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Drum Manor (also known as Oaklands)

Introduction

This is an 18th-century demesne with the shell of an 1829 house. Features include a tower of about 1869, a record-breaking Western Hemlock, a cypress walk, a terrace with a summerhouse and artificial ponds. The walled garden was planted from 1977, with a butterfly garden. The site is now a forest park.

Located near Cookstown, County Tyrone, Drum Manor was originally called Oaklands.

It was built in 1829, and then remodelled and extended in 1869 to the designs of the architect William Hastings, and renamed Drum Manor.

Drum Manor Forest Park is one of Cookstown's largest tourist attractions, though only the ground floor outer walls of the manor house survive. The Northern Ireland Forest Service acquired the estate from the Close family in 1964, and opened it as a forest park in 1970.

The manor house was partially demolished in 1975 and a ‘Japanese’ garden was created within the ruins. There is a Walled Garden which is divided into two parts. It was formally laid out in box edged beds in a geometric pattern.

Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts

Access contact details

Public amenity. Forest park.

Directions

Three miles west of Cookstown off the A505.

Owners

Northern Ireland Forest Service

History

Period

18th Century (1701 to 1800)

Features & Designations

Designations

  • Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Inventory

  • Reference: T016

Features

  • Shelter Belt
  • Terrace
  • Summerhouse
  • Pond
  • Kitchen Garden
  • Description: Divided in two with box edge boarders and in a geometric pattern.
  • Garden House
  • Gate Lodge
  • Tower
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
  • House (featured building)
  • Description: The house is ruined and only the shell remains.
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
Key Information

Type

Park

Purpose

Forestry

Principal Building

Domestic / Residential

Period

18th Century (1701 to 1800)

Survival

Extant

Open to the public

Yes

References