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Belvedere House is a Palladian mansion that enjoys a delightful setting surrounded by gardens and parkland on the east shore of Lough Ennell. It was designed by the famous architect Richard Castle and built for Robert Rochfort (later Lord Belvedere) in 1740 as a country retreat from his nearby main residence of Gaulstown House. Belvedere became Robert's main Irish residence after a family predicament where Robert's second wife was accused of an affair with his younger brother Arthur who lived at nearby Belfield House. The wife, Mary Molesworth spent 31 years under house arrest at Gaulstown until the earl's death in 1774. This was a major scandal at the time and led to Robert being known as The Wicked Earl for his cruel treatment of his wife and subsequently his brother and his family. Arthur died destitute in a debtors prison and Robert dispossessed his nine nieces and nephews. A different but related argument with another brother George led to Robert erecting the Jealous Wall in 1760 to block his view of his brother's much larger house Link [from the Belvedere House official website].