Читать книгу Irish Castles - Orna Mulcahy - Страница 14
ОглавлениеASHFORD CASTLE ESTATE, CONG, COUNTY MAYO, F31 CA48
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An awe-inducing baronial castle on Lough Corrib, close to the village of Cong, Ashford Castle was once owned by the Guinness brewing family and is now a luxury hotel with a plush, romantic interior. The earliest segment of the castle dates back to the early thirteenth century, when it was built on the edge of a monastic settlement by the de Burgo family. Defeated in battle in 1589, they lost their home to Lord Ingham, Governor of Connaught, whose family held it for over three hundred years. It was not until 1715, when the castle was acquired by the Browne family, that it became the Ashford estate, with the castle extended in the French chateau style. The castellated wings and the bridge entrance were added by the Guinness family, who acquired Ashford in the mid nineteenth century and extended the estate to 26,000 acres.
