Tuesday 19 April 2022

Castle Upton

THE VISCOUNTS TEMPLETOWN WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ANTRIM, WITH 11,924 ACRES

The family of UPTON was seated at Upton, Cornwall, about the time of the Conquest.

ARTHUR UPTON, of Lupton, Devon, elder brother of the Chevalier John Upton, Knight of Malta, and grandson of John Upton, of Lupton, by Joan his wife, daughter and heir of Sir Wincomb Raleigh, Knight.

John Upton, of Lupton, was fourth in descent from John Upton (and Agnes his wife, sister and heir of John Peniles, of Lupton), younger son of John Upton, of Trelaske, Cornwall.

The aforesaid Arthur Upton married Gertrude, daughter of Hugh Fortescue, of Filleigh, and had, with other issue,
Johnof Lupton, MP;
HENRY, of whom hereafter.
The younger son,

HENRY UPTON (1592-1642), fixed his abode in County Antrim, and was returned to parliament for Carrickfergus in 1634.

Captain Upton married, in 1628, Mary, daughter of Sir Hugh Clotworthy, Knight, and sister of John, Viscount Massereene, by whom he had four sons and three daughters, and was succeeded by the eldest son,

ARTHUR UPTON (1633-1706), of Castle Upton, MP for Carrickfergus for a series of forty years, who wedded Dorothy, daughter of Michael Beresford, of Coleraine, and was succeeded by his fourth, but eldest surviving son,

CLOTWORTHY UPTON (1660-1725), of Castle Upton, MP for Newtownards, 1695-1703, Antrim County, 1703-16, who, raising a party of men, joined the standard of WILLIAM III at the siege of Limerick, and was taken prisoner there, after entering the breach sword in hand, and almost alone, his followers, nearly to a man, being cut to pieces.

Mr Upton married firstly, Mary, only daughter of Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery, by whom he had no issue; and secondly, Margaret, daughter of William Stewart, of Killymoon, County Tyrone, who died also without issue; and thirdly, Jane, daughter of John Ormsby, of Athlacca (by whom he had an only daughter, ELZABETH, who wedded the Rt Hon Hercules Landford Rowley, and was created a peeress of the realm, as Baroness Langford).

Mr Upton was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN UPTON, of Castle Upton, MP for Antrim County, 1725-7, a military officer, who distinguished himself at the storming of the citadel of Liège, and at the battle of Almansa, under Lord Galway; where, for his spirited conduct, he obtained the command of a regiment, upon the fall of Colonel Killigrew.

Colonel Upton wedded, in 1711, Mary, only daughter of Dr Francis Upton, of London, by whom he had three sons and five daughters.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR UPTON, of Castle Upton, MP for Antrim Borough, 1692, Deputy Governor of County Antrim, who married firstly, Sophia, daughter of Michael Ward; and secondly, Sarah, daughter of Pole Cosby, of Stradbally; but dying without issue, in 1768, the estates devolved upon his brother,

FRANCIS UPTON, a naval officer; at whose decease, unmarried, they passed to a younger brother,

CLOTWORTHY UPTON (1721-85), who espoused, in 1769, Elizabeth, daughter of Shuckburgh Boughton, of Poston Court, Herefordshire, and had issue,
JOHN HENRY, his successor;
Fulke Greville;
Arthur Percy, CB, Lieutenant-General in the army;
Elizabeth Albinia, m 1st Marquess of Bristol.
Mr Upton was elevated to the peerage, in 1776, in the dignity of of Baron Templetown, of Templetown, County Antrim.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN HENRY, 2nd Baron (1771-1846), who married, in 1796, the Lady Mary Montagu, only daughter of John, 5th Earl of Sandwich, and had issue,
HENRY MONTAGU, his successor;
GEORGE FREDERICK, succeeded his brother;
Arthur;
Edward John, father of the 4th Viscount;
Mary Wilhelmina.
His lordship was created a viscount, in 1806, as VISCOUNT TEMPLETOWN, of County Antrim.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY MONTAGU, 2nd Viscount (1799-1863), who died unmarried, when the titles devolved upon his brother,

