Crom Castle

Crom Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Croime) is situated on the shores of the Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, and set within a 1,900-acre (7.7 km²) estate. The castle is built of grey stone with the main part of the building and wings being over two floors. The entrance is a battlemented tower with smaller towers to one side. The castle has formal gardens which reach out to the estate and parkland beyond. The ruins of Old Crom Castle can be found within the estate although now only part of the original walls, two towers and a ha-ha remain. There are also two of the oldest yew trees in Ireland inside the Old Castle grounds, believed to be over 800 years old.

History

Like many Ulster country estates, the first house at Crom was built by a Scottish Planter at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1611, as part of the Plantation of Ulster, Michael Balfour, the Laird of Mountwhinney, constructed a house on the lough shore opposite Inishfendra Island. Following the usual pattern for a Plantation castle, the Old Castle at Crom was built of lime and stone and enclosed within a bawn. In 1689, the Old Crom Castle survived two Jacobite sieges during the Williamite War in Ireland. The Crichton family under Colonel Abraham Crichton held out against the Jacobites until reinforcements from Enniskillen arrived. The local events concluded at the Battle of Newtownbutler when a Williamite force of less than 1500 Enniskillen troops captured and killed as many as 3000 of James II’s troops. The battle took place at the townland of Kilgarrett 1 mile south of Newtownbutler.

In 1764, the Old Castle was destroyed by a domestic fire. In 1840, the present day Crom Castle was built, designed by the English architect Edward Blore who was responsible for sections of Buckingham Palace. It remains the privately owned property of the Earl of Erne and is only accessible to the public through private booking. The estate was given to the National Trust to manage by the 6th Earl of Erne (often known as Harry Erne) in 1987.

Crom Estate was the location of a great classic yacht and steamboat regatta in August 2010 when the races of the 1890s were recreated in Trial Bay using Norfolk Broads One-Designs (brown boats), Lough Erne Fairies, Fife One Designs from Anglesea and a pair of Colleens. Racing took place on Upper Lough Erne within sight of the castle, and the boats moored each evening off the boathouse in Crom Bay.

Boathouse

The castle's boathouse was built on the shore of Lough Erne below the main castle. As mentioned the castle was originally designed by Blore but was damaged by fire in 1841 and subsequently rebuilt by George Sudden including the boathouse. The boathouse is in a Tudor style, with graceful arches at ground level, and a fine window on the upstairs room overlooking a terrace and the lake. Before modern roads and motor vehicles, one of the most common ways to travel in County Fermanagh was by boat on Lough Erne. Crom's boathouse, therefore, was an important asset, often where guests would arrive and make their way from the lough shore to the castle. For a time, it was the home of Erne Yacht Club. Today, the boathouse is empty and unused, with the jetty still in use by the Earl of Erne for his boats.

The West Wing

The castle is privately owned by the Crichton family, Earls of Erne, but it is possible for the public to stay in Crom Castle's West Wing. It is available to rent all year round on a weekly or long weekend basis for groups of up to 19 people.

In popular culture

Crom Castle Orange Lodge 1219

The 2013 BBC television production of P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings was filmed on location at the castle. The comedy starred David Walliams and Jennifer Saunders. The six-part series portrays the fictional "Blandings Castle" which is home to a dysfunctional family of aristocrats. The story is set in Shropshire but the producers found the private home of the Earl of Erne to be the perfect location.

Crom Castle Loyal Orange Lodge 1219 is a lodge operating in Crom Estate. The lodge's history goes back to the 19th century, to the time of John Crichton, 4th Earl Erne MP. The 4th Earl took a keen interest in the Orange Order and, in 1886, was elected Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, a position which he held for 28 years until his death in 1914. In June 2018, Crom Castle LOL 1219 unfurled a new banner within the ruins of the Old Castle at Crom, a site of historic significance in Orange history. The lodge is reported to have a growing membership with quite a few younger members joining in recent years.

Gallery

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  U.S. troops outside Crom Castle during the Second World War

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  The ruins of the Old Crom Castle

See also

• List of castles in Northern Ireland

External links

• National Trust - Crom Estate
• Virtual Tour of Crom Castle Demesne Northern Ireland - Virtual Visit Northern Ireland