- Stately home built for the Earls of Belmore, reputed to be one of the finest "great houses".
- Tour of house discloses original period funiture and decorations.
- "Hidden" estate buildings and servants' tunnel create a surrealistic feeling.
- House tours can be booked up fast at peak times.
- Castle Coole was built in 1798 as a summer house for the First Earl of Belmont by James Wyatt.
- Interior decorations were provided by Westmacott, Rose and Bartoli.
- The state bedroom was designed for George IV in 1821 - but remains unused because the king never made it to Castle Coole.
- Castle Coole is owned by the National Trust, but the Belmont family still uses part of the building.
False doors are a feature of Castle Coole - constructed to the Georgian ideal of perfect symmetry, bordering on the obsessive-compulsive, everything had to be done in pairs or mirror-image. And Castle Coole was built to impress ... from the austere, square entrance hall to the sumptuous, oval ballroom.
Obviously this perfection could not be allowed to be disturbed by underlings, so instead of the usual backdoor a tunnel was constructed for servants and tradesmen. Walking up from the almost hidden working estate buildings must gave seemed like Jean Valjean's voyage through the sewers of Paris at times. An aspect of life in the "great house" one conveniently forgets these days.
Especially if one is taken on a tour like this, including
- the library, the men's domain and the hub of business,
- the state room, where only heads of state and monarchs sleep (unused to this day),
- Lady Belmore's room, complete with nursery toys (fourteen children made a conversion of the original nursery into bedrooms necessary) or
- the ballroom, where even furniture and doors had to fit the oval layout.
Special Recommendation
If you can, catch one of the rare basement tours, offered only once or twice each year. This will show you how the up to thirty servants lived and worked. And despite the rather run-down state of the basement it is fascinating.
