Ennistymon House

THE MACNAMARAS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CLARE, WITH 15,246 ACRES

This is a branch of the ancient Milesian family of MACNAMARA, of County Clare, which was resident at Ballynacraggy.

BARTHOLOMEW MACNAMARA (1685-1761), of Murraghlin, The Burren, County Clare, sixth son of Teige Macnamara, of Ballynacraggy, wedded Dorothy, daughter of William Brock, Mayor of Galway, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
Michael, dsp;
Teige, dsp;
John;
Mary; Margaret; Ann.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM MACNAMARA (1714-62), of Doolen, County Clare, married Catherine, daughter and heir of Francis Sarsfield, of Doolen, County Clare, and had issue,

FRANCIS, his heir;
William, dsp;
Mary; Catherine; Anne; Dorothy.

The elder son,

FRANCIS MACNAMARA (1750-1821), of Doolen, espoused Jane, daughter of George Stamer, of Carnelly, County Clare, by Honor his wife, daughter of Christopher O'Brien, of Ennistymon, and Mary, his second wife, daughter of Sir Randal MacDonnell Bt, and had issue,

WILLIAM NUGENT, his heir;
Richard;
George;
Francis;
John;
Burton (Sir), KCB, Admiral;
Honoria; Dora.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM NUGENT MACNAMARA (1775-1856), of Doolen, High Sheriff of County Clare, 1798, MP for County Clare, 1830-52, married, in 1798, Susannah, daughter and eventually co-heir of the Hon Mathias Finucane, Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland (by Anne his wife, daughter of Edward O'Brien, of Ennistymon), and had issue,

FRANCIS, his heir;
Jane; Susan; Honor; Matilda; Louisa.

The only son,

FRANCIS MACNAMARA JP DL (1802-73), of Doolen and Ennistymon House, Lieutenant-Colonel, Clare Militia, MP for Ennis, 1832, was succeeded by his son,

HENRY VALENTINE MACNAMARA JP DL (1861-1925), of Doolen and Ennistymon, High Sheriff of County Clare, 1885, who wedded, in 1883, Elizabeth Edith, daughter of Sir Daniel Cooper Bt GCMG, and had issue,

FRANCIS, his heir;
Valentine;
George;
Violet Elizabeth; Edith Eileen; Doreen Finola; Honor Nesta.

The eldest son,

FRANCIS MACNAMARA (1884-1945), married, in 1911, Mary, eldest daughter of Eduard Majolier, of France, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Caitlin, m Dylan Thomas;
Nicolette, 1911-87.

The only son,

JOHN MACNAMARA (1908-), wedded Henriette Buffard, of France, though the marriage was without issue.

Michael MacMahon has written an article about the Macnamaras of Doolin and Ennistymon.

ENNISTYMON HOUSE, now The Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, County Clare, is a two-storey, seven-bay, gable-ended 18th century house.

It has a single-storey, 19th century, gable-ended wing.

Interior plasterwork includes a frieze incorporating an arm embowed, brandishing a sword (the O'Brien crest) in the hall.

The conservatory has art nouveau metalwork.

Ennistymon became The Falls Hotel ca 1936.

Francis Macnamara was reputedly a notable bohemian figure and the father-in-law of Dylan Thomas; who married (as his second wife) the sister of Augustus John's Dorelia.

Macnamara and John are the Two Flamboyant Fathers in the book of that name by his daughter, Nicolette Shephard.

First published in March, 2016.

1st Baron Bloomfield

BENJAMIN BLOOMFIELD or BLUMFIELD (c1682-1737), of Eyre Court, County Galway, married Dorothy _________, and had issue,

John, his heir; ancestor of JOHN COLPOYS BLOOMFIELD;
Joseph, b 1710;
BENJAMIN, of whom hereafter;
Richard;
Dorothy; Anne.

Mr Bloomfield's third son,

BENJAMIN BLOOMFIELD, of Meelick, County Galway, was father of

JOHN BLOOMFIELD, of Newport, County Tipperary, who married Charlotte, daughter of Samuel Waller (by Anne, sister to LORD CHANCELLOR JOCELYN), and had issue,

BENJAMIN, his heir;
Anne, m Thomas Ryder Pepper;
Charlotte, m Very Rev T B Gough.

Mr Bloomfield was succeeded by his son,

THE RT HON SIR BENJAMIN BLOOMFIELD GCB GCH (1762-1846), who wedded, in 1797, Harriott, daughter of John Douglas, of Grantham, Lincolnshire, and had issue,

JOHN ARTHUR DOUGLAS, his successor;
Georgina Mary Amelia; Harriott Mary Anne.

