0:00:02 > 0:00:05The story of the buildings of Ulster, is the story of the people
0:00:05 > 0:00:09who have lived on this land and left their mark on its history.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15And here, history has left us with a remarkable legacy of buildings,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18from ancient forts and mighty castles,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22to prestigious public buildings and grand country houses.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40These historic buildings are windows into our past.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44In this series, I'm going to explore some of the most remarkable
0:00:44 > 0:00:46architecture of Ulster,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49tell the stories of the people who created it,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53and see how both buildings and people were shaped by history.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22When King William III defeated James II in the early 1690s, a period
0:01:22 > 0:01:26of relative peace returned to Ireland,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29but a new, dominant society emerged.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33One in which political and economic power was in the hands
0:01:33 > 0:01:37of a minority of overwhelmingly Anglican landowners.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44This was a country for men on the make.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Backed by laws which penalised Presbyterians and Catholics,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51this Protestant elite got its hands on the confiscated
0:01:51 > 0:01:55estates of defeated or exiled Gaelic landowners.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59In Ulster, some of these landlords were getting wealthy by encouraging
0:01:59 > 0:02:01an emerging linen industry.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06They were turning the province into the most prosperous in Ireland.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Before long, these families wanted homes that reflected
0:02:09 > 0:02:13their prestige and their wealth and their political power.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17It was the age of the Protestant ascendancy,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and its main architectural expression was the country house.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31These houses began to appear early in the 18th century,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and by mid-century, the Anglo-Irish were building obsessively.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39After an era of conflict and land grabbing, the owners built
0:02:39 > 0:02:44these houses to express their wealth and social aspirations, and to make
0:02:44 > 0:02:48it clear that they were now part of the Irish landscape,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50here to stay.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01This is Springhill House, near Moneymore in County Londonderry.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03One of the most attractive houses in Ulster.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10The original construction dates back to the late 17th century,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13when it was built by the Conyngham family.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18They were settlers from Ayrshire in Scotland who moved to
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Ulster during the plantation.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29Now, the staircase is absolutely wonderful.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33It is at the heart of the house built by Goodwill Conyngham,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36and there he is, a portrait of Goodwill.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42He married a Miss Anne Upton, from Templepatrick, and Goodwill
0:03:42 > 0:03:47was obliged to build this house as part of their marriage contract.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49This was a sort of prenuptial agreement which
0:03:49 > 0:03:53he signed in 1680, and it obliged him,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58"to erect a convenient dwelling house of lime and stone.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02"Two stories high, with necessary office, houses, gardens
0:04:02 > 0:04:03"and orchards."
0:04:10 > 0:04:14This house was new built in 1689, but Goodwill Conyngham,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17rather than staying here to look after his new home,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20or indeed, after his new wife,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24rushed to Derry to help with its defence during the Great Siege.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29And in the house is a remarkable memento of that siege,
0:04:29 > 0:04:30it's this gun.
0:04:30 > 0:04:37This gun was used from the ramparts of Derry, helping in its defence.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41An incredible piece, the barrel, I should say,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43dates from the siege.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46The rest of the gun was rebuilt in the early 19th century,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49the percussion cap here would have been a flintlock originally,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52but the barrel is sensational.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Look at it, it is so beautiful.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00And it is a long gun, which means, that for the time -
0:05:00 > 0:05:01it's a smoothbore -
0:05:01 > 0:05:05but, for the time, it would have been very accurate indeed,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09somebody would have been on the wall at Derry using this piece to
0:05:09 > 0:05:11snipe at the attackers.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14It's an incredible piece,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19a real monument in this house to the,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21I suppose, Protestant ascendancy
0:05:21 > 0:05:25after the successful defence of Derry.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43Goodwill Conyngham became a member of King William's Supreme Council.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47The Conynghams, or members of the Protestant ascendancy,
0:05:47 > 0:05:53welcomed the peace and political stability that came after 1690.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54It brought them security,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57security to acquire and develop estates
0:05:57 > 0:06:01they already owned, for themselves and their descendants.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06So that houses like this, Springhill, in the 18th century
0:06:06 > 0:06:11developed from modest affairs into things altogether more palatial.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19Two splendid new wings were added when the house was extended in 1765.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29These days, Springhill is cared for by the National Trust,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32and Melanie Marsh is the house steward.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Well, this room is very different to the main body of the house,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40it's lighter, and this, of course, is one of the wings added
0:06:40 > 0:06:42in about 1765 by William,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46who was the grandson of the builder of the house?
