Muckross House facts for kids
Muckross House (which is called Teach Mhucrois in Irish) is a beautiful old mansion in Ireland. It sits on a small piece of land between two famous lakes, Muckross Lake and Lough Leane. These are part of the wonderful lakes of Killarney. The house is about 6 kilometers (or 3.7 miles) from the town of Killarney in County Kerry.
In 1932, two people named William Bowers Bourn and Arthur Rose Vincent gave this amazing house and its land to the Irish nation. This gift was super important because it became Ireland's very first National Park! It formed the beginning of what is now Killarney National Park. Today, Muckross House is a popular place for visitors to explore, with its grand house, beautiful gardens, and old-fashioned farms.
Contents
The Story of Muckross House
Building a Grand Home
Muckross House is a very large house with sixty-five rooms! It was built in a style called "Tudor style," which looks like old English houses from the time of King Henry VIII. In the 1850s, a lot of work was done to make the house even grander. This was to get ready for a special visit from Queen Victoria in 1861.
Changes of Ownership
It is said that all the expensive improvements for the Queen's visit caused money problems for the Herbert family, who owned the house then. Because of this, they had to sell the estate. In 1899, a man named Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun bought Muckross House. He wanted to protect the amazing natural beauty of the area. He didn't live in the house himself but rented it out to rich groups who wanted to go hunting.
In August 1911, not long before the First World War began, Muckross House and its large estate were sold again. The new owner was William Bowers Bourn, a very rich mining businessman from California. He and his wife gave the house as a wedding present to their daughter, Maud, and her husband, Arthur Rose Vincent. The couple lived there until Maud sadly passed away in 1929 from a lung illness.
Becoming a National Park
In 1932, Maud's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bourn, along with their son-in-law, Arthur Vincent, made a big decision. They decided to give Muckross House and its huge estate, which was about 6,600 hectares (or 16,300 acres), to the Irish nation. They called it the "Bourn-Vincent Memorial Park." This gift was incredibly important because it became the very first National Park in Ireland! It was the start of what we now know as Killarney National Park. Later on, the park grew even bigger when more land was added from another large estate nearby.
More to Explore
External links
- Official website of Muckross House: http://www.muckross-house.ie
