New Belfast DLs

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY LIEUTENANTS

Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle DBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast has been pleased to appoint:-

Dr Howard James Hastings OBE
Belfast 

Ms Cheryl Lamont CBE
Belfast

To be Deputy Lieutenants of the County Borough her Commission bearing date the 7th day of September 2022,

Signed: Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle DBE DStJ

1st Baron Beresford

LORD CHARLES BERESFORD WAS A MAJOR LANDOWNER IN COUNTY CAVAN, WITH 8,817 ACRES

ADMIRAL LORD CHARLES WILLIAM DE LA POER BERESFORD, BARON BERESFORD, GCB, GCVO, was born in 1846 at Philipstown, County Offaly.

He was the second son of John, 4th Marquess of Waterford, and brother of John, 5th Marquess.

Lord Charles married, in 1878, Mina, daughter of Richard Gardner, in London.

He was educated at Bayford School, and Mr Foster's School, Stubbington, Hampshire.

His distinguished career is very well documented already.

Admiral Beresford was elevated to the peerage, in 1916, in the dignity of BARON BERESFORD, of Metemmeh and Curraghmore, County Waterford.

Lord Beresford died three years later, in 1919, when the barony became extinct.

He died at Langwell, Berriedale, Caithness, aged 73.

After a State funeral at St Paul's Cathedral,  Lord Beresford was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery in south London.

Lord Beresford inherited the County Cavan estate of his relation, the Most Rev Lord John Beresford.

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Lord John George de la Poer Beresford (1773-1862), Lord Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, possessing great wealth, was known for his considerable largesse.

His patronage extended largely to Trinity College, Dublin; to the College of Saint Columba; and he restored Armagh Cathedral, at a cost of £30,000.

Furthermore, His Grace augmented the salaries of his clergy.

The bust of this distinguished prelate stands in the private chapel at Curraghmore, County Waterford.

He is interred in Armagh Cathedral.

The Archbishop bequeathed his County Cavan estate to Lord Charles Beresford.

Learmount Castle in County Londonderry, belonged to the same family through marriage.

First published in May, 2013. Beresford arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Blood of Cranagher

THE BLOODS OWNED 11,843 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY CLARE

This family was originally from Makeney, near Duffield, in Derbyshire.

CAPTAIN EDMUND BLOOD (c1568-c1640), of Kilnaboy Castle and Bohersallagh (Applevale), County Clare, an officer in the Army, went to Ireland about 1595.

Captain Blood, MP for Ennis, 1613-15, had issue,

NEPTUNE, of whom presently;
Edmund;
Thomas, father of Colonel Thomas Blood;
William, of Dunboyne, County Meath.

Thomas, the third son, was father of COLONEL THOMAS BLOOD, of Sarney, County Meath, who attempted to carry off the Crown Jewels. His estate in Ireland was forfeited, but he had a pardon and pension from the King.

Captain Blood's eldest son,

THE VERY REV DR NEPTUNE BLOOD JP (1595-1692), (so called because he was born at sea), Dean of Kilfenora, married thrice, and left issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
Edmond, from whom the BLOODS of Brickhill are descended;
Peregrine;
Neptune (Very Rev), Dean of Kilfenora;
Henry.

Dr Blood was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS BLOOD, of Killnaboy Castle and Bohersallagh, wedded a daughter of _______ Davis, and had issue,

Neptune, of Bohersallagh, dsp 1744;
THOMAS, of whom hereafter;
Edmund;
Mark;
William, ancestor of BLOOD of Fantore;
Matthew, ancestor of BLOOD of Ballykilty;
Deborah.

The second son,

THOMAS BLOOD (-1730), of Bohersallagh, espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Captain John Greene, of Old Abbey, County Limerick, and had issue,

Thomas;
WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Anthony;
Edmund;
Anne.

The second son,

WILLIAM BLOOD JP (-1791), of Roxton, County Clare, High Sheriff of County Clare, 1750, married, in 1747, Ann, daughter of William Chadwick, of Ballinard, County Tipperary, and had issue,

Richard;
WILLIAM, of whom we treat;
Thomas, from whom descend the BLOODS of Essex;
Neptune, of Applevale, County Clare;
Michael, of Baskin Hill, County Dublin;
Frederick (Rev);
Jane.

The eldest surviving son,

WILLIAM BLOOD JP (1749-84), of Roxton, High Sheriff of County Clare, 1774, Colonel, Ennis Volunteers, wedded, in 1772, Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Bindon, and had issue, with a daughter, Nicola, an only son,

BINDON BLOOD JP DL (1775-1855), of Cranagher, County Clare, High Sheriff of County Clare, 1819, who espoused firstly, in 1796, his cousin Ann, daughter of Major Edward William Burton, and had issue, six daughters,

Elizabeth; Jane; Anne; Mary; Fanny; Nicola.

He married secondly, in 1809, Harriet, daughter of Christopher Bagot, and had further issue,

William, dsp;
Bindon, died young;
Bagot, died young;
WILLIAM BINDON, of whom hereafter;
Katherine.

Mr Blood wedded thirdly, Maria, daughter of _______ Hinckley, of Tenterden, Kent, and had issue,

Bindon;
Bagot;
Mary Anne; Frances; Maria.

Mr Bindon Blood's fourth son,

WILLIAM BINDON BLOOD JP (1817-94), of Cranagher, espoused firstly, in 1841, Margaret, daughter of Robert Stewart, Hawthornside, Roxburghshire, and had issue,

BINDON, his heir;
Bagot William (Lieutenant-Colonel);
Robert (Dr), Colonel, RAMC;
Margaret.

He married secondly, in 1855, Maria Augusta, daughter of Robert Henry Persse, and had further issue,

William Persse (Colonel).

Mr William Bindon Blood was succeeded by his eldest son,

GENERAL SIR BINDON BLOOD GCB GCVO (1842-1940), of Cranagher, County Clare, and 183, St James's Court, London, who wedded, in 1883, Charlotte Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Auckland Colvin KCSI KCMG CIE, and had issue,

Bindon Auckland William, died in infancy, 1888;
Mary Meta; Charlotte Carissima.

Sir Bindon sold Cranagher House in 1905.

Sir Winston Churchill, who served under Blood on the North-West Frontier in 1897, dedicated his first non-fiction book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898), to

"Major-General Sir Bindon Blood, K.C.B., under whose command the operations therein recorded were carried out; by whose generalship they were brought to a successful conclusion; and to whose kindness the author is indebted for the most valuable and fascinating experience of his life".

First published in August, 2018. 

Fullerton of Ballintoy

THE FULLERTONS OWNED 5,611 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

NICHOLAS DOWNING (1627-98), of Drummond, County Londonderry, made his will in 1698, and in it made bequests to his nephews ADAM, John, George, and Daniel.

