Bantry House is the ancestral home of the Earls of Bantry, still lived in by their
descendant Egerton Shelswell-White and his family.
Since 1946 the house containing its important collection of furniture, tapestries and objects d’art has been open to the public.
Today, the house or parts of it can be rented for weddings, functions and special events.
The family look forward to welcoming you to their home.
The White family first settled on Whiddy Island in the 17th century but purchased a small
Queen Ann house called Blackrock on the mainland. This was to become known as Bantry House.
About 1820 Richard, the first Earl of Bantry, enlarged the house by adding the two drawing rooms. It was his son, then Viscount
Berehaven, who travelled extensively and amassed an eclectic collection of tapestries, paintings, furniture and artefacts.
He also
took on a further extension of the house, adding the two wings, and the construction of the gardens, terracing the land around the
house and adding the two stable courtyards. The one surviving gate lodge also dates from that time.
In the 20th century it became apparent that the survival of an estate such as Bantry was
very precarious. Land was sold and also some of the contents of the house. About 100 acres of land remain, of which approximately 46
acres are gardens and accessible woodland.
Since the collection was very substantial, Clodagh and Geoffrey Shelswell-White, the parents of the present owner made the decision
to open the house to the public in 1946.
During 2003 and 2004 the major rooms have undergone extensive repair work, mostly done by local tradesmen, just as the house in the
past had been built by locals.
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Bantry House and Garden is open to the public from 15 March until 31 October 2008. The Estate is open daily, 10 am - 6 pm .
UPCOMING EVENTS:
*****
SATURDAY
3 MAY 2008
8 pm
SARAH MCQUAID
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For more information on WCM concerts visit
www.westcorkmusic.ie
Tel: 027-52788
NEW TEAM- BUILDING ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS LASER CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING AND FALCONRY, ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT BANTRY HOUSE IN THE WALLED GARDEN
For more information on these activities visit:
rebel adventures |
