Monday 31 October 2022

Belle Isle: VII

JULIAN BROWN RECALLS VISITS TO NECARNE CASTLE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

I have written earlier about being brought up at Belle Isle Castle and of the occupants of that beautiful place whom I knew as a child.

I am now writing all of my recollections of Belle Isle, Necarne, Corrard, and Ireland in those days, and the following is an extract from my memories concerning Necarne.

I have always been fascinated by big houses and stories of people who lived in them.

Perhaps it was growing up at Belle Isle that kindled this interest but it has always been with me.

My first memory of Necarne was gossip overheard in the Belle Isle kitchens. 

Mr Hermon had sold all the furniture! The roof was leaking!

There were hens roosting in the drawing-room at night!

I had no idea what Necarne looked like except that it was a castle and Mr Hermon used to live in it.

Until one day, when I was a small boy, my father had to call at Necarne and took me along in the Land Rover for company.


I will never forget the first time I saw the castle: My father drove through the large gates and entered the grounds; he drove along the avenue and, coming suddenly round a bend and through some trees, it was there. 

I was enthralled.

A long and battlemented building, honey coloured, with a row of gables running along the top; turrets at the ends and round towers rising behind the body of the castle.

I saw tall chimneys, arched windows and massive doors.


The Land Rover kept moving but I was pressed to the window, trying to take it all in. It was wonderful.

I would have loved to get closer to it but Esmond would have none of that. 

He picked up what he came for and we left by the back road, that was all I saw of Necarne for years; but my curiosity was fully aroused.

In the years to come, I learned a great deal about Necarne and spent many memorable times there... 


*****

THE FOLLOWING IS A FURTHER EXTRACT FROM THE LAST PART OF MY NECARNE CHAPTER


Porter of Belle Isle

WHEN Nicholas Henry Archdale Porter died in 1973, Vida Leigh and Tiggy Brunt moved from Belle Isle Castle to Necarne and lived with Captain Richard Outram Hermon.

The place of residence was not Necarne Castle itself but a lovely house beside it known as the Gardener's House, a fine Georgian building, beautifully proportioned and elegant. 

I believe it would originally have been the Dower House.

I was now living in England and it was strange coming back to Ireland knowing that my old friends were no longer at Belle Isle.

When I came home in August 1974, Vida invited my parents, Esmond and Pearl; Paul, an English friend of mine; and me, to dinner one evening at Necarne.

We arrived at the Gardener's House on a warm and sunny summer evening.


This was the first time I had seen the house: It was a solid two storey Georgian structure with a central door to which Richard Hermon had added pillars, for no other reason but to make the house look more imposing. 

There were casement windows, one either side of the front door and three above.

The house had an elegant drawing-room of a good size, a small dining-room and an old-fashioned kitchen.

There was a further back kitchen and another small room downstairs. 

We sat in the drawing-room for drinks and Vida and Tiggy seemed perfectly happy and adjusted to their new home.

Dick Hermon was present and perfectly agreeable, he had always got on with my father and they chatted away about farming.

The drawing-room had two sofas and some chairs set around a marble fireplace.


There were little tables scattered about and a small desk in a recessed side window alcove.

Mahogany shelving had been fitted on the back wall and was filled with books. 

There was a gilt-edged mirror over the fireplace and some of Vida Leigh’s paintings on the walls - two interior views of Belle Isle and a portrait of Nicholas Porter.

Vida very kindly gave me a copy of one of the paintings of the hall at Belle Isle Castle.  

We all crowded into the small dining-room: a circular table surrounded by chairs, a sideboard and a crystal chandelier over the table.

There was a hatch between the dining-room and kitchen and Tiggy pushed the food through and served the meal.

We had braised duck and a selection of vegetables followed by a summer pudding. 

The pudding was made from fresh raspberries and blackcurrants soaked in wine and packed into a brown bread mould and chilled.

It was a lovely meal.

Vida chatted throughout the dinner and explained how she had prepared the dishes.


On the way home in the car later, my mother laughingly told us that Vida had not prepared anything.

She liked to take credit but Tiggy had done the work! 

It was always the same. My mother knew Vida through and through and was familiar with her ways.

Dear Tiggy had smiled demurely and said nothing!

It would be wrong, however, to give the impression that Tiggy was slighted.

The sisters were devoted and Tiggy understood her sister’s need for glory!

The walls of the long and narrow hall in the Gardener's House were covered with row after row of framed 18th and 19th century political cartoons that had been on the walls of the landing above the Tudor Gallery in Belle Isle Castle.


Lavinia Baird had disliked them and gave them all to Vida Leigh in the 1970s.  

While the party was talking after dinner I wandered across to the castle.

It was still light and the sun shone on the beautiful stonework.

It was, on close examination, a sorry sight: the glass was missing from some of the windows and I leaped over one of the sills and entered a large room. 

There was evidence of water damage everywhere, ceilings were hanging down; there was debris and muck on the floors.