He dsp and was succeeded by his nephew,

COLONEL ADAM DOWNING (1666-1719), 

Who was present at the siege of Derry, and there gave signal proofs of his courage. Colonel Downing subsequently raised a body of men at his own expense, and served during the war in Ireland, participating in the battle of the Boyne, and contributing eminently by his gallantry and skill to the success of the party with which he was engaged.

For these services he received the appointment of Deputy Governor of County Londonderry, Colonel of the Militia, and one of the Commissioners of Array. Colonel Downing, a nephew of Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet, also acquired a large tract of land in County Londonderry.

He married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Jackson, of Coleraine (ancestor of Sir George Jackson Bt), and had issue,

Henry, died in infancy;
JOHN, of whom hereafter.

Colonel Downing was buried at Ballyscullion parish church, Bellaghy, County Londonderry.

The inscription on his memorial mentions his descent from a Devonshire family.

His son and successor,

JOHN DOWNING (1700-80), of Bellaghy Castle and Rowesgift, wedded, in 1727, Anne, daughter and heir of the Rev Dr J Rowe, descended from an old Devonshire family, and had issue, three sons,

Clotworthy;
DAWSON, of whom presently;
John, army officer.

John Downing (Image: Colleges in Cambridge University)

He raised, at considerable expense, a body of men during the uprising of 1745.

The second son,

DAWSON DOWNING (1739-1807), of Rowesgift, County Londonderry, inherited the ancient mansion and resided in it until his death.

He espoused firstly, Catherine, niece and heiress of Alexander Fullerton, of Ballintoy Castle, County Antrim (descended from a branch of the ancient Scottish family of that name), and had two sons,

GEORGE ALEXANDER, of whom presently;
David Fullerton.

Mr Dawson Downing married secondly, Sarah Catherine, daughter of Hugh Boyd, of Ballycastle, County Antrim, and had (with six daughters) four sons,

John, of Rowesgift;
Ezekiel;
William;
David.

The son by his first wife,

GEORGE ALEXANDER DOWNING (1775-1847), having inherited a considerable property from his great-uncle, assumed, 1794, in compliance with that gentleman's testamentary injunction, the surname and arms of FULLERTON, and became of Tockington Manor and Ballintoy.

He wedded Mary Anne, daughter of James Peacock, and had issue,

ALEXANDER GEORGE, his heir;
George;
David, of Pennington House, father of GEORGE FREDERICK;
Catherine; Susan; Frances; Mary Anne.

The eldest son,

ALEXANDER GEORGE FULLERTON (1808-1907), of Ballintoy Castle, Brevet-Major, Royal Horse Guards, Attaché to the embassy at Paris, espoused, at Paris, 1833, the Lady Georgiana Leveson-Gower, second daughter of the 1st Earl Granville GCB, and had a son and heir,

WILLIAM GRANVILLE FULLERTON, born at the British Embassy, Paris, 1834; dvp 1855.

Mr Fullerton was succeeded by his nephew,

GEORGE FREDERICK DOWNING FULLERTON (1857-1916), of Ballintoy, County Antrim, Alveston, Gloucestershire, and Purley Park, Berkshire, Captain, 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, who married, in 1889, Leila Minna Gertrude, only child of Major A M Storer, of Purley Park, Berkshire, and had issue,

GEORGE CECIL DOWNING, 1891-1953;
Richard Alexis, b 1893;
Ivy Leila; Myra Aida Violet.

Seats - Westwood, Hampshire; Ballintoy Castle, County Antrim; Tockington Manor, Gloucestershire.

BALLINTOY CASTLE

Ballintoy Castle must have been a very important local focal point from 1630 to the mid-18th century.

It was home to the Stewarts of Ballintoy, a family descended from Sir John Stewart, of Bute, and with blood connections to the Dalriadic Kings of Scotland.

Archibald Stewart, the first resident of the Castle, acted as agent to the Earl of Antrim in 1630.

The Rev Archibald Stewart acted as Church of Ireland incumbent to the parishes of Ballintoy and Billy, 1718-37.

Upon his father's death, this clergyman became heir to the family estates at Ballintoy and Acton.

About 1760 Ballintoy Castle and estate were purchased by Alexander Fullerton, who left the property to his niece Catherine. 

In 1870, Miss Catherine Downing Nesbitt owned 5,638 acres in County Londonderry.

Interestingly, a close ancestor of her husband, Sir George Downing, who held property in London, gave his name to that famous street which is now synonymous with Prime Ministers.

Ballintoy Castle was demolished in 1795, and from it an oak staircase, beams and panelling were transferred for use in Downing College, Cambridge.

First published in May, 2012.

Mount Kennedy House

THE GUN-CUNINGHAMES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WICKLOW, WITH 10,479 ACRES

The pedigree of this family with alliances is fully set out in NISBET'S Heraldry, with authorities down to 1800.

SIR ROBERT DE CUNNINGHAME, Laird of Kilmaurs, living in 1350, had two sons, Sir William, ancestor of the Cunninghames, Earls of Glencairn; and SIR ANDREW DE CUNINGHAME, of Polmaise, ancestor of Drumquhassle, to whom DAVID II, King of Scotland, gave a grant of the lands of Pitkennedy, and whose descendent in the third generation,

ALEXANDER CUNINGHAME, Laird of Drumquhassle, married Margaret, daughter and co-heir of William Park, of that Ilk, by Margaret his wife, daughter of Allan, Lord Cathcart, and had issue,

JOHN CUNINGHAME, Laird of Drumquhassle, Master of the Household to JAMES VI, called the "Regent's Right Hand", as being the chief adviser of the Earl of Lennox.

He wedded Janet, eldest daughter and co-heir of James Cuninghame, of Polmaise, and had issue,

John, of Drumquhassle;
James, dsp;
ROBERT, of whom presently;
Janet; Margaret.

The third son,

ROBERT CUNINGHAME, of Drumbeg, served heir to his brother in 1644, espoused Elspeth, daughter of William Buchanan, of Ross and Portnellan, and had issue,

John;
WILLIAM.

The younger son,

WILLIAM CUNINGHAME, of Drumbeg, served heir to his brother, 1644, wedded Alice, daughter of John Buchanan, of Arnprior, and was father of

JOHN CUNINGHAME, of Bandalloch, who wedded Jean, daughter of William Weir, of the family of Blackwood, and had issue six sons, of whom the youngest,

COLONEL DAVID CUNINGHAME, of Seabegs, Fort-Major of Stirling Castle, 1745, married Margaret, daughter of J Callander, of Craigforth, and had issue,

ROBERT, of whom presently;
James, Lt-Gen in the army, etc;
Jean; Elizabeth; Anne.