1st Baron Bloomfield (Wikipedia)

Sir Benjamin was elevated to the peerage, in 1825, in the dignity of BARON BLOOMFIELD, of Oakhampton and Redwood, County Tipperary.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

2nd Baron Bloomfield (National Portrait Gallery)

JOHN ARTHUR DOUGLAS (1802-79), 2nd Baron, GCB PC DL, who wedded, in 1845, Georgiana, daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Ravensworth, in a childless marriage.

In 1871 his lordship was created BARON BLOOMFIELD of Ciamhaltha, County Tipperary (second creation), on his retirement as British ambassador to Austria.

His lordship dsp in 1879, when the titles expired.

CASTLE CALDWELL passed to the Bloomfields through the marriage, in 1817, of Frances Arabella, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Caldwell, 5th Baronet, of Castle Caldwell, to John Colpoys Bloomfield. High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1825.

Bloomfield arms' courtesy of European Heraldry and the NLI.  First published in January, 2012.

Ballyhaise House

THE HUMPHRYS' OWNED 5,146 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY CAVAN

WILLIAM HUMPHRYS, of Ballyhaise, County Cavan, younger brother of Christopher Humphrys, of Dromard, married Letitia Kennedy, and had issue,

Christopher, b 1786;
WILLIAM, of whom we treat;
John, 1809-18;
Anne; Matilda; Letitia; Amelia; Caroline; Sophia.

Mr Humphrys, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1822, was succeeded by his second son,

WILLIAM HUMPHRYS JP DL (1798-1872), of Ballyhaise House, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1832, who wedded firstly, in 1826, Anna Maria, daughter of John Pratt Winter, of Agher, County Meath, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
JOHN WINTER, succeeded his brother;
Mervyn Archdall;
Anne Elizabeth.

He espoused secondly, in 1838, Maria Clarissa, daughter of Hugh Moore, of Eglantine House, County Down, and had further issue,

Hugh (Rev);
Armitage Eglantine;
Cecilia Letitia; Clara; Sylvia Priscilla.

Mr Humphrys was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM HUMPHRYS (1827-77), High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1877, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN WINTER HUMPHRYS (1829-84), of Ballyhaise House, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1879, who married, in 1854, Priscilla Cecilia, daughter of the Rev J P Garrett, of Killgaron, County Carlow, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
John Mervyn;
James Winter;
Charles Vesey;
Mervyn Archdall;
Francis Edward;
Arthur Armitage;
Llewellyn Winter;
Percy Raymond;
Caroline Elizabeth; Priscilla Cecilia; Clara Christina; Anna Maria; Emily May.

Mr Humphrys was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM HUMPHRYS JP (1855-97), of Ballyhaise House, Lieutenant RN, who wedded, in 1879, Alice, daughter of James Stannard JP, of Bricketstown House, County Wexford, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
NUGENT WINTER, succeeded his brother;
Ethel Elizabeth; Evelyn Alice.

Mr Humphrys was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM HUMPHRYS (1883-1906), of Ballyhaise House, Lieutenant, 17th Lancers, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

NUGENT WINTER HUMPHRYS (1885-1931), of Ballyhaise House, Lieutenant, Manchester Regiment, who espoused, in 1911, Blanche Ada de Vivefay, daughter of William Edward Wilson, of Daramona.

BALLYHAISE HOUSE, Ballyhaise, County Cavan, is one of the greatest mansions in County Cavan.

It was built about 1733 for Colonel Brockhill Newburgh.

The house comprises two storeys over a basement, with seven bays; with ashlar dressings, faced in brick.

The entrance front has a pedimented feature with four Ionic pilasters.

The garden front has a central carved bow with round-headed windows.

The bow contains an oval saloon, which has been considered one of the earliest of its kind in the British Isles.

Ballyhaise was sold in 1800 to William Humphrys, who enlarged the house considerably by adding two storey wings of the same height as the original block.

The estate was sold by the Humprys family in 1906 and now serves as an agricultural college.

First published in July, 2018.

Killala Castle

The episcopal see of Killala appears to have been founded between the years 434 and 441 by St Patrick, who, during that period, was propagating the faith of Christianity in the province of Connaught.

Patrick built a church at this place, called Kill-Aladh, over which he placed one of his disciples, St Muredach, as bishop.

In 1255, a bishop of Killala, whose name is not given, accompanied the Archbishop of Tuam into England to petition the King for the redress of certain grievances to which the clergy were then exposed.

Robert of Waterford, who succeeded in 1350, was fined 100 marks for neglecting to attend a parliament assembled at Castledermot, in 1377, to which he had been summoned.

Owen O'Connor, Dean of Achonry, was advanced to the See by ELIZABETH I in 1591, and was allowed to hold his deanery with the bishopric; and his successor, Miler Magrath, was permitted to hold also the See of Achonry in commendam.

