| Johnstown Castle | |
|---|---|
| Native name Irish: Caisleán Bhaile Sheáín | |
 | |
| Type | Castle |
| Location | Johnstown, Murntown, County Wexford, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°17′39″N6°30′20″W / 52.294042°N 6.505436°W |
| Built | late 12th century (original building) 1836–1872 (current building) |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival |
| Owner | Irish Heritage Trust |
  Location of Johnstown Castle in Ireland | |
Johnstown Castle is a Gothic Revival castle located in County Wexford, Ireland. [1] [2] [3]
Johnstown Castle is located on the Johnstown Castle Estate, a 150 acres (61 ha) estate, located off the road between Murntown and Rathaspeck, 5.5 km (3.4 mi) southwest of Wexford town.
The first castle built on the estate was a tower house built in the late 12th century by the Esmonde family, Normans who came to southeast Ireland from Lincolnshire in the 1170s after the Norman invasion of Ireland (1169). [4] They also built a tower house, which still stands, at Rathlannon immediately to the south. [5]
Oliver Cromwell spent a night on the estate in 1649, prior to the October 1649 Sack of Wexford. His Roundhead army used the land around Johnstown Castle to prepare. The Esmondes, Catholics, were expelled during the Cromwellian years.
Johnstown Castle was bought by the Grogan family in 1692.
Owner Cornelius Grogan was hanged for his part in the 1798 Rebellion; he had been commissary-general for the United Irishmen. [6] In 1810 the estate was restored to his brother John Knox Grogan, who, with his son, Hamilton Knox Grogan-Morgan, created Johnstown Castle as it stands today, on the "bones" of the Norman tower house. [7] [8] Daniel Robertson designed the Gothic Revival castle and parts of the surrounding land. [9] By 1863, the demesne was divided in two, with a deer park in the north and the castle, pleasure grounds, farm and two artificial lakes to the south. [10] By 1836–1872 the building was finished. [11]
The Grogans later married into the ancient FitzGerald family.
During the First World War, Royal Naval Air Service airships were based at Johnstown Castle, and were primarily used to deal with the U-boat threat, but with limited success. [12]
Lady Maurice FitzGerald (née Lady Adelaide Jane Frances Forbes, 1860–1942), wife of Lord Maurice FitzGerald (son of Charles FitzGerald, 4th Duke of Leinster), was the last owner to live in the house. [13]
Following the death of Lady Maurice in November 1942, the Johnstown Estate was inherited by her grandson, Maurice Victor Lakin. [14] He looked to dispose of the Estate and it came to the attention of Wexford County Manager TD Sinnott who recommended that the Minister for Agriculture, James Ryan, acquire the castle for the purpose as an agricultural college.
On 1 May 1944, the contents of the castle were sold off at a public auction lasting five days and conducted by Jackson Stops & McCabe. [15] On 17 October 1945, the Johnstown Castle Agricultural College Act was ratified and the castle and Estate were formally handed over to the State by the family in lieu of death duties. [16]
The castle was taken over by the Department of Agriculture (later An Foras Talúntais from 1959 and Teagasc from 1988) and used for research into soils with laboratories created in the castle. It opened to the public in 2019 following a period of renovation. It is managed by the Irish Heritage Trust under curator Matt Wheeler, and work on conserving and restoring the building continues. [17]
A Gothic Revival castle of 4 storeys. Interior goods include the "Apostles' Hall", with wood carvings of saints, as well as oil paintings, carved oak hall benches, mahogany billiard tables, dressing tables, upholstered sofas, fire grates and brass fenders.[ citation needed ]
A servants' tunnel, 86 metres (282 ft) in length, runs from the meat house to the kitchens. [18]
The former stable yard houses the Irish Agricultural Museum.[ citation needed ]
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The FitzGerald dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the Four Masters as having become "more Irish than the Irish themselves" or Gaels, due to assimilation with the native Gaelic aristocratic and popular culture. The dynasty has also been referred to as the Geraldines and Ireland's largest landowners. They achieved power through the conquest of large swathes of Irish territory by the sons and grandsons of Gerald de Windsor. Gerald de Windsor was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Wales, and became the male progenitor of the FitzMaurice and FitzGerald Dynasty. His father, Baron Walter FitzOther, was the first Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle for William the Conqueror, and was the Lord of 38 manors in England, making the FitzGeralds one of the "service families" on whom the King relied for his survival.
Daniel Robertson was a British architect.
Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Maynooth, Naas, and Llanstephan (born: almost certainly not at Windsor Castle, more likely Carew in Wales c.1105 – September c.1176 Wexford, Ireland. He was a medieval Anglo-Norman baron and a major figure in the Norman Invasion of Ireland.
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Duke of Leinster was the premier Duke, Marquess and Earl in the Peerage of Ireland.
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Charles William FitzGerald, 4th Duke of Leinster,, styled Marquess of Kildare until 1874, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician.
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Lady Adelaide FitzGerald was an active member of the Wexford community, supporting children's welfare. She and her husband were the last people to reside in Johnstown Castle, after her death it became part of an agricultural college. Throughout her adult life she actively participated and led efforts to help the poor, those needing medical care, abused animals, and more.
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