Doors were missing and there were signs of vandalism.

Everywhere was desolation and damage.

There were traces of wall coverings, carvings, mouldings and intricate plasterwork.

It had clearly been a beautiful place.


A voice shouted through the window.

It was Tom McKervey, the old butler.

He was retired but still lived nearby.

I knew Tom well from my childhood and he greeted me warmly but added a warning; “don’t go up the stairs, the floors are rotten and it is dangerous.” 

I could not resist a look.

Gingerly I made my way to a landing which was even more depressing.

Tiggy told me, on a later occasion, that around that time some children ran amok in the derelict castle and tossed loose and crumbling stonework from the battlemented towers into the gardens below. 

The castle’s windows were boarded up to preserve what was left.

It was a sorry end to one of Fermanagh’s beautiful buildings.

Later that evening, we sat in the drawing-room and then Vida jumped up and said “come on,” we all followed her and trooped upstairs to her bedroom.


Vida reclined on the bed and we all sat around.

Some more drinks were produced and we chatted for a couple of hours. 

It was like old times at Belle Isle, Vida had always enjoyed holding court in her room.

It was a lovely room, too, but nothing compared to the one she had used at Belle Isle.

We were shown round the upstairs rooms and Vida remarked on a tapestry on the wall in Mr Hermon’s room.


It was old and had been with him at the castle.

I wish I had paid more attention because I cannot remember what she said, but I think it may well have been Gobelins. 

Apparently it was one of the few possessions he had retained from the castle.

Richard Hermon had been in an affable mood all evening and I broached the subject of the castle.

He said that it was not practical after the war to keep it up and it was no good rattling around a place like that on your own. 

I knew better than to pursue the matter but do recall Lavinia Baird saying once that had Mr Hermon spent a couple of thousand pounds when the roof started to leak and, repaired, it would still be sound.

She said it would now cost a fortune to bring it back.

At the end of a most enjoyable evening at Necarne, we made ready to leave.

Again, this is a memory that sticks in my mind: we walked along in front of the gardener's house, passing a small ornate stone wall; there was a donkey on the grass behind it.


It was a clear, silent night and Vida linked arms with my father as we walked back to the car.

Tiggy was chatting to me; we all embraced and said good night. 

I never saw Vida again.

In the next year she developed a swelling on one of her legs, she was taken into hospital in Omagh, County Tyrone; she died shortly afterwards.

The period that followed was interesting, because Richard Hermon had always admired Vida but had tended to be a little distant from Tiggy.


Now they were left alone together they got on remarkably well. 

I saw them out driving on a couple of occasions together.

Richard Hermon died in June 1976 and left the Necarne Estate to Tiggy’s nephew, Pierce Brunt.

Vida and Tiggy had a brother, Nigel, who never came to live in Ireland but had visited occasionally. Pierce was his son. 
 
Richard Hermon had arranged that Tiggy (right) was to be able to remain in the Gardener's House for the rest of her life.

Tiggy remained at Necarne for some years.


I always went to see her when I was in Ireland and we kept up a correspondence.

She was always cheerful and amusing but it must have been lonely for her though she never said so. 

She took on a lease of life for a while after Richard Hermon’s death and would take herself into Enniskillen and have her hair done!

Soon she settled into a quiet existence with her little dog.

She only had one now: Penny, a brown and white Jack Russell terrier.

There were still people around Irvinestown and Necarne who had worked for Richard Hermon, and they were good to Tiggy. 

I saw Tiggy a few more times, once my sister Audrey and two of her young children came with me, Helen and James.

Helen sat close to her mother and James played with the dog.

We were in the kitchen of the Gardener's House.


It was an old-fashioned room with a range, a flagstone floor and large cream-coloured glass-fronted cupboards full of blue and white china.

On one wall behind a sheet of glass were a series of impressionist watercolours. 

They had been in the summer-house at Mullaghmore originally and belonged to Vida.

I remember Vida telling me they were French.

I recall them distinctly: they were all of a young fair-haired man standing among flowers and shrubs in an idyllic landscape. 

I have a feeling they will turn up on an antiques programme one day and be worth a fortune!

Tiggy was delighted to see Audrey; they had always been friends.

Tiggy laughed and said “You were always slimming Audrey when you were growing up, look at you now, seven children later and still slim!”

Audrey laughed and responded, “Oh no!” Tiggy smiled and said “There’s not a scrap on you!”

They chatted on in this vein quite happily and I took some pictures.

The last time I saw Tiggy we spent several hours together in her kitchen, she brought out a box of old photographs and there were some fascinating glimpses of the past, including a series of pictures of the interiors of Alton Castle in the 1920s; and one picture of Nicholas Porter as a young man standing in front of Belle Isle wearing a cape, standing with his arms outstretched and bowing slightly.
He looked very whimsical, perfectly capturing the spirit of the ‘bright young things’ of the 1920s.

I wish I had asked for a copy, it was so striking.

