Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland

Nugent of Portaferry

2026-10-29T07:33:35.602+00:00

The very ancient Anglo-Norman house of SAVAGE was settled at Portaferry, County Down, since the time of the first conquest of Ireland by John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster, in 1117.

Under that famous warrior, the original ancestor in Ireland established himself in County Down; and by a written document, dated 1205, in the Tower of London, we find Robert, son of William Savage, named as one of de Courcy's hostages for his appearance before KING JOHN.

The present barony of Lecale was anciently termed the "Territory of the Savages,” wherein, at Ardglass, they and their dependants erected seven castles, the ruins of which are still extant. It appears, also, that a stately monastery of Dominicans was founded at Newtownards, in 1244, by the Savages, "gentlemen of English extraction."

From the extreme scarcity of records in Ireland, it is impossible, at this remote period, to determine, without liability to error, which is the senior branch of the family, that of PORTAFERRY or ARDKEEN CASTLE.

In 1400, HENRY IV granted to Robert FitzJordan Savage the office of Sheriff of the Ards; and it appears, by an indenture dated 1538, that

Raymond [Savage] should have the chieftainship and superiority of his sept in the Territory of the Savages, otherwise called Lecale.

However, in 1559,

The Lord Deputy, Sir William FitzWilliam, made a division between Roland and Raymond Savage of several towns and territories in the Ards.

By pedigree annexed, Roland, in 1572, was in possession of Portaferry Castle, and styled himself "Lord of the Little Ards;" and Lord Deputy Chichester, some years afterwards, addressed him as such by letter.

The ARDKEEN family had some territories in the barony of Lecale, and also in County Antrim, that family always being sore enemies of the O'Neills.

ROWLAND SAVAGE, Lord of the Little Ards, County Down, representative of the family in the middle of the 16th century, died at Portaferry in 1572, leaving issue,

PATRICK, his heir;
ROWLAND;
Edmund; Richard; James.

The eldest son,

PATRICK SAVAGE (1535-1603/4), Lord of the Little Ards, wedded Anne Plunket, and left two sons, of whom the elder,

ROWLAND SAVAGE, Lord of the Little Ards, succeeded his father and married Rose, daughter of Russel of Rathmullan, County Down.

He was, however, succeeded by his brother,

PATRICK SAVAGE, of Portaferry, who married, in 1623, Jean, only daughter of Hugh, 1st Viscount Montgomery, and had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
ELIZABETH, co-heir to her brother;
SARAH, co-heir to her brother.

Patrick Savage died in 1644 and was succeeded by his son,

HUGH SAVAGE, of Portaferry, who died unmarried in 1683, and was succeeded in the representation of the family by his cousin,

PATRICK SAVAGE, of Derry, Parish of Ballyphilip, and afterwards of Portaferry, who, by his wife Anne Hall, of Narrow Water, left issue,

EDWARD SAVAGE, of Portaferry, who died unmarried in 1725, was buried at Portaferry.

His uncle and successor,

JAMES SAVAGE, of Portaferry, wedded Mabel, daughter of Edmund Magee, of Lisburn, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
ANDREW, of whom hereafter;
James; Margaret; Elizabeth.

The eldest son,

JOHN SAVAGE, wedded Catherine, daughter of ___ Savage, and had issue, a son James, who died young.

At his decease he was succeeded by his brother,

ANDREW SAVAGE, of Portaferry, who espoused Margaret, sister and co-heir of Governor Nugent (of Tortola), and daughter of Andrew Nugent, of Dysart, County Westmeath, by his wife, the Lady Catherine Nugent, daughter and co-heir of Thomas, Earl of Westmeath, and had a son and heir,

PATRICK SAVAGE, of Portaferry, who married, in 1765, Anne, daughter of Roger Hall, of Narrow Water, and had issue (with daughters who died unmarried),

ANDREW, of whom presently;
Patrick Nugent, m Hariett, daughter of Rev Henry Sandford;
Roger Hall, Captain RN, died unmarried;
John Levallin, died unmarried;
William, in holy orders;
Barbara; Dorcas Sophia.

Mr Savage died in 1797, and was succeeded by his eldest son (who assumed the surname of NUGENT and became co-heir of the barony of Delvin),

ANDREW NUGENT JP DL (1770-1846), of PORTAFERRY HOUSE, Lieutenant-Colonel, North Down Militia, High Sheriff of County Down, 1808, who wedded, in 1800, Selina, youngest daughter of Thomas, 1st Viscount de Vesci, and had issue,

PATRICK JOHN, of whom presently;
Thomas Vesey, m Frances, eldest daughter of Sir James Stronge Bt;
Andrew Savage, m Harriet, Viscountess Bangor;
Arthur, m Charlotte, only daughter of Major Brooke, of Colebrooke;
Charles Lavallin, major-general in the army;
Selina, m James, eldest son of Sir James Stronge Bt;
Anne.

Colonel Nugent succeeded his father in 1797 and assumed his present surname, on succeeding to a portion of the estate of his maternal great-uncle, Governor Nugent, 1812.

His eldest son,

PATRICK JOHN NUGENT (1804-57), of Portaferry House, Lieutenant-Colonel, North Down Militia, High Sheriff of County Down, 1843, married, in 1833, his cousin Catherine, daughter of John, 2nd Viscount de Vesci, and had issue,

ANDREW;
JOHN VESEY, lieutenant-colonel;
Arthur Vesey;
Frances Isabella.

The eldest son,

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL ANDREW NUGENT JP DL (1834-1905), of Portaferry House, High Sheriff of County Down, 1882, Colonel, Royal Scots Greys, died unmarried and was succeeded by his brother,

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JOHN VESEY NUGENT JP DL (1837-1914), of Portaferry House, who married, in 1886, Emily Georgiana, daughter of Herbert Langham, though the marriage was without issue.

I have written about the Nugent Baronets HERE.

First published in February, 2012.

Belle Isle: V

2026-10-28T12:21:29.106+00:00

BELLE ISLE ESTATE, COUNTY FERMANAGH, WAS PURCHASED BY THE DUKE OF ABERCORN IN 1991 FOR HIS YOUNGER SON, LORD NICHOLAS HAMILTON

JULIAN BROWN RECALLS TIMES SPENT AT BELLE ISLE AND MULLAGHMORE

In 1946, my father began working for Nicholas Henry Archdale Porter at Belle Isle and became the land steward.

I have written elsewhere that my father, Esmond, and mother, Pearl, had a close association with the Belle Isle household, as did my sister Audrey and I; and, in later years, our brother Gerald.

The household at Belle Isle comprised of Nicholas Henry Archdale Porter, Mrs Brunt (Gigi) and her daughters, Miss Brunt (Tiggy) and Mrs Leigh.

Captain Richard Outram Hermon was a frequent visitor, as was Judge Leigh, Mrs Leigh’s husband, who was a judge in Manchester.

Captain Hermon, of Necarne Castle - Dick to those who knew him - was a close friend of the Belle Isle household.

He bought a modern, one-storey house at Mullaghmore, County Sligo, in close view of the Atlantic Ocean and near Lord Mountbatten’s castle, Classiebawn.

The Belle Isle household and Captain Hermon spent several weeks in the house at Mullaghmore each year from 1950 up until the late 1960s.

In the early 1950s, my father Esmond and mother Pearl would drive to Mullaghmore on Sundays, during the time when the Belle Isle household was in residence.

My sister Audrey and I would go, too, in the back seat of the car.

It was with a real sense of adventure that we drove through Enniskillen and out by Lower Lough Erne; past Ely Lodge and the miles of dense woodland on either side of the road.

Coming to the broad and very beautiful expanse of the Lough, as beautiful a view as can be seen anywhere.

My father would put his foot down as we approached the snaps!

These were a series of small hillocks in close succession on the road before Bundoran.

Up and down the car would go at speed, much to our glee.

The sensation was similar to that of a fair ground ride!

Our parents would stop briefly in Bundoran and then we would take the road to Mullaghmore.

When the fairytale castle of Classiebawn appeared on the horizon, we knew we were there.

Captain Hermon’s house was on a hill overlooking the sea: there was a porch and a spacious open hall, and one large reception room contained a dining table, chairs and settees.

The furniture in the reception room was conventional: a dark wooden table and matching chairs; Chintz covered upholstery; bookcases and an open fire.

There were five bedrooms, two bathrooms, cloakrooms, a substantial kitchen and some larders.

However, the bedrooms were a novelty for the 1950s.

The furniture in each room had been painted.

There was a blue room, a green room, a yellow room, a pink room and a white room.

The wardrobes, dressing tables, bedside tables and headboards had all been given this treatment.

The windows were large, and the house light and airy.

It was a happy friendly house, so different to the darker and beautiful Belle Isle stuffed with antiques.

Captain Hermon and Nicholas Henry Archdale Porter had their own rooms.

Mrs Brunt (Gigi) and Miss Brunt (Tiggy) shared a room; and Mrs Leigh had the pink room.

In addition, there were usually six dogs in residence.

Tiggy loved dogs and they all went on holiday from Belle Isle, too.

The dogs at this time were Fred and Susie, white-haired terriers; Foxy and Vixen, Manchester terriers; and Fanny and Feeby, Labradors.

There was also a resident cook for the duration, one of Captain Hermon’s former employees from Necarne Castle.

I recall Tommy McKervey, who waited on table occasionally.

He had been Captain Hermon’s butler at Necarne and was employed by Captain Hermon until his death, in various capacities (Necarne Castle was occupied by the armed forces in the Second World War and was not occupied by Captain Hermon again after the war).

Mullaghmore at this time was very unspoiled.

It was essentially a traditional fishing village with a beautiful old stone harbour and a host of tiny boats.

The village was of lovely old houses around a green, grazed by donkeys.

There was a stone terrace of buildings and one or two shops.

At the side of the harbour was a traditional public house, owned and run by "Peter," a local character full of Irish charm.

There was a convent nearby, a pebble-dashed building with iron gates.

It was quite usual to see nuns out walking in their black and white habits.

The bell of the Angelus would toll out across the sea.

The hills around Mullaghmore were dotted with white-washed, thatched cottages and dry stone walls.

The cliff walk was magnificent, with spectacular views of the Atlantic, pounding away below.

Classiebawn Castle, which had originally belonged to Lord Mountbatten’s wife Edwina, Lady Mountbatten, was a Gothic silhouette in the distance on its steep incline.

At the bottom of the hill on which Captain Hermon’s house stood was a wide and golden beach.

This stretched for miles and hardly a soul was to be seen in those days.

I have memories of the household on the beach: Mr Porter, Mrs Brunt, Tiggy and Vida all walking and playing with Audrey and I.

There are old, faded grey and white photographs of this time and it seems like another world, lost in the mists of time.

There are many memories of cavorting on the beach, swimming in the sea, hiding in the dunes and the fresh clean wind on our faces.

Sundays at Mullaghmore were days of good food, laughter, fun and, of course, sun! Did it rain?

The drive back to Belle Isle was always after nightfall.

My sister and I would curl up in the back seat and go to sleep.

My father would sometimes sing “Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, the master's gone away,” in high good humour.

There was the stop at the border and customs and finally back to Fermanagh.

My father left Mr Porter’s employment in the late 1950s in order to develop his own farm.

He had inherited part of Corrard from his father.

My brother Gerald was born in December, 1959, and he was brought up on Corrard.

However, my father returned to Belle Isle as Miss Lavinia Baird’s farm manager and my brother Gerald then spent time at Belle Isle, too; and that, too, is another story!

First published in March, 2010.

Hillsborough Castle

2026-10-28T07:37:10.319+00:00

THE MARQUESSES OF DOWNSHIRE WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY DOWN, WITH 78,051 ACRES

This family, of Norman extraction, was originally called de la Montagne. In the reign of EDWARD III, its members were styled Hill, alias DE LA MONTAGNE; but in succeeding ages they were known by the name of HILL only.

SIR MOYSES HILL (c1554-1630), Knight, descended from the family of Hill, of Devon, two members of which were judges of England in the beginning of the 15th century, went over to Ulster, as a military officer, with the Earl of Essex, in 1573, to suppress O'Neill's rebellion.

Sir Moyses was subsequently nominated governor of Olderfleet Castle, an important fortress at the period, as it protected Larne harbour from the invasion of the Scots.

He represented County Antrim in parliament in 1613, and having distinguished himself during a long life, both as a soldier and as a magistrate, died in 1630, and was succeeded by his elder son, PETER HILL; but we pass to his younger son, ARTHUR HILL, who eventually inherited the estates, upon the demise of Peter's only son, Francis Hill, of Hill Hall, without male issue.

The said

RT HON ARTHUR HILL (c1601-63), Constable of Hillsborough Fort, County Down, was colonel of a regiment in the service of CHARLES I, and he sat in Parliament under the usurpation of CROMWELL, as well as after the Restoration, when he was sworn of the Privy Council.

Colonel Hill married firstly, Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Bolton, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, by whom he had, with other issue, Moyses, who wedded his cousin Anne, eldest daughter of Francis Hill, of Hill Hall, and left three daughters.

He espoused secondly, Mary, daughter of Sir William Parsons, one of the Lords Justices of Ireland, and had three other sons and a daughter; the eldest of whom,

THE RT HON WILLIAM HILL, MP for Ballyshannon, 1661, succeeded to the estates at the decease of his half-brother, Moses, without male issue.

Mr Hill, a member of the Privy Council to CHARLES II and JAMES II, married firstly, Eleanor, daughter of the Most Rev Michael Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, by whom he had an only son, MICHAEL.

Mr Hill wedded secondly, Mary, eldest daughter of Sir Marcus Trevor, who was created Viscount Dungannon, 1662, for his signal gallantry in wounding OLIVER CROMWELL at Marston Moor, and had two other sons.

He died ca 1693, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON MICHAEL HILL (1672-99), of Hillsborough, Privy Counsellor, MP for Saltash, 1692, Hillsborough, 1695-9, Lord-Lieutenant of County Down, who espoused Anne, daughter and heir of Sir John Trevor, of Brynkinalt, Denbighshire, Master of the Rolls in England, and First Lord Commissioner of the Great Seal, and had two sons,

TREVOR, his heir;
Arthur, cr 1st Viscount Dungannon.

