Monday 11 July 2022

The Ross Baronetcy

The MANN family, on first arriving in Ireland, about 1600, received a grant of lands and settled at Byblox, near Doneraile, County Cork, and afterwards in County Tyrone.

JOHN MANN, a merchant in Dublin, who received a grant of land, bequeathed his property, in 1633, to his brother,

WILLIAM MANN, who sold his estate in County Tipperary to Elias Green, of Cashel, and died about 1690, leaving issue, two sons,
SAMUEL, of Byblox;
William, b 1681.
The elder son,

SAMUEL MANN, of Byblox, near Doneraile, County Cork, born in 1680, married and had issue,
THOMAS, his heir;
Isaac (Rt Rev), Lord Bishop of Cork &
Ross;
Horace, settled at Baltimore, USA;
William, army officer.
The eldest son,

THOMAS MANN (1710-80), of Byblox, wedded, in 1744, Frances Henrietta Hamilton, and had issue,
HENRY;
John;
Isaac;
Frances; Henrietta; Catherine; Mary.
The eldest son,

HENRY MANN (1745-1818), of Byblox, afterwards of Athenry, County Tyrone, espoused, in 1772, Jane, daughter of William Smythe, and had issue,
Thomas;
DEANE, of whom presently;
Violet; Anne Jane; Eliza; Emily; Sarah; Maria; Frances Henrietta.
His only surviving son,

DEANE MANN JP DL (1824-94), of Dunmoyle and Corvey Lodge, County Tyrone, Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Tyrone Fusiliers and 4th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Lord of the Manor of Corrigan, Killyman, and patron of the living of Dunmoyle, married, in 1856, Mary Stobart, only surviving daughter of William Jeffcock, of High Hazels, Yorkshire, and had issue,
KATHERINE MARY JEFFCOCK DEANE;
Emily Frances Henrietta, b 1859.
The elder daughter,

KATHERINE MARY JEFFCOCK DEANE MANN (-1932), wedded, in 1882, the RT HON SIR JOHN ROSS, 1st Baronet, last Lord Chancellor of Ireland (son of the Rt Rev Dr Robert Ross, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, 1886), and had issue,
RONALD DEANE, his successor;
May Margaret Ernestine; Irene Katherine Douglas.

SIR JOHN ROSS was educated at the Model School and at Foyle College, Londonderry, and Trinity College Dublin.

He became president of the university's Philosophical Society in 1877 and graduated with a BA in the same year.

In 1882 this gentleman married Katherine Mary Jeffcock, only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Deane Mann, of Dunmoyle, and of Corvey Lodge, both in County Tyrone.

They had one son, Ronald Deane Ross MC MP, and two daughters, the younger of whom predeceased her father.

Ross had entered Gray's Inn, London, in 1878 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1879.

He became a QC in 1889 and was Conservative MP for Londonderry City, 1892-95.

In 1896 he was elevated to the bench as land judge in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland.

When appointed, he was the youngest judge in the United Kingdom.

Mr Ross was appointed to the privy council in 1902.

In 1914 he was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Grand Priory of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

In 1919 he was created a baronet, designated of Dunmoyle, County Tyrone.

Two years later, in 1921, Sir John was appointed LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND.

He was to be the last holder of that office, which was abolished in 1922.

Sir John retired to London, but later he returned to live in Northern Ireland.

He was president of the St John Ambulance Brigade in Ireland and during the First World War was in control of all Red Cross activities in the south of Ireland.

Sir John died of bronchial pneumonia at his home, Dunmoyle Lodge, Sixmilecross, County Tyrone, on 17 August 1935.

Sir John was succeeded by his only son,

SIR RONALD DEANE ROSS, 2nd Baronet (1888-1958), MC, MP, who served during the 1st and 2nd World Wars before transferring to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1947, and retiring from the army in 1950.

He was awarded the Military Cross and Croix de Guerre.

Sir Ronald married, in 1921, Dorothy Evelyn Frances, daughter of the Rev Algernon Charles Dudley Ryder, though the marriage was without issue.