Tiggy made some tea and produced cakes, and then we went for a short walk by the castle with the little dog.

Tiggy was so sympathetic for everyone else: “Poor Vida, how difficult it was for her, in her last days;” and “Dear Richard, he did miss Vida so.”

Never any complaint about her own situation.

We said good-bye at last and I promised to call again soon, but it was not to be. 

Tiggy died within the year and I never went back to the gardener's house.

I hope someone at Necarne looked after little Penny, but I feel sure they did.

First published in April, 2010.

Culloden Hotel


TEMPLETON ROBINSON (c1790-1826), of Chichester Street, Belfast, a draper, married Margaret Auchinleck, and was father of

WILLIAM AUCHINLECK ROBINSON JP (c1816-98) married, in 1847, at St Anne's Church, Belfast, Elizabeth Jane (1819-89), daughter of Patrick Culloden (1768-1844), of Arthur Street, latterly Stranmillis, Belfast.
Earlier generations of Robonson's paternal ancestry can be documented in Stewartstown, Country Tyrone back well into the 18th century. His parents were both buried at Clifton Street Cemetery in Belfast. Mr Robinson was a stockbroker, and initially settled on the Antrim Road, Belfast. He conducted his business at 67 High Street. His commercial prowess and acumen were such, that he purchased land at Craigavad, County Down. 
The Cullodens would appear to have come to Belfast from Dublin: Patrick Culloden (1768-1844), a Calico printer, was born in Dublin.

CULLODEN, Cultra, County Down, was built in 1876 by the Belfast firm, Young & Mackenzie.

Most of the stone came from Scotland by boat, landed at Portaferry, and was conveyed by horse and cart to the Craigavad site.

The mansion took two years to build, during which time the Robinsons lived in a modest cottage within the grounds.

The house and grounds are located between the main road and the railway line.


Culloden House, named after his wife, Elizabeth Jane Robinson (née Culloden) was presented to the representative body of the Church of Ireland.

At the end of the 19th Century, Culloden House duly became the official residence of the Lord Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore, and was known as The Bishop’s Palace.
Ardtullagh, Knocknagoney, near Holywood, was the previous episcopal palace, but this property was acquired in 1886 by the War Department (Ministry of Defence) for use as military barracks. The barracks are still in use today by the Army and are known as Palace Barracks.
The Rt Rev Thomas James Welland was the first prelate to live at Culloden, in 1898.

Death notice for W A Robinson; click to enlarge;
(Image: S E Holdrege)

In subsequent years, three further bishops lived at Culloden.

During the tenure of Bishop Crozier (later Archbishop of Armagh), a private chapel, the Jeremy Taylor Memorial Chapel, was dedicated within the house.

Sale of Culloden House; click to enlarge
(Image: S E Holdrege)

During this period, the celebrated songwriter and entertainer Percy French often stayed there (Bishop Crozier was godfather to French’s second daughter).

In the 1920s, the Church of Ireland sold Culloden to Sir John Campbell MD FRCS LL.D, a well-known Belfast gynaecologist and MP for Queen's University of Belfast, 1921.

In 1959, Culloden was purchased from Sir John’s son, Robert, for £10,000, by Thomas C Reid, sometime chairman of the Northern Ireland Ploughing Association.

Mr Rutledge White, proprietor of White’s Home Bakery, purchased Culloden in 1962.

It was opened as a hotel, comprising eleven bedrooms, the following year, under the management of Mr White’s son-in-law, Mr Roberts.

The late hotelier Sir William Hastings, CBE, purchased the premises in 1967, and Culloden is now one of Northern Ireland's most prominent hotels.

First published in October, 2012; revised.

Sunday 30 October 2022

Lord Archbishop of Cashel

Ruby, two keys in saltire, topaz

The last Anglican Lord Archbishop of Cashel and Primate of Munster was the Most Rev and Rt Hon Dr Richard Laurence (1760-1838).

The archiepiscopal palace was at Cashel, County Tipperary.


THE PALACE, Cashel, was built between 1730-32 by Archbishop Bolton, and designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce.

It comprises two storeys over a basement, with a dormered attic in the high-pitched roof.

The Palladian entrance front, of rose-coloured brick with stone facings, stands back from the town's main street.

The entrance front is of seven bays, with a three-bay central breakfront.
There is a large, panelled hall, with a screen of fluted Corinthian columns and pilasters, a pair of black marble chimney-pieces which face each other on either side; arched door-cases embellished with scrolls; and a modillion cornice.
A fine wooden staircase stands in the staircase hall at the side.

Garden Front

The three principal reception rooms in the garden front, which face towards the Rock of Cashel, were redecorated in the early 19th century by Archbishop Agar, afterwards Lord Archbishop of Dublin and 1st Earl of Normanton.

The Palace suffered damage in the Irish rebellion of 1798.

A long room at one side of the forecourt once contained Archbishop Bolton's splendid library.

