Wednesday 25 October 2023

Langford Lodge

Armorial Bearings of the Barons Longford
THE PAKENHAMS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ANTRIM, WITH 14,629 ACRES


EDWARD WILLIAM PAKENHAM (1819-54), of Langford Lodge, County Antrim, Lieutenant-Colonel, Grenadier Guards, eldest son of Lieutenant-General the Hon Sir Hercules Robert Pakenham KCB and Emily, daughter of Thomas, 12th Baron Le Despenser, was killed in action at the battle of Inkerman.

Lt-Col Edward William Pakenham (Image: Hampshire County Council)

His only surviving brother,

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL THOMAS HENRY PAKENHAM CB JP DL MP
(1826-1913), of Langford Lodge, married, in 1862, Elizabeth Staples, eldest daughter of William Clarke, of New York, USA, and had issue,
HERCULES ARTHUR, his heir;
Harry Francis.
The elder son,

COLONEL HERCULES ARTHUR PAKENHAM CMG JP DL (1863-1937), of Langford Lodge, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1906, wedded, in 1895, Lillian Blanche Georgiana, daughter of Evelyn Ashley and sister of Lord Mount Temple, and had issue,
HERCULES DERMOT WILFRED, his heir;
Joan Esther Sybilla; Beatrix Helen Constance.
His only son,

HERCULES DERMOT WILFRED PAKENHAM (1901-40), Major, Grenadier Guards, killed in action, espoused, in 1927, Hetty Margaret, daughter of Captain Roland Stuart Hebeler, and had issue,
HERCULES MICHAEL ROLAND, his heir;
Anne Penelope; Katherine Susan.
Major Pakenham's only son,

HERCULES MICHAEL ROLAND PAKENHAM (1935-), of Southampton, Hampshire, married firstly, in 1957, Susan Elizabeth Moon, daughter of Philip, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, and has issue,
DERMOT PHILIP MICHAEL (b 1961);Caroline Susan Margaret.
He wedded secondly, in 1973, Margaret, daughter of Charles William Fisher, and has further issue,
Hetty Kate Pakenham.

LANGFORD LODGE, near Crumlin, County Antrim, was a three-storey Georgian house of ca 1821 on a headland jutting out into Lough Neagh.

The house had an entrance front of three bays between two deep, curved bows, a Doric portico and a two-storey side wing.

The end elevation was of two bays with another deep, curved bow.

The Georgian mansion replaced a two-storey house of 1785 (said to be similar in appearance to Castle Upton) built by Sir Hercules Pakenham (1781-1850).

Sir Hercules had demolished a modest two-room fishing lodge of 1785.


The Lodge passed to the Pakenham family, Barons Longford and Earls of Longford, through the marriage of Catherine, Viscountess Langford, to the 2nd Baron Longford.
The offspring of this marriage included the Hon Catherine "Kitty" Pakenham, later Duchess of Wellington and wife of the great Duke of Wellington; Major-General the Hon Sir Edward Pakenham GCB; and Lieutenant-General the Hon Sir Hercules Pakenham KCB, from whom were descended the subsequent owners of Langford Lodge.
Sir Hercules (1781-1850), of Langford Lodge, had been wounded at the siege of Badajoz in 1812; was MP for Westmeath.

He married, in 1817, the Hon Emily Stapleton (1798-1875), daughter of Lord Le Despencer. 

Langford Lodge subsequently passed to their eldest son, Edward William Pakenham, who died at the battle of Inkerman in 1854.

The estate subsequently passed to the Rev Arthur Hercules Pakenham (son of Lt-Gen the Hon Sir Hercules Robert Pakenham), who died unmarried in 1895, when the estate  passed to Colonel Hercules Arthur Pakenham, CMG, who died in 1937.

Glenavy History Society has published an article about Langford Lodge and the Pakenhams.


WHEN Chichester was governor of Carrickfergus three of his officers were Hugh Clotworthy, Henry Upton and Roger Langford.

These men were rewarded for their services by receiving Crown grants of choice lands once belonging to the O'Neills.

Clotworthy acquired Massereene; Upton, Templepatrick; and Langford sited his residence on a slight peninsula projecting into Lough Neagh, which he called Langford Lodge.

Later on, the Langford and Longford (Pakenham) families were united.

Clive Moore has contacted me to explain that the RAF's Northern Ireland Base Command only existed very briefly during 1942, and at Wilmont House

Langford Lodge was acquired by the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) in early 1941 as a Satellite Landing Ground (SLG) to be used by 23 Maintenance Unit at Aldergrove for aircraft storage.