The elder son,

GENERAL ROBERT CUNINGHAME (1726-1801), of Mount Kennedy, was elevated to the peerage, in 1796, in the dignity of BARON ROSSMORE, of Monaghan; and as he had no issue by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Murray, and co-heir of her mother, Mary, Dowager Lady Blayney, daughter and heir of Sir Alexander Cairnes Bt, the patent of creation contained a reversionary clause limiting the barony, at his lordship's decease, without male issue, to his wife's family: Firstly, to Henry A N Jones; secondly, to Warner William Westenra; and thirdly, to Henry Westenra.

Mr Jones and the Messrs Westenra were grandsons of the aforesaid Mary, Dowager Lady Blayney.

His lordship died in 1801, and Henry Alexander Nathaniel Jones having predeceased him unmarried, the title devolved upon

WARNER WILLIAM WESTENRA (1765-1842), as 2nd Baron; and his Wicklow estates, at the death of his widow, in 1825, on his niece, Jean Gordon, wife of George Gun, of Kilmorna, County Kerry, who having assumed the name and arms of CUNINGHAME by royal licence, in 1826 became

GEORGE GUN-CUNINGHAME, of Mount Kennedy. By Jean Gordon his wife he had issue,

ROBERT, his heir;
Anne; Matilda; Eliza; Henrietta; Jane; Georgiana Frances.

Mr Gun-Cuninghame died in 1827, and was succeeded by his only son,

ROBERT GUN-CUNINGHAME DL (1792-1877), of Mount Kennedy, who married, in 1817, Elizabeth Foulkes, of Birchamp House, Gloucestershire, and had issue,

ROBERT GEORGE ARCHIBALD HAMILTON, his heir;
George Philip Henry;
Philip Henry;
Elizabeth Jane; Adolphina Frederica; Jane; Mary Julia.

Mr Gun-Cuninghame wedded secondly, in 1832, Annabel Erina, eldest daughter of Viscount Glentworth, eldest son of the 1st Earl of Limerick, and had issue,

Edmund;
Albert Glentworth;
Cecil;
Glencairn Dunsmere Stuart;
Nina Augusta Erina; Eva Adelaide.

Mr Gun-Cuninghame was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROBERT GEORGE ARCHIBALD HAMILTON GUN-CUNINGHAME DL (1818-80), of Mount Kennedy and Coolawinna, County Wicklow, Colonel, Wicklow Artillery, who wedded, in 1844, Isabella, only daughter of the Rt Rev Lord Robert Ponsonby Tottenham, Lord Bishop of Clogher (2nd son of 1st Marquess of Ely), by Alicia Maude, his wife, daughter of Cornwallis, 1st Viscount Hawarden, and had issue,

CORNWALLIS ROBERT DUCAREL, his heir;
Alicia; Elizabeth; Anne; Isabella; Emily Eleanor; Mary Isabella;
Lucy Phillippa; Augusta; Beatrice Elizabeth.

Mr Gun-Cuninghame was succeeded by his only son,

CORNWALLIS ROBERT DUCAREL GUN-CUNINGHAME JP DL (1857-1928), of Mount Kennedy, High Sheriff of County Wicklow, 1886, Captain and Honorary Major, 7th Brigade, North Irish Division, Royal Artillery, who wedded firstly, in 1886, Isabella, youngest daughter of Richard Wingfield, and had issue,

ROBERT GEORGE ARTHUR, his heir;
Henry Maurice Benedict;
Dorothy Isabella.

He espoused secondly, in 1904, Constance Evelyn, youngest daughter of Edwin Joseph Vipan.

Mr Gun-Cuninghame was succeeded by his elder son,

ROBERT GEORGE ARTHUR GUN-CUNINGHAME (1896-1970), who married, in 1927, Emily Frances Grace, daughter of Cornelius Richard O'Callaghan, and had issue,

ROBERT HENRY RICHARD, of Finnebrogue, Co Down;
Jean Rosemary; Ruth Isabella Anne.

Captain Gun-Cununghame was succeeded by his only son,

ROBERT HENRY RICHARD GUN-CUNINGHAME, of Finnebrogue, Downpatrick, County Down, Major, Royal Irish Rangers, born in 1930, who espoused, in 1958, Selina Imogen Elizabeth Lorraine, daughter of Major John Robert Perceval-Maxwell, and had issue,

ROBERT PATRICK DUCAREL, b 1959;
Julian Arthur, b 1961;
Richard Benjamin, b 1965.

MOUNT KENNEDY HOUSE, Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow,  is a two-storey over basement mansion, to a design originally drawn up by James Wyatt in 1772.

The estate originally belonged to the Kennedys, who erected a large house here in 1670; burnt during the Williamite War.

The estate was purchased in 1769 by Lieutenant-General Robert Cuninghame, later Commander-in-Chief Ireland and 1st Baron Rossmore.

It was modified by the architect and builder, Thomas Cooley, who completed the commission in 1784-85.

Lord Rossmore died in 1801, when Mount Kennedy passed to his niece, Mrs Gun-Cuninghame.

It remained in the Gun-Cuninghames until 1928.

In 1938, the demesne was bought by Mr Ernest Hull, whose widow sold it about 1971.

It later became the home of Mr & Mrs Noel Griffin; and the present family acquired it in 1982.

Mount Kennedy's principal characteristic is the beautiful and delicate interior decoration, incorporating plasterwork by Michael Stapleton.

Exquisite work in the hall (above) and three main reception rooms is further complemented by intricately painted medallions in grisaille by Peter De Gree, a Belgian who came to Ireland in 1785, and whose other works are contained in Lucan House, Luttrellstown Castle and Marlay House.

Mount Kennedy has seven bedrooms, four reception rooms and four bathrooms.

It is set in 170 acres.

The property was sold to a private buyer in 2013.

First published in February, 2013.

GEORGE V

By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India

First published in August, 2013.

Newtownbarry House

THE HALL-DARES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WEXFORD, WITH 5,627 ACRES

ELIZABETH EATON, eldest daughter and co-heir of Henry Eaton, of North Lodge, Essex, by Elizabeth, his wife, last surviving child of George Mildmay, of Corbett's Stye, Essex, married firstly, in 1779, JOHN DARE, of Bentry Heath, Essex, and by him she had an only child, JOHN HOPKINS DARE, of Theydon Bois, Essex, who died unmarried in 1805.

Mrs Dare married secondly, in 1791, JOHN MARMADUKE GRAFTON, of Cranbrook House (only son of John Marmaduke Grafton, of Romford), who took the surname of DARE in addition to that of GRAFTON, in 1805, and died in 1810.

Mrs Dare died in 1823, leaving by her second husband an only child,

ELIZABETH GRAFTON GRAFTON-DARE (1793-), who wedded, in 1815, ROBERT WESTLEY HALL, of Wyefield, and of Cranbrook, High Sheriff of Essex, 1821, MP for South Essex, who took the surname and arms of DARE, 1823, in addition to those of HALL.

