Summerhill House was a 100-roomed mansion in
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
which was the ancestral seat of the
Viscounts Langford and the
Barons Langford. Built in 1731, Summerhill House demonstrated the power and wealth the Langford Rowley family had at the time. They owned vast amounts of land in counties
Meath,
Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivis ...
,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
,
Londonderry,
Antrim, and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
as well as in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
and
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...
in the
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
Summerhill House dominated the landscape and was exceptionally imposing as it was situated on the summit of a hill. The main entrance was from the village of
Summerhill. The other entrance was from the Dublin road, with the avenue 1 mile long. Like all such
demesnes
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
, there were four avenues leading out to the four points of the compass.
The mansion at Summerhill was designed by
Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and completed by
Richard Cassels
Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Althou ...
in the
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
style, although
Sir John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...
(who was related to Pearce) had a great influence on the house, which could be seen by the great arched chimney stacks, Pearce actually had trained in Vanburgh's office.
Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
, also redecorated a small amount of the rooms later on in the mansion's history.
The mansion at Summerhill welcomed royalty, it was an exceptionally dignified house and at its time of erection ranked architecturally amongst the finest and grandest mansions in Europe.
History
Rowley Langford family
John Rowley came to Ireland during the reign of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, as sole agent for the building of the towns of
Derry and
Coleraine for the London Society. Upon the incorporation of the city of Derry in 1613, he was, by charter, appointed first Mayor. One of his daughters, Anne, married Tristram Beresford, ancestor to the family of Tyrone. Another daughter, Mary, married James Clotworthy, and by him had an only daughter, who married the Honourable Robert Fitzgerald, and who was grandmother of Lieutenant-General
The 1st Duke of Leinster.
John Rowley was knighted for his services at the time of the Restoration. He only left one son, Hercules, whose only son and heir,
Hercules Langford Rowley
Hercules Langford Rowley PC ( – 25 March 1794) was an Irish politician and landowner.
Early life
Rowley was born . He was the only son of Frances ( née Upton) Rowley and Hercules Rowley, a Member of Parliament for County Londonderry from 17 ...
, married in 1732, Elizabeth Ormsby (later created
The 1st Viscountess Langford). Around this time he built a magnificent Georgian mansion at
Summerhill.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria
![Elisabeth von Österreich 1855](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Elisabeth_von_%C3%96sterreich_1855.jpg)
The
Empress of Austria
This is a list of the Austrian empresses, archduchesses, duchesses and margravines, wives of the rulers of Austria. The monarchy in Austria was abolished at the end of the First World War in 1918.
The different titles lasted just a little und ...
visited Summerhill in February 1879. The preparations were a well kept secret, the first thing that had to be sorted is where would she stay. Meath hunted the best hounds and Summerhill was centrally located so Summerhill was picked. When she was on one hunt in
Dunshaughlin
Dunshaughlin ( or locally ) is a town in County Meath, Ireland. A commuter town for nearby Dublin, Dunshaughlin more than tripled in population (from 1,275 to 4,035 inhabitants) between the 1991 and 2016 censuses.
History Foundation
Dunshaugh ...
, as they came to Maynooth they came across two men repairing a demesne wall of the Catholic seminary. As the deer they were hunting jumped into the land of the college, the empress followed without knowing where she was going and nearly jumped on the President of the college, Professor
William Walsh, who later became the
Archbishop of Dublin and
Primate of Ireland
The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...
.
On 13 November 2010 one famous riding whip appeared in a country house auction in Slane Castle held by Adams. This whip was owned by the Empress and was given to Robert Fowler who was the Master of the Meath Hounds at the time of her stay in Summerhill. The whip had been lost and had been found not long before the auction in Rahinston House. The whip was found in a mahogany presentation case with a silver crest plate bearing the Imperial Arms of Habsburg. The whip was estimated at €3,000-€5,000 but reached a total of €37,000.
Demise
Summerhill House was damaged by fire on a number of occasions and suffered problems when farm hands went on strike and damaged farming equipment in 1919. Republican workers and farm hands were evicted from their homes and after months of agrarian agitation eventually on 4 February 1921, the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
invaded and took the estate and distributed the lands and farms around the house equally amongst the workers and their families, before they set the house on fire where it was completely destroyed.
The house and estate had been inherited in 1854 by
The 4th Baron Langford (1848-1919). He was succeeded by his son, the young 5th Baron (1894-1922), who died prematurely and was in turn succeeded by his elderly cousin, Colonel William Chambre Rowley, who became the 6th Baron.
In 1922,
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
The 6th Baron Langford (1849-1931), who had only inherited the
barony the previous year, sought compensation from the
Government of the Irish Free State
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. After three years of negotiation with the Compensation Board, a sum of £43,500 was paid to Colonel Lord Langford, approximately one third of the value of the house and contents destroyed in the fire. The elderly Lord Langford invested the money in
gilt-edged stocks and moved to
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
in England.
Summerhill House stood as a ruin until it was totally demolished in 1970. Summerhill House was listed in "Forgotten Houses of Ireland", as the most beautiful house in Ireland.
Description
![Summerhill House, Garden Front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Summerhill_House%2C_Garden_Front.jpg)
The mansion at Summerhill was magnificently placed on top of a hill. It consisted of a centre block and two wings, the mansion was massively built of limestone and of great length. Four semi-columns with
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
capitals ornamented the front; the main order was carried up the full height of the house like Renaissance Palaces in Rome. There was a portico in front of two sunken gardens behind with a raised grassy platform for a sundial; a large rose garden as well as another very large garden. When the Langford mansion was built the path went up the hill and around the portico.
A broad flight of stairs led to the entrance of the mansion. There was a large and very lofty hall, which was similar to
Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
in Dublin. The hall contained plaques and oil portraits. To the right on entering was the library. The drawing room had a southern aspect, and contained several portraits of the Rowley family. The state dining room was detached from the main block and had beautifully covered ceilings. The grand stairs led to the bedrooms.
External links
*Historical Picture Archive
References
{{Historic Irish houses
Country houses in Ireland
Manor houses
Houses completed in 1731
Palladian architecture in Ireland
Houses in County Meath
Demolished buildings and structures in the Republic of Ireland
Edward Lovett Pearce buildings
Richard Cassels buildings