Castleboro House

Castleboro House
The house in 2023
Interactive map of the Castleboro House area
General information
StatusPrivate dwelling house
TypeHouse
ClassificationDerelict
LocationCounty Wexford, Clonroche, Ireland
Coordinates52°28′49″N 6°43′33″W / 52.4804°N 6.7258°W / 52.4804; -6.7258
Elevation50 m (160 ft)
Estimated completion1783
Renovated1840-58 (after fire)
Height
Height30 m (98 ft)
Technical details
Materialgranite
Design and construction
ArchitectDaniel Robertson
DeveloperRobert Shapland Carew (1780)
Other designersMartin Day (1840)
References
[1][2]

Castleboro House is a derelict stately home near Clonroche, County Wexford, Ireland.

History

It was originally built around 1783 for Robert Shapland Carew, father of Robert Carew, 1st Baron Carew, who was an Irish Whig Party politician and landowner.[3]

In 1837, Samuel Lewis refers to the house as "the spacious modern mansion of Lord Carew" in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland.[4]

An accidental fire took place in 1839 and destroyed all but the west wing. It was rebuilt from 1840 to 1858 in a neo Palladian style to the design of the English architect Daniel Robertson.[5] The granite gate lodges appear to have been constructed approximately 20 years after the house.[6]

The house was refurbished and restored in 1908.The house was noted as being in occasional use in 1911 with only 3 servants residents at the time of the census.[7]

The house is later noted as closed in 1921.

On 5 February 1923 the house was burnt down by local IRA (Irish Republican Army) supporters during the Irish Civil War and was part of a larger series of the Destruction of Irish country houses (1919–1923). Only three of the rooms were furnished, the remainder of the contents having been sold in May 1921.

The remaining estate was later converted to farmland and the ruins of the house still stand as of 2026.[8]

References

  1. ^ "CO. WEXFORD, CASTLEBORO". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  2. ^ Clerkin, Paul (20 March 2012). "Archiseek.com - 1840 - Castleboro, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford". Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Carew (Castleboro & Woodstown) | Landed Estates | University of Galway". landedestates.ie. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Killegney - Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Castleboro House, CASTLEBORO DEMESNE, WEXFORD - Buildings of Ireland". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Castleboro". The Irish Aesthete. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  7. ^ "National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911". www.census.nationalarchives.ie. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  8. ^ "One of the most iconic buildings in Wexford was burned to the ground 100 years ago". Irish Independent. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2026.