1820s – Ardamine, Gorey, Co. Wexford

In 1818 Solomon Richards, a Dublin Surgeon, bought Ardamine estate. In 1812, Richards had won £10,000 in a lottery. In that year, he purchased land in the Roebuck Grove area of the Roebuck Estate in County Dublin from the Baron Trimlestown and in 1818 he purchased this estate from Sir Thomas Roberts, 1st Baronet.

What was described as a ‘smallish white square house which was used by the family as a seaside holiday home’ existed on the site and would later become Ardamine house. In the 1820s and 1830s Solomon Richard’s son, barrister John Goddard Richards, added extensively onto the building. Described by Lewis in his ‘Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’ as “Ardamine, the seat of J. Goddard Richards, Esq., is beautifully situated at a short distance from the sea; and the grounds have been recently embellished with thriving plantations and other improvements.” Later work by Richard Orpen in 1907.

On the 8th of July 1921 Ardamine House was burned out. It was estimated to cost at least £50,000 to rebuild the house which boasted its own electric plant. A compensation claim of £35,000 was later lodged, the house was never rebuilt.