The following has been received from Oz.
Good Morning, Sir. I was recently reading your blog, and I thought...why is it that all the big houses around Newcastle seem to have burned down? Could there be a link? Is this an 18th century unsolved serial arson attack that we can uncover? Or was it just that they were mostly made of wood and smoke alarms hadn't been invented?
Yours, puzzled, of Dahn UndahAn interesting question. But both Donard Lodge and Tollymore Park were burned in the 20th Century and were made of Mourne Granite. It is said that a canteen fire started accidentally by US soldiers did for the Donard Lodge in Newcastle. I don't know about the Roden house in Bryansford. And as for the New Castle (built recently in 16 something by the Magennises) it just disapeared and only a wee mound at the bottom of the Shimna River to mark its passing.
I'll do some digging -bit not as far as down under-and see what I turn up.