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Yes, that's right.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Tell me about him, the third William, William the grandson.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- Yes, we actually know him as Fashionable William...- Ah.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58..and we have a portrait of him just over here in the centre.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01It's this gentleman here, yes.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05So, what sort of character was he, he looks like he is in regimental...
0:07:05 > 0:07:06so he was a military man?
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Yes, he was a military man, he was involved in the Seven Years War,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and he also spent a lot of time travelling around Europe, as well,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15which is how we give him the nickname Fashionable William,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19he loved the grand tours of Europe, and he didn't really want to
0:07:19 > 0:07:22come back to Springhill, so these additions to the house
0:07:22 > 0:07:25were his way of making it suitable for his lifestyle.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29And that is the point, these wings make the house larger,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32look grander, and also more fashionable.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35This is the sort of drawing room one would get in, I suppose,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37in a London house, or in an English country house.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39With this wonderful bay window,
0:07:39 > 0:07:44looking towards the entrance drive, this expresses his aspirations,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47bigger space, bigger house, grander rooms for entertaining.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Of course, this is only one of the wings, I mean, is it paired up with
0:07:50 > 0:07:53one on the other side of the house that looks the same from outside?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56The other one contained another bedroom
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and what was possibly a library,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00and then above the top of that
0:08:00 > 0:08:02would have been the day and night nursery.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Although William never had children, he did actually marry,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and he married a lady called Jean Hamilton.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Her dress is actually here on the bed, here at Springhill,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15and also one from her daughter, Jenny Hamilton, who was, ironically,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18later on also to become the mistress of Springhill.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- How fascinating, so he inherited these stepdaughters through the marriage?- Yes, yes.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23And this is the dress of the wife?
0:08:23 > 0:08:26- And one of the daughters.- Yes.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Now tell me a little more about the daughter.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Jenny Hamilton and her three sisters lived up at Derry, they were
0:08:32 > 0:08:35sent by Fashionable William, their stepfather, to live with his sister,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Anne, and the idea behind that was that they would find suitable
0:08:39 > 0:08:43husbands, not being many available here in Moneymore.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Fashionable William was extravagant, and his relationship
0:08:49 > 0:08:52with his father, George, was somewhat troubled as a result.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Yes, and here's the portrait.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56What an alarming character! Very disapproving.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Not at all like Fashionable William.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02It was actually Fashionable William who got into such debt of a few
0:09:02 > 0:09:05thousand, when the estate was only making a few hundred a year,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08so, obviously very disapproving of his son's activities
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and was writing to him continuously, imploring him
0:09:11 > 0:09:17to come back to Springhill, which he did eventually in his 50s.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20This family history offers a rather fascinating portrait of the
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Protestant ascendancy in Ulster.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25His father builds a house in the 1680s,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28lays down the roots of the family here.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31He, George, builds on that,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35and his son, Fashionable William, squanders it, to a degree.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37He doesn't really want to be here - spend, spend, spend.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Fashionable William was known for his extravagant spending
0:09:41 > 0:09:43which his father despaired of.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45He did intend to settle in the end,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48he just wasn't for doing it for a long period of his life, really.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49DAN LAUGHS
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Fashionable William married late and never fathered an heir,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00so the house eventually passed to his sister's son, George Lenox,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02who adopted the name Lenox-Conyngham.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Like the house's builder, George was also a military man,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and Springhill's military associations would continue.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13In the 20th century,
0:10:13 > 0:10:18it became a focus of activity for the UVF during the Home Rule crisis.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The Lenox-Conyngham family lived here until 1957,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25when they bequeathed the house to the National Trust.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36This is Rosemount House,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40built by another Scottish family at Greyabbey, in County Down,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43on a beautiful site overlooking Strangford Lough.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46In the early 17th century,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50this estate was part of a huge swathe of land acquired by
0:10:50 > 0:10:51Hugh Montgomery,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54a soldier of fortune who had prospered under King James I.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But these good times were not to last.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03The Montgomerys fell foul of Oliver Cromwell when they declared
0:11:03 > 0:11:07their allegiance to Charles II after the end of the Civil War in England.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09This was a near disaster.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13In December 1649, Parliamentary forces crushed
0:11:13 > 0:11:17opposition in Ireland, and the Montgomerys were
0:11:17 > 0:11:22driven into debt and obliged to sell vast tracts of their lands.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26The burden of debt would haunt the family into the next century.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The Rosemount estate was part of the property
0:11:29 > 0:11:33sold by the Montgomerys, but it stayed in the family's hands,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36because it was bought by a cousin, William Montgomery.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39It is his descendants who live in the house today.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47So good to see you.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48Very nice to see you.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51I say, what a wonderful staircase this is.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Well, I absolutely love it, it just seems to float here in the hall.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59The staircase is from, I suppose, the second or third house on the site?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- The third house, yes.- Third, right.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05And probably dates a little bit later -
0:12:05 > 0:12:07that house was built in 1762,
0:12:07 > 0:12:13but, as we will see, the house was altered at the end of that...
