All Things Bright and Beautiful
Markree Castle in County Sligo was described by Lord Clark on the BBC television programme Civilisation as "Ireland's finest castle of its period" and it's not hard to see why. Take some deep breaths. One, two. One, two. For at the first view of the building's sheer stone frontage or when you see your bill you may gasp sharply. Fortunately, payment at Markree is a pleasant surprise since the hotel rates are pretty reasonable. Visitors to the castle, particularly Americans, are thrilled to discover that four centuries of Irish history are contained within its walls. Read all about it.
TURBULENT TIMES 1600 - 1700
The site of the castle is on a prehistoric fortress. A cairn on the estate provides evidence of an ancient settlement. The MacDonagh clan built a fortress at Markree in the early 17th century. The siege wall of this building was uncovered in the basement of the present castle during restoration work.
In the 1600s Markree was presented to a Cromwellian solider from Norfolk, Coronet Cooper, as a reward for his part in the Siege of Limerick. Rather neatly, not to say fortunately for her, the widowed O'Brien heiress then in residence agreed to marry him. James II made Markree a manor of 500 acres of parkland with permission to hold court at the castle. Ever since each generation of the Cooper family was involved in politics, representing Sligo for an unbroken period from 1695 to 1930. The name of the estate has evolved over the last four centuries from Marcia, Mercury, Markea, Markrea and finally to Markree.
CONSTRUCTION & REBUILDING 1700 - 1800
By the early 1700s Ireland was more peaceful and the fortified dwelling of the MacDonaghs must have seemed highly unfashionable to the refined taste of the Georgian period. Thus, the original 17th century residence was replaced by a three storey block; it had a five bay front with a three bay garden elevation containing one bay on either side of a shallow bow window.
INDIAN SUMMER 1800 - 1900
The architectural evolution of Markree completed a full circle in the 19th century when the Georgian house that replaced the original fortress was transformed back into a castle in 1802. Joshua Cooper appointed the architect Francis Johnston, whose work includes the rebuilding of Áras an Uachtaráin, the President's residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and the extension of Royal Hospital Kilmainham, also in Dublin. The existing house was doubled in size to form a massive castle of the early symmetrical kind with a new entrance created in a porte-cochère at the end of a double height projection.
However the Gothic treatment of the interiors, as seen in the gallery where the gorbels below the wall posts are bedecked with angels, does not seem to have satisfied Joshua's nephew and heir, Edward Cooper. He garnished the suite of reception rooms on the garden front in a lively Louis XIV manner with gilded mirrors surrounded by well-fed putti hanging from trailing swags of fruit and flowers.
On Edward's death in 1863 he left five daughters who, irked at not inheriting Markree, departed for London, taking as much of the furniture as they could with them. The castle passed to their cousin, Colonel Edward Cooper, who commissioned the architect Maitland Wardrop of Edinburgh to carry out further remodelling. A gothic chapel and a stained glass staircase window depicting an extensive ancestry were added to Markree at this time.
Mrs Alexander, on a visit to Markree, was inspired to pen the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful, her host being "the rich man in his castle" and the view "the purple-headed mountain, the river running by". The enlargement and embellishment of Markree finally ended in 1895 when the last stone was added but by 1902, the contraction of the house began with the closing of the basement. The seven year Indian summer had ended.
CONVERSION & RESTORATION 1900 - 2000
In the early 20th century Markree, like many other Irish country houses, was occupied by Free State Troops who caused extensive damage burning furniture and leaving bullet holes in walls. In 1949 the grandfather of the present owner, Commander Edward Cooper, was forced to retreat for financial reasons to one wing of the building, closing the vast main block which was intended to be manned by a team of servants. Markree became so dilapidated that it was even listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland in the early 1980s.
The present owner Charles Cooper took the brave decision to restore the derelict castle on a commercial basis, opening it as a hotel with the Knockmuldowney Restaurant occupying the dining room. On hearing of this, descendants of the Cooper daughters who had fled the castle having lost out on their inheritance, returned several items of furniture taken from Markree to London 140 years previously. In the last few years the 30 guest bedrooms have been decorated in chilled out country house style and vigorous colour schemes have been applied to the rabbit warren of corridors, vestibules, lobbies and hallways. Restoration is ongoing and now that the main building has been brought back from the brink, Charles Cooper has turned his attention to the Gothic chapel and castellated entrances.