Mr Hall-Dare and his sister, Elizabeth Catherine, were the offspring of Robert Westley Hall, of Ilford Lodge and FitzWalters, Essex, by Maria Elizabeth his wife, widow of Abraham de Codyn, of Demerara, and daughter of Cornelius Brower, of the same place and grandchildren of the Rev Westley Hall, who died in London ca 1770.

The Rev Westley Hall was a son of one of the Halls of Hillsborough, Kent, who married the sister of Sir Robert Westley, Lord Mayor of London.

Mr Hall-Dare died in 1836, and by his said wife, Elizabeth Grafton Grafton-Dare, left issue,

ROBERT WESTLEY, his heir;
John Grafton, 1818-19;
Henry;
Arthur Charles; died in infancy;
Francis Marmaduke, b 1830;
Mary Elizabeth; Emma Burton; Anne Mildmay; Agnes; Elizabeth.

The eldest son, 

ROBERT WESTLEY HALL-DARE (1817-66), of FitzWalters, Essex, married, in 1839, Frances Anna Catherine, daughter of Gustavus Lambart, of Beauparc, County Meath, and had issue,

ROBERT WESTLEY, his heir;
Charles;
Olivia Frances Grafton; Mabel Virginia Anna; Frances Maria.

Miss Mabel Hall-Dare married, in 1877, James Theodore Bent.

Mr Robert Westley Hall-Dare was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROBERT WESTLEY HALL-DARE JP DL (1840-76), of Newtownbarry House, County Wexford, and Theydon Bois, Essex, High Sheriff of County Wexford, 1872, who wedded, in 1863, Caroline Susan Henrietta, second daughter of Henry Newton, of Mount Leinster Lodge, County Carlow, and had issue,

John Marmaduke, died in infancy;
ROBERT WESTLEY, his heir;
Arthur Mildmay;
Elizabeth Frances; Hilda Mary; Evelyn Una.

Mr Hall-Dare was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

ROBERT WESTLEY HALL-DARE JP DL (1866-1939), of Newtownbarry House, and East Hall, Wennington, Essex, High Sheriff of County Wexford, 1891, County Carlow, 1896, Captain, 9th Brigade, North Irish Division, RA, who espoused, in 1896, Helen, second daughter of John Taylor Gordon, of Nethermuir, Aberdeenshire, and Blackhouse, Ayrshire, and had issue,

ROBERT WESTLEY, his heir;
Charles Grafton, b 1902;
Audrey; Daphne.

Mr Hall-Dare was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROBERT WESTLEY HALL-DARE (1899-1972), of Newtownbarry House, who married, in 1937, Elizabeth Maria Patricia, daughter of John Brooks Close-Brooks, and had issue, an only child,

CLODY ELIZABETH HALL-DARE (1938-), of Newtownbarry House, educated at Byam Shaw School of the Arts, London, lecturer at City and Guilds College of Art, London, and lived in 1976 at Newtownbarry House.

NEWTOWNBARRY HOUSE, near Bunclody, County Wexford, built between 1883-89, is one of the last country houses designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, assisted by his pupil W H Lynn and his son John.

It is almost entirely a new structure, both extraordinarily austere and Italianate at the same time.

The fenestration of the two adjoining garden fronts reveals a sequence of rooms, expressed with military precision in impeccably detailed granite.

The upstairs windows are framed with a stone surround so that it makes them the same size as the windows below, an idea first used by Lanyon nearly thirty years before at Drenagh, County Londonderry.

Features of the house include a top-lit picture gallery and a richly carved staircase which lets natural light onto the landing, staircase and hall.

There also many finely carved fireplaces.

The library is finely crafted from wood.

Newtownbarry was built by the Hall-Dare family and still remains in the family.

A lot of the information in this script is quoted from an architectural report by Jeremy Williams.

Newtownbarry House is surrounded by beautiful landscapes, gardens and a large pond adjacent to the entrance of the house.

There is an ornamental lake; the Rose Garden; the recently renovated 19th century Sunken Garden.

The prospect from the banks of the River Slaney is to the heights of the Blackstairs Mountains.

The present owner is Clody Norton, the daughter of Robert Westley Hall-Dare, who lives there today with her family.

First published in August, 2012.

First NI Trip by new King & Queen

The King and Queen Consort arrived at Belfast City Airport on Tuesday, the 13th September, 2022, and were received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast, Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle DBE.

Their Majesties drove to Hillsborough Castle, and were greeted by the Lord-Lieutenant of County Down, Mr Gawn Rowan-Hamilton.

TM undertook a brief walkabout outside the Castle, meeting well-wishers and viewing floral tributes to The late Queen.

Later a reception was held at the Castle.

In the afternoon Their Majesties attended a Service of Reflection for the life of our late and dearly beloved Sovereign Lady at Belfast Cathedral, and were received at the West Door by the Lord Bishop of Connor, the Right Rev George Davison, and the Right Hon the Lord Mayor of Belfast.

Ballynatray House

THE SMYTHS OWNED 7,124 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY WATERFORD

The ancient and influential family of SMYTH was settled in Ireland for more than three and a half centuries, intermarrying with the houses of England, and always maintaining a distinguished position amongst its great landed proprietors. Sir Richard Smyth appears to have been established there before the beginning of the 17th century: for an indenture, dated 1602, made between Sir Walter Raleigh and Richard Boyle, Clerk of the Council in Munster, and recorded in the Rolls' Office, Dublin, for the sale by Sir Walter, to the said Richard, of certain lands in counties Cork and Waterford. Sir Richard Smyth, of Ballynatray, was appointed by the deed a trustee, in conjunction with Edmund Colthurst and Edmund Coppinger.

SIR RICHARD SMYTH, Knight, of Ballynatray, County Waterford, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1613, and Rathcogan, County Cork, who flourished in the reign of ELIZABETH I, married Mary, daughter of Roger Boyle, of Preston, Kent, and sister of RICHARD BOYLE, the first and Great Earl of Cork, and had issue,

PERCY (Sir), his heir;
Catherine; Dorothy; Alice.

Sir Richard commanded as captain in the defeat and expulsion of the Spaniards at Castle Ny Parke, Kinsale, County Cork.

He was succeeded by his son,

SIR PERCY SMYTH, Knight, of Ballynatray, distinguished for his loyalty and courage in the rebellion of 1641.

He raised 100 men to assist Sir William St Leger, Lord President of Munster, and obtained at the same time, with Lord Broghill and Captain Brodrick, his commission as Captain of Foot.

Captain Smyth was knighted in 1629, and was military governor of Youghal, 1645.

