Earl of Gosford

Earl of Gosford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford.

The Acheson family descends from the Scottish statesman Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh, who later settled in Markethill, County Armagh. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland, as a Senator of Justice (with the title Lord Glencairn), as an Extraordinary Lord of Session as 'Lord Glencairn', and as Secretary of State for Scotland. In 1628 he was created a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, the 2nd Baronet. He married but died without male issue at a relatively early age and was succeeded by his half-brother, George, the 3rd Baronet, who settled in Ireland and was High Sheriff for cos. Armagh and Tyrone.

His son, the 4th Baronet, represented County Armagh in the Irish House of Commons. On his death the title passed to his son, the fifth Baronet. He sat as Member of the Irish Parliament for Mullingar. His son, the sixth Baronet, represented Dublin University and Enniskillen in the Irish House of Commons. In 1776 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Gosford, of Market Hill in the County of Armagh, and in 1785 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Gosford, of Market Hill in the County of Armagh, also in the Peerage of Ireland.

Gosford

Gosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 76 km north of the Sydney central business district. The city is situated at the northern extremity of Brisbane Water, an extensive northern branch of the Hawkesbury River estuary and Broken Bay.

The city is the administrative centre of the Central Coast region, which is the third largest urban area in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle. Gosford has been designated as an important growth centre under the NSW Metropolitan Strategy. The suburb's population was 3,392 in the 2011 census.

In the 2011 Census, the most common countries of birth of people in Gosford were Australia 63.6%, England 4.4%, Mainland China 2.4%, India 1.9%, New Zealand 1.9% and South Korea 1.1%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 24.3%, Catholic 21.6%, Anglican 18.0%, Buddhism 3.4% and Uniting Church 2.8%.

History

Until European settlement, the area around Gosford was inhabited by the Guringai peoples, who were principally coastal-dwellers and the Darginüng people that inhabited the hinterland. Along with the other land around the Hawkesbury River estuary, the Brisbane Water district was explored during the early stages of the settlement of New South Wales. In the early 19th century some pioneering European settlers began occupying the land, for timber-cutting (mainly ironbark and Australian red cedar), lime production and grazing.

Gosford (disambiguation)

Gosford is a city in New South Wales, Australia.

Gosford may also refer to:

See also

Gosford Castle

Coordinates: 54°20′46″N 6°30′54″W / 54.346°N 6.515°W / 54.346; -6.515

Gosford Castle is situated in Gosford, a townland of Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, close to the border with County Down. Construction of the castle began in 1819 and finished in the 1850s. It was commissioned by Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford and the architect was Thomas Hopper, one of the leading London architects of the first half of the 19th century. It is the largest Grade A listed building in Northern Ireland.

The Ministry of Agriculture bought the estate in 1958, establishing Gosford Forest Park. In January 2006 the decaying castle was bought by a development company, the Boyd Partnership, which planned to turn it into private homes. In January 2008 the first residents of the new apartments moved in. The estimated repair bill was in the region of £4m, the nature of the development was selected by a government-appointed panel.

Architecture

The style of Gosford is that of Norman revival, it being one of the few examples of this in the world. It was regarded by Robin Fredden, Secretary of the National Trust in 1952 as "one of the most original buildings of the first half of the nineteenth century", he further noted that it was "reputed to be the largest pile in Ireland", having some 150 rooms. Thomas Hopper, the architect, also designed Penrhyn Castle in Wales, which is in a similar style.