Strokestown Park
Encyclopedia
Strokestown Park House is a Palladian villa in Strokestown
, County Roscommon
set on approx. 300 acres.
The entrance leads directly from the village of Strokestown reputedly one of the widest streets in Ireland
(along with O'Connell Street
, Dublin and Main Street, Templemore
). The house is open to the public all year round, as is the Famine Museum on the grounds.(website)
, put together from the later seventeenth century as a result of land acquisitions by Captain Nicholas Mahon around 1660. Later, his great-grandson, Maurice Mahon, purchased several additional lands, following elevation to the Peerage of Ireland
as the first Baron Hartland
in 1800. After the assassination of Major Denis Mahon in November 1847, at the height of the Famine, his only daughter, Grace Catherine, vowed never to return to her ancestral seat. She was on honeymoon at the time, having been married only weeks earlier, to Henry Sandford Pakenham, son of Dean Henry Pakenham of Tullynally, and heir to the vast Pakenham and Sandford estates in counties Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon. Grace Catherine never returned to Strokestown, but her marriage undoubtedly saved the estate from bankruptcy. On the eve of the Famine, the estate was in debt with over £30,000 having accrued as a result of family settlements and expensive land purchases which had gathered from the second half of the eighteenth century. The marriage alliance (by which Henry Sandford Pakenham assumed the additional surname of Mahon), united the estates of both families to comprise over 26,000 acres, and the Strokestown estate remained one of the largest in Roscommon until his death in 1893. The Pakenham fortune also enabled large scale investment in various estate improvement projects on the Strokestown estate, including drainage, turf cutting and agricultural schemes, development of the urban market in the town of Strokestown, and assisted emigration of tenant families to the United States.
Since then, Strokestown Park has been owned by a Roscommon based company, the Westward Group which has restored the house and gardens using largely original furnishings. The 2ha walled pleasure garden was officially opened in 1997 by the President of Ireland
, Mary Robinson
, having been faithfully restored to its original splendour with the assistance of an ERDF grant through the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Programme and a FAS scheme.
Strokestown
Strokestown, historically called Bellanamullia and Bellanamully , is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N5 National primary route and the R368 regional road in the north of the county....
, County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
set on approx. 300 acres.
The entrance leads directly from the village of Strokestown reputedly one of the widest streets in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
(along with O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street is Dublin's main thoroughfare. It measures 49 m in width at its southern end, 46 m at the north, and is 500 m in length...
, Dublin and Main Street, Templemore
Templemore
Templemore is a town in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea....
). The house is open to the public all year round, as is the Famine Museum on the grounds.(website)
The House and gardens
The house was the family home of the Cromwellian "adventurer" family - the Pakenham Mahon's - from the 1600s until 1979. By the early eighteenth century, the estate comprised over 11,000 acres, scattered throughout north east RoscommonCounty Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
, put together from the later seventeenth century as a result of land acquisitions by Captain Nicholas Mahon around 1660. Later, his great-grandson, Maurice Mahon, purchased several additional lands, following elevation to the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
as the first Baron Hartland
Baron Hartland
Baron Hartland, of Stroketown in the County of Roscommon, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 30 July 1800 for Maurice Mahon, who had earlier represented County Roscommon in the Irish House of Commons. He was the son of Thomas Mahon, who also represented this constituency in...
in 1800. After the assassination of Major Denis Mahon in November 1847, at the height of the Famine, his only daughter, Grace Catherine, vowed never to return to her ancestral seat. She was on honeymoon at the time, having been married only weeks earlier, to Henry Sandford Pakenham, son of Dean Henry Pakenham of Tullynally, and heir to the vast Pakenham and Sandford estates in counties Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon. Grace Catherine never returned to Strokestown, but her marriage undoubtedly saved the estate from bankruptcy. On the eve of the Famine, the estate was in debt with over £30,000 having accrued as a result of family settlements and expensive land purchases which had gathered from the second half of the eighteenth century. The marriage alliance (by which Henry Sandford Pakenham assumed the additional surname of Mahon), united the estates of both families to comprise over 26,000 acres, and the Strokestown estate remained one of the largest in Roscommon until his death in 1893. The Pakenham fortune also enabled large scale investment in various estate improvement projects on the Strokestown estate, including drainage, turf cutting and agricultural schemes, development of the urban market in the town of Strokestown, and assisted emigration of tenant families to the United States.
Since then, Strokestown Park has been owned by a Roscommon based company, the Westward Group which has restored the house and gardens using largely original furnishings. The 2ha walled pleasure garden was officially opened in 1997 by the President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
, Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
, having been faithfully restored to its original splendour with the assistance of an ERDF grant through the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Programme and a FAS scheme.