In 1839, when the archbishopric of Cashel was merged with the diocese of Waterford, the Palace was partly used by the Deans of Cashel till the 1950s.


The decision was made by the Church of Ireland to sell the property in 1959.

In 1962, it was first opened as a hotel by 2nd Lord Brocket (who also owned the Wicklow Hotel in Dublin and Benner’s Hotel in Tralee at that time).

To the rear of the Palace are fine gardens, which include two ancient Mulberry Trees planted in 1702 to commemorate the coronation of Queen ANNE.

The garden also contains a private walk (The Bishop's Walk) to the Rock of Cashel, the 13th Century Cathedral, and the ancient seat of the Kings of Munster.

The Cashel Palace Hotel is to re-open in 2021.

first published in September, 2014.    

Saturday 29 October 2022

Terrace Hill House

TERRACE HILL HOUSE was located in the townland of Ballynahatty, Edenderry, on the outskirts of Belfast.

It was close to Minnowburn, now a property of the National Trust.

Frederick Russell (1811-76) was Terrace Hill's first owner, having been brought up at Edenderry House.

The original house of ca 1856 was said to have been commodious, with servants' quarters.
At least as early as 1780 there was a bleach-green in Edenderry which belonged to John Russell, but in the 1830s the Russell family gave up linen bleaching and converted their premises into a flour mill drawn by water power. At this period (1780) the Russells, later associated with Newforge, were settled at Edenderry.
When Russell died, Terrace Hill House was briefly occupied by a family called Ferguson before becoming the home of Matthew Coates, who lived there with his wife ca 1898.

Freddy’s Steps were first constructed by Frederick Russell in late 1800s and are the most direct route to Terrace Hill viewpoint at Minnowburn.

In the County Down land deeds of 1876, "Frederick Russell, address Ballynahatty, Newtownbreda, owned 18 acres." 

Several years later, in the early 20th century, Terrace Hill was purchased by Edward (Ned) Robinson, proprietor of the Robinson & Cleaver's department store in Belfast.

When Robinson sold his interest in the store he demolished Terrace Hill House and, in 1936, built a new residence (still called Terrace Hill).

It was designed by the architects Young & Mackenzie.

Terrace Hill House is surrounded by lawns, gardens and a swimming pool, and was occupied by Mr Robinson until his death in 1947.

In the 1980s, it was a residential home for children.

The farm buildings, now the National Trust warden's office, were the base for Minnowburn Youth Farm.

The house was for sale in October, 2014, and now has a new owner.

Robinson & Cleaver's Royal Irish Linen Warehouse, Donegall Square North, was built 1886-88 by Young and Mackenzie. It used to be one of Belfast's finest department stores. Fifty heads of the store's erstwhile patrons still pop out of the exterior, including Queen Victoria and the Maharajah of Cooch Behar.

First published in February, 2011.

Friday 28 October 2022

Belle Isle: VI

JULIAN BROWN REMEMBERS THE  1ST EARL MOUNTBATTEN OF BURMA

I have previously written that the Belle Isle people travelled to the west coast of Ireland each year, from 1950 onwards, to holiday at Captain Hermon’s house at Mullaghmore in County Sligo, Southern Ireland.

Since the partition of Ireland, the north was becoming prosperous and changes could be seen everywhere. 

But, at that time, the south was set in the past: Ireland was now divided into Northern Ireland and the newly established Irish Free State.

Barriers and customs posts were set up at the border.

In the south, road signs were changed into Gaelic, the countryside began to look subtly unfamiliar.

The west coast of Ireland, in the 1950s, was a world where time had stood still.

Dry stone walls divided small fields; white-washed, thatched cottages were commonplace.

The southern towns were old-fashioned and picturesque, cars were rarely to be seen. 

There was no television service and few homes had electricity.

The rural south of Ireland had hardly changed in a hundred years.

Most of the people led simple, uncomplicated lives.

A common sight, on the narrow roads, was donkeys and carts, carrying creels of turf.

It was a world of immense charm and innocence.

This may seem strange, given the history of Ireland; but it was essentially true.

Captain Richard Outram Hermon, of Necarne Castle (Dick Hermon, to those around him) bought his house near Lord Mountbatten’s castle, Classiebawn, which had belonged to Edwina Mountbatten's family. 


Lady Mountbatten had inherited Classiebawn and ten thousand acres of land in County Sligo from her grandfather, Sir Edward Cassel, who had been one of the richest men in the world and a friend of King Edward the Seventh at the turn of the century.


Captain Hermon chose Mullaghmore because of his friendship with Lord Mountbatten.

They were both keen sportsmen, and shot and fished together. 

Captain Hermon and Lord Mountbatten both kept sea-going boats at Mullaghmore. 

A friendship developed between Lord Mountbatten and the rest of the Belle Isle household; he was sometimes their guest for dinner.

Lord Mountbatten repaid the compliment on more than one occasion. 

