Butler House is an 18th-century

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

located in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, Ireland. It is currently working as a 4-star hotel and conference centre.

History

Butler House was built so that it was completed by 1786 as the Dower house for

Kilkenny Castle Kilkenny Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, IPA: �kaʃlʲaːnˠˈçiːl̪ʲˈxan̪ʲiː is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of N ...

. It was built by

Walter Butler, 16th Earl of Ormonde Walter Butler (1703–1783), also known as Walter Butler of Kilcash, and Walter Butler of Garryricken, was the ''de jure'' 16th Earl of Ormond and 9th Earl of Ossory. He did not assume these titles as he thought them forfeit as a result of the ...

for his wife to live in when their son

John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde, 10th Earl of Ossory (1740–1795) was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament (MP). He became a Protestant in 1764. He was an Irish MP, representing Gowran between 1776 and 1783, and Kilkenny City between 1783 ...

inherited the title. The first occupant was Lady Eleanor Butler, though it isn't certain if she and her husband moved in before his death. Her daughter Eleanor was one of the

Ladies of Llangollen The "Ladies of Llangollen", Eleanor Butler (1739–1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1831), were two upper-class Irish women whose relationship scandalised and fascinated their contemporaries. The pair moved to a Gothic house in Llangollen, No ...

James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde James Wandesford Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde, (15 July 1774 – 18 May 1838) was an Irish nobleman and politician. He was the second son of John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde and Frances Susan Elizabeth Wandesford. He was born at Kilkenny ca ...

lived in the house while he was doing significant reconstruction work on the Castle 1831. A local cholera epidemic in 1832 meant that the family used the house as the site of a soup kitchen. The house was substantially extended about this time as well. The Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, now the

Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...

, was homed in the house in the 1870s. The house was refurbished in the 1970s by the

Kilkenny Design Workshops The Kilkenny Design Workshops (KDW) were a government-funded research and development centre of excellence for design (and design advocacy, research and promotion) which was established in Ireland in 1963. It was created to inspire, support and d ...

which had taken over the Castle yard and house in 1965. In 1989 the house was opened as a hotel and conference centre and is owned and managed by the Kilkenny Civic Trust. The gardens were restored to their previous glory in 2000.

Architecture

It is a classic Georgian three-bay three-storey over basement house with a pair of three full-height bowed bays to the east side of the house facing into the walled garden which backs onto the Castle Yard and stables to Kilkenny Castle. The hotel retained many of the historic characteristics including the well-preserved rooms.

References

{{Coord, 52.648760, N, 07.250895, W, region:IE-KK_type:landmark, display=title Archaeological sites in County Kilkenny