The Gazebo Tower at Strokestown Park

Discover the Exhibition

‘Listen in’ on the experiences of characters whose lives were linked with the Gazebo Tower in time’s past. View photographs revealing the changing fortunes of the walled garden and tower. And whilst you’re there, soak up the simple architectural elegance of the 18th century tower interior with its beautifully framed views of garden and parkland.

For visitors who are unable to access the tower itself, this page offers an introduction to its history and significance. Inside the exhibition, the voices of residents, landlords, and workers bring the tower and garden to life, revealing how closely their lives were intertwined with this place. Their experience reflect wider themes of social change, land use and estate life across the centuries.

Come Inside the Gazebo Tower

Take a look behind the scenes as our team work hard to prepare the exhibition space for visitors to enjoy.

Rising above the walled garden since the mid-18^th century, the Gazebo Tower has long been a distinctive feature of the Strokestown Park landscape. Built in the 1700s, this elegant stone structure has witnessed generations of change, but what was its original purpose, and how has its role evolved over time?

The Gazebo Tower exhibition explores these questions and shares the stories connected to this intriguing building. The intention of this site-specific project is that visitors can discover stories associated with the building and wider demesne while enjoying the views.

Listen to The Stories

Zoom in on a section of a pink table with the headline "Steward's Office" and a paragraph below reads "During the 1820s, garden and estate staff reported daily to the Gazebo Tower. The steward hired and fired, allocated daily tasks and kept his meticulous records of work and wages paid"

The land steward dealing with a labourer who turns up late to work – based on a document which outlines the steward’s role, written by Lord Hartland of Strokestown in 1822. This document is stored in the archives at Strokestown.

Listen to the land steward

Zoom in of text on a pink table with the headline "Ladies at tea" and a paragraph below that reads "During the 1840s the Gazebo Tower assumed a more genteel role as a place for the Mahon family to take afternoon tea and admire pleasant views of surrounding gardens and parkland."

An imagined conversation between Henrietta Mahon and her daughter Grace Catherine, taking place during the summer of 1847, before Grace’s marriage to Henry Sanford Pakenham and the assassination of her father Majon Denis Mahon the later that year.

Listen to Henrietta & Grace Catherine

A round pink exhibition table with interactive elements such as a bell and some cakes. a chronological telling of the individuals who played a part in the development of the Strokestown gardens and parkland.

John Caldwell was the former house carpenter who lived in the gazebo building in the 1930 / 1940s with his wife and 2 young children, talks about the work he does while employed on the estate.

Listen to John Caldwell

Looking to the past – looking after the future

Historic photographs chart the changing landscape over time. Together, these images and stories help us better understand how the landscape we know today was shaped by those who lived and worked here. The tower’s simple 18^th-century interior, with its stone walls and carefully framed views, reminds us that this was a space designed for looking outward, for contemplating the ordered garden and wider estate beyond.

Our expert gardening teams also make use of modern research into biodiversity, climate change, and sustainability, as they make decisions about planting in the grounds of some of Ireland’s most historic properties.

To the foreground is a with a round wooden table with items detailing the story of the Gazebo and in the background there are three pink panels replicating windows and featuring photos of Strokestown Park over the centuries — Strokestown Park Gazebo exhibition

A Closer Look

A pink table features replicas and images of items telling the stories of those who frequented the Gazebo tower throughout the years. Including replica pastries with glazed apple slices and blackberries sitting on the table and a background of text to follow along.

Pastries with glazed apple slices and blackberries would have been served along with tea.

A view of the full exhibition table

A bell similar to what would have been used as a servants bell.

A hand written letter

Open pink doors frame the image. Inside the room, to the foreground is a with a round wooden table with items detailing the story of the Gazebo and in the background there are three pink panels replicating windows and featuring photos of Strokestown Park over the centuries

Discover a new perspective

Whether experience in person or explored here online, the Gazebo Tower invites you to discover a new perspective on the estate’s past. On the surface of a large round table, images reflecting the 3 stories sit side by side with actual and replica tools and equipment used by the people as they tell their story. Around the edge of the table runs a brief history of the Walled Gardens and the Pakenham-Mahon family members who developed the garden over the centuries. On the table sits the manually operated amplifier. The visitor turns the handle and listens in to conversations about Georgian employment conditions, Victorian leisure culture, and mid-20th century rural life on the estate, through the voices of the land steward, Grace and Henrietta Mahon, and John Caldwell.