Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman.
The Redmond family built the original building in about 1350 during the time of the Black Death. It replaced their original castle at Houseland near Portersgate. The Hall became the property of the Loftus family in the 1650s as a result of the Cromwellian confiscations and this was confirmed after the Restoration of King Charles II of England by the Act of Settlement of 1666.
The building that exists today was built between 1870 and 1871 by the 4th Marquess of Ely. In 1917 Loftus Hall was bought by the Sisters of Providence and turned into a convent and a school for young girls interested in joining the order. In 1983, it was purchased by Michael Deveraux who reopened it as "Loftus Hall Hotel", which was subsequently closed again in the late 1990s.
It was privately owned by Deveraux's surviving family until late 2008, when it was sold to an unnamed buyer, rumoured to be Bono of U2 fame.
The name 'Loftus Hall' is also applied to the townland surrounding the mansion. The entire townland of Loftus Hall, including the building itself, can be overlooked from Hook Lighthouse.
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In 1642, the future Loftus Hall - then known as Redmond's Hall - was attacked by English soldiers loyal to Charles I of England.
The Irish Confederate Wars had broken out in 1641 and hostilities commenced in Wexford in 1642. An English garrison of around 100 men under the command of Lord Esmonde was based at Duncannon Fort on Waterford Harbour. On 23 February, this garrison was reinforced by a further 200 soldiers under the command of Captain Anthony Weldon and Captain Thomas Aston along with six cannon.
On 19 June a party of these soldiers from the fort were attacked by a group of Irish Confederates under the command of Captain Rossiter and Major James Butler at Shielbaggan while their on way to Tintern. The English were routed and driven back to the fort.
Redmond's Hall was clearly visible to the beleaguered garrison at Duncannon. The Hall's owner, Alexander Redmond, was known to be sympathetic to the rebels. The Hall was known as a place that gave assistance to the rebels. Captain Aston believed it could be easily taken and on 20 July 1642 took ship from Duncannon with around ninety men and two small cannon, landing near the Hall.
Although he was sixty-eight years old, Alexander Redmond barricaded the Hall and prepared to defend it. He was assisted by his sons, Robert and Michael, some of their tenants, two men at arms and an itinerant tailor who happened to be at work in the Hall when the attack took place. The defenders numbered ten in all and were armed with long barrelled fowling pieces.
Captain Aston drew his men up in front of the Hall and demanded admission in the name of the King. Alexander Redmond retorted that Aston was welcome to come in provided only that he left his soldiers and weapons outside. A lengthy gun battle ensued. Aston discovered that his cannon were too small to make much impression on the main door. To add to his troubles about half his men abandoned him to pillage the countryside. As the fight dragged on a heavy sea-mist descended on the Hook Peninsula.
Meanwhile, the Irish Confederates under Captain Rossiter and Captain Thomas Roche were still encamped at Shielbaggan. Hearing of the attack they marched rapidly to the aid of the defenders and surprised the attackers under cover of the fog. About thirty of the English escaped to their boats and back to the fort. Captain Aston himself was one of those killed. Many of the others, including Lord Esmonde's two nephews Lieutenants John and Walter Esmonde were taken prisoner. Several of the English prisoners were hanged the following day on Thomas Roche's orders, probably at Ballyhack. On 20 August eleven others were hanged at New Ross including one of the Esmonde brothers (see also, Siege of Duncannon).
The official Redmond family pedigree (registered in the Ulster Office, Dublin Castle 1763) alleges that Alexander Redmond had to defend the Hall one or even two more times against soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the autumn of 1649. There is a tradition that the defenders used sacks of wool to block up breaches in the walls created by enemy cannon. These woolsacks and a representation of the Hall can be seen in the coat of arms issued to one of their members in 1763. It is alleged that Alexander Redmond received favourable terms from Cromwell and died in the Hall in 1650 or 1651 after which his surviving family were evicted.