Sir Percy married firstly, Mary, daughter of Robert Meade, of Broghill, and had issue, two daughters, Mabella and Joan; and secondly, in 1635, Isabella, daughter of Arthur Ussher, by Isabella his wife, daughter of the Most Rev Dr Adam Loftus, Lord Archbishop of Dublin and Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, and had issue,

Boyle, MP for Tallow;
Percy;
William, his heir;
RICHARD, of whom we treat;
John;
Margaret; Elizabeth; Isabella; Maria; Catherine.

The fourth son,

RICHARD SMYTH, of Ballynatray, wedded firstly, Susanna, daughter of John Gore, of Clonrone, County Clare, who dsp.

He espoused secondly, Alice, daughter of Richard Grice, of Ballycullane, County Limerick, and had (with a daughter, Isabella) a son,

GRICE SMYTH, of Ballynatray, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1710, who married Gertrude, daughter of William Taylor, of Burton, County Cork, and had issue, RICHARD, his heir, and Deborah.

Mr Smyth died intestate in 1724, and was succeeded by his son and heir,

RICHARD SMYTH (1706-68), of Ballynatray, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1739, who wedded firstly, in 1764, Jane, daughter and co-heir of George Rogers, of Cork, and by her had one daughter, Gertrude.

Mr Smyth espoused secondly, in 1756, Penelope, daughter of John Bateman, of Oak Park, County Kerry, and had issue,

RICHARD, his heir;
GRICE, heir to his brother;
John;
Rowland;
Elizabeth; Penelope.

Mr Smyth was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD SMYTH, of Ballynatray, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1793, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

GRICE SMYTH (1762-1816), of Ballynatray, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1803, who wedded, in 1795, Mary Brodrick, daughter and co-heir of Henry Mitchell, of Mitchell's Fort, County Cork, and had issue,

RICHARD, his heir;
Henry Mitchell, ancestor of SMYTH of Castle Widenham;
Grice Blakeney (Rev);
Rowland;
John Rowland (Sir), KCB, General in the Army;
Ellen; Penelope; Gertrude.

Mr Smyth was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD SMYTH JP DL (1796-1858), of Ballynatray, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1821, who married, in 1821, Harriet, daughter of Hayes, 2nd Viscount Doneraile, by Charlotte his wife, sister of the 1st Earl of Bandon, and had an only surviving child, CHARLOTTE MARY.

Mr Smyth was succeeded by his daughter,

MISS CHARLOTTE MARY SMYTH, of Ballynatray, who wedded, in 1848, Charles William, 5th EARL MOUNT CASHELL, who assumed, in 1858, the additional name and arms of SMYTH, and was High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1862.

Her ladyship died in 1892, having had issue,

Richard Charles More (1859-88), dvm;
HARRIETTE GERTRUDE ISABELLA, her successor;
Helena Anna Mary; Charlotte Adelaide Louisa Riversdale.

The Countess Mount Cashell, having no surviving male issue, was succeeded by her elder daughter.

The 5th Earl died in 1898, when the Moore Park estates passed to his eldest daughter,

THE LADY HARRIETTE GERTRUDE ISABELLA MOORE (1849-1904), of Ballynatray, and Moore Park, Kilworth, County Cork, who married, in 1872, Colonel John Henry Graham Holroyd-Smyth CMG JP DL, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1902, and had issue,

ROWLAND HENRY TYSSEN;
Charles Edward Ridley;
William Baker;
Isabelle Charlotte Sophie Wilmot; Helena Anne Mary Moore;
Gwendoline Harriette; Sophia Beryl Sheila; Penelope Victoria Minna.

The eldest son,

ROWLAND HENRY TYSSEN HOLROYD-SMYTH DL (1874-1959), married, in 1902, Alice Isabelle, youngest daughter of Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby, of Kilcooley Abbey, and had issue,

John Rowland Chambré, b 1903;
Henry Horace Digby, b 1905;
Bryan Hubert Holroyd, b 1908;
Mary Lavender, b 1910.

BALLYNATRAY HOUSE, near Youghal, County Cork, stands on the River Blackwater, County Waterford.

It was granted to Sir Richard Smyth, brother-in-law to the Great Earl of Cork, in the early 17th century.

His son’s "castellated residence" was largely destroyed in the rebellion of 1641, and his successor built a larger, Dutch-gabled dwelling in the 1690s.

In 1795 this was incorporated into a very large Palladian house, built by Grice Smyth to the designs of Alexander Dean, of Cork.

The house is eleven bays long and five bays wide, with two storeys over a basement and a ballustraded parapet, originally decorated with elaborate urns.

The river façade has a pedimented breakfront, while the three central bays of the entrance front are deeply recessed and filled by with a long, single-storey porch.

The interior was clearly built for entertaining on the grandest scale.

There is a sumptuous suite of interconnecting rooms, all with stupendous views; wide, double mahogany doors and some fine early 19th century plasterwork.

The hall has a frieze of bull’s heads (the Smyth crest) and the billiards-room an imaginative cornice of billiards balls and cues.

The Hall

Originally, the bedroom floor had a curious curvilinear corridor but this has since been altered.

In 1843, Charlotte Smyth married the 5th Earl Mount Cashell.

Her son predeceased her, as did her young grandson, Lord Kilworth, so the estate passed to her daughter, the wife of Colonel Holroyd, who assumed the name and arms of SMYTH.

In 1969 their grandson, Horace Holroyd-Smyth, bequeathed Ballynatray to his cousins, the Ponsonby family of Kilcooley Abbey, who sold the house to Serge and Henriette Boissevain in the late 1990s.

They subsequently carried out a major restoration programme and today Ballynatray is the home of Henry Gwyn-Jones.

The situation, on a double bend of the river which gives the impression of a very large lake, is unrivalled.

Steep, oak-covered hills slope downwards on all sides while the ruins of Molana Abbey nestle amongst the trees on the riverbank.

These contain the classical Coade stone ‘tomb’ of Raymond Le Gros, one of Strongbow’s knights, and a statue of the abbey’s founder, St Molanside.

Select bibliography: Irish Historic Houses Association. First published in November, 2017.

Galtee Castle

THE BUCKLEYS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY TIPPERARY, WITH 13,260 ACRES

NATHANIEL BUCKLEY DL (1821-92) was a landowner, cotton mill owner and Liberal Party politician.

By the 1870s, Buckley was a millionaire and, in 1873, he purchased the Galtee estate, near Mitchelstown in County Cork, from the Earl of Kingston.

Following a revaluation, he issued rent demands to his new tenants of between 50% and 500%.

This led to a great deal of agrarian unrest, evictions and an attempted assassination of Buckley's land agent.

His actions also demonstrated weaknesses in the Irish Land Acts which were consequently amended.

Buckley was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire in 1867.