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Ah, right. Who designed it? Do you know?
0:12:16 > 0:12:18We just don't know, I think it was probably
0:12:18 > 0:12:23a combination of William Montgomery, who was the builder...
0:12:23 > 0:12:25He was the builder, oh, now,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28here we see William Montgomery now, looking...
0:12:28 > 0:12:31oh, this is rather famous, he's got this sort of letter which was
0:12:31 > 0:12:33meant to have been some kind of bill...
0:12:33 > 0:12:36The final account from the builder, yes,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38hence his slightly less than happy look.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41So, can you tell me more about William?
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Well, he was quite a figure in this part of the county,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48he was MP for Hillsborough,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52and he was also a Justice of the Peace.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57He also, at that time, still owned estates in Scotland where
0:12:57 > 0:13:00what's now Portpatrick was called Port Montgomery.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I'm intrigued, too, by the house that was created,
0:13:05 > 0:13:06either by him, or certainly under
0:13:06 > 0:13:12his control in the 1760s, it's a fine piece of work for that period.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13I think what is interesting,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16is that he was almost certainly his own architect,
0:13:16 > 0:13:21but, what we do see is that the house evolved, I am quite sure
0:13:21 > 0:13:27that this room looked very different when it was first decorated.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Dan, you can see what I was talking about when I said
0:13:35 > 0:13:40how very different the flavour of this room is to the dining room,
0:13:40 > 0:13:46where you have got this very typical Irish, mid-18th century plasterwork.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The family tradition is, they had a house in Dublin
0:13:49 > 0:13:55and they brought the stuccodores from Dublin to carry out this work.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57So, the house evolves during the second half of the 18th century,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00as different members of the family are in control.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05I mean, what happens after the time of William the builder?
0:14:05 > 0:14:10William the builder's son, elder son, was another William,
0:14:10 > 0:14:16and he was killed towards the end of the American War of Independence.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Rather strangely, on the other side, was another Montgomery,
0:14:20 > 0:14:26also from this area, who became a general in Washington's army,
0:14:26 > 0:14:31who died in a failed attempt to capture Quebec from the British.
0:14:31 > 0:14:37- They both died?- Yes.- On different sides. They were cousins.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40And Richard was always known in my family as the rebel general,
0:14:40 > 0:14:45while in America, of course, he's a great national hero.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48You get a Montgomery County in every state in America,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50all called after him.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53- And all related, ultimately, to this house and bit of land.- Yes.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07At the top of the main staircase is a wonderful print marking
0:15:07 > 0:15:12the death in 1776 of cousin Richard during a failed
0:15:12 > 0:15:14attack on British forces in Quebec.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20This Montgomery would become one of America's first national heroes,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23while William Montgomery, the heir of Rosemount,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26slipped quietly into obscurity.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31After William's death in 1781, the house passed to his brother,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33the Reverend Hugh Montgomery.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36He made many improvements to the house when he married
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Emilia Ward, the daughter of the 1st Viscount of Bangor.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Hugh encouraged his new bride to make Rosemount her own.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52The happy marriage, the union of two significant Anglo-Irish families,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54found a magical expression here
0:15:54 > 0:15:56in the gothic marriage room
0:15:56 > 0:15:58that the young couple created together.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40In the late 18th century, the gothic carried certain associations.
0:16:40 > 0:16:47It was cultured, romantic, but also a whiff of decadence.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50This was expressed mostly through the gothic novel,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53but also through architecture.
