Dartrey Estate
The name Dartrey once referred to a tribe of people in this
area. The Dartrey Forest is a walled estate now owned by Coillte
Teoranta (the National Forestry Agency). It contains a wonderful
collection of fine period oak trees, some of the largest in
Ireland. The forest supports a rich bio-diversity of insects,
moths, bats, buzzards, jays, herons,ravens, red squirrel, sitka
& fallow deer.
The Dartrey estate,of over 1,000 acres, once known as Dawson's
Grove, was established by the Dawson family in the 17th century.
The Dawsons also gave their name to streets in Dublin and nearby
Monaghan town.The river Dromore is the south boundary of the
estate. It is bounded on its north and west side by five miles of
the Cootehill-Rockcorry road (R188); For some of this distance the
boundary consists of a ‘famine wall’ built in 1846.
Park at the waypoint and walk up the road. Gatehouse / Entry No 5 on the Map. Please do not drive up as cars are not allowed on this road (only for residents).You can also go this way to the Black Island cache.
The New Dartrey Stables
The redbrick stable buildings you will pass on your way to the cache were in fact the ‘new’ stables on the Dartrey estate built in the 1840s. This great building, now privately owned, was designed by the well-known Scottish architect William Burn (1789-1870). Built in a semi-circle of five separate stable blocks facing a walled and gated courtyard. Burn was at the same time building nearby ‘Dartrey Castle’, the Dawson’s new Gothic-style Elizabethan Revival mansion, which was completed in 1846. These stables replaced the original Dartrey stables which you will see at the top of the road (with the large bell tower). Once the scene of so much activity of men, horses and the various carriages they drew, it looks forlorn, purposeless, suffering from long term neglect and the effects of time.
The Old Dartrey Stables
This great Palladian-style building,now privately owned, was the original stables of the Dartrey estate. Its building in 1730, coincided with the completion of the Palladian mansion at neighbouring Bellamont Forest by the famous young Irish architect Edward Lovett Pearce (1699-1733) who introduced Palladianism to Ireland and later designed the Irish Parliament buildings. The design of these stables has many interesting features strongly indicating his hand and influence at work: the building is recognised as being “of architectural importance”.
Now suffering from the effects of time and neglect, this once fine Georgian building is in urgent need of restoration before it finally subsides into ruin and complete loss.
The Cache
Go to the starting co-ords & search for the hidden co-ords in the tree - when you find them: Subtract "009" from the North numbers AND add "005" to the West numbers for the final
Enjoy
Dartrey - Paradise Lost -The Bonus cache -GC2JCTD requires you to visit this site - the New Stables - and make a note of the following - maybe you want to gather this information when you're here? -
At the gates to the New Stables -see waypoint:
How many upstairs windows can you see as you stand in front of the stables? Answer = LM