A Place Apart

I love this place" says James Hamilton, the 5th Duke of Abercorn, as he sits in the elegant drawing-room of the early 17th century castle on the Belle Isle Estate, in the heart of Fermanagh's lakeland. It covers some 470 acres spread over eight picturesque islands at the northern tip of Upper Lough Erne. Belle Isle is also a vibrant working estate with a fully-functional farm, including a herd of some ninety dairy cows. It is two hours drive by car from Belfast, three from Dublin and five from Shannon Airport - all of which have good international flight connections.

James Abercorn, whose ancestors came from Paisley in Scotland in 1604, is a tall, slim, and stylishly-dressed man in his mid-sixties whose affable manner fronts a shrewd business brain. He runs his family's extensive 17th century estate in Co. Tyrone, which borders on Fermanagh, and has a wide range of business interests, including retail marketing, forestry, and energy. He also has an impish sense of fun, and has been known to accept a dare to run downwards along an upward-moving escalator in Dallas, Texas.

He has also worked hard to attract inward investment to Northern Ireland, and, as a former Member of Parliament for the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, he has long had an interest in tourism which, understandably, was adversely affected by decades of the Troubles. Now he has created a hands-on opportunity to develop tourism in his own way.

"The Belle Isle project is my 'baby'. I have never had a day's worry about it in the long term, and we have grown slowly, learning from our experience and our mistakes. I really didn't think I had it in me to do this sort of thing, but I thrive on projects. I am now very much into colours and design." As he talked, he looked up at the ceiling and said, ruminatively, to his estate manager Charles Plunket, "We could do with a cornice in here. It would make the room even more cosy." It will surely happen.

James Abercorn mixes easily with all-comers, from royalty to business entrepreneurs, the common and uncommon man and woman. His father was a long-time Governor of Northern Ireland, and his mother as her 'Mistress of the Robes' was close to the late Queen

Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The Duke remembers her well from several visits to Barons Court, their family home: "She was an extremely good communicator, and remarkably perceptive. She had the gift of putting people at their ease."

The Duke was educated at Eton, and served with the Grenadier Guards. His wife Sacha, whom he married in 1966, is a direct descendant of Alexander Pushkin, the Russian writer, and each year the Abercorns stage the Pushkin Prize to encourage primary school children all over Ireland to express and develop their literary talents.

Those who visit Belle Isle to rent either the castle or one of a number of well-appointed cottages or apartments are rubbing shoulders with history, not only through the Abercorn connection but also through the estate itself, which the Duke purchased over a decade ago for his second son, Nicholas, who is currently studying at Trinity College Dublin.

Belle Isle has been inhabited since the llth century, and when it was a natural and safe haven for the early settlers, as it could only be reached by a ford in summer or by boat in winter. It is now connected to the mainland by road.

The island was originally named Ballymacmanus, and was inhabited by the Macmanus family. One of the compilers of the Annals of Ulster, Cathal 6g Macmanus, lived and died on Belle Isle, and the 500th anniversary of his death in 1498 is commemorated by a memorial nearby. The Annals remained at Belle Isle until around 1636; they are now in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Following the Flight of the Earls in the autumn of 1607, the lands of Belle Isle were given to an eminent soldier Paul Gore, but it was his descendant. Sir Ralph Gore, who built the first house on the island at the end of the 17th century. A modest building was erected at the north end of the present house, now called the Hamilton Wing.

His grandson, also called Sir Ralph Gore and later created Earl of Ross, made further extensions to the house and created a magnificent garden which extended to the shores of the Lough. He died in 1801, leaving Belle Isle to his only surviving child, Mary, who married an Englishman Richard Hardinge, who, in turn, sold the estate in 1830 to Reverend John Porter, for what now seems the paltry sum of £68,000.

The Porters, an English clerical family, began the expansion and alteration of the house, which included the addition of a tower. A Coach House, estate offices and a farmyard were built in 1856. A Bridge House was built for a ferryman, active until the first bridge to the mainland was erected in 1880. In 1870, Reverend Porter's son, John Grey Porter built the first hotel on Lough Erne. In turn, his son John expanded the house by adding a gallery, more bedrooms and a porch in 1907.

The last surviving member of the Porter family, a Miss Lavinia Baird, sold the estate to the Duke of Abercorn in 1991, and the gradual development of the buildings as a tourist amenity began to take place. The Garden House was the first cottage to be converted to a holiday house in 1992. Then three other cottages, the conversion of the wing of the castle and the development of the Coach House followed, while the Courtyard (a listed building) became eight superbly-appointed self-catering apartments.