0:16:53 > 0:17:00So, rooms like this were no simple mute essays on interior decoration.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05They spoke of freedom from convention, of liberty, of sensuality.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Hugh and Emilia were happy together here at Rosemount,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22but outside these walls, Ulster was in turmoil.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31The closing decades of the 18th century were
0:17:31 > 0:17:33marked by political crisis.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41There was Revolution in France, and here in Ireland, a great desire for
0:17:41 > 0:17:46political reform and social change, culminating in the Rebellion of 1798.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53As the United Irishmen took up arms to break the connection with Britain,
0:17:53 > 0:17:58there was fighting in the towns and villages close to this estate.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Although not a United Irishman, Hugh Montgomery was considered as worthy
0:18:03 > 0:18:09of suspicion by at least one powerful Government figure - Robert Stuart.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Stuart, one of Hugh Montgomery's neighbours,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17was given the task of putting down the Rebellion.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20There were executions in this area.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22A Presbyterian minister was
0:18:22 > 0:18:25hanged near the walls of Greyabbey Meeting House...
0:18:26 > 0:18:28..just a short walk from Rosemount House.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Though he took no active part in the Rebellion,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35the shadow of suspicion hung over Hugh Montgomery.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Such suspicions may well have been confirmed two years later,
0:18:40 > 0:18:45when, in 1800, Montgomery refused to support the Act of Union that
0:18:45 > 0:18:50created the United Kingdom and swept away the Irish Parliament.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54That action could have caused great trouble for Montgomery,
0:18:54 > 0:18:59but, despite having a powerful enemy as a neighbour, Robert Stuart,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03the future Foreign Secretary, Montgomery lived out his days
0:19:03 > 0:19:05here at Rosemount in peace,
0:19:05 > 0:19:10dying, as this monument tells us, at the age of 61 in 1815.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24But the Act of Union would have a profound and often devastating
0:19:24 > 0:19:29impact on the lives and fortunes of many of Ulster's landed gentry.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Among them was the ambitious but ill-fated Armar Lowry-Corry,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35the 1st Earl Belmore,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38whose estates were here in County Fermanagh.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Lowry-Corry's intriguing tale is linked to this remarkable house,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Castle Coole.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51This is a statement, a declaration in stone of wealth,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54taste and political power.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57This house says, "The family is here to stay."
0:19:57 > 0:19:59This is the ancestral home, the palace,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02of an Irish political dynasty.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26It's magnificent.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It represents a golden age of Ulster's Protestant ascendancy.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34But I can't help thinking that Lowry-Corry was tempting fate.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41This is Armar Lowry-Corry, the creator of Castle Coole.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Painted in the 1780s, I should think,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49shown in somewhat casual attire, dressed for riding.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50There's his riding crop.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Gosh, he looks confident and pleased with himself.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57He'd have inherited his father's seat as MP for County Tyrone
0:20:57 > 0:20:59in the Irish Parliament in Dublin.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04A position of great value for any Irish landowning family,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09it brought prestige, power, influence and, with a bit of luck,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12wealth and titles for the family itself.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Lowry-Corry also sought advancement through marriage.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20But he was to suffer more than his share of bad luck.
0:21:20 > 0:21:26In 1772, he married the aristocratic Lady Margaret Butler.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28But she died just three years later,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and so two more marriages were to follow.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38Splendid painted portraits of the first wife and of the third wife are
0:21:38 > 0:21:42displayed in the drawing room, but not a portrait of the second wife.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48However, hidden away within Castle Coole is this lovely drawing of her.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Look at that.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Lady Harriet Hobart.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Drawn, this is dated here, in 1780 in Dublin.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59The very year she married Armar.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04And before that year was over, 1780, she'd absconded with another man.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08That, of course, explains why there isn't a portrait of her painted
0:22:08 > 0:22:09and hanging on the wall.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12She wasn't around long enough to be painted.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Lady Harriet seemed the perfect match for his ambitions.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21That marriage brought him the title Lord Belmore and her English
0:22:21 > 0:22:25aristocratic connections should have secured his future.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29But her scandalous affair left Belmore distracted.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35The present Lord Belmore has his own theories about why
0:22:35 > 0:22:38their relationship unravelled in such a spectacular way.
