Architecture in Fingal, Dublin

Ardgillan House

A mixture of wild woodland walks, sheltered picnic areas, a fragrant Rose Garden, a restored Walled Garden of herbs, vegetables and fruit and a splendid Victorian Conservatory, the park provides 81 ha (200 acres) of great beauty overlooking the north Dublin coast. The house presides over lands once controlled by the Gaelic O'Caseys and successively owned by the Earls of Tyrconnell, Robert Usher (a Dublin wine merchant) and Robert Taylour, Dean of Clonfert. The Dean built the house, and his family resided here from 1737 until 1960 when the last private owner, Henrick Pott Of Westphalia, bought it.

The gardens are in two main parts, the formal garden to the west of the house and the walled garden to the northwest. In 1983 work began on the replanting of the formal garden using the layout from the Ordnance Survey may of 1865. A wide collection of roses has been planted, from species and old varieties around the perimeter, climbing roses on the pergola and 'Hybrid Ts' and 'Floribundas' in the centre beds.

Ardgillan Castle was built in the 18th century in the Gothic Revival style that is associated with the more romantic style of castle. These types of castles were built by the gentry in peaceful times. Larger multi-paned windows as well as multiple entrances are a feature of this house