# Knockdrin > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Knockdrin > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Knockdrin.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knockdrin > Source revision: 1282364514 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Townland in County Westmeath, Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2021}} [[File:Chateau Knockdrin MULLINGAR.jpg|thumb|Knockdrin Castle, just north of [Mullingar](/source/Mullingar)]] thumb|Knockdrin viewed from left [[File:Knockdrin_entrance.jpg|thumb|Gatehouse and main gate to Knockdrin Castle on the R394 road between Mullingar and [Castlepollard](/source/Castlepollard) ]] '''Knockdrin''' ({{irish place name|Cnoc Droinne}}){{cite web|url = https://www.logainm.ie/51847.aspx | publisher = Placenames Database of Ireland | website = logainm.ie | title = Cnoc Droinne / Knockdrin | access-date = 27 January 2021 }} is a [townland](/source/townland) and [electoral division](/source/Electoral_division_(Ireland)) that is 5.6 kilometers northeast of [Mullingar](/source/Mullingar), in [County Westmeath](/source/County_Westmeath), [Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland). It is the home of the Westmeath Hunt, and its most notable building is Knockdrin Castle. The [R394 regional road](/source/R394_road_(Ireland)), the main Mullingar to [Castlepollard](/source/Castlepollard) route, runs through the area. ==Etymology== The name Knockdrin (Irish: ''Cnoc Droinne'' meaning 'hill of Drin'){{cite web|url =https://www.logainm.ie/en/1413771 | publisher = Irish Placenames Commission | website = logainm.ie | title = Cnoc Droinne / Knockdrin | access-date = 11 November 2018}} reputedly derives from a hill on the estate.{{cite book| title = A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland | publisher = Samuel Lewis | date = 1837 | via = libraryireland.com | url = https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/R/Rathconnell-Magheradernan-Westmeath.php }} This is also reflected to Lough Drin, a small lake on the estate. The [Irish](/source/Irish_language) name for the locality is ''Muine Liath'' (pronounced ''Moe in ah lee ah''), which means 'grey thicket'. ''Muine Liath'' is written in [English](/source/English_language) as Monilea.{{cite web|url = https://www.logainm.ie/en/1413827 | publisher = Irish Placenames Commission | website = logainm.ie | title = An Muine Liath / Monilea| access-date = 11 November 2018}} ==Knockdrin Castle== Knockdrin Castle is, according to ''[The Buildings of Ireland](/source/The_Buildings_of_Ireland): North [Leinster](/source/Leinster)'' (published in [London](/source/London) in 1993 and better known as the ''Pevsner Guide to North Leinster''), mainly an early 19th-century [neo-Gothic](/source/neo-Gothic) structure. The current [castle](/source/List_of_castles_in_Ireland) was constructed for [Sir Richard Levinge](/source/Levinge_Baronets), 6th [Baronet](/source/Baronet) (1785-1848), in the late 18th century, and the current structure was probably completed by 1820. According to a National Inventory survey, parts of a surviving gate structure may be from an "earlier eighteenth century house [that] stood on the site (known as 'High Park')".[https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15401220/knockdrin-castle-knockdrin-county-westmeath Knockdrin Castle, KNOCKDRIN, WESTMEATH] The National Inventory considers the castle as "one of finest picturesque castellated country houses built in Ireland during the first half of the nineteenth century ... retains its early character, form and fabric". The summary adds that there are many outbuildings, including an area that "incorporates the remains of a Late Medieval tower house, built c.1550".{{cite web|url = https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15401222/knockdrin-castle-knockdrin-county-westmeath | publisher = [National Inventory of Architectural Heritage](/source/National_Inventory_of_Architectural_Heritage) | work = Buildings of Ireland | title = Knockdrin Castle, County Westmeath | access-date = 27 January 2021}} According to some sources, the castle was designed by [Richard Morrison](/source/Richard_Morrison_(architect)),{{cite web|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/new-to-market/former-dcu-president-s-castle-on-sale-for-13-5m-1.3291639 | work = The Irish Times | title = Former DCU president's castle on sale for €13.5m | date = 16 November 2017 | access-date = 16 November 2017 }} and was built on the site of High Park, the original 18th-century mansion that formerly stood there.{{cite web|url = http://archiseek.com/2013/1812-knockdrin-castle-co-westmeath/ | publisher = Archiseek | website = Archiseek.com | title = 1812 – Knockdrin Castle, Co. Westmeath | access-date = 16 November 2017 | date = 2013 }} According to the National Inventory, however, Levinge did not accept the two designs proposed by Morrison and that the final plan may have been by James Shiel. Another reliable source also confirms that the structure is credited to James Shiel, "assistant to Francis Johnston, one of Ireland’s best known Gothic Revival architects ... although elements of the front facade have been attributed to Morrison’s design".{{cite web|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/new-to-market/former-dcu-president-s-castle-on-sale-for-13-5m-1.3291639 | website = irishtimes.com | title = Former DCU president’s castle on sale for €13.5m}} From 1961 to late 2020, the castle was the home of the von Prondzynski family. The last member of the family to be the owner, Professor [Ferdinand von Prondzynski](/source/Ferdinand_von_Prondzynski), was President of [Dublin City University](/source/Dublin_City_University) from 2000 until mid-2010, and then Principal and Vice-Chancellor of [Robert Gordon University (RGU)](/source/Robert_Gordon_University), [Aberdeen](/source/Aberdeen), [Scotland](/source/Scotland). In December 2020 the castle and the greater part of the estate was bought by entrepreneurial couple Noel and Valerie Moran.