Why was Courtown House demolished?

AngloIrishMan

The question is simple. You either know the answer or you don't. Don't bother attempting to scour the internet as I've already done so but to no avail obviously.

Poor Uncle Tom

There wasn't enough of an income from the estate lands for the upkeep of the house so Courtown House was sold from private ownership and was bought by the Irish Tourist Board in 1948. The house was demolished in 1962.

It was the seat of the Earl of Courtown and the house was majorly altered in the 1800's reducing its architectural significance as the original house was heavily modified. I believe the political will was not there to stomach the spending of large amounts of public funds to restore or maintain what could only be seen as symbols of oppressive occupying forces. I remember reading a very interesting book on this very topic some time ago and about the Housing Acts of 1966 and 1969 which were all loosely related.

dubhthach

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

There wasn't enough of an income from the estate lands for the upkeep of the house so Courtown House was sold from private ownership and was bought by the Irish Tourist Board in 1948. The house was demolished in 1962.

It was the seat of the Earl of Courtown and the house was majorly altered in the 1800's reducing its architectural significance as the original house was heavily modified. I believe the political will was not there to stomach the spending of large amounts of public funds to restore or maintain what could only be seen as symbols of oppressive occupying forces. I remember reading a very interesting book on this very topic some time ago and about the Housing Acts of 1966 and 1969 which were all loosely related.

I can think of a number of "stately homes" that after "Falling into" state hands were demolished. Coole House in Galway for example which was demolished for "economic reasons". Rockingham house was also demolished (though they had the excuse that it had burnt down during the 1950's) as was St. Anne's house in Raheny (burnt down during war, demolished in 1968)

Poor Uncle Tom

It's an absolute shame that the built heritage of a country could be so wantonly destroyed by those in charge of the nations assets on our behalf. But those were different times and we have legislation now supposedly to protect the likes of these, however, when you see this

http://www.thejournal.ie/abandoned-mansions-ireland-ii-631057-Oct2012/

happening, and the amount of large houses and mansions that are crumbling away and decaying before our eyes to be absorbed back into the countryside and landscape they once stood so proud of.

Even now the state have no apetite to take over and restore any of them, the few they have, they can't maintain them properly. (but that's just my opinion, btw)

The book mentioned in the above link is well worth a read, if you are lucky and find a house near you to read about, you might be transported back a couple of hundred years to a time when life was lived a much slower pace, if only for a few minutes at least, closest thing to time travel I've found.

Missent

You'll get further details of Courtown House in Dan Walsh's 100 Wexford Country Houses, Rowe & Scallan's Houses of Wexford and Anna Kinsella's The Windswept Shore which is a history of the Courtown district.

Rowe & Scallan have a slightly different view of the demolition of the house, saying that it was sold to the Irish Tourist Board in 1947 who then sold it to a developer and that it was then demolished.

Very coincidentally, I just received a postcard of the house in my post today. Bit of a lump of a house, in reality.

pedroeibar1

It belonged to the Stopford family /Earls of Courtown. They had large estates and were also head landlords on several estates in Kerry. The original house dated to the 1700’s. I’ve read somewhere that it was sacked and burned in 1798, but I’m not sure the burning bit is correct, as there is another Courtown House in Kilcock which was burned in 1798, so there could be confusion.

Early 1800’s Courtown House Wexford was rebuilt/enlarged in various directions and styles. Several architects are known and others have been linked to the modifications and the ‘modifications to the modifications’ that took place throughout the 1800’s.

I’m very much in favour of preservation, but there has to be a relationship between heritage, importance and financial reality. The time comes when it cannot be economically justifiable and viable to preserve / maintain everything and like a loved family pet the kindest thing is to put it down. To be honest, looking at the photo of Courtown House in Bence-Jones’ book it had little to recommend it stylistically and it would be far more worthwhile to put money into other properties.

Jesus.

dubhthach wrote: »

I can think of a number of "stately homes" that after "Falling into" state hands were demolished. Coole House in Galway for example which was demolished for "economic reasons". Rockingham house was also demolished (though they had the excuse that it had burnt down during the 1950's) as was St. Anne's house in Raheny (burnt down during war, demolished in 1968)

They demolished this lovely house in Fingal as recently as 1987

dubhthach

Jesus. wrote: »

They demolished this lovely house in Fingal as recently as 1987

That house is in the UK and hasn't been demolished, here's link to Turvey house with details:
http://archiseek.com/2014/17th-c-turvey-house-donabate-co-dublin/
Disgraceful given it's age:

Jesus.

dubhthach wrote: »

That house is in the UK and hasn't been demolished

:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:


(Sorry! )

Jesus.

It was a crime demolishing that house, Dubhthach (Turvey house I mean, not the English one!). I think Rayfie Burke had something to do with it at the time.

Regarding the family, one of those Barnwalls led the Army that was annihilated at the Battle of Tyrellspass if I remember correctly

A Disgrace

Jesus. wrote: »

It was a crime demolishing that house, Dubhthach (Turvey house I mean, not the English one!). I think Rayfie Burke had something to do with it at the time.

Regarding the family, one of those Barnwalls led the Army that was annihilated at the Battle of Tyrellspass if I remember correctly

In no other ‘developed’ country would Turvey house have been demolished. It was built in the 1500’s, had some totally unique features and wasn’t actually in that bad a condition (despite the City Council declaring it as ‘unsafe’) – even if it was, as a national monument, it should have been protected. It was possibly the oldest house still standing in Ireland at the time, and was obliterated and wiped from history without a thought…

gaiscioch

A Disgrace wrote: »

In no other ‘developed’ country would Turvey house have been demolished.

Destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain

A Disgrace

gaiscioch wrote: »

Destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain

Yeah, but would they have knocked this particular house (considering how old it was) and as late as 1987?

Jesus.

"Since 1900, 1,200 country houses have been demolished in England. In Scotland, the figure is proportionally higher. There, 378 architecturally important country houses have been destroyed, 200 of these since 1945"

Dubhthach, do you know how many were destroyed in Ireland during the last Century? Is the rate higher than in Britain?