Ballygawley House

The Stewart Baronets, of Athenree in the County of Tyrone, were one of the Big Four landowners in County Tyrone during the 19th century. This family descends from Captain Andrew Stewart who accompanied Lord Ochiltree from Scotland, and settled at Gortigal, County Tyrone, about 1620.

The 1st Baronet, the Rt Hon Sir John, was Attorney-General for Ireland in 1799; drafted the Act of Union; and was successively MP for counties Down and Tyrone.

The 6th Baronet, Sir Hugh (1897-1994), held the rank of major in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; was High Sherriff 1955 and DL for County Tyrone in 1971. At that time, Sir Hugh's Tyrone residence was Loughmacrory Lodge in Carrickmore.

The 7th Baronet, Sir David, now lives in Somerset.

Ballygawley House, set in its own parkland, was a Classical house of two storeys, with a two-storey portico supported by two giant Doric columns and a shallow dome. It was built for the 2nd Baronet between 1825 and 1833 to the design of John Hargrave.

The photograph of Ballygawley House is courtesy of Kenneth Allen.

Seemingly, the mansion suffered an accidental fire during the 1920s and the Stewart family never returned to it.

In 1872 the Stewart family owned 27,905 acres in the county.

At Ross's Again

I was in central Belfast briefly this morning. The upstairs sale-room of Ross's auction-house was open. I still cannot find quite what I'm looking for, in terms of a very narrow hall table which needs to be big enough to fit over a double radiator.

I spotted Peter Maxwell viewing a pair of items whilst I was there.

Cerebral Nourishment

Does anyone have one of those "brain-training" devices? You know, the Nintendo DS type ones as advertised by Ant & Dec on television.

They seem quite a good idea to me; or the concept, at least. I think they could prove beneficial, depending on the cirmcumstances.

I wonder how long the batteries last in them? I suppose rechargeable batteries could be used.

Are they worth £100 plus?

Montalto Estate

It shall be some time before I start my County Down series of landowners; nevertheless, I've been studying the history of the Montalto Estate, near Ballynahinch, and it is gratifying to see that the mansion-house has been fully restored.

Home to the Earls of Moira, later Marquesses of Hastings; then bought by the Kers of Portavo; followed by the Earls of Clanwilliam till the 80s.

Here is a new website about it. Who is the new owner?

The Cole-Hamiltons of Beltrim

It's hard to know where to begin with the Cole-Hamiltons, an old Tyrone family. The Hon. Arthur Cole-Hamilton was born on 8 August 1750. He was the son of the 1st Lord Mountflorence; and married Letitia Hamilton, daughter of Claud Hamilton, in 1780. He died in 1810.

The Hon. Arthur Cole-Hamilton was baptised with the name of Arthur Cole. He held the office of High Sheriff of County Fermanagh in 1778.¹ He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.).¹ He lived at Skea in County Fermanagh.

So the Cole-Hamiltons are related distantly to the subsequent Dukes of Abercorn and Earls of Enniskillen.

Major Arthur Willoughby Cole-Hamilton (1806-1891) held the office of High Sheriff of County Tyrone in 1830. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for County Tyrone; and Deputy Lieutenant of County Tyrone. He gained the rank of Major in the service of the Royal Tyrone Fusiliers Militia. He lived at Beltrim Castle, near Gortin in County Tyrone.

In 1872 the Cole-Hamiltons owned 16,811 acres in the county.

The present Beltrim Castle is a modern building and the only part of the original castle which remains standing is a gable wall which is, at present, no part of the modern building.

I understand that Beltrim is now part of the Blakiston-Houston Estate. Richard Patrick Blakiston-Houston was born on 25 July, 1948; educated at Eton. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for County Down and Deputy Lieutenant of County Down. He was registered as a Professional Associate, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (A.R.I.C.S.) in 1972 and held the office of High Sheriff of County Down in 1989. He lived in 2003 at Beltrim Castle; and the Roddens, Ballywalter, County Down.

Interestingly, the Blakiston-Houston family are seemingly related to General Sam Houston, after which Houston in Texas was named.

Orangefield Park in east Belfast was the family home of the Houston family in the 18th century. The head of the family, John Holmes Houston, was a partner in the Belfast Banking Company and lived at Orangefield House with his family. The family home was situated at the end of what is now Houston Park and the estate itself extended to almost 300 acres.

John and Eliza's daughter, Mary Isabella, was born in 1793 and later married Richard Bayly Blakiston. The two families joined names, leaving J Blakiston-Houston in charge of the Orangefield estate from 1857.

In 1934, the Blakiston-Houston family offered Belfast Corporation (now the council) part of the Orangefield estate to develop as a public park. The corporation, although keen to buy the land, felt that the price was too high. After lengthy negotiations, they bought part of the site in 1938 for £20,000. Development work was put on hold due to World War II and plans for the park were only drawn up in 1947.

The McMahon Baronets

Continuing my series about the landowners of County Tyrone during the Victorian era, my spotlight falls on the McMahon Baronets, of Dublin, the baronetcy having been created in 1815. Sir William McMahon, 1st Baronet, was a Privy Counsellor and Master of the Rolls in Ireland.

The village of Mountfield, near Omagh, was developed mainly in the 1800s by Sir William. The McMahons lived at Fecarry Lodge, near the village.

Sir Charles McMahon (1824-1891), police commissioner of Victoria in Australia and politician, was born on 10 July 1824 at "Fecarry House", Omagh, County Tyrone. He was the younger son of the 1st Baronet and his second wife Charlotte, née Shaw. Sir Charles served in Canada as an ensign with the 71st Regiment, transferred to the 10th Hussars and retired with the rank of captain after service in India. He joined the Dublin County Militia Regiment. In India he had taken on extra duties as veterinary surgeon, for which he had a diploma.

In 1911, the 3rd Baronet's address was listed as Mountfield Lodge; and he also had a London home at 214 Finchley Road, Hampstead.

The McMahon family owned 16,326 acres of land in County Tyrone. The Baronetcy became extinct following the death of the 4th Baronet in 1926.

Canon Can!

Stop Press: My Canon camera has literally just arrived twenty minutes ago! Well anticipated, Amazon and Royal Mail.