Events Guide

NEW for 2010 Belvedere Summer Pass
Enjoy the summer with daily access to Belvedere House Gardens and Park, for July and August with our fantastic new Summer Pass. Perfect for the Holidays. Outdoor adventures for children.
GARDEN PARTIES AT BELVEDERE HOUSE FAQ
Here are the answers to frequently asked questions about Garden Theatre and Garden Parties at Belvedere in July 2010.
Belvedere Summer -Autumn Events 2010 PDF
Download Belvedere Summer - Autumn Events 2010 PDF
Belvedere Current Opening Times
Belvedere is open daily 10am until 20.00pm Opening hours are dependent upon events.
Pride & Prejudice Matinee Production & Garden Party
Open Air Theatre Matinee & Garden Party Sunday 25th July 2010
Kevin Floods Watercolour Courses in July 2010.
Kevin Flood's very popular watercolour courses return to Belvedere in July 2010
Belvedere Bat Walks 2010
Belvederes Bat walks are in association with Bat Conservation Ireland.
Richard Haslam Flower Arranging Workshops
Renowned, Chelsea Gold Medal Winning designer florist Richard Haslam will run a series of all day workshops in September 2010 at Belvedere.
Scruffs Dog Show 2010 on Sunday 3rd October 2010 at 1pm
In aid of and in association with ISPCA
Halloween Events
Upcoming events for Halloween 2010
Green Santa at Belvedere this Christmas 2010
Following on the success of last year, 2010 will once again see Narnia goes back in time, back to a time when Father Christmas wore Green robes; as in Victorian Times.

Other Info

Belvedere is open to the public 7 days a week all year round.

We look forward to meeting you at Belvedere House Gardens & Park.

Tel:	+353 (0) 44 9349060
Fax:	+353 (0) 44 9349002
Email:	info@belvedere-house.ie

House

Belvedere House Gardens and Park is a magnificent 160 acre Lakeside estate with fully restored Georgian Villa, Victorian Walled Garden, naturalistic designed 18th century parkland punctuated with Romantic follies including the largest in Ireland the Jealous Wall. After a restoration project carried out by the estate owners, Westmeath County Council in conjunction with Failte Ireland and the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Fund , Belvedere in it’s current state opened in the year 2000 to the public.

JealousWallViewSmall

Belvedere House was designed by the famous architect Richard Castles who designed the majority of the Palladian mansions in Ireland. Built for Robert Rochfort later Lord Belvedere in 1740 as a Georgian Villa, somewhere to escape the ordeal of Family life at their nearby main residence Gaulstown House. Belvedere became Robert's main Irish Residence after a family predicament where Robert's second wife was accused of an affair with his younger brother Arthur who lived at nearby Belfield House. The wife, Mary Molesworth spent 31 years under House arrest at Gaulstown until the earls death in 1774. This was a major scandal at the time and led to Robert being known as The Wicked Earl for his cruel treatment of his wife and subsequently his brother and his family. Arthur died destitute in a debtors prison and Robert dis possessed his nine nieces and nephews . A different but related argument with another brother George led to Robert erecting the Jealous Wall in 1760 to block his view of his brothers much larger house, Rochfort (now Tudenham) house.

No children were ever born at Belvedere during it's history and ownership was passed from cousin to cousin, through Charles Brinsley Marlay in Victorian Times, to Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury in 1912 and finally to Rex Beaumont in 1963, Belvedere's last private owner.

Westmeath County Council bought the estate including Mullingar Golf Club in 1982 for 250,000 irish pounds.