Castle Gurteen de la Poer

Gurteen de la Poer, or Gurteen le Poer, is a monumental Elizabethan Revival house of national importance in Ireland,[1] situated in County Waterford on the south bank of the River Suir, close to Kilsheelan and about 8 km east of Clonmel.

Castle Gurteen de la Poer


This estate belonged to the de la Poers, an Anglo-Norman family whose staunch devotion to the Roman Catholic Church led to their eventual expulsion from the Protestant English establishment.[2]

Count Edmund de la Poer, 18th Lord le Poer and Curraghmore, a Knight of Malta and Private Chamberlain to Pope Pius X, commenced the building of the present castle in 1863 to replace an earlier house which itself replaced an earlier house again.[3]

The large Barional house was designed by Samuel Ussher Roberts (1821-1900),[4] great-grandson of the famous 18th century Waterford architect John Roberts.[5] The design of Castle Gurteen was probably influenced by Scottish architect William Burn, an important architect for Tudor-Baronial mansions in Britain.

Architecture

The tower gives air to the entrance front, which faces across a forecourt of castled walls. The interior of Gurteen is spacious and in the centre of the house is a top lit great hall with a gallery, divided by a screen of Gothic arches behind which is a staircase.

Castle Gurteen de la Poer, Winter 2015

There are similar arches in the first floor gallery, which like the staircase, has a balustrade of wrought Iron. The library which is lined with bookcases has deep red walls and the drawing room and ballroom open into each other along the garden front.

The dining room, on the other side of the hall, is one of the most perfect Victorian Baronial interiors in Ireland. The walls are faded red, above a dado of warm brown oak paneling. The chimney piece, of carved oak, is the Piece De resistance, heraldic angels holding shields of the family arms, and its head of St. Hubert's Stag - the family crest - complete with antlers and crucifix mounted on top of the mantle shelf.[3]

History

The le Poer family claims descent from Sir Robert De Poer, who, it is said, came to Ireland with Strongbow, A.D. 1172. King Henry II of England, who, by charter, granted unto the said Robert the City of Waterford, with "the whole province thereabouts;" and made him marshal of Ireland.[6]

Count Edmund de la Poer, 18th Lord le Poer and Curraghmore, (1841-1915) who commissioned the building of Castle Gurteen de la Poer in 1863, was created 1st Count de la Poer [Papal States] in 1864. The Count was High Sheriff of County Waterford in 1879; Private Chamberlain to HH Pope Pius IX; HM Lord-Lieutenant for the County and city of Waterford, 1909.

His 2nd son, John William Rivallon, JP, 19th Baron and 2nd Count (1882-1939) was High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1913. In 1922, he claimed the barony of Le Poer and Curraghmore, and Committee of Privileges of House of Lords decided that but for the attainder of John Power in 1691, the claim had been established.

His eldest son, Edmond Robert Arnold, 20th Baron and 3rd Count succeeded to the title of 20th Baron le Power and Curraghmore in 1939. He sold Castle Gurteen in 1979 but retained the right to live in the West Wing of the castle. He died on 20 November 1995 at age 84.

Gottfried Helnwein

In 1998, artist Gottfried Helnwein purchased Castle Gurteen and began extensive restoration work of the castle and the gardens. He lives and works there now with his family.
Since then the castle has played host to many notable guests, including: Sean Penn,[7] Sir Ben Kingsley,[8][9][10] Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber,[11] Marilyn Manson,[12] Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley,[13][14] Beck,[15][16] Michael Flatley,[17] William S. Farish, American Ambassador to Great Britain,[18] Antje Vollmer, Speaker of German Parliament,[19] Sir James R. Mancham, former President of the Republic of Seychelles,[20] Hans Janitschek, President of the United Nations Society of Writers and former Secretary General of the Socialist International and others.

On 3 December 2005, Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese were married in a private, non-denominational ceremony at Helnwein's castle. The wedding was officiated by surrealist film director Alejandro Jodorowsky, Gottfried Helnwein was best man.The wedding pictures appeared in the March 2006 edition of Vogue under the heading "The Bride Wore Purple".[21]

In December 2014 The New York Times featured a 3 page-article about the Helnwein family at Castle Gurteen de la Poer.[22]

Publications

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Gurteen Le Poer, County Waterford: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage".
  2. ↑ Irish Tatler, Helnwein's Castle, County Tipperary, Ireland - The Austrian Firestarter, Turtle Bunbury, 2002
  3. 1 2 A Guide to Irish Country Houses, Mark Bence-Jones, Constable, London, 1978
  4. ↑ Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940
  5. ↑ Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940
  6. ↑ "Power (No.1) family pedigree".
  7. ↑ Gottfried Helnwein website, Biography, www.gottfriedhelnwein.ie
  8. ↑ In the Valley Near Slievenamon, Social & Personal, Sasfi Hope-Ross, 2008
  9. ↑ www.gottfriedhelnwein.ie
  10. ↑ www.gottfriedhelnwein.ie
  11. ↑ www.helnwein.com
  12. ↑ The Manson family wedding in gothic Waterford, www.independent.ie, 2005
  13. ↑ Presleys Irish New Year Bash, The Irish Sun, Eoin Murphy, 2006
  14. ↑ www.helnwein.com
  15. ↑ Artist's Impression, Irish Tatler, Turtle Bunbury, 2002
  16. ↑ www.helnwein.com
  17. ↑ www.gottfriedhelnwein.ie
  18. ↑ www.helnwein.com
  19. ↑ www.helnwein.com
  20. ↑ www.helnwein.com
  21. ↑ VOGUE,The Bride Wore Purple, Hamish Bowles, 2006
  22. ↑ New York Times, The Helnweins will see you now, Nicholas Haramis, 2014

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.