At the 1874 general election Buckley was defeated and did not return to parliament.

At the time of his death aged 71, in 1892, he had residences at Alderdale Lodge, Lancashire, and Galtee Castle, County Cork.

His nephew,

ABEL BUCKLEY JP (1835-1908) was born at Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, younger son of Abel Buckley and Mary Keehan, of Alderdale Lodge, married, in 1875, Hannah Summers, and had issue, Abel, born in 1876.

The Buckley family owned two cotton mills in Ashton: Ryecroft and Oxford Road, and Abel became involved in the business.

At his death he was described as "one of the old cotton lords of Lancashire".

In 1885, Buckley inherited Ryecroft Hall from his uncle, James Smith Buckley, and was to live there for the rest of his life.

He subsequently inherited Galtee Castle.

The estate had been purchased by his uncle, Nathaniel Buckley DL, MP, in 1873.

In 1885, Abel Buckley was elected Liberal MP for the newly created Prestwich constituency.

In the general election of the following year, however, he was defeated.

Apart from his interests in the cotton industry, Buckley was a director and chairman of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company and a justice of the peace.

He was a collector of fine art, and a racehorse breeder.

He died at Ryecroft Hall in 1908, aged 73.

GALTEE CASTLE, County Tipperary, was situated at the foothills of the Galtee Mountains, not far from Mitchelstown.

The original structure was built as a hunting lodge for the 2nd Earl of Kingston, ca 1780.

The 3rd Earl remodelled it ca 1825.

In the 1850s, the Kingstons were forced to sell off vast amounts of their landed estate due to debts, including the lodge and approximately 20,000 acres surrounding it.

This became a new estate, the majority of which remained leased to tenant farmers.

The building was remodelled and expanded ca 1892, when its new owner, Abel Buckley, inherited the estate from his brother Nathaniel, who had previously purchased sole ownership in

The Irish Land Commission, a government agency, acquired the demesne and house in the late 1930s, after allocating the land between afforestation and farmers.

The house was offered for sale.

An offer was accepted from Father Tobin of Glanworth, County Cork, who wished to use the stone and the slates to build a new church in his parish.

Galtee Castle was thus torn down and dismantled ca 1941.

Today, very little is left on the site of the former mansion: Some of the lower base foundations are all that remain.

Nearby are some estate cottages and two gate houses.

The woods and trails around the site have been developed as a public amenity area, known as Galtee Castle Woods.

First published in May, 2013.

Annaghmore House

THE O'HARAS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY SLIGO, WITH 21,070 ACRES

CORMAC O'HARA (c1546-1612), of Collooney, County Sligo, married Una, daughter of _____ Gallagher, of County Galway, and had issue,

TEIGE, of whom hereafter;
Cormac, of Mollane;
Catherine; Annabella.

Mr O'Hara was succeeded by his eldest son,

TEIGE 'BOY' O'HARA (c1576-c1636), of Leiny, County Sligo, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1608, who wedded Sheela, daughter of _____ O'Rourke.

Mr O'Hara had issue, two sons, of whom the elder, Teige, of Collooney, born in 1612, died unmarried in 1634.

The younger son,

KEAN O'HARA (c1606-75), of Collooney and Annaghmore, County Sligo, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1665, succeeding his brother Teige in the family possessions, espoused firstly, Anne, daughter of Sir Adam Loftus, Knight, and widow of Richard, son and heir of Sir Lawrence Parsons, Knight, of Birr, and had issue,

ADAM, of Annaghmore;
CHARLES, died unmarried.

Mr O'Hara wedded secondly Rose, widow of William Crofton, daughter and heir of John Newman, of Dublin, by whom he had a son,

KEAN O'HARA, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1703, who succeeded to the family estates on the death of his two elder brothers without male issue.

He married Eleanor, daughter of Theobald Mathew, and sister of George Mathew, of Thomastown, County Tipperary.

Mr Kean O'Hara made a settlement to himself, for life, with remainder to his son and sons in tail male of the said estates.

By his said wife he had issue,

CHARLES, of whom presently;
Kean, of Kinsally, Co Dublin;
Adam.

The eldest son,

CHARLES O'HARA (1715-76), of Annaghmore, MP for Ballynakill, 1761-8, Armagh Borough, 1769-76, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1740, wedded, ca 1740, the Lady Mary Carmichael, eldest daughter of James, 2nd Earl of Hyndford, and sister of the Most Rev Dr William Carmichael, Lord Archbishop of Dublin.

By his wife he had issue two sons, the younger of whom, Captain William O'Hara RN, died unmarried.

The elder son,

CHARLES O'HARA (1746-1822), of Nymphsfield and Annaghmore, MP for Dungannon, 1776-83, County Sligo, 1783-1800, and one of the Governors of that county, wedded Margaret, daughter and heir of Dr John Cookson, of Yorkshire, and had issue,

CHARLES KING O'HARA;
Mary;
JANE FRANCES, of whom presently;
Charlotte.

The only son,

CHARLES KING O'HARA, of Annaghmore, born in 1785, who, by his will, devised his estates to his nephew, Charles Cooper, on condition that he should take the surname and quarter the arms of O'HARA.

Mr Charles O'Hara's second daughter,

MISS JANE FRANCES O'HARA, espoused, in 1810, Arthur Brooke Cooper, of Cooper's Hill, County Sligo, son of Arthur Cooper, of Cooper's Hill, by Sarah his wife, daughter of Guy Carleton, of Rossfad, County Fermanagh, and grandson, by Jane Cunningham his wife, of William Cooper, of Cooper's Hill, who was descendant of the same family as Cooper of Markree.

Mrs Cooper died in 1874, aged 94, leaving issue, two sons and four daughters,

Arthur Brooke, dvp;
CHARLES WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Margaret Sarah; Mary Jane Caroline; Jane Henrietta; Charlotte Anne.

Mr Cooper died in 1854.

The second son,

CHARLES WILLIAM O'HARA JP DL (1817-98), of Annaghmore and Cooper's Hill, MP for Sligo County, 1859-65, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1849, married, in 1858, Annie Charlotte, eldest daughter of Richard Shuttleworth Streatfeild, of The Rocks, Uckfield, Sussex, and had issue,

CHARLES KEAN, his heir;
Arthur Cooper, of Cooper's Hill;
Richard Edward;
William Henry;
Henry Streatfeild;
Alexander Perceval;
FREDERICK WILLIAM;
Errill Robert;
Charlotte Jane; Mary; Annie Frances; Emily Margaret; Jane Marian; Kathleen.

Mr O'Hara, whose patronymic was COOPER, assumed by royal licence, in 1860, the surname of O'HARA, in compliance with the testamentary injunction of his uncle, Charles King O'Hara, of Annaghmore.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES KEAN O'HARA OBE (1860-1947), of Annaghmore, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1886, Major, 3rd York and Lancaster Regiment.

