Some of the houses have names, for example, John Smith, Blacksmith. These names and trades are all real people who have worked on the Castle Leslie Estate.
Please click on the images to view larger size
Images
Miss Curry’s; Housekeeper.
Bridget Curry came to work in the Castle when she was 17 years old in 1936. She started out as a parlour maid and worked her way to the position of head housekeeper. As head housekeeping she was brought on trips with the family and looked after all the family needs in this capacity. She lived and worked in the Castle until she died in 1994. She was known by Desmond Leslie as the guardian Angel of Castle Leslie.
Henderson; Gardener.
Mr. Henderson worked as a gardener on the estate under Mr. Nesbitt who was the head gardener. According to Sir Jack’s recollection he was a very pleasant fellow who lived in the gate house. He was very knowledgeable in his field and planted many trees on the estate.
Ms McMeel; Dairymaid.
Ms. McMeel lived at the dairy all her life during which time she looked after the chickens, ducks and made the butter and cream for the house. She holds the position of being the last dairymaid for the estate until the dairy was closed in 1956.
Tommy Nolan; Blacksmith.
Mr. Nolan worked on the estate for 30 years and lived in the forge with his wife Judy. He was a very upright and forth right man whose other passions included gardening and bee keeping. He kept hives on the estate and would often collect honey from the bee hives in the old church where honey would drip down on to the pews. His wife Judy is still a very valuable member of the Castle Leslie team.
Minnie Comiskey; Scullery maid.
Sir Jack remembers Minnie as a very good natured thin woman who would scrub floors on her knees with her sleeves rolled up. She took pride in her work and she especially liked to have the front steps spick and span.
Jack Heaney; Forrester.
He started work in the Castle as a rabbit catcher in the 1930’s. He worked all his life on the Estate and is still a valued member of staff. According to Sir Jack he is the greatest story teller around the area and is still holding his listeners captive.
Old Davie; Gamekeeper.
Davey Cloughan worked as an assistant gamekeeper and would often take Sir Jack’s Aunt, Olive Guthrie out shooting on the estate. He always insisted on calling Sammy Miss Samantha as a child even though she was such a tomboy. He was a ‘Jack of all trades’ who was willing to help out with any jobs that needed done. He is buried beside his mother in close by Donagh graveyard.
Bella Coughlan; Laundry.
Bella as her name suggests was a very jolly member of staff. She was a great laundress who took exceptional pride in her work. She worked all her life in service to the Leslie family until she died. (in ?) The Estate has since repurchased the original laundry rooms and are now being restored.
Wee Joey; Farmhand.
He was the son of old Joe Comiskey. He grew into a man with Great Spirit and loved the land he worked on. As a young man, he was left in charge of the sheep. Unfortunately a couple of sheep died, So Joey propped them up on sticks so the farm managers count would be correct! He was also known for being a great dancer and lived in the verge cottage on the estate all his life.
Annie Simpson; Cook.
Annie is remembered as a marvellous cook especially for her Italian dishes and tiered cake. She loved to cook fresh pike caught from the lake. As with Miss Curry, Annie was brought along on family trips abroad and is remembered fondly by the Leslie family.