Crom Castle, Newtownbutler, Co. Fermanagh, BT92 8AP

Crom Castle is a substantial Tudor-Gothic castellated country house built around 1829–1838 to the designs of the English architect Edward Blore, standing within the Crom estate on the shores of Upper Lough Erne, outside Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh. It is one of the finest examples of picturesque estate design in Ireland, its limestone towers, turrets, battlements and gables rising naturally from the mature woodland landscape, which was laid out informally by the English landscaper W.S. Gilpin around 1838. Together with the many associated estate structures, it forms an important and coherent group that reflects the social climate of 19th-century landed Ireland.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The castle was commissioned by John Crichton, third Earl of Erne, who began construction in 1831 using a bequest of £20,000 from his grandfather, John Crichton, first Earl of Erne, who had died in 1828. The original castle on the estate had burned down in 1764, forcing the family to relocate to Knockballymore House near Clones. Blore's new building was executed first by James Henry of Dublin and then by Charles McGibbon of Edinburgh, with the carved stonework — including the oak leaf oriel apron on the east elevation — carried out under McGibbon's supervision. The work was completed in 1838 at a total cost of nearly £30,000.

Tragically, the house was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1841. The third Earl immediately engaged the Dublin architect George Sudden to supervise its rebuilding to Blore's original specifications. Sudden incorporated some minor alterations, most notably linking the conservatory at the north-west corner to the main block. This reconstruction was completed in 1844 at a cost of £15,000. In 1851 an octagonal pavilion was added to the conservatory. In 1861 W.G. Murray — also the designer of Newtownbutler railway station — was engaged to add a storey to the north side of the east wing to accommodate a housemaid's sitting room and two bedrooms. Between 1873 and 1880, William Hague supervised the addition of a further storey to the north wing, providing four bedrooms and a bathroom, and carried out internal modifications to create a billiard room. The fourth Earl, John Henry Crichton, who succeeded his father in 1885, made numerous internal changes in 1885–86. The conservatory was converted to a swimming pool in the 1960s. Between 1979 and 1981, Nicholas Johnston supervised further internal modifications to the north wing. Part of the demesne was sold to the Department of the Environment in 1980, and the National Trust acquired the remainder of the property in 1987, although the present Earl retains the castle as his private residence.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The house is constructed in rock-faced local limestone with sandstone dressings throughout. Its roofline is a composition of numerous pitched slopes, all covered in natural slate including over the dormer gables. Chimneys are tall Tudor-style ashlar limestone stacks, grouped in twos, threes and fours on common plinths, some fitted with octagonal pots. Parapet gutters drain into cast iron downpipes with hoppers. The walls are enriched with carved oak leaf decoration, shields and Gothic quatrefoil panels; the majority of parapet stringcourses are terminated with masked corbels or gargoyles. Windows throughout are largely two-over-two sashes with sandstone transoms and mullions, glazed in panes of two by three, a number having hood moulds; some windows are dummies. The building encloses an inner courtyard, with the principal elevation facing east, the south elevation overlooking the Deer Park, and a later conservatory abutting the west elevation.

EAST ELEVATION (PRINCIPAL FRONT)

The east elevation is two storeys with attic and exposed basement, and seven bays wide. The most dominant feature is the three-staged crenellated tower forming a porte-cochère at bay three. Bays one and six are gabled and project forward, similarly detailed with finials and pole-moulded copings to their parapets.

Bay one has a chamfered stringcourse to the basement with a smooth sandstone base course below, and a similar stringcourse between the basement and ground floor — a detail repeated across all bays except bays three and seven. Set between the stringcourses at basement level are two pairs of two-over-four sliding sashes (the standard for all basement windows unless noted otherwise). At ground floor level above are two blind elongated panels. The first floor carries an oriel window with a canted stone roof with decorative cornice; the oriel has a moulded base resting on an ornately carved apron detailed with oak leaves and a blind shield, this work having been carried out under the supervision of Edinburgh contractor Charles McGibbon. The front face of the oriel contains a two-over-two window, with one-over-one windows to each cheek. At attic level above is a pair of one-by-three casement windows with a hood mould; the gable apex has a blind rectangular niche.

Bay two has the same base course and stringcourses. The basement has a pair of windows to the left and a narrow half-casement window to the right. The ground and first floors each have a dummy two-over-two window, those to the first floor being diminished in height. Below the crenellated parapet is a stringcourse. The attic has a dormer window containing a pair of one-by-three casements. A canted buttress is set between bays one and two, with matching stringcourses and a chimneystack set perpendicular to the ridge.

