1st Baron Trevor

THE BARONS TREVOR WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY DOWN, WITH 11,010 ACRES

JOHN AP DAVID, of Brynkinalt, Denbighshire, descended from TUDOR TREVOR, assumed the surname of TREVOR, married Agnes, daughter and heiress of Peter Cambre, and had, with other issue,

ROBERT, his heir;

Richard, ancestor of the extinct Lords Trevor, Viscounts Hampden.

The eldest son,

ROBERT TREVOR, of Brynkinalt, wedded Katherine, daughter and heiress of Llewellyn ap Ithel, of Mold and Plasteg, Flintshire, and was ancestor of TREVOR, of Brynkinalt, whose representative,

SIR EDWARD TREVOR (c1580-1642), Knight, of Brynkinalt, espoused firstly, Anne Balle, and secondly, Rose, daughter of the Most Rev Henry Ussher DD, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, and was succeeded by his eldest son by his first wife,

JOHN TREVOR, of Brynkinalt, who married Margaret, daughter of John Jeffreys, of Acton, Denbighshire, and had, with an elder son, Edward (dsp), a successor,

THE RT HON SIR JOHN TREVOR (c1637-1717), Knight, of Brynkinalt, Speaker of the House of Commons, who wedded Jane, daughter of Sir Roger Mostyn Bt, of Mostyn, and had issue,

EDWARD, dsp;

Arthur, dsp;

John, dsp;

Tudor, dsp;

ANNE, of whom presently.

The only daughter,

ANNE TREVOR, espoused firstly, the Rt Hon Michael Hill MP, of Hillsborough, County Down; and secondly, in 1716, 1st Viscount Midleton, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

Anne, Viscountess Midleton, died in 1747, leaving by her first husband two sons,

TREVOR, created VISCOUNT HILLSBOROUGH, ancestor of the Marquesses of Downshire, and of the Lords Trevor;

ARTHUR, who succeeded to the Brynkinalt estates, and was created VISCOUNT DUNGANNON.

Sir John died in 1717, and was succeeded on the extinction of his heirs male by his grandson,

ARTHUR HILL-TREVOR (c1694-1771),  of Brynkinalt, 1st Viscount Dungannon, MP for County Down, 1727, who succeeded to the estates of his maternal grandfather, and assumed, 1759, the name of TREVOR.

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ARTHUR HILL-TREVOR, 3RD VISCOUNT DUNGANNON (on whose death the viscountcy became extinct), this branch of the Hill family succeeded to the Trevor and Dungannon estates.

By arrangement, parts of the estates, including Brynkinalt in Denbighshire, passed to Lord Edwin, who assumed, by royal license, the additional surname of TREVOR.

Lord Edwin was elevated to the peerage, in 1880, in the dignity of BARON TREVOR, of Brynkinalt, Denbighshire (third creation).

His lordship married firstly, in 1848, Mary Emily, daughter of Sir Richard Sutton, 2nd Baronet.

After her death, in 1855, he married secondly, in 1858, Mary Catherine, daughter of the Rev and Hon Alfred Curzon. 

The Trevors owned a further 8,372 acres in County Antrim, 1,219 in County Armagh, 1,743 in Shropshire, 954 in Flintshire, and 396 acres in Denbighshire.

 1st Baron Trevor (third creation).
Image: Camille Silvy/NPG, 1861

Lord Trevor died in 1894, aged 75, and was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, the Hon Arthur Hill-Trevor.

Lady Trevor died in 1912.

• Arthur William Hill-Trevor, 2nd Baron Trevor (1852–1923);
• Charles Edward Hill-Trevor, 3rd Baron Trevor (1863–1950);
• Charles Edwin Hill-Trevor, 4th Baron Trevor (1928–97);
• Marke Charles Hill-Trevor, 5th Baron Trevor (b 1970).

The Trevor Family has a rich and illustrious lineage: They remained loyal to the Crown throughout the Civil War and, in 1662, Mark Trevor was created Viscount Dungannon by CHARLES II for gallantry in wounding Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Marston Moor.

Upon his death, the house and estates passed to the Rt Hon Sir John Trevor.

In 1717, his daughter Anne, the only surviving child, inherited Brynkinalt and estates.

Anne Trevor’s first marriage was to the Rt Hon Michael Hill MP, ancestor of the Marquess of Downshire.

Anne was a direct ancestor of the present Lord Trevor.

In the 18th century, Anne Trevor and Michael Hill’s second son, Arthur Hill, inherited the Brynkinalt Estates and was created Viscount Dungannon of the 2nd Creation.

On the death of Lord Dungannon in 1771, the title passed to Lord Dungannon’s grandson, Arthur Hill-Trevor.

Arthur, 2nd Viscount Dungannon (of 2nd Creation), married Charlotte, daughter of the 1st Baron Southampton.

It was under Lady Dungannon’s imaginative hands that the original Jacobean house, together with its early 18th Century wings and open courtyard, was transformed into the present design.

In addition to creating the Great Hall and re-aligning and re-designing the north front of the house, Charlotte created the original formal and informal gardens.

In 1819, Lord Edwin Hill succeeded to the Brynkinalt estate.

He was persuaded by the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, to accept a peerage and was thus created Baron Trevor in 1880.

Today the Brynkinalt Estate is managed by the Hon Iain Robert Hill-Trevor, younger brother of the 5th Lord Trevor, and his wife Kate, who have made Brynkinalt Hall their family home.

Belvoir Park, Newtownbreda, County Down, was a seat of the Viscounts Dungannon.

I have written about Belvoir House here.

First published in July, 2010.  Trevor arms courtesy of European Heraldry.