{{short description|Country house, County Laois, Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Use Irish English|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox building | name = Abbeyleix House | native_name = | native_name_lang = ga | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = File:Abbey_Leix_-_geograph.org.uk_-_68377.jpg | image_size = | alt = <!-- or | alt = --> | caption = Abbeyleix House in the 1980s | pushpin_map = Ireland | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | etymology = | status = Private dwelling house | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = House | architectural_style = Georgian, Classical | classification = | location = | address = Abbeyleix, County Laois | location_town = Abbeyleix | location_country = Ireland | coordinates = {{coord|52.8962|N|7.3750|W|display=inline,title}} | altitude = {{Convert|100|m|abbr=on}} | current_tenants = | namesake = | groundbreaking_date = 1773 | est_completion = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = | opened_date = | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = <!-- or | destruction_date = --> | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = John Collison | landlord = | affiliation = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = Originally brick front and later rendered over | size = | floor_count = 4 | floor_area = {{Convert|2500|m2|abbr=on}} | elevator_count = | grounds_area = {{Convert|453.24|ha|abbr=on}} | architect = James Wyatt and Sir William Chambers | architecture_firm = | developer = DeVesci Family | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_engineer = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_contractor = | ren_awards = | number_of_rooms = | parking = | website = | embed = | embedded = | references = | footnotes = }} '''Abbeyleix House''', sometimes called '''Abbeyleix Castle''', is an Irish country house that was the residence of the Viscounts de Vesci in County Laois, Ireland. It was designed by architect James Wyatt and built by Sir William Chambers in 1773. The de Vesci family lived at Abbeyleix House until it was sold in the mid-1990s. Abbeyleix is the oldest planned estate town in Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abbeyleixheritage.com/|title=Heritage House Abbeyleix {{!}} Museum, Research and Model Railway|website=www.abbeyleixheritage.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-07-17}}</ref>
==History== The house was near the original Abbeyleix, that was built by the O'Mores near the River Nore where there was a Cistercian Monastery, founded in 1183. On the dissolution of the monasteries, {{convert|1500|acre}} of land were granted to the 10th Earl of Ormond. In 1675, Denny Muschamp, a wealthy landowner, bought the old abbey lands. These were inherited in 1699 by his daughter, who married Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet, who moved to Abbeyleix when he was created a baronet. In 1770, their grandson Thomas Vesey, 2nd Baron Knapton – later, in 1776, created Viscount de Vesci – commissioned the English architect James Wyatt to build him a new house in an elevated position.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abbeyleixheritage.com/brief-history/ |title=A brief history |publisher=Heritage House, Abbeyleix |accessdate=2020-03-15}}</ref> The area was prone to flooding and de Vesci, wishing to improve the view from his new mansion, relocated the dwellings of his estate workers and tenants to a new site farther east on higher ground alongside the coach road, as a planned estate town, with the estate and mansion {{convert|2|km}} to the southwest of the town.<ref name=Gerrard>{{cite book|author=Gerrard, David |title=The Hidden Places of Ireland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xsGVONPs9gC&pg=PP212 |year=2004 |publisher=Travel Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-904434-10-8 |pages=212–213}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abbeyleixheritage.com/abbeyleix-why-build-new-town/ |title=Abbeyleix – Why Build a New Town |publisher=Heritage House, Abbeyleix |accessdate=2016-11-08}}</ref>
In 1995, Abbey Leix was bought by businessman Sir David Davies, president of the Irish Georgian Society and president of Wexford Festival Opera.<ref name="irishtimes-2021">{{cite news |last=Quinlan |first=Ronald |title=Stripe cofounder John Collison buys Abbey Leix estate for €20m |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/stripe-cofounder-john-collison-buys-abbey-leix-estate-for-20m-1.4607230 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2021-06-30 |access-date=2026-03-26}}</ref><ref name="IGS-2017" /><ref name="IGS-Garden">{{cite web |last=O'Byrne |first=Robert |title=Celebrating the Irish Country House Garden |url=https://www.igs.ie/updates/article/igs-year-of-the-country-house-garden-2 |website=Irish Georgian Society |date=2021-06-10 |access-date=2026-03-26}}</ref> Davies undertook a major restoration of both the house and the demesne.<ref name="IGS-2017">{{cite web |last=White |first=Rose Anne |title=Limerick Chapter visit to Abbey Leix House and Demesne |url=https://www.igs.ie/updates/article/limerick-chapter-visit-to-abbey-leix-house-and-demesne |website=Irish Georgian Society |date=2017-05-19 |access-date=2026-03-26}}</ref><ref name="IGS-Garden" /> By the time he acquired the property, the house had no central heating and needed to be completely rewired. Davies later said that the renovation took four years and included the replacement of all 117 windows.<ref name="irishtimes-2019">{{cite news |last=Quinlan |first=Ronald |title=117 windows, 1,000 acres: banker cashing in on palatial Laois home |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/117-windows-1-000-acres-banker-cashing-in-on-palatial-laois-home-1.3938237 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2019-06-27 |access-date=2026-03-25}}</ref><ref name="irishtimes-2021" /> He also carried out extensive work on the grounds, planting specimen trees, creating a new arboretum and pinetum, and restoring the estate's walled garden.<ref name="IGS-Garden" /> In 2019, after turning 80, Davies put the estate on the market with a view to downsizing to his family's house at Killoughter, County Wicklow.<ref name="irishtimes-2021" /><ref name="irishtimes-sales">{{cite news |last=Quinlan |first=Ronald |title=Yours for €13.25m: Ireland's 10 top property sales of 2021, inside and outside Dublin |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/yours-for-13-25m-ireland-s-10-top-property-sales-of-2021-inside-and-outside-dublin-1.4749226 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2021-12-09 |access-date=2026-03-26}}</ref>
In June 2021, Irish-American entrepreneur John Collison bought Abbey Leix from Davies. The sale of the wider estate was reported at about €20 million, while the Property Price Register later recorded €11.5 million for the house.<ref name="irishtimes-2021" /><ref name="independent-jc">{{cite news |title=Stripe co-founder paid €11.5m for house on 1120-acre Abbeyleix estate |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/stripe-co-founder-paid-115m-for-house-on-1120-acre-abbeyleix-estate/40727224.html |newspaper=Irish Independent |date=2021-08-06 |access-date=2026-03-26}}</ref>
In 2021, Laois County Council acquired the nearby protected Millbrook House from its then owner, John Patrick Colclough, through a compulsory purchase order. The following year, the former steward's house on the de Vesci estate was bought by Jersey-based Comhlacht na Feirme Ltd, a company backed by John and Patrick Collison.<ref name="irishtimes-Millbrook">{{cite news |last=Slater |first=Sarah |title=Stripe founders pay €400,000 for second Laois property |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/stripe-founders-pay-400-000-for-second-laois-property-1.4791267 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2022-02-01 |access-date=2026-03-26}}</ref>
==The property== The large rectangular, three-storey house, with 117 windows, is considered to be one of the finest in Ireland. The property includes {{convert|1,000|acre}} of grounds, including walled gardens and farmland, and ten estate houses and cottages.<ref>{{cite news |title=117 windows, 1,000 acres: banker cashing in on palatial Laois home |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/117-windows-1-000-acres-banker-cashing-in-on-palatial-laois-home-1.3938237 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2019-06-27 |accessdate=2020-03-15}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://archiseek.com/2014/1773-abbeyleix-house-abbeyleix-co-laois/ ''1773 – Abbeyleix House, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois'']
Category:Houses in County Laois Category:Houses completed in 1773 Category:Georgian architecture in Ireland