Sutton Castle, Dublin

Sutton Castle or Sutton House is a Victorian Tudor-style castellated mansion house with terraced gardens on the southern coast of Howth Head, overloooking Dublin Bay, in the suburbs of Dublin, Ireland.

Sutton Castle
A view of the main house in May 2007
Location within Dublin
Former names	Sutton House
General information
Architectural style	Tudor revival
Classification	Privately owned and rental apartments
Location	Sutton, Dublin
Town or city	Dublin
Country	Ireland
Coordinates	53.3718809°N 6.0962459°W
Completed	c.1890
Renovated	2001
Design and construction
Architect	Alfred Darbyshire
Website
http://mknpropertygroup.com/portfolio/sutton-castle-sutton-dublin-13/

History

Origins

The house was designed for industrialist and politician Andrew Jameson, great-grandson of John Jameson, by Manchester-based architect Alfred Darbyshire,[1] who had previously worked on some of the Jameson distilleries.[2] Located in the townland of Sutton South,[1] it was constructed around the year 1880 on lands spanning the Bailey area of Howth and neighbouring Sutton.

The 40-room house replaced an earlier nearby Sutton House which was demolished and had previously been occupied by Joseph Devonsher Jackson and later by Alice Lawrenson and Rev William Lawrenson, prebendary of Howth.[3][2][4][5] Prior to the construction of the earlier Sutton House the land was owned by the Hackett Family and a substantial 16th century castle house stood on its grounds[6] roughly near the location of the current castle gates.

Hotel

The house was converted into a 19-bedroom hotel in the 1970s called Sutton House Hotel and later Sutton Castle Hotel. It was sold, along with 7 acres of gardens and woodland, for IR£2.55m in 1997.[7] Having continued to operate as a hotel, and then having operated as a temporary centre for asylum seekers for a number of years,[8][9] the hotel was converted into 17 luxury apartments by the McKeown Group in 2001.[10]

Notable residents

• The politician Andrew Jameson and later his daughter Harriet Kirkwood
• The Flemish businessman Albert Luykx

Status and features

The house is recorded in the Fingal County Council Record of Protected Structures (RPS 0578) with the description Late 19th century four-storey Victorian Tudor-style house & gates, extended and converted into apartment complex.[11]

The main house, situated on terraces, has four storeys, and overlooks Dublin Bay. It has a Gothic porch, terracotta tiling, and art deco style chimneys, and the original bay and window structure is retained. A modern one- and two-storey extension to the west was added around 1990. The lobby and some of the original reception rooms remain, the latter now incorporated into some of the modern apartments. The main stairway was retained and restored, and a lift added prior to sale as apartments. Eight apartments were formed in the main house, and nine in the western extension.[11][3]

The house was damaged by fire in 1925 while newly wed Jameson and Ruth Hart were on honeymoon in New York but was later restored to its original condition.[12]

Popular culture

The hotel and grounds were used as the background for the cover of the Van Morrisson album Veedon Fleece, in a photograph which was taken while he was staying at the hotel in 1974.

Bono and Ali Hewson had their wedding reception at the hotel in 1982.[13]

Martello Tower

A nearby Martello Tower, right on the coast, in the area known as Red Rock, and constructed in 1804, is also listed on the Record of Protected Structures for Fingal (RPS 0579). It was the first of around 29 Martello Towers to be constructed in the Greater Dublin area and was referred to as Tower Number 1.[14] The tower previously formed part of the grounds of Sutton Castle, at various times being leased and owned by Andrew Jameson and accessed via the same gate at Sutton House,[15] but has since been detached, and converted into holiday rental accommodation.[16]

The Martello Tower at Red Rock in 2007

A view across Dublin bay from the tower in 2017

See also

• Bettyglen House, Raheny - a sister house in the Arts and Crafts style built in 1910 by George Jameson which was converted into 10 luxury apartments in 2020
• St. Marnocks - a nearby Jameson family house in Portmarnock, owned by John Jameson and now a hotel

References

1. "Sutton Castle Hotel, Shielmartin Road, SUTTON SOUTH, Sutton, Fingal". buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
2. "1880 – Sutton Castle Hotel, Sutton, Co. Dublin". Archiseek. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
3. McGuinness, Katy. "Life in the Jameson family mansion could be yours for €895k". independent.ie. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
4. O'Laughlin, Michael (1999). Families of County Dublin. Irish Genealogical Foundation. ISBN 9780940134300. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
5. "Jackson in Dublin Probates". The Silver Bowl. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
6. "Howth and its Heritage". Howth Peninsula Heritage Society. Retrieved 18 May 2020. ...substantial building which stood on the lands of Sutton belonging to the family of Hackett, on the southern slopes of the peninsula. Sutton House, later renamed Sutton Castle, was built on the site of this house.
7. "Sutton Castle Hotel sells for £2.55m". The Irish Times. 24 September 1997. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
8. "Dé Máirt, 12 Meith 2001". Dáil Éireann Díospóireacht (Debates). 537 (5). 12 June 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2020. Answer from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to Brendan Howlin, T.D.: ,,, P. Doyle (proprietor) / Sutton Castle Hotel, Sutton, Co. Dublin / Occupancy: 72
9. King, Dervla (1 January 2001). "Unaccompanied Minors: an Information Booklet". National Children's Resource Centre: 20–21. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
10. "Sutton Castle is a unique development of 17 apartments comprising the converted Jameson House located just off Howth Head". mknpropertygroup.com. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
11. "Record of Protected Structures" (PDF). www.fingal.ie. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
12. "Hart family". YouWho?. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
13. McGee, Matt (2011). U2: A Diary. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127433. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
14. "Martello Tower Sutton - History". Martello Tower, Sutton. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
15. Bolton, Jason (1 March 2008). "Martello Towers Research Project" (PDF): 130–132, 180–182. Retrieved 20 May 2020. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
16. "Martello Tower Sutton". Martello Tower, Sutton. Retrieved 20 May 2020.