The original owner of the 13th-century castle was a man by the name of La Poer, which was eventually anglicised to "Power." The castle's position was of strategic military importance because the castle's owner could control access to the nearby Dargle, Glencree and Glencullen rivers.

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The three-story house had at least 68 rooms. The entrance hall, where family heirlooms were displayed, was 18 metres (60 ft) long and 12 metres (40 ft) wide. The main reception rooms were on the first floor rather than on the ground floor, the more typical location. A mile-long avenue of beech trees leads to the house.

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During the 16th century the house came into the ownership of the Powerscourt family. The family rose in wealth and prominence, and in the 18th century Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt was keen to make his mark and assert his position as one of importance in society, so he set about transforming the medieval castle at Powerscourt into a grand mansion. In 1730 he commissioned the German-born architect Richard Castle to build Powerscourt House, a 68 room mansion which was completed in 1741. The mansion was designed around the medieval castle in the style of Palladian architecture and featured baroque dome-roofed towers on either side, giving it in the words of one architectural historian, “The massive dignity of a great Italian Renaissance villa.”

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The North front was adapted to present a grand entrance in the Palladian manner, while the South front faced the gardens and was initially only two storeys in height. An extra storey was added in 1787 and further major alterations were made in the late 19th century. The house contained some of the finest 18th century interiors in Ireland and was one of the country’s most beautiful mansions.

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In 1844, at the age of 8, Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt inherited the title and the Powerscourt estate, which comprised 200 km² (49,000 acres) of land in Ireland. When he reached the age of 21, he embarked on an extensive renovation of the house and created the new gardens.

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Main attractions on the grounds include the Tower Valley (with stone tower), Japanese gardens, winged horse statues, TritonLake, pet cemetery, Dolphin Pond, walled gardens, Bamberg Gate and the Italian Garden. The Pepperpot Tower is said to be designed after a favoured 3-inch pepperpot of Lady Wingfield. Of particular note is the pets cemetery, whose tombstones have been described as "astonishingly personal".

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Inspiration for the garden design followed visits by Powerscourt to ornamental gardens at the Palace of Versailles, Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna, and Schwetzingen Castle near Heidelberg. The garden development took 20 years to complete in 1880.

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In 1961, the estate, was sold by the 9th Viscount, Mervyn Patrick Wingfield, to the Slazenger family, who still own it to this day. Wendy Slazenger, daughter of the late Ralph Slazenger, married the 10th Viscount, Mervyn Niall Wingfield, in 1962. Through her children, the 11th Viscount - Mervyn Anthony Wingfield - and the Hon. Julia Wingfield, there remains a strong connection between the two families and Powerscourt Estate.

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The house was destroyed by fire on 4 November 1974 and was subsequently renovated in 1996. Only two rooms are open to the public as they once appeared while Powerscourt had residents, while the rest of ground floor and first floor are now retail units.

In 2011, the Lonely Planet voted Powerscourt in the Top Ten Houses in the World while in 2014, National Geographic listed Powerscourt as No. 3 in the World's Top Ten Gardens.

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Powerscourt Waterfall and its surrounding valley are also owned by the Powerscourt estate, although the two pieces of land are no longer directly connected. At 121 metres, it is the highest waterfall in Ireland. In 1858, the seventh Viscount Powerscourt established a deer park around the waterfall, resulting in the successful introduction of the Japanese Sika to Ireland.

 

Before the fire, the house was used as a filming location most famously in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. Some of the other movies filmed here are the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo, David Copperfield, and Excalibur.  

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