Indeed, Lord Mountbatten wrote the forward to Vida Leigh’s book about her mother that she wrote following the death of Mrs Brunt, ‘Mary Bright of Fiddler's Green.’

Lord Mountbatten’s contribution was handwritten on Classiebawn headed notepaper. 

I recall a visit to Classiebawn Castle as a very small boy, sitting in a car outside the castle.

I retain an impression of grey walls, lichen, turrets and small trees in tubs, but not much more.

My father had called for some reason on one of the Sundays when we were at Mullaghmore. 

I have a recollection of being out in a boat at Mullaghmore with my father, Captain Hermon, Mr Porter and others.

They were very fond of fresh mackerel at Mullaghmore.

It was held that mackerel had to be eaten when they were freshly caught, because they were scavengers and it was unwise to keep them! 

They were often fried in butter very simply and delicious!

Another way of cooking them was by coating them in oats and then baking them in the oven.

Miss McDougal, the old cook at Belle Isle, was fond of using oats in cooking; it must have been her Scottish upbringing. 

It was rare for Miss McDougal to get her hands on fresh mackerel; she could only really obtain these if the household returned from Mullaghmore with some that had been caught that morning. 

On Sundays, lunch was always a happy occasion at Mullaghmore: Everyone would sit down and dine in view of the sea through the large plate glass windows.

Sometimes lunch was served by a butler, as far-fetched as that sounds! 

Tom McKervey had been Captain Hermon’s butler at Necarne Castle in the days when the castle was occupied.

Captain Hermon continued to employ Tom after he abandoned Necarne Castle, and retained Tom’s services till the day he died.

Tom took on many roles in later years but he was always Richard Hermon’s loyal servant. 

Tom did, when required, still attire himself in black jacket, waistcoat, striped trousers and wait on table; sometimes at Mullaghmore; and sometimes his services were used at Belle Isle if there was an occasion that called for the old razzmatazz! 

There was a different cook at the Mullaghmore house during the summers: her name was Maggie and she had worked for Captain Hermon in the castle at Necarne in the past.

I remember nosing about in the kitchen at Mullaghmore while she was there and she was very kind to me. 

As usual I got under everyone’s feet and had to stick my nose in everywhere!

In any event, Miss McDougal never had leave from Belle Isle to cook at the holiday house.

Just as well or she would have had a blue fit! 

The trips to Mullaghmore on the coast continued for some years, as Audrey (right) and I were growing up.

In 1964 I left Ireland, like countless thousands of young Irish men before me, to work in England. 

I went back to Ireland often, and made what was to be to be my final visit to my old Belle Isle friends at Mullaghmore in 1965.

I was seventeen, a lanky, awkward and sallow youth. 

I remember this occasion vividly: Vida Leigh took my mother, father, Audrey and Tiggy on a drive around the coast road; I don’t recall where Dick Hermon and Nicholas Porter were, but old Mrs Brunt and I were left alone, sitting in the porch, overlooking the sea. 

We were old friends and easy with each other.

Gigi made polite conversation, how did I enjoy England? Had I made friends? Would I come back to Ireland?

She looked at me closely and, smiling at me, took my hand, “I have known you since you were born Julian, you must not let England spoil you, you know, do not lose touch with Ireland and your mother, you must always come back.”

I remember this clearly, it was one of those moments.

 I recall looking closely at Gigi and registered how old she had become.

Her hair was still chestnut in colour, but her eyes were yellow and tired.

She was 87 years old. 1965 became 1966. 

I was at work in Hatfield, near London, when the telephone rang one morning: it was a payphone in a passage on a wall outside for the use of staff.

“It’s for you Jules,” I left what I was doing and went to the phone, it was my mother.

She told me quietly that Gigi had died peacefully in her sleep the evening before, on New Year’s Day, 1966. 

It was the end of an era, the Belle Isle folk never returned to Mullaghmore. 

In 2008, in summer Audrey and I returned to Mullaghmore with Audrey’s husband, Jack, and her daughters Caroline and Jackie.

I was sixty years old and Audrey was fifty five.

We walked round the harbour and had something to eat in what had been Peter’s public house, all those years ago. 

It bore no resemblance to the old inn of the 1950s, and had changed beyond recognition; it was clean and modern and bright and welcoming, but no trace remained of how it had been before.

It was a different world.

Mr Hermon’s house was still there on the hill; it belonged to someone else now.

We drove up to the gates and sat for a minute or two in silence, remembering. 

It seemed smaller and greyer and strange; there was nothing for us there, no trace of what had been, the sheet had been wiped clean; and I remembered Tiggy’s words to me at Necarne, when she was talking about Belle Isle, “You can never go back to the past.” 

It was a page from another time and no-one standing on that hill now would know how it had been back then. 
Audrey
I can still see my sister Audrey, running along a stone wall beside the beach at Mullaghmore in 1958.

Our father would be teasing her; they played a little game, time and time again. “Audie, two!” 

She would shake her head and respond, “No, Audie three!” young Audrey was the apple of Esmond’s eye and the age game was played often, but Audrey knew she was three!

