I spent a most agreeable day in 2010 at The Argory (former home of the MacGeough-Bonds) and Loughgall Manor (the Copes), County Armagh.
I picnicked in the grounds of The Argory, then went for a walk along the River Blackwater.
This river divides the counties of Tyrone and Armagh.
Later on I enjoyed a delightful tour of the House at 2pm with a charming and informative guide.
She alluded to the wooden Jamaican carvings, and Tommy MacGeough-Bond's fondness for Jamaica.
I wonder if he was acquainted with Ian Fleming.
The MacGeough-Bonds would doubtless have been well acquainted with other landed families in County Armagh, including the Stronges, Verners and Copes.
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| Roxborough Gates |
Later in the afternoon I motored on to the village of Moy, where the Charlemonts had their impressive country seat, Roxborough Castle.
All that's left to remind us of its greatness are the equally impressive gates (above and top).
An earl's coronet and crest adorn them.
The mansion house itself was maliciously burnt ca 1922.
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| Loughgall Manor |
At Loughgall, I wandered up the steep incline to the manor-house, erstwhile seat of the Cope family.
Its gates, too, are impressive.
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| Loughgall Manor Gates |
Roxborough must have been an impressive pile indeed. Dreadful that such an edifice should have been destroyed. So sad.
ReplyDelete"Rather dull", said Sir Charles Brett a little sniffilly about the Manor House itself in Loughgall but he too was impressed by the gates and he gives an account of their history in his County Armagh book. So many buildings in Loughgall are worth a look. A very handsome village. The old Agent's house was for sale about 15 yeas ago. I went for a viewing and was very tempted to buy but in the end I concluded it was too far for a daily commute to Belfast.
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