Castleward Estate Down
Castle Ward estate on the shores of Strangford Lough in County Down is one of the most architecturally extraordinary country houses in Ireland, an eighteenth-century mansion divided between two completely different architectural styles on its two principal facades reflecting the irreconcilable aesthetic preferences of its builders, Bernard Ward and his wife Lady Anne Bligh, who could not agree on whether the house should be classical or Gothic. The result, Georgian Palladian on the west front and Gothick on the east, is one of the most unusual and most discussed architectural curiosities in Ireland.
The National Trust manages the estate and the combination of the architectural oddity, the beautiful setting above Strangford Lough, the Victorian laundry and the walled garden provides an excellent and varied heritage visit. The estate film connections have added contemporary fame: Castle Ward was used extensively as Winterfell in the early seasons of the television series Game of Thrones, and the Game of Thrones tourism that has developed around this and the other filming locations of Northern Ireland has brought considerable additional visitor interest to a property already well established on the heritage circuit.
The tidal wildfowl reserve of Strangford Lough visible from the estate provides excellent birdwatching, and the combination of the house, the lough views and the estate landscape makes Castle Ward one of the most complete and most rewarding National Trust properties in Northern Ireland.