“Come on Juna!” she would shout excitedly, as she ran to the beach. 

I was ‘Juna’ to Audrey and the beach was waiting!

All those who laughed and danced and walked on the sand and paddled in the sea, with the wind in their faces, have gone.

Esmond and Pearl, Nicholas Porter and Richard Hermon, Vida Leigh and Gigi and Tiggy - and Audrey. 

My beloved sister Audrey was dying from lung cancer when she made the last visit to Mullaghmore.

She died on 22nd January, 2009.

First published in March, 2010.

1st Duke of Buccleuch

THE DUKES OF BUCCLEUCH AND QUEENSBURY WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN DUMFRIESSHIRE, WITH 254,179 ACRES

SIR RICHARD LE SCOT, the undoubted ancestor of this family, was a person of great distinction in the reign of ALEXANDER III, King of Scotland. He married the daughter and heiress of Murthockstone (Murdostoun), of that ilk, by whom he obtained a considerable estate in Lanarkshire, and, as a feudal lord thereof, swore fealty to EDWARD I, of England, in 1296. Sir Richard assumed the cognizance of Murdostoun, which was a bend azure, into his armorial bearings, disposing theron the crescents and star, the arms of Scott, as since borne by the Dukes of Buccleuch.

He died in 1320; and from him lineally descended

SIR DAVID SCOTT, of Branxholme, who sat in the Parliament held by JAMES III, at Edinburgh, in 1487, under the designation of "Dominus de Buccleuch," being the first of the family so designated.

The grandson of this Sir David,

SIR WALTER SCOTT (c1495-1552), of Branxholme and Buccleuch, wedded thrice, and was succeeded by his grandson,

WALTER SCOTT (1549-74), who was succeeded by his only son,

SIR WALTER SCOTT (1565-1611), Knight, a powerful chieftain, and a military commander of renown in the Netherlands under the Prince of Orange; who was created, in 1606, Lord Scott of Buccleuch.

His son,

WALTER, 2nd Lord, was, in 1619, advanced to the dignity of Earl of Buccleuch.

His lordship died in 1633, and leaving no male issue, his eldest daughter,

MARY, became Countess of Buccleuch.

Her ladyship married Walter Scott of Harden, but dying childless, the family honours devolved upon her sister,

ANNE (1651-1732), who wedded the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of CHARLES II.

In 1663, Their Graces were created DUKE AND DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH, Earl and Countess of Dalkeith, and Baron and Baroness Whitechester and Eskdale, with remainder to their heirs male.
The English honours of the Duke of Monmouth, Earl of Doncaster, and Baron Tindale, as well as his Scottish dukedom of Buccleuch, were forfeited upon the execution of that unhappy nobleman for high treason.

The peerages enjoyed by the Duchess, however, in her own right (Duchess of Buccleuch), were not affected by the attainder.
The offspring of this union were James, Earl of Dalkeith, and Henry, created Earl of Deloraine, Viscount Hermitage, and Baron Scott, in 1706, which titles expired with the 4th Earl in 1807.

The Duchess married secondly, Charles, 3rd Lord Cornwallis, and at Her Grace's demise, in 1732, was succeeded by her grandson,

FRANCIS, 2nd Duke (1695-1751), son of Lord Dalkeith.

His lordship obtained a restoration of the earldom of Doncaster, and barony of Scott, of Tindale, in 1743.

He wedded, in 1720, the Lady Jane, eldest daughter of James, 2nd Duke of Queensbury, by whom he had issue, a son, and three daughters who died unmarried, with Francis, Earl of Dalkeith, who died in the lifetime of his father, but left a son, Henry, and a posthumous daughter by his countess, Caroline, eldest daughter and co-heiress of John, Duke of Argyll.

The Duke of Buccleuch married secondly, Miss Powell; by whom, however, His Grace had no issue.

He died in 1751, and was succeeded by his grandson,

HENRY, 3rd Duke (1746-1812), KG KT;
Seats ~ Bowhill, Selkirk; Boughton House, Kettering; Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.

The Dukes owned a further 17,965 acres of land in Northamptonshire.


DRUMLANRIG CASTLE, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, was built in the late 1600s by William, 1st Duke of Queensbury, on the site of the former 14th & 15th century Douglas stronghold.

The present Castle was created as a mansion in the 17th century, by which time defensive ramparts had given way to comfortable living and large, airy windows.

An earlier, more defensive castle had been built in the middle of the 14th century by the Douglases.

Drumlanrig is built of local pink sandstone on a hill (Drum) at the end of a long ridge overlooking the Nithsdale Hills and the valley of the river Nith.

It was rebuilt with a central courtyard and was in a good enough state to receive JAMES VI on his visit to Scotland in 1617.

Between 1679-91, William, 3rd Earl of Queensberry (later 1st Duke) built a new, large mansion, following the earlier courtyard layout.

