Abbeyleix House, sometimes called Abbeyleix Castle, is an Irish country house that was the residence of the Viscounts de Vesci in County Laois, Ireland. It was designed by architect James Wyatt and built by Sir William Chambers in 1773. The de Vesci family lived at Abbeyleix House until it was sold in the mid-1990s. Abbeyleix is the oldest planned estate town in Ireland.[1]
| Abbeyleix House | |
|---|---|
 Abbeyleix House in the 1980s | |
  | |
| General information | |
| Status | Private dwelling house |
| Type | House |
| Architectural style | Georgian, Classical |
| Address | Abbeyleix, County Laois |
| Town or city | Abbeyleix |
| Country | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°53′46″N 7°22′30″W / 52.8962°N 7.3750°W |
| Elevation | 100 m (330 ft) |
| Groundbreaking | 1773 |
| Owner | John Collison |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Originally brick front and later rendered over |
| Floor count | 4 |
| Floor area | 2,500 m2 (27,000 sq ft) |
| Grounds | 453.24 ha (1,120.0 acres) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | James Wyatt and Sir William Chambers |
| Developer | DeVesci Family |
History
editThe house was near the original Abbeyleix, that was built by the O'Mores near the River Nore where there was a Cistercian Monastery, founded in 1183. On the dissolution of the monasteries, 1,500 acres (610 ha) of land were granted to the 10th Earl of Ormond. In 1675, Denny Muschamp, a wealthy landowner, bought the old abbey lands, these were inherited in 1699 by his daughter, who married Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet, who moved to Abbeyleix when he was created a baronet. In 1770, their grandson Thomas Vesey, 2nd Baron Knapton – later, in 1776, created Viscount de Vesci – commissioned the English architect James Wyatt to build him a new house in an elevated position.[2] The area was prone to flooding and de Vesci, wishing to improve the view from his new mansion, relocated the dwellings of his estate workers and tenants to a new site farther east on higher ground alongside the coach road, as a planned estate town, with the estate and mansion 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the southwest of the town.[3][4]
Recently owned and restored by the businessman Sir David Davies, Abbey Leix House and estate was placed on the market in 2019, continuing into 2020, for a region of €20 million.[5] In June 2021, John Collison purchased the estate for a sum in the region of the advertised €11.5 million.[6]
The property
editThe large rectangular, three-storey house, with 117 windows, is considered to be one of the finest in Ireland. The property includes 1,000 acres (400 ha) of grounds, including walled gardens and farmland, and ten estate houses and cottages.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Heritage House Abbeyleix | Museum, Research and Model Railway". www.abbeyleixheritage.com. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "A brief history". Heritage House, Abbeyleix. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Gerrard, David (2004). The Hidden Places of Ireland. Travel Publishing Ltd. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-1-904434-10-8.
- ^ "Abbeyleix – Why Build a New Town". Heritage House, Abbeyleix. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "A Wyatt Wonder". The Steeple Times. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Stripe co-founder paid €11.5m for house on 1,120-acre Abbeyleix estate". independent. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "117 windows, 1,000 acres: banker cashing in on palatial Laois home". The Irish Times. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.