smarmore castle, ardee – the re-use of a historic demense
Smarmore Castle (http://smarmore-rehab-clinic.com) has been the seat of the Taaffe family who had large landholdings throughout Louth and are thought to have occupied the site since the construction of the tower house c1320. The tower house was extended to the south c1740s with a two-storey seven-bay U-shaped wing and extended again to the north-east with a three-storey three-bay block c1770.
Although the original Demense has been significantly reduced, the remaining attendant grounds retain many original landscape features including a yew avenue, arboretum and summerhouse.
It was purchased by the current owners, Castlecraig Hospital (Scotland) in 2014 and has functioned as a drug rehabilitation centre since then.
We were engaged in 2018 in relation to the development of part of the stable wing and walled garden as an extended care unit at the property which was completed in 2021.