Castle Coole facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Castle Coole
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 Main facade of Castle Coole |
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 Castle Coole
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| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | BT |
| Dialling code | 028, +44 28 |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
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| NI Assembly |
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Castle Coole is a grand country house built in the late 1700s. It's located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. This amazing building sits on a huge 1,200-acre (490 ha) estate filled with trees.
Castle Coole is one of three special places in County Fermanagh looked after by the National Trust. The National Trust is a group that protects historic places and natural beauty. The other two places are Florence Court and the Crom Estate. The land where Castle Coole stands is called a townland, and it covers 529 acres (214 ha).
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History of Castle Coole
The land for Castle Coole was bought in 1656 by a rich merchant from Belfast named John Corry. The estate gets its name from Lough Coole, a lake nearby. The Irish word cúil means 'seclusion' or 'a quiet place'. Long ago, people lived here, as shown by old ráths (circular forts) and a crannog (an island home) in Lough Coole.
Castle Coole was built between 1789 and 1798. It was meant to be a summer home for Armar Lowry-Corry, who was the 1st Earl Belmore. An Earl is a noble title, like a Duke or a Baron. Lord Belmore was a Member of Parliament for County Tyrone in the Irish government. He was very wealthy, owning 70,000 acres (28,000 ha) of land across Ireland.
Building Castle Coole cost a lot of money – about £57,000 back in 1798. That's like £20 million today! The family chose this spot because it was a beautiful, quiet countryside area with old oak woods and small lakes. It was also close to the town of Enniskillen, which was good for finding people to work in the big house.
After 1800, a new law called the Act of Union joined Britain and Ireland politically. Because of this, the Belmore family moved from their main home in Dublin to Castle Coole. They no longer needed to live in Dublin to be near the Parliament.
In 1951, the 7th Earl Belmore gave the mansion to the National Trust. This happened because of special taxes (called inheritance tax) that had to be paid when the 5th and 6th Earls died close together. Even though the National Trust owns the house, many of the things inside, like furniture, still belong to the Belmore family. The National Trust opens the house to visitors in summer, and you can visit the estate all year round.
Between 1980 and 1988, Castle Coole was closed for a big repair job. Workers carefully took apart the outside walls to fix metal parts that were rusting. They did such a good job that the old stone still looks untouched today. To celebrate the re-opening, the Queen Mother visited Castle Coole. The Belmore family still has a special apartment in the house, and the current Earl lives in another house on the estate.
Amazing Architecture
Castle Coole is built in the Neo-classical style. This style was popular in the 1700s and 1800s and used ideas from ancient Greek and Roman buildings. Two architects worked on the house. Richard Johnston started with the basement, but then a famous English architect named James Wyatt took over. Wyatt followed Johnston's plans and finished the house.
Wyatt made sure the house was balanced and perfectly proportioned. It has a grand entrance with Ionic columns, called a portico. On each side, there are wings with Doric columns. Wyatt probably never even visited the site! He sent his drawings from London. The beautiful plaster ceilings inside were made by an English artist named Joseph Rose.
Inside, the house is very grand but also simple and elegant. The entrance hall has four huge columns made to look like marble, called scagliola. A fancy staircase leads to a tall room called the saloon on the first floor. This room goes up two floors and has a balcony overlooking it. Both rooms have more columns, getting smaller as they go higher.
James Wyatt also designed some of the important furniture in the house. It's rare to find furniture designed by the architect still in the house it was made for! Other furniture was added later by different generations of the family. So, the inside of Castle Coole shows many different styles, not just Neo-classical.
One special room is the state bedroom, which was prepared for King George IV in 1821. The King never actually came, but the room still has its original furniture, bed, and special wallpaper. Other rooms show different styles, like a French-style drawing room and a Chinese-style workroom. These rooms show how important it was to know about the world during that time. The family's special symbols are carved into the fireplaces and decorate the entrance hall, showing the first Earl's pride in his family. From the rooms facing the garden, you can see beautiful views of Lough Coole.
Hidden Service Areas
Underneath the house, there's a huge basement that goes out under the lawn. This area is partly open to visitors and shows where the servants worked. It has kitchens, a servants' hall, larders (for storing food), wine cellars, a laundry, and even a Roman-style plunge-bath!
Castle Coole was designed so that the main house looked perfect and untouched. There are no service doors above ground. Instead, all the practical work happened out of sight. Tradesmen, servants, and estate workers used a long, sloping tunnel that starts about 260 feet (80 m) away from the house, near the stables. This way, they could come and go without being seen, keeping the grand look of the house undisturbed.
Around the estate, you can find other buildings. These include lodges, a large "Grand Yard," workshops, stables, and a "Tallow House." The Tallow House was once used for making candles, but now it's a gift shop and visitor reception area. The entrance to the secret service tunnel is right next to the Grand Yard.
The Estate Grounds
Much of the original oak, ash, and beech trees planted on the estate are still there. Today, cattle and sheep graze on the land, just as they did long ago. A large part of the estate has always been used for farming and rented out to local farmers, and this still happens today.
Near the mansion, you can find a "ha-ha." This is a special kind of ditch that stops livestock from wandering off without needing a fence or wall that would block the view. It helps keep the landscape looking natural and open. You can also see small signs of older, formal gardens that were here before the current house, but they are hard to spot now.
The Belmore Family
The title of Earl Belmore comes from Belmore Mountain, which is about 7 miles (11 km) west of Enniskillen. The Corry family came from Belfast. The Lowry side of the family might have come from Dumfries in Scotland.
As an Earl in Ireland, the Earl of Belmore used to have a seat in the Irish Parliament. But after Ireland joined with the United Kingdom in 1801, the Irish Parliament was closed. Later, some of the Earls of Belmore became Irish representative peers, which meant they could sit in the British Parliament in Westminster.
Castle Coole's Workforce
At its busiest, Castle Coole had about 90 staff members, both working inside the house and outside on the estate. The basement of the mansion was completely for the indoor staff. The outdoor staff usually lived in buildings around the Grand Yard.
When the Belmore family was away, a small team of 5 to 10 servants stayed at the mansion to look after it. This constant care helped keep the house in excellent condition and prevented big problems like fires.
Like in many large houses, there was a clear order among the servants. For example, the Head Cook had a two-room apartment above the warm kitchens. The Butler also had his own apartment. But a boot boy, who had a lower rank, shared a room with other servants.
An Australian Connection
In 2006, Castle Coole re-opened to the public with a new display in the Victorian Bedroom. This room now tells the story of four years of Australian influence at the castle.
Somerset Lowry-Corry, the 4th Earl Belmore, became the Governor of New South Wales in Australia in 1868 and served until 1872. While he was there, his first son, who would become the 5th Earl, was born in Sydney. Lady Belmore found the summer heat in Sydney difficult. Because of her health, Lord Belmore decided to resign his position in 1871, and the family returned to Castle Coole the next year.
Places like Belmore Park in Sydney and Goulburn in New South Wales are named after Lord Belmore. This shows how popular he was and how he helped develop railways during his time as Governor. Since the Victorian Bedroom was where the 4th Earl and Countess lived before and after their time in Australia, it now celebrates this special connection.
See also
- List of townlands in County Fermanagh
- Cobbe family