The Loftus family were English planters who had owned land in the neighbourhood from around 1590 when Sir Dudley Loftus was granted the lands around Kilcloggan. Nicholas Loftus acquired the Manor of Fethard-on-Sea in 1634 and Fethard Castle became the family residence. After the end of Cromwell's campaign Nicholas Loftus was given extensive lands in the south of County Wexford and purchased the Hall from 'several Adventurers and soldiers', but it was only in 1666 when his son Henry moved to the Hall from Dungulph that it became the principal residence of the Loftus family. To establish the new name of his property he had the following inscription inscribed in stone on the entrance piers at Portersgate: ' Henry Loftus of Loftus Hall Esq. 1680'. Nonetheless, the old name remained in use till the end of the century. In 1684 Henry Loftus carried out extensive repairs to the Hall, which presumably needed repairing after the turbulent events of the previous decades. The Loftus family rose in the peerage over the following centuries. In 1800 the then owner of the Hall, the first Earl of Ely, previously Baron Loftus of Loftus Hall, was created Marquess of Ely.It was his descendant, the 4th Marquess, who demolished the old Hall and built the present house, in about 1870.
The Redmond family had disputed the claim of the Loftus family in court but without success. In 1684 they were compensated with lands in the Barony of Ballaghkeene in the north of County Wexford. Some of their descendants joined the movement of the Wild Geese and served in a number of foreign armies most notably that of France. Others were involved in banking and politics, and became a prominent local political dynasty in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in support of the Irish Party of Isaac Butt and Charles Stuart Parnell. The most famous of these was John Redmond who led the party till his death in 1918.
Charles Tottenham and his family came to live in the mansion in the middle of the 18th century. Charles Tottenham's first wife had been the Honourable Anne Loftus.
Charles came for a long stay in the house with his second wife, and his daughter Anne from his first marriage. During a storm, a ship unexpectedly arrived at the Hook Peninsula, which was not far from the mansion. A young man was welcomed into the mansion. Anne and the young man became very close. Then, one night they were in the parlour; when the young man dropped a card on the floor and Anne went to pick it up she glanced under the table and noticed that the young man had a hoof in place of a foot.
It is said that Anne screamed and the man went up through the roof, leaving behind a large hole in the ceiling. Anne was in shock and was put in her favourite room in the mansion, which was known as the Tapestry Room. She refused food and drink and sat with her knees under her chin until she died in the Tapestry Room in 1775. It is said that when she died, they could not straightin her body as her muscles had seized and she was buried in the same sitting position in which she had died. A rumour states that the hole could never be properly repaired, and it is alleged that even to this day, there is still a certain part of the ceiling which is slightly different from the rest. This, of course, is a myth, since the present house was built more than a century after the events described above. Meanwhile it was believed that the stranger with the cloven hoof returned to the house and caused persistent poltergeist activity. A number of Protestant clergymen apparently tried and failed to put a stop to this. The family, who were themselves Protestants, eventually called on Father Thomas Broaders (a Catholic priest, who was also a tenant on the Loftus Hall estate) to exorcise the house.
The apparent success of Father Broaders' exorcism did not end the ghostly visitations at Loftus Hall. The ghost of a young woman, presumed to be Anne Tottenham, was reported to have made frequent appearances in the old Hall, especially in the Tapestry Room, until the building was finally demolished in 1871.
Although the present Loftus Hall is an entirely new building, interest in the ghost story has remained strong and many aspects of the story seem to have attached themselves to the newer house. Also mentioned in a documentary about the mansion many years later after the last owners had gone had said that there were reports from staff that had previously worked at the mansion, that they have seen annes ghost walk down the stairs, and that horses can be heard around the building.
In 1870 or 1871 the old Loftus Hall was levelled to the ground and work commenced immediately on the new building which was largely built on the foundations of the old. Only the circular foundation of one of the towers in the 'Ringfield' and an underground passage survive of the original building.