Major O'Hara was the last Lord-Lieutenant of County Sligo, from 1902 until 1922.

He was succeeded by his younger brother, Frederick William O’Hara (1875-1949), who in turn was succeeded by his son Donal Frederick O'Hara (1904-77).

Donal Frederick O'Hara passed on the estate to his eldest son, Dermot Charles O'Hara.

Durcan and Nicola O'Hara now live at Annaghmore.

Annaghmore House, Collooney, County Sligo (listed on Airbnb) has been the principal seat of the O'Haras since medieval times.

An earlier house on the site had been demolished by 1684.

Its successor was replaced by the present house of ca 1820, known in the 18th and early 19th centuries as Nymphsfield.

Annaghmore comprises a two-storey, three-bay centre, and an Ionic portico with single-storey, two-bay wings.

It was considerably enlarged about 1860-70 by Charles William O'Hara in the same late-Georgian style.

The wings were raised by a storey and extended to the rear, thus giving the mansion a side elevation as high as the front, and as long or longer.

Annaghmore remains the home of the O'Hara family today.

The former schoolhouse has been restored by the Irish Georgian Society and is available for rental.

First published in December, 2017.

Close of Drumbanagher

RICHARD CLOSE, the first of the family who settled in Ireland, was the younger son of a respectable house in Yorkshire, and held a commission in the Army. He was sent from England, in the reign of CHARLES I, into that kingdom, where he remained after the termination of the civil wars, and became one of the lords of the soil, as we find him having four townlands in County Monaghan during the time of CHARLES II. After the Restoration he fixed himself at Lisnagarvey (Lisburn), County Antrim, where a Protestant colony had been located under the protection of Lord Conway.

There he lived and died, leaving a son and heir,

RICHARD CLOSE, who inherited the County Monaghan estates.

Mr Close married Mary, sister of Samuel Waring, of Waringstown, MP for Hillsborough, 1703-15, and received from that gentleman a grant of lands contiguous to Waringstown, on which he built a good house and resided. He considerably enlarged the family estate by purchasing a tract of land on the River Bann, between Rathfriland and Castlewellan, County Down, and after the disturbances in 1688, which obliged him to leave his home and join the Protestants, then united at Lisburn, under Lord Conway and Sir Arthur Rawdon. He returned (subsequently to the battle of the Boyne) having suffered great losses during the harassing conflicts of the times.

Mr Close left at his decease (with three daughters, the eldest married to the Very Rev John Welsh, Dean of Connor) five sons,

RICHARD, his heir;
SAMUEL, of whom presently;
Henry, of Waringstown;
John, an army captain, killed in Gibraltar;
William.

The eldest son,

RICHARD CLOSE, wedded, in 1708, Rose, daughter of Roger Hall, of Narrow Water, County Down, and had issue, now extinct.

The second son,

THE REV SAMUEL CLOSE (1683-1742), Rector of Donaghenry, Stewartstown, County Tyrone, espoused Catherine, daughter of Captain James Butler, of Bramblestown, County Kilkenny, by Margaret, Lady Maxwell, of Elm Park, County Armagh (widow of Sir Robert Maxwell, 1st Baronet, of Orchardtoun, and of Ballycastle, and daughter and heiress of Henry Maxwell, of Elm Park, who was the son of James Maxwell, third son of the Very Rev Robert Maxwell, Dean of Armagh), and had issue,

MAXWELL, his heir;
Margaret; Mary; Catherine; Elizabeth.

Mr Close was succeeded by his son and heir,

MAXWELL CLOSE (c1722-93), High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1780, who succeeded his grandmother, Lady Maxwell (d 1758), in the possession of Elm Park, and the lands settled upon him.

He married, in 1748, Mary, eldest daughter of  Captain Robert Maxwell, of Fellows Hall, County Armagh (brother of John, 1st Baron Farnham), and had issue,

SAMUEL, his heir;
Robert, died unmarried;
Barry (Sir), 1st Baronet, major-general;
Farnham, died in Guadaloupe;
Grace; Catherine; Margaret; Mary; Elizabeth.

Mr Close was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE REV SAMUEL CLOSE (1749-1817), of Elm Park, Rector of Keady, County Armagh, and Drakestown, County Meath, who wedded, in 1782, Deborah, daughter of the Very Rev Arthur Champagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise (son of Major Josias Champagné, by the Lady Jane Forbes his wife, daughter of Arthur, 2nd Earl of Granard), and had issue,

MAXWELL, his heir;
Robert, Major, East India Company;
Henry Samuel, m Jane, daughter of the Rev Holt Waring;
John Forbes (Rev), Rector of Kilkeel;
Mary; Jane; Harriet.

Mr Close was succeeded by his eldest son,

COLONEL MAXWELL CLOSE JP DL (1783-1867), of Drumbanagher, County Armagh, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1818, who married, in 1820, Anna Elizabeth, sister of Charles, 1st Baron Lurgan, and had issue, 

MAXWELL CHARLES, his heir;
Barry, b 1833.

Mr Close was succeeded by his elder son,

MAXWELL CHARLES CLOSE JP DL (1827-1903), of Drumbanagher, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1854, MP for County Armagh, 1857-64 and 1874-85, who married, in 1852, Catherine Deborah Agnes, daughter of Henry Samuel Close, of Newtown Park, County Dublin, and had issue,

MAXWELL ARCHIBALD, his heir;
Henry Samuel (1864-1944);
Edith; Emily Beatrice; Mary Geraldine; Flora Lucy;
Kate Violet; Grace Wilmina; Alice Evelyn.

Mr Close was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAJOR MAXWELL ARCHIBALD CLOSE JP DL (1853-1935), of Drumbanagher, and Drum Manor, County Tyrone, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1908, who wedded, in 1891, the Lady Muriel Albany Stuart-Richardson, daughter of 5th Earl Castle Stewart, and had issue,

MAXWELL STUART, His heir;
Archibald Maxwell, b 1903;
Lilias Augusta Muriel; Agatha Katharine Rose.

The eldest son,

MAXWELL STUART CLOSE (1892-1946), of Drumbanagher, wedded, in 1915, Alexandra, daughter of M W C Cramer-Roberts DL, of Sallymount, County Kildare, and had issue,

MAXWELL WILLIAM;
Rosemary Muriel Victoria; Viola Anne; Hazel.

I have written about Drumbanagher House here.

First published in April, 2012. 

Cleland of Stormont Castle

THE CLELANDS OWNED 4,385 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

This is a County Down family, claiming descent from James Cleland of that ilk, Lanarkshire.

