Manderley Castle
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
built in Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
style, in Killiney
Killiney
Killiney is a suburb of Dublin in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey, and north to Shankill area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin....
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It is currently owned by the singer Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
.
From the roof of the crenellated turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
of the Castle, one may look beyond the Irish coast as far eastward as Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The building is surrounded by 14000 m² (3.5 acre) of manicured garden threaded with sylvan
Sylvan
Sylvan, Silvan or Sylvian refers to an association with the woods. Specifically, that which inhabits the wood, is made of tree materials, or comprises the forest itself. The term can also refer to a person who resides in the woods or a spirit of the wood...
walks. A secret tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
at the bottom of the garden originally gave access to Killiney
Killiney
Killiney is a suburb of Dublin in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey, and north to Shankill area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin....
beach but now is sealed off.
Robert Warren built Victoria Castle in 1840 to commemorate Queen Victoria's accession to the throne. The interior was gutted by fire in 1928, then magnificently restored by Sir Thomas Power of the celebrated whiskey family; he renamed the mansion "Ayesha Castle", after the goddess who rose from the flames in Rider Haggard's novel She
She (novel)
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by Henry Rider Haggard, first serialized in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and with over 83 million copies sold in 44 different languages, one of the best-selling books...
. In 1995, the Aylmer family decided to turn Ayesha Castle into a place of tourist interest, "conver[ting ] existing stables to a ground floor apartment and a first floor craft room". The Stable Gallery was established there, and many artists displayed their pictures.
Irish musician Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
bought the Castle in 1997 for €3.8 million, reportedly outbidding Michael Flatley
Michael Flatley
Michael Ryan Flatley is an American Irish dancer, choreographer, actor, musician and occasional television presenter. He became internationally known for Irish dance shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger...
, who also viewed the house. Out of her love for Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
's Rebecca
Rebecca (novel)
Rebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. When Rebecca was published in 1938, du Maurier became – to her great surprise – one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works...
, Enya renamed the Castle "Manderley" for the fictional house that plays a central role in the 1938 novel.
Because of serious threats from stalkers, Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
substantially reinforced the security of the Castle, installing new solid timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
entrance gates, raising the surrounding 41 metres (135 ft) of stone wall to more than 2.7 metres (9 ft), and placing 1.2 m
railings atop some sections. Despite these changes, around mid-August 2005, there were two separate security breaches while Enya was at the Castle (her security system includes a panic room
Panic room
A safe room or panic room is a fortified room which is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break-in, home invasion, tornado, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment, so that law...
).