The Palace Demesne - The Archbishop’s Palace
Address: The Archbishop’s Palace, The Palace Demesne, Armagh BT60 4EL
What3Words: ///smarting.sprain.beaten
Open: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Cost: General Admission is Free
🟥 Please Note: The Archbishop’s Palace may be closed to the public at certain times for special events. Please check before making your journey!
The Archbishop's Palace is a landmark Neo-Classical building located on 300 acres of parkland just south of the centre of the city. The building served as primary residence of the Church of Ireland Archbishops of Armagh for over two hundred years, from 1770 to 1975, and thereafter as headquarters of Armagh City and District Council from then until April 2015 when that local authority was replaced following the reform of local government in Northern Ireland in that year.
The Palace was built when then Archbishop Richard Robinson sought to relocate the principal residence of the archbishops from Drogheda to the titular city of his office. Thomas Cooley undertook the design of the initial building and Francis Johnston was responsible for designing an additional floor at a later stage. The palace currently sits at the centre of the Palace Demesne Public Park, and serves as the office of the Lord Mayor of the new Armagh, Banbridge, and Craigavon Borough.
The building became protected as a Grade A listed building in 1975
Internationally renowned Armagh artist J.B. Vallely has a collection of works housed in the refurbished Archbishops Palace and visitors are invited to browse this exciting gallery.
The palace is surrounded by grassland to the North, and mixed woodland (largely mature sycamore trees) to the south. There are some 19th century exotic trees near the Palace while a golf course and belt of protective woodland make up the north eastern and north sections of the park. Notable man-made features of the estate include the following:
Immediately adjacent to the Palace is the Primatial Chapel, also built for Robinson. The Chapel is a Grade A listed building in its own right.
A walled garden is at the north end, with a garden house.
A 19th century glasshouse and ice house to the west of the Palace.
The stables and coach yard, which now serve as a visitor's centre (currently school group visits only)
Ruins of a Franciscan Friary and a Holy Well dedicated to Saint Brigid.
At Knox's hill, the high-point of the Palace grounds (the southern end of the park), stands the Rokeby Obelisk erected in 1782–83. Standing 113 feet tall, the Rokeby Obelisk has been awarded “Grade B” listed status.
For more information:
Website
Phone: 03000 300 900
E-mail:
Post: The Archbishop’s Palace, The Palace Demesne, Armagh BT60 4EL
GALLERY
What’s On
Keep checking our START HERE & EVENT LIST pages to keep up to date with What’s On. Subscribe to our email newsletter below.
Explore: The Armagh Today Directory
ENDED (all the things you have missed)
and…
External links are provided as a convenience and for informational / entertainment purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Armagh Today of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual. Armagh Today bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
We reserve the right to edit, categorize, revise, or to decline any material submitted.