page_title: Powerscourt Estate
section_title: 19th-century gardens
hierarchical_section_title: Powerscourt Estate / History / 19th-century gardens
caption_attribution_description: English: Japanese gardens, Powerscourt Estate, County Wicklow, Ireland 2012
context_page_description: Powerscourt Estate, located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying 19 hectares. The house, originally a 13th-century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect Richard Cassels, starting in 1731 and finishing in 1741. A fire in 1974 left the house lying as a shell until it was renovated in 1996.
  The Wingfield family had long coveted the lands of Phelim O'Toole of Powerscourt, seeking to draw Phelim O'Toole into an act of rebellion, the penalty for which was forfeiture. The feud climaxed on the 14 May 1603 when the Wingfields murdered Phelim in the place known as the Killing Hollow near Powerscourt, despite the fact that Phelim's grandson and heir Turlough son of Phelim's son remained in occupation of Powerscourt. King James I of England on 27 October 1603 granted a lease of the manor of Powerscourt for 21 years to Sir Richard Wingfield for a rent of £6 Irish and a knight's fee. The reasons for the forfeiture of the O'Toole estates were because of the rebellious acts of Brian O'Neill and Phelim O'Toole himself.
context_section_description: In 1844, at the age of 8, Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt, inherited the title and the Powerscourt Estate, which comprised 200 km² (49,000 acres) of land in Ireland. When young Lord Powerscourt reached the age of 21, he embarked on an extensive renovation of the house and created the new gardens.
  Main attractions on the grounds include the Tower Valley (with stone tower), Japanese gardens, winged horse statues, Triton Lake, pet cemetery, Dolphin Pond, walled gardens, Bamberg Gate and the Italian Garden. The Pepperpot Tower is said to be designed after a favoured 3-inch pepperpot of Lady Wingfield. Of particular note is the Pets Cemetery, whose tombstones have been described as "astonishingly personal".
  Inspiration for the garden design followed visits by Powerscourt to ornamental gardens at the Palace of Versailles, Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna, and Schwetzingen Castle near Heidelberg. The garden development took 20 years to complete in 1880.
caption: Japanese gardens at Powerscourt Estate
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