It has the most beautiful prospect of Rathlin Island, which it faces, and the sea in general.
Clare Park is situated on an elevated position above cliffs. The old estate wall survives though, alas, nothing remains - not even a trace - of the mansion house, and courtyard, though some retaining walls exist.
At time of writing, Clare Park is for sale.
The McGildownys were substantial landowners in this area, just outside Ballycastle, in County Antrim. They once owned 3,811 acres, including what is now Clare Forest.
A grave and memorial with railings survives within the former grounds to HUGH McCALMONT McGILDOWNY JP (1854-1923), of Clare Park.
McGILDOWNY CREST AND MOTTO: CREDE ET VINCE
He married, in 1905, Mary Rose, daughter of the Rev Thomas Alexander Cameron VD, honorary chaplain, 2nd Volunteer Battalion, The Black Watch, of Farnell, Forfarshire.
This gentleman died in 1923, as the result of an accident on his horse, and is buried at Clare Park.
Thank you so much for this post. I stumbled across it entirely by accident, but I grew up not far from the site and remember walking past the house (we always referred to merely as McGildowny's) almost every weekend. At one stage when I was quite young it was knocked down by some new money moron, with a view to building some whitewashed monstrosity that belongs on an out-of-town 'new development'. I'm not sure whether it is better or worse that they were never actually able to build it.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I remember the house as having a pinkish hue and having crennelations. But having not seen it since I was very young I have always wondered if my memory was playing tricks on me. Despite asking numerous people over the years, no one ever had a photograph of the place, and it wasn't until I came across this blog post that I have seen it again, so thank you for bringing back the memories.