Muckross House and Gardens, a brief history – Part 2
Posted: 17 October 2013
The royal party of Queen Victoria first stayed at the Earl of Kenmare’s home, Killarney House, before arriving at Muckross on August 27th, 1861 for a two-night stay.
The Killarney visit was treated as an official engagement, but Muckross was to host a much more private occasion. The party arrived in Killarney on the royal train and after a banquet toured Ross Castle and the Lakes of Killarney, just as many tourists do today on family holidays.
No expense had been spared for their visit. New furniture and fittings – mirrors, tapestries, silver, musical instruments, Persian carpets, china and linen – were ordered throughout the house for the occasion. The servants were given new uniforms and the curtains in the dining room were ordered from Paris, they are still there today.
Although only a two-night visit, the Queen and her party had their own adjoining apartments. “An entire section of the mansion has been set apart for the royal family, so that all their apartments communicate without the necessity of passing into the corridors to be used by other occupants of the house,” as the local press reported.
The next day, a tour of the estate was in order, followed by hunting. Before she left the Queen also visited Muckross Abbey. The Empress of India was said to be delighted with the atmospheric ruins and collected ferns and ivy as souvenirs.
Mrs Herbert was presented with a gold, pearl and diamond bracelet and her two daughters were also gifted jewellery. It seems likely that the three paintings by Mary Herbert that are in the Royal Collection today, were given as gifts to the queen.
Henry Arthur died in 1866 and his grave can be seen in Killegy graveyard, not far from the house. His widow returned to London and the family home passed to his son Major Henry Arthur Herbert.
The Herberts had spent a fortune in 1861 and by 1897 were out of credit. The visit had almost certainly played its part in their plight, but the family had also invested badly.
In 1899, Muckross House was put up for sale at an auction in Dublin.
Its next owner was Lord Ardilaun, one of the famous Guinness family, who probably got a bargain after the auction failed to ignite. He was a distant relative of the Herberts and a prominent supporter of Ireland’s place as a colony of Great Britain.
The estate was not greatly loved by the Ardilauns, who rented it to seasonal shooting and fishing parties and spent little time there themselves.
By 1910, Muckross was in new hands again. This time it was only leased, to William Bowers Bourn, a Californian gold miner who had struck it lucky. His daughter, Maud, married an Irishman, Arthur Rose Vincent, and the couple were given the newly-purchased estate as a wedding gift.
This time, Muckross was a family home again and Maud and Arthur spent yet another fortune on their estate. The SunkenGarden, Rock Garden and StreamGarden are all their work.
They so loved the place that when they built a Californian home, murals of Muckross were painted on the ballroom wall and clippings from the estate helped to start their new garden.
Vincent was, as men of his class were expected to be, a public figure, and he served as an ambulance driver in World War One, before taking up a role with the British Information Service in America.
At home, Ireland was troubled. The Irish War of Independence, which followed the Great War, was bloody and brutal. Vincent worked as a go between in negotiations between the IRA and the British and was appointed to the newly independent nation’s senate in 1931.
This patriotism may have inspired the next chapter in Muckross’s history. After his wife’s death in 1929, Vincent told the Irish president, Eamon De Valera, that he wished to give his estate to the nation.
Muckross Estate became the country’s first National Park.
The house today, is a tourist attraction, its interior celebrating the Muckross of the 19th century.
The gardens are possibly the finest in the country, and Muckross Traditional Farms in the grounds, paints a picture of country life in the 1930s.
Muckross is still very much alive though. Craft workshops produce cloth and ceramics, which mix traditional virtues with the latest designs.
Muckross House has a long and exciting past and an even brighter future.