Mr Hill was succeeded by his elder son,

THE RT HON TREVOR HILL (1693-1742), of Hillsborough, MP for Hillsborough, 1713-14, County Down, 1715-17, who was elevated to the peerage, in 1717, in the dignities of Baron Hill, of Kilwarlin, and Viscount Hillsborough, (arms at top) both in County Down.

His lordship married Mary, eldest daughter and co-heir of Anthony Rowe, of Muswell Hill, Middlesex; and dying in 1742, left (with a daughter, Anne, wedded to John, 1st Earl of Moira), an only son, his successor,

WILLS (1718-93), 2nd Viscount; created, in 1751, Viscount Kilwarlin and Earl of Hillsborough, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his uncle Arthur Hill; and enrolled amongst the peers of Great Britain, in 1756, as Baron Harwich, in Essex.

His lordship was advanced to an English viscountcy and earldom, in 1772, in the dignities of Viscount Fairford and Earl of Hillsborough.

Lord Hillsborough was further advanced, in 1789, to the dignity of a marquessate, as MARQUESS OF DOWNSHIRE.

His lordship was a Privy Counsellor, and, in 1763, he was constituted First Commissioner of Trade and Plantations; in 1776, appointed Joint Postmaster-General; and in 1768, nominated Secretary of State for the Colonies, which post he resigned in 1772.

In 1779, he was re-appointed Secretary of State, and became one of the leaders of the administration which had to bear the unpopularity of the American war. His lordship was Registrar of the High Court of Chancery in Ireland.

He married firstly, in 1747, the Lady Margaretta FitzGerald, daughter of Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, and sister of James, 1st Duke of Leinster, and had surviving issue,

ARTHUR, his successor;
Mary Amelia; Charlotte.

His lordship wedded secondly, Mary, 1st Baroness Stawell, daughter and heir of Edward, 4th Baron Stawell, and widow of the Rt Hon Henry Legge, son of the 1st Earl of Dartmouth, by whom he had no issue.

He was succeeded by his son,

ARTHUR, 2nd Marquess (1753-1801), who wedded, in 1786, Mary, daughter of the Hon Martin Sandys, and his wife Mary, daughter of William Trumbull, of Easthampstead Park, Berkshire, and had issue,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL, his successor;
Arthur Moyses William, 2nd Baron Sandys;
Arthur Marcus Cecil, 3rd Baron Sandys;
Arthur Augustus Edwin;
George Augusta;
Charlotte; Mary.

His lordship died in 1801, and Lady Downshire having subsequently succeeded to the estates of her uncle Edwin, Baron Sandys, was created Baroness Sandys, with remainder to her second and younger sons successively.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL SANDYS TRUMBULL WINDSOR, 4th Marquess.

Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess (1844–1874);

Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbull Blundell Hill, 6th Marquess (1871–1918);

Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess (1894–1989);

Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess (1929–2003);

Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Hill, 9th Marquess (born 1959).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Edmund Robin Arthur Hill, styled Earl of Hillsborough.

The Downshire Papers are deposited at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

In 1870, Lord Downshire owned 2,070 acres in County Antrim, 3,717 acres in the vicinity of Carrickfergus, 73,602 acres of County Down, 1,338 in County Kildare, 101 in County Kilkenny, 13,679 in the King's County, 15,766 in County Wicklow, and 5,000 acres at E asthampstead Park in Berkshire.

These estates generated an income of £80,000 per annum, or £3.6 million in today's money.

The Downshires also maintained a grand residence in London, Downshire House (above) at 24 Belgrave Square, now part of the Spanish embassy, it is thought.

HILLSBOROUGH CASTLE, County Down, has been described by the late Sir Charles Brett as, "by far the largest and grandest house in north County Down."

It was, for 150 years, the home of the Marquesses of Downshire and has provided accommodation for royalty, ministers and high-level dignitaries from home and abroad, as well as being a venue for less formal occasions, such as charitable events.

Moyses Hill obtained extensive estates through conquest of Irish chieftains and built a fortified house at Hill Hall in the early 1600s.

His younger son, Arthur Hill, was the first of the family to live at Hillsborough and reconstructed Hillsborough Fort which had been destroyed in the 1641 rebellion.

The village of Hillsborough was given borough status after the restoration in 1660 and had a corporation and the right to elect two MPs to the Irish parliament.

The village subsequently became the residence of the Hill family, who increased in prominence and prosperity, Trevor Hill being elevated to the peerage as Baron Hill and Viscount Hillsborough in 1717.

In the late 17th century Trevor Hill built a house close to the terrace of the present Castle.

No drawings or plans survive, but Harris described it as "a noble large house built within the area of a regular fortification."

This house was burnt down in an accidental fire in the late 1730s.

Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire (1718-93), built a mansion house to the south-east of the present house, the remains of which are still present.

It is evident from Mrs Delaney’s observations of 1758 that Lord Hillsborough had in mind the construction of a new mansion at that time, but an estate map of 1771 shows only a schematic representation of a terrace of houses on the western side of the square.

The 1st Marquess was Secretary of State for the Colonies during the American independence struggle, and Hillsborough was visited by Benjamin Franklin in January, 1772.

Unfortunately Franklin and Hill disliked each other, Hill being unable to countenance American independence.

GEORGE III later blamed Lord Hillsborough for the loss of America.

Arthur, 2nd Marquess (1753-1801), was able to make additions and alterations to the house due to the wealth of his heiress wife and again engaged Brettingham, who added a library to the south-east of the original house, and then a thirteen-bay south front ca 1795.

An estate map of about 1800 shows the house with its new south front, and the wing to the north that was present on the 1780 map, now gone.

The 3rd Marquess (1788-1845), oversaw further changes to the estate.

The main road to Moira ran across the south front of the house at this time and it is clear that by 1810, Lord Hillsborough was planning to re-route the road in order to enhance the appearance of his new house.

Lord Downshire presided over alterations and additions to the house by Thomas Duff in the late 1820s and by William Sands, who was resident in the town during the works and for the remainder of his life, in the 1840s.

Plans made by Henry Murray in 1833 and 1839, showing that between these two dates the library was extended and given a giant portico.

William Sands, working with his relative James Sands, made several changes to the house and demesne in the 1840s, giving the house much of the appearance that it assumes today.

The south front was extended to the east and a large Ionic portico added.

In order to achieve symmetry, a single bay was demolished to the west.

In 1846, the Parliamentary Gazetteer set out both what were perceived to be the shortcomings of the house at this time, and its charm:-

“Criticism has remarked that the...beauty of the town would have been greater if...the mansion, with its picturesque home-view, had been removed a little farther from the public road.

Yet whatever may be said about the demesne, the town acquires an almost aristocratic air from the proximity of the mansion and seems as if caressed between the lawn and the park.”

In 1867 it was recorded that a new billiards-room had been added to the mansion house, a two-storey room of cut stone measuring approximately 20' x 17'.

The 5th and 6th Marquesses tenuous connections with Hillsborough, preferring to live elsewhere.

During the last quarter of the 19th century, Lord Arthur Hill, younger brother of the 5th Marquess, lived at the Castle, managing the estates and representing County Down in parliament.

The 6th Marquess (1871-1918), who succeeded to the title in 1874 while still a small child, was easily the largest landowner in Ulster at the end of the 19th century.

However, at the beginning of the 20th century, his estates began to be sold off under the Land Acts.

Given the huge reduction in Lord Downshire's tenanted holdings in County Down, Lord Arthur retired to his London residence.

As a consequence of this, the house was let to Sir Thomas Dixon, son of Sir Daniel Dixon, a former Lord Mayor of Belfast.

Sir Thomas lived at Hillsborough Castle from 1910-19, when he purchased Wilmont, near Dunmurry.

In 1922, the Castle was purchased by the Ministry of Works in London as a residence for the His Excellency the Governor of Northern Ireland.

Following three years of preparation, the 3rd Duke of Abercorn took up residence at the new Government House in 1925.

It would seem that the Ministry of Works in London (as the Department of the Environment) retained responsibility for upkeep of the fabric of the building until 1990, when ownership passed to the Northern Ireland Office.

Following a fire in 1934, the house was refurbished internally and the gatescreen (from Richhill Castle) was added to the market square entrance.

The 3rd Duke of Abercorn was succeeded as Governor by the Earl Granville, the Lord Wakehurst, the Lord Erskine of Rerrick, and the Lord Grey of Naunton.

The office of Governor was abolished when direct rule was introduced in 1972.

In 1987, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Tom King MP, set up a committee to advise on ‘the structure, decoration, furnishing and maintenance of Hillsborough Castle and the planting and maintenance of its grounds’.

It was felt that the 1930s refurbishment of the house had not been entirely successful and the committee concluded that the house should reflect ‘the appearance and atmosphere of an Irish Country Mansion’ while being decorated in a manner befitting its ceremonial purposes.

John O’Connell of Dublin was appointed as architect and interior design consultant and the refurbishment was completed in 1993.

Since 2014, Hillsborough Castle has been managed by Historic Royal Palaces.

The Downshires also had a holiday home, Murlough House, near Dundrum, in the same county.

Lord Downshire sold Hillsborough Castle to the Government about 1921, I think, and Murlough remained with the family till the 1940s or 50s.

There are references to the building of demesne walls around the "Large Park" at Hillsborough in 1668.

This was the site of a former house and surrounding ornamental grounds, now much altered.

It contains a lake, parkland, an artillery fort, mature trees and forest planting.

The Small Park, on the west side of the village of Hillsborough, is the site of the present house of ca 1797.

This area was totally enclosed by walls during the 1840s, after the main road to Moira was re-routed away from the house.

The property has had the advantage of being in the hands of one family until the 1920s, when it was acquired by HMG.

Atkinson, in 1823, observed that the Hills paid more

‘… attention to the profitable results of a good estate, than to the fanciful decorations of a picturesque landscape.’

Yet handsome lakes were created in both Parks and early 19th century maps show extensive walks, rides and tree- planting.

The Small Park is described in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1837 as,

‘… beautifully wooded and the walks tastefully laid out. The garden is extensive, in it are green houses, hot houses and a pinery.’

The ‘garden’ referred to is the walled garden, which was cultivated until the 1970s.

It is now grassed but retains a summer house.

After the enclosure of the Small Park it was further enhanced in the vicinity of the present house.

Terracing was added to the south front, the Yew Walk going west towards Lady Alice’s Temple and the Lime Walk with north-south orientation leading to a pinetum belonging to the late 19th century improvements.

There are some notable plants, including a very large Rhododendron arboretum hybrid, which is in the Guinness Book of Records.

An impressive feature is the Downshire Monument of 1848.

Following the departure of the Downshire family, the Large Park, of almost 1,000 acres, was divided for use by the Department of Agriculture for NI, half for farming and half for forestry.

The latter part (northern) is open to the public and both areas have been developed as such for the last seventy years.

The Small Park has been used by the former Governors of Northern Ireland and latterly by Secretaries of State.

Some have had an interest and impact on the gardens, such as Lord and Lady Wakehurst, who developed a glen on the west side and Lady Granville, who created a Rose Garden.

The cast-iron gates from Richhill House at the main entrance to the Castle, are a feature.

Other buildings of note are:- Lodge and Guard House; Ice House; and Garden Store.

Boundary walls and gates in the "Small Park" are included with the house.

The house and grounds of the Small Park are private, used by the Royal Family and as the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; and sometimes open for official functions.

There is public access to the northern half of the Large Park.

The Most Honourable Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills [Hill] is the 9th and present Marquess of Downshire, Earl of Hillsborough, Viscount Kilwarlin, Viscount Fairford, Baron Hill of Kilwarlin and Baron Harwich.

Lord and Lady Downshire live with their family at Clifton Castle, near Ripon in Yorkshire.

In 2005, when Royal Ascot re-located to York race-course, the Daily Telegraph published an article about the Castle:

"Clifton Castle, a Georgian country house in Masham belonging to the Marquess and Marchioness of Downshire - or Nick and Janey to guests - has seven bedrooms and sleeps 14. It costs £40,000 [per week]."

The Downshires recently (ca 2020) built a new rural villa within close proximity of MURLOUGH HOUSE, County Down.

*Select bibliography: NI Department of the Environment Historic Buidlings Section; First published in July, 2010.

Garryhinch House

2026-10-27T12:14:13.767+00:00

THE WARBURTONS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN THE QUEEN'S COUNTY, WITH 6,285 ACRES

This branch of the family is stated to be of Norman descent, springing from Warburton of Arley, Cheshire.

RICHARD WARBURTON, of Dublin, living there in 1622, left three sons and a daughter, viz.

RICHARD, his heir;
George, of Aughrim, MP;
John;
Susanna.

The eldest son,

RICHARD WARBURTON (1636-1717), was a junior Clerk of the Council, Ireland, 1654, and afterwards Clerk-Assistant to the Irish House of Commons.

He was styled of Garryhinch in 1662, MP for Ballyshannon, 1695-1711 and 1703-13, and High Sheriff of Queen's County, 1701.

Mr Warburton wedded, in 1656, Judith, daughter of William Sandes, of Dublin, and had issue (with five daughters) an only son,

RICHARD WARBURTON (1664-1715), of Garryhinch, MP for Portarlington, 1692-1715, who married, in 1695, Elizabeth, daughter of John Pigott, and had issue,

RICHARD, of Garryhinch (1696-1711);
JOHN, died unmarried;
GEORGE, of whom presently;
PETER, devisee of his brother Richard;
William;
Gertrude; Judith; Jane.

Mr Warburton was succeeded by his third son,

GEORGE WARBURTON, of Dublin, who espoused Jane, daughter of Richard Le Hunte, of Artramont, County Wexford, and was father of

JOHN WARBURTON (1733-1806), of Garryhinch, MP for Queen's county, 1779-94, High Sheriff of Queen's County, 1786.

This gentleman was heir to his uncle Peter.

He served in early life as a military officer, and was at the taking of Quebec, under General Wolfe.

Mr Warburton married Martha, daughter of Bowes Benson, and had issue,

RICHARD, his heir;
Peter;
Martha.

