carrigglas manor

This romantic Tudor Gothic house designed by Daniel Robertson looks like the perfect setting for an early 19th century novel. And indeed there is a literary connection, apart from its geographical location in Maria Edgeworth and Oliver Goldsmith's Country. An earlier house belonging to the banking Newcomen family was rebuilt by Daniel Robertson for Thomas Lefroy, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1837. Handsome young Thomas Lefroy had become an inamorato of Jane Austen when he was studying in England. It is thought that Mr Darcy in 'Pride and Prejudice' was modelled on Thomas, and whether or not he broke Jane's heart she never married. The beautifully restored interiors of the house have some charming plasterwork ceilings, featuring grapes and vines - the symbol of a good table - in the diningroom, oak leaves for wisdom in the library, and roses and lillies in the drawingroom. The magnificent stableyard designed by James Gandon in 1790 (architect of the Custom House and Four Courts), is the only surviving example of his agricultural work and houses a fascinating costume and lace museum, a charming tea room and Victorian gift shop, and three self-catering apartments.