THE VISCOUNTS MASSEREENE AND FERRARD WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ANTRIM, WITH 11,778 ACRES
SIR WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON (c1465-1535), Knight, who married firstly, Margaret, daughter of Sir Everard Digby, of Drystoke, and had issue.
He wedded secondly, Anne, daughter of Sir John Digby, of Kettleby, Leicestershire.
Sir William was appointed by HENRY VIII, 1529, His Majesty's Commissioner to Ireland, arrived there in the 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. He was subsequently a very distinguished politician in Ireland, and died in the government of that kingdom as Lord Deputy, 1535.
SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, Knight, of Fisherwick, Staffordshire, Alderman of London (High Sheriff, 1521), who espoused Elizabeth Peake, and was father of
WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON, of Fisherwick, and of White Ladies, who married Isa, daughter of James Leveson, of Trentham, Staffordshire, and died in 1550, being succeeded by his son,
JOHN SKEFFINGTON (1534-1604), of FISHERWICK PARK, Staffordshire, married Alice, seventh daughter of Sir Thomas Cave, of Stamford, and was father of
SIR WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON, of Fisherwick, who was created a baronet in 1627, designated of Fisherwick, Staffordshire.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Dering, and had issue,
SIR RICHARD SKEFFINGTON, was father of
SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, 5th Baronet, who wedded MARY, only daughter and heir of
SIR JOHN CLOTWORTHY, who, in reward for his valuable services in promoting the restoration of CHARLES II, was created, in 1660, Baron Lough Neagh and VISCOUNT MASSEREENE, both in County Antrim; with remainder, on failure of his male issue, to his son-in-law, Sir John Skeffington, husband of his only daughter MARY, and his male issue by the said Mary, and failing such, to the heirs-general of Sir John Clotworthy.
His lordship died in 1665, and the honours devolved, according to the reversionary provision, upon the said
SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, 2nd Viscount (c1629-95), who was succeeded by his son,
CLOTWORTHY, 3rd Viscount (1660-1714), who married, in 1684, Rachael, daughter of Sir Edward Hungerford KB, of Farley Castle, Wiltshire, and had issue,
CLOTWORTHY, 4th Viscount, who wedded, in 1713, the Lady Catherine Chichester, eldest daughter of Arthur, 4th Earl of Donegall, and had issue,
CLOTWORTHY, 5th Viscount (1715-57), who was advanced to an earldom, in 1756, in the dignity of EARL OF MASSEREENE.
He wedded firstly, in 1738, Anne, eldest daughter of the Very Rev Richard Daniel, Dean of Down; and secondly, in 1741, Elizabeth, only daughter and heir of Henry Eyre, of Rowter, Derbyshire, and had issue,
CLOTWORTHY, 2nd Earl (1743-1805), who married, though having no male issue the family honours devolved upon his brother,
HENRY, 3rd Earl, Governor of the City of Cork, who died unmarried in 1811, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,
CHICHESTER, 4th Earl, who wedded, in 1780, Harriet, eldest daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Roden, and had issue,
HARRIET, VISCOUNTESS MASSEREENE, who married, in 1810, Thomas Henry, Viscount Ferrard, and had issue,
JOHN, VISCOUNT MASSEREENE AND FERRARD (1812-63).
In 1668, the Marrereenes owned about 45,000 acres in Ireland; however, by 1701, the land 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 land-holdings amounted to 11,778 acres in 1887.
In the 1600s the Massereenes possessed the lucrative fishing rights to Lough Neagh by means of a 99-year lease and they were also accorded the honour, 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.
The 12th Viscount Massereene and Ferrard DSO, was the last of the Skeffingtons to live at Antrim Castle:
ANTRIM CASTLE stood at the side of the River Sixmilewater beside 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.
THERE IS A COLLECTION OF WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CASTLE PRIOR TO DEMOLITION HERE.
The Castle was rebuilt in 1813 as a three-storey Georgian-Gothic castellated mansion, faced in Roman cement of an agreeable orange colour.
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 down 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 then 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 good 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 (though 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 Lady Massereene at her house in Hampshire).
The 13th Viscount, 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 recalled the hapless nursery cat with its fur alight.
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 2nd 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 and 14th Viscount formerly lived with his family at Chilham Castle in Kent till it, too, was sold in 1996.
First published in June, 2009. Massereene arms courtesy of European Heraldry.
SIR WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON, of Fisherwick, who was created a baronet in 1627, designated of Fisherwick, Staffordshire.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Dering, and had issue,
JOHN, 2nd Baronet, whose son WILLIAM, 3rd Baronet, dsp;The second son,
RICHARD, 4th Baronet;
Elizabeth; Cicely; Mary; Hesther; Lettice; Alice.