Colonel Warbuton was succeeded by his elder son,

RICHARD WARBURTON JP DL (1778-1853), of Garryhinch, High Sheriff of Queen's County, 1801, who wedded, in 1800, Anne, daughter of Thomas Kemmis, of Dublin, and had issue,

John, of Garryhinch, dsp 1839;
RICHARD, his successor;
George;
William (Very Rev), Dean of Elphin;
Peter;
Henry;
James;
Robert;
Arthur;
Thomas;
Anne; Martha; Susan; Mary.

Mr Warburton was succeeded by his second son,

RICHARD WARBURTON JP DL (1804-62), of Garryhinch, High Sheriff of King's County, 1845, Queen's County, 1849, who married, in 1844, Mary Ellinor, daughter and heir of Lieutenant-Colonel Kelly, of Millbrook, King's County, and had issue,

RICHARD, his heir;
Hugh Dutton;
Catherine Janette; Ellinor Mary Anne; Jessie Isabelle;
Frances Sophia; Ada Blanche; Maude Alyne.

Mr Warburton was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD WARBURTON JP DL (1846-1921), of Garryhinch, High Sheriff of Queen's County, 1869 and 1872, who wedded, in 1867, Georgina Wilhelmina Henrietta, daughter of William Henry Hutchinson, of Rockforest, County Tipperary, and had issue,

RICHARD HUTCHINSON DUTTON JOHN (1877-94);
Jessie Georgina Hutchinson; Mary Anne.

GARRYHINCH HOUSE, near Portarlington, was a house of early to mid-18th century appearance.

It comprised three storeys with a three-bay centre recessed between two projecting one-bay wings.

The doorway was pointed; a two-storey, three-bay range was at one side, set back.

The former demesne is now a beautiful picturesque woodland for walking and was formerly part of the Warburton estate until it was sold in 1936.

There are a number of specimen trees (remnants of ornamental plantings which adorned the big house) in the forest including monkey puzzle and lime.

The house was accidentally burnt in 1913 and later demolished for safety reasons.

Ruinous outbuildings can still be seen in the forest.

There is an old, three-arched bridge crossing the Barrow.

The forest is surrounded mainly by farmland.

Portarlington Golf Club, which has written a history of Garryhinch and its association with the Warburtons, lies to the north-east of Garryhinch.

First published in March, 2013. Photo credits: Liam O'Malley.

The Skeffington Baronetcy

2026-10-27T07:31:45.945+00:00

The very ancient family of SKEFFINGTON derived its name from the village of Skeffington, Leicestershire.

THOMAS SKEFFINGTON, of Skeffington, Leicestershire, was father of

SIR WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON (c1465-1535), Knight, who was appointed by HENRY VIII, in 1529, His Majesty's Commissioner to Ireland, arrived there in August of that year, empowered to restrain the exactions of the soldiers, to call a Parliament, and to provide that the possessions of the clergy might be subject to bear their part of the public expense.

Sir William was subsequently a very distinguished political personage in Ireland and died in the government of that kingdom, as Lord Deputy, in December, 1535.

He married firstly, Margaret, daughter of Sir Everard Digby, of Drystoke, and had issue; and secondly, Anne, daughter of Sir John Digby, of Kettleby, Leicestershire, by whom he had issue,

SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, of Fisherwick, Alderman and High Sheriff of London, 1521, who married Elizabeth Pecke, and by her had issue,

WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON, of Fisherwick, and of White Ladies, who wedded Isa, daughter of James Leveson, of Trentham, Staffordshire, and died in 1550, being succeeded by his son,

JOHN SKEFFINGTON, of Fisherwick, Staffordshire, who espoused Alice, seventh daughter of Sir Thomas Cave, of Stanford, and was father of

SIR WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON, Knight, of Fisherwick, who was created a baronet by CHARLES I in 1627, designated of Fisherwick, Staffordshire.

He wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Dering, and had issue, two sons and six daughters.

The second son,

SIR RICHARD SKEFFINGTON, Knight, MP for Staffordshire, 1646-7, married Anne, youngest daughter of Sir John Newdigate, Knight, of Arbury, Warwickshire, and died in 1647, leaving a son,

SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, who succeeded his cousin as 4th Baronet, and married Mary Clotworthy, only daughter and heiress of

SIR JOHN CLOTWORTHY, who, for his activity and zeal in promoting the restoration of CHARLES II, was elevated to the peerage, in 1660, in the dignity of Baron Lough Neagh and VISCOUNT MASSEREENE, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his son-in-law, the said Sir John Skeffington, and his issue male, by MARY, his said wife; in default of which, to the heirs general of his lordship.

His lordship died in 1665, and the honours devolved, according to the reversionary proviso, upon the said

SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, Baronet, as 2nd Viscount; who died in 1695, and was succeeded by his only son,

CLOTWORTHY, 6th Baronet and 3rd Viscount (1660-1714), who married, in 1684, Rachael, daughter of Sir Edward Hungerford KB, of Farley Castle, Somerset, and had issue,

CLOTWORTHY, his successor;
Jane; Rachael; Mary.

His lordship was succeeded by his son,

CLOTWORTHY, 7th Baronet and 4th Viscount, who married, in 1713, the Lady Katherine Chichester, eldest daughter of Arthur, 3rd Earl of Donegall, and had issue,

CLOTWORTHY, his successor;
Arthur, MP for Co Antrim;
John (Rev);
Hungerford;
Hugh;
Catherine; Rachael.

His lordship died in 1738, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

CLOTWORTHY, 8th Baronet and 5th Viscount (1715-57), who was created, in 1756, EARL OF MASSEREENE.

His lordship espoused firstly, in 1738, Anne, eldest daughter of the Very Rev Richard Daniel, Dean of Down, but by that lady had no issue; and secondly, in 1741, Elizabeth, only daughter of Henry Eyre, of Rowter, Derbyshire, and had issue,

CLOTWORTHY, his successor;
HENRY, successor to his brother;
William;
John;
CHICHESTER, who inherited as 4th Earl;
Alexander;
Elizabeth; Catherine.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

CLOTWORTHY, 2nd Earl and 9th Baronet (1743-1805), who wedded firstly, in 1789, Mlle Mary-Anne Barcier; and secondly, Elizabeth Lane, but had no issue.

He was succeeded by his brother,

HENRY, 3rd Earl and 10th Baronet, who died unmarried, when the peerage and baronetcy devolved upon his next surviving brother,

CHICHESTER, 4th Earl and 11th Baronet, who wedded, in 1780, the Lady Harriet Jocelyn, eldest daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Roden, by whom he had an only daughter, HARRIET.

His lordship died in 1816, when the earldom and baronetcy expired, while the viscountcy of Massereene and the barony of Lough Neagh devolved upon his only daughter, HARRIET, as 9th Viscountess Massereene.

First published in May, 2011.

Belle Isle: IV

2026-10-26T12:14:08.657+00:00

Corrard ca 1970 (Image: Julian Brown)

JULIAN BROWN REMINISCES ABOUT CORRARD, HIS CHILDHOOD HOME NEAR BELLE ISLE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

The summers of our childhood were always sunny; or, looking back, that is how it seems.

I recall my father Esmond saying just that.

His youthful recollections of life on the family farm, Corrard, in County Fermanagh, were of days filled with sunshine.

He was born in the 1920s, and his early memories included being ‘glued’ to an old Bush valve radio during World War Two, listening to Lord Haw-Haw broadcasting propaganda from Germany.

His long summer days were spent on the land or on Lough Erne.

Once the chores and daily tasks of the farm were in hand, he would go fishing or rabbiting or shooting.

My father told a story of how, as a young man, he put his hand down a rabbit hole and a rat bit him.

The rat clamped its teeth and would not let go of his finger.

My grandfather, John James Brown (Esmond’s father) removed the rat by cutting the end of my father’s finger away with a pen knife!

My grandmother Margaret Brown’s larder was well supplemented during the war; the family was insulated from the full effects of rationing due to my father’s activities.

In addition, my grandmother was practically self-sufficient: Vegetables were grown and stored; fruit was abundant in the Corrard orchard and was bottled, preserved and made into wine; hens, ducks, geese and turkeys were kept, as were dairy animals, beef cattle, pigs and sheep.

My grandmother had a pony and trap, and every few weeks she would ride into Enniskillen to buy those provisions that she could not grow, like sugar and tea.

I recall her as a very industrious and intelligent woman who did not suffer fools gladly!

Corrard is just across the lake from Belle Isle.

The road into Corrard is less than a mile from the road to the island of Belle Isle.

Corrard had once been the seat of the King baronets, and Sir Charles had owned it until his death in 1920.

The two estates, Belle Isle and Corrard, are separated by a thin ribbon of the water at one point, a mere hundred yards or so.

In winters gone by, Lough Erne could surround Corrard and it became an island, when the waters rose in winter.

I recall flooding during winters in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Lough came up and Corrard did become an island for a short time.

The approach into Corrard is by means of a steep, downward hill, through a pair of imposing stone gate-posts.

I remember beautiful white gates hung here, when I was a child, but they were removed many years ago.

At this point there is a crossroads, and it was here that the road could flood.

Beyond the crossroads is a steep hill leading to what was the mansion at Corrard.

The roads that fork to the left and the right led, in former times, to cottages that belonged to the estate.

There were, at one time, five cottages.

For anyone who knows Corrard the cottages were, on the point hill, at Innishbeg gravel pit, at what became the Glenn farm, in the Church Meadow and near the Lough shore behind Corrard House.

Corrard House was badly damaged by fire in 1921.

My grandfather knocked half of the house down and restored the remainder when he and my grandmother acquired Corrard in 1921.

My father was brought up on the land and the Lough.

He worked the land with love and knew every mood of the Lough.

He would go out in a boat in all weathers and was fearless.

As a young man, having finished his schooling at Portora, in Enniskillen, he worked with his father on Corrard.

His brother Cyril was, during the Second World War, a ‘Pathfinder’ in the Royal Air Force.

My father’s war contribution was made by increasing the yield from the farm.

Esmond was enterprising and modern in outlook: he wanted a tractor and machinery.

To this end, he began logging timber and floating it down the Lough for milling and sale.

Esmond is famous, too, for driving a tractor across the Lough from Corrard to Belle Isle in the hard winter of 1963 when Lough Erne was frozen!

This, and other hair raising escapades, are another story for another time!

First published in May, 2012.

Rowallane House

2026-10-26T07:38:57.567+00:00

THE MOORES OWNED 510 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

Early in 1600 three brothers, claiming to be a branch of MURE, or MUIR, of Rowallan, Ayrshire, removed from Scotland to Ulster. Two brothers settled in County Down, and one brother in County Tyrone.

COLONEL JOHN MUIR or MURE, of WILLIAM III's army, obtained a grant of lands in the Province, and was father of

HUGH MOORE (1696-1777), Captain, 9th Regiment of Dragoons, who married, in 1720, Elizabeth Clarke, of Clough House, County Down, and was father of

JOHN MOORE (1724-1800), of Clough House, land agent to the Annesley estate, who wedded Deborah, daughter of Robert Isaac, of Holywood, County Down, and Anne his wife, daughter of James Bailie, of Inishargie, in the same county, a descendant of John Knox.

Mr Moore was succeeded by his son,

HUGH MOORE (1762-1848), of Eglantine House and Mount Panther, both in County Down, Captain, 5th Dragoon Guards, Colonel, Eglantine Yeomanry (which he raised) in the Irish Rebellion.

Colonel Moore was Aide de Camp to General Needham during the Irish rebellion, and raised and commanded the Eglantine Yeomanry.

He married, in 1798, Priscilla Cecilia, daughter of Robert Armytage, of Kensington, London, and widow of Robert Shaw, of Terenure, County Dublin, and had issue,

JOHN ROBERT, his heir;
William Armytage (1806-83); father of HUGH ARMYTAGE;
Jane Deborah, died unmarried;
Priscilla Cecilia, m 3rd Earl Annesley;
Caroline Anne Elizabeth, m Rev J P Garrett;
Maria Clarissa, m W Humphrys.

Colonel Moore was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE REV JOHN ROBERT MOORE (1801-88), of Rowallane, County Down, Vicar of Kilmood, 1830, who wedded, in 1850, Jane, daughter of R Morris, of Carmarthen, and widow of Henry Davidson; though dsp, and was succeeded by his nephew,

HUGH ARMYTAGE-MOORE JP (1873-1954), of Rowallane, County Down, who married, in 1910, Jane Christian, eldest daughter of Kenneth Mathieson, of 50 Prince's Gate, London;

2nd lieutenant, 3rd Battalion, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 1891; Manager, Annesley Estate, 1909-17; Chairman, County Down section, Ulster Volunteer Force.

*****

Charles James Eglantine Armytage-Moore (1880-1960), son of William Armytage-Moore and Hugh Armytage-Moore's cousin,

Founding partner of the London stockbrokers Buckmaster & Moore and owned an estate called Winterfold, a Queen Anne style residence with 219 acres near Cranleigh in Surrey, with a remarkable collection of furniture and art.

ROWALLANE HOUSE, near Saintfield, County Down, is a long, low, plain house of two storeys, with a higher block at one end.

It was built in 1861 by the Rev John Moore, who had purchased the property as a farm.

In 1858 he had bought a townland called Creevyloughgare.

After this initial acquisition, Mr Moore then acquired the neighbouring townland, Leggyowan, in the early 1870s and named it Rowallane, meaning Beautiful Cleanrig, after the ancestral home of his Scottish forebears.

He gradually enlarged the farmhouse, added the walled garden and stable block and planted The Pleasure Grounds.

I’ve produced a short video clip of the House on YouTube:

The house has irregular fenestration, with a few first-floor windows having little, iron balconies.

The grounds contain various turrets; an obelisk made of spherical stones from the river bed; and other 20th century follies.

The house and grounds, comprising ca 220 acres, were walled-in and converted from farmland to the fifty acre layout as seen today.

The land has pockets of good acid soil and much rock near the surface, so planting is mitigated by these conditions.

The planting is informal, for the above reason, and it also reflects the style of the era.

Initially shelter trees were planted, and the Pleasure Grounds developed to the west of the house.

Entrance Front ca 1890

Ornamental plants were added, but the important plant collection that can be appreciated today occurred between 1903-55 by Hugh Armytage Moore ~ whose sister, incidentally, was the first wife of Percy French.

This has become one of the finest gardens in Northern Ireland and is appreciated for the impressive variety of plant material, which can be enjoyed at all times of the year.

