- Ducketts Grove
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Duckett's Grove is ruins of the 18th-, 19th- and early 20th-century home of the Duckett family, which was formerly at the centre of a 12,000-acre (49 km2) estate, that has dominated the landscape of Carlow, Ireland for over 300 years.
Contents
History
Duckett's Grove was built in 1830 by William Duckett in an estate covering more than 5,000 acres (20 km2) of the Carlow countryside. It was designed in a Castellated Gothic revival style by Thomas A. Cobden for John Davidson Duckett circa 1825. The building incorporates numerous towers and turrets of varying shapes – round, square and octagonal. One tall octagonal turret rises from the structure. Duckett’s Grove is elaborately ornamented with oriels and niches containing statues. Several statues on pedestals surrounded the building and lined the approaches.
The house itself is situated in the townland of Rainstown, between Carlow and Tullow but the estate comprised several large townlands and parts of others. Following the departure of the Ducketts the estate was managed by an agent until 1921 then by local farmers and later by the Land Commission. The division of the lands was completed by 1930. Duckett’s Grove was destroyed by fire in April 1933 but the cause of the fire has not been determined.[1]
Current use
In September 2005, Carlow county council acquired Duckett’s Grove and commenced with the restoration of two inter-connecting walled gardens. It was officially opened in September 2007 for use as a public park.[2]
The first of the gardens, The Upper Walled Garden, has been planted with historical varieties of shrub roses and a collection of Chinese and Japanese peonies. It is mainly planted with flowering shrubs including Echium, Watsonia, Acanthus, Jovellana, Daphniphyllum, Acradenia, Arbutus, Cornus, Iris, Eryngium, Beschorneria, Euporbia and ornamental bananas.
The second garden, the Lower Walled Garden, which was once the site of the family old orchard, now contains a variety of fruits, including figs and historical varieties of Irish apples. The borders were planted to contain a variety of shrubs and perennials.[3]
On March 17th 2011, Duckett’s Grove was featured in an episode of SyFy's show "Destination Truth" during a 4 hour live investigation special to find out if the ruins are haunted by a Banshee Ghost.References
External links
Categories:- Carlow, County Carlow
- Buildings and structures in County Carlow
- Gardens in County Carlow
- Reportedly haunted locations in Ireland
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