THE REV JOHN CLELAND (1755-1834), sometime Prebendary of Armagh, Rector of Newtownards, 1789-1809, became tutor to the young Lord Castlereagh and subsequently acted as agent for the Londonderry estates.

John Cleland was a student at the Rev William Neilson's Classical Academy in Rademon, County Down. A murder attempt occurred against him in 1796; he passed on information against the United Irishmen in 1797; agent for Marquess of Londonderry, 1824; bought land in Killeen & Ballymiscaw, 1830.

He married, in 1805, Esther, daughter and co-heiress of Samuel Jackson, of Stormont, by his wife Margaret Vateau, only child and heiress of Paul Peter Isaac Vateau, the descendant of a French Huguenot family, and had issue,

SAMUEL JACKSON, his heir;

Robert Stewart;

Sarah Frances.

Mr Cleland was succeeded by his eldest son,

SAMUEL JACKSON CLELAND (1808-42), who wedded, in 1834, Eliza, daughter of James Joyce, of Thornhill, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
James Vance;
Robert Stewart;
Samuel Frederick Stewart;
Margaret.

Mr Cleland was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN CLELAND JP DL (1836-93), of Stormont Castle, Dundonald, County Down, High Sheriff of County Down, 1866, who wedded, in 1859, Therese Maria, only daughter of Captain Thomas Leyland, of Haggerston Castle, Northumberland, and Hyde Park House, London, and had issue,

ARTHUR CHARLES STEWART, his heir;

Andrew Leyland Hillyar, b 1868;

Florence Rachel Therese Laura, b 1894.

Mr Cleland was succeeded by his eldest son, 

ARTHUR CHARLES STEWART CLELAND (1865-1924), of Stormont Castle, Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion, Prince of Wales Leinster Regiment, who married, in 1890, Mabel Sophia, only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel H T D'Aguilar, Grenadier Guards.

Mr Cleland died at Field Green, Hawkhurst, Kent.

STORMONT CASTLE, Dundonald, County Down, is a Scottish-Baronial mansion of 1858, built by the Belfast architect Thomas Turner. 

This mansion replaced the original castle.

The entrance front is three storeys high and eight bays wide, with a two-storey canted bay window.

Remaining windows have square-topped sashes, with bartizan turrets at either end.

There is a tall tower at the eastern end, with a large door surround and balustrade on top, turrets on tower corners, crow-stepped castellation, and three rounded arch windows at top.

Gryphons brandish shields at either side of the main staircase

Cleland arms

The Castle's lofty tower is reminiscent of The Prince Consort's Tower at Balmoral Castle.

John Cleland's grandson began extending the Georgian house after 1842, though work did not begin on the new Castle (above) till 1858.

It was at "Storm Mount" that, ca 1830, Cleland created what was described as "a plain house": A mid or late Georgian house of a traditional type, it was in the form of a plain rectangle with a central projection to the south, presumably for the entrance. 

Associated plantings were very modest; there was a small fringed meadow at the front and an orchard on the hillside to the north west.  

A directory entry of 1837 referred (probably inaccurately) to the house as 'Storemont'; and, by 1864, the "Parliament Gazetteer" still did not rank it amongst the principal residences of the area. 

In those days the most substantial such residence was Rose Park, a name still in use in the residential area (and indeed in Rosepark House, a Government building occupied by the Exchequer and Audit Department and by part of the Department of Finance and Personnel).

It was in the course of removing Rose Park, in the process of consolidating Cleland's holdings, that his son Samuel Jackson Cleland was killed by the collapse of a wall in 1842.

In 1858, the Cleland family commissioned the local architect Thomas Turner to convert the existing plain dwelling into a flamboyant baronial castle.

To what extent the original house survives is not clear. Conventional wisdom, supported by some map evidence, is that the symmetrical five-bay block facing south is the "baronialised" shell of the Georgian dwelling.

To this, Turner added the entrance tower to the east.

The whole image and particularly the outline of the building was given a baronial character with turrets, battlements, bartizans with conical caps, iron cresting and weather vanes. 

The Cleland monogram was used on the shields held by the snarling stone gryphons which still guard the main entrance to the Castle.

The 1850s also saw extensive development of the demesne which was extended to the main Upper Newtownards Road, with the old lodge for Rose Park becoming the lodge for the remodelled baronial Stormont.

The Clelands finally left in 1893, preferring to live elsewhere, and the demesne was let out. 

At some stage Stormont Castle was rented by Charles E Allen JP, a director of the shipbuilding firm of Workman and Clark Limited. 

On his departure from Belfast, the Castle became vacant and, in April, 1921, both it and the surrounding land were offered at auction, but withdrawn when no bid higher than £15,000 was obtained.

Later in 1921, however, it was acquired, with 235 acres of land, as a site for the Parliament Buildings of the new Northern Ireland state. 

On September 20th, that Parliament resolved that 

Stormont Castle demesne shall be the place where the new Parliament House and Ministerial Buildings shall be erected, and as the place to be determined as the seat of the Government of Northern Ireland as and when suitable provision has been made therefore. 

While there was initial uncertainty about the use to be made of Stormont Castle itself, it was later decided that it should become the official residence of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. 

Sir James Craig (later 1st Viscount Craigavon) lived there until 1940, when he moved out to make more room for officials engaged in War work.

Lord Craigavon was succeeded in office by Mr J Andrews and thereafter by Sir Basil Brooke Bt (later 1st Viscount Brookeborough).

While both had offices in the Castle, no Prime Minister resided there with any regularity between 1940 to 1969.

On the arrival in office of Captain Terence O'Neill in 1963, substantial reinstatement and improvement works were carried out.

These included the removal of an ugly glass entrance canopy and the restoration of the old ballroom as an improved Cabinet Room.

In those days the Prime Minister occupied what became the Secretary of State's office, with the Secretary of the Cabinet using the other major front room on the ground floor.

Captain O'Neill (afterwards Baron O'Neill of the Maine), Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, resided, when in Belfast, at nearby Stormont House, originally built as a residence for the Speakers of the NI House of Commons.

His successor, Major James Chichester-Clark (later Baron Moyola), had premises on the first floor converted into a self-contained flat and regularly stayed there.

Since 1974, when Northern Ireland reverted to direct rule from Westminster, the Castle became the administrative headquarters for successive Secretaries of State.

Today, Stormont Castle serves as the Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers.

Although Stormont Castle is a house of the 1850s, the grounds date from the time of a former house of 1830. There are a few mature trees from that era.

There is a fine restored glasshouse with 'bothies' on the back (ca 1857).

Formal bedding in the vicinity of the glasshouse and immediately to the west of the Castle was recorded, in its original form, in R Welch’s photographs of 1894 but have now gone. 

The demesne was purchased over the period 1921-78 for the Parliament Buildings and now amounts to about 400 acres.

First published in April, 2012.