Hockley Lodge

THE VISCOUNTS CHARLEMONT WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ARMAGH, WITH 20,695 ACRES

The settlement of this noble family in Ireland took place in the reign of ELIZABETH I, when the Rt Hon Sir Toby Caulfeild, a distinguished and gallant soldier, was employed in that part of Her Majesty's dominions against the formidable Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

James, 1st Earl of Charlemont KP (National Portrait Gallery)

THE HON HENRY CAULFEILD (1779-1862), third but second surviving son of James, 1st Earl of Charlemont KP, and Mary, daughter of Thomas Hickman, of Brickhill, County Clare, married, in 1819, Elizabeth Margaret, daughter of Dodwell Browne, of Rahins, County Mayo, and had issue,

JAMES MOLYNEUX, 3rd Earl of Charlemont;

Henry William (1822-67);

Margaret Zoe.

Mr Caulfeild, of Hockley Lodge, County Armagh, was High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1832, MP for County Armagh, 1802-7, 1815-18, and 1820-30.

Hockley Lodge (Buildings of County Armagh)

HOCKLEY LODGE, near RICHHILL, County Armagh, is described in the Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837, thus:

"Adjoining CASTLE DILLON is Hockley Lodge, the seat of the Hon Henry Caulfeild, brother of Lord Charlemont, an elegant modern residence, containing some stately apartments and an extensive and valuable library."

There was a house here dating from the 1770s, set within a demesne, with wider parkland, and many fine trees in the area immediately around the house.

The present building is thought to date from about 1820.

Other features include an ice house, a horse pond and a walled garden.

In 1871 Hockley demesne extended to 292 acres.

Hockley Lodge (Image: Atlas World)

Mark Bence-Jones characterizes Hockly Lodge as "a Regency house of one storey over a high basement built ... onto an older two-storey structure."

The entrance front has a Tuscan porch with stone steps leading up to it; while the southern elevation has protruding pavilions at each end.

The Hon Henry Caulfeild died in 1862, and his widow, Elizabeth, survived him until her death in 1878.

Hockley was thereafter leased to James Henry Stronge (later the RT HON SIR JAMES STRONGE Bt); Captain George D Beresford; and, in 1908, to James Wilson.

Thomas Henry Mowbray Leader (1885-1951) purchased Hockley Lodge in 1932.

Mr Leader, formerly of Dromagh and Rosnalee, County Cork, Game Warden, British Columbia, had served in the First World War with the North Irish Horse, and as a captain in the Royal Tank Corps.

He married, in 1924, his first cousin, Frances Margaret Alice (Hockey Lodge, Armagh), eldest daughter of the RT HON HENRY BRUCE ARMSTRONG, and had issue.

Hockley Lodge was finally sold, in 1983, to the Elim Pentecostal Church for use as a private nursing home, which it remains to this day.

Middle Lodge, Hockley, 2018 (Images: UAHS)

Hockley used to have three gate lodges (Main, Drumilly, and Middle), all dating from about 1836: of which the middle lodge was a building at risk in 2018.

First published in February, 2022.