Williamstown House
Williamstown House, Co.Meath, built in the year 1770. The area of Williamstown takes its name from the Williams family, who first settled here in the 1660s. Thomas William and his wife Dorothea had one child called Esther, and she inherited the lands around Williamstown. Esther married a Reverend Hamilton Cuffe, and in 1770, they built the Palladian-style house that we now see in ruin. The Cuffe family lived way beyond their means; they lost the estate, and in 1828, the house was bought by Sarah Garnet. Sadly, very soon after purchasing the estate, Sarah passed away, and she left the house to her cousin, Reverend George Garnet.
Williamstown House, Co.Meath, built in the year 1770. The area of Williamstown takes its name from the Williams family, who first settled here in the 1660s. Thomas William and his wife Dorothea had one child called Esther, and she inherited the lands around Williamstown. Esther married a Reverend Hamilton Cuffe, and in 1770, they built the Palladian-style house that we now see in ruin. The Cuffe family lived way beyond their means; they lost the estate, and in 1828, the house was bought by Sarah Garnet. Sadly, very soon after purchasing the estate, Sarah passed away, and she left the house to her cousin, Reverend George Garnet.
Williamstown, 1975. Photo by William Garner.
The Garnets lived here for many years, and George's grandson, William Garnet, extended the house to nine bays in 1856 and also built a gate lodge, also known as Zephyr Lodge. This was a dower house for his widowed mother. To finance the lavish lifestyle of the big house, William borrowed a lot of money, and eventually he had to auction off some items from the house and advertise it to let.
Dr Thomas Sparrow, who was the local medic for Kells was the first to rent the estate. In the 1901 census, he was living in the 44-room mansion with two servants. He remained here until 1905, when he was evicted for not paying his rent.
Present day Williamstown
The house was auctioned off by the garnets in 1906, and the next owner was Richard Shortridge. Shortridge had a brief spell here, selling the house in 1912 to John McCormick. John was from Dublin, and his family made their fortune from the shipping and coal business. John moved into the house fully in 1914 with his sister Julie, but one year later, he was tragically killed while fighting in World War I. His sister, Rose, was the last person to live in Williamstown house, and she remained there until the 1970s. Many friends would stay with her over the years in the Grand Mansion. One of her friends, Cyril Bartholomew, installed electricity here in the 1920s. Famously, it was the first house in Kells to have electricity. Since the 1970s, the house has been abandoned.