Prehen House is a privately owned 18th-century Irish Georgian house at

Prehen Prehen (possibly ) is a small townland and estate outside the city of Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The estate is located in the Prehen and Brickkilns townland. Roads in the Prehen area consist of Victoria road, Prehen Park (oth ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

. Thought to have been designed by local architect Michael Priestley, it was built in 1740 for Andrew Knox, M.P. for

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

, after he married Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins two years earlier. Andrew Knox's family owned the house for 170 years. After being seized by the government after the 1914–18 war, Prehen House was brought back into another branch of the Knox family. The Department of the Environment has listed Prehen as a grade A building of national importance. Prehen House is home to one of Ireland's greatest love stories, the legend of

Half Hung MacNaghten John MacNaghten (1722–1761), known as Half-Hanged MacNaghten, was an Anglo-Irish land owner, gambler and convicted murderer. The more romantic versions of the tale portray MacNaghten's victim Mary Ann as his lover whose marriage was forbidde ...

. The

Northern Ireland Tourist Board Tourism Northern Ireland, also known as Tourism NI, is a non-departmental public body of the Department for the Economy. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination to domestic tourists, from within Northern Irela ...

considers Prehen House one of region's most historic houses. The house has also been a European Heritage

Open Days Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (Y ...

site.

References

External links

Prehen HouseNorthern Ireland Tourist Board profile of the Coach House
Buildings and structures in County Londonderry Grade A listed buildings Houses completed in 1740 1740 establishments in Ireland {{NorthernIreland-struct-stub