Russborough House is a stately house near the Blessington Lakes in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. Located between the towns of Blessington and Ballymore Eustace, it is an outstanding example of Palladian architecture, designed by Richard Cassels (also commonly known as Richard Castle) for Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown and built between 1741 and 1755. With a frontage measuring , it may be the longest house in Ireland. The interior contains fine ornate plasterwork on the ceilings by the Lafranchini brothers, who also collaborated with Castle on Carton House. Russborough contains an important private collection of European fine and decorative arts, including furniture, silver, porcelain and paintings. Russborough is open to visitors and is located on a estate, with many of the original 18th-century features still in place including the Walled Garden, the ice-house, the lime kiln and the serpentine lakes. There is a restaurant, shop and maze. History The Leeson family originated in Northamptonshire and had moved to Ireland in the second half of the 17th century. A sizeable fortune made in brewing and property development in Dublin passed down to Joseph Leeson, who bought land at what was then Russelltown. He became an MP and was made Earl of Milltown in 1763. Russborough house was designed for Joseph Leeson by Richard Castle and built between 1741 and 1755. While the house was being built Joseph embarked on two Grand Tours to acquire a suitably impressive collection of paintings, sculpture and furnishings to adorn his new home. Back at the Russborough, Ireland's and Europe's finest artisans and craftspeople were appointed by Castle to create a truly lavish interior. It remained in the possession of the Earls of Milltown until the sixth earl. On the death of his widow in 1914 it passed to a nephew, Edmund Turton, who rarely stayed there. On Turton's death in 1929, his widow sold the house to Captain Denis Bowes Daly in 1931. Sir Alfred Beit bought Russborough in 1952 from Captain Daly to house his art collection and in 1976 established the Alfred Beit Foundation, a registered charity, to manage the property. Described as Ireland's most beautiful Georgian house, the foundation opened the historic mansion and its collections to the Irish public in 1978. Beit died in 1994 and Lady Beit remained in residence until her own death in 2005. Architecture Russborough is a classical Palladian villa made up of a central