Dromana
- Clasificación
- Casona
- País
- Irlanda
- Región
- County Waterford
- Dirección
- Dromana, Villierstown, Cappoquin
- Época / estilo
- Early 18th-century with Georgian additions (c.1780)
The medieval castle of Dromana occupied a spectacular defensive site on the edge of a cliff above the wooded valley of the River Blackwater a few miles downstream from Cappoquin in County Waterford. Two connected ranges were built along the bawn wall in the early 1700s, forming the nucleus of an ambitious and original early layout illustrated in a 1755 demesne map. From the 13th century, Dromana was the seat of the FitzGeralds, Lords of the Decies, a junior branch of the earls of Desmond. In the 1670s, FitzGerald heiress Katherine married Colonel Villiers, son of Lord Grandison. Their descendants became earls Grandison until 1800, when the 2nd Earl's only child married Lord Henry Stuart, a younger son of the Marquis of Bute. Their son became Lord Stuart de Decies. The castle was attacked and damaged in the 1640s-50s wars. The 1700s reconstruction created an L-shaped dwelling with a robust, pedimented block and start door-case in the manner of James Gibbs. Work on a larger new house commenced around 1780 directly in front of the longer 1700s range, featuring a principal facade of two storeys and nine bays with a parapet and segmental-headed armorial doorcase. The river facade contained a shallow full-height bow. The interior was elaborately fitted out in the 1840s with grand reception rooms and a massive imperial staircase. By the 1960s the house had become difficult to maintain. The estate was sold and subdivided; a cousin later demolished the 1780s block to reduce proportions. The house was repurchased in the 1980s and remains in family ownership. Available as a film location; gardens open by appointment and the house open during Heritage Week, with self-catering holiday cottages, educational visits and receptions.
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