Clandeboye House

The estate, first settled in 1674, was originally named Ballyleidy, after the townland in which it lay. The current Clandeboye House was built in 1801–1804 to a design by Robert Woodgate that incorporated elements of the previous building and was built for the politician Sir James Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye. It was named after the former Gaelic Irish territory of Clandeboye, which covered swathes of north County Down and south County Antrim. In memory of his mother, Helen, Lady Dufferin (granddaughter of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan), Lord Dufferin and Ava built the stone edifice Helen's Tower on the estate, which has since been immortalised by Tennyson in the poem of the same name. The tower has taken on an unforeseen poignancy, as an almost exact replica of it, the Ulster Tower, was built at Thiepval to honour the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who fell at the Battle of the Somme. The estate was used for army training during the First World War, and the 36th (Ulster) Division trained beside Helen's Tower before leaving for France. The tower can be reached via the Ulster Way, a five-mile (8 km) section of which traverses the estate. The parklands familiar to visitors today were originally laid out by the 1st Marquess, who was also responsible for the addition of the banqueting hall to the house in 1898.