The Road Goes Ever On: Ireland

Castle Ward

Bernard Ward (later 1st Viscount of Bangor) and his wife Lady Anne had irreconcilable differences, and later parted over them. Before parting, however, they memorialized their differences in Castle Ward (built 1762-1770): he of the Palladian, classical bent, she, Gothick. And so you have here a great house in a beautiful Irish setting, the front half of which, inside and out, is classical, and the backside, inside and out, is Gothick. [I understand "Gothick" to be like neo-Gothic]. Anyhow, a schizophrenic house is something we could not pass up. Alas, the tour was so good, especially in its emphasis on social history, we almost forgot why we came to Castle Ward. And then there was the Game of Thrones thing. But I digress.

His

Hers

Ceiling of her boudoir

Tea service: you drank out of the saucer; if the tea were too hot, you would have a
servant blow on it

Drawing room (hers)

Interesting furniture

Ceiling decor; obviously I found her side of the house far more
interesting than his

His side bedroom

Piss pots; one of the many fascinating things we learned was that in Georgian
times it was considered the height of rudeness to leave the dining room before
everyone was finished; if Nature called, and you couldn't stand it any longer,
you excused yourself to the corner of the room and discreetly (!) used one of
these...

Georgian exercise equipment, helps with horse riding skills

Every visitor to Castle Ward was weighed coming and going;
several explanations of this: showed how well you were fed...
cut down on loss of silver, etc.

Your rang, sir? Episode #19,472

Housekeeper's rooms (Mrs. Hughes)

Nice if not overwhelming garden

Monkey Puzzle

Among the structures down the hill...

I lost interest in Game of Thrones when they killed off Boromir

Mount Stewart: The Gardens

The extent of Edith's gardens is depicted in the map below. They literally surround the house. A principal feature is the variety. Situated on Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland's east coast, Mount Stewart gets some of the most temperate weather to be found at this latitude, and Edith took full advantage of this, acquiring temperate and sub-tropical specimens from all over the world. At the height of activity, she had 36 gardeners working for her. When over-night guests came, they were presented with a shovel and wheel barrow the next morning after breakfast, with explicit instructions on what was to be done before lunch and after. Formal entertaining would resume at dinner.

One of the best gardens yet

Looking toward the Shamrock Garden

At several National Trust properties we've
visited, a gardener, volunteer, and sometimes
the head gardener, will lead a tour; "meet by
the flagpole at 2PM," and if it's the head
gardener, as here at Mount Stewart, you're in
for real treat; so, passing by, Vicki and I of
course fell in and enjoyed one of the most lively
and interesting talks on plants, landscaping, etc.,
we've ever heard; charming, captivating, etc.;
and, oh, so Irish; after 45 minutes in the
Shamrock Garden alone, one of the Trust
personnel tactfully informed us this was a
private tour, arranged by the National
organization; knowing what those cost, we
quietly fell away and did the rest of the gardens
ourselves; still the best garden talk I ever
expect to hear; maybe "next time"

The Hand, in the Shamrock Garden

Topiary all over, all from Edith's personal stories and myths;
she herself was Circe

Monterey Cypress

The Pond

Everything in bloom, well, except the rhodos and azaleas,
now long-gone, but from their expanse one could see they
would have been incredible a month before

Near the Tir Nan Og, the family burial ground

Fuschias, of course

And much else

View of the house from the Formal Gardens

Black Roses, just like in Menlo Park

Statuary all over, again, much of it from Edith's mythology

And an arch, of course

We found a lay-by right on Stangford Lough, just beyond
Mount Stewart, and spent a quiet evening watching the tides

Mount Stewart: The House

You can add Mount Stewart to our list of favorite homes and gardens. It is filled with original furnishings and furniture, it and its families were of historic interest, its gardens are among the very best we've seen, and it has one magnetic personality who accounts for much of its interest and charm: Edith, Lady Londonderry, wife of the 7th Marquess of Londonderry.

Entrance, actually the boring side of Mount Stewart

In the entry hall

Very 18th century; and gorgeous

A smidgeon of the 65 place silver collection

Edith, in uniform as leader of the Women's
Legion in WW1

She'll be remembered for many things, not least
the design of Mount Stewart's extensive gardens
(next post)

The Marquess and Lady Londonderry entertained many leaders
of the day, both in London and at Mount Stewart

For example

An earlier owner of the House, Lord Castlereagh, was an
architect of the 1801 Act of Union (from whence we get the
UK of GB, which then included rather more of Ireland)
as well as a military leader in the Napoleonic Wars and
chief diplomat in the ensuing Congress of Vienna; one of two
paintings from Wellington...

Robert Stewart, Lord Castlereagh, eventually
2nd Marquess of Londonderry, to whom history
and poets have not been kind: "Posterity will
ne'er survey/A nobler grave than this/Here lie
the bones of Castlereagh/Stop, traveller, and
piss" (Shelley)