Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Galway One Place Study
Location: Kylemore Abbey, County Galway, Ireland
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Galway
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Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Galway One Place Study
Name
Kylemore Abbey (Irish: Mainistir na Coille Móire) Formerly Kylemore Castle.
Geography
- Continent:Europe
- Country: Ireland
- Province: Connacht
- County: Galway
- GPS Coordinates:53.561707, -9.889434
Definition of terms
There are some terms that may or may not be known to the reader of this OPS, The following are defined for reference.
Battlements - Square cutouts near the top of a structure used by soldiers in battle for shooting arrows from.
Bog - A wetland of peat.
Lough - Irish equivalent of a loch.
Overview
It was 'Fairy Tale' romance from start to finish. After all, what women doesn't want to marry a rich man and live in a castle?
After Mitchell Henry (1826-1910) of London married Margaret Vaughan (1829-1874), they had a honeymoon in Connemara at a hunting lodge surrounded by 14,000 acres of woodlands and bog, and sitting at the base of Druchruach Mountain (1,736ft).
Mitchell, being the romantic, told his wife that he was going to build her a castle....and he did.
He bought the lodge and adjacent land from a family named Blake and proceeded to construct a castle for his bride facing Pollacapall Lough and surrounded by mountains and enchanting woodland. He named it Kylemore which originates from the Irish words Coill Mór – meaning Great Wood.
They lived a good lifestyle in the castle for almost 30 years and traveled the world as well, but on a trip to Cairo, Egypt, Margaret contracted an 'Nile Fever' and died. Mitchell had her body returned to Kylemore where he built a Gothic chapel in her honor as well as a small mausoleum where she was interred.
When Mitchell died, he too was interred in the mausoleum, and they were together forever more.
The estate was bought by a Duke in 1903 who eventually lost his fortune to gambling, then the nuns came from Belgium took refuge in England, and later in Co Wexford before the Benedictine Monastery bought Kylemore in 1920 and it became a boarding school. Kylemore was the first Irish Benedictine Abbey in Ireland.
Today, the nuns produce a variety of products sold in the gift store which supports Kylemore operations.
Historical Timeline
Mitchell Henry
1826 - Mitchell Henry (1826-1910) was born in England, the last of nine siblings. He was the son of a wealthy cotton merchant.
1847 -Mitchell attended Pine Street School of Medicine in Manchester and graduated M.R.C.S. He built up a successful medical practice before joining the North London Infirmary of Diseases of the Eye.
1852 - Mitchell married Irish woman Margaret Vaughan (1828-1874) in Dublin Ireland.
1857 - Mitchell became chief surgeon at Middlesex Hospital, and became a 'Fellow' at the Royal College of Surgeons.
1862 - Mitchell's father died and Mitchell gave up his medical practice to take over the family business named A & S Henry.
1863-1868 - Kylemore Castle was built. Margaret laid the foundation stone.
1865-1868 - Mitchell became involved in political circles.
1870 - Head gardener, James Garnier built the first walled garden.
1871-1885 -Mitchell became an MP for County Galway, Ireland.
1874 - Wife Margaret died in Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt, her body was brought back to Kylemore.
1877-1881 - A Gothic Chapel was built nearby the castle. It featured Caen sandstone with internal columns of green Connemara marble.
1900 - Mitchell sold his lavish dwelling in England call 'Stratheden' to Keep Kylemore in operation but finally decided to sell it and move back to England.
William Angus Drogo Montague (1877-1947) the 9th Duke of Manchester
1903 - As a wedding present to his daughter Helena Zimmerman and her new Duke husband, the brides father bought Kylemore and presented it to them.
1914 - The Duke his wife Duchess Helena Zimmerman (1878-1971) lived in the castle for 11 years. But due to gambling debts, their fortune dried up and their other estates had to be sold to keep Kylemore in their possession. Eventually, Kylemore had to be sold as well.
1915 - The Duke went bankrupt and Kylemore became abandoned and run down.
Irish Benedictine Nuns
1920 - The Irish Benedictine Nuns purchased the castle and lands after they were forced to flee Ypres, Belgium during World War I. The castle now became Kylemore Abbey.
1923-2010 - The nuns operated Kylemore as a girls boarding school (Scoil Aine).
1959 - The nuns guest house caught fire and burned down.
