1730 – Castle Dobbs, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim
Castle Dobbs was built in 1730 by Arthur Dobbs, Surveyor-General of Ireland; and Governor of North Carolina. As Surveyor-General, Arthur Dobbs supervised the construction of the Irish Parliament House in Dublin. While a member of the Irish Parliament (for Carrickfergus), Dobbs purchased 400,000 acres of North Carolina in 1745. Castle Dobbs House consists of two storeys over a high basement with a seven-bay front with a three-bay pedimented break-front centre. There is an entablature over the lower storey and a high solid parapet to the roof. Possibly designed by Dobbs himself, based on designs by Gibbs and published in “A Book of Architecture” (1728). Dobbs is known to have owned a copy and there are similarites between the house and a design plate entitled ‘Draught done for a Gentleman in Essex’. A major difference is that Castle Dobbs featured an-above ground basement level, possibly an allowance for the damper Irish climate. Still in the possession of the Dobbs family.
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Published October 15, 2010 | Last Updated February 23, 2026
