The Dictionary of Irish Architects records the Castle as follows:
New Scottish Baronial house on slope of Cave Hill by John Lanyon, for Marquess of Donegall. Faced with Cookstown stone with white Scottish stone dressings. Note in B of I files says castle was completed 1870; also lodge.
The building, it was thought, would cost about £11,000 to complete though in reality this turned out to be an inadequate amount and some further funding had to be acquired from Lord Ashley, the son-in-law of the Marquis. The Castle passed to Lord Ashley, the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury on the Marquis' death. The Donegall family coat of arms remains on the Castle, over the front door. After many years, the Shaftbury family presented it and the estate to the City of Belfast in 1934.
References
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Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720- 1940 | Ireland | VIEW SOURCE |
