Wednesday 29 January 2020

Desart Court

THE EARLS OF DESART WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILKENNY, WITH 8,000 ACRES

This noble family was originally of the counties of Somerset and Northamptonshire.

Its founder in Ireland,

HUGH CUFFE, Secretary to the Earl of Essex, had a grant, during the reign of ELIZABETH I, of 6,000 acres of land in County Cork, and settled at Cuffe's Wood.

He left, at his decease, two daughters, his co-heirs; viz. Elizabeth, married to Sir Francis Slingsby; and Dorothea, to Sir Charles Coote.

The male line of the family was continued by his nephew,

MAURICE CUFFE, of Ennis, County Clare, merchant, who died in 1638, leaving a large family, of which the sixth son,

JOSEPH CUFFE (1621-79), having joined the army under Cromwell, in 1649, was rewarded for his services by considerable grants of lands.

He wedded Martha, daughter of Colonel Agmondesham Muschamp, by whom he had no less than twenty children.

The second son, Maurice, was of Cuffesborough, in Queen's County.

The eldest son,

AGMONDESHAM CUFFE (1650-1727), who was attainted by JAMES II's parliament, in 1689, and had his estates sequestered; but was restored by WILLIAM III.

He espoused Anne, daughter of Sir John Otway, of London, widow of John Warden, of Burnchurch, County Kilkenny, and was succeeded by his eldest son,  

JOHN CUFFE (1683-1749), of Desart, County Kilkenny, MP for Thomastown, 1715-27, who was elevated to the peerage, in 1733, in the dignity of Baron Desart, of Desart, County Kilkenny.

His lordship married firstly, Margaret, only daughter and heir of James Hamilton, of Carnesure (descended from the Hamiltons, Earls of Clanbrassil), but had no issue.

He espoused secondly, Dorothea, eldest daughter of General Richard Gorges, of Kilbrew, County Meath, and had issue,
JOHN, his successor;
OTWAY, succeeded his brother as 3rd Baron;
Hamilton, in holy orders;
William;
Nichola Sophia; Lucy Susanna; Martha; Margaretta; Catherine.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 2nd Baron (1730-67), who wedded, in 1752, Sophia, daughter and heir of Brettidge Badham, of Rockfield, County Cork, by whom he had three daughters,
Sophia;
Lucy;
Catherine.
His lordship died without male issue, and was succeeded by his brother,

OTWAY, 3rd Baron (1737-1804), who was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1781, as Viscount Castle Cuffe; and further advanced, in 1793, to the dignity of an earldom, as EARL OF DESART.

His lordship wedded, in 1785, the Lady Anne Browne, eldest daughter of John, 2nd Earl of Altamont, and had issue (with two daughters), an only son,

JOHN OTWAY, 2nd Earl (1788-1820), MP for Bossiney, Cornwall, 1808-17, Mayor of Kilkenny, 1809-10, who espoused, in 1817, Catherine, daughter of Maurice O'Connor, and had issue, an only child,

JOHN OTWAY O'CONNOR, 3rd Earl (1818-65), who wedded, in 1842, the Lady Elizabeth Lucy Campbell, third daughter of John, 1st Earl Cawdor, and had issue,
WILLIAM ULICK O'CONNOR, his successor;
HAMILTON JOHN AGMONSESHAM, succeeded as 5th Earl;
Otway Seymour;
Alice Mary.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM ULICK O'CONNOR, 4th Earl (1845-98), who married firstly, in 1871, Maria Emma Georgina, daughter of Captain Thomas Henry Preston, and had issue, an only daughter,
Kathleen Mary Alexina.
He wedded secondly, in 1881, Ellen Odette, daughter of Henri Louis Bischoffsheim, though had no further issue.

His lordship was succeeded by his brother,

HAMILTON JOHN AGMONDESHAM (1848-1934), 5th and last Earl, KP, KCB, PC.

In his early life he was a midshipman in the Royal Navy before becoming a barrister in 1872. In 1877, he was appointed as a secretary to the Judicature Committee and as a solicitor to The Treasury a year later.

In 1894, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and as Treasury Solicitor that year, as well as Queen's Proctor and Director of Public Prosecutions.

On inheriting the earldom of Desart from his elder brother William (who died without heirs male) in 1898, he was promoted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.

In 1909, the 5th Earl was created Baron Desart in the Peerage of the UK, which enabled him to sit in the House of Lords.

