Middleton Park House: Difference between revisions
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{{for|the Lutyens house in Oxfordshire|Middleton Park, Oxfordshire}} |
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'''Middleton Park House''' is an Irish historic residence built in 1850 in a Georgian style in [[Castletown-Geoghegan]], County Westmeath. After many years of disrepair, it was finally restored to its former glory in mid 2007. It is now open to the public as a commercial entity specialising in corporate events and private weddings as well as a fine dining restaurant, the Silver Room. |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} |
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{{Use Irish English|date=March 2021}} |
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[[File:Entrance Gate - geograph.org.uk - 786387.jpg|thumb|The entrance to Middleton Park House, in Co. Westmeath]] |
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'''Middleton Park House''' is a mid 19th-century country house in [[Castletown-Geoghegan]], County Westmeath |
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It stands on a gentle hill on a kilometre-long avenue looking towards Lough Ennell. It is a detached six-bay two-storey building with the central two bays slightly projecting from the façade. It has a slate roof and a projecting single-storey limestone Ionic entrance portico. Other features of the house are its under-floor heating system, stone bifurcated staircase leading to the Gallery Landing and three-storey-high atrium lantern located in the Main Hall. At one end of the house is a cast-iron conservatory, one of only a few [[Richard Turner (iron-founder)|Richard Turner]] conservatories to be found in Ireland.<ref name = MPH/> |
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After many years of disrepair, the house was restored in mid-2007 and opened to the public as a commercial entity specialising in corporate events and private weddings and as a restaurant. This venture closed in 2016,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thejournal.ie/middleton-park-house-closure-2672785-Mar2016|title=Hotel tells couple 'to make alternative arrangements' for wedding less than two months away|publisher=thejournal.ie|first=Orla|last=Ryan|date=21 March 2016|accessdate=4 March 2021}}</ref> with the house rapidly falling back in to disrepair. Restoration work to return it to use as family home began in 2019 and has been featured on an [[RTÉ]] TV series ''Great House Revival''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://evoke.ie/2020/03/21/entertainment/great-house-revival-finale|title=The Great House Revival finale dives into an 1850s mansion restoration|date=2020-03-21|website=EVOKE|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Ellen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819113727/https://evoke.ie/2020/03/21/entertainment/great-house-revival-finale|archive-date=2021-08-19}}</ref> |
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The House is a fine example of early Victorian architecture favouring the classic Georgian style over the gothic style evident in other houses of that era. Acclaimed features of the House are its under-floor heating system, stone bifurcated staircase leading to the Gallery Landing and three story high atrium lantern located in the Main Hall. |
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==History== |
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Middleton Park House also boasts one of only a few Richard Turner conservatories to be found in Ireland. This magnificent example of Turner’s genius and period use of ironwork is often used as the ideal setting to entertain and impress guests. |
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Middleton Park House was built c. 1850 by George Boyd-Rochfort, who commissioned architect [[George Papworth]] to design it and oversee its construction. Drawings of part of the interior were exhibited by Papworth during the Royal Hibernian Annual Exhibition of 1850. |
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The [[Victoria Cross]]-winning soldier [[George Boyd-Rochfort]] and his younger brother, racehorse trainer [[Cecil Boyd-Rochfort]], were born at Middleton Park. The house was host to a number of celebrities in the 1930s and 1940s, such as [[Rita Hayworth]] (who married [[Prince Aly Khan]] in 1949). |
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The house was host to a number of celebrities in the 1930's and 1940's and local families will recall exciting stories of stunning Rita Hayworth (second wife of Ali Khan, son of Aga Khan III and father of the reigning Aga Khan IV) walking from Middleton Park House to the now disused train station at Castletown Geoghegan. |
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The House and estate remained in the Boyd-Rochfort family until the early 1960s when it was sold. Since then it has seen many owners, |
The House and estate remained in the Boyd-Rochfort family until the early 1960s when it was sold. Since then it has seen many owners, including gambler [[Barney Curley]] who raffled the House in 1986.<ref name = MPH>{{cite web | url = http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=WM®no=15318019|title = Middleton Park House, Castletown Geoghegan, County Westmeath |publisher= National Inventory of Architectural Heritage|access-date = 2012-12-13}}</ref> |
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Today, this Georgian-style country mansion is the venue of choice for couples seeking a private and exclusive wedding venue that is still within striking distance of Dublin and the major midlands towns. It is also successfully used by discerning families wishing to celebrate first communions, confirmations and other family occasions; and the sound of children's laughter in the Games Room on a Sunday is a welcome reminder of the traditional parties held for local children that were once a feature of this grand house in days gone by. |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Historic Irish houses}} |
{{Historic Irish houses}} |
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[[Category:Buildings and structures in County Westmeath]] |
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{{Ireland-struct-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 09:48, 12 January 2024
Middleton Park House is a mid 19th-century country house in Castletown-Geoghegan, County Westmeath
It stands on a gentle hill on a kilometre-long avenue looking towards Lough Ennell. It is a detached six-bay two-storey building with the central two bays slightly projecting from the façade. It has a slate roof and a projecting single-storey limestone Ionic entrance portico. Other features of the house are its under-floor heating system, stone bifurcated staircase leading to the Gallery Landing and three-storey-high atrium lantern located in the Main Hall. At one end of the house is a cast-iron conservatory, one of only a few Richard Turner conservatories to be found in Ireland.[1]
After many years of disrepair, the house was restored in mid-2007 and opened to the public as a commercial entity specialising in corporate events and private weddings and as a restaurant. This venture closed in 2016,[2] with the house rapidly falling back in to disrepair. Restoration work to return it to use as family home began in 2019 and has been featured on an RTÉ TV series Great House Revival.[3]
History
[edit]Middleton Park House was built c. 1850 by George Boyd-Rochfort, who commissioned architect George Papworth to design it and oversee its construction. Drawings of part of the interior were exhibited by Papworth during the Royal Hibernian Annual Exhibition of 1850.
The Victoria Cross-winning soldier George Boyd-Rochfort and his younger brother, racehorse trainer Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, were born at Middleton Park. The house was host to a number of celebrities in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Rita Hayworth (who married Prince Aly Khan in 1949).
The House and estate remained in the Boyd-Rochfort family until the early 1960s when it was sold. Since then it has seen many owners, including gambler Barney Curley who raffled the House in 1986.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Middleton Park House, Castletown Geoghegan, County Westmeath". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
- ^ Ryan, Orla (21 March 2016). "Hotel tells couple 'to make alternative arrangements' for wedding less than two months away". thejournal.ie. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Ellen (21 March 2020). "The Great House Revival finale dives into an 1850s mansion restoration". EVOKE. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021.
