HISTORY :

The Achesons of Gosford in East Lothian arrived in Ireland in 1610, after Sir Archibald Acheson, Secretary of State for Scotland, was granted 1,000 acres in County Armagh by King James I. Sir Archibald build a castle at Clonkearney near Markethill  around 1617, which was destroyed during the Irish uprising of 1641. It was replaced with a manor house with noted large reception rooms. One visitor to Clonkearney Manor was the poet and satirist, Jonathan Swift.
 
The family were granted a peerage in 1776 and in 1819 Archibald Acheson, the 2nd Earl of Gosford, and known as “the Farmer Peer”, commissioned Thomas Hopper to build a castle. The majority of the funding was provided by his wife, the daughter and heiress of Robert Sparrow of Worlingham Hall in Suffolk. As she was a friend of Lady Byron, she may have influenced the choice of style for the castle.

Thomas Hopper was a leading London architect who was patronised by the Prince Regent. Gosford Castle was his first major project using the Norman-revival style. Hopper continued Norman Revival architecture at Penrhyn Castle in north Wales, a National Trust property which has been refurbished with original furniture and decorations in keeping with its period.

The granite for Gosford's walls came from the Mullaghglass quarries near Newry and pink Armagh marble was used for much of the interior. John Smyth, Master of the Dublin Society Modelling School, was responsible for the marble columns; local craftsmen and materials were employed for the wood panelling and carvings; the vaulted ceilings were picked out with gold paint, and Italian plasterers created some of the magnificent ceilings.  The circular drawing room was described as “a wonder in fine design and workmanship”.

The Castle took almost 20 years to complete and with 197 rooms was the largest house in Ireland at that time.  It cost in excess of £80,000 - the equivalent of £45 million in today’s terms.

In 1862, while visiting Gosford, John Burges, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, remarked that “you eat, drink, talk and laugh immensely. There is something in the air and cheer around you that encourages you to do so”.   Another visitor commented that the Castle “was a wonder to behold, with its comfortable apartments, advanced plumbing and dining table profusely covered with every delicious viand”.
 
Throughout the duration of the Castle’s construction, the family lived at Rostrevor and continued to do so after the Castle was completed, never occupying it on a permanent basis.

The 3rd Earl of Gosford, who established an extensive Library at the Castle, used it as a summer residence and for grouse shooting.

In 1888, the 4th Earl, who was a member of Edward VII’s set, was forced to sell most of his father’s Library in order to settle a racing debt.  On his death in 1921, the contents were sold at auction and the Castle was left empty.

During the Second World War it was commandeered as a billet for the Royal Artillery, the Pioneer Corps and the American Armed Forces. Subsequently the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland used the building to house archives and it was even used as the winter base for a travelling circus.

In 1958 the Castle and Estate were purchased by the Northern Ireland Forestry Commission, who established Gosford Forest Park.   The Castle remained derelict until in 2006 it was rescued by a local businessman who, with specialist architects and the Northern Ireland Heritage Service, saved the fabric of the building. The restoration of the Castle into a habitable residence once again is nearing completion.

THE CASTLE :

This is an exceptional opportunity to enjoy the grandeur and opulence of 1800s period living in one of the most awe-inspiring properties in Ireland. The central element of Gosford Castle is the Keep. It dominates the rest of the castle, looming above the entrance and tying together the other smaller blocks of towers and buildings.

The Castle has been vertically split into a number of separate dwellings. Master craftsmen have created individual homes  of one, two, three and four storeys in height, each set within the original fabric of the Castle. As a result, the homes retain the innate character and historic integrity of the building by incorporating existing staircases and walls where possible.

GROUNDS AND ENVIRONS :

Gosford Forest Park is set in the gently rolling Drumlin countryside of County Armagh, the former seat of the High Kings of Ireland.

The Park was established in 1958, when the 600 acres of diverse woodland and open parkland that formed the Gosford Demesne were acquired by the Department of Agriculture. In 1986, the Park was designated the first conservation forest in Northern Ireland.

Many of the original buildings and features of the demesne are still to be found within the Park. The large stone-built house, known as the 'laundry house' is where all the clothes and linen from the Castle were cleaned and prepared.

Standing near what was once the main road to Markethill is a 19th century ice-house, where meat, fish and poultry for the Castle were stored.

There are three graves dating from 1797 that mark where the second Earl buried his favourite dogs, Walter, Quiz and Hotspur.

The nature walks through the grounds are said to have been devised by Jonathan Swift, and his name lives on at Dean Swift's Well, whose waters are reputed to have curative powers.