Belvedere House and Gardens

Belvedere House and Gardens is a country house located approximately 8km from Mullingar, County Westmeath in Ireland on the north-east shore of Lough Ennell. It was built in 1740 as a hunting lodge for Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere by architect Richard Cassels, one of Ireland's foremost Palladian architects. Belvedere House, although not very large, is architecturally significant because of its Diocletian windows and dramatic nineteenth-century terracing. When Robert Rochfort decided to use Belvedere as his principal residence, he employed Barthelemij Cramillion who was a French Stuccadore, to execute the Rococo plasterwork ceilings which are among the most exquisite in the country. The landscaped demesne boasts the largest and most spectacular folly in the country, The Jealous Wall, built to block off the view of his estranged brother's house nearby. There is also Victorian walled garden and many hectares of forest. The house has been fully restored and the grounds are well maintained, attracting some 160,000 visitors annually.