In 1913, he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed a Knight of St Patrick in 1919, one of the last appointees to the Order.
The 5th Earl was the last Lord-Lieutenant of County Kilkenny, 1920-22.

Entrance Front

DESART COURT, near Callan, County Kilkenny, was a Palladian house of two storeys over a basement, joined to two two-storey wings by curved sweeps.

It was built about 1733 by 1st Baron Desart.

The centre block had a seven-bay front, its main feature being four superimposed, engaged, Doric and Ionic columns and Doric entablature.

Garden Front

The drawing-room, in the centre of the garden front, had a ceiling of rococo plasterwork, similar to the hall.

Desart Court was burnt in 1923, though was afterwards rebuilt by Lady Kathleen Milborne-Swinnerton-Pilkington, daughter of the 4th Earl.

In 1957, the house was sold and finally demolished.

First published in March, 2013. Desart arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Freemen of Belfast: 1951-60

HONORARY BURGESSES OF THE CITY OF BELFAST
ELECTED AND ADMITTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELFAST UNDER THE MUNICIPAL PRIVILEGE (IRELAND) ACT, 1875


55  HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Countess of Ulster ~ 1952

56  Rt Hon William Spencer Earl Granville, KG GCVO CB DSO ~ 1952

57  Rt Hon Rose Constance Countess Granville, GCVO ~ 1952

58  Royal Ulster Rifles ~ 1954

59  Sir James Henry Norritt JP DL ~ 1955

60  Mrs Margaret Lawson OBE ~ 1955

61  Rt Hon Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG OM CH TD DL ~ 1955

62  Sir Cuthbert Lowell Ackroyd Bt JP DL ~ 1956

63  Lady Ackroyd ~ 1956

64  Royal Air Force Aldergrove ~ 1957

First published in August, 2012.

Thursday 16 January 2020

Princess Royal in NI

THE PRINCESS ROYAL is spending two days in Northern Ireland.

Her Royal Highness, Colonel-in-Chief, the Royal Logistic Corps, visited 152 (North Irish) Regiment at Palace Barracks, Holywood, County Down.

On Thursday afternoon Her Royal Highness visited HMP Maghaberry, near Lisburn, County Antrim, in her role as Patron of the Butler Trust, and was received by the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell.

HRH was shown the new Davis House facility.

Princess Anne later visited the SlurryKat slurry equipment company in Waringstown, County Down, and was received by Dr Robert Logan DL.

I don't subscribe to any newspapers so, like everybody else, I'm reliant on others to keep me apprised of royal visits.

In this instance the Antrim Lieutenancy most helpfully issued a blog post this morning.

I scanned the BBC Northern Ireland news website this morning (at 07:52) and there was no mention of the Princess Royal's visit.

Tuesday 14 January 2020

Freemen of Belfast: 1930-40

HONORARY BURGESSES OF THE CITY OF BELFAST

ELECTED AND ADMITTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELFAST UNDER THE MUNICIPAL PRIVILEGE (IRELAND) ACT, 1875


37  Sir John Lavery Kt ~ 1930

38  Sir William Frederick Coates Bt JP DL ~ 1931

39  Lady Coates ~ 1931

40  HRH The Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Prince of Wales ~ 1932

41  William Macartney JP ~ 1935

42  HRH The Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster ~ 1935

43  The Most Noble Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Duchess of Abercorn DBE ~ 1935

First published in August, 2012

Saturday 11 January 2020

Brackenber Research


I paid PRONI a visit in 2011 in order to carry out some research on my old prep school, Brackenber House:-

The very first entry in the Belfast street directory that I could see was for Cherry Hill House in 1852.

It was built for the Ward family, erstwhile gunpowder merchants, damask and table linen manufacturers.

Thomas Ward carried out business at 25 Bridge Street in Belfast (close to High Street); and, in 1852, his residence was Cherry Hill (Brackenber) at Malone.

I received an email from John Ward in October, 2022:-
"Good Afternoon,

"You quite often mention Brackenber."

"It was built by my great grandfather James Ward he called it Cherry Hill; he had previously lived at Strawberry Hill near Lisburn."

"Cherry Hill occupied about approx 8.5 acres and went down to the Lagan."

"He must have been a right prig because the street before  CherryHill was opened by him so that his servants would not use the main entrance." 

"He died in Los Angeles in 1914 and his body was brought back to Belfast and buried in the family grave at Drumbeg."