The size is not intimidating ~ fifty acres; and the layout is varied by being in compartments, often using earlier stone-walled field boundaries.

There is the Spring Ground (above), Stream Ground, and the New Ground, to name some of the areas.

The Rock Garden Wood lies at the southern end of the garden and, as a large natural rock outcrop, provides an ideal spot to grow a wide range of alpines and unusual shrubs.

The walled garden, originally a conventional fruit, vegetable and flower garden, became a focus for the plant collection and, at the present time, is fully maintained and contains many interesting species, including the national collection of penstemons.

Rhododendrons are a speciality and they can be seen in many parts of the grounds.

Wild flowers are encouraged in the Pleasure Ground.

A great deal has been written about Rowallane in horticultural journals.

Rowallane demesne was acquired by the National Trust in 1955 and, since then, the gardens have been improved and the plant collection added to.

The ground floor of Rowallane House is now open to visitors with a new café, shop, and exhibition on the ground floor.

The house has recently undergone internal alterations and visitors can now enjoy new enhanced facilities.

Alterations include: the formation of structural openings to the ground floor to provide a new café, shop and interpretation area; a new tea room, designed to bring the outdoors indoors, with the colour scheme depicting the four seasons; while customers can also enjoy a new outdoor patio area.

There is also a pottery.

First published in September, 2012.

1st Baron Mountjoy

2026-10-25T09:00:42.397+00:00

The origin and history of this most ancient and distinguished family has been elaborately investigated by Sir Alexander Croke, of Studley Priory, Oxfordshire, who traces it from the Counts of Guînes, in Picardy, France, a race of nobles descended themselves from the Scandinavian rulers of Denmark.

It gave birth to three distinct races of peers, viz. the Lords of Guînes, in France; the Barons of Ixworth, in Suffolk (which barony ceased with Sir William Blount, Baron of Ixworth, who was slain fighting under the banner of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, at the battle of Lewes, and subsequently attainted, by Parliament, in the reign of HENRY III); and the Barons Mountjoy, of Thurveston, Derbyshire, which barony expired in 1681.

RUDOLPH, 3rd Count of Guînes, had three sons by his wife, Rosetta, daughter of the Count of Saint-Pol, all of whom accompanied the NORMAN in his expedition against England, in 1066; and, contributing to the triumph of their chief, shared amply in the spoils of conquest.

One of the brothers returned to his native country; the other two adopted that which they had so gallantly helped to win, and abided there.

Of these,

SIR ROBERT LE BLOUNT was the first feudal Baron of Ixworth, but of him presently.

SIR WILLIAM LE BLOUNT was a general of foot at Hastings, and had grants of seven Lordships in Lincolnshire.

MARIA LE BLOUNT, sole heiress of her line, marrying, in the next century, SIR STEPHEN LE BLOUNT, united the families of the two brothers.

The elder son,

SIR ROBERT LE BLOUNT, had the command of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR's ships of war, and was styled "DUX NAVIUM MILITARIUM."

His portion of the Spolia Opima embraced thirteen manors in Suffolk, of which county he was the first feudal baron of Ixworth (the place of his abode), and Lord of Orford Castle.

Sir Robert married Gundreda, youngest daughter of Henry, Earl Ferrers, and had a son and heir,

GILBERT LE BLOUNT, 2nd Baron of Ixworth; from whom we pass to

WILLIAM LE BLOUNT, 6th Baron of Ixworth, who was standard-bearer to Simon de Montfort, and fell at the battle of Lewes, 1264.

He was attainted, and the Barony of Ixworth forfeited.

Sir William left no issue, so that the representation of the family devolved upon his uncle,

SIR STEPHEN LE BLOUNT, who wedded, as stated, MARIA LE BLOUNT, heiress of Saxlingham, and had two sons,

ROBERT, his heir;
JOHN.

The elder son,

SIR ROBERT BLOUNT, espoused Isobel, daughter and co-heir of the feudal Lord of Odinsels, by whom he acquired the Manor of Belton, Rutland, and had issue (with two other sons),

SIR WILLIAM BLOUNT, who married the Lady Isobel de Beauchamp, daughter of William, 1st Earl of Warwick, and had a son,

SIR WALTER LE BLOUNT, of Warwickshire, who wedded Johanna, third sister and co-heir of Sir William de Sodington, and acquired the Estate of Sodington, Worcestershire.

Sir Walter died in 1332, and was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR WILLIAM LE BLOUNT, who wedded Margaret, daughter and co-heir of Theobald, 2nd Baron de Verdon, but dying issueless, left his property to his brother,

SIR JOHN BLOUNT, of Sodington, who espoused Isolda, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Mountjoy, of Derbyshire, whence the title of MOUNTJOY was afterwards assumed as a barony by a member of the family.

Sir John's third son,

SIR WALTER BLOUNT, was father of

SIR THOMAS BLOUNT (1378-1456), who wedded Margery, daughter of Thomas Gresley, and had issue,

Thomas (Sir), 1414-68;
WALTER, of whom hereafter;
Agnes.

The younger son,

SIR WALTER BLOUNT KG (c1416-74), of Thurveston, Derbyshire, espoused firstly, before 1443, Helena, daughter of Sir John Byron, of Clayton, Lancashire, and had issue,

WILLIAM (1442-71), father of EDWARD, 2nd Baron;
JOHN, 3rd Baron;
James;
Edward;
Anne; Elizabeth.

He married secondly, ca 1467, Anne, widow of Humphrey, 1st Duke of Buckingham.

Sir Walter was elevated to the peerage, in 1465, in the dignity of BARON MOUNTJOY.

His lordship's eldest son, William, was slain at the battle of Barnet, 1471, and he was succeeded by his grandson,

EDWARD, 2nd Baron (1464-75), who dsp, and was succeeded by his uncle,

JOHN, 3rd Baron (c1450-85), who married, ca 1477, Lora, daughter of Edward Berkeley, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;
Roland;
Lora; Constance.

THE family line passed uninterruptedly until we come to

CHARLES, 8th Baron (1563-1606), KG, LORD DEPUTY OF IRELAND, 1600-3, LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND, 1603-4, who was created, in 1603, EARL OF DEVONSHIRE.

The 1st Earl died without legitimate issue at Savoy House, London, when the titles expired.

MOUNTJOY CASTLE is located near the village of Mountjoy, County Tyrone, on a hill overlooking Lough Neagh.

The castle was built by the 8th Baron Mountjoy in 1602, and partly burned in 1643 by Captain Turlough Gruama O'Quin.

It is a two-storey brick building and the lower storey is stone-faced on the outside.

The castle comprises a central rectangular block with four spear-shaped angle towers with gun loops.

The northwest tower is partly demolished and the west curtain wall destroyed.

The entrance was on the south side of the east curtain wall.

On the first floor there are some wide windows.

Mountjoy Fort

MOUNTJOY FORT, which stood near the castle on the south-western edge of Lough Neagh, was discovered by a team of archeologists in 2018.

First published in July, 2018.

Belfast's ill-fated Grand Canal

2026-10-24T07:23:54.153+01:00

SELECTED EXTRACTS FROM GEORGE BENN'S HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BELFAST (1877)

DONEGALL PLACE runs from 36 Castle Place to Donegall Square North.

In 1784 there was an advertisement for a plan of an intended new street leading from 36 Castle Place to the White Linen Hall (now City Hall, Donegall Square).

This new street, known as Linen Hall Street, was intended for private dwellings of the wealthy inhabitants of the town.

The leading gentry had exclusive possession, Lord Donegall's own house being at the corner of the new street.

A more detailed account of the opening of Donegall Place, through the old castle's gardens, has been put on record:-

"June 3rd 1785. The ground for building the new street from our White Linen Hall to the Parade [Castle Place] is now thrown open, and brick and other materials for the work laid down ..."

"The entrance from the Parade to the right and left will be finely introduced by elegant iron pallisading and adequate globe stands raised from clean brick walls coped with free stone on front of Lord Donegall's and the Collector's houses curving beautifully towards the northern ends of each."

"The new buildings to commence at the southern extremity of said pallisading, and run forward to the banks of the intended canal which is to pass in front of the Linen Hall, and so separate the said street from that great building, the view of which forms a pleasant termination to the south."

"A drawbridge will be thrown across the canal in front of the Linen Hall, and another range of buildings incline to the east along the banks of the canal quay."

"The new street [Donegall Place] to be 80 feet wide ..."

Chart dated 1796 from Benn's History of Belfast. Click to Enlarge

These grand schemes were not executed, except the construction of Donegall Place.

The beautiful pallisading and the adequate globe stands were left to be perfected by the next generation, the members of which appear to have neglected the duty ... but, above all, the intended canal with its quay and drawbridge never went beyond a paper representation.

To that extent the canal, passing in front of the Linen Hall, is shown on maps of the period; so certain did its completion appear that the sanguine map-maker imagined he might safely stamp it as an accomplished fact.

Belle Isle: III

2026-10-23T14:59:00.720+01:00

JULIAN BROWN CONTINUES HIS MEMORIES OF LIFE AT BELLE ISLE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

THE TALE OF MISS ELLEN McDOUGAL

Miss McDougal arrived at Belle Isle from her home in Lockerbie, Scotland, when she was a very young woman in the 1920s.

She came to Belle Isle to work under the direction of her aunt, an earlier Miss McDougal, who was the housekeeper at Belle Isle in the halcyon days between the great wars.

At that time a full complement of servants were on hand to ensure the smooth running of the castle.

Miss Ellen McDougal joined the brigade as a humble scullery maid.

By the time of my arrival on the scene in 1948, the indoor servants had reduced to three and been transformed with changing times from servants into domestic help!

These were Minnie Cathcart, my mother Pearl Brown and Miss Ellen McDougal.

By the early 1950s Miss McDougal, known to all as ‘Dougie’, was a very accomplished cook, keeper of the kitchens and chief bottle washer!

I don’t know when she gained full charge of culinary activity but she was firmly in control from my earliest memories and remained so up until almost the end of the 1960s.

The Dougie of my childhood was approaching fifty years of age: slight of stature, her grey hair firmly held within the confines of a hairnet and usually dressed in a lengthy ‘wrap around’ floral pinafore.

A pair of steel rimmed glasses were perched on her sharp nose but could not hide the bright gleam in her all seeing eyes.

Dougie worked tirelessly from early morning till late at night all day, every day (she did have the odd half day off but grumbled about it).

It was not that she was put upon but just that it was her kitchen and she loved being in it.

She did all this for the princely sum of £5.00 per month, but did live in, all found!

Dougie was of the old school; she knew her place and wanted everyone else to know theirs.

She had immense respect for Mr Henry Archdale Porter, ‘The Master’, and he often popped his head round the kitchen door for a cheery word with Ellen.

I remember him being slightly ill at ease in her presence, her clear devotion somewhat unsettling him but he was very fond of her and valued her highly.

It was prudent to be ill at ease with Dougie.

For while she had a solid heart of gold there was also a fierce temper, easily lost.

It did not matter who you were, if you were in the firing line heaven help you!

A tirade of abuse was common and she was not averse to throwing the odd implement or chasing the offender with her rolling pin!

It did not matter if you were Mr Porter or Mrs Leigh attired in her finest new London creation or a naughty little boy like me!

When the temper was up - flee, "scarper" quickly! Stand on your dignity at your peril!

On one memorable occasion I boldly rode my tricycle into the kitchen and pedalled as fast as I could round and round the central table.

Dougie was making pastry at one end of the table and gave chase with a threatening fist raised and shrieking at the top of her voice “he’s a little bugger that’s what he is, wait till I get my hands on you.”

I was always playing pranks on Dougie but her bark was worse than her bite as far as my sister Audrey and I were concerned.

She loved us with a passion.

She had no family of her own and made us hers.

She was a great help to our mother by looking after us while she was at work elsewhere in the castle during the day.

Wary we were, but everyone adored her.

She had been there forever, as far as most people were concerned and could have given any of today’s television chefs and celebrity cooks a run for their money.

An earlier cook at Belle Isle had trained her in basic skills but she had a natural talent.

It was astonishing to watch her ‘throw’ ingredients together without weighing scales or any apparent measures.

The most wonderful, cakes, breads and puddings would result, even soufflés!

She could turn out any entree or concoction to a very high standard.

The most amazing smells wafted from the Aga, oxtail, jugged hare, partridge, and the best rice pudding ever made!

All manner of braises and ragouts would bubble away in huge cooking pots on the Aga hobs.

An old metal Nabisco-Frears biscuit tin was permanently lodged at the back of the Aga hotplate filled with meringues the like of which I have never seen anywhere.

Golden and tasting of honey.

Dougie could always rise to the occasion and dinner in the evening was eagerly anticipated.

Whenever a special occasion or party event took place the food was of exceptional standard, beautifully cooked, presented with style and garnished to perfection.

All this in the days before cooking became a national obsession and even pre-Elizabeth David.

Of course as a boy this all this seemed absolutely normal, it was not till later when out in the world I appreciated just how good Miss McDougal was.

Dougie’s kitchen was the central room in a complex of rooms.

A cavernous room with two large windows.

One to the west and one facing the southern front of the castle.

The south facing kitchen block is recessed and not in line with the main block, which houses what were then, the Dining, Drawing and Morning Rooms.

The south facing kitchen window was placed high up in the wall.

Presumably so that in the former days of elegance to which the castle belonged, ladies and gentlemen strolling in the formal gardens at the front of the castle did not have their view sullied by ‘scullery maids a scrubbing’ behind the kitchen window.

The kitchen had two huge tables.

One in the centre under an old blackened gas fitting where the preparation of food was carried out.

The home-made gas supply had been a product of a bygone period and no longer functional.

The fitting was used now to hang sticky papers to catch flies!

The other table under the high window was where the household dined in the evening and where the workforce dined at other times.

This included some of the men who worked on the home farm who came in for luncheon and tea, except during hay-making when tea was taken out to the field in large enamel jugs and generous wicker baskets.

The huge Aga commanded one wall almost in its entirety.

The west facing window wall had floor to ceiling wooden dressers atop of wider cupboards.

The dressers filled the entire wall and framed the window.

These fixtures were painted a dirty brown colour and some of the shelves were of scrubbed pine.

The dressers were filled with large gleaming copper domed covers for meat serving dishes and an assortment of porcelain.