ONWARDS & UPWARDS 2000 - 2100
Since this piece was first published, the restoration of the Gothic chapel and castellated entrances has been completed. Despite the current economic climate, Markree Castle has never looked better and continues to thrive as an outstanding example of a true country house hotel. It could easily be listed in Surviving Country Houses of Ireland. Here's to the future!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stuart_Blakley
Markree Castle in County Sligo was described by Lord Clark on the BBC television programme Civilisation as "Ireland's finest castle of its period" and it's not hard to see why. Take some deep breaths. One, two. One, two. For at the first view of the building's sheer stone frontage or when you see your bill you may gasp sharply. Fortunately, payment at Markree is a pleasant surprise since the hotel rates are pretty reasonable. Visitors to the castle, particularly Americans, are thrilled to discover that four centuries of Irish history are contained within its walls. Read all about it.
TURBULENT TIMES 1600 - 1700
The site of the castle is on a prehistoric fortress. A cairn on the estate provides evidence of an ancient settlement. The MacDonagh clan built a fortress at Markree in the early 17th century. The siege wall of this building was uncovered in the basement of the present castle during restoration work.
In the 1600s Markree was presented to a Cromwellian solider from Norfolk, Coronet Cooper, as a reward for his part in the Siege of Limerick. Rather neatly, not to say fortunately for her, the widowed O'Brien heiress then in residence agreed to marry him. James II made Markree a manor of 500 acres of parkland with permission to hold court at the castle. Ever since each generation of the Cooper family was involved in politics, representing Sligo for an unbroken period from 1695 to 1930. The name of the estate has evolved over the last four centuries from Marcia, Mercury, Markea, Markrea and finally to Markree.
CONSTRUCTION & REBUILDING 1700 - 1800
By the early 1700s Ireland was more peaceful and the fortified dwelling of the MacDonaghs must have seemed highly unfashionable to the refined taste of the Georgian period. Thus, the original 17th century residence was replaced by a three storey block; it had a five bay front with a three bay garden elevation containing one bay on either side of a shallow bow window.
INDIAN SUMMER 1800 - 1900
The architectural evolution of Markree completed a full circle in the 19th century when the Georgian house that replaced the original fortress was transformed back into a castle in 1802. Joshua Cooper appointed the architect Francis Johnston, whose work includes the rebuilding of Áras an Uachtaráin, the President's residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and the extension of Royal Hospital Kilmainham, also in Dublin. The existing house was doubled in size to form a massive castle of the early symmetrical kind with a new entrance created in a porte-cochère at the end of a double height projection.
However the Gothic treatment of the interiors, as seen in the gallery where the gorbels below the wall posts are bedecked with angels, does not seem to have satisfied Joshua's nephew and heir, Edward Cooper. He garnished the suite of reception rooms on the garden front in a lively Louis XIV manner with gilded mirrors surrounded by well-fed putti hanging from trailing swags of fruit and flowers.
On Edward's death in 1863 he left five daughters who, irked at not inheriting Markree, departed for London, taking as much of the furniture as they could with them. The castle passed to their cousin, Colonel Edward Cooper, who commissioned the architect Maitland Wardrop of Edinburgh to carry out further remodelling. A gothic chapel and a stained glass staircase window depicting an extensive ancestry were added to Markree at this time.
Mrs Alexander, on a visit to Markree, was inspired to pen the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful, her host being "the rich man in his castle" and the view "the purple-headed mountain, the river running by". The enlargement and embellishment of Markree finally ended in 1895 when the last stone was added but by 1902, the contraction of the house began with the closing of the basement. The seven year Indian summer had ended.
CONVERSION & RESTORATION 1900 - 2000
In the early 20th century Markree, like many other Irish country houses, was occupied by Free State Troops who caused extensive damage burning furniture and leaving bullet holes in walls. In 1949 the grandfather of the present owner, Commander Edward Cooper, was forced to retreat for financial reasons to one wing of the building, closing the vast main block which was intended to be manned by a team of servants. Markree became so dilapidated that it was even listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland in the early 1980s.
The present owner Charles Cooper took the brave decision to restore the derelict castle on a commercial basis, opening it as a hotel with the Knockmuldowney Restaurant occupying the dining room. On hearing of this, descendants of the Cooper daughters who had fled the castle having lost out on their inheritance, returned several items of furniture taken from Markree to London 140 years previously. In the last few years the 30 guest bedrooms have been decorated in chilled out country house style and vigorous colour schemes have been applied to the rabbit warren of corridors, vestibules, lobbies and hallways. Restoration is ongoing and now that the main building has been brought back from the brink, Charles Cooper has turned his attention to the Gothic chapel and castellated entrances.
ONWARDS & UPWARDS 2000 - 2100
Since this piece was first published, the restoration of the Gothic chapel and castellated entrances has been completed. Despite the current economic climate, Markree Castle has never looked better and continues to thrive as an outstanding example of a true country house hotel. It could easily be listed in Surviving Country Houses of Ireland. Here's to the future!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stuart_Blakley
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