1995 - The walled garden is renovated and updated under the direction of the nuns.
2015 - The Abbey formed a partnership with the University of Notre Dame of the US to host academic programs for international students.
2021 - The Kylemore Abbey Biodiversity Stewardship Program commenced and was formed in partnership with the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Galway,which allows students to research the biodiversity of the Kylemore estate.
2022 - Kylemore Abbey was accepted to the English Benedictine Congregation.
Legends of Kylemore
There are several legends associated with Irish mythology in the area around Kylemore such as 'The Battle of the Iron Giants and the Iron Stone'; Liem Na H'elite - The Deers Leap; Pol A Cappal - The Place of the Horse; and the Giants Bed. These stories are available on the above website.
Castle Facts
The castle was designed by architect James Franklin Fuller (1835-1924).
Construction of the castle began in 1867, and took the total of one hundred men and four years to complete. Materials used were granite brought from Dalkey near Dublin by sea to Letterfrack, and of limestone brought from Ballinasloe. White granite from Scotland and green Connemara marble were also used in the construction.
A very distinctive feature are the battlements placed at the top of the structure. In this case the battlements were purely for show and not used for defense.
Cost to build was 18,000 British Pounds
Interior square footage is 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2)
72 Rooms
33 bedrooms
4 Bathrooms
4 Sitting Rooms
Ballroom
Billiard Room
Library
Study
School Room
Smoking Room
Gun Room
Staff Quarters
Walled Victorian Gardens
It covers 6 acres and originally had 21 heated glasshouses for growing exotic fruits and plants which uses a complex system of underground hot-water pipes measuring 1,538 meters (5,000 feet) in length .
Mitchell planted more than 300,000 trees at Kylemore including a variety of exotic and native trees imported from as far away as California and the Mediterranean.
Notable People
Family Search [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]
Mitchell Henry (1826-1910) English Financier, Member of Parliament (MP)
Born: Manchester, Metropolitan Borough of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England
Died: Leamington Spa, Warwick District, Warwickshire, England
Resting Place: Henry Mausoleum, Kylemore Castle/Abbey, Ireland
Bio Summary: Mitchell rented out a good portion of his land at Kylemore to his grateful tenants, and when time got tough (as farmers know all to well) and crops were impacted, he was a very considerate man and gave his tenants a break on the rent during those times.
The following is a quote by Mitchell with regards to his tenants:
“I consider it is the duty of a landlord to share in the unavoidable losses arising from bad years, for which none of us are to blame, and I will therefore allow each of my agricultural tenants the remission of the whole of the present half years rent…I trust that this arrangement will tide us over our difficulties, and I confidently rely on your preventing the accumulation of arrears, which are simply destructive to the happiness and well-being of all concerned” Source: Galway Vindicator, 10 September 1879, p3
Parents: Alexander Henry (1784–1862) and Elizabeth Brush (XXXX-XXXX)
Siblings: Alexander Henry (1812-XXXX), Henry Henry (1812-1812), Agnes Woods Henry (1813-XXXX), Henry Henry (1815-XXXX), Mary Ann Henry (1816-XXXX), Elizabeth Henry (1817-XXXX), Franklin Henry (1818-1840), John Snowden Henry (1824-XXXX),
Spouse: Margaret Vaughan (1829-1874) Married 1849
Issue: John Lewis Vaughn Henry (1850-1904), Margaret Agnes Henry (1852-1940), Ernest Henry (1857-XXXX), Marie Katherine Louise Henry (1858-XXXX), Howard Vaughn Henry (1864-1948), Geraldine Maude Henry (1865-1892) Lorenzo Cecil Vaughn Henry (1866-1965), Violet Vaughn Henry (1868-1958), Florence Vaughn Henry (1870-1952)
James Franklin Fuller (1835-1924) Architect, Novalist
Born: Sneem, County Kerry, Ireland, or Newry, County Down, Ireland
Died: Dublin, Ireland
Resting Place: Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin
Bio Summary: James was the architect for some of Ireland's more well known structure such as Ashford Castle, Parknasilla, Farmleigh, St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, and of course Kylemore Castle. He had about 200 structures to his credit.
He was not only an architect, but Fuller wrote high-Victorian melodramatic novels as well.
He was architect to the Benchers of King's Inns, and to the National Board of Education.