"That was little more than a grass landing strip and a few huts. Any aircraft there were parked in the open. Incidentally, Murlough, Ballywalter and Blaris also served as SLGs."

"The site [Langford Lodge] was included on one of the reconnaissance visits by the American Special Observers later that year and planning and policy changes led to it being taken over by the Americans." 

"Construction of the Air Depot began in February, 1942, by the MAP, ahead of the US Government's contract with Lockheed being signed in May, 1942; with the first of their men arriving on site at the end of June."


THE present Gartree parish church, which was once the private chapel of the Pakenhams, was built in the 1830s by Lieutenant-General Sir Hercules Pakenham.

His elder brother, General Edward Pakenham, was commander of the defeated British Army at New Orleans.

The last of his family to die in war was Major Hercules Dermot Pakenham, who died from wounds received at Dunkirk.

In 1959, the estate was bought by the Martin Baker Aircraft Company and, subsequently, Territorial Army sappers blew up the mansion house.

Former London residence ~ 19 Hertford Street.

First published in April, 2010. 

10 comments :

Maggie Saunders said...

Thank you for providing all this lovely information about these great houses. I am transcribing my grandfather's shooting log and he sent several happy days shooting at Langford Lodge, Ballywalter Park, Finnebrogue, Tullamore and Larchfield in 1887. I don't suppose, if I gave the names of the guns youwould be able to tell me anything about the other members of these shoots? August Brabazone Urmston, from Gartincaber, Perthshire, was on his Belfast posting with the Gordon Highlanders

Maggie Saunders said...

Thanks very much.
So, here goes: November 1887
at Langford Lodge there were the following 8 guns: Earl of Annesley, Earl of Kilmoray, Hon RO O'Neil, J. Houston, J McNeil, Major McClintock, E Streatfield

Ballywalter Park Mr Mulholland, Captain Maxwell, J Head, N Ward

Finnebrogue Col Ford Hon R O O"Neil S Maxwell H Maxwell C Percival C Strong O B Graham
(have read up quite a bit about the Maxwells)

Larchfield - OB Graham, C Graham, C McClintock

Tullamore C Strong S Maxwell H Maxwell A Richardson

May I use any pictures of these houses which you have to illustrate my transcription? Good fun recreating Gussie's life and all information helpful.

Maggie Saunders said...

Ooh! Gussie got very smart. He is now at Antrim Castle with Lord Massereene, Sir Ed Harland SP Mazwell Capt Robson Capt Richardson Capt Robson Major Pollock over three days and he concedes that is was an A1 shoot!! but not enough guns - lots of guns got away.

Maggie Saunders said...

How marvellous - I shall hugely enjoy reading about all of them. Thank you so much. Gussie subsequently departed the Gordon Highlanders and headed out West to make his fortune as a rancher in Texas. Maybe this taste of the highlife played a part in his realisation that a career in the army was not going to bring him the lifestyle he enjoyed here. The shooting he did during his short stay in Belfast was on a much grander scale than the rough shooting he practised at home in Scotland. It is good to know that many of these great houses and families are still in tact and going strong in one form or another.

Maggie Saunders said...

And his last shoot, which he seems to think was the best of all, was at Glenarm Castle with most of the same people as the others, so he did have a pretty good time of it. It was smart enough for him to record the names of the shooting pairs for each butt with numbers of game each pair bagged!

Anonymous said...

I suspect the A. Richardson is, at that time, more likely to be from the Moyallon House and Bessbrook family.

W.

Anonymous said...

Would anyone know how I could get employee information at around 1911, 1912. I believe my Great grandmother and great grandmother worked and met there.

Cdn Cat said...

I am researching my family genealogy on my mothers side (Langford) and have documentation that links us to the Langford Lodge. I would love it if I could find out the exact location of where the lodge used to be on Google Maps. Any other information would be greatly appreciated as well. I followed a link and read all about the history of the lodge up to when it was demolished.
Thanks so much in advance.
Catherine MacPherson

Unknown said...

I am too searching my family Genealogy. My great grandparents worked for the Pakenhams at the lodge. I was told it was where they met. They are buried in the Gartree church yard.
I would love to know if there are records of staff that worked at Langford Lodge.

debcush said...

We live on land that once formed part of the Langford estate. The land is still used by the MOD and Martin Baker started a factory there making ejector seats and parachutes.....which is still doing so to this day!

A new house was built on the site of the old lodge house and was named The White House. This is still used today on the occasional visits of potential customers etc. Gartree Church is still used and is a beautiful little country church with many interesting artefacts. The last musical instrument Glenn Millar played was the church organ in Gartree Church, which is still used today. His flight left Langford and was never found. The graveyard has many of the historical families buried there.