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1. The History
Duckett’s grove is located approximately 10 km from Carlow and 9 km from Tullow, Ireland. It was built circa 1830 by William Duckett on his County Carlow estate. Initially he constructed a two-storey Georgian country house in 1818, replacing an earlier manor house from the 1700s, but more ambitious plans saw it transform into a castellated Gothic revival style castle designed by Thomas A. Cobden. This was as a consequence of a number of family marriages into wealthy merchant families. The Georgian features of the initial construction were either removed or hidden and a number of towers and turrets added. Also added were a number of elaborately ornamented with oriels and niches containing statues. At its height the house had a staff of eleven men just to maintain the grounds.
After the death of William Duckett in1908 (the last male in the family line) his second wife Maria remained in the property until circa 1916. The estate was then managed by an agent until 1921 when it was purchased from Maria Duckett by a group of local farmers. Using a £32,000 loan from the Bank of Ireland, they then managed the property under the banner of the Killerig Land Committee until 1925. At that time the Killerig farmers failed to agree on the division of the land and no repayments of interest or capital had been made to the Bank. After the threat that legal action would be taken against them the Land Commission took over the estate, cleared the bank debt, and by 1930 the division of the land was complete. The bank retained the mansion and eleven acres of land, which was then sold in 1931 to Frederick George Thompson for £320.
The lodge back in its heyday:
Duckett's Grove by HughieDW, on Flickr
A fire destroyed Duckett’s Grove mansion on the night of the 20th of April, 1933, reducing County Carlow’s finest mock-gothic mansion to a ruin. Mrs. Maria Georgina Duckett died four years later in 1937. Her only daughter Olive had been disinherited with what was known in such wills as “the angry shilling”. The estate was valued at £97,735. In 1939 a court case in Dublin decided after a12-day hearing that Olive should get interest for life on £7,000, with the capital to revert back into the estate after her death. The remainder went to charities and in legal fees. The house and immediate estate lay abandoned until in September 2005, Carlow County Council acquired it and restored the two inter-connecting walled gardens. They were officially opened in September 2007 for use as a public park.
2. The Explore
My last report from my Irish hols was the first stop when we broke our journey on the long drive from Dublin to Dungarvan. Duckett’s Grove rises out of the landscape and the place is a real stunner of a house. Sadly though, it’s just a shell now with nothing to see inside apart from bare walls and the many RSJs that hold it together. Most of the statues in the oriels and niches have been half-inched but there’s still a number of external features to hold your attention for half-an-hour. The gatehouse down the road is also pretty tidy.
3. The Pictures
The views on the approach are pretty stunning, even in dull Irish weather:
Ducketts 08 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Ducketts 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Corner tower:
Ducketts 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4864 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And the inside:
Ducketts 06 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And another:
Ducketts 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr
More bare walls:
Ducketts 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4850bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some of those many RSJs:
Ducketts 01 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4844 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And some more:
img4849 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some surviving carvings:
img4866bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4853 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And someone who’s lost their head:
img4865 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4862bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4859 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4855 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4840bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
Finally, the gatehouse down the road:
Ducketts 09 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Ducketts 10 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Ducketts 12 by HughieDW, on Flickr
On the crest it says “Spectemur Agendo” which is a Latin motto meaning “Let us be judged by our acts”:
Ducketts 11 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Duckett’s grove is located approximately 10 km from Carlow and 9 km from Tullow, Ireland. It was built circa 1830 by William Duckett on his County Carlow estate. Initially he constructed a two-storey Georgian country house in 1818, replacing an earlier manor house from the 1700s, but more ambitious plans saw it transform into a castellated Gothic revival style castle designed by Thomas A. Cobden. This was as a consequence of a number of family marriages into wealthy merchant families. The Georgian features of the initial construction were either removed or hidden and a number of towers and turrets added. Also added were a number of elaborately ornamented with oriels and niches containing statues. At its height the house had a staff of eleven men just to maintain the grounds.
After the death of William Duckett in1908 (the last male in the family line) his second wife Maria remained in the property until circa 1916. The estate was then managed by an agent until 1921 when it was purchased from Maria Duckett by a group of local farmers. Using a £32,000 loan from the Bank of Ireland, they then managed the property under the banner of the Killerig Land Committee until 1925. At that time the Killerig farmers failed to agree on the division of the land and no repayments of interest or capital had been made to the Bank. After the threat that legal action would be taken against them the Land Commission took over the estate, cleared the bank debt, and by 1930 the division of the land was complete. The bank retained the mansion and eleven acres of land, which was then sold in 1931 to Frederick George Thompson for £320.
The lodge back in its heyday:
Duckett's Grove by HughieDW, on FlickrA fire destroyed Duckett’s Grove mansion on the night of the 20th of April, 1933, reducing County Carlow’s finest mock-gothic mansion to a ruin. Mrs. Maria Georgina Duckett died four years later in 1937. Her only daughter Olive had been disinherited with what was known in such wills as “the angry shilling”. The estate was valued at £97,735. In 1939 a court case in Dublin decided after a12-day hearing that Olive should get interest for life on £7,000, with the capital to revert back into the estate after her death. The remainder went to charities and in legal fees. The house and immediate estate lay abandoned until in September 2005, Carlow County Council acquired it and restored the two inter-connecting walled gardens. They were officially opened in September 2007 for use as a public park.
2. The Explore
My last report from my Irish hols was the first stop when we broke our journey on the long drive from Dublin to Dungarvan. Duckett’s Grove rises out of the landscape and the place is a real stunner of a house. Sadly though, it’s just a shell now with nothing to see inside apart from bare walls and the many RSJs that hold it together. Most of the statues in the oriels and niches have been half-inched but there’s still a number of external features to hold your attention for half-an-hour. The gatehouse down the road is also pretty tidy.
3. The Pictures
The views on the approach are pretty stunning, even in dull Irish weather:
Ducketts 08 by HughieDW, on FlickrDucketts 04 by HughieDW, on FlickrCorner tower:
Ducketts 07 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4864 by HughieDW, on FlickrAnd the inside:
Ducketts 06 by HughieDW, on FlickrAnd another:
Ducketts 02 by HughieDW, on FlickrMore bare walls:
Ducketts 03 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4850bw by HughieDW, on FlickrSome of those many RSJs:
Ducketts 01 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4844 by HughieDW, on FlickrAnd some more:
img4849 by HughieDW, on FlickrSome surviving carvings:
img4866bw by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4853 by HughieDW, on FlickrAnd someone who’s lost their head:
img4865 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4862bw by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4859 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4855 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg4840bw by HughieDW, on FlickrFinally, the gatehouse down the road:
Ducketts 09 by HughieDW, on FlickrDucketts 10 by HughieDW, on FlickrDucketts 12 by HughieDW, on FlickrOn the crest it says “Spectemur Agendo” which is a Latin motto meaning “Let us be judged by our acts”:
Ducketts 11 by HughieDW, on Flickr