Despite almost bankrupting himself as a result of creating his new home, the Duke spent only one night in the building, decided he didn't like it - and returned to Sanquhar Castle.

His son, however, moved in after inheriting the title and estates. Bonnie Prince Charlie spent a night there on his retreat from Derby.


After being allowed to become derelict in the 18th century, Drumlanrig passed to the Duke of Buccleuch, head of the Scott family, in 1810, following a merger of the Douglas and Scott dynasties.

The castle was restored in 1827 and is still the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry (though his main residence is at Bowhill House in the Scottish Borders).

It is also home to part of the internationally renowned Buccleuch Art Collection. featuring such treasures as Rembrandt’s The Old Woman Reading as well as many other fine paintings, tapestries and objects d’art.

Grand reception rooms, magnificent staircases and ornate period features sit happily beside cosy parlours and the Stableyard, now housing the Stableyard Studios and Stableyard Cafe.

First published in November, 2013.   Buccleuch arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Thursday 27 October 2022

Legge of Malone House

THE LEGGES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ANTRIM, WITH 8,565 ACRES

The LEGGES claim to have been a patrician family from Ravenna, Italy, and settled in England during the reign of HENRY II. In 1676, WILLIAM LEGGE, an officer in the army, with recommendations from JAMES II, then Duke of York, served under the Duke of Schomberg in Flanders, and accompanied him to Ireland, 1690.

William Legge's son,

WILLIAM LEGGE, settled at Malone, County Antrim, and acquired land from Arthur, 3rd Earl of Donegall, where he farmed and built houses.

Mr Legge died in 1723, and had, with other sons,

BENJAMIN LEGGE, who leased a plot of ground from the Earl of Donegall extending along the west side of North Street, Belfast, for 108 feet and bounded on the south side by Rosemary Lane.

Specifically mentioned are sugar-houses, warehouses and other property.

Legg's Lane ran next to the sugar-house from Rosemary Lane.

Benjamin Legg died in 1760, and his obituary stated that it was chiefly owing to his skill and activity that the refining of sugar was brought to such perfection in Belfast.

Another son,

WILLIAM LEGG, who died in 1750, was father of

ALEXANDER LEGGE (1706-77), High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1770, who had issue,
WILLIAM, his heir (1821);
Elinor, Hill Wallace; mother of WILLIAM;
Marcella, Anthony Semple.
The son and heir,

WILLIAM LEGGE, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1780, died in 1821, and was succeeded by his nephew,

WILLIAM WALLACE JP DL (1789-1868), of Malone House, Belfast, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1823, who adopted the surname of LEGGE.

Mr Wallace-Legge wedded, in 1838, Eleanor Wilkie, third daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Forster, of Adderstone, Northumberland, and had issue,
WILLIAM, his heir;
FLORENCE1861, 6th Viscount Harberton.
Mrs Wallace wedded secondly, in 1874, the Hon Robert Jack Needham.

Mr William Wallace-Legge was succeeded by his only son,

WILLIAM WALLACE-LEGGE (1841-68), of Malone House; on whose decease, the estate passed to the Viscount Harberton through marriage.
Harberton Avenue, Drive and Park, Belfast, are all named after the 6th Viscount Harberton, who owned the land.

First published in October, 2016.

Wednesday 26 October 2022

The Leigh Baronetcy

THIS (AND GORE) WAS THE FIRST BARONETCY TO BE CREATED IN ULSTER

The LEIGH entry for arms at Ulster's (King of Arms) office, dated 1608, reads as follows:
CAPTAIN EDMUND LEIGH, Commander of the Army in County Tyrone: "azure, on a chevron, between three ducal coronets or, as many hurts, a crescent for difference."
County Tyrone was planted by nine English and seventeen Scottish undertakers, and five servitors, of whom:-

The undertakers for the barony of Clogher were:-

  • Sir Thomas Ridgeway: 2,000 acres at Portclare and Ballykerigire (in addition to his allocation as a servitor);
  • Francis Willoughby, son of Sir Perceval Willoughby: 2,000 acres at Fentonagh;
  • George Ridgeway (Sir Thomas's brother): 1,000 acres at Ballymackell.
Captain John Ridgeway possessed 1,000 acres near Lough Ramor, County Cavan.


JOHN LEIGH, CAPTAIN EDMUND LEIGH, AND DANIEL LEIGH

Captain Edmund Leigh was appointed sheriff in 1607.


He was said to have been detested by the Earl of Tyrone, who called him 'that whispering companion' sent to spy on him.

A document drawn up by Sir Arthur Chichester on 25 January 1608 indicates that Lower Tyrone (an area which surrounded the town of Omagh, or Omey), was governed by Captain John Leigh. 


John Leigh and his brothers were  'adventurers' who funded the war effort and were entitled to lands in return.

The portion allocated to Francis Willoughby was either sold by him or confiscated, when he failed to comply with his undertakings.

