Castle Coole

The Castle Coole estate was purchased in 1656 by the Belfast merchant John Corry, grandfather of the 1st Earl Belmore. The estate is named for Lough Coole (from Irish Gaelic cúil, 'seclusion'), a lake surrounded by the Killynure hills. A ráth here and a crannog in Lough Coole itself are reminders that the area has been settled since prehistoric times. Other lakes on the estate include Lough Yoan and Brendrum Lough. The site of a 17th-century house and bawn and formal garden at Castle Coole (grid ref: H2574 4333) are Scheduled Historic Monuments. Castle Coole was constructed between 1789 and 1798 as the summer retreat of Armar Lowry-Corry, 1st Earl Belmore. Lord Belmore was the Member of…

Neo-classical in architectural style, Castle Coole was the work of two Georgian period architects who did not collaborate. Richard Johnston, an Irish architect, was initially commissioned and completed the basement. Johnston was dismissed in favour of the popular and fashionable English architect James Wyatt, who, rather than starting afresh, began where Johnston left off and completed the mansion on the same footprint. Wyatt adhered closely to the Neo-classical ideal of restraint, symmetry and meticulous proportions, with architectural features carefully scaled. An Ionic portico and flanking Doric colonnaded wings extend either end of the main block of the house. Wyatt probably never…