Drenagh is a 19th-century house and gardens near Limavady, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Drenagh has been the home of the McCausland family since 1729, and the present house was built in 1835. It was the first major work by Charles Lanyon, known for his work in Belfast. The gardens include features from the 18th century, as well as an extensive 19th-century Italian garden and elements added in the 1960s. The house is a Grade A listed building. [1]
The Drenagh estate, then known as Fruithill, was acquired from the Bishopric of Derry by William Conolly (1662-1729), a wealthy self-made man and speaker of the Irish Parliament. By his will he left his interest in the property to his agent Robert McCausland “as an acknowledgment for the faithful service he has done me”, [2] and the bequest allowed the McCauslands to establish themselves as county gentry. [3] McCausland was the grandson of Baron Alexander McAuslane who had settled in the Strabane area in the 1540s, and he named his first son (by his wife Hannah, née Moore) [4] Conolly McCausland for his employer. In the 1730s Robert McCausland built the first house at Fruithill, located to the south-east of the present building, and in the 1790s this house was extended. Nothing remains of this house, though a walled garden remains from this period as well as elements of the demesne landscape. [1]
Conolly McCausland married the heiress Elizabeth Gage and had a son, also Conolly McCausland, who married Theodosia Mahon from Strokestown, County Roscommon. This second Conolly McCausland approached architect John Hargrave to design a new house, [5] but only the gate lodge was built prior to the deaths of McCausland and Hargrave. [1] In 1836 their son, Marcus McCausland (1787-1862), commissioned Sir Charles Lanyon to build the present house. [5] Marcus and his wife, Marianne (née Tyndall) produced an heir, Conolly Thomas McCausland (1828-1902).
Conolly Thomas McCausland was High Sheriff of County Londonderry in 1866. He married Laura St John, daughter of the 15th Baron St John of Bletso. Their son, Maurice Marcus McCausland (1872-1938), lived through the Irish Land Acts, whereby the Government compulsorily purchased 75% of the estate. Their daughter, Laura, married Reginald Gibbs and was the mother of Michael McCausland Gibbs (1900-1962), an eminent Anglican clergyman.
Maurice's son, Conolly Robert McCausland (1906-1968) fought in the Second World War and was reportedly so deeply moved by what he had witnessed that he was received into the Roman Catholic faith, despite knowing he had signed a codicil to his father's will barring him from inheriting should he become a Catholic. The will was contested and was found valid, although the codicil applied only to Conolly Robert, not to any of his direct descendants. So, upon the death of Conolly Robert McCausland in 1968, his son Marcus Edgcumbe McCausland (1933-1972) inherited Drenagh. [6] On 4 March 1972, this same Captain Marcus McCausland, aged 39, a retired Catholic member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, became the first UDR soldier murdered by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). He was shot dead by the Braehead Road in Derry. [7] In 2014, the McCausland family were forced to place Drenagh on the market, but following the partial sale of the estate the family were able to retain ownership of Drenagh. [8]
On 5 May 1943 a Royal Air Force Vickers Wellington (LB241) crashed on the estate grounds shortly after taking off from RAF Limavady; all six crew died. [9] [10]
The wooded demesne dates from the 18th century and is partly walled. There are terraced gardens in the Italian style, an arboretum, and a fountain inspired by one at the Villa d'Este, near Rome. The Moon Garden and Orbit Garden date from the 1960s and show Chinese and Arts & Crafts influences. The site is included on the Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest. [11]
Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying 17 miles (27 km) east of Derry and 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 11,279 people at the 2021 Census. In the 40 years between 1971 and 2011, Limavady's population nearly doubled. Limavady is within Causeway Coast and Glens Borough.
Gardens in Northern Ireland is a page for any garden open to the public in Northern Ireland.
Springhill is a 17th-century plantation house in the townland of Ballindrum near Moneymore, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It has been the property of the National Trust since 1957 and, in addition to the house, gardens and park, there is a costume collection and a purported ghost. It is open from March to June, and September on weekends, and is open to the public seven days a week during July and August.
Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of an 800-acre (320 ha) estate. The estate was sold in 1965, and later sub-divided. The house and a core demesne of 120 acres were bought by a group of people looking to preserve them, and became the first major project of the Irish Georgian Society; they were later transferred to a dedicated charitable foundation, and ultimately to State ownership. Most of the wider estate remaining was divided between State forestry company, Coillte, and developers, and parts were built on, notably the former orchard and walled garden. In September 2023, the main access road and car parking became the subject of access issues and protests.
Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is five miles west of Coleraine, and part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is very popular with summer tourists, with numerous apartment blocks and two caravan sites. Castlerock Golf Club has both 9-hole and 18-hole links courses bounded by the beach, the River Bann and the Belfast to Derry railway line. The village had a population of 1,287 people at the 2011 census, and is where near by village Articlave F.C play their home games.
William Conolly, also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish Whig politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner. He was an influential figure in Irish politics, serving as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons between 1715 and his death.
Events from the year 1835 in Ireland.
George Leslie Montgomery was an Irish politician.
5th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.
Downhill House was a mansion built in the late 18th century for Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol and Lord Bishop of Derry, at Downhill, County Londonderry. Much of the building was destroyed by fire in 1851 before being rebuilt in the 1870s. It fell into disrepair after the Second World War.
The High Sheriff of County Londonderry is King Charles III's judicial representative in County Londonderry. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the ruling monarch, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
William Scott was an Irish lawyer and judge.
Alexander Stewart (1746–1831), known as Alexander Stewart of Ards, was an Irish landowner and member of parliament.
William James Conolly was an Irish landowner and Whig politician who sat in the Irish House of Commons from 1727 to 1754 and in the British House of Commons from 1734 to 1754.
The Rt. Hon. John Staples, M.P., was an Irish Member of Parliament from 1765 to 1802.
Summerhill House was a 100-roomed Palladian house in County Meath, Ireland which was the ancestral seat of the Viscounts Langford and the Barons Langford. Built in 1731, it was likely designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and completed by Richard Cassels in the Palladian style, although Sir John Vanbrugh, who was related to Pearce and with whom he trained, is thought to have also influenced the design of the house, which could be seen by the great arched chimney stacks and the palatial grandeur and scale.
Maurice Marcus McCausland was a landowner and political figure in Ireland.
Jane Ross was an Irish folksong collector from Limavady, County Londonderry, Ireland. She is most notable for collecting the tune that became Londonderry Air.
Boom Hall is a house and demesne in Derry, Northern Ireland. Lying close to the west bank of the River Foyle, a fort was constructed on the site during the English Civil War. During the Williamite War in Ireland a boom was constructed across the river to try to prevent Williamite forces relieving the Siege of Derry. A two-storey country house was subsequently built on the site by the Alexander family and named after this boom. The estate was later leased to a number of people until a leasehold was sold to Daniel Baird in 1849 by The 3rd Earl of Caledon. This was inherited by Daniel Baird Maturin-Baird who also purchased the freehold from the Alexanders. Boom Hall was again let to a number of different people, with Michael Henry McDevitt living there from 1924. During the Second World War, the demesne was used by the Admiralty and a number of temporary huts were built there. McDevitt purchased the freehold in 1949 and the house was renovated. It fell into disuse in the 1960s and was almost destroyed by fire in the 1970s. Part of the estate was used for the construction of the Foyle Bridge.
George Downing (1584–c.1659) was a pioneer English settler in County Londonderry during its plantation by the Livery Companies of the City of London. He was Sheriff of Derry during the 1620s and a member of the Parliament of Ireland in 1634.