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Irish Independent
08-08-2025
- Irish Independent
Wicklow Castle offers rare chance to see inside in Heritage Week initiative
Altidore Castle, owned by Philip Emmet and his son Thomas, is set to offer two tours every day from August 16 to August 24. Built in Kilpedder in the 1730s by the Pearse family and most likely designed by Edward Lovett Pearse, Altidore Castle belonged to several owners and was briefly a tuberculosis sanatorium before being bought by the Emmet family in 1944. The living heritage of Altidore Castle comes from the house. but also the current family residing in the property. The Emmets, exiled from Ireland after Robert Emmet's 1803 rebellion, have lived in Altidore for four generations and each tour is carried out by a family member. Speaking about the tours, Philip said: 'The guided house tour comprises several rooms filled with artefacts from both sides of the family and finishes with the Emmet gallery, a collection from the family relating to the United Irishmen, Robert and Thomas Addis Emmet. The house is very much lived in and combines being a historic house while also a family home.' Talking about why they open their home for Heritage Week, Thomas added: 'As a member of Historic Houses of Ireland, it's so important to share our built heritage with the public, and Heritage Week is an ideal opportunity to do this. "We are especially excited about the Heritage Open Doors initiative, where houses usually closed to the public are open on the first weekend of National Heritage Week. "We are open for two house tours each day at 2pm and 4pm. Tours will cost €10 per person with a discounted rate of eight euros for students and children. As tours sell out very quickly and we have limited space, booking ahead is essential.' Taking part in Heritage Open Doors in Wicklow is Enniskerry's Knockmore House, which will be open on Sunday, August 17 from 2pm to 5pm. The Regency-style house was built around 1850, with gardens created by two sisters in the 1880's, and further developed by well-known garden writer Ruth Isabel Ross, who published a book about the garden in 1999. Since the present owners purchased the house in 2019, a major restoration of the property has taken place, and work on the gardens is now underway. There are lawns, borders, ponds, a vegetable garden, a wild garden, woodland and many large old trees. A guided tour of the house and gardens will begin at 2.30pm, followed by hot drinks and cake from 3.30pm. Entrance costs €5 in cash only, and children will go free. Bookings need to be made via Jacqueline Roberts at To book tickets to visit Altidore Castle, go to the Heritage Week website or Altidore Castle's Instagram and Facebook.
Irish Independent
30-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Pond project at historic Wicklow house is Ireland's first finalist at European awards
The European Young Heritage Entrepreneur of the Year award rewards the spirit of sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship amongst young owners of historic houses across Europe. It is a European Historic Houses initiative and supported by Rothschild and Patrice Besse. Thomas submitted a project involving the restoration of the pond at Altidore Castle in 2023. Altidore Castle was built in the 1730s, with written records of the pond recorded shortly afterwards. The project lasted for several weeks and consisted of the digging out of the pond so silt and years of debris could be cleared out. The restoration project was funded through the Built Heritage Investment Scheme from Wicklow County Council. Thomas said: 'It's such an honour to be the runner up in this prestigious prize and to get recognition for the sustainability work we have done at Altidore. As someone taking over a historic house and looking at the diversification of an estate towards more biodiversity and sustainable practices I am delighted to be a finalist. "It was my first big project working with the county council and it's really amazing to see what a difference the project and the funding made. We also got advice from Historic Houses of Ireland who do such great work supporting privately built heritage. "It took a year of planning and execution but heritage is not simply built heritage but the surroundings on an estate and any project maintaining heritage allows us to connect to the processes used in the past but also to bring forward those processes into the future. "It's great for visitors when we're open to the public to see the pond back to its original glory. And of course we are delighted to see the huge increase in biodiversity in the pond from tadpoles to a few ducks and even a heron!' Philip Emmet, owner of Altidore Castle and Thomas' father, said: 'I'm delighted, Altidore has been an organic farm for over thirty years and we have always had an eye towards biodiversity and sustainability. "We planted three native woodlands twenty years ago and the river that runs through Altidore is a blue dot river, the highest designation. It's important that the next generation are always looking towards a greener future. I'm really proud of Thomas and his hard work.' Altidore Castle is open to the public for house tours throughout May and will hold its first biodiversity walk on Saturday, May 24.