Bay three is the three-staged, square-in-section porte-cochère tower, which rises above the parapet level of the main block and is framed by a four-stage buttress, with a single-stage buttress to the centre of the east face. Each stage is delineated by a stringcourse, that to stage one broken by a Gothic quatrefoil panel with a blind shield. The front face of stage one has two window openings. Above at stage two is an oriel window with a moulded base that sweeps downwards and is terminated by a winged angel corbel; the oriel contains windows similar to those on bay one. The head of this oriel supports a further window to stage three with a canted stone roof with decorative cornice, containing a pair of two-over-four sliding sashes to the front face and a two-over-four sash to each cheek; above this is a pair of two-over-four sliding sashes with a hood mould. The south and north faces of the tower each have a Tudor-arched opening with gargoyles at the springing of the arch. Breaking the stringcourse between the first and second stages is a Gothic quatrefoil panel with shield. The south face has a narrow two-over-two sliding sash to the right of stage two and a dummy one-by-four window to centre. Stage three has a four-over-four sliding sash to the top right. Set between stages two and three, and rising above the parapet level of the tower, is a three-staged crenellated octagonal turret with a moulded sandstone base; the tower stringcourses continue across it. Stages two and three of the turret each have a narrow one-by-three window. The north face of the tower has a two-over-two sliding sash to the right of stage two and two blind niches at stage three — one to the bottom left and one to the top right — with a chimneystack breaking the parapet at this stage.

The porte-cochère has a vaulted ceiling with foliated bosses, supported on colonettes. Between the two window openings is a cusped, foliated and recessed arabesque panel. The entrance consists of a sandstone Gothic opening comprising a timber door set within a Tudor-headed frame with sidelights and transom; oak leaf carving decorates the spandrels. The door is double-leaf with eight panels and is accessed by four stone steps with a boot scraper. To either side is a one-over-one window, the upper pane lancet-headed with a tracery head. The transom contains two lancet-headed coloured and leaded lights.

Bay four has two windows to each floor, all equally aligned. Basement windows are as described above; the ground floor has two-over-two windows with hood moulds; the first floor windows are similar but diminished in height and without hood moulds.

Bay five has two two-over-four casement windows to the basement and a two-over-two window to each upper floor, detailed as bay three. Set between bays four and five is an advanced chimneystack rising above parapet level, with an additional chimney to the ridge with a stone skew.

Bay six is gabled and has two pairs of two-over-two windows to the basement. The ground floor has two small two-over-four casement windows. The first floor carries an oriel window with a moulded base with decorative oak carving (set between the ground-floor windows below), with a canted stone roof with decorative cornice. Each face of the oriel has a one-over-one window. At attic level is a four-over-four sliding sash with hood mould; the gable apex has a blind rectangular niche. An octagonal chimneystack is set between bays five and six. The exposed left cheek of bay six is blank; the right cheek is abutted by a three-staged, square-in-section crenellated turret.

Bay seven is lower than the main block with a central gable breaking the parapet. The basement has a pair of two-over-two sliding sashes to the left and a two-over-four sash to the right, both with hood moulds. The ground floor has two pairs of four-over-four sliding sashes. At the centre of the first floor is a small oriel window with a one-over-one window to either side, each containing three-by-two glazed panes; the oriel itself has a two-over-two window, with upper panes glazed two-by-two and lower panes two-by-three. To the central gable is a blind shield. The right end of this bay is abutted by a crenellated three-staged octagonal turret punctuated with various arrow-loop openings.

SOUTH ELEVATION

The south elevation overlooks the Deer Park. It is symmetrical, two storeys with attic, and seven bays wide. Bays two and six are gabled and project slightly with finials. The most dominant feature is the four-staged crenellated tower at bay four.

Bays one and seven each have dummy windows: at ground floor a two-over-two with hood mould, and at first floor a one-over-one window; bay seven has a dummy window to the first floor only.

Bays two and six each have a five-by-two window to each floor with one-over-one windows to each cheek, those at ground floor being plainly glazed; above to the gable apex is a blind niche.

Bay three has a dummy two-over-two window to the left and a one-over-one to the right at ground floor, both with hood moulds; the first floor has a one-over-one window.

Bay four is the four-staged crenellated clock tower, flanked by octagonal turrets that rise above the parapet. Each stage is delineated by a stringcourse that continues across the turrets, the latter having various arrow-loop openings. Stages one to three each feature a crenellated canted bay window with a moulded stringcourse below, all containing two-over-two windows to the front face with one-over-one cheeks; those to stages one and two are plainly glazed, those to stage three are diminished in height. Stage four has two blind elongated niches to either side and a Gothic quatrefoil panel with blind shield to centre. Above is a sandstone frieze set below parapet level, consisting of an arcade of seven Gothic arches with bulbous corbels. The exposed west face of the tower has a one-over-one window to the right of stage three; stage four has a two-over-two window to the left and a pair of four-over-four sliding sashes with hood mould to the right. The north face of the tower has two tall chimneys rising above the parapet set behind the south-face turrets, creating a battlemented effect; stage four has a pair of two-by-three windows with hood mould and a square clock set below parapet level. The exposed east face of the tower has a pair of four-over-four sliding sashes at stage four.

