Gillhall Estate
Lurgan Road Dromore County Down Northern Ireland
Gillhall Estate consisted of a vast estate of land, farm buildings, and an impressive house that had been built between 1670 and 1680 by John Magill. Sadly, the house is no longer standing after a fire in 1969, which rendered it unstable and a hazard. The house was then demolished by the Territorial Army.
Gillhall was as impressive inside as it was out. Many of the rooms were so large that they required a fireplace at both ends for enough heat. There were remarkable carvings inside the house, an example being the barley-sugar banisters and the carved swags of foliage on the staircase.
Gillhall was also renowned for its reputation of being one of the most notorious haunted houses in Ireland. This was due to the Earl of Tyrone who made a pact with his cousin, Lady Beresford. The story goes that as children, Lady Nichola Beresford, John Power, and Lord Tyrone, vowed that whoever died first would come back in the form of a ghost to prove to the other that there was a life after death. One night in 1693 while she was staying at Gillhall, Lady Beresford was visited by the ghost of Lord Tyrone who told her that there was indeed a life after death. To convince Lady Beresford that he was a genuine apparition and not just a figment of her imagination, he made various predictions, notably that she would have a son who would marry his niece, the heiress of Curraghmore, and the more shocking prediction that Lady Beresford would die on her 47th birthday.
His predictions all came true. To further convince Lady Beresford of his visit, he touched her wrist, which made the flesh and sinews shrink. Lady Beresford wore a piece of black ribbon around her wrist to hide the damage for the rest of her life. When the fifth Earl of Clanwilliam brought his bride to Gillhall in 1909, it is said that she found the ghosts of Gillhall too much to bear and so the house was abandoned by the family. In 1910, the Earl and his wife bought Montalto in Ballynahinch. From then onward, Gillhall stood empty and deserted, except for the small portion of the house in which the recent owner’s land steward and his family could live. In 1945, the land steward, who was a local man by the name of Mr. Robert Matchet, and his family were surprised when they received a visit by two American soldiers who told them of a room in the house where they could find a pane of glass in the window with a verse written on it. The soldier told of how his grandmother had been a servant in the house at the time and had told him the story of how one of the young ladies in the house had been mischievous, and so to punish her, the girl’s father had locked her in this room for a short spell of time. While she was in the room, the young girl took her diamond ring and proceeded to write the following on the window.
The beauty of holiness Is best understood To him that beauty beheld By the fair and the good.
No one had previously known about this until the Americans’ visit.
By 1966, the house was in an advanced state of decay. It was then that the Irish Georgian Society carried out much-needed repairs, without which it would definitely have been past saving. The Society hoped that having made the house watertight they could restore the house further at a later date. Unfortunately, it was shortly after their first attempt at restoring the full glory of Gillhall that the house fell victim to fire. Gillhall may not be standing, but the its legend certainly lives on. People are still known to pass the gates of Gillhall as quickly as possible for fear of seeing the infamous ghost.
Lurgan Road Dromore County Down Northern Ireland
Gillhall Estate consisted of a vast estate of land, farm buildings, and an impressive house that had been built between 1670 and 1680 by John Magill. Sadly, the house is no longer standing after a fire in 1969, which rendered it unstable and a hazard. The house was then demolished by the Territorial Army.
Gillhall was as impressive inside as it was out. Many of the rooms were so large that they required a fireplace at both ends for enough heat. There were remarkable carvings inside the house, an example being the barley-sugar banisters and the carved swags of foliage on the staircase.
Gillhall was also renowned for its reputation of being one of the most notorious haunted houses in Ireland. This was due to the Earl of Tyrone who made a pact with his cousin, Lady Beresford. The story goes that as children, Lady Nichola Beresford, John Power, and Lord Tyrone, vowed that whoever died first would come back in the form of a ghost to prove to the other that there was a life after death. One night in 1693 while she was staying at Gillhall, Lady Beresford was visited by the ghost of Lord Tyrone who told her that there was indeed a life after death. To convince Lady Beresford that he was a genuine apparition and not just a figment of her imagination, he made various predictions, notably that she would have a son who would marry his niece, the heiress of Curraghmore, and the more shocking prediction that Lady Beresford would die on her 47th birthday.
His predictions all came true. To further convince Lady Beresford of his visit, he touched her wrist, which made the flesh and sinews shrink. Lady Beresford wore a piece of black ribbon around her wrist to hide the damage for the rest of her life. When the fifth Earl of Clanwilliam brought his bride to Gillhall in 1909, it is said that she found the ghosts of Gillhall too much to bear and so the house was abandoned by the family. In 1910, the Earl and his wife bought Montalto in Ballynahinch. From then onward, Gillhall stood empty and deserted, except for the small portion of the house in which the recent owner’s land steward and his family could live. In 1945, the land steward, who was a local man by the name of Mr. Robert Matchet, and his family were surprised when they received a visit by two American soldiers who told them of a room in the house where they could find a pane of glass in the window with a verse written on it. The soldier told of how his grandmother had been a servant in the house at the time and had told him the story of how one of the young ladies in the house had been mischievous, and so to punish her, the girl’s father had locked her in this room for a short spell of time. While she was in the room, the young girl took her diamond ring and proceeded to write the following on the window.
The beauty of holiness Is best understood To him that beauty beheld By the fair and the good.
No one had previously known about this until the Americans’ visit.
By 1966, the house was in an advanced state of decay. It was then that the Irish Georgian Society carried out much-needed repairs, without which it would definitely have been past saving. The Society hoped that having made the house watertight they could restore the house further at a later date. Unfortunately, it was shortly after their first attempt at restoring the full glory of Gillhall that the house fell victim to fire. Gillhall may not be standing, but the its legend certainly lives on. People are still known to pass the gates of Gillhall as quickly as possible for fear of seeing the infamous ghost.
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