Recent History
The house was bought in 1967 by Desmond Guinness to save it from vandalism, became the flagship of the Irish Georgian Society, and was eventually handed over to the newly-established Castletown Foundation.
The estate was sold on in parts, with 120 acres (0.49 km2) held as curtilage around the house, some small quantities retained privately by Desmond Guinness, the forested Crodaun Woods part sold to what became Coillte and around 25 acres (100,000 m2) acquired over time by Kildare County Council. Most of the core estate remains as woods or green space but a large fraction in the south west was developed as Castletown Estate, controversially approaching the main house closely, and taking in the Walled Garden and the orchard (whose wall remains), which were lost. However, some other features, such as the Gazebo, the Steward's House and a mock temple, were retained, after negotiations between developer Janus Securities and the Irish Georgian Society.
Read more about this topic: Castletown House
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