Florence Court

Eighteenth-century National Trust mansion below Cuilcagh, home of the original Irish yew

Florence Court is a large 18th-century house about 13 kilometres south-west of Enniskillen, in the foothills of Cuilcagh. It was the seat of the Cole family, Earls of Enniskillen, until 1973 and is now run by the National Trust, as a sister house to Castle Coole. A fire in 1955 destroyed the upper floors, and the restoration brought back much of the rich rococo plasterwork in the dining room, drawing room and stair hall.

House tours are guided and booked on arrival. The grounds, with a walled garden, woodland trails and the famous Florence Court Yew about a mile south-east of the house, are worth at least as much time. It is close to the Marble Arch Caves, and the two fit easily into one day.

things to do architecture historic house garden
A story
In 1767 a local farmer found two unusual upright yew saplings on Cuilcagh mountain. One survives in the grounds of Florence Court. Because the Irish yew can only be grown from cuttings, this single tree is the ancestor of almost every Irish yew in the world.