Charleville Castle

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Charleville Castle
Charleville Castle.png
Charleville Castle
General information
TypeCountry House
Architectural styleGothic revival
Location Tullamore, County Offaly
Coordinates 53°15′37″N7°31′40″W / 53.2604°N 7.5279°W / 53.2604; -7.5279
Construction started1798
Completed1814
Design and construction
Architect(s) Francis Johnston
Website
charlevillecastle.ie

Charleville Castle is a Gothic-style castle located in County Offaly, Ireland, bordering the town of Tullamore, near the River Clodiagh. It is considered one of the finest of its type in the country. [1]

Contents

History

The first mansion house to be built on the site of Charleville Castle was by Thomas Moore circa 1641. The estate passed through the hands of Charles Moore, Lord Tullamore, grandson of Thomas, and when he died in 1674 it went via his sister Jane to Charles William Bury. Charles William was later (1806) created the 1st Earl of Charleville in a second creation of the title. The new earl decided to build a new house on the estate. Commissioned in 1798, it was designed by Francis Johnston, and was built between 1800 and 1812. [2]

The castle was not continuously occupied, owing to the castle owners' lack of resources. Each re-opening of the house resulted in the addition of new rooms or refurbishment. This included engaging William Morris, who designed the ceiling within the dining room. The castle played host to Lord Byron, who held many parties here. The house once boasted a painting from 1789 called Henry VIII, Act V, Scene 4 by Matthew William Peters, which having been removed from the house in 1970 is now in a Canadian collection. [3]

The castle remained uninhabited from 1912 when Colonel Howard-Bury left to live in Belvedere House, County Westmeath. [2] By 1968 the roof had been removed. Work on its restoration was commenced by Michael McMullen in 1973 and later by Constance Heavey Seaquist and Bonnie Vance. A Charitable Trust has been formed to help with the restoration. [4]

Present day

As of 2014, the Charleville Castle Heritage Trust was managed by Dudley Stewart, [2] with the day-to-day running handled by volunteers. Events held at the castle have included "fright nights", an auction, and a play by the English Chamber Theatre called Dearest Nancy, Darling Evelyn. The Mór Festival and its successor, Castlepalooza, have been held at the castle, as has Facefest, a not-for-profit festival held in the Summer Solstice Weekend. As of 2014, the castle hosted a museum, "The Explorers' Museum", covering the history of exploration and dedicated to Charles Howard-Bury. [5] [6]

The castle itself has been claimed to be the most haunted building and grounds in Europe, appearing on both Living TV's Most Haunted and Fox's Scariest Places on Earth . The most famous of these ghosts is that of a little girl called Harriet, who reputedly died after a fall in a staircase. [7] The castle has also been visited by several paranormal investigators and psychics. [4] It has been photographed by Simon Marsden, and has appeared on Ghost Hunters International . It was also used as a filming location for Becoming Jane (2007), [8] [9] Northanger Abbey (2007), The Knight Before Christmas (2019) and The Green Knight (2020). The castle has also been used, alongside Ashford Castle in County Mayo, as a set for the "French Court" in the pilot episode of Reign (2013).[ citation needed ]

Charleville Forest, which borders the castle, is classified as a Special Area of Conservation. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Offaly</span> County in Ireland

County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain. Offaly County Council is the local authority for the county. The county population was 82,668 at the 2022 census.

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

Birr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Between 1620 and 1899 it was called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. Birr is a designated Irish Heritage Town with a carefully preserved Georgian heritage. Birr itself has graceful wide streets and elegant buildings. Many of the houses in John's Place and Oxmantown Mall have exquisite fanlight windows of the Georgian period. The town is known for Birr Castle and gardens, home of the Parsons family, and also the site of the Leviathan of Parsonstown, the largest telescope in the world for over 70 years, and a large modern radio telescope.

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

Tullamore is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midlands Region, with 15,598 inhabitants at the 2022 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Charleville</span>

Earl of Charleville was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1758 when Charles Moore, 2nd Baron Moore, was made Earl of Charleville, in the King's County. The title Baron Moore, of Tullamore in the King's County, was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1715 for his father John Moore, who had previously represented King's County in the Irish House of Commons. Lord Charleville was childless and the titles became extinct on his death in 1764.

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

Daingean, formerly Philipstown, named after King Philip II of Spain, is a small town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is situated midway between the towns of Tullamore and Edenderry on the R402 regional road. The town of Daingean had a population, as of the 2022 census, of 1,223. It is the principal town of the Daingean Catholic Parish. The other main poles of this parish are Ballycommon, Kilclonfert and Cappincur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leap Castle</span> Castle in Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Johnston (architect)</span> Irish architect (1760–1829)

Francis Johnston was an Anglo/Irish architect, best known for building the General Post Office (GPO) on O'Connell Street, Dublin.

