Errew House is a fine Victorian Gothic house built in the 1870s and is situated 5km off the main road between Crossmolina and Lahardane in North Mayo.
It sits on the shores of Lough Conn with the imposing Nephin mountain overlooking the beautiful house. It was designed by James Franklin Fuller who also designed Kylemore Abbey and the nearby Mount Falcon. The house is also known as Errew Grange. It was the home of Granville Henry Knox who was born in June 1840. Knox spent his family fortune completing the house and it attracted the nickname, "Knox's Folly", owing to his bankruptcy in 1881.
In 1912, an order of French nuns leased the house for use as a school. The school was successful and enjoyed increased numbers, so much so they had to move to larger premises at the nearby Gortnor Abbey. It was then run a small hotel by Mary (Molly) Canavan who saw the potential of it as an attraction for fisherman because of the proximity to Lough Conn. In 1948, there was a fire following a gas explosion and the house was left badly damaged. It was re-roofed in the 1970s and later in the late 1990s, it was restored and converted into 14 apartments that were offered for sale by a developer.
An excellent detailed history of the house can be found here: http://davidhicksbook.blogspot.com/2014/07/granvilles-folly-construction-of-errew.html
Errew House is on the road to Errew Abbey.