I never saw any of the copper covers used, they belonged to another era but they sparkled and gleamed in the oil lamps glow reflecting in what I now know were rare and valuable plates.

To the rear of this kitchen was a scullery with an assortment of sinks and I remember a mechanical ‘separator’ that Miss McDougal filled with milk to make butter?

Beyond this were some pantries and at least one of these had wire mesh in the windows and not glass.

This was before refrigerators arrived in Belle Isle.

In a covered outhouse adjoining this (now demolished) game was hung to season: pheasants, hares, and other birds.

This was a source of consternation to my father, Esmond.

He used to say that they hung there till they were rotten and stinking and that they were crawling with maggots!

He could not understand how they could then be eaten!

The Belle Isle folk used to laugh at him and try to educate his palate:

“Come now Esmond, you shot it and should be rewarded, now do try some, it is delicious! “ – “No thank you madam, I will take your word for it!” Gales of laughter. “We really will have to see what we can do with you!” “No fear of that, madam!”

One last memory of the old kitchen at this time is of my sister Audrey and I climbing up onto the cupboards from a chair and standing in the large west window recess as small children.

The window sill was wide and deep and there were curtains that could be drawn by a cord.

We would sing and recite and I suppose we thought we were most entertaining.

Everyone was amused and indulgent (on most occasions!) but with reflection they were being kind we must have been an awful nuisance!

Finally at the end of the day Miss McDougal would trundle up the steep scrubbed wooden back stairs to her room.

This was fitted with a large brass bed and an assortment of unmatched Victorian furniture.

There was a real fire with logs burning in the winter and some shabby black curtains a remnant of the blackout in the war at the windows.

My father, mother and we children shared a set of rooms with Dougie for many years and on occasion as small children we would sleep with her in her big bed if our parents were away.

This happened rarely but was an adventure!

We would open a sleepy eye as Dougie came into the room and watch her divest herself of her glasses, hairnet, footwear and finally her outer garments.

In the flickering firelight she was revealed in her bed attire.

An all in one garment with leggings attached of quite course material that covered her from top to almost the ground known as ‘combinations’.

A fierce garment of immense fascination to us. ... and so to bed....clean combinations and another day tomorrow....

Dougie lived out her life at Belle Isle.

When she became old and infirm they created a beautiful bedroom for her on the ground floor and put in a ramp for a wheelchair.

Her final days were spent in the county hospital.

She is buried along with the Belle Isle household of her era and rests beside Mr Henry Archdale Porter, Mrs and Miss Brunt and Mrs Leigh.

They are all together on the grassy bank at the top of the gentle slope behind Derrybrusk Church.

There was no distinction in death. She had become part of the Belle Isle family.

She was a lovely lady. The salt of the earth. A rare character.

I cannot do her justice.

I knew her all my life and yet I did not really know her.

I wish I had spent more time with her.

The photograph above is of Miss Ellen McDougal; Julian Brown's mother Pearl Brown; his sister Audrey; and Julian himself, as small children. A rare day out for Miss McDougal.

First Published in 2010.

The O'Neill Baronetcy (1643)

2026-10-23T07:25:12.116+01:00

This was a branch from the Milesian stock from which the present noble family of O'NEILL claims descent.

HUGH BOY O'NEILL, from whom the territories called the Claneboys, in counties Down and Antrim, received their name, grandson of HUGH MEYTH, King of Ulster, 1122, recovered those lands from the English (which had been wrested from his family at the invasion during the reign of HENRY II), and his descendants enjoyed them until the reign of JAMES I.

When a portion was conquered by force of arms from the O'Neills, more purchased by JAMES I by them, and some part left in their possession, which has descended to the O'Neills of Shane's Castle.

His Majesty, when he instituted the Order of Baronets, had chiefly in view the subduing of the clan O'Neill in Ulster, and the Ulster hand ~ the Red Hand of O'Neill ~ was given as a badge to the order.

BRIAN O'NEILL, in consideration of his gallant services at the battle of Edgehill, was created a baronet by CHARLES I in 1643, designated of Upper Claneboys.

Sir Brian married Jane Finch, of the family of the 1st Earl of Nottingham, and dying in 1670, was succeeded by his son,

SIR BRIAN O'NEILL, 2nd Baronet, of Backerstown, County Dublin, one of the judges of the Court of King's Bench in Ireland during the reign of JAMES II, who married Mary, sister of Christopher, 10th Baron Dunsany, and dying in 1694, was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR HENRY O'NEILL, 3rd Baronet (c1674-1759), of Kellystown, near Drogheda, who married firstly, Mary, daughter of Mark Bagot, of Mount Arran, County Carlow, and had an only son,

BRIAN, his successor;
RANDALL, 5th Baronet.

He wedded secondly, Rose, daughter of Captain James Brabazon (son of Sir Anthony Brabazon, and nephew of William, 1st Earl of Meath), and had further issue,

Brabazon;
Henry;
FRANCIS, 6th Baronet.

Sir Henry was succeeded by the eldest son of his first wife,

SIR BRIAN O'NEILL, 4th Baronet, of Kellystown, who died without male issue, when the title devolved upon his brother,

SIR RANDALL O'NEILL, 5th Baronet, of Kellystown, surveyor of excise at Rush, County Dublin, who married, about 1750, Mrs Margaret Tompkins, by whom he had a son, William, and a daughter, Rachel.

Sir Randall died in 1799, and was succeeded by his only son,

SIR WILLIAM O'NEILL, 6th Baronet (c1754-84), of Kellystown, who died childless, when the baronetcy reverted to his uncle (of the half blood) and heir male, being sixth and youngest son of the 3rd Baronet,

SIR FRANCIS O'NEILL, 7th Baronet (c1730-99), of Kellystown, who was ejected from his property under the Popery Acts, and after renting two small farms near Kellystown, kept "a small huckster's shop and dairy" at Slane.

He married a daughter of ________ Fleming, of County Louth, by whom he had fourteen or fifteen children.

Sir Francis was in possession of the patent of the baronetcy in 1798, but died in 1799, being buried (with his father) at Mount Newton.

His widow died 18 months later.

Following his death the baronetcy expired.

*****

AS TO aristocratic kinsmen abandoning such claimants, again we may cite Burke's account of the support, moral and financial, given to the above mentioned Sir Francis O'Neill by his distant Protestant kinsman John, 1st Viscount O'Neill:

In that humble cottage the aged and poverty stricken baronet was visited in May, 1798 by John, the first Viscount O'Neill, and his two sons, Charles and John, the late Earl and the last Viscount ... for John, the first Lord O'Neill, princely in mind and he was exalted in station, never turned his face from a poor relation.

BACKWESTON HOUSE was once the residence of Sir Brian O'Neill, 1st Baronet.

He was a descendant of the Chiefs of Claneboy, and proved himself a gallant soldier, first in Holland and afterwards on the royalist side in the Civil War in England.

In relating the vicissitudes of the O'Neill family, Sir Bernard Burke has told how Sir Brian, with a few others, tried to rally the royal troops at the rout of Newburn, and how on the hard fought field of Edgehill he rallied the dragoons with undaunted courage, and finally saved CHARLES I from being taken prisoner.

Honours came to Sir Brian, but without corresponding wealth, and after the Restoration, he appears to have tried to add to his slender income by sending wool to France, a trade for which, on account of his constant loyalty and good service he was given a licence by the King.

Sir Brian, who was twice married, first to Jane Finch and secondly to Sarah Savage, whose mother was a daughter of Hugh, first Viscount Montgomery, of the Great Ards, died about 1670, and was succeeded by his son, who bore the same name.

Sir Brian O'Neill, the 2nd baronet, has been already mentioned in the history of Stillorgan in connection with his marriage to the widow of James Wolverston, who was a sister of Christopher Plunkett, 10th Lord Dunsany.

He was educated as a lawyer at Gray's Inn, which he entered in 1664, and, as stated in the history of Stillorgan, was appointed by JAMES II, in 1687, as one of the justices of the King's Bench in Ireland.

By his first marriage, Sir Henry O'Neill, 3rd Baronet, was father of Sir Randal, 4th Baronet, surveyor of customs at Rush, County Dublin, and died having had a son and a daughter, who both died unmarried.

Sir Henry O'Neill, by his second marriage, left Sir Francis O'Neill, of Kellystown, in the county of Meath, 7th Baronet, who married Miss Fleming, of County Louth.

Sir Brian O'Neill, 1st Baronet (d 1670)
Sir Brian O'Neill, 2nd Baronet (d 1694);
Sir Henry O'Neill, 3rd Baronet (c1674-1759);
Sir Brian O'Neill, 4th Baronet;
Sir Randall O'Neill, 5th Baronet (d 1779);
Sir William O'Neill, 6th Baronet (c1754-84);
Sir Francis O'Neill, 7th Baronet (c1730-99).

First published in April, 2011.

Myra Castle

2026-10-22T16:41:56.505+01:00

ROWLAND CRAIG-LAURIE OWNED 423 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

ROWLAND CRAIG-LAURIE JP (1810-96), of Red Castle, Kirkcudbright, and Myra Castle, County Down, married, in 1843, his cousin Jane, only surviving child and heir of Richard Forster Anderson, of Walshestown Castle, County Down.

Mr Craig-Laurie, a magistrate for Kirkcudbright, was the elder son of John Craig (d 1837), by Jane Anderson his wife, and grandson of Rowland Craig, and his wife, Margaret Bigham, grand-niece of the Rev Walter Laurie, of Redcastle, from whom the estate descended.

His only brother,

JOHN CRAIG-LAURIE JP, Lieutenant-Colonel commanding North Down Rifle Militia, married, though died without male issue.

MYRA CASTLE, near Downpatrick, County Down, was constructed in 1844 by Rowland Craig-Laurie.

It has plain, rendered walls; and, states Mark Bence-Jones

None of the pseudo-medieval detail which one would expect in a castellated house of its period; relying for its effect on the skilful grouping of its elements.

The castle is dominated by a tall, four-storey entrance tower, containing only stairs, with a circular turret at the other side of the front.

There are simple battlements and rectangular windows, some with unobtrusive mullions.

The castellated mansion house was erected to the south of Walshestown Castle (above), a 16th century tower house.

Lewis states that this fort was constructed on the site of an earlier castle built by John de Courcy as part of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.

Writing in the 1830s, Lewis recorded that Walshestown Castle had been occupied by Captain Richard Anderson's ancestors since the reign of CHARLES I in the 17th century (Anderson was Craig-Laurie's father-in-law).

Prior to his death in ca 1840, Anderson resided at the 300 year-old fortification, making it the only one of twenty-seven similar examples to remain inhabited during the 19th century.

THE BOATHOUSE at Myra Castle, a small single-storey building located in the townland of Walshestown along the shore of Strangford Lough, was constructed between 1834 and 1859, most likely between the 1840s and 1850s when the mansion and its parklands were set out by Rowland Craig-Laurie.

It did not appear on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps (1834) for the area, but was recorded on the second edition in 1859, where it was depicted as a small square building.

The map also depicted a long pier, extending from the boathouse out into Strangford Lough; contemporary with the boathouse, the pier had also been raised prior to 1859.

The main function of the boathouse and pier was to provide a landing where supply boats, laden with coal, could offload their cargo close to the Castle; however the current owner states that this initiative failed and was only ever attempted once, due to the distance between the house and the pier.

The boat house is of simple rubble greywacke construction, and is largely intact.

It is located adjacent to a scheduled pier, and is enhanced by a traditional County Down sea wall and high quality stone gate piers and stile, providing pedestrian and vehicular access to the shore.

The group occupies a magnificent setting on the shores of Strangford Lough, and contributes to a remarkably intact cultural landscape complete with several high quality listed buildings, including the romantic 19th-century Myra Castle.

*****

THIS is the beautiful lough-shore site of the late 16th century Walshestown Castle, of which substantial remains survive in the walled-garden of the present house.

Some of the planting north of Walshestown Castle had 18th century origins, though much of this has been replaced in recent decades with commercial conifers and hardwoods.

The parkland around Myra Castle was created during the 1840s as a setting for the newly-built house.

The designed landscape is of high quality and once contained a lake (now silted up), with cascades overlooked by a Mogul-style summer house (now roofless).

The walled-garden, on the east side of Walshestown Castle, has a stream, a pond and a gardener’s house.

A balustraded terrace lies outside the house.

To the rear of the house, a service tunnel links the building with the stables, coach house and farm yard.

A Tudor-Gothic gateway with a castellated tower adjoins the lodge.

*****

COLONEL THE RT HON ROBERT HUGH WALLACE CB CBE (1860-1929) acquired Myra Castle thereafter.

Former seats ~ Red Castle, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright; and Myra Castle, Downpatrick, County Down.

First published in September, 2016.

Castle Blunden

2026-10-22T07:19:11.433+01:00

THE BLUNDEN BARONETS OWNED 1,846 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILKENNY

JOHN BLUNDEN (c1718-83), only surviving son of John Blunden, of Castle Blunden (Barrister, MP for County Kilkenny, 1727-52), married Martha, daughter of Agmondesham Cuffe, and sister of JOHN, 1ST BARON DESART, and had issue (with several daughters),

JOHN, his heir;
William Pitt, father of the 3rd Baronet;
Overington (General in the army; MP).

Mr Blunden, MP for Kilkenny City, 1761-76, was created a baronet in 1766, designated of Castle Blunden, County Kilkenny.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN BLUNDEN, 2nd Baronet (1767-1818), High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1805 and 1813, Mayor of Kilkenny, 1802, who married twice, though both marriages were without issue, when the title passed to his nephew,

SIR JOHN BLUNDEN, 3rd Baronet (1814-90), DL, Barrister, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1843 and 1847, who wedded, in 1839, Elizabeth, daughter of Major John Knox, of Dublin, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;
John Overington;
Edward Herbert;
Maurice Robert;
Arthur Henry;
Abraham;
Kate; Harriette; Nicola Sophia.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR WILLIAM BLUNDEN, 4th Baronet (1840-1923), Surgeon, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1904, who espoused, in 1879, Florence Caroline, daughter of Henry Shuttleworth, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
Eric Overington;
Muriel.

