Castletown Cox

For the house in County Kildare, see Castletown House.

Castletown Cox
Alternative names	Castletown House
General information
Status	Private dwelling house
Type	House
Architectural style	Palladian, Georgian
Location	Piltown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Coordinates	52°22′57″N7°22′17″W / 52.38252°N 7.37141°W / 52.38252; -7.37141
Construction started	1767
Completed	1771
Owner	Brian and Ulli DeBreffny (1979-91) George Magan (1991-2019) Kelcy Warren (2019-)
Technical details
Material	Kilkenny limestone and sandstone
Floor count	4
Design and construction
Architect	Davis Ducart
Developer	Michael Cox (archbishop of Cashel)
Main contractor	John Nowlan (1774)

Castletown Cox, or Castletown House, is a Georgian Palladian mansion and demesne located close to the town of Piltown, in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

The house is often referred to as Castletown Cox to distinguish it from the larger Castletown House in County Kildare.

History

Design and construction

Davis Ducart designed the three storey over basement, seven bay building in the Palladian style. ^[1] The design was commissioned by the Lord Archbishop of Cashel, Michael Cox in 1767. Buckingham House in London inspired some of the details. ^[2]

18th century

On his death, the house passed to his only son Richard Cox (died 1790). He had earlier married Mary, daughter of Francis Burton.

On Richard's death, the house passed to his eldest son Michael (born 1768), who married Mary Prittie, daughter of Henry Prittie, 1st Baron Dunalley.

19th century

In 1833 William Villiers-Stuart married Catherine Cox, daughter of Michael Cox (born 1768) and sister of Sir Richard Cox, 8th Baronet (died 1846) and they inherited the property. ^[3]

20th century

In October 1921, Windham Wyndham-Quin, 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl sold a selection of contents of the house at an auction with Battersby & Company. ^[4]

In 1926, when Colonel Wyndham-Quin succeeded to the title from the 4th Earl, he sold the house to the Blacque family and it later passed down to Charles Blacque. ^[5]

In 1976, Blacque sold the estate to Nicholas Walsh, who never moved into the property.

Brian DeBreffny later purchased the property from Walsh in 1979 and lived there with his wife Ulli until 1991. ^[6]

In October 1991, a further sale of many of the contents was carried out by Christie's for then owner George Magan, Baron Magan of Castletown. ^[7]

21st century

The house was extensively restored in the early 21st century by George Magan, Baron Magan of Castletown.

The house and 513 acres of land was offered for sale in 2017 ^[8] and sold in 2019 for approximately €20m to Kelcy Warren. ^{[9] [10]}

In 2019, Lord Magan was evicted from Castletown Cox for failure to make rental payments of €100,000 per annum to the trust he had placed the estate into. ^[11]

The estate

The formal gardens were designed by the Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury. ^[10]

The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage lists the grounds as having the main features substantially present. Also listed on the estate are two gate lodges of special architectural interest, one a gothic styled three bay home from 1911, ^[12] the other a two bay home c 1825. ^[13] Both gateways from c 1825 are also listed as being of special artistic and architectural interest. ^{[13] [14]} The farmyard, ^[15] farm managers house ^[16] and remains of an ice house ^[17] are all listed as being of special architectural interest.

See also

• Bessborough House

External links

• Irish Farmers Journal article

References

1. "CO. KILKENNY, CASTLETOWN COX Dictionary of Irish Architects -". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
2. Keel, Toby (31 October 2017). "'The most beautiful house in Ireland' is up for sale". Country Life. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
3. "Villiers Stuart/Stuart (de Decies) | Landed Estates | University of Galway". landedestates.ie. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
4. "Castletown Carrick-on-Suir: Catalogue of the ... contents .. to be sold by auction ... Tuesday, the 11th. day of October. 1921". Battersby. 1921. Retrieved 6 October 2025.{{cite web}}: |first1= missing |last1= (help)
5. "The most beautiful house in Ireland". www.kilkennypeople.ie. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
6. "The tale of a Baron's court". Irish Independent. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
7. "Christies catalogue re sale of contents of Castletown House, Co. Kilkenny on the 7th & 8th Octob". www.purcellauctioneers.ie. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
8. Lyons, Madeleine. "Ireland's hidden Downton-on-Suir seeks €17.5m". The Irish Times.
9. Lyons, Madeleine. "Castletown Cox, one of Ireland's finest country estates, sells for €20 million". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
10. Gittens, Geraldine (11 April 2018). "In Pictures: International buyer snaps up Castletown Cox estate for around €20m". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
11. Managh, Ray (10 September 2019). "British peer loses tenancy of €20m Castletown Cox estate". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
12. "Castletown Cox, Castletown, Kilkenny (Gate lodge b)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . 2 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
13. "Castletown Cox, Castletown, Kilkenny (Gate lodge a)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . 2 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
14. "Castletown Cox, Castletown, Kilkenny (Gates/railings/walls)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . 2 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
15. "Castletown Cox, Castletown, Kilkenny (Farmyard complex)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . 2 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
16. "Castletown Cox, Castletown, Kilkenny (Worker's house)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . 2 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
17. "Castletown Cox, Castletown, Kilkenny (Icehouse)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . 2 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2025.