The complex has retained its distinctive rustic facade, and, in 1998, it earned a prestigious British Airways Tourism Award. Today the Belle Isle Estate has 37 accommodation to cater for all needs, and those who wish to sample the peace and beauty of Fermanagh have a unique choice of renting a cottage, a self-catering apartment or even a castle.

The Duke of Abercorn has tried to learn from the mistakes made in other areas and he was keen to avoid what he calls "the crude commercialisation of other developments." He says "When I was fortunate enough to purchase the estate, I did not set out to create a typical 'tourist destination but rather to harness the potential for visitors to enjoy the charm of this unspoilt landscape."

It was important, he feels, to proceed "with a combination of caution and sensitivity, not ivith speed." He says "The project evolved gradually. We started with two cottages, and we responded to the demands of the market-place. The objective has been to make the accommodation like a home, with plenty of space, and decoration of the highest quality. My enduring belief, indeed conviction, is simple: never do anything in such a precious environment for profit alone, for if you can create something of real quality, then it will surely succeed."

Judged by his own criterion, the Duke has been successful. The cottages and the apartments have preserved the timeless beauty of the area, while providing first-class modern facilities for tourists who want to enjoy fishing, boating, golfing, walking, exploring or just sampling the quiet ambience of this place apart.

The 'piece de resistance is undoubtedly the Castle, with its eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms which can accommodate up to fourteen people, its drawing-room and the impressive gallery hall, a banqueting-room, with a minstrels gallery, which can seat up to thirty people in comfort. The Castle is full of antique furniture and works of art, all of which are offset by a dramatic colour scheme created by the internationally-renowned interior designer the late David Hicks, who was a son-in-law of the late Lord Mountbatten.

Charles Plunket, the estate manager who with his wife, Fiona, oversees all aspects of maintenance and entertaining, traces his ancestry from the first John Plunket who was in Ireland as early as 1088, and also from the Guinness family. He says "When we tell our American visitors about David Hicks' involvement, their eyes light up." Indeed the Castle and its furnishings would make anyone's eyes light up. The Guinness connection is impressive, too!

The Abercorns have an eye for art and there are paintings everywhere, including numerous Landseers, three paintings by Percy French, a Paul Henry, five by Derek Hill, a Sir Peter Scott and works by artists from St. Petersburg, no doubt reflecting the influence of the Duchess. Each room has its own colour decoration and theme, including the Red Room, the Lime Green Room, a Dutch-tiled bathroom and even a Coco Chanel Room.

The Duke has assiduously sought out antiques which formerly belonged to his family. They include a Victorian candelabra sold by an ancestor in the 19th century found in London, and family portraits which he purchased in New York. The Gallery has a number of items of note, including peat buckets made in New Delhi and a dining-table and side tables manufactured in the 19th century by James Lamb.

The Castle is in demand as a venue for birthday parties, corporate events, small-scale weddings, or as a superlative base for staying in Fermanagh and exploring the countryside or tracing family roots. Charles Plunket says "The Castle has proved to be particularly popular with Americans. One oil-man from Texas rented it for five weeks and brought over all his family and friends to introduce them to Ireland. We had a particularly memorable group who hired the Castle to see in the new Millennium, they even brought over their own chef from Hollywood, California."

The Duke and his associates are not people to stand still, and already they have advanced plans to open a cookery school. Charles Plunket says "It will offer residential and non- residential courses run by Lzz Moore, a remarkably talented cook from neighbouring Co. Monaghan and it will feature local produce including venison, game, fish, cheese and herbs and vegetables from the walled garden."

The Belle Isle Estate is not just a beautiful setting for a restful holiday, or a holiday as energetic as one chooses to make it, but also a refreshing experience in an age when the threat of tourist conformity is all-pervasive. The Duke of Abercorn sums up "I suppose that I am basically anti-hotel, at least in the sense of those restless glass-plated blocks. In contrast, I believe that at Belle Isle we have created an exclusive and compelling alternative in terms of comfort, quality and style in surroundings of great beauty and tranquility." They certainly have.

'Ireland of the welcomes', October 2002, by Alf McCreary

Belle Isle Estate
Lisbellaw, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, BT94 5HG
Telephone +44 (0)28 6638 7231 Facsimile +44 (0)28 6638 7261
Email accommodation@belleislecastle.com