Ardgillan Castle

Ardgillan was built in 1738 for the Reverend Robert Taylor and stayed with the Taylor family until the 1960s. It is not a castle in any defensive sense - the battlements and castellation are decorative, added to a Georgian country house - and the name means high wooded area. Fingal County Council bought the estate in 1982 and opened it. The grounds run about eighty hectares down toward the sea, with mature woodland, open lawns and a view north along the coast to the Mourne Mountains on a clear day; the Victorian conservatory and a two-hectare walled garden with a rose garden, an Irish apple collection and herbaceous borders are the horticultural core. A viaduct carries the Dublin to Belfast railway across the estate's seaward edge. The house is shown by guided tour with limited opening, and the parkland is free and open daily.

History

The house was built in 1738 by the Reverend Robert Taylor, son of Sir Thomas Taylor, 1st Baronet, on land that had belonged to Robert Usher, a wine merchant from Tallaght, and he paid former soldiers from Bangor a penny and a meal a day to clear the woods. It later passed to Thomas Edward Taylor, grandson of the 1st Earl of Bective (Wikipedia, Ardgillan Castle).

What to look for

• The walled garden - two hectares with roses, Irish apples and borders.
• The coastal view - north to the Mournes on a clear day.
• The Victorian conservatory - restored, in the garden grounds.
• The decorative castellation - a Georgian house dressed as a castle.

When to go

April to October for the gardens, with the roses at their best in June and July. The parkland is open all year. House tours run on limited days - check before travelling.

Good to know

The house has restricted opening and is guided tour only. It is a Georgian house rather than a castle, which surprises some. Facilities are limited and the tearoom keeps seasonal hours.

Nearby

Skerries and its mills are south; Balbriggan is north along the coast.

Key facts