Sir William was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN BLUNDEN, 5th Baronet (1880-1923), who wedded, in 1918, Phyllis Dorothy, daughter of Philip Crampton Creagh, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;
PHILIP OVERINGTON, 7th Baronet.

Sir John was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR WILLIAM BLUNDEN, 6th Baronet (1919-85), Lieutenant-Commander RN, who married, in 1945, Pamela Mary, daughter of John Purser, and had issue,

Sarah Vanessa; Griselda Jane; Caroline Susan; Rowena Mary;
Elizabeth Anne Gabrielle; Fiona Christine.

Sir William died without male issue, when the title passed to his brother,

SIR PHILIP OVERINGTON BLUNDEN, 7th Baronet (1922-2007), who wedded, in 1945, Jeanette Francesca Alexandra, daughter of Captain D Macdonald RNR, of Portree, Isle of Skye, and had issue,

HUBERT CHISHOLM, his successor;
John Maurice Patrick;
Marguerite Eugenie.

Sir Philip was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR HUBERT CHISHOLM BLUNDEN, 8th and present Baronet (1948-), of The Cottage, Carrigloe, Cobh, County Cork, 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, who married, in 1975, Ellish O'Brien, and has issue,

EDMUND, b 1982;
Amelia, b 1977.

CASTLE BLUNDEN, County Kilkenny, is a mid-18th century house built either for John Blunden MP, or for his son, Sir John Blunden, 1st Baronet.

It comprises three storeys over a vaulted basement, with a six-bay front enclosing a central niche containing a statue below an armorial panel.

The interior decoration is late 18th century in style, likely decorated by the 2nd Baronet, whose wife afforded him "a clear £8,000 a year."

The hall boasts a frieze of rams' heads; and the plasterwork in the drawing-room has an "Adamesque" ceiling.

Castle Blunden stands in a most idyllic setting, with water on both sides of it, probably formed originally from a moat (from an earlier castle).

First published in August, 2018.

Belle Isle: II

2026-10-21T12:18:07.354+01:00

Porter arms

REMINISCENCES FROM JULIAN BROWN, WHOSE FAMILY ONCE HAD CLOSE TIES WITH BELLE ISLE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

I often visited Miss Tiggy Brunt and Captain Hermon at Necarne Castle (the gardener's house) in the 1970s, when they took up residence there after Mr H A Porter's death.

There are pictures of that period too.

Everyone at Belle Isle, Necarne and (in the summer) Mullaghmore was kind and incredibly generous to all of the Brown family!

Even Captain Hermon mellowed as we grew up.

Mr Henry Archdale Porter (Mastie!) is the man in the hat, with my father and me.

This picture was taken at Mullaghmore, near Classiebawn Castle, in the early 1950s.

The Belle Isle household used to decamp to Mullaghmore every summer, and the Brown family were frequent Sunday guests.

Indeed Captain Hermon was a first rate shot and I recall him at the Belle Isle Shoot.

I was a beater on a couple of occasions as a lad, a dangerous occupation.

My father, Esmond, was a keen shooter too, and often Captain Hermon and my father shot together.

First published in February, 2010.

The Hamilton Baronetcy (1662)

2026-10-21T07:24:54.969+01:00

Coat-of-arms of 1st Earl of Clanbrassil

THE REV HANS (otherwise JOHN) HAMILTON, Vicar of Dunlop, a natural son of Archibald Hamilton, of Raploch, married Janet, daughter of James Denholm, of West Shields, and had issue,

JAMES, created Viscount Claneboye;
Archibald, of Hallcraig;
Gawn, of Ballygally;
JOHN, of whom hereafter;
William, of Newcastle and Bangor;
Patrick, of Gransha;
Jean.

The fourth son,

JOHN HAMILTON (c1576-1639), of Coronary, County Cavan, and of Monella (Hamiltonsbawn), County Armagh, married, in 1617, Sarah, daughter of Sir Anthony Brabazon, Governor of Connaught, and had issue,

HANS, his heir;
Anthony;
James, of Bailieborough;
Francis;
Ursula; Mary; Eleanor.

John Hamilton was invited to Ireland by his brother James, Lord Claneboye, and in 1613 purchased 1,000 acres of the lands of Killycloghan, County Cavan; and in 1615, 1,000 acres of Magheryentrim and Killyruddan, in the barony of The Fews, County Armagh.

He lived to a good age, died on the 16th September, 1639, and was buried in Mullabrack Church.

The eldest son,

THE RT HON SIR HANS HAMILTON, Knight, of Hamiltonsbawn, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1669, MP for County Armagh, 1661-6, wedded Magdalene, daughter of Sir Edward Trevor Kt, and had an only daughter, SARAH, married to Sir Robert Hamilton, Knight, of Mount Hamilton, County Armagh.

Sir Hans was knighted in 1661, and created a baronet in 1662, designated of Monella.

He died suddenly in 1681, when the baronetcy became extinct, but the estates devolved upon Sir Hans's son-in-law,

SIR ROBERT HAMILTON, Knight, of Mount Hamilton, who was appointed Sir Hans's successor as custos rotulorum of the county, and, in 1683, created a baronet, designated of Mount Hamilton, County Armagh.

*****

Louise Duncan from Australia has researched the family:

Of John's (ie John Hamilton of Monilla) family was first Hans. In his youth he was bred at (unclear) Schools; went to the college of Glasgow, in Scotland; was much disposed for learning, and very capable of it, but by his father's death, and the urgency of his affairs, was soon called back again to Ireland.

He attended his affairs carefully and discreetly till the war of Ireland broke out, at which time duty and necessity obliged him to give his assistance therein, by my Lord Claneboy's advice. His years and parts early promoted him to be a captain of horse; as in progress of time he became lieutenant-colonel. He joined, with the Earl of Clanbrassil, in Ormond's Association.

That war being ended, he married Magdalen Trevor, daughter to Sir Edward Trevor, (and sister to Marcus Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon) and had by her some children, whereof only his daughter Sarah came to maturity.

His business then being to improve and plant his estate, lying mostly in the upper country; and, by reason of his very good natural and acquired parts, and justice to the King's interest and family, after King Charles II’s restoration, was knighted and made Baronet., and afterwards one of his Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, and was very much entrusted by the Government in the oversight of the upper country (at Hamilton’s Bawn in County Armagh).

He died of a good age, in great esteem, and generally much bewailed; lies in the tomb with his father, mother, lady, and daughter.

He was guilty of great errors—whereof afterwards, His natural parts and improvements were both very considerable; his deportment, in his younger years, very commendable; but, his estate being much burdened, his disposition to live high and aim to purchase great things, occasioned many to think (as a gent, of his neighbourhood and great acquaintance once said) that.

Sir Hans Hamilton was never so honest as Hans Hamilton by half. He was unfortunate in that his daughter married contrary to his disposition, and the measures he had proposed to himself.

He fell at last in great variance with his nearest friends, and affliction by the death of his lady and daughter; went to Dublin, with design, as it is believed, to do something that was great for his family against his friends, but failed of it, and died in the enterprise, but did not perform it.

THE FORMER army barracks at Hamiltonsbawn, County Armagh, were built in 1731 on the site of a 60-square foot defensive bawn.

This bawn was built with walls twelve feet in height and used lime and stone, with two flankers which had been built as part of the plantation of Ulster by the Scottish settler John Hamilton in 1619.

It is recorded that, by 1622, the bawn was 90 feet in length and 63 feet wide.

Hamilton was responsible for a few dozen families in the area, and was able to arm thirty men as required by his undertaking as part of the Plantation.

The area had been known variously as Monela, Monella, Monilla or Moynellan.

Hamilton's bawn was almost completely destroyed during the 1641 uprising in Ulster, but following the Restoration of CHARLES II in 1660, Sir Hans Hamilton, 1st Baronet, built a three, or possibly five, chimney mansion or manor house on the ruins of the bawn.

The manor house was known colloquially as "the Castle".

Owing to substantial family debts, the land on which the bawn and house had stood was sold by Sir Hans Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, of Mount Hamilton, in the early 18th century (ca 1704).

By the 1720s it had come into the possession of Sir Arthur Acheson, of Markethill.

First published in April, 2011.

Belle Isle: I

2026-10-20T15:00:13.616+01:00

Ross arms

REMINISCENCES FROM JULIAN BROWN, WHOSE FAMILY ONCE HAD CLOSE TIES WITH BELLE ISLE ESTATE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

By the 1950s, the Belle Isle Castle household had abandoned the elegant Georgian bay-windowed formal dining-room, except for special occasions.

Dinner was taken in the original old kitchen, which was part of a suite of sculleries, pantries and store rooms on the west side of the castle, whose windows looked out onto the road to the West Island.

The repast was still conducted in some style: A huge, white damask tablecloth was spread on one of the wooden kitchen tables; and this was laid with the Belle Isle silver, beautiful salts, Georgian cutlery and antique silver napkin rings.

Mr Henry Porter sat at one end of the table; and, on most evenings, Mr Dick Hermon, of Necarne Castle, sat at the other.

Mrs Mary Brunt and her daughters Vida Leigh and Hilda Brunt (Tiggy) sat at the sides of the table, as did any guests (Mr Hermon often stayed at Belle Isle: he had his own room, the blue dressing room, and he had been married to Mr Porter’s sister.

Miss Tiggy would have been be in charge of ‘service’ and was assisted by the Belle Isle cook, Miss Ellen McDougal (of whom more another time); and often my mother, Pearl Brown, helped as well.

On one occasion my sister Audrey, who was about four, and myself, aged nine, were sitting near the Aga watching.

Seen, but not heard!

Miss McDougal was the most wonderful cook: she could produce anything.

However, on the occasion in question, the main course was roast swan – don’t know where it came from or the legalities of it!

Notwithstanding Miss McDougal's skills, the ‘old bird’ was very tough: Mr Hermon chewed manfully but dislodged a tooth in the attempt!

Out came the meat and the tooth.

Audrey and I got fits of the giggles, which was unfortunate because, while the household generally were very fond of us, Mr Hermon was not.

He did not take to children.

Our mother had to remove us speedily!

This was one of my father Esmond’s favourite stories.

He was an excellent mimic, and Mr Hermon’s predicament was recounted many times.

Miss Lavinia Baird moved the kitchens to what had been the Servants Hall in the 1970s (now Hamilton wing?); and I understand that the kitchen has been moved again, into what was the old Housekeeper's Room in the main body of the castle.

The photograph shows Mrs Brunt; her daughter, Mrs Vida Leigh; and Julian as an infant on the steps of the french windows into the Drawing Room at Belle Isle Castle in 1949.

First published in February, 2012. Ross arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Drum Manor

2026-10-20T07:18:02.312+01:00

THE EARLS CASTLE STEWART WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY TYRONE, WITH 32,615 ACRES

DRUM MANOR, near Cookstown, County Tyrone, originally called Oaklands, was built in 1829.

It was remodelled and extended in 1869 to the designs of the architect William Hastings, and renamed Drum Manor.

The house of 1829 was built for Major William Stewart Richardson-Brady, DL, and comprised a triple-gabled east front, of which only the ground floor blind walling, rectangular bay windows and polygonal south-east bay remain.

The extensions of 1869 were built for Lord Stuart, and were described at the time as the "tower and main building" of which only the four-storey tower survives intact.

(Image: Ashley McLean)

Of Hastings' original main building the remaining north front, including the main entrance porch, the south front, and probably also the porch on the east side may be identified.

In addition, the south terrace balustrading and steps, and the screen wall and gateway of 1876, may be attributed to Hastings.

Hastings' other works here included the two gate lodges, also of the 1870s.

The manor house was semi-derelict by 1970, with slated roofs, though the roofs were later removed, gables taken down, and the entire interior space, apart from the tower, cleared away to form an open garden within mainly ground floor perimeter walls.

It owes its origins to the marriage in 1868 of Henry James Stuart-Richardson, Viscount Stuart (later 5th Earl Castle Stewart) to Augusta Liviscount Richardson-Brady, heiress to the Oaklands estate.

Lord Stuart's armorial bearings (top) adorn the manor house.

(Image: Ashley McLean)

Augusta Richardson-Brady was Major Richardson-Brady's daughter.

Her second marriage was to Lord Stuart in 1866.

She died in 1908 at Drum Manor, without male issue.

In 1865, her name was legally changed to Augusta Liviscount Richardson-Brady by Royal Licence; and, from 1867, her married name became Stuart-Richardson.

As a result of her marriage, she became the Countess Castle Stewart in 1874.

Immediately upon marriage, Lord Stuart set about reconstructing Oaklands into the Tudor-Revival edifice known as Drum Manor.

This battlemented sandstone structure once had a tall tower to the east, near the entrance front which was dominated by a huge entrance portal; surmounted by a large tracery window which contained Victorian armorial stained-glass.

Lord Stuart was also responsible for setting out the formal gardens and demesne which survive to this day.

TODAY, Drum Manor Forest Park is one of Cookstown's largest tourist attractions, though only the ground floor outer walls of the manor house survive.

The Northern Ireland Forest Service acquired the estate from the Close family in 1964, and opened it as a forest park in 1970.

The tower and the ground floor walls of the early Victorian manor-house remain intact.

The balustrade terrace is worth visiting, as the pleasure-grounds and backdrop were specifically designed to provide an impressive vista from this single vantage point.

The pleasure grounds and ponds were developed during a major alteration of the house in the 1870s.

They contain a number of interesting tree species, and the layout of the plantings was carried out deliberately to create a special atmosphere.

Drum Manor Forest Park has many facilities available for educational visits including nature trails, guided tours, picnic areas, seasonal cafe, disabled access toilets and commercially managed forest.

The forest plots were established from 1965 onwards and include both native and exotic tree species.

The demesne (then known as Oaklands) was established in the 18th century.

The present house of 1829 exists as a shell.

This serves the purpose of retaining the main building within the landscape but it is unfortunate that it no longer exists as usable.

In an attempt to avoid incurring rates liability, the Forest Service demolished the mansion.

The manor house was partially demolished in 1975 and a ‘Japanese’ garden was created within the ruins.

A tower, from which there are fine views and additions of 1896, is notable.

There are many excellent ornamental attributes within the site and good planting.

There are mature stands of beech, including a beech shelter belt on the southern perimeter, with a walk inside and a now disused beech avenue leading from a former entrance on the northern side.