The new Loftus Hall was built with no expense spared. The entrance hall and main staircase alone cost £5000 and are considered very fine. The staircase was created by Italian carpenters and took many years to complete. The house was supplied throughout with lighting by gas which was made on the premises and all the apartments heated by hot air pipes.
Loftus Hall was sold privately in September 2008 after it was withdrawn from auction. Much speculation abounds as to who the new owner is, but it is widely rumored to be a Dublin financier of considerable wealth with strong business links to the IFSC.
The starting bid of 1.9 million euro was not met, and the building, land, and private beach were speculated to have been collectively sold to a single party for an amount bellow €1,000,000.
The sale of Loftus Hall fell through and at present has not been sold due in no small part to its state of disrepair and vandalism to its interiors, it would cost several million Euros to restore the house, grounds and estate buildings such as the massive old stables and orangery to its original condition and given its previous use as a hotel was an unprofitable period there is not much chance of it becoming a hotel again. Sadly the Tottenham family, descendants of the 4th Marquess of Ely who built it and now reside in Canada, have neither the financial resources or interest in their former stately home to help save it. Local residents and historians have lobbied local government and heritage bodies in Ireland to buy and restore the property for use as a museum but there is no interest and given the state of the Irish economy at present scant resources for such a project.
A partially independent documentary film was made by Waterford man Rick Whelan, which was released in 1993 as The Legend of Loftus Hall.
This film details the story, dramatising certain parts, such as the card game, with actors.
The documentary was well received, with Whelan now seen locally and nationally as a figure of authority on the history of Loftus Hall. The Legend of Loftus Hall stars Elaine Lumley as Anne and Jim O'Mara as Broaders. It also features a full supporting cast of all the characters from the legend, with Liam Murphy as Loftus and Frank Coughlan as Charles Tottenham.
A new feature film, simply titled Loftus Hall was announced in early 2006 and development began on the project in 2007.[1] Actors Keith Duffy, Samantha Mumba and Adelaide Clemens have reportedly been in talks at various stages to appear in the film. Samantha Mumba appeared in Dublin in January 2010 to promote the film.[2][3] Duffy reportedly left the project mid way through 2010 due to prior contractual commitments that would have interfered with the film's proposed schedule.[4] In a recent interview at the launch party of Frilogy.com, Samantha Mumba stated that details on Loftus Hall were being kept top secret.[5] After suffering financial difficulties throughout 2010 that stalled the production, it was announced during a questions and answers session at the 2011 Galway Film Fleadh that funding had been secured and the project was being completely rebooted in order to make it much darker and grittier. It was also stated that the resulting film will be much more accurate and faithul to the source material. The release date has been set as 1st October 2012. It has been confirmed that Loftus Hall will be the first Irish film to be released in 3D.
In April 2011, an unrelated amateur production was announced, simply entitled 'Loftus'. A full theatrical trailer was produced as a funding and marketing tool for the project. The project is a joint venture between the Wexford based production company Highwind Films and Sunrise Innovations. The project is currently in the funding process with a target release date in summer 2012. Further information regarding the project and it's progress can be found at www.loftusthemovie.com.
[ The fullest account of the 1642 attack is in Volume Four of 'History of Wexford' by Hore pub.1904.
Shorter accounts of the attack can be found in 'The Promontory of Hook' by Billy Colfer(1978) and in 'History of Loftus Hall Part One' by Thomas P Walsh in the Journal of Old Wexford Society (1971) as well as 'Military and Political Memoirs of the Redmond Family' by J Raymond Redmond in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. Also the events are described in the book 'True Ghost Stories' written by Marchioness Townshend and Maude Ffoulkes (first published in 1936)
'History of Loftus Hall Part Two' by Thomas P Walsh in the Journal of Old Wexford Society (1971) gives a very detailed account of the ghost story and several alleged apparitions in the old Loftus Hall. According to Vol 4 of 'History of Wexford' by Hore a version of the ghost story was printed in the Cork Examiner August 11, 1888 and was related to Queen Victoria by the Marquess of Ely towards the end of 1860.