This land was consequently taken over by John Leigh who, with his two brothers, Daniel and Captain Edmund, had built the English fort on the Strule at Omagh, where Edmond had been granted 330 acres, as warden of the fort.
John and Daniel were appointed wardens when he died.

The brothers had come to Ulster under the auspices of Henry Bagenal.


In 1611, disputes arose between Mr Clapham, Sir Thomas Boyde, Sir John Davyes, and Captain John Leigh, regarding land in County Tyrone.

The friary lands of Omagh, which were owned by the Leigh brothers, had been unwittingly allocated to undertakers.


The dispute was settled when John Leigh surrendered his church lands, and this so impressed the King, that he allowed Leigh to take the lands on his own terms.

In 1612-13, a survey of undertakers planted in county Tyrone, in 1609, reported as follows under the headings: 2,000 acres, Clogher, Undertakers.


Sir Daniel Leigh is mentioned in a Chancery Inquisition Juries Summoner's Roll, for Tyrone quarter Sessions in the reign of JAMES I, 1624/5.

In 1629-30, a listing of able-bodied men (capable of combat), which was called the Muster Roll, was compiled, and John Leigh gave seventeen names, less than most of the other undertakers.


Many of the names on this list were Irish, so Leigh was not in favour in London, on account of his tolerance for so many of the 'meere Irish' on his land.

It was recorded that Sir Daniel Leigh died in 1630, and that John Leigh, lord of the manor of Fintona, died in 1631, and his nephew, Sir Arthur Leigh, knight, son of Daniel, succeeded to the manor at Fintona, which was called Castle Leigh.

The summoner's roll for Tyrone assizes in 1636 records that 

"Arthur Leigh, Baronet, was fined £15 because at Assizes of 20 August, 11 Charles I, 1635, he was paid for building a bridge across the river at Omagh which he had not done".

In the civil survey of 1654-56, in the barony of Clogher and parish of Doncavie (which included Fintona), 

"lands amounting to 1,682 acres, (960 profitable, and 722 barren, bogg and mountaine); and 200 acres in the same parish, of church lands, are now in possession of the widow of Sir Daniel Leigh,an English Protestant, and her new husband, Alderman William Smith of Dublin. She is named as 'ye Lady Leigh' and 'Lady Ley', in the same document.

Another account declares:-

Petition to the King of Dame Mary Leigh [daughter of John Stanton], relict and administratrix of Sir Daniel Leigh, Kt. and Bart., showing that : — King James by letters of 26 October, 1609, granted to John Leigh and Daniel Leigh, afterwards Sir Daniel Leigh, the constableship of the fort of Omagh, with 20 warders, viz. : — 6 horsemen and 14 footmen. 
The constableship was given him in reward for his service in The Queen's Irish wars. The patent stated that Daniel or John should hold during pleasure, and the garrison was not to be diminished without his knowledge.

It has been so diminished that, by 1629, all the warders had been lost. 

Petitioner's husband never received a return of the money he spent in building the fort of Omagh, and had left her with heavy debts and an expensive family. 

The now Lord Deputy was anxious to help her; but, under the recent establishments, his hands were tied. She prays for relief from the Irish Treasury or Court of Wards.

The Leighs served as sheriffs of Tyrone as follows:-
  • Edmund, 1607
  • John, 1610 and 1614
  • and Sir Daniel Leigh, 1624.
The national archives state:-

"The Fort of the Omye: Here is a good fort, fairly walled with lime and stone, about 30 foot high above the ground with a parapet, the river on one side and a large deep ditch about the rest, within which is built a fair house of timber after the English manner.

Other buildings described. All begun by Captain Ormond [Edmund] Leigh and finished by his brothers John and Daniel Leigh at their own charges upon the lands of the Abbey of Omye, at which place are many families of English and Irish who have built them good dwelling-houses, which is a safety and comfort for passengers between Donganon and the Liffer.

The fort is a place of good import upon all occasions of service and fit to be maintained."

John Leigh was an engineer by profession, and came to Ulster with the Earl of Essex in 1572.

Before the time of the Plantation he had visited many localities in this province as an engineer, and knew many of its leading Irish inhabitants.

He appears to have bought the proportion of Fintona from Sir Francis Willoughby, even before the latter had taken out a patent, for the grant was made in Leigh's own name.

Leigh apparently had no particular taste for planting for, instead of bringing strangers on his lands, he leased them to the Irish, at the risk of being forfeited for thus doing. 

At his death, he was succeeded by his nephew, Sir Arthur Leigh, who sold the estate to Captain James Mervyn.

SIR ARTHUR LEIGH, 2nd Baronet, of Omagh and Fintona, County Tyrone, only son and heir of his father, Sir Daniel Leigh, 1st Baronet, succeeded to the baronetcy in 1633.

He wedded Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir William Ryves, one of the Justices of the King's Bench in Ireland.

Sir Arthur died without an heir, in 1638, in County Londonderry, when the baronetcy expired.

First published in May, 2011.