The terracing on the south (garden) front of the manor-house survives, complete with a little stone summer house.

This leads to lawns, with trees and shrubs and on to a series of large artificial ponds or lakes, the western of which is silted up.

There are pleasant walks round the lake via bridges.

The walled garden is divided into two parts, formerly laid out in box edges beds in a geometric pattern.

These were grubbed out in favour of a 1970s layout and planting, which is maintained.

Part of the walled garden is designated as a butterfly garden.

The Gardener’s House lies between the walled gardens and is in good repair.

The stable yard, farm yard and haggard are now car parks.

There are two listed lodges of ca 1870, of which the Cookstown Gate has an impressive entrance archway.

Changes in road alignment have altered the shape of the demesne, which is now 227 acres.

It was taken over for forestry in 1964 and designated a Forest Park in 1970; the site is a well maintained public amenity with good facilities.

First published in March, 2011. I am grateful to the Countess Castle Stewart for information. Stuart-Richardson arms courtesy of the NLI.

Palmerstown House

2026-10-19T07:22:49.366+01:00

THE EARLS OF MAYO OWNED 4,915 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILDARE

This family, MacWILLIAM BOURKE, and that of CLANRICARDE, derive from a common ancestor, viz. WILLIAM FITZADELM DE BURGO, who succeeded STRONGBOW as chief governor of Ireland, 1176. Sir Theobald Bourke, of Ardnaree, the last MacWilliam Bourke in Ireland, escaped to Spain, and was created by PHILIP III Marquis of Mayo.

DAVID BOURKE, of Moneycrower (Bunacrower), during the reign of HENRY VIII, had three sons,

Edmond;
JOHN, of whom we treat;
Miles.

The second son,

JOHN BOURKE, of Moneycrower (Bunacrower), was a captain of horse under the Marquess of Ormonde during the troubles in Ireland, in 1641; at the termination of which he took up his abode at Kill, County Kildare, and marrying Catherine, daughter of Meyler Fay, and niece of Sir Paul Davys, had (with three daughters),

Miles, dsp;
Walter, dsp;
Theobald, dsp;
RICKARD, of whom presently.

The youngest son,

RICKARD BOURKE LL.D, of Dublin, married Catherine, daughter of Charles Minchin, of Ballinakill, County Tipperary, and was father of

THE RT HON JOHN BOURKE (c1700-90), MP for Naas, 1727-60, 1768-76, Old Leighlin, 1761-8, who wedded, in 1725, Mary, third daughter and co-heir of the Rt Hon Joseph Deane, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
JOSEPH DEANE (Most Rev), Lord Archbishop of Tuam, 3rd Earl;
Richard;
Thomas;
Catherine; Elizabeth; Margaret; Eleanor.

Mr Bourke having been sworn previously of the Irish privy council, was elevated to the peerage, in 1776, in the dignity of Baron Naas, of Naas, County Kildare; and advanced to a viscountcy, 1781, as Viscount Mayo, of Moneycrower (Bunacrower), County Mayo.

His lordship was further advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1785, as EARL OF MAYO.

The 1st Earl was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 2nd Earl (1729-92), MP for Naas, 1763-90, who espoused, in 1764, the Lady Mary Leeson, daughter of Joseph, Earl of Milltown, but died without issue, when the honours devolved upon his brother,

JOSEPH DEANE (Most Rev), Lord Archbishop of Tuam, as 3rd Earl (c1740-94), who married, in 1760, Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir Richard Meade Bt, and sister of John, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam, by whom he had issue,

JOHN, 4th Earl;
Richard (Rt Rev), Lord Bishop of Waterford;
Joseph (Very Rev), Dean of Ossory;
George Theobald (Rev);
and eight daughters.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

John, 4th Earl (1766–1849);
Robert, 5th Earl (1797–1867);
Richard Southwell, 6th Earl (1822-72);
Dermot Robert Wyndham, 7th Earl (1851–1927);
Walter Longley, 8th Earl (1859–1939);
Ulick Henry, 9th Earl (1890–1962);
Terence Patrick, 10th Earl (1929–2006);
Charles Diarmuidh John, 11th Earl (b 1953).

The heir apparent is the present holder's eldest son, Richard Thomas Bourke, styled Lord Naas (b 1985).

PALMERSTOWN HOUSE, near Johnstown, County Kildare, is a mansion-house rebuilt in late-Victorian "Queen Anne" style.

6th Earl of Mayo KP GCSI PC

The mansion was built by public subscription as a tribute to the memory of the 6th Earl of Mayo, Chief Secretary for Ireland and later Viceroy of India.

The 6th Earl was assassinated by an escaped convict in the Andaman Islands in 1872.

One front has a recessed centre and three-bay projections, joined by a colonnade of coupled columns. Another front has a pediment elevated on a three-bay attic, between two three-sided bows.

The house has a Mansard roof with pedimented dormers.

The mansion was burnt in 1923, though afterwards rebuilt with a flat roof and balustraded parapet.

Palmerstown has had a succession of owners, including Mrs B Lawlor, who began her career as cook to the 7th Earl and Countess.

Palmerstown House now functions as a de luxe golf golf resort and functions including christenings, communions, confirmations, family celebrations, retirement parties, anniversaries, corporate events, team-building exercises etc.

Mayo arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

3 Kinnegar Road

2026-10-18T07:31:40.859+01:00

Here is an establishment I have spent many happy hours in, ever since I've been old enough to enjoy a dram or two.

It is now the Dirty Duck Ale House.

The Dirty Duck is situated at the corner of Kinnegar Avenue and Kinnegar Road, at the esplanade in the garrison town of Holywood in County Down.

It enjoys a fine prospect overlooking Belfast Lough.

My father played here during his childhood at the rickety wooden jetty with his chums.

They swam and sailed in dinghies.

This licensed premises has changed its name five times.

Click to Enlarge

It was first opened as the Kinnegar Hotel in 1868, the proprietor being one Daniel Ship.

At the turn of the 19th century it changed hands and became the Kinnegar Bar.

The Kinnegar Bar (Image: Chris Skelly)

Twenty years or so later, it was bought by Alexander Steen (whose name is inscribed on the gable in the old photograph) who restored its original name, although it was invariably known, quite simply, as Steen's.

I vaguely remember Fred Steen who, probably, was Alexander's son.

I think that at that period till the 1970s, the Inn was really a "drinking man's pub".

Click to Enlarge

This was the period when it became the Kinnegar Inn.

The bar's name changed, yet again, to The Clipper, in 1984.

The Clipper became the Waterfront during the 1990s.

Since then, it has changed hands several times.

I seem to recall that, at some stage, SIR JOHN GRAHAM Bt had an interest in it; indeed he may have owned it.

The Grahams had a country house near Dromore.

When I was at Brackenber, they invited us to make use of their swimming-pool which, I think, was outdoors.

I have fond memories of the bar in the 1980s.

I particularly liked the cosy upstairs lounge bar with its banquette, red velour cushioned seating.

Occasionally my father and I enjoyed a drink there of a summer's evening, watching the boats coming up and down the lough.

First published in February, 2009.

Kelly's Cellars, Belfast

2026-10-17T07:26:31.115+01:00

Kelly's Cellars, Bank Street, Belfast ca 1960 (Image: eBay)

Much has already been written about Kelly's Cellars, the celebrated public house located at 30-32, Bank Street in Belfast.

I propose, nevertheless, to condense some of the more salient and relevant information relating to that notable establishment.

Bank Street, as it is now called, is (or was) one of the oldest and most historic streets in Belfast.

It runs from 2, Royal Avenue, to Chapel Lane, where it terminates at St Mary's Church.

This street is shown in Thomas Phillips' 1685 map of central Belfast as a lane veering off from Castle Street, with houses lining it on each side.

It was once known as Bryce's Lane; Crooked Lane or simply Back of the River; Cunningham Row; Bank Lane; and today as Bank Street.

Thomas Phillips' 1685 map of central Belfast

The crooked bend in the lane, caused by Kelly's Cellars, appears in a 1757 plan.

Whereas it is generally accepted by historians that the present building dates from at least 1780, buildings existed here in 1685; so proprietors' claims that the premises were established in 1720 could conceivably be true.

Doubtless Kelly's Cellars is the oldest public bar in Belfast.

McHugh's Bar, at Queen's Square, is an older building, said to date from ca 1711; though it did not operate as a public house until the 19th century.

White's Tavern, according to Historic Buildings Branch, "probably dates from the late 18th century;" the date of 1630 "does not necessarily refer to the construction of a building on the current site but is most likely derived from the granting of a continuous tavern licence which was not restricted to a particular area or building."

The first recorded tenant of Kelly's Cellars, about 1830, was Hugh Kelly, a wine and spirit merchant.

Kelly leased the premises from Robert Stewart, who administered the estate on behalf of Captain William Mussenden, of Larchfield, County Down (the Mussendens were prosperous bankers in Belfast, and owned property in and around Bank Street).

Hugh Kelly died in 1871 at his residence in Holywood, County Down.

A painting of Bank Street drawn in 1920 by Frank McKelvey

Following Hugh Kelly's death the premises were leased by Young, King, and Co.

Kelly's Cellars was damaged during the Belfast blitz in 1941, and purchased from the Mussenden Estate in 1942 by James Tohill of the Tohill Vino wine company.

Jimmy Tohill carried out more alterations to the bar's interior, when a cocktail bar was opened upstairs in 1948, followed by the Tudor Lounge in 1954.

Kelly's Cellars was sold for £43,000 in 1961 (equivalent to about £800,000 in 2024) to Kevin O'Kane.

Bank Street, Belfast, with whitewashed Kelly's Cellars, ca 1973,
Image: Guy Butler Slides Archive, History Hub Ulster

Croft Inns, a division of Guinness and Co., purchased Kelly's Cellars as well as the Fountain Tavern in 1972.

Lily Mulholland and Martin O’Hara bought Kelly's Cellars in 2004 and are the current proprietors.

Bank Street entry for 1974
Click to Enlarge

The historic buildings department of the Northern Ireland Department for Communities remarks in its general comments:-

"Two-storey painted brick public house perhaps c1720 but definitely constructed by 1757. It is reputed to be the oldest public house in Belfast and an impression of this character survives, despite extensive alterations. However, more recent changes and renovations have resulted in the loss of most historic fabric and detailing and have compromised its historic and architectural interest."

"Although no longer a Georgian, or even Victorian, public house, it is of historic significance due to its strong connection to the 1798 Rebellion and the continuous presence of the public house in this location from the time of the early development of the city."

Kirkistown Castle

2026-10-16T07:27:06.626+01:00

KIRKISTOWN CASTLE, near Cloughy, County Down, was built in 1622 by Roland Savage, of Ballygalget, County Down.

It remained in the Savage family until the 1660s, when it was sold by James Savage to Captain James McGill, Ballyministragh, near Killinchy, County Down.

James McGill, son of the Rev David McGill, married Jean Bailie of Inishargy.

They lived at Kirkistown Castle and Ballynester, Greyabbey.

James McGill "improved the place very much", and also erected a nearby windmill, the stump of which still survives.

He died in 1683.

Captain Hugh McGill was recorded as an overseer of Henry Savage’s will, dated 1655.

Hugh McGill’s daughter, Lucy McGill, was born in 1685 at Castle Balfour, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh.

She married William Savage, of Audleystown and Kirkistown, who died in 1733.

In 1683 William Montgomery, as well as commending McGill for his investment in the area, described the castle as being in good repair and remarked that its "late erected garden walls are washed with a pleasant fresh lough near the sea" (alluding to land on the eastern elevation of the castle now drained).

In 1744 Walter Harris described the castle as "surrounded by a high wall and strongly built."

He also remarked that "contained within the circuit of it" was "a good dwelling house" in which the then owner, Lucy McGill (Captain McGill's granddaughter) was living.

In the early 1800s Kirkistown Castle was the residence Lucy McGill’s granddaughter, Mary, who married William Montgomery, of Greyabbey.

During this period the building was in poor condition, and William Montgomery commenced the refurbishment of the property, enlarging windows, renovating the interior and, possibly, constructing buttresses and the barn.

When Mr Montgomery died, nevertheless, the work was uncompleted, his son and heir was a minor, and work ceased.

In 1837 it was noted that the structure had a "half-finished roof and broken window", and was reverting to its "former state of ruin."

Mr Montgomery’s widow, Mary, granted use of the castle in 1840 to the Cloughey Presbyterian congregation, in order to hold services whilst the church was under construction.

It is unclear what happened the castle after the congregation had left for their new church, but Alexander Knox, writing in 1875, remarked that the castle was in the possession of Hugh Montgomery, and had been restored and returned to its former use as a dwelling house.

Kirkistown Castle continued to be used as accommodation by the Montgomerys until the beginning of the 20th century.

The castle was subsequently sold to the Brown family, who in turn passed it on to the state.

The castle is now a state care monument and has never been a listed property.

First published in September, 2018.

New Lord-Lieutenant

2026-10-15T16:14:58.119+01:00

APPOINTMENT OF LORD-LIEUTENANT OF COUNTY TYRONE

The King has been pleased to appoint Mr William James Baxter QPM DL as His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of County Tyrone, to succeed Sir Robert William Lowry Scott KCVO OBE following his retirement on 17th June 2026.

The Denny Baronets

2026-10-15T14:57:40.177+01:00

THE DENNY BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KERRY, WITH 21,479 ACRES

SIR ROBERT DENNY, Knight, of London and Barham in Linton, Cambridgeshire, MP for Cambridgeshire, 1391-3, Lieutenant of John, Duke of Bedford, Lord High Constable of England at the time of the siege of Rouen; son of Geoffrey Denny (d 1375), citizen and fishmonger of London, by Cecily his wife, daughter of Hugh Waltham, MP for the City of London, 1319; married Amy, widow of John, son and heir of Sir John Furneaux, and died 1419.

His great-grandson,

SIR EDMUND DENNY, Knight, one of the barons of the court of exchequer in England at the beginning of the 16th century.

A monument to his memory in the church of St Benet Paul's Wharf, London, was demolished in the Great Fire of London, 1666, when the church was burned.

By his last will, he directed his body to be laid in that church, and that twenty trentals of masses should be said for his soul, and for the souls of his wives deceased, and those of William and Agnes, his father and mother.

