The great iron gates within view of the hall door at Carton House originally hung at the Belan gate lodge. At Bolton Castle in Mr Patrick Farnan`s garden, is a block of composite, bearing the Aldborough crest: "A dexter arm, embowed in armour, holding in the hand a scimitar" surrounding it is a belt bearing the motto: "segnities inimica gloriae" ("Idleness is hostile to renown" According to Burke`s peerage the family motto is:-"virtute nihil obstat et armis that is "Nothing resists valour and arms") and over all is an Earls coronet, the makers name coade, London, 1795 is impressed in the composite. The cut-stone work of the parapet and other parts of the house were sold, and used in the erection of public buildings in Athy the furniture and chimney pieces were parted with, and the statuary in the grounds suffered a similar fate the doors and shutters are said to have been used for flooring the stable lofts at Newtown House, near Bolton Castle and for miles around there is hardly a place which does not possess some fragments of Belans former grandeur. During lord Aldboroughs absence abroad, it is said that the family lawyer, a man named Lewis, illegally obtained a long lease of Belan and, together with a friend of his named Mercer, brought about the dismantlement of the house and demesne by gradually auctioning off every stick an stone they could move. Carlow, 2 and half miles from Baltinglass and Stratford lodge close to the town of Baltinglass, both now in ruins.ĭuring the lifetime of the 4th Earl of Aldborough owing to his reckless gambling and extravagant mode of living, the property became heavily mortgaged and from the year 1823 commenced the ruin and decay of the place. Other residences of the family were Mount-Neale in Co. He built the town of Stratford-on-slaney about the year 1783, and called the place after the surname of his family. John the the 1st Earl enlarged Belan house, his son Edward the 2nd Earl built Aldborough house in 1796 which stands in Portland row Dublin, and Stratford house and place in London. The then commissioners by order of King William, sent letters of acknowledgement for these aids, and a peerage is said to have been offered to Mr Stratford, which however he declined.Įdward Stratfords death took place in 1740.He was succeeded at Belan by his 3rd son John. He furnished William 111’s army with 2000 sheep and 200 oxen, entertained his majesty at Belan, and maintained such of that kings forces as were quartered near him with bread and beer, for which King James adherents threatened reprisals, plundered his Munster Estates of their stock and did other considerable damages. Edward Stratford was involved as was his father in the troubles of king James reign but was very instrumental in establishing the House of orange, and the succession of the house of Hanover. On the site stood a monastry and a castle before Belan house was built by Edward Straford the Earl of Aldborough towards the end of the 17th century probably mainly out of the materials of Belan castle which evidently became uninhabitable after the rebellion of 1641 and the subsequent Jacobite Rising. In the 5th century St Patrick founded a church here and blessed a well which still remains. There are references to Belan as far back as 976 AD. The Quaker school in Balitore was established by Abraham Shackleton, Mary Leadbeater, who wrote the Annals of Balitore was a Shacketon, the explorer Ernest Shackleton lived a short walk along the River Greese in Kilkea, while his uncle Ebenezer Shackleton lived in Belan Lodge, and ran the Cornmills in Belan.’īelan is apparently derived from two Irish words – Bioth, meaning `life or Existence and `Iann `a house hence `Biothlann denoting a house of refection or hospitality. More recently it was home to the Shackleton family who left their mark on the area.
Belan Lodge was part of the famed Belan House estate and was painted by famous artists of the time, was rumored to have been visited by several kings of England, and even Oliver Cromwell. Legend has it St Patrick was eventually chased out of Belan, and every St Patricks Day, there is a re-enactment of the ‘stoning of St Patrick’ outside the local pub, The High Cross Inn.
St Patrick actually blessed a well on Belan Avenue, which can be visited, a short walk from Belan Lodge.
Belan Lodge and its Courtyard date back 300 years and have a rich and varied History dating back through the centuries to St Patricks time. Belan Lodge has its B&B and self catering accomodation in its Historic Courtyard.
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