The Viscountcy of Massereene

The history of the Massereene family is lengthy and complex; too complex, indeed, for me to condense in any practical way. Their family history is already well documented. The Clotworthys/Skeffingtons, subsequently to become the Viscounts Massereene and Ferrard, were a very powerful, influential family in the history of Ulster since the 16th century. They were closely aligned with the Chichester family, Earls of Belfast.

Sir Hugh Clotworthy came to Ulster in 1573 as part of a military expedition. His son, Sir John, was created the 1st Viscount Massereene. He took his title from the half barony of Massereene in County Antrim, where he established his Estates.

The 5th viscount was created Earl of Massereene in 1756. There were four earls thereafter and, when the 4th earl died in 1816 the earldom expired and devolved upon the viscountcy again.

In 1668, Lord Massereene owned about 45,000 acres in Ireland; however, by 1701 this acreage appears to have shrunk to 10,000 acres; and by 1713 the County Antrim estates comprised 8,178 acres. Land acquisiton through marriage etc meant that the Estate amounted to 11,778 acres in 1887.

In the 1600s, they possessed the fishing rights to Lough Neagh - most lucrative - by means of a 99-year lease; and they were also accorded the title Captains of Lough Neagh for a period. The Chichesters, Earls of Belfast, were Admirals of Lough Neagh. Historical records also tell us that Lord Massereene had the Right to maintain a “fighting fleet” on the Lough.

I shall begin with the 12th and last viscount to live at Antrim Castle. Lord Massereene was educated at Winchester and Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the 17th Lancers in 1895, saw action throughout the South African War, 1899-1902; he was wounded, mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSO, and retired as a brevet major in 1907. His lordship became a TA major in the North Irish Horse later in that year. He later served in the early years of the First World War and is said to have found Lawrence of Arabia 'impossible'.

In 1905 he married and succeeded to the title. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for County Antrim. Although his father-in-law was a Liberal MP and Home Ruler, Lord Massereene was a staunch Conservative and Unionist. Despite his position as a DL for County Antrim, he is supposed to have sat in his chauffeur-driven car, looking on with approval, as guns were run into Larne Harbour in 1912! He was HM Lord Lieutenant for County Antrim from 1916-1938. From 1921 to1929 he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and a member of the Northern Ireland Senate.

Antrim Castle (below and an aerial view above), now ruinous, stands at the side of the Sixmilewater River near the town of Antrim. It was originally built in 1613 by Sir Hugh Clotworthy and enlarged in 1662 by his son, the 1st Viscount Massereene. The Castle was rebuilt in 1813 as a three-storey Georgian-Gothic castellated mansion, faced in Roman cement of an agreeable orange colour. The original doorway, most elaborate and ornate and complete with Ionic pilasters, heraldry and a head of King Charles I became a central feature of the new 4-bay entrance front, with a long, adjoining front of 180 feet with 11 bays; mullioned oriels and a tall, octagonal turret were added in 1887 when the Castle was again enlarged.

The demesne boasts a remarkable 17th century formal garden and parterre with a long canal bordered with tall hedges; and another canal at right angles to it making a “T” shape. There are abundant old trees, masses of yew and walls of rose-coloured brick.

An ancient motte stands beside the ruinous Castle. The motte was transformed into a magnificent 'viewing mount' in the early 18th century with a corkscrew path lined on the outside with a yew hedge.

Lord and Lady Massereene and their family were hosting a house party in Antrim Castle when it was burnt by an IRA gang in 1922. Many items of historical importance were destroyed in the fire; but the presence of mind of Lord Massereene and his staff, and the length of time which it takes for a very large house to be consumed by a fire, saved much that would otherwise have been lost. The daughter of the Archbishop of Armagh (Dr D‘Arcy) who was staying at the time, jumped out of a window to save herself. A 900-piece dinner service of Foster provenance was thrown from the drawing-room windows into the Sixmilewater river; however, very little of it survived intact. A great deal of furniture, some of it large, was rescued. More would have been rescued, except that the townspeople of Antrim, who turned out in large numbers to help, thought that the most important thing to be saved was the billiards table! Thirty men managed to get it out of the castle.

Among the major survivals were the family portraits. A comparison with the portraits itemised by C.H. O'Neill in 1860 and those surviving in family possession today, suggests a rescue operation of astonishing success (although it has to be remembered that many portraits and other important pieces were probably in the London town house in 1922, or with the Dowager Viscountess Massereene and Ferrard at her house in Hampshire).

The 13th viscount , who was a small boy at the time, recalled the blaze vividly. He remembered being trapped with his mother in a light well from which they narrowly escaped, and being told by her that they were going to die there. He particularly remembered the nursery cat with its fur on fire. I wonder if it survived.

Following the fire, Lord Massereene went to live in the nearby dower house, Skeffington Lodge (which subsequently became the Deer Park Hotel). Further losses of family treasures – this time by sale, not by fire – now followed.

The family considered building a two-storey, neo-Tudor house on the site of Antrim Castle but nothing came of this. After the Second World War, Skeffington Lodge was abandoned; the Antrim Castle stable block was converted for use as a family residence, and was re-named Clotworthy House. It was let for about ten years following the death of Lord Massereene in 1956. Clotworthy was then acquired by Antrim Borough Council, and was converted for use as an Arts Centre in 1992.

The present (14th) viscount formerly lived with his family at Chilham Castle in Kent till it, too, was sold in 1996.