This letter was sent to my previous article on 'Woodlawn House' from Roderick Trench, son of Lord Ashtown whose ancestors built this fine building :"Just came across your story on Woodlawn House. Of great interest to me as it belonged to my family. The owner was in fact Lord Ashtown not Ashford. My father is the present Lord Ashtown. He turned 90 two weeks ago and lives in London. I had the mausoleum restored in 2001 and usually come over to Galway a couple of times a year. I am not so sure about Woodlawn being haunted. I always heard that Leap Castle in Offaly held that honour. My grandmother's family came from there."
Yes, I made a typing error in the title of Lord 'Ashtown'. Sorry!
But it is good to know that the present Lord Ashtown is alive and 'all of 90 years young'.
Sadly, Roderick did not leave me his contact details.
But if he is still viewing my blog, I would like to get his postal address so that I could send him the film on Woodlawn House produced by the children of Woodlawn school as well as the piece from the 'Sunday Times' regarding the building being the most haunted in Ireland.
I would also like to point out that, unlike many of the landlords from the British colonial era, the Trench family left behind a rich heritage for future generations of Irish people to finally enjoy in the form of the assortment of fine buildings that they had commissioned which still dominate the local landscape including
:the Church of Ireland, the railway station, the former tenants' houses, the ice house...
Unfortunately the interior of Woodlawn House itself was largely destroyed years ago in a fire.
But the demesne remains intact with its plethora of outhouses, wrought-iron railings/gates, games-keeper lodge,
stables a
nd huge glasshouse.Hopefully, it will continue to retain much of its rural idyll character for ordinary Irish people to admire and in the years to come.
Below is a photo of some of the pupils of the local school as they endeavour to re-create the dress of a 19th century Lord Ashtown and his family.
The pupils and staff of Woodlawn Primary School who produced the award-winning film on 'Woodlawn House.
An ornate Gate on the Woodlawn demesne
