Ashford Castle
| Ashford Castle | |
|---|---|
| County Galway, Ireland | |
Ashford Castle
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 Ashford Castle
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| Coordinates | Irish grid reference M129546 |
| Type | Victorian |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Red Carnation Hotels |
| Condition | 5 star luxury hotel |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1228 (and later) |
| Built by | Anglo-Norman de Burgo family |
| Materials | Assorted |
Ashford Castle is a medieval castle that has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star luxury hotel near Cong on the Mayo-Galway border, on the shore of Lough Corrib in Ireland. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World organisation and was previously owned by the Guinness family.
A castle was built on the perimeter of a Monastic site in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke.
After more than three-and-a-half centuries under the de Burgos, whose surname became Burke or Bourke, Ashford passed into the hands of a new master, following a fierce battle between the forces of the de Burgos and those of the English official Sir Richard Bingham, Lord President of Connaught, when a truce was agreed. In 1589, the castle fell to Bingham, who added a fortified enclave within its precincts.
Dominick Browne, of the Browne Family (Baron Oranmore) received the estate in a Royal Grant in either 1670 or 1678. In 1715, the estate of Ashford was established by the Browne family and a hunting lodge in the style of a 17th-century French chateau was constructed. The double-headed eagles still visible on the roof represent the coat of arms of the Brownes.
In the late 18th-century a branch of the family inhabited the castle. In the early 19th-century, one Thomas Elwood was agent for the Brownes at Ashford and was recorded as living there in 1814.
The estate was purchased in 1852 by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness from the Encumbered Estates' Court. He added two large Victorian style extensions. He also extended the estate to 26,000 acres (110 km2), built new roads and planted thousands of trees. The castle was drawn for Sir William Wilde's book about County Galway. On Benjamin's death in 1868, the estate passed to his son Lord Ardilaun, who expanded the building further in the neogothic style.
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Wikipedia