15th February 1920
Castleshane House, Pre 1920
Castleshane House, After the Fire
Image Heather Hurley / Kentchurch Archives
https://logastonpress.co.uk/product/scudamores-of-kentchurch-and-holme-lacy-the/
On the morning of Sunday, 15th February, 1920 a fire was discovered in the dining room of Castleshane House and as described by the Northern Standard: "...by the forenoon the interior of the Castle was entirely burnt out and only the bare walls remained. Throughout the progress of the fire the roof gradually fell in and crashed down to the basement, becoming a smouldering heap of broken masonry and twisted metal-work".
Mrs Sybil Lucas-Scudamore, widow of Colonel Edward Lucas-Scudamore who had died in 1917, and her daughter, Oriel, and eight maidservants escaped safely. Mrs Lucas-Scudamore and her daughter were brought to the residence of the High Sheriff of the county, Mr. E. H. Greene and from there went to England where she had estates, the principal of which, Kentchurch Court in Herefordshire is now owned by her grandson Mr John Lucas-Scudamore.
Reporting that the origin of the fire was unknown, the Northern Standard describes how a servant-girl found smoke drifting through the house about 7.00 am and discovered that it came from the dining room. There was no suggestion in newspaper reports that the fire had been started deliberately although there were unsubstantiated claims later by local people that some republicans from the area were responsible
The writer, in conversation with a direct descendant of last owners, enquired what knowledge or opinion had passed down through the family about the origin of the fire. The response was that while there had never been any certainty about it, the belief was that the fire had been started deliberately by a local youth with the connivance of one of the housemaids.
In 1920 there was a wave of raids for arms and attacks on homes of Protestant gentry by the IRA. The Orange Hall at Braddox was burned in June 1920.
In her autobiography The Gilt and the Gingerbread, Anita Leslie has this reference to the fire:
"Occasionally we were driven to play with seven-year-old Oriel Scudamore at Castle Shane, a Victorian-Gothic house lying deep in its forest, five miles away. One morning at nursery breakfast the news reached us that Castle Shane was burning down. The grown-ups hurried around looking grim and in the afternoon we went to see the smoking ruin. Oriel's tear-streaked mother was directing firemen and police to search for her jewellery in the ashes. Charles 11's prayer book had been burned with other precious volumes in the library and a pet Pekinese had succumbed. We watched the activities unmoved. The burning happened to suit our book, for Oriel and her governess came to stay with us at Castle Leslie and she was dressed in my clothes until her mother could purchase more."
The destruction of the castle and the departure ofthe family, followed by the disposal of the remainder ofthe estate (much of it already having been sold to occupiers under the Land Acts) saw an end to the presence in the county ofaleadingland-holding family who had been a major influence on the history of the area for the previous 270 years.
CASTLE SHANE HOUSE
(Image - Wikipedia)
Castle Shane House was built about the middle of the 17th century, replacing an original house on the site built in 1591. It was subsequently rebuilt and extended on three occasions, the last reconstruction being in 1836. It then consisted of a four-storey tower with corner bartizans (parapets) and a main three storey block. It had three centre bays with three sided bays to each side with mullioned windows, curvilinear gables and tall Tudor chimneys. (Houses of Monaghan – Irish Architecture online.)
The 1901 Census gives the house as having 28 windows on the front, 54 rooms and 22 out-offices.
Only the north wing of the building survived the fire. The house, along with the demesne lands were eventually acquired by the Forestry Commision. The remains, which still stand, with some of the outer walls at full height, give an idea of the grandeur of the house. Some of the farm buildings, walled garden, stables and a bell tower are preserved in good condition in the ownership of the late Jim and Maisie Cassidy. The Gate Lodge, with many of its original features retained is the home of Malachy and the late Patricia Coyle.
It is interesting to note that a road map of 1778 (Taylor and Skinner: Road Maps of Ireland) shows the main Monaghan to Castleblayney road running to west of Castleshane House – the route approximately of the present Ardaghey Road.The estate maps of 1869 shows a Gate Lodge and “Monaghan Gate” on this road.This would originally have been the main entrance.
Ordnance Survey First Edition 1835
Ordnance Survey First Edition 1907
(Image - Terence Dooley, Historic Irish Houses & estates)
Terence Dooley: The Irish Revolution 1912-1923. Monaghan
Chapter 8 “is everything we love gone forever” The Big House
In describing the changes in the role of the “ Big House”, Dooley uses a case study on the Lucas-Scudamore family. This is based on “a recently discovered archive” in the family’s possession. The archive is a collection of letters received by Sybil Lucas-Scudamore in the aftermath of fire in February 1920. These are mainly from family members, other ascendancy families in the county and a few from local residents. There are also letters from George Morgan, the steward, who took over the management of the estate and from the estate solicitor, T.F. Crozier, who was advising the immediate sale of the entire demesne.
On the question of how the house was burned on 15th February 1920, Dooley accepts the view that the fire was accidental, not malicious.There are other opinions locally, some going as far as naming local IRA personnel who were responsible.There was a strong and fairly active IRA battalion in Clontibret and also in Ardaghey, Monaghan and Tyholland but their activities centred mainly on raiding isolated households for arms.Dooley discusses the fire in the context of other burnings of Big Houses in the county in this period.Gola House in Tydavnet was burned in March 1921 by the IRA. In June 1921 Ballybay House, the residence of J.H.E. Leslie was burned and in July 1921, Shantonagh House, owned by the Fitzherbert family was burned by “armed men”.In all of these cases there was local animosity to the landlords over their failure to implement the Land Acts. Dooley also observes that the reason other Big Houses such as Glaslough, Dartry, Lough Fea and Hilton Park escaped attack was not because of any love for the families but from prudence by the IRA knowing they were too well protected.
CIVIL WAR INCIDENT
Following the signing of the Treaty, many republicans from Belfast took refuge in the South from the assault of the newly established Northern Ireland government. In the early months of 1922 about 70 of these “refugees” were accommodated, after being ostensibly disarmed, in the ruins of Castleshane House.
It soon became apparent to the authorities that these refugees, augmented by local rebels, were posing a threat to the new Free State and, as reported by the Northern Standard of 1st September 1922:
“A dramatic coup was effected by National troops at Castleshane on Tuesday morning resulting in the largest and most important capture of rebels yet made in County Monaghan. About 60 prisoners were taken, together with a large quantity of arms and munitions…….Among the prisoners captured by the National troops were:Wm Treanor and Hugh mcGrahey from Tydavnet and Patrick McKenna, John Treanor, D Mc Girr, Joseph Toal and John Daly from the Bragan district.