Drumbanagher House

Drumbanagher House (also known as Drumbanagher Castle and Closes Castle), near Poyntzpass, County Armagh, was a large country house in Northern Ireland designed for Maxwell Close by William Notman, working under William Playfair[1] in 1829, being "one of his grandest country houses."[2][3]

Following occupation by the American and British armies during World War Two Drumbanagher was demolished by its owner in 1951 due to the expense in up keeping the property; the estate remains in the possession of the Close family. Writing in the Belfast Telegraph in 1962 the then owner said;

"No mortal could have afforded to keep the castle going. So I had it demolished. Death duties, upkeep and financial difficulties meant I just had to get rid of it...It was perfectly sound and in good order when it was demolished...Now it looks like a nuclear bomb hit it."

Today, all that remains of the house is the "vast arched porte-cochere" (Bence-Jones), which Sir Charles Brett described as "resembling a Roman Arc de Triomphe."

References

1. http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=202346
2. Brett, Sir Charles, Buildings of County Armagh, UAHS, 1999, p. 272
3. Castles in County Armagh