Wednesday 24 May 2023

Drumlease House

 THE WYNNES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 15,436 ACRES


This family claims descent from a distinguished chieftain of the 12th century, Rhirid Flaidd, Lord of Penrhyn, Merionethshire, within the ancient kingdom of Powys, who took the surname of Blaidd, or the wolf, from his maternal ancestor, Blaidd Rhudd, or the Bloody Wolf, Lord of Gest, near Penmorfa, Gwynedd, whose standard bore a wolf passant on an azure ground.


LEWIS GWYNNE AP CADWALLADER AP RYDDERCA AP DAVID, of Bala, wedded Sidney, daughter of Robert Wynne, of Maesmochnant, Denbighshire (of the Gwydir family), and had issue,
OWEN;
Cadwallader;
Catherine; Margaret.
The elder son,

OWEN WYNNE
 (c1620-70), the first who settled in Ireland, High Sheriff of counties Leitrim and Roscommon, 1659, married Catherine, widow of James Hamilton, son of Sir Frederick Hamilton, and daughter of Claud, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane, by the Lady Jane Gordon his wife, fourth daughter of George, Marquess of Huntly, and the Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter of Esmé, Duke of Lennox (which lady married thirdly, John Bingham, of Castlebar), and had issue,
James, killed at Malplaquet;
LEWIS, of whom hereafter;
Owen (1665-1737), MP, Lieutenant-General in the army;
John;
Catherine; Lucy; Dorothy.
The second son,

LEWIS WYNNE, married Rebecca, daughter of John Bingham, and was father of

OWEN WYNNE MP (1686-1755), of Hazelwood, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1723, Leitrim, 1724, who wedded Catherine, daughter of John ffoliot, and had issue,
James, m Susanna, daughter of Sir A Shaen Bt;
OWEN, of whom we treat;
John, died unmarried 1778.
The second son,

THE RT HON OWEN WYNNE MP (1723-89), of Hazelwood, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1745 and 1758, espoused, in 1754, Anne, sister of Robert, Earl of Farnham, and had issue,
OWEN, his heir;
John;
Henry;
Robert, of Rathmines Castle;
Richard (Rev);
William, barrister, MP;
Catherine.
Mr Wynne was succeeded by his eldest son,

OWEN WYNNE MP (1755-1841), High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1819 and 1833, who married, in 1790, the Lady Sarah Elizabeth Cole, eldest daughter of William, 1st Earl of Enniskillen, and had issue,
JOHN ARTHUR;
William Willoughby (Rev);
Anne; Sarah Frances; Elizabeth; Florence.
The eldest son,

THE RT HON JOHN ARTHUR WYNNE JP (1801-65), MP for Sligo, Privy Counsellor, Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, High Sheriff for counties of Sligo and Leitrim, married, in 1838, the Lady Anne Wandesforde Butler, daughter of James, 1st Marquess of Ormonde KP, and had issue,
OWEN;
James;
Sarah; Grace Florence.
The elder son,

OWEN WYNNE JP DL (1843-1910), of Hazelwood, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1875, Leitrim, 1880, married, in 1870, Stella Fanny, youngest daughter of Sir Robert Gore-Booth Bt, and had issue,
MURIEL CAROLINE LOUISA;
Evelyn Mary; Madeline Mary; Dorothy Adelaide.
Mr Wynne, the last of his family in the direct male line at Hazelwood, succeeded his father in 1865.

His eldest daughter,

MURIEL CAROLINE LOUISA, MRS PERCEVAL, of Hazelwood, wedded, in 1892, Philip Dudley Perceval, second son of Alexander Perceval, of Temple House, County Sligo, and had issue,

DOROTHY SOPHIE PERCEVAL, born in 1903.

I have written about the family's other seat in County Sligo here.


DRUMLEASE HOUSE (also known as Lurganboy), Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, is a three-bay, two-storey over basement former glebe house, built in 1834, with a two-bay extension to the north and entrance porch.

The house was built by the original Owen Wynne who acquired land in the area, probably in the later 17th century.

It was noted as a lodge belonging to Owen Wynne in 1786.

The Rev Wilby Wynne was occupying Drumlease Glebe, barony of Dromahaire, at the time of the Griffith's Valuation.

The house, sometimes known as Lurganboy Lodge, was damaged by fire in 2002.
Former M-profile roof destroyed with ashlar chimneystacks; Snecked sandstone walls with limestone quoins and limestone string course to basement; tooled limestone block-and-start window surrounds and tooled sills set into segmental-headed blind arches to rear and side elevations; courtyard to north with renovated coach house and outbuilding.
The modest design and regular form of the former glebe is enhanced by the detailing in the stonework and the retention of many original features.


The house is located down a long private driveway and is nestled in a wooded area by the banks of the River Bonet.

Unfortunately the house was extensively damaged in a fire in 2002, although some interior joinery and fireplaces still survive.

First published in August, 2013.

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

Was Drumlease House ever run as a B&B? Maybe Hidden Ireland or Blue Book.

rennie said...

I worked in Drumlease Glebe House from 1972 till 1975.
It was run as a guesthouse and it was also the centre for A Horse Drawn Caravan Holiday Company. I helped built the pool and adjoining rooms to the main house. The Wall family then owned the house and grounds. I also visited it when it was in the blue country house book of Ireland. The pool was then covered and no longer in use.

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid, we went to stay there two years running (1977/78/79 - can't remember the exact years). They ran horse treks and horse drawn caravan holidays. I was horse mad, and it was a dream holiday for me.

The Walls owned it then, and during our holidays I became friendly with their daughters - I remember Elizabeth (I think that was her name) as she was the same age as me. I can remember you were able to look out of a window in the upstairs corridor, down to the courtyard where horses were stabled. I formed an attachment to one of their horses - Blade - and I really didn't want to leave.

Those were great holidays. How sad to hear that the house was fire damaged.

Beatrice Macdonald said...

Drumlease is in the parish of Dromahaire, whereas Lurganboy Lodge is in the parish and district of Manorhamilton. There seems to be some confusion here