Blunden Villa

Kilkenny was an important mediaeval city and, for a short period in the seventeenth century, a rival capital to Dublin. Perhaps this explains why, in addition to Lord Ormonde’s castle which dominates the skyline, the city was surrounded by a circle of important country houses of varying size. One of these is Blunden Villa, built in the middle of the nineteenth century near the entrance to Sir John Blunden’s demesne. According to family tradition he wished to ensure that his mother was settled in her own establishment before he brought his heiress bride home to Castle Blunden.