The Lady Anne Temple

Dawson Mausoleum (Image: Irish Arts Review)

On the 15th August, 2020, five of us visited Dartrey Estate, County Monaghan.

Having seen the New and Old stable blocks, the Iron Bridge, and the site of Dartrey House, we made our way through dense forest and woodland.

It was a warm and sunny day, perhaps the warmest of the year.

Eventually we emerged at a clearing and a little hill, which we drove up in the car.

A square red-brick building appeared at the top of the hill.

The immediate area round the building has been cleared of foliage, though it is surrounded by forestry commission land densely planted with fir trees.

The Temple directly faces the site of Dartrey House, though today the view is obscured by forest.

We had arrived at the Dartrey Mausoleum, a Georgian temple dedicated to the Lady Anne Dawson (1733-69), wife of Mr Thomas Dawson (1725-1813), later Baron Dartrey, Baron Cremorne and 1st Viscount Cremorne.

Lady Anne Dawson as Diana, by Sir Joshua Reynolds (Image: Sotheby's)

Lady Anne was the youngest daughter of Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret.

A great deal has already been written about the Temple, Lady Anne, and Thomas Dawson, so I shan't (or can't) add to it.

Given its description as a mausoleum, I suppose it's possible that Dawson had considered interring his young wife there, though she was buried at Dartrey Church in the estate, and later her remains were removed to Stoke Poges Church, Buckinghamshire.

John Redmill has written a fine article for the Irish Georgian Society about Lady Anne's Temple.

Noel Carney, a member of Dartrey Heritage Association, led us in to the mausoleum, through the large doors, and a cavernous chamber with a great domed ceiling.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

At the centre of this ceiling there is an oculus, from where light shines through to different parts of the temple at certain times of the day.

The dominant feature inside the Temple is the exquisite sculpture, on a plinth or base, with a large, elaborate funerary urn.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

This urn is adorned with the Dawson coat-of-arms.

In 1774 the Hibernian Journal wrote:-

"A few days ago was landed in Dublin a beautiful marble monument, done by Joseph Wilton Esq, of Portland Street, London, which Lord Dartrey is to erect in a temple at his seat in Co Monaghan to the memory of his late wife, Lady Anne Dawson, daughter of the late Earl of Pomfret."

(Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

In VOLUME X of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland, there is an account of the monument to Lady Anne, written in 1917, describing it thus:-

"On a wooded island [Black Island] in a lake in Lord Dartrey's demesne is a square building, with a single window in the roof, known as the Temple." 

"The monument is placed in an alcove of the wall, and consists of an altar of white marble, with grey background, approached by two steps of alabaster, and surmounted by a carved classic urn of white marble." 

"Resting on a cloud beside the urn is a life-sized figure of an angel, pointing on one hand on high, and with the other to a life-sized draped figure of Mr Dawson, who stands before the altar looking towards her, with an arm uplifted in a supplicating attitude, while his infant son stands clutching him as if in alarm."

The lengthy inscription below the sculpture states that the monument commemorates "Lady Anne Dawson, sixth daughter of Thomas Fermor, Earl of Pomfret ... in a grateful and affectionate sense of the Blessing he enjoyed in such a wife ..."

Lady Anne died in 1769, aged 36, though the monument couldn't have been erected until after 1770, the year Thomas Dawson was created Baron Dartrey.

In 1785, Lord Dartrey was advanced to a viscountcy, as Viscount Cremorne.

The monument to Lady Anne is generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest Georgian memorials in Ireland.

It once stood neglected. The roof had fallen in, and if the sculpture had not been in a niche it would have suffered even more damage from the elements.

Vandals had broken off fingers and toes, and the angel's arm had gone.

This superb sculpture and temple have been largely restored by the Dartrey Heritage Association, with the support of Monaghan County Council, the Irish Heritage Council and the Irish Georgian Society.

(Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

This wonderful restoration has transformed a ruinous building into an architectural treasure; a phœnix that has risen from the ashes.

First published in August, 2020.

Cootehill: IV

From the edge of the lake, not far from the Iron Bridge, we could see the site of Dartrey House (or Castle), a very large mansion which was built in 1846.

The Dartrey Estate lies in County Monaghan, though straddles the neighbouring county of Cavan.

Dartey: Basement Cellar (Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

All that remains of the house are the ruins of the basement and cellars, so it's almost invisible at ground level from a distance.

Dartrey: Basement Cellar (Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

The Land Acts deprived great estates like Dartrey and Lough Fea of their income and, when the 2nd Earl of Dartrey died in 1920, without a male heir, the estate was inherited by his eldest daughter, Lady Edith.

Dartrey: Ruins (Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

Crippled by the immense cost of maintaining Dartrey, its outbuildings, gate lodges, stable block, and everything else, Lady Edith decided initially to sell the contents of the house.

A four-day auction of the contents, including thousands of books from the library, and valuable old-master paintings, was held in 1937.

Dartrey: Terrace Steps (Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

Lady Edith Windham (1883-1974) couldn't afford the exorbitant rates bills, and found it impossible to find a buyer for the house, so made the decision to salvage what she could of it, including the slates, staircases, and doors, wooden casings etc, before Dartrey House was finally demolished in 1946.

By this stage Lady Edith was living in the former land steward's house, not far from the big house itself.

