Kylemore Abbey

 Dear Family and Friends,

 

Kylemore Castle was built in 1868 as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy doctor from London. They traveled to this part of Ireland on their honeymoon in the 1840's and fell in love with the area. He moved to Ireland when he and his wife Margaret purchased the land in this area. The construction on the castle began in 1867, and took the total of one hundred men and four years to complete. Mitchell Henry and his wife took a trip to Egypt.  She became sick and died.  In his grief, Mitchell Henry built an church on the property in honor of his wife.

The castle was sold to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester in 1903, They resided there for several years before being forced to sell the house and grounds because of gambling debts.  In 1920, the Irish Benedictine Nuns purchased the church, castle and lands to form a new Abbey after they were forced to flee Belgium during World War I.  

We were able to tour inside a few rooms of the castle.  Here are a few pictures below.

I love the entry way with canes, fishing poles, walking sticks stored there.

From there, a huge welcome foyer had a fabulous fire place.

Living room:

Dining Room:

These were the only rooms we were welcomed to see.  I would have loved to have seen  the whole castle.

Near by is the church.

We walked and enjoyed the beauty of this huge estate.  Here are a few pictures of our walk.

We enjoyed this site so very much.  And to think, we had never heard of it before.  

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I look forward to taking you with us.

Love,

Nancy