The 2nd Baronet was MP for Londonderry at various times between 1929-51.

When he died in 1958 the title became extinct.

His grave was lined with moss taken from beech trees.

Sir Ronald was buried beside the church wall at the entrance to the church.


DUNMOYLE LODGE, County Tyrone, built in the 1880s, was demolished in 1965.

The site now a forest.

The contents of the house were sold by auction over three days, and the house was blown up by the Army as it was in a dangerous condition and the cellar had become waterlogged.

The house had a large conservatory and walled garden, and at least two deep wells.

There was a monkey puzzle tree to the side of the main house, with a beautiful copper beech tree facing the front door.

The demesne, at one time prosperous though now forgotten, formerly had three lodges

All the buildings have been destroyed and even the Mann family church has long been abandoned.

The estate comprised 955 acres during the Victorian era.

The Dunmoyle estate became associated with the Jeffcock family during the Victorian era, though was acquired - through marriage, it is thought - by the Sir John Ross.

Former town residences ~ Morpeth Mansions, London, SW1; 66 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin.

First published in February, 2011.

4 comments :

Steve. R. (stevey_raff@hotmail.com) said...

Interesting read. I am from the area. As children we used to play in the forest. I always wondered why there were old ruins and rubble within the forest. It was great to see you also had a picture showing what the old Dunmoyle Castle looked like. The conservatory is stunning. Shame it is gone now. I tried to find more pictures of the building, but none appear to exist online. I'd love to have seen what it was like inside the building too.

Not so long ago I visited the old church building across the road from it. It had been stripped of all valuable materials inside, and the floors have been dug up. The roof appeared to be rotted and caved in. There is a small graveyard there. In the graveyard, at the side wall of the church, there are heavy, locked iron gates leading down into a crypt. I've always wondered about this crypt. My father works for the council and once had to inspect the property for some reason, including the crypt for which he obtained the key for the day. I myself was not present during this visit, but wish I was. I find it quite fascinating.

I read the history of the estate but it does not seem to mention who is laid to rest down within the crypt. I presumed a tomb of some kind was down there. Perhaps you can shed some light on this?

As kids from the area, there was also an old tale told that there was a tunnel burrowed from the Church building, under the road, connecting it to Dunmoyle Castle. I presumed this was a story made up by children in the area, but I do vividly remember that in the church building, there was a back room, or private chamber. In this room there was a huge hole in the ground that led to a deep, dark tunnel. This also has always perplexed me.

Many thanks again for the detailed info within your blog. It appears to be the only source I can find online with information on this forgotten estate.

Regards,
Steve. R.

Unknown said...

Just came across this site I was actually born in the gate house on the Shane Road in September 1964,i remember the ruins of the castle when growing up I also remember Violet Oldcraft the post mistress well my uncle brought the old post office in the late 1970s,i can remember the large monkey puzzle and also going to see the old tower of which the crumbled remains are still there / I built my house in 1996 on the Whitebridge road the site of which would have been part of the Dunmoyle Estate at one time.

Anonymous said...

It was Violet Oldcroft (my Grandmother) who lived in and ran the Post Office for many years but retired from Dunmoyle in early 1980's due to ill health.
She was also part of the Ross household (chef/cook) prior to that and my Grandfather was the Gardener
Don't remember the 'Big House' but my Granny talked about it many times
Do remember the Dunmoyle church. It was run down at that stage , being the late 1960's and the vault underneath.
Also remember a local family used to I've in the gate - lodge just up the road from the Post Office on the edge of Dunmoyle Estate

Granny retired from the Post Office and left Dunmoyle in the early 1980's due to ill-health
Interesting memories.
Doris Lagan (nee Oldcroft)

ccalhoun said...

Would anyone remember the "Corry House"? /Belmore? We are related to Captain Charles Colhoun and his wife Mary, who lived there from 1822 - 1852...I'm afraid it might be gone, down at the base of Main Street is all I have to go on, and I'm not sure how accurate that is.