Bowen's Court was a historic

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

Anglo-Irish big house The term big house () refers to the country houses, mansions, or estate houses of the historical landed class in Ireland, which is itself known as the Anglo-Irish class. The houses formed the symbolic focal point of the Anglo-Irish political ...

near

Kildorrery Kildorrery () is a village in north County Cork, Ireland. It lies at the crossroads of the N73 road from Mallow to Mitchelstown and the R512 from Kilmallock to Fermoy. This hilltop village has views to the east of the Galtee Mountains and ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

House

The house was built in the 1770s by Henry Cole Bowen (died 1788). The Bowen family were minor Irish gentry, of Welsh origin- traced back to the late 1500s- resident in County Cork since Henry Bowen, a "notoriously irreligious" Colonel in the army of the regicide

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, settled in Ireland. In 1786, it was referred to as Faraghy, the seat of Mr. Cole Bowen. It was held at one time by Mrs Eliza Bowen, when it was valued at £75. The house was attacked during the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

. Bowen's Court remained the Bowen family seat until 1959. The last owner was the novelist

Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Bowen CBE (; 7 June 1899 – 22 February 1973) was an Irish-British novelist and short story writer notable for her books about the "big house" of Irish landed Protestants as well her fiction about life in wartime London. Life E ...

. She had a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

in the 1950s and abandoned Bowen's Court leaving unpaid wages and bills, then sold it and stayed with friends and at hotels, before she rented a flat in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Bowen's Court was purchased, then demolished, by a developer in 1959.

Book

Elizabeth Bowen wrote a history of the house, entitled ''Bowen's Court'', in 1942 and it is featured in her 1929 novel ''

The Last September ''The Last September'' is a 1929 novel by the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen, concerning life in Danielstown, Cork during the Irish War of Independence, at a country mansion. John Banville wrote a screenplay based on the novel; the film ada ...

''.

References

Houses completed in the 18th century 1770s establishments in Ireland 1961 disestablishments in Ireland Buildings and structures demolished in 1961 Buildings and structures in County Cork Country houses in Ireland Houses in the Republic of Ireland 1942 non-fiction books 20th-century history books Irish non-fiction books {{Ireland-struct-stub