A great heritage
At first, Somerset and Juliet lived with his parents at Ballylinch Castle which stood across the river from the house of William Walton, a major land owner in the area. In 1755 Walton moved back to England and put his house up for sale. It was the perfect opportunity for the young couple, who used her dowry to purchase the property and expanded it considerably. The works took five years and, when it was completed, they named it in her honour: Mount Juliet.
Somerset and Juliet moved in 1760 and in 1762 they built the only bridge across the Nore on the estate, joining their land to that of Somersetʼs father. On the death of Somerset senior, the two estates were merged into one. Altogether, ten Earls of Carrick lived on the lands. When the 10th Earlʼs wife died in 1897, the Earl became a recluse and lost interest in the property. His sons, who had lives of their own in the UK, had no wish to live there, so they advised him to lease it or sell it.
It was at this time that Mount Juliet came into the hands of the McCalmont family. Captain Harry McCalmont died in 1902 leaving a substantial fortune, the main beneficiary of which was his cousin, Dermot McCalmont. Dermot was born in 1887; his father Sir Hugh McCalmont and his mother Lady Rose (nee Bingham) lived at that time at Abbeylands in County Antrim. At the time of his inheritance, Dermot was 15 years old; between him and his father, Sir Hugh McCalmont (shown), who was governor of Cork at the time, they decided to acquire an estate in Ireland. The trustees of Dermot’s legacy took the lease on Mount Juliet.
After he left school, Dermot joined the British Army. In 1910, he bought a yearling which he named The Tetrarch. The Tetrarch was never beaten in seven races as a two-year-old (he was injured and did not run again); he became world-renowned, and was known as “The Spotted Wonder”. He was the foundation of Ballylinch Stud, and is buried in the grounds (the large memorial stone can be seen to this day). In 1912, as a result of a significant crash on the London Stock Market, the Earl of Carrick sold Mount Juliet to Dermot.