A fantasy hunting lodge & a ground breaking court case

In 1872 Fitzwilliam Hume commissioned William White to design a country retreat for his summer shooting season. When White over-ran the budget by more than €1m (in today’s currency) he refused to pay his builder, Albert Kimberley. This led to one of the most celebrated law cases in architectural history with Kimberley eventually winning and bankrupting Fitzwilliam in the process! He still managed to hold on to the property and his son, William inherited it. It then passed to his daughter Mimi, who married Jacques Weygand, the son of the French General Maxime Weygand. They had no children and so in 1992, shortly before her death, Mimi presented the majority of the estate cottages, to her tenants. The castle and 450-acre estate were subsequently sold at auction to a German businesswoman for £1 million. It was then bought by Galway developers Lalco for €16 million who eventually sold it at a loss for €8 million after the 2007 crash. It is now owned by American billionaire John Malone.