George, 3rd Viscount Templetown GCB (Defence Academy of the UK)

GEORGE FREDERICK, 3rd Viscount (1802-90), GCB, of Castle Upton, a General in the Army, MP for County Antrim, 1859-63, who married, in 1850, Susan, daughter of Field-Marshal Sir Alexander Woodford GCB; the marriage, however, was without issue, when the titles reverted to his lordship's nephew,

HENRY EDWARD MONTAGU DORINGTON CLOTWORTHY, 4th Viscount (1853-1939), GCB, who wedded, in 1883, the Lady Evelyn Georgina Finch-Hatton, daughter of George, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, and had issue,
Eric Edward Montagu, killed in action, 1915;
HENRY AUGUSTUS GEORGE MOUNTJOY HENEAGE, his successor;
Margaret Evelyn.
His lordship was succeeded by his surviving son,

HENRY AUGUSTUS GEORGE MOUNTJOY HENEAGE, 5th Viscount (1894-1981), who married firstly, in 1916, Alleyne, daughter of Captain Henry Lewes Conran RN, of Gordon Downs, Queensland, Australia, and had issue,
HENRY ERIC PATRICK MOUNJOY SPALDING (1917-57), dsp;
Alleyne Evelyn Maureen Louisa.
His lordship wedded secondly, in 1975, Margaret Violet Louisa, widow of Sir Lionel George Arthur Cust.

On the decease of the 5th Viscount the titles expired.

The ancestral seat of the Templetown family was Castle Upton, Templepatrick, County Antrim. 

CASTLE UPTON demesne, beside Templepatrick, County Antrim, is near the half-way point on the main road from Antrim to Belfast.

The demesne lies on the north side of the village; and the house contains numerous features which are of historical and architectural import.


The Anglo-Norman style flanker towers now form part of the main house of 1612; which, in turn, occupies the site of a 13th century priory of the Knights of St John (Hospitallers) - monks who joined the Last Crusade, sailing from Carrickfergus in County Antrim.

The said monks were expelled from Templepatrick during the Reformation; and the Knights' vaulted refectory was reconstructed, when the mansion was extended by Robert Adam in 1783 for the 1st Viscount Templetown.

Castle Upton House today is essentially a plantation castle built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries by Sir Robert and Sir Henry Norton Bt, who named it Castle Norton.

The castle was sold in 1625 to Captain Henry Upton, who promptly re-named it Castle Upton.

From 1783 Clotworthy Upton, 1st Baron Templetown, and his son (later 1st Viscount Templetown) employed Robert Adam to modernize the interior and give the exterior a "castle air".

Adam raised and machiolated the pair of round towers from the original castle and gave them high, conical roofs, adding a wing with another tower.

Adam also designed a Classical mausoleum in the church-yard and a splendid castellated stable range, in 1789.


In 1837 Edward Blore was employed by the 2nd Viscount to redesign the Castle, inserting mullioned windows and eradicating most of Adams' interiors; raising and panelling the hall; and refurbishing the main reception rooms in a restrained Elizabethan style, with fretted ceilings.

The Castle was sold by the Upton family early in the 20th century; and the subsequent owner re-roofed the main building, an act which ruined Adam's romantic skyline.

Adam's additional wing was allowed to fall into ruin.

In 1963, the 300-acre estate was purchased by Sir Robin Kinahan who, with Lady Kinahan, restored the Castle most sympathetically.

Their most notable achievement was the rebuilding of the ruined Adam wing, which now contains an elegant ballroom; and an Italian marble chimney-piece formerly at DOWNHILL CASTLE in County Londonderry.

The demesne itself is now diminished, with trees near the house, a small artificial lake and lawns where a 19th century formal garden was once laid out.

The walled garden is used as a field. Robert Adam’s stable block is approached via a contemporary gate lodge of 1820.

The impressive village entrance to the house is by Edward Blore (1837) and has a gate lodge hidden behind it.

