The Clifden Castle was built in 1818 for John D’Arcy the founder of Clifden. The Gothic Revival Style castle was the main living place for the D’Arcy family. The land surrounding the castle was the first drained and reclaimed by John D’Arcy in the Clifden area.Clifden Castle was built with fantastic features in the early 1800′s including an entry tower with two round turrets, a rounded tower to the southeast, and a square tower. The estate faces south and overlooks Clifden Bay. On the lands of the manor house to the west, there was a large enclosed farmyard, which included the worker’s cottages, stable, grain store, and coachhouse. Next to that was a walled garden, with a pond and a well near there. Also on the Demesne are the remains of a ‘marine temple’ made of sea shells on the stream to the east of the Castle. There is a large gateway on the property, built in 1815 in medieval style. D’Arcy had erected several standing stone on the property, four of which remain along the winding path between the gateway and Clifden Castle today. One stone is believed to be a genuine prehistoric worked stone, brought in from another place, but no one knows for sure. When the Eyre Family bought the estate 1850 some additional features were added including a new thatched roof, and other decorative features which can be seen in the dilapidated manor today. This also added a children’s graveyard to the north, originally for the 3 Eyre children who died in the 1880′s.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:56:50 +0000
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