1912 James was appointed assessor to the Ballsbridge Carnegie Library competition.
Parents: Thomas Harnett Fuller (1806-1886) and Frances Diana Bland (1814-1872).
Siblings: Louisa Bland Fuller (1833-1933), Bessie Fuller (1841-1898)
Spouse: Hyacinthe Palmire Helene Guivier (1838-1925) Married 1860
Issue: May Florence Fuller (1861-1897), Franklin Bland Fuller (1863-1862), Harnett John Fuller (1866-1919), Adela Bessie Fuller (1868-1886), Evelyn Melicent Fuller (1870-1958)
William Angus Drogo Montague (1877-1947) the 9th Duke of Manchester
Born: Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, England, United Kingdom
Died: Seaford, Sussex, England, United Kingdom
Resting Place: Unknown
Bio Summary: His wife's father actually bought Kylemore as a wedding present to the 9th Duke and his daughter in 1903.
1877-1890 - Lord Kimbolton
1890 to 1892 - Viscount Mandeville
1892 - Became a Duke at age 15
1905-1907 - Captain of the Yeoman of the Guard and he was also Captain of the Lancashire Fusiliers.
1915 - The Duke went bankrupt and sold off his many properties to keep Kylemore in his possession.
1920 - With the family fortune dried up due to gambling, the Duke had to sell Kylemore.
1931 - The Duke and Helena divorced.
1931 - The Duke married Kathleen Dawes
1946 - Moved family to Kenya’s Happy Valley where he farmed a 10,000-acre estate.
1947 - The Duke died in England.
Parents: George Victor Drogo Montagu (1853-1892) 8th Duke of Manchester and Consuelo Iznaga y Clement (1853-1909)
Siblings: Alice Eleanor Louise Montagu (1879-1900), Jacqueline Mary Alva Montagu (1879-1895)
Spouse Number 1: Helena Zimmerman (1876-1971) from Cincinnati, Ohio. Married 1900
Issue: Mary Alice Montagu (1901-1962), Alexander George Francis Drogo Montagu (1902-1977) (Later 10th Duke of Manchester), Edward Eugene Montagu (1906-1954), Ellen Consuelo Montagu y Zimmermann (1908-1948)
Spouse Number 2: Kathleen Dawes (1897-1966) Married 1931
Issue: None
In the Movies
1952 - The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
2016 - UK cooking show Two Fat Ladies, Series 3 Episode 1 'Benedictine Nuns'.
2020 - RTE's Nationwide TV program to celebrate 100 years of the Benedictine order at the abbey.
2022 - Heaven Made, which follows nuns and monks making traditional gifts for Christmas.
Visiting
Kylemore is open most days of the year for visitation.
Try for a rain free day and enjoy the castle/abbey and all the outdoor attractions that go with it.
It's a lot of walking, but an experience you and your family will never forget.
FYI - The student and Nun accommodations are off limits to all visitors. But there are plenty more interior areas to see.
Sources
- ↑ Goggle; https://www.google.com
- ↑ Irish Tourism; https://www.irishtourism.com
- ↑ Kylemore Abbey; https://www.kylemoreabbey.com
- ↑ Connemara Tourist Information; https://connemara.net
- ↑ Irish Tourism; https://www.irishtourism.com
- ↑ Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org
- ↑ Kylemore Abbey; https://www.kylemoreabbey.com
- ↑ The Planet D; https://theplanetd.com
- ↑ \Five Minute History of Kylemore; https://fiveminutehistory.com
- ↑ Kylemore Abbey; https://www.kylemoreabbey.com
- ↑ Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org
- ↑ Kylemore Abbey; https://www.kylemoreabbey.com
- ↑ Recollections; https://recollections.biz
- ↑ Connemara Tourist Information; https://connemara.net
- ↑ Boston Irish; https://www.bostonirish.com
- ↑ Kylemore Abbey History; https://www.kylemoreabbey.com
- ↑ Dictionary of Irish Architects; https://www.dia.ie/architects
- ↑ Family Search; https://www.familysearch.org
- ↑ Find A Grave; https://www.findagrave.com
- ↑ Wikipedia; https://www.wikipedia.org
- ↑ Henry Poole and Co.; https://henrypoole.com
- ↑ Mitchell family; http://www.mitchell-henry.co.uk
- ↑ Google; https://www.google.com
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