Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort

Who was Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort?

Standish Robert Gage Prendergast Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort MC was an Irish peer, connoisseur and collector of fine art, antiques, and objets d'art, whose seat was at Hamsterley Hall, County Durham.

He was appointed High Sheriff of Durham in 1934.

Gort served in the British Army during the First World War, with the rank of lieutenant. He served under his brother John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, in the Second World War and was awarded the Military Cross. He bought Bunratty Castle, County Clare, Ireland in 1953. Encouraged by John Hunt he then set about refurbishing the castle with a large personal antique collection. He put a roof on the castle and generally saved it from ruin. It had not been lived in since the building of Bunratty House. The castle later was run by Shannon Development.

The castle is today a tourist attraction, with an Irish Victorian-themed folk park which was created around it. It is the most complete and authentically restored and furnished castle in Ireland. The antiques with which Gort filled the castle remain, and visitors to the castle may view them in situ. Gort donated the castle to the Irish people, along with its contents, and the castle and folk park are now run by Shannon Development. Gort is commemorated at the castle by a plaque near the portcullis, and by portraits of him and his wife in the castle.