Bay five has a Tudor-arched opening to the left containing a three-over-three timber door accessed by three stone steps with a boot scraper; above is a two-by-three window with hood mould. To the right is a two-over-two window with hood mould, and above to the first floor is a pair of one-over-one windows.

Bay six is detailed as bay two.

WEST ELEVATION

The west elevation is two bays wide with a chimneystack to the left (north) gable and one to the rear pitch. The left gable is abutted by a two-storey, three-bay return detailed as the main block. The right bay of the main block is gabled with a canted bay window to each floor; the front face contains three-over-three windows with a one-over-one window to each cheek, those at ground floor plainly glazed and those at first floor diminished in height. Above to the attic gable is a one-by-four window. The left bay is three windows wide, all two-over-two and equally aligned; those at ground floor are plainly glazed with hood moulds and those at first floor are diminished in height.

The return is lower than the main block and is three bays wide, with an advanced chimneystack between each bay rising above the crenellated parapet. The left end gable is abutted by a later conservatory and swimming pool; on the party wall with the return is a chimney. Bay one has a two-over-two window to each floor, that at ground floor plainly glazed. Bay two has two windows to each floor: a two-over-two to the left and a three-over-three to the right. Bay three is the widest; all ground-floor windows have hood moulds, and from left to right these are: a two-over-two window, a Tudor-headed timber door (matching that on the south elevation) with a two-paned transom above, a narrow two-over-two sliding sash, and a canted bay window to the right end. The canted bay contains a two-over-two window to the front face and one-over-one windows to each cheek, with a stone roof with a small crenellated parapet. The first floor has a three-over-three window to each end and a narrow two-over-two window to the centre.

CONSERVATORY AND SWIMMING POOL

The conservatory and swimming pool were added around 1838, with the octagonal pavilion added in 1851 and the swimming pool created within the conservatory in the 1960s. The structure is single-storey and L-shaped with a pitched artificial slate roof with skylights to the ridge and a small crenellated parapet; walls are stone. The west face has four shallow Tudor-headed windows each containing pairs of two-by-six panes with a two-paned transom above; the second from the left is a pair of French windows. A two-staged buttress is set between each window. The south face has five similar window openings with a pair of French windows third from the left.

To the left end of the south face is abutted an octagonal conservatory with a conical glazed roof with finial, walls detailed as the main conservatory. The west and south elevations of this octagonal structure each have a slightly canted window with lancet-headed one-by-six cheeks. The north face of the conservatory is constructed in limestone rubble, is blank, and is abutted by a boiler house of no architectural interest.

The east face of the swimming pool section is two storeys and has a projecting left end. The ground floor has two arched openings, the right one having a tongue-and-groove sheeted door. The first floor has a pair of two-by-three windows with hood mould; the exposed right cheek is blank. Reading from left, the right section of the east face has a Tudor-headed tongue-and-groove sheeted door, a dummy six-by-four window, and a two-by-four window above at first floor. To the right of this is a three-staged buttress, then a canted bay with stone roof containing a dummy three-by-four window with blank cheeks; above at first floor is a two-by-four window. At the extreme right end is a four-staged, square-in-section turret with a stringcourse between each stage and various arrow-loop openings. The end (north) gable is abutted by a reconstituted, rock-faced stone garage with a pair of tongue-and-groove sheeted doors to the east face; all other walls are blank.

NORTH ELEVATION

The north elevation is three storeys and two bays wide, abutted to the right by a two-storey return detailed as the main block. The left bay of the main block projects and has an opening to each floor: a two-by-three casement window at ground floor, a blind rectangular niche at first floor, and a one-by-three window at second floor; the exposed right cheek is blank. The right bay has two two-by-three windows at ground floor and a one-over-one sliding sash at first and second floor, these not being aligned with each other.

The return has a tall ashlar sandstone chimney to the left end. At ground-floor centre is a door matching that on the west elevation, flanked on either side by two geometrically glazed windows, with a single-staged buttress set between each opening. The first floor has four two-over-four windows, larger than those below. Above the door is a blind niche containing a shield. The return is abutted to the right by the return to the west elevation, and at right angles to the façade of this return is the east elevation of the conservatory and swimming pool.

The inner courtyard was not inspected as part of the survey.

ESTATE CONTEXT

Crom estate is a large, informally landscaped demesne now in the stewardship of the National Trust, though the present Earl retains the castle as his private home. The estate is accessed and bounded to the east by Doohat Townland, where the east gate lodge is sited. A winding driveway through the mature planting leads west to Crom Castle, continuing westward past the stableyards and riding school, before splitting north to the turf house or south to the summer house and old boathouse. A bridge provides access across the lough to the walled garden, gardener's bothy, Inisherk Lodge and Bridge Cottage. On entry to the estate the driveway also splits south, giving access to the farmyard and the old castle — the original structure that burned down in 1764. A number of other estate structures, including Crichton Tower and Trinity Church, belong to a separate listing group and were not yet surveyed at the time of this record.