of Scotland. The two titles refer to different places: the Aran Islands in Ireland, and the Isle of Arran in Scotland. The Irish earldom is held by the Gore family. The Scottish earldom is a separate title, held as a subsidiary title of the Duke of Hamilton.

Sir Francis Knox-Gore, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish baronet.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Belleek Manor, Garrankeel, Ballina, Mayo". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Our Story - Belleek Castle, Ireland". belleekcastle.com. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Belleek Castle". IrelandsHiddenGems.com. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  4. ↑ Mayo County Development Plan 2022-2028 - Volume 4 - Record of Protected Structures (PDF), Mayo County Council, pp. 78, 79, retrieved 22 November 2024
  5. ↑ "The stately Mayo designs of James Franklin Fuller". Connaught Telegraph. 5 February 2024. In 1872 [..] Sir Arthur Knox-Gore, for the cost of €10,000, commissioned Fuller to construct a palatial home at Mount Falcon and Fuller also carried out work for the Knoxes of Belleek Castle [..] For them he designed a new gateway to the castle
  6. ↑ "1831 – Belleek Manor, Ballina, Co. Mayo". archiseek.com. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  7. ↑ "Co. Mayo, Belleek Manor (Ballina)". Dictionary of Irish Architects . Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 23 November 2024. New Tudor Gothic house 'almost certainly by John B. Keane' (Bence-Jones)
  8. ↑ "Castle capers: Belleek Castle moving into the 21st century". independent.ie. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  9. ↑ "Belleek Manor/Abbey". Landed Estates Database. University of Galway. Retrieved 22 November 2024. functions as the hotel known as Belleek Castle

54°08′00″N9°08′42″W / 54.1333°N 9.1449°W / 54.1333; -9.1449

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.