{{cite web|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/former-dcu-president-sells-palatial-westmeath-home-for-10m-1.4450895 | work = The Irish Times | title = Former DCU president sells palatial Westmeath home for €10m | date = 5 January 2021 | accessdate = 1 June 2021 }} Ferdinand von Prondzynski continues to own the remainder of the property. ===History=== Until the early 18th century, the main residence on the estate was a small [Norman](/source/Normans) castle (often known locally as '[King John](/source/John_of_England)'s Castle') which was destroyed by fire.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} The main part of High Park, the first mansion that stood on the site of the current Knockdrin Castle, may have been built in the early 18th century for [Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet](/source/Sir_Richard_Levinge%2C_1st_Baronet), [M.P.](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(pre-Union_Ireland)) (1656-1724). The Levinges came to Ireland with the [Williamite](/source/Williamite)s, in the late 17th century. The first [Sir Richard Levinge](/source/Sir_Richard_Levinge%2C_1st_Baronet) was [Chief Justice of the Common Pleas](/source/Chief_Justice_of_the_Common_Pleas_(Ireland)) and a member of the Lords Commissioners, who were appointed by the [British Crown](/source/British_Crown) to settle all the land questions which had arisen in Ireland after the [Cromwellian conquest](/source/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland), the [Restoration](/source/English_Restoration) and the [Williamite Wars](/source/Williamite_War_in_Ireland). Levinge took advantage of his position to purchase the Knockdrin Estate from the [Tuites](/source/Riste%C3%A1rd_de_Ti%C3%BAit), who were the [Norman-Irish](/source/Hiberno-Norman) owners up to that time. At the time the estate was over {{convert|12000|acre|km2}} in size. As of late 2020, the estate was approximately {{convert|1000|acre|km2}}.{{cite web|url = https://www.independent.ie/business/farming/farm-property/leinster-farm-sales/video-massive-estate-totalling-1140-acres-to-be-sold-with-castle-in-westmeath-36329229.html | publisher = Independent News & Media | website = independent.ie | title = Massive estate totalling 1,140 acres to be sold with castle in Westmeath | date = 20 November 2017 | access-date = 11 November 2018 }} During the [Irish War of Independence](/source/Irish_War_of_Independence), Sir [Winston Churchill](/source/Winston_Churchill) stayed at the castle, in a bedroom now known as the Crown Bedroom. During [the Emergency (WWII)](/source/The_Emergency_(Ireland)), the castle was taken over for troop accommodation and was occupied by a company of the 6th Infantry of the [Irish Army](/source/Irish_Army). The army left in 1945 and handed the castle back to the Levinges. The Levinges owned Knockdrin until 1946, although the last [Sir Richard Levinge](/source/Levinge_Baronets) to live there (later a director of [Guinness Ltd](/source/Diageo)) had by then not been resident there for some time.[https://www.thedicamillo.com/house/knockdrin-castle-high-park/ Knockdrin Castle] In 1946, the estate was sold to [Paddy Dunne-Cullinan](/source/Patrick_Dunne-Cullinan), who remained there until 1961, when he in turn sold the [estate](/source/country_estate) to Hans Freiherr von Prondzynski from Germany.{{cite web|url = http://www.breakingnews.ie/business/luxurious-westmeath-castle-goes-on-sale-for-135m-814432.html | publisher = Landmark Digital | work = BreakingNews.ie |title = Luxurious Westmeath castle goes on sale for €13.5m | date = 16 November 2017 | access-date = 16 November 2017}} Significant changes to the castle had taken place by August 2020 when the description included this information:[https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/top-5-incredible-castles-for-sale-in-ireland-right-now/ Five Incredible Castles for Sale]
"twelve bedrooms and five bathrooms, a top-lit staircase made of carved oak, its own gallery decorated with fluted shafts and ogee-headed niches around the walls, reception rooms, a spacious dining room, ballroom, and a library. It also comes with commercial woodland, arable lands, and a small lake.
Another report, in September 2020, stated that major repairs had been completed, 50 years earlier and that the castle was "structurally in good repair but, given the passage of time, requires upgrading".[https://www.irishcentral.com/dream-homes/knockdrin-castle-westmeath This castle for sale could be the perfect place to retire in Ireland] The property was subsequently sold "to the Meath-based entrepreneurial couple", Noel and Valerie Moran, previous owners of Prepaid Financial Services. They were planning an extensive restoration of the castle and outbuildings.[https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/former-dcu-president-sells-palatial-westmeath-home-for-10m-1.4450895 Former DCU president sells palatial Westmeath home for €10m] ==Other castles in County Westmeath== * [Ballinlough Castle](/source/Ballinlough_Castle) * [Clonyn Castle](/source/Clonyn_Castle) aka Delvin Castle * [Killua Castle](/source/Killua_Castle) * [Tullynally Castle](/source/Tullynally_Castle) * [Tyrrellspass Castle](/source/Tyrrellspass_Castle) ==Further reading== * {{cite book| author = [Alistair Rowan](/source/Alistair_Rowan) and Christine Casey |title = The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster ''(popularly known as the'' [Pevsner Guide to North Leinster](/source/Pevsner_Architectural_Guides)'')'' | publisher = [Yale University Press](/source/Yale_University_Press) | place = London | year = 1993}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{coord|53|34|25|N|7|18|54|W|type:waterbody_source:kolossus-frwiki|display=title}} Category:Buildings and structures in County Westmeath Category:Castles in County Westmeath Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Ireland Category:Townlands of County Westmeath --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Knockdrin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knockdrin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knockdrin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.