Sutton Castle or Sutton House is a Victorian Tudor-style castellated mansion house with terraced gardens on the southern coast of

Howth Head Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are on t ...

, overlooking

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

, in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, Ireland.

History

The current house replaced an earlier Sutton House which was demolished and had previously been occupied by the senior judge Joseph Devonsher Jackson and later by Alice Lawrenson and Rev William Lawrenson,

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Howth. Prior to the construction of the earlier Sutton House the land was owned by the Hackett Family and a substantial 16th century castle house stood on its grounds roughly near the location of the current castle gates. It was said to be an English-like stone house and was rated for six hearths.

Modern house

The current house was designed for industrialist and politician Andrew Jameson, great-grandson of John Jameson, by Manchester-based architect Alfred Darbyshire, who had previously worked on some of the Jameson distilleries. Located in the townland of Sutton South, it was constructed around the year 1880 on lands spanning the Bailey area of

Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...

and neighbouring

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Hotel

The house was converted into a 19-bedroom hotel in the 1970s called ''Sutton House Hotel'' and later ''Sutton Castle Hotel''. It was sold, along with 7 acres of gardens and woodland, for IR£2.55m in September 1997. The building continued to operate as a hotel for a period. It later operated as a temporary centre for asylum seekers and specifically unaccompanied minors until 2001. The hotel was converted into 17 luxury apartments by the McKeown Group and Paddy Doyle between 2003 and 2005.

Notable residents

* The judge Joseph Devonsher Jackson * The politician Andrew Jameson and later his daughter Harriet Kirkwood * The Flemish businessman Albert Luykx

Status and features

The house is recorded in the Fingal County Council Record of Protected Structures (RPS 0578) with the description ''Late 19th century four-storey Victorian Tudor-style house & gates, extended and converted into apartment complex''. The main house, situated on terraces, has four storeys, and overlooks

. It has a Gothic porch, terracotta tiling, and art deco-style chimneys, and the original bay and window structure is retained. A modern one- and two-storey extension to the west was added around 1990. The lobby and some of the original reception rooms remain, the latter now incorporated into some of the modern apartments. The main stairway was retained and restored, and a lift was added prior to the sale as apartments. Eight apartments were formed in the main house, and nine in the western extension. The house was damaged by fire in 1925 while newlywed Jameson and Ruth Hart were on honeymoon in New York but was later restored to its original condition.

Popular culture

The hotel and grounds were used as the background for the cover of the Van Morrisson album Veedon Fleece, in a photograph which was taken while he was staying at the hotel in 1974.

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

and

Ali Hewson Alison Hewson (née Stewart; born 23 March 1961) is an Irish activist and businesswoman. She is married to singer and musician Paul Hewson, known as Bono, from the rock group U2. Raised in Raheny, she met her future husband at age 12 at Mou ...

had their wedding reception at the hotel in 1982.

Martello Tower

A nearby

Martello Tower Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...

, right on the coast, in the area known as Red Rock, and constructed in 1804, is also listed on the Record of Protected Structures for Fingal (RPS 0579). It was the first of around 29 Martello Towers to be constructed in the Greater Dublin area and was referred to as ''Tower Number 1''. The tower previously formed part of the grounds of Sutton Castle, at various times being leased and owned by Andrew Jameson and accessed via the same gate at Sutton House, but has since been detached, and converted into holiday rental accommodation.

References

{{Castles in Dublin Sutton, Dublin Castles in Fingal Tudor Revival architecture Howth Houses in the Republic of Ireland Buildings listed on the Fingal Record of Protected Structures Hotels in Fingal Direct provision centres in the Republic of Ireland