Classiebawn Castle is a

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 ...

built for The 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865) on what was formerly a estate on the Mullaghmore Peninsula near the village of Cliffoney, County Sligo, in the Republic of Ireland. The current castle was largely built in the late 19th century.

Design

It was designed in the Baronial style by Dublin architect James Rawson Carroll, and is constructed from a yellow-brown sandstone brought by sea from County Donegal. It comprises a gabled range with a central tower topped by a

conical roofed A conical roof or cone roof is a cone-shaped roof that is circular at its base and terminates in a point. Distribution Conical roofs are frequently found on top of towers in medieval town fortifications and castles, where they may either si ...

turret. The land, which once belonged to the O'Connor Sligo family, was confiscated by the English Parliament to compensate the people who put down an Irish

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. Around of land on which Classiebawn now stands was granted to Sir John Temple (1600–1677), Master of the Rolls in Ireland. The property passed down to The 3rd Viscount Palmerston, a statesman who served as both British Prime Minister and British Foreign Secretary. It was this Lord Palmerston who commissioned the building of the current Classiebawn Castle and the harbour at Mullaghmore. The house was not complete upon his death in 1865 but was completed in 1874 by his stepson and successor,

The Rt. Hon. ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

William Cowper-Temple, P.C.,

M.P. A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(later created The 1st Baron Mount Temple). The latter died childless in 1888 and the estate passed to his nephew,

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Evelyn Ashley Anthony Evelyn Melbourne Ashley (24 July 1836 – 16 November 1907) was British barrister and Liberal politician. He was private secretary to Lord Palmerston and later published a biography of him. After entering Parliament at a by-election in 1 ...

, the second surviving son of The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. Evelyn Ashley spent some time there each year and on his death in 1907 was succeeded by his only son, Wilfrid Ashley (later created Baron Mount Temple in a new creation). He also spent his summers at the castle with his daughters

Edwina The name Edwina is a feminine form of the male name Edwin, which derives from Old English and means "rich friend." Edwin was a popular name until the time of the Norman Conquest, then fell out of favour until Victorian times. People * Edwina Bart ...

, the future Countess Mountbatten, and Mary (1906–1986), who was Baroness Delamere from 1944 until 1955 as the second wife (of three) of The 4th Baron Delamere.

Mountbatten years

In 1916, the house was cleared and remained empty until 1950. It was inherited in July 1939 by Edwina Mountbatten, who, with her husband Admiral of the Fleet

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, made several improvements, installing electricity and a mains water supply. After his wife's death in February 1960, Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, spent his summers there until his death when his boat was blown up off the coast of Mullaghmore by the IRA in August 1979. The castle and surrounding lands are now owned by the estate of Hugh Tunney (1928–2011), a deceased businessman from Trillick in County Tyrone, who bought the castle and of the surrounding estate in 1991 after having leased it for many years.

References

External links

Classiebawn castle by Lord Mountbatten
* Liam Collins:

', Independent.ie, 19 May 2016. {{Castles in Connacht Buildings and structures in County Sligo History of County Sligo Houses completed in 1874 Mountbatten family