Perched on a promontory high above the Blackwater river Dromana, County Waterford has been home to successive generations of the same family for the past 800 years. Originally built for the FitzGerald family, the property frequently passed through the female line without ever changing hands. From the late 1700s until demolition in the 1960s a large house abutted that seen above which in its present form dates from the first decades of the 18th century and features a cut-limestone Gibbsian doorway. The history of Dromana, its owners and their shifting fortunes will be explored on site from tomorrow until Sunday during which the Irish Aesthete will be among the speakers; for more information, see http://www.dromana800.com.
Below is a coat of arms of the Villiers family which has long been associated with the place. The motto Fidei Coticula Crux translates as The Cross is the Touchstone of Faith.
