Duckett's Grove ''(

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: Garrán Duckett)'' is a ruined 19th-century

great house A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...

and former estate in County Carlow,

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 ...

. Belonging to the Duckett family, the house was formerly the focal point of a estate, and dominated the local landscape of the area for more than two centuries. The interior of the house was destroyed by a major fire in the 1930s and is now inaccessible. The surrounding gardens, including two inter-connecting walled gardens, are now managed by

Carlow County Council Carlow County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Cheatharlach) is the authority responsible for local government in County Carlow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...

and open as a public park.

History

Duckett's Grove was built c.1745 on an estate covering more than of the County Carlow countryside. Originally, the structure was designed as a standard two-storey over-basement

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 ...

country house. From the mid 1820s, it redesigned in a castellated

Gothic revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

by English architect

Thomas Cobden Thomas Alfred Cobden (1794 – 1842) was an English architect, best known for designing many buildings in south-east Ireland, such as Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow, Duckett's Grove and Browne-Clayton Monument. Life Cobden was born in Chic ...

for then owner and head of family, John Dawson Duckett. This extension of the building was funded by a number of previous strategic marriages into wealthy merchant families, and resulted in some of the original Georgian features of the building being removed or hidden. The building incorporates a number of towers and turrets of varying shapes – round, square and octagonal. One tall, solid granite octagonal viewing tower rises from the structure. Duckett's Grove is further elaborately ornamented with oriels and niches containing statues. Several statues on pedestals surrounded the building and lined the approaches. The house is situated in the town land of Rainstown, approximately 10 km from Carlow and 9 km from

Tullow Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673. History There is a statue of ...

, with the broader estate comprising several large town lands and parts of others. At its height, the house had a staff of eleven gardeners to maintain the grounds alone. Ducats Grove, Carlow, Co

After the death of William Duckett in 1908, last in the male bloodline, his second wife, Maria Georgina Duckett, lived on in the property until . By this time she was no longer on speaking terms with her only daughter, Olive (William's stepdaughter). The outcome of this was the disinheritance of her daughter following her death 1937, leaving her what is known as "the angry shilling", just one shilling, from an estate valued at £97,735 (. Following the departure of the Ducketts, the estate was managed by agents until 1921, and was subsequently managed by local farmers, and later by the

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

. The division and sale of the estate lands was completed by 1930. During this time the building was empty. During the War of Independence, it was used as a base by the local

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

and its

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...

. Possibly due to the Duckett's good treatment of their tenants and employees over the years, the interiors and furniture were left intact upon the IRA's departure from the house. The house was destroyed by fire overnight on 20 April 1933. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined, however, locals reported a minor fire the week before, which they had managed to extinguish. This led to speculation about the cause of the eventual destructive fire.

Current use

In September 2005,

acquired Duckett's Grove and commenced with the restoration of two inter-connecting walled gardens. It was officially opened in September 2007 for use as a public park. The first of the gardens, the "Upper Walled Garden", was planted with historical varieties of shrub roses and a collection of Chinese and Japanese peonies. It is mainly planted with flowering shrubs including ''

Echium ''Echium'' is a genus of approximately 70 species and several subspecies of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Species of ''Echium'' are native to North Africa, mainland Europe to Central Asia, and the Macaronesian islands where ...

, Watsonia, Acanthus,

Daphniphyllum ''Daphniphyllum'' is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Daphniphyllaceae and was described as a genus in 1826. The genus includes evergreen shrubs and trees mainly native to east and southeast Asia, but also found in the Indian Subconti ...

, Acradenia,

Arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...

Cornus ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

, Eryngium,

Beschorneria Beschorneria is a genus of succulent plants belonging to the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, native to semi-arid areas of Mexico and Central America. They are generally large evergreen perennials forming clumps of grey-green leaves, w ...

'' and ornamental

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

The second garden, the "Lower Walled Garden", was once the site of the family old orchard, and now contains a variety of fruits, including figs and historical varieties of Irish apples. The borders were planted to contain a variety of shrubs and perennials. On 17 March 2011, Duckett's Grove was featured in an episode of SyFy's show ''

Destination Truth ''Destination Truth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on June 6, 2007, on Syfy. Produced by Mandt Bros. Productions and Ping Pong Productions, the program follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the wor ...

'' during a 4-hour live investigation special to find out if the ruins are haunted by a Banshee Ghost. Duckett's Grove is open to the public during daylight hours and admission is free. There are craft and gift shops located in the courtyard which are often open during the weekend and for events, including an annual Christmas fair.

References

External links

Duckett's Grove on carlowtourism.com

Duckettsgrove.ie
{{Historic Irish houses , state=collapsed 1740s establishments in Ireland Buildings and structures completed in the 1740s Residential buildings completed in the 18th century Buildings and structures in County Carlow Gardens in County Carlow Reportedly haunted locations in Ireland Country houses in Ireland Gothic Revival architecture in Ireland Burned buildings and structures

History

Current use

See also

References

External links