"Sadly my brother Patrick is also there. He was a medical student at Queens and drowned in a sailing accident in England while sailing for the university."

"Cherry Hill went to my great uncle, also James Ward. They owned 3 linen firms in Belfast and Lisburn and quite a bit of property."

"I was born in Belfast in 1934, christened by my great-uncle Dean Dowse in St Thomas, Lisburn Road; and my christening party was one of the last events at Cherry Hill."

I lived near Millisle when I was in the linen business but I did not want my children growing up in NI(sadly) so I now live in Brisbane, Oz." 

"Cheers, John Earls."

"PS: on the other side my grandfather Professor John Earls was principal of the ’Tec and had a chair in maths at Queen's."


In 1876, Cherry Hill extended to twelve acres.

Cherry Hill was between Adelaide House and Montpelier House where, in 1863, the Rev John Wrixton, Rector of St John's Malone, resided.

A Miss Ward still lived at Cherry Hill in 1924.

By the 1930s, Brackenber House School had opened at 29/33 Windsor Park, Belfast.

In July,1939, Cherryhill was purchased by Brackenber for £2,250 (£115,000 in today's money), subject to a ground rent of £15.

By August, 1939, the grounds at Cherryhill had been levelled and left in a fairly tidy condition.

At the back of the house, the land was now square, a portion having been allotted to one of the new houses. Sewers and water supply were to be tested, too.

The interior of house was inspected and practically all pipes, baths etc were taken out and renewed by Mr Wadman.

The roof was inspected for dry-rot or wood beetle.

A new gas supply was provided.

On the 26th October, 1939, the estate agent, Mr McConnell, had a conversation with Mr Harkness and Mr Kerr after inspection of Cherryhill house.

There was talk of some woodworm; Mr Harkness would be prepared to accept a price of £3,750 free of rent, including approximately one and a half acres.

The ground floor of what was to become Brackenber had four reception  rooms; first floor, five main bedrooms, three smaller rooms and bathroom; second floor, five main bedrooms, two smaller rooms etc.

The House was considered suitable for a hostel, school etc.

Re the grounds: “The land round the house … will be very considerably curtailed; the major part is on a slope; land badly cut up by removal of trees".

The House: of sandstone, most substantially built; roof slated; leadwork and spouts require attention; outside woodwork need painting.

Surveyors were asked to examine a fence along the south boundary (Cleaver Avenue side), which was in a very bad state of repair.

Several of the posts had rotted; consequently the fence was lying over.

Also, a good many of the slats were missing.

The interior of the house was inspected and practically all pipes, baths etc were taken out and renewed by Mr Wadman.

The roof was inspected for dry-rot or wood beetle.

A new gas supply was provided.

I expect to revisit PRONI and undertake further research on the school.

First published in April, 2011.

Old Invitation

Here's an old invitation to the Brackenber Prize Day in 1971.


The Brackenber House association continues to thrive, and we are holding our annual dinner as usual at the Ulster Reform Club, Royal Avenue, Belfast, in February.

Brackenber closed in 1985, and was subsequently demolished for a housing development, so Old Brackenbrians met at what was commonly known as the 'Threepenny Bit' at the King's Hall complex.

Since then the customary venue has been the Reform Club in Belfast.

First published in January, 2012.

Thursday 9 January 2020

New Antrim DL

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY LIEUTENANT

Mr David McCorkell, Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, has been pleased to appoint:-
Mrs Jacqueline Elizabeth  Stewart MBE DL
Islandmagee
County Antrim
To be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County.

Lord Lieutenant of the County

Friday 3 January 2020

High Sheriffs 2020

APPOINTMENTS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
HIGH SHERIFFS, 2020




COUNTY ANTRIM

Rupert Cramsie Esq
O’Harabrook 
Ballymoney
County Antrim


COUNTY ARMAGH

Michael Frederick Dickson Esq
Armagh
County Armagh


COUNTY DOWN

Austin Richard Baird Esq 
Holywood
County Down


COUNTY FERMANAGH

Mrs Breda Ann McGrenaghan BEM
Tempo
County Fermanagh


COUNTY LONDONDERRY

Ross Wilson Esq BEM
Coleraine
County Londonderry


COUNTY TYRONE

Gordon Aiken Esq BEM
Omagh,
County Tyrone


COUNTY BOROUGH OF BELFAST

Councillor Nicola Angela Verner
Belfast


COUNTY BOROUGH OF LONDONDERRY

James Richard Doherty Esq
Londonderry