SIR RICHARD SKEFFINGTON, was father of
SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, 5th Baronet, who wedded MARY, only daughter and heir of
SIR JOHN CLOTWORTHY, who, in reward for his valuable services in promoting the restoration of CHARLES II, was created, in 1660, Baron Lough Neagh and VISCOUNT MASSEREENE, both in County Antrim; with remainder, on failure of his male issue, to his son-in-law, Sir John Skeffington, husband of his only daughter MARY, and his male issue by the said Mary, and failing such, to the heirs-general of Sir John Clotworthy.
 |
| Sir John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene (Image: Clotworthy House) |
His lordship died in 1665, and the honours devolved, according to the reversionary provision, upon the said
SIR JOHN SKEFFINGTON, 2nd Viscount (c1629-95), who was succeeded by his son,
CLOTWORTHY, 3rd Viscount (1660-1714), who married, in 1684, Rachael, daughter of Sir Edward Hungerford KB, of Farley Castle, Wiltshire, and had issue,
CLOTWORTHY, his successor;His lordship was succeeded by his son,
Jane, m Sir Hans Hamilton Bt;
Rachael, m Randal, 4th Earl of Antrim;
Mary, m Rt Rev Edward Smyth, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor.
CLOTWORTHY, 4th Viscount, who wedded, in 1713, the Lady Catherine Chichester, eldest daughter of Arthur, 4th Earl of Donegall, and had issue,
CLOTWORTHY, his successor;His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
Arthur, MP for Co Antrim;
John, in holy orders;
Hungerford;
Hugh;
Catharine; Rachael.
CLOTWORTHY, 5th Viscount (1715-57), who was advanced to an earldom, in 1756, in the dignity of EARL OF MASSEREENE.
He wedded firstly, in 1738, Anne, eldest daughter of the Very Rev Richard Daniel, Dean of Down; and secondly, in 1741, Elizabeth, only daughter and heir of Henry Eyre, of Rowter, Derbyshire, and had issue,
CLOTWORTHY, 2nd Earl;His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
HENRY, 3rd Earl;
William, Constable of Dublin Castle;
John;
CHICHESTER, 4th Earl;
Alexander;
Elizabeth, m Robert, 1st Earl of Leitrim;
Catharine, m Francis, 1st Earl of Landaff.
CLOTWORTHY, 2nd Earl (1743-1805), who married, though having no male issue the family honours devolved upon his brother,
HENRY, 3rd Earl, Governor of the City of Cork, who died unmarried in 1811, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,
CHICHESTER, 4th Earl, who wedded, in 1780, Harriet, eldest daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Roden, and had issue,
HARRIET, VISCOUNTESS MASSEREENE.The 4th Earl died in 1816, when the earldom expired; but the viscountcy of Massereene and barony of Lough Neagh devolved upon his only daughter and sole heiress,
HARRIET, VISCOUNTESS MASSEREENE, who married, in 1810, Thomas Henry, Viscount Ferrard, and had issue,
JOHN, VISCOUNT MASSEREENE AND FERRARD (1812-63).
Sir John Clotworthy took his title from the half barony of Massereene in County Antrim, where he established his estates.The heir apparent is the present holder's son the Hon. Charles Clotworthy Whyte-Melville Foster Skeffington (born 1973).
- Clotworthy John Skeffington, 11th Viscount Massereene, 4th Viscount Ferrard (1842–1905) - 1870 Married Florence Elizabeth Whyte-Melville, only daughter of Major George John Whyte-Melville, the Victorian sporting novelist, and great granddaughter of the 5th Duke of Leeds.
- Algernon William John Clotworthy Skeffington, 12th Viscount Massereene, 5th Viscount Ferrard (1873–1956)
- John Clotworthy Talbot Foster Whyte-Melville-Skeffington, 13th Viscount Massereene, 6th Viscount Ferrard (1914–1992)
- John David Clotworthy Whyte-Melville Foster Skeffington, 14th Viscount Massereene, 7th Viscount Ferrard (born 1940)
In 1668, the Marrereenes owned about 45,000 acres in Ireland; however, by 1701, the land 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 land-holdings amounted to 11,778 acres in 1887.
In the 1600s the Massereenes possessed the lucrative fishing rights to Lough Neagh by means of a 99-year lease and they were also accorded the honour, 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.
The 12th Viscount Massereene and Ferrard DSO, was the last of the Skeffingtons to live at Antrim Castle:
The 12th Viscount was educated at Winchester and Sandhurst; commissioned into the 17th Lancers in 1895; saw action throughout the South African War, 1899-1902; was wounded, mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSO; and retired as a brevet major in 1907.
Lord Massereene 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. Notwithstanding 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 1916-38. From 1921-29 he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and a member of the Northern Ireland Senate.
ANTRIM CASTLE stood at the side of the River Sixmilewater beside 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.
THERE IS A COLLECTION OF WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CASTLE PRIOR TO DEMOLITION HERE.
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 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 down 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 then 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 good 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 (though 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 Lady Massereene at her house in Hampshire).
The 13th Viscount, 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 recalled the hapless nursery cat with its fur alight.
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 2nd 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 and 14th Viscount formerly lived with his family at Chilham Castle in Kent till it, too, was sold in 1996.
First published in June, 2009. Massereene arms courtesy of European Heraldry.
Is that the Motte in the top picture? It is all fenced off nowadays.
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