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

Castlepalooza was an annual Irish independent music & Arts Festival, held at Charleville Castle in Tullamore, County Offaly. The festival began in 2005 and was held annually until 2019.

The killings at Coolacrease was an incident that took place in County Offaly during the Irish War of Independence. In late June 1921, Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers came under fire at a roadblock in the rural area of Coolacrease. The roadblock was located at the boundary of land owned by loyalist farmer William Pearson. On 30 June, his sons Richard and Abraham Pearson were shot by an IRA firing squad and their house was burnt.

The High Sheriff of King's County was the British Crown's judicial representative in King's County, Ireland, from 1556, when King's County was created, until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Offaly 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 King's County unless stated otherwise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bury, 1st Earl of Charleville</span> Irish landowner, antiquarian and politician

Charles William Bury, 1st Earl of Charleville FRS, FSA, known as The Lord Tullamore between 1797 and 1800 and as The Viscount Charleville between 1800 and 1806, was an Irish landowner, antiquarian and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bury, 2nd Earl of Charleville</span>

Charles William Bury, 2nd Earl of Charleville, styled Lord Tullamore between 1806 and 1835, was an Irish peer, Tory politician and advocate of homeopathy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullamore Show</span> Annual agricultural show

The Tullamore Show is a one-day agricultural and livestock show held on the second Sunday of August each year near the town of Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. Its programme includes cultural events, commercial trade exhibitions, and competitive interests, including livestock, equestrian, home industries, inventions, vintage, fashion, style, cookery, crafts, and performing arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mucklagh, County Offaly</span> Village in Leinster, Ireland

Mucklagh is a townland and village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located 5 km southwest of Tullamore. As of the 2016 census, the population of Mucklagh was 826 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peadar Bracken</span>

Peadar Bracken was an Irish Volunteer during Ireland's War of Independence. In 1914 he was elected Captain by the men of the Tullamore Company Irish Volunteers, before later being appointed Commandant of the Athlone Brigade area by Patrick Pearse. Bracken, alongside his comrade Seamus Brennan, are credited with firing the first shots in the 1916 rising in Tullamore. Bracken was under order from Pearse and took command off him for the duration of the 1916 rising. He commanded the critical GPO garrison outpost at O'Connell Bridge, Dublin during the Easter Rising. Later on in his career, in 1920, he was a senior officer in the Irish Republican Brotherhood branch in Tullamore, and commanding officer in chief of the Athlone Brigade. Bracken died on 19 January 1961.

The Old Tullamore Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery which was established in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, in 1829. The original home of Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, the distillery closed in 1954, having endured financial difficulties for many years, like many Irish whiskey distilleries of the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Oak</span>

The King Oak is a tree in the grounds of Charleville Castle, Tullamore in Ireland. Descended from the ancient oak forests that were once commonplace in Ireland, the tree is estimated to be around 400 to 800 years old. The King Oak has been heavily pollarded and is a large tree, with a trunk of 8.29 metres (9.07 yd) girth and some of the lower branches extending as far as 27 metres (30 yd). A superstition associated with the tree says that if one of its branches should fall a member of Bury family, long-time owners of the Charleville Estate, will die. The 1963 death of Charles Howard-Bury has been held as confirmation of this belief, following shortly after the tree was struck by lightning which split its main trunk. The tree was nominated as the Irish entry for the 2013 European Tree of the Year contest, in which it finished third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Bury, Countess of Charleville</span>

Harriet Bury, Countess of Charleville, formerly Harriet Charlotte Beaujolois Campbell, was an English noblewoman and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullamore Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland

Tullamore Town Hall, is a municipal building in Cormac Street, Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. The building currently accommodates the local offices of Offaly County Council.

References

  1. ↑ Craig, Maurice; The Knight of Glin (1969). Ireland Observed. Cork: Mercier Press. p. 29. ISBN   978-0-85342-049-1.
  2. 1 2 3 Thompson, Sylvia (3 July 2014). "Buildings at Risk - Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co Offaly". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Ryder, Laura (15 June 2012). "Donations sought to restore Charleville Castle painting". Offaly Independent. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Irish Castles - Charleville Castle". Britain Ireland Castles. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Explorers' Museum: About". The Explorers' Museum. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Explorers Museum". Atlas Obscura. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Heraghty, Michael. "Harriet the Ghost – Charleville Castle". Choose Ireland. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Lights, camera and a tidy €450m in tourism". Irish Independent . 3 September 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Filming in Ireland". Irish Film Board. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "Charleville Wood SAC | National Parks & Wildlife Service". www.npws.ie. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
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