Introduction
This is an 18th-century demesne with the shell of an 1829 house. Features include a tower of about 1869, a record-breaking Western Hemlock, a cypress walk, a terrace with a summerhouse and artificial ponds. The walled garden was planted from 1977, with a butterfly garden. The site is now a forest park.
Located near Cookstown, County Tyrone, Drum Manor was originally called Oaklands.
It was built in 1829, and then remodelled and extended in 1869 to the designs of the architect William Hastings, and renamed Drum Manor.
Drum Manor Forest Park is one of Cookstown's largest tourist attractions, though only the ground floor outer walls of the manor house survive. The Northern Ireland Forest Service acquired the estate from the Close family in 1964, and opened it as a forest park in 1970.
The manor house was partially demolished in 1975 and a ‘Japanese’ garden was created within the ruins. There is a Walled Garden which is divided into two parts. It was formally laid out in box edged beds in a geometric pattern.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
-
Telephone
028 9056 9615Access contact details
Public amenity. Forest park.
Directions
Three miles west of Cookstown off the A505.
Owners
Northern Ireland Forest Service
- History
-
Period
18th Century (1701 to 1800)
- Features & Designations
-
Designations
-
Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Inventory
- Reference: T016
Features
- Shelter Belt
- Terrace
- Summerhouse
- Pond
- Kitchen Garden
- Description: Divided in two with box edge boarders and in a geometric pattern.
- Garden House
- Gate Lodge
- Tower
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- House (featured building)
- Description: The house is ruined and only the shell remains.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
-
- Key Information
-
Type
Park
Purpose
Forestry
Principal Building
Domestic / Residential
Period
18th Century (1701 to 1800)
Survival
Extant
Open to the public
Yes
- References