Downhill House

[4] The original principal entrance to the demesne was the Lion's Gate, which was actually guarded by two heraldic ounces or snow leopards, the supporters of the Hervey coat of arms.

Bishop Lord Bristol had amassed a large collection of art, which was kept at Downhill and another residence he built at Ballyscullion.

[6] The fire destroyed works by artists including Correggio, Dürer, Murillo, Rubens and Tintoretto,[4] although it was reported that most of the paintings had been saved.

After a visit in 1801, one visitor wrote of the location: It is impossible not to regret the misapplication of so much treasure upon a spot where no suitable Desmesne can be created...where the salt spray begins to corrode this sumptuous pile of Grecian Architecture, and the imagination anticipating the distant period weeps over the splendid Ruin, a sad monument of human folly.

"[4] The Demesne also includes a dovecote, walled gardens, a belvedere, or summer house, built for the Earl-Bishop's daughter and a mausoleum dedicated to his brother George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.