Carton House

Carton House was one of Ireland's greatest stately homes and one time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster. Located 14 miles west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton demesne runs to 1,100 acres (4.5 km²). For two hundred years it possessed the finest example in Ireland of a Georgian-created parkland landscape. In the 2000s much of the estate was redeveloped into two golf courses and the house into a hotel complex.

Beginning of the Carton Demesne

During a history spanning more than eight centuries, Carton Demesne has seen many changes. The estate first came into the ownership of the FitzGerald family shortly after Maurice FitzGerald played an active role in the capture of Dublin by the Normans in 1170 and was rewarded by being appointed Lord of Maynooth, an area covering townlands which include Carton. His son became Baron Offaly in 1205 and his descendant John FitzGerald, became Earl of Kildare in 1315. Under the eighth earl, the FitzGerald family reached pre-eminence as the virtual rulers of Ireland between 1477 and 1513. However, the eighth earl’s grandson, the eloquently titled Silken Thomas was executed in 1537, with his five uncles, for leading an uprising against the English. Although the FitzGeralds subsequently regained their land and titles, they did not regain their position at the English Court until the 18th century when Robert, the 19th Earl of Kildare, became a noted statesman.

First house at Carton

The first record of a house at Carton was in the 17th century when William Talbot, Recorder of Dublin, was given a lease of the lands by the 14th Earl of Kildare and is thought to have built a house. The house and lands were forfeited to the crown in 1691 and in 1703 sold to Major General Richard Ingoldsby, Master General of the Ordnance.

Commencement of the current house

In 1739, the lease was sold back to the 19th Earl of Kildare who employed Richard Castle to build the existing house. This was the same year the FitzGerald family bought Frescati House. Castle (originall Cassels) was also responsible for some other grand Irish houses including Westport House, Powerscourt House and in 1745, Leinster House, which he also built for the FitzGeralds. Source: Wikipedia In 1747 James the 20th Earl of Kildare and from 1766 first Duke of Leinster, married Lady Emily Lennox, daughter of the Duke of Richmond and great–granddaughter of the English King Charles II. Lady Emily played an important role in the development of the house and estate as it is today. She created the Chinese room (bedroom to Queen Victoria) and decorated the famous Shell Cottage on the estate with shells from around the world. One of Emily’s 23 children was the famous Irish Patriot Lord Edward FitzGerald, leader of the 1798 rebellion.

19th century

Carton remained unaltered until 1815 when the 3rd Duke decided to sell Leinster House to the Royal Dublin Society and make Carton his principal residence. He employed Richard Morrison to enlarge and re-model the house. Morrison replaced the curved colonnades with straight connecting links to obtain additional rooms including the famous dining room. At this time, the entrance to the house was moved to the north side.