Sir Robin and Lady Kinahan's son, Danny Kinahan, and his family, lived in the house until it was placed on the market in 2016.
I have met the late Sir Robin several times: When he was Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast at ceremonies in the Ulster Hall; and as chairman of the board of Belfast Cathedral. I recall him well. A true gentleman indeed.
Castle Upton was purchased in 2019 by Terry Hughes.

First published in March, 2010.   Templetown arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

10 comments :

Lawrence said...

found this very interesting as Arthur Upton was my 10th Great Grandfather, many thanks
Lawrence

Anonymous said...

The Castle looks much the worse for having lost its embellishments. It appears to have been 'Prebyterian-ised'. Also the demesne has been chopped up and sold off over the years. Much of the park is golf course or housing developments. Very sad state of affairs.

Mark Brown said...

Templeton Mausoleum @ Castle Upton
Templeton Mausoleum is a Grade A listed building located in a small graveyard in Templepatrick, County Antrim. It was built and designed in 1798 by Robert Adam in the Neo-classical style. The mauseleum is important for its architectural rarity but also for the great beauty of its design. It was built in the shape of a triumphal arch and is decorated in classical urns, leafy swags and circular reliefs.


Anonymous said...

The mausoleum was gifted to the national trust by Henderson Smith before his untimely death in 1963

Peter J. Henry said...

My great grandpa bought the property in the 1920s. Thereafter my grandpa, a very successful businessman, took over the property in the 1940s. During this tenure, the property was utilized as a progressive farm. Thanks for the posting. Interesting read.

Anonymous said...

Our family did genealogy and Captain Henry Upton was the first to appear in records.
My 5th Gen Gpa was William Hiram Upton who came through NY in the 1830’s. :)

Mark Brown said...

Belfast Telegraph (Jan 2020)
The new owner of stunning Castle Upton has submitted a planning application to restore the 400-year-old building to its former glory.

Among the proposed works to be carried out to the historic building in Templepatrick, Co Antrim, are the replacement of the existing roof and reinstatement of the original architectural features of the house.

The application includes the restoration of the castle's towers and crenellations removed in the early 1900s.

Ex-unionist MP's country pile sells after three years
Extensive work is also to be carried out on the gardens, with plans to rip out the tennis courts at the rear of the Grade A-listed building and the creation of a series of formal gardens, while the existing lake will also be renovated and enlarged.

Castle Upton was home to former UUP MP Danny Kinahan and his wife Anna until last year, when it was purchased by Terry Hughes.

The 10,415 sq ft castle, set in 21 acres of picturesque farm and woodland, was constructed in part during the early 1600s but has evolved over the years and owes its current appearance to two major refurbishments.

The first of these, in the late 1700s, was designed by Robert Adam, the influential Georgian architect, and the second refurbishment was designed by Edward Blore, who also worked on the completion of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace, and was carried out in 1840.

Castle Upton was put on the market in 2016 after Mr and Mrs Kinahan made the decision to downsize, but it failed to attract a buyer until April last year. However, it is believed the house was not sold for the listed asking price of £1.35m.

A planning application for a wide-ranging series of works to Castle Upton and surrounding gardens was subsequently submitted to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council last month.

According to the document, the existing pitched slate roofs and eaves details will be removed and new slate and lead-pitched roofs will be built, while water-damaged flat roofs will be replaced and recovered.

Anonymous said...

Peter do you know if Smith family had any involvement at this time?

Anonymous said...

As Peter stated, the Smith family owned the castle from the early 1920s to 1963, and at that time the estate was fully intact with circa 300 acres of land, that’s part of the castle’s make up, sadly the subsequent owners sold off the land , that’s sacrilege in my opinion , I do also find it odd that the Smith family is not mentioned in the literature, clearly the subsequent owners after the Smith family peddled that narrative. Shameful!

Timothy Belmont said...

Anon,

Thank you for the observations! My earnest wish is to recount the narrative as truly and accurately as is possible; and I’m currently revising the history of ownership at C Upton. Tim