On Friday 1 of August we visited Castletown House in Cellbridge, the eighteenth-century Palladian house built by Speaker William Conolly. The house and parkland are really stunning. The house was preserved thanks to the efforts of Desmond Guinness and the Castletown Trust. The OPW took over the house in the 1990s and undertook an extensive restoration project. The tour was a fantastic insight into to the life of one of Ireland’s wealthiest eighteenth century families, but also told of the decline of the family.
As well as undertaking the tour we got to roam around the wonderful gardens and we even spotted a hedgehog! We also managed to get our first full class photo (complete with coordinators).
The photos supplied here were taken by our class photographer, Brian Matthews.
Cultural and Heritage Studies Course at the National Print Museum 