The old town of Adare, which stood on the northern bank of the river Maigue near the castle, was destroyed during 16th century wars. Almost all of the present town was built in the 19th century.
In 1683 Thady Quin, a local landowner, leased the ruined castle and lands from the Earl of Kildare. In 1810 Caroline Wyndham of Dunraven Castle in Wales married into the Quin family. Her husband's father, Valentine Richard Quin, then became the first Earl of Dunraven.
The early development of the town was haphazard. But from about 1820 on, streets and buildings were laid out according to the Earl of Dunraven's design. Houses were built by the Earl and rented under various agreements to the tenants. The resulting
Estate Town survives almost intact in Adare today.
The Dunraven estate consisted of the Manor and its garden and woodlands surrounded by a high wall. Outside the wall were the houses of the estate workers and the shops of merchants who developed businesses in the town.
The original Adare Manor was built in 1730 as a much smaller house. It was redesigned by the 2nd Earl of Dunraven in 1832.
Along the South front of the house, in stone letters several feet high, is written:
Except the Lord build the house, then
labour is but lost that built it.
[Illustration captions, clockwise from
bottom left, read]
· The manor is now a hotel and the estate private property.
· Thatched houses built in the English village style, about 1825.
· Terrace of estate houses built in 1830
· Town Hall built in 1911.
· Estate houses built in 1911.
· Courthouse built in 1840.
· Valentine Richard Quin, first Earl of Dunraven.
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