The younger son of this learned person,

THE RT HON SIR ANTHONY DENNY (1501-49), Knight, Groom of the Stool, 1518, and sworn of the Privy Council to HENRY VIII.

This gentleman was the only individual, amongst the courtiers, who dared to apprise his royal master of his approaching dissolution.

His Majesty had, however, such a high esteem for Sir Anthony, that he could perform that sad office with impunity; and the Monarch presented him with a magnificent pair of gloves, worked in pearls, which still remain in the possession of the family.

Sir Anthony's son,

SIR EDWARD DENNY (1547-1600), Knight Banneret, of Bishop's Stortford, was a soldier, privateer and adventurer in the reign of ELIZABETH I.

Denny was born in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire in 1547, the second surviving son of Sir Anthony Denny who was a Privy Councillor to Henry VIII and one of the Guardians of Edward VI. Orphaned in childhood, he inherited lands in Hertfordshire.

After some minor appointments at court, in 1573 Edward Denny went to Ulster on a military expedition led by Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. Denny then took up privateering, capturing a Spanish ship in 1577 and a Flemish one in 1578.

The same year saw him join a colonizing expedition led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh; however, their ships were forced to turn for home by bad weather. Denny first became Member of Parliament for Liskeard in Cornwall for the 1584 to 1585 parliament.

He was granted lands at Tralee, confiscated from the Earl of Desmond; he both became High Sheriff of Kerry and was knighted in 1588. His estates in Ireland were a financial failure and in 1591 he returned to England to command a naval expedition to the Azores.

In 1593 he became MP for Westmorland and then in 1597 for the "rotten borough" of Tregony in Cornwall. He died on 12 February 1599 at the age of 52; his tomb and monument are in Waltham Abbey in Essex.

Sir Anthony's grandson,

SIR EDWARD DENNY, Knight (1569-1637) was summoned to parliament, in 1604, as Baron Denny; and created, in 1626, EARL OF NORWICH.

The latter dignity became extinct, at his decease, without male issue; while the barony devolved upon his only daughter and heir, Honoria, wife of James, 1st Earl of Carlisle, in 1630, at the decease of whose son, James, 2nd Earl of Carlisle, in 1660, without issue, it expired.

Edward, Earl of Norwich, Photo Credit: Victoria & Albert Museum

His lordship was buried at Waltham, and the following epitaph placed upon his tomb:

Learn, curious reader, ere you pass,

What Sir Edward Denny was:

A courtier in the chamber, a soldier in the field;

Whose tongue could never flatter,

Whose heart could never yield.

SIR EDWARD DENNY, Knight (uncle to the deceased Earl of Norwich, and youngest son of the Rt Hon Sir Anthony Denny, HENRY VIII's privy counsellor), married Margaret, daughter of Peter Edgecombe, MP for Cornwall, and had issue,

EDWARD, his heir;
Anthony.

The elder son,

SIR EDWARD DENNY (1584-1619), Knight, of Tralee Castle, a military person, went to Ireland in the reign of ELIZABETH I, as an undertaker in the plantation of Munster, and settled at Tralee, County Kerry.

He wedded Elizabeth, sister of Sir Anthony Forest, Knight, and was succeed by his only son,

SIR EDWARD DENNY (1605-46), Knight, of Tralee Castle, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1634, MP for County Kerry, 1639, who married Ruth, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Roper, Viscount Ballinglas, by whom he had six sons and four daughters, of whom,

ARTHUR, his heir;
Edward, of Castle Lyons.

Sir Arthur was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ARTHUR DENNY, Knight (1629-73), of Tralee Castle, MP for Kerry, 1661, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1656, Vice-Admiral of Munster, 1669, who espoused firstly, the Lady Ellen Barry, daughter of David, 1st Earl of Barrymore; and secondly, Frances, daughter of Sir Richard Kyrle, Knight.

By the former he left at his decease, a son and successor,

EDWARD DENNY (1652-1712), of Tralee Castle, MP for County Kerry, 1692-3, 1695-99, who married, in 1673, Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Boyle Maynard, and had issue,

EDWARD, his heir;
Jane; Catherine.

Mr Denny was succeeded by his son,

EDWARD DENNY (1676-1727), MP for County Kerry, 1703-14, Askeaton, 1715-27, who wedded, in 1699, the Lady Letitia Coningsby, and had, with other issue,

ARTHUR, his heir;
THOMAS, succeeded his brother;
Barry, in holy orders;
Maynard;
Ursula; Arabella.

Mr Denny died in 1728, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR DENNY (1704-42), MP for County Kerry, 1727-42; at whose decease, issueless (he had married the Lady Arabella FitzMaurice, second daughter of Thomas, Earl of Kerry), in 1742, the estates devolved upon his brother,

SIR THOMAS DENNY, Knight, who wedded Agnes, daughter of John Blennerhassett, of Ballyseedy, and had (with two daughters) four sons, the eldest surviving of whom,

WILLIAM DENNY, dsp and was succeeded by his brother,

THOMAS DENNY, at whose decease the estates devolved upon his uncle, the Rev Barry Denny's eldest son,

ARTHUR DENNY, who, dying unmarried, was succeeded by his brother,

BARRY DENNY (c1744-94); MP for County Kerry, 1768-76, 1783-94, who was created a baronet in 1782, designated of Castle Moyle, County Kerry.

He married Jane, youngest daughter of his uncle, Sir Thomas Denny, Knight, by whom he had eight sons and as many daughters,

BARRY, his successor;
EDWARD, succeeded his brother;
Thomas;
William;
Henry;
Anthony;
Arthur;
Maynard;
Agnes; Arabella; Letitia; Charlotte; Diana; Sophia; Jane; Penelope.

Sir Barry was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR BARRY DENNY, 2nd Baronet, MP for County Kerry, 1794, who wedded Anne, daughter of Crosbie Morgell, of County Limerick; but died without issue, in 1794, when the title devolved upon his brother,

SIR EDWARD DENNY, 3rd Baronet (c1773-1831), High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1794, MP for Tralee, 1828, who espoused, in 1795, Elizabeth, only child of the His Honour Judge Robert Day, and had issue,

EDWARD, his successor;
Robert Day;
Henry (Rev);
Anthony;
William;
Mary Lætitia; Elizabeth; Diana.

Sir Edward was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR EDWARD DENNY, 4th Baronet (1796-1889), of Tralee Castle, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1827, MP for Tralee, 1818-19, who died unmarried.

Sir Robert Arthur Denny, 5th Baronet (1838–1921);
Sir Cecil Edward Denny, 6th Baronet (1850–1928);
Sir Henry Lyttelton Lyster Denny, 7th Baronet (1878–1953);
Sir Anthony Coningham de Waltham Denny, 8th Baronet (1925–2013);
Sir Piers Anthony de Waltham Denny, 9th Baronet (b 1954).

The heir presumptive is the present holder's younger brother, Thomas Francis Coningham Denny (b 1956).

Tralee Castle 1824 by Sarah J Harnett from "The History of Tralee" (2009). Photo Credit: G O'Carroll

TRALEE CASTLE, the ancient residence of the house of DESMOND. came into the possession of the Denny family as a reward to Edward Denny, the first settler in Ireland, for making prisoner the Earl of Desmond, who was accused of causing a dreadful massacre of the English at a feast to which he had invited them.

Mr Denny, a military officer in the Earl of Essex's army, not only obtained the castle and possessions of Desmond for this exploit, but was created a Knight Banneret, and presented with a rich scarf, embroidered with gold and pearls, and a pair of gloves, taken off her own hands, by ELIZABETH I.

This scarf, and those gloves (with others presented by HENRY VIII and JAMES I), which were for many years out of the possession of the Denny family, were restored to it in the following manner:-

IN the year 1760, or 1761, the magnificent mansion of the Earl of Arran, being sold at auction in London, the management of the sale devolved upon Mr Herbert (father of the Rector of Ledbury), his lordship's executor, and the particular friend of Sir Thomas Denny, who discovered, in making preliminary arrangements for the sale, the gloves and scarf, with an old parchment manuscript in a purple satin bag, by which, upon perusal, he was directed to the family to which they really belonged; and knowing how highly he should gratify his friend by the restoration of such inestimable relics, he purchased them for him - the gloves given to Sir Anthony Denny by HENRY VIII, for £38 17s; the gloves, given by JAMES I to Sir Anthony's son, Sir Edward Denny, for £22 1s; the mittens, presented by ELIZABETH I to Sir Edward Denny, for £25 4s.

The Dennys lived at Tralee Castle from the end of the 16th century until the early 19th century.

The 3rd Baronet subsequently became an absentee, living at Kingsend House, Worcestershire.

He demolished the old castle.

On his death in 1831, his son Sir Edward, 4th Baronet, returned to Tralee.

Sir Edward rented Ballyseedy or Ballyseede Castle (above) from his cousins, the Blennerhassetts.

He made plans for a new castle and spent a large sum on improving the demesne, but then joined the Plymouth Brethren and went to live modestly in London until his death in 1889.

Nevertheless, the Denny estate, despite the lack of a principal house, continued to function: Tralee and its environs were densely inhabited by the baronet's siblings and cousins, including his brother, the Rev Henry Denny, at Churchill; and his brother, the Venerable Anthony Denny, Archdeacon of Ardfert, at Tralee Rectory.

William Denny, the Baronet's youngest brother, ran the estate.

The 4th Baronet's successor, Sir Arthur, 5th Baronet, accumulated huge gambling debts so that the whole estate was swallowed up, and by the time the Rev Sir Henry Denny, 7th Baronet, inherited the title, there was nothing left to go with it.

London residence ~ 31, The Grove, West Brompton.

First published in December, 2012.

White House

2026-10-15T07:19:47.811+01:00

THE WHITE HOUSE, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, is a roofless 17th century fortified house, surrounded by a late 20th century housing development near the eastern shore of Belfast Lough.

The bawn is defined by large circular flankers, emphasising the defensible origins of the dwelling and representative of the difficult circumstances of 17th century settlement of the eastern shore of the lough.

This significant structure is thought to date from ca 1600.

A timber window lintel in the building was dendro-chronologically dated to between 1589 and 1624.

A map of 1834 shows a number of buildings on the site, arranged on a quadrangular plan around the central courtyard.

Griffiths Valuation of 1859 records the site as "Herd’s house, Office and Lands ... yard and quay, and a coal yard."

John Thomson was the occupant at the time, and the landlord was the Marquess of Donegall.

Photo Credit: Abbey Historical Society

The buildings nearby (mentioned previously) as part of the same collection or "courtyard" are listed as two houses with gardens owned by Robert Joynt and Alexander Mee respectively.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1839 state that

"The existing remains of this house not only bear the appearance of great antiquity, but also of great strength. Its original height was either four or five storeys, but has been unroofed and lowered to its present height about 70 years since…. No arch work appears in any part of the building. Strong oak lintels were used in all cases over the doors, windows and fireplaces."

According to the late historian Sir Charles Brett: "King William III spent the night in this house the night of 14th June, 1690."

Since the 1930s the building had been used as a gospel hall, and it was acquired in 1996 by Ulster Garden Villages on behalf of Abbey Historical Society.

In 2000 it was transferred to the White House Preservation Trust, which has been undertaking major refurbishment works.

First published in October, 2018.

The Napier Baronets

2026-10-14T07:20:22.560+01:00

This family claims descent from a branch of the family of Sir Robert Napier Bt, of Luton Hoo (cr 1611), which established itself in Ireland about 1700 and from which the first Baronet, Sir Joseph Napier, of Merrion Square, descended.

JOSEPH NAPIER, of St Andrew's, Ballyhalbert, County Down (son of William Napier, of Templecrone, County Donegal, by Mary Moore, his wife), married Mary Macpherson, and died ca 1812, having had, with two other sons, who both dsp, an eldest son,

WILLIAM NAPIER, of St Andrew's, a respectable and prosperous brewer in Belfast during the early years of the 19th century, who carried out his business at Bank Street in the town.

Napier & Co, of Bank Street, were whiskey blenders and tea importers in 1801.

Napier and Dunvill's premises were presumably in close proximity to Kelly's Cellars public bar.

Mr Napier married, in 1798, Rosetta MacNaghten, a member of a respectable family of that name who lived at Ballyreagh House, County Antrim, and had, with other issue,

William, dsp 1864;
JOSEPH, his heir;
Rosetta; Mary.

He died in 1830, and was succeeded by his second son,

JOSEPH NAPIER (1804-82), of 4, Merrion Square, Dublin, MP for Dublin University, 1848-58, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, who wedded, in 1831, Charity (Cherry), daughter of John Grace, and had issue,

William John, died unmarried;
JOSEPH, of whom we treat;
Grace Anne Marie Louise; Rosetta; Cherry.

Mr Napier was created a baronet in 1867, designated of Merrion Square, Dublin.

He was succeeded by his younger son,

SIR JOSEPH NAPIER, 2nd Baronet (1841-84), who espoused, in 1864, Maria Octavia, daughter of Joseph Mortimer, and had issue,

WILLIAM LENNOX, his successor;
Joseph Duncan Mortimer.

Sir Joseph was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR WILLIAM LENNOX NAPIER, 3rd Baronet (1867-1915), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Welch Fusiliers, who married, in 1890, Mabel Edith Geraldine, daughter of the Rev Charles Thornton Forster, and had issue,

JOSEPH WILLIAM LENNOX, his successor;
Charles MacNaghten (Major);
Vivian John Lennox (Brigadier);
Marjorie Lennox; Gwendoline Mabel Shelagh.

Sir William was killed in action during the 1st World War, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOSEPH WILLIAM LENNOX NAPIER, 4th Baronet (1895-1986), OBE, Lieutenant-Colonel, HQ Staff, who wedded, in 1931, Isabelle Muriel, daughter of Major Henry Surtees, and had issue,

ROBERT SURTEES, his successor;
John Lennox.

Sir Joseph was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR ROBERT SURTEES NAPIER, 5th Baronet (1932-94), who espoused, in 1971, Jennifer Beryl, daughter of H Warwick Daw, and had issue, an only child,

SIR CHARLES JOSEPH NAPIER, 6th Baronet, born in 1973.

Former residence ~ Adversane House, Billingshurst, West Sussex.

First published in September, 2014.