Castle Coole

Castle Coole is a late-18th-century neo-classical mansion in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It stands on a 1,200-acre wooded estate near Enniskillen, one of three National Trust properties in the county. The estate includes Lough Coole and other small lakes surrounded by ancient oak woodland. A ráth and a crannog on the site show settlement since prehistoric times. The mansion replaced earlier family homes, including a Queen Anne house built in 1709. The house was built between 1789 and 1798 for Armar Lowry-Corry, 1st Earl Belmore, as a summer retreat. The Earl was a wealthy landowner and MP in the Irish House of Commons. Construction cost £57,000, a vast sum for the time. After the Act of Union in 1800, the family moved permanently from Dublin to Castle Coole. In 1951, the 7th Earl transferred the mansion to the National Trust, though the family retains an apartment in the south wing. Inside, visitors find grand rooms with scagliola columns and plaster ceilings by Joseph Rose. The entrance hall has four large scagliola columns, and a cantilever staircase leads to a double-height saloon. A state bedroom prepared for King George IV in 1821 remains furnished with original pieces. Below ground, the basement contains kitchens, servants’ hall, wine-cellars and a Roman-style plunge-bath. Outside, the estate’s oak and beech trees are grazed by cattle and sheep, while a ha-ha keeps livestock hidden from view.