The Jealous Wall is the reason to come. It is the largest folly in Ireland – a 20-metre sham of a medieval ruin, with no rooms behind it and no purpose beyond spite. Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere, built it around 1760 to wipe his brother George’s larger house at Tudenham off his horizon, the closing move in a long family feud. This is the same man who locked his wife, Mary Molesworth, away for 31 years on an accusation of an affair he never proved. Local memory still calls him the Wicked Earl, and the estate he left behind is mostly a monument to his temper.
Belvedere House itself is a small, fine Palladian villa from 1740, designed by Richard Castle on a hill above Lough Ennell, eight kilometres south of Mullingar. One honest caveat before you plan a day around the interior: it is closed for conservation works until further notice, so the famous Rococo ceilings are off limits and the guided tours run outdoors only. Don’t let that put you off – the follies, the walled garden and the lakeshore woodland are the better part of the visit anyway, and with the house shut the entry fee usually drops.
The estate and its follies
The 160-acre grounds wrap a peninsula on the north-east shore of Lough Ennell, and the interest is spread across them rather than concentrated in the house. The outdoor guided tour takes in the Jealous Wall, the Gothic Arch that frames the approach, the walled garden and King Malachy’s Throne, with a guide filling in the Rochfort story as you go. If you would rather wander on your own, the whole estate is yours to roam.
The Victorian walled garden is the highlight after the Wall: old rose beds, a fragrant herb garden and tumbling herbaceous borders, with a glasshouse of rarer and more unusual plants. Elsewhere on the grounds, look for the ice house and, beside it, a yew tree reckoned to be over 800 years old.
History
Robert Rochfort commissioned the house in 1740 and laid out much of the parkland himself. The Rococo plasterwork ceilings inside were the work of the French stuccatore Barthelemy Cramillion, completed around 1760 – the part of the house most worth seeing, and the reason the current conservation closure matters. After Rochfort, the estate passed down through the Marlay and Howard-Bury families before Westmeath County Council bought it in 1982 for £250,000 and began the long restoration that opened the grounds to the public. For more than a decade the parkland also hosted the Life Festival, an electronic music weekend that ran here from 2010 until 2023.
Family and outdoor activities
This is a genuinely good day out with children. There are four play areas dotted through the grounds, a Fairy Garden set into a wooded glen, and a 30-metre zip-line by the lakeshore. The trail network runs to about eight kilometres through mature beech, pine and birch, with a plantation of exotic conifers among them, and the paths are signposted and easy underfoot for the most part. A licensed café and a gift shop sit at the visitor centre, and free Wi-Fi is available in the courtyard there. The estate runs a full events calendar across the year – Easter trails, summer activities, Halloween and a Christmas programme – and it sometimes closes to the public for large events, so check ahead.
Practical information
Opening hours and admission
The gardens and park are open all year, with seasonal closing times; last admission is one hour before closing.
- March & October: 9.30am – 6pm
- April & September: 9.30am – 7pm
- May to August: 9.30am – 8pm
- November to February: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Admission is €9 for adults and €6 for seniors and students. Since April 2025, children aged 18 and under go free with each paying adult (special events excepted). Free audio guides are available in English, German, French and Spanish at the visitor centre. Prices are correct at the time of writing; check the website before special events, when the park may close.
Getting there and accessibility
From Mullingar, follow the R390 south for about eight kilometres to the signposted entrance. There is ample free parking for cars, with coach drop-off for pre-booked groups and bicycle parking outside the visitor centre (no cycling inside the estate). Public transport to the gate is limited, so this is really a place you drive to.
The visitor centre, café and gift shop are wheelchair accessible. Some woodland trails have uneven surfaces. Assistance dogs are welcome.
Visitor tips
- Wear footwear you don’t mind getting muddy; the woodland paths can be damp.
- The café fills up on summer weekends – there are picnic benches by the lake if you would rather bring your own.
- Allow a couple of hours to do the walled garden, the Jealous Wall and a loop of the lakeshore trails properly.
Nearby
- Fore – Abbey and Seven Wonders: medieval ruins and the Seven Wonders trail, a drive north.
- Lough Ennell: the lake itself, for fishing, kayaking and shoreline walks.
- Old Kilbeggan Distillery is about 20 minutes away if you want to pair the estate with a whiskey tour.