0:22:40 > 0:22:47It was an arranged marriage, but she ran off with Lord Ancram and it
0:22:47 > 0:22:51caused a great scandal at the time, and they had to seek a divorce,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54which in those days meant having your friends
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- push an Act of Parliament through. - That's an astonishing thing.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00So the second marriage, this power marriage, didn't work,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04it falls apart, but then, I suppose rather amazingly,
0:23:04 > 0:23:09as all that happens, he concentrates on the construction of this house,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13- he goes ahead with it as a sort of therapy, I suppose?- Yes.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16The great thing about Armar, who built the house,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19was that you could say he got it right.
0:23:19 > 0:23:25Everyone knows that this house was built as a monument to good taste.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Of course, the quality of the house is astonishing, the design,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31the materials, the execution all outstanding,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and of course the Portland stone that faced it was brought all
0:23:34 > 0:23:36the way here from the south of England.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39It must have cost your ancestor a fortune.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Yes, I think he did his calculations quite well at the beginning, but
0:23:44 > 0:23:51like all ambitious building projects, it just went out of control.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Expense was no concern for Belmore.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59He chartered a brig to bring Portland stone from Dorset
0:23:59 > 0:24:04and constructed a quay at Ballyshannon to ferry it up the Erne.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Castle Coole was the work of two architects.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10The first, Irishman Richard Johnston,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14who conceived the plan for the house and its arrangement of rooms.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17But he was dismissed in favour of the leading English
0:24:17 > 0:24:20architect of the times, James Wyatt.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25The house is considered one of Wyatt's neo-classical masterpieces.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30What's interesting is to look at the Johnston elevation,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34this is of the side of the house with the big bow window in the middle,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36this is really much as built, isn't it?
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Yes, I think under Johnston's plan it was a much softer
0:24:40 > 0:24:42building on the eye.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Wyatt was brought in as a very fashionable English architect
0:24:46 > 0:24:51to really firm up on Johnston's plans.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55You see here the Wyatt version of the same designs.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Wyatt takes the design by Johnston
0:24:58 > 0:25:02but he tricks it out with fashionable neo-classical details.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07It's possible to see it very much as a transplant from England,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10fashionable English architect, in the neo-classical manner.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11There's a fusion, isn't there?
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Because there are these particular Irish characteristics.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20Indeed, the big bay on the centre of this elevation is an Irish idea.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27This magnificent house would be a wonderfully Irish affair, a brilliant
0:25:27 > 0:25:32mix of fashionable neo-classical design with distinctly Irish
0:25:32 > 0:25:34elegance and details,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Such as the staircase, rising magically through space
0:25:37 > 0:25:42and light to a generous top-lit hall, an Irish speciality.
0:25:43 > 0:25:49And at the top of the staircase, in this somewhat shady colonnade,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52lurks a surprise through these doors.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00A wonderful explosion, unexpected, of space and light.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04These vestibules on the first-floor staircases are something
0:26:04 > 0:26:06peculiar to Irish country houses.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10This is a typically Irish space, realised by James Wyatt
0:26:10 > 0:26:15and inspired by the atriums of Roman houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30The breathtaking achievement of Castle Coole reflected
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Belmore's status and his confidence in his own political future.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36But all that was to change
0:26:36 > 0:26:40when the Act of Union did away with the Irish Parliament.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Lord Belmore borrowed heavily to complete Castle Coole
0:26:44 > 0:26:48and to further his influence in the Irish Parliament.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54And then, in 1800, at the stroke of a pen, all was over,
0:26:54 > 0:26:59and his influence and his fortune greatly decreased.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04The consequences for the Earl were, well, catastrophic.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09He became ill, retired to England and died in 1802,
0:27:09 > 0:27:14before he had the chance to live in the wonderful house he'd created.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28Lord Belmore died in debt, to the tune of £133,000,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31a fortune at the time,
0:27:31 > 0:27:3370,000 of which he'd spent on this house.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40His son Somerset, the 2nd Earl, had little understanding
0:27:40 > 0:27:44of the catastrophic reversal of their fortunes after the Act of Union.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48He continued to spend lavishly on furnishing the house,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50virtually bankrupting the family.
0:27:53 > 0:27:59These houses are a testament to the political ambitions, to the ideals
0:27:59 > 0:28:03and the struggles of the families that built them and lived in them.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06And now, even if reduced in number,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10they are Ulster's architectural jewel.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd