A brief history of Ash Hill
The south side of the house in about 1920 as degisned by Charles Anderson in 1833
The oldest evidence of habitation at Ash Hill is what is believed to be a long barrow grave dating somewhere between 4000 and 2000 B.C. This was described in letters written by Eileen Foster, an American visiting her ancestral home, Ash Hill, in 1908. Miss Foster wrote "close to the avenue, as they call it, although there are trees on only one side of the road, is a large green mound which is supposed to mark the burial place of one of the Irish chieftains and a number of his followers. It was the custom in those days to bury a dozen or so of his slaves with every chieftain. Father says he would like to explore the spot, but not a man could be found who would put a spade into the sacred earth".
Also on the estate, beside the site of an old lake, there are the remains of a crannog (an Irish house built on a small island) usually dating prior to 1000 A.D. The lake was drained in the 19th century and, during this process, the remains of numerous Irish Elk (deer from the interglacial period) were discovered.
Close to the lake, overlooking the town, is the site of Castle Coote, birthplace of Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote, conqueror of India (see geneology page). This castle was demolished in the later half of the eighteenth century.
A view of St John's Castle from the remains of Castle Coote
The courtyard to the main house was built sometime between 1720 and 1740 and it was sympathetically restored in the 1950's by the late Mrs. Denny Johnson. The present house, which overlooks this courtyard, was built by Chidley Coote in 1781.
This part of the house has numerous ceilings of historical and architectural importance displaying dancers from Herculaneum which are similar to the stucco medallions found in the saloon at Castletown, County Kildare. Numerous windows, looking out onto this courtyard, date from this period and have the original glass.
One of the numerous decorative ceilings, of national importance, dating from 1780.
In the 1830's, Eyre Evans employed Charles Anderson, an architect, to build the front of the house in a Gothic style with two large towers on it. There are various Gothic features in this part of the house. Unfortunately, due to excessive rates (a valuation based property tax), some parts of the house, including the towers, were removed in the early 1960's.
During the "troubled times", the house was occupied by three sets of troops who looted and vandalized the property, using ancient family portraits for target practice. As these "troubled times" were ending, Michael Collins, the Irish leader at the time, visited the house on his way south to what would be his violent and untimely demise at the hands of his enemies. There is a considerable amount of graffiti left on the walls of the top floor rooms which were occupied by both troops and prisoners.
This ceiling is a fine example of decorative plasterwork, incorporating medallions of the female dancers from Herculanium as well as one medallion of Hercules.
