Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland

Ashford Castle is a mainly Victorian and medieval castle near Cong on the County Mayo–Galway border in Ireland. The castle has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star hotel.

A castle was built on the perimeter of a monastic site in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke. In 1589, the castle fell to Bingham, who added a fortified enclave within its precincts. Dominick Browne, of the Browne family (Baron Oranmore and Browne), received the estate in a Royal Grant in either 1670 or 1678. In 1715, the estate of Ashford was established by the Browne family and a hunting lodge in the style of a 17th-century French chateau was constructed. The double-headed eagles still visible on the roof represent the coat of arms of the Brownes.

The estate was purchased in 1852 by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness. He added two large Victorian style extensions. He also extended the estate to 26,000 acres, built new roads and planted thousands of trees. On Sir Benjamin's death in 1868, the estate passed to his son Lord Ardilaun, who expanded the building further in the neogothic style.

Lord Ardilaun was an avid gardener who oversaw the development of massive woodlands and rebuilt the entire west wing of the castle, designed by architects James Franklin Fuller and George Ashlin. The new construction connected the early 18th-century part in the east with two de-Burgo-time towers in the west. Battlements were added to the whole castle.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Jeana Coker (2 months ago)
Most amazing place I have ever visited! Service was spectacular! The castle was beautiful! The rooms were beautifully decorated with so many details! Check out the Falconry, we had a great morning with Hazelnut and Acorn flying around!

Susan Walsh (2 months ago)
Beautiful castle - and it IS a castle. Fantastic service. Our room was absolutely beautiful - we had paid for an upgrade. Lovely grounds for walks, also activities available. We had great fun clay pigeon shooting. Very comfortable and inviting social rooms within the castle, including reading room and reading areas, bar, fab afternoon tea room, snooker table room. FAB cosy cinema. Amazing photos hanging everywhere of past who's who guests. Great choice of restaurants. Breakfast is decadent. Can't recommend enough, a real treat.

Sredna (3 months ago)
Amazing!! If you love castles this is a must see! We booked the tea room and walked around the extensive grounds after. You can walk for hours to see the gardens, fountains, forest, and nearby river. Lots to see and explore, it was magical too on a foggy day

Vanne Narvaez (3 months ago)
The word to describe Ashford Castle is EXQUISITE!, I enjoyed the afternoon tea during my visit over Ireland, and it was delicious, as a vegan person I was pretty pleased to find a complete vegan menu including deserts in their beautiful food . The rooms are classy and conserve the history of the castle, the food is incredible (I had the vegan menu and my partner had the regular one), we had the champagne tasting and I also recommend it, the service is excellent, they are always helpful and attentive. If you are going just for the afternoon tea, you are also able to visit the beautiful gardens and the little coffee shop closed to the parking spot. But if you are planing to stay it’s so much better. The castle is so beautiful and offers the experience to stay in a historical mansion. I hope to visit back soon.

Dakota Johnson (5 months ago)
What was there not to like about this place. Stunning castle, friendly staff, amazing food. The castle grounds are beautiful. The room and bathroom were perfectly cozy, accommodating, high tech making for a beautiful blend of modern with an old world charm. Highly recommend doing a hawk walk. Was such a magical experience!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Klearchos Kapoutsis

Historic Site of the week

Beckov Castle

The Beckov castle stands on a steep 50 m tall rock in the village Beckov. The dominance of the rock and impression of invincibility it gaves, challenged our ancestors to make use of these assets. The result is a remarkable harmony between the natural setting and architecture.

The castle first mentioned in 1200 was originally owned by the King and later, at the end of the 13th century it fell in hands of Matúš Èák. Its owners alternated - at the end of the 14th century the family of Stibor of Stiborice bought it.

The next owners, the Bánffys who adapted the Gothic castle to the Renaissance residence, improved its fortifications preventing the Turks from conquering it at the end of the 16th century. When Bánffys died out, the castle was owned by several noble families. It fell in decay after fire in 1729.

The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.

Ashford Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Beckov Castle