Brownlow House, also known as Brownlow Castle is a Grade A listed 19th century house located in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. It was built for Irish politician Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan in 1833 by Scottish architect William Henry Playfair and was used as a headquarters in both world wars.

History
The house was constructed in 1833 by Scottish architect William Henry Playfair for Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan and his family who owned the house until the start of the 20th century when it was purchased by Lurgan Real Property Company Ltd. Later the house was sold to Lurgan Loyal Orange District Lodge who continue to own the property today.

Throughout the world wars the building has played an important role as a headquarters for various military purposes. During the First World War the house acted as the headquarters of the 16th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and the 10th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, while in World War II it was a base for American troops.

Brownlow House

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Tandragee Castle, Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was built in 1837 by The 6th Duke of Manchester as the family's Irish home. The Duke of Manchester acquired the estate through his marriage to Millicent Sparrow (1798–1848).

History
During the Plantation of Ulster the castle at Tandragee became the property of Sir Oliver St John, Lord Deputy of Ireland. He rebuilt the original stronghold of the O'Hanlon Clan. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, however, the O'Hanlons attempted to regain their lands – the result was the castle being ruined; it remained so for two hundred years.[1][2]

The castle and estate were sold by The 10th Duke of Manchester (who was born at Tandragee) in the 1950s, and it was purchased by Mr. Hutchinson, a businessman from Tandragee. Today the Castle houses offices for the Tayto potato crisp factory and the park's demesne incorporates a golf course.

Tandragee Castle

Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,[2] and the official residence in Northern Ireland of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family when they visit the region, as well as a guest house for prominent international visitors.

From 1924 until the post's abolition in 1973, it was the official residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland.[3] Since April 2014, it has been managed by Historic Royal Palaces, and is open to the public on certain dates.[4]


Origins
Hillsborough Castle, which is located in the village of Hillsborough in north-west County Down, is not a true castle. It is a Georgian country house built in the 18th century for the Hill family, Marquesses of Downshire, who owned it until 1922, when the 6th Marquess sold the mansion and its grounds to the British government.[3] In buying it, the government solved a practical problem. Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 a new, distinct region of the United Kingdom called Northern Ireland had been created within the traditional province of Ulster but minus 3 counties Cavan Donegal and Monaghan which became part of the Irish Free State. Executive authority had been vested for both Northern Ireland and sister region Southern Ireland in the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who was supposed to be one of two all-Ireland features (along with the Council of Ireland) in the new home rule structure. However, that office was abolished in a law change following the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which in effect aborted Southern Ireland (which had in reality only existed on paper) and established the Irish Free State.

A new office for Northern Ireland alone was created , that of Governor of Northern Ireland. As the Viceregal Lodge in Dublin became unavailable, physically and politically, a new residence was needed. Hillsborough Castle, though outside the largest city of Northern Ireland, Belfast, was deemed a suitable location. After some renovations, the first governor, The 3rd Duke of Abercorn, moved in during 1925. Upon becoming the official residence of the governor, the building was officially renamed Government House.

Secretary of State
Following the decision to abolish Northern Ireland's devolved system of government and institute direct rule from London, all Northern Irish governmental posts, including that of Governor and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, were abolished. Those two posts were in effect combined to create the office of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. As the Queen's representative, the Secretary of State resides in Hillsborough Castle – as do junior ministers, though members of the Royal Family, when visiting Northern Ireland, stay there also.

Queen Elizabeth and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh stayed in Hillsborough Castle during their visit to Northern Ireland as part of the Golden Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom in 2002.

Investitures
In 2014 the Prince of Wales held an investiture at Hillsborough Castle, the first one to be held in Northern Ireland since the venue became a Royal Palace.

Hillsborough Castle

Gosford Castle is a 19th-century country house situated in Gosford, a townland of Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, close to the border with County Down. It was built for Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, and designed in the Norman revival style by London architect Thomas Hopper. It is a Grade A listed building,[1] and is said to be Northern Ireland's largest.[2] The Earls of Gosford occupied the castle until 1921, and the estate was later purchased by the Ministry of Agriculture to form Gosford Forest Park. The building subsequently deteriorated and in 2006 was sold to a development company who converted the castle into private dwellings.


History
The Acheson family were granted land in County Armagh by King James VI in 1610. They established the village of Markethill and built a castle, though this was destroyed during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. A manor house was built in its place, which the Achesons occupied until 1840. The writer Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) visited Gosford and contributed to the layout of the gardens.[3] In 1819 Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (1776-1849) commissioned Thomas Hopper (1776–1856) to design a new house at Gosford. A Norman revival style of architecture was chosen, marking Hopper's first attempt at this style that he would go on to perfect at Penrhyn Castle in Wales. Hopper was assisted by local architect Thomas Duff. In 1837 the building was reported as unfinished, and was not fully complete until 1859 when Hopper's assistant George Adam Burn rebuilt the entrance front.[4]

The 4th Earl of Gosford was forced to sell the castle's contents in 1920 and, after his death in 1922 the castle was no longer occupied by the family. During the Second World War Gosford was commandeered and used to accommodate troops, with a prisoner-of-war camp on the estate.[3] Following the war the Achesons sold the estate to the Ministry of Agriculture who established the 240 hectares (590 acres) demesne as Gosford Forest Park.[5] The castle was used for the storage of public records, and in the 1970s served as a barracks for soldiers.[3] In 1983 it was opened as a hotel though this venture was not successful, and the leaseholders allowed the building to fall into disrepair.[6]

Redevelopment
The Forest Service, part of the Department for Agriculture, regained control of the property in February 2002. The castle at this time was in a desperate state of disrepair and without urgent intervention was in real danger of becoming irretrievably beyond repair, leading to calls for action from the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS).[7] The castle, with 11 hectares (27 acres) of grounds, was put up for sale for as little as £1, subject to viable proposals for restoration.[6] In 2006, the decaying castle was bought by Gosford Castle Development Ltd. for £1,000. The developers, supported by architects the Boyd Partnership and the Environment and Heritage Service, put forward a £4m proposal to restore the castle as 23 residences, based on vertical division of the building and retention of the main rooms.[2][8] In January 2008 the first residents of the new apartments moved in. In 2013, it was reported that the redevelopment had been stalled since 2010 due to financial issues.[9]

The restoration was undertaken by a team of artisans and craftsmen, to create homes of two, three and four storeys in height set within the original fabric of the castle. The development aimed to retain the character and historic integrity of the castle by using existing staircases and walls where possible. Approaches used include the restoration of original colour schemes in the principal rooms, such as the vaulted ceiling of the Inner Hall; walls that were painted green to represent drapery; and a background of scarlet used to set off the library’s wooden bookcases. Residents began moving into the first completed homes in the castle courtyard in January 2008.