DiCamillo Companion
Ireland

Hope Castle (Blayney Castle)

Castleblayney

Co. Monaghan

Ireland

Circa Date: 1780s w/19th, 20th & 21st century alterations and additions

Status: Fully Extant

House Open to Public: No

Country House: Yes

crown

The Hope Diamond from an 1866 issue of "Harper's New Monthly Magazine"

Evalyn Walsh McLean wearing the Hope Diamond in a 1915 photograph

  • Earlier Houses: There was at least one earlier house on, or near, the site of the current house.

    Built / Designed For: 10th Baron Blayney

    House & Family History: From 1900 until 1904 Hope Castle was the home of the 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Queen Victoria's son), commander of British Forces in Ireland. Between 1919 and 1921 the castle was used by the British government as a military barracks during the Irish War of Independence. From 1932 until 1937 Hope Castle served as Monaghan County Hospital. In 1942 the house was repurposed as a Franciscan convent, a use it served until the 1970s. For the first part of the 21st century Hope Castle was a hotel, a use that ended in 2010, when the house was seriously damaged by fire.

    Collections: During the ownership of Henry Thomas Hope in the mid-19th century, Hope Castle (a name given to Blayney Castle by H.T. Hope), the house was the home of the famous Hope Diamond (see "Images" section), the largest deep blue diamond in the world. The contents of the castle were sold in 1926.

  • Garden & Outbuildings: One of Hope Castle's gatehouses was converted into the Castleblayney public library in 2023.

  • Architect: Robert A. Woodgate

    Date: Circa 1800
    Designed: Alterations

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  • Title: Guide to Irish Country Houses, A
    Author: Bence-Jones, Mark
    Year Published: 1988
    Reference: pgs. 43-44
    Publisher: London: Constable and Company
    ISBN: 0094699909
    Book Type: Hardback

  • House Listed: Unknown

    Park Listed: Unknown

  • Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: Edward Blayney, 1st Baron Blayney, until 1629; Henry Blayney, 2nd Baron Blayney, 1629-46; Edward Blayney, 3rd Baron Blayney, 1646-69; Richard Blayney, 4th Baron Blayney, 1669-70; Henry Vincent Blayney, 5th Baron Blayney, 1670-89; William Blayney, 6th Baron Blayney, 1689-1705; Cadwallader Blayney, 7th Baron Blayney, 1705-32; Charles Talbot Blayney, 8th Baron Blayney, 1732-61; Cadwallader Blayney, 9th Baron Blayney, 1761-75; Cadwallader Davis Blayney, 10th Baron Blayney, 1775-80. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Cadwallader Blayney, 10th Baron Blayney, 1780-84; Lieutenant General Andrew Thomas Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney, 1784-1834; Cadwallader Davis Blayney, 12th Baron Blayney, 1834-53. Henry Thomas Hope, 1853-62. Henry Pelham Alexander Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, 1862-79. HRH Field Marshal The 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (as tenant), 1900-04.

    Current Ownership Type: Corporation

    Primary Current Ownership Use: Unoccupied

  • House Open to Public: No

    Historic Houses Member: No

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