First published in August, 2020.

Cootehill: III

Dartrey House

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland tells us that County Monaghan is an inland county, in the centre of the south of the historic province of Ulster.

It is bounded, on the north, by Tyrone; on the east, by Armagh; and on the west, by Cavan and Fermanagh.

Dawson Grove, now Dartrey, County Monaghan,

"A noble and magnificent demesne, the property of the Viscount Cremorne [later Earl of Dartrey], on the southern margin of the barony of Dartrey, is situated on the gorgeous chain of the Cootehill lakes, 1½ miles from Cootehill; and is separated from the rival demesne of Bellamont Forest in County Cavan, only by the narrow belt of one of the main lakes called Dromore." 

"From the contiguity of Dawson Grove and Bellamont Forest, and the beautiful natural lakes which in many places form their line of demarcation, they may be said in various instances to reflect each other." 

"Separately they are splendid residences; conjointly they form a rich combination of many of the elements of landscape."

On Saturday afternoon four of us met Noel Carney, of Dartrey Heritage Association, who took us to see Dartrey demesne, former seat of the extinct Earls of Dartrey.

This was my first visit to Dartrey, once a very large estate comprising almost 18,000 acres, with extensive boundary walls and picturesque gate lodges (there were eight in total) carrying on interminably.

We stopped off en route at the main entrance lodge of ca 1847, fully restored, extended, and inhabited, once incorporating the estate post office.

This lodge is made of ashlar stone, with a Tudor-style entrance surmounted by a blank shield.

The New Stable Block (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

Several hundred yards further along the main public road we turned into another driveway, which eventually led us to the "new" stable block, a large, impressive, grand affair comprising five sides in red brick.

This derelict stable block was constructed in the 1840s to replace an older block.

The standard of craftsmanship by masons was remarkable, as Noel pointed out to us.

The bricks were made in situ, and even straw marks could be seen on the ones that had dried on the ground.

The New Stable Block is not in a good state, although it's not beyond redemption for another purpose, such as apartments or business premises, or units.

It was practically ruinous several decades ago, and today at least it's in better condition than that.

The New Stable Block (Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

There used to be a large clock encased in a circular stone feature in the middle of the block, though it has disappeared.

The original or "Old" Stable Block (Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

A short distance further on we stopped off at the original, or "Old" stable block of, it is thought, the 1770s.

It, like its younger sibling, is privately owned and closed off.

The Island Bridge, Dartrey (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

THEREAFTER we drove through overgrown estate tracks to the Island Bridge, also known as the Iron Bridge, which connects the estate to Black Island.

This is a single-arch bridge, erected in the 1840s, which leads to the glorious mausoleum or temple dedicated to the Lady Anne Dawson.

The skill of the blacksmiths and stonemasons  can be admired on this little bridge, with its superbly carved stone abutments and wrought-iron handrails.

When we crossed the bridge we caught a glimpse of the remains of the great mansion house of Dartrey. All that's left of it today is the basement and rubble.

Dartrey House (or Castle) was demolished in 1946, because the last member of the Dawsons to live there, Lady Edith, simply couldn't afford to maintain it, and couldn't find a buyer.

First published in August, 2020.

Cootehill: II

Cootehill Railway Station Entrance Front (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

After breakfast on Saturday morning I wandered from Bridge Street, in Cootehill, County Cavan, to the wide main street (Market Street).

I passed the Methodist and Presbyterian churches on Bridge Street, before turning left at Market Street.

The old manse between two churches (Image: postcard)

The old photograph above, taken from a postcard of about 1900, shows the Methodist church to the left; the old manse in the middle; and the present Presbyterian church to the right.

I happened to be peering in through the window of the former White Horse Hotel, in Market Street, when somebody from across the road hailed me.

I couldn't quite hear him, so crossed the road to the post office, where he was awaiting a bulky item, to have a word with him.

Kevin, it transpired, was as interested in heritage as myself, and we chatted for awhile about this and that.

He explained that he was a local man, though had lived in Michigan, USA, for a number of years; and that was where he had met his wife (he was collecting a parcel for their daughter).

Concrete shed on the former railway track (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

Kevin invited me to get into his car, and took me to see the old railway station outside the town, now a livestock market (there's a long livestock shed where the railway line used to be, outside the station).

The former Cootehill Railway Station is less than a mile from the town.

It would have been convenient for Bellamont Forest and Dartrey.

The railway line must have passed through land belonging to Lords Bellamont and Dartrey.

Platform Front ca 1900 (Image: postcard)

The station, operated by the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway (later amalgamated with the Great Northern Railway), opened in 1860.

Cootehill railway station was on a spur off the Enniskillen-to-Dundalk line, from near Ballybay through Rockcorry and terminating at Cootehill.

It closed down less than a century later, in 1947.

This handsome little railway station remains in good order, having been restored to some extent by its present owner.

It was built in the Early English Gothic-Revival style, and comprises five bays and two storeys.

The entrance and platform fronts differ slightly in design.

Unfortunately I was unable to take a photograph of the platform front because it’s obscured by a concrete shed (not to say private).

I had intended walking back to the town from the railway station, though Kevin offered me a lift back, and took me past the location of the old Church of Ireland parish church in Church Street, which was abandoned about 1818 for the present church, All Saints, in Market Street).

First published in August, 2020).