Bishop Hamilton, who succeeded in 1623, obtained from JAMES I a commendatory grant, of the See of Achonry.

Bishop Otway, who succeeded to the united sees in 1671, rebuilt the cathedral from the foundation.

The Sees of Achonry and Killala continued to be held together until the death of the last bishop, Dr James Verschoyle, in 1833, when they became annexed to the archiepiscopal province of Tuam, and the temporalities were vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

They both extend into the counties of Mayo and Sligo.

The River Moy and the Ox Mountains form the boundary between them.

The greatest length of Killala is from east to west 57 miles, by a breadth of 27.

Achonry stretches from north-east to south-west 35 miles, and is 27 broad.

Killala Castle (Image: Robert French)

KILLALA CASTLE, Killala, County Mayo, was the seat of the Lord Bishops of Killala and Achonry.

It was a tall, plain, three-storey, L-shaped building with a gable-ended tower-like block at the end of one of its arms.

The Castle was said to be ruinous by 1787, though some repairs were undertaken in 1796.

Around this time the Right Rev Joseph Stock, Lord Bishop of Killala and Achonry, 1798-1810, took up residence.

The Castle was occupied by French troops for a period.

The Right Rev Dr James Verschoyle succeeded Bishop Stock in 1810; and when he died in 1834 the see of Killala was amalgamated with that of Tuam.

Thereafter Killala Castle ceased to the the episcopal seat.

For a period it was the residence of Walter James Bourke and family; then a warehouse; before being swept away in the 1950s for a housing estate.

First published in October, 2015.

Oak Park

THE BRUENS WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 16,477 ACRES 

JAMES BRUEN, said to have been of Tarvin, Cheshire, went to Ireland in Cromwell's Army and settled at Abbeyboyle, County Roscommon. He was administrator to his brother, Henry Bruen, of Dublin, in 1700.

James Bruen’s son,

MOSES BRUEN, of Boyle, County Roscommon, purchased land and property in counties Carlow and Wexford from the Beaucamp, Grogan and Whaley families.

Thereafter, the family settled at Oak Park, County Carlow, and Coolbawn, County Wexford.

This Moses, who died in 1757, left issue,

Moses;
HENRY, of Oak Park;
Bridget; Mary; Elinor Catherine; Margaret; Elizabeth.

The second son,

COLONEL HENRY BRUEN (1741-95), of Oak Park, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1785, MP for Jamestown, 1783-90, County Carlow, 1790-95, removed, ca 1775, to estates which he purchased in County Carlow.

He married, in 1787, Harriette Dorothea, daughter of Francis Knox, of Rappa Castle, County Mayo, and had issue,

HENRY, his heir;
John, of Coolbawn;
Francis, of Coolbawn;
Maria; Margaret; Harriett.

The son and heir,

COLONEL HENRY BRUEN (1789-1852), of Oak Park, and Coolbawn, County Wexford, married, in 1822, Anne Wandesforde, daughter of Thomas Kavanagh MP, of Borris House, County Carlow, by Lady Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John, 17th Earl of Ormonde, and had issue,

HENRY, of Oak Park;
Elizabeth; Harriet; Anne.

Colonel Bruen was succeeded by his only son,

THE RT HON HENRY BRUEN JP DL (1828-1912), of Oak Park and Coolbawn, MP for Carlow, 1857-80, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1855, Privy Counsellor, who married, in 1854, Mary Margaret, third daughter of Colonel Edward M Conolly MP, of Castletown, County Kildare, and had issue,

HENRY, his heir;
Edward Francis, Captain RN;
John Richard;
Arthur Thomas;
Charles;
Katherine Anne; Mary Susan; Elizabeth; Eleanor; Helen; Grace.

Mr Bruen was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY BRUEN (1856-1927), of Oak Park, and Coolbawn, Lieutenant, Royal Artillery, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1886, Wexford, 1909, who wedded, in 1886, Agnes Mary, youngest daughter of the Rt Hon Arthur M Kavanagh, of Borris, County Carlow, and had issue,

HENRY ARTHUR BRUEN (1887-1954), of Oak Park, Captain, 15th Hussars, who wedded, in 1913, Jane Catherine Gladys, daughter of Arthur George Florence McClintock, and had issue,

GLADYS PATRICIA BREUN (1914-), of Oak Park, who married, in 1939, Mervyn Anthony Arthur Rudyerd Boyse, son of Major Henry Thomas Arthur Shapland Hunt Boyse. They had four sons.

She lived in 1976 at Maryvale, Church Road, Ballybrack, County Dublin.

OAK PARK, near Carlow town, is a large Victorian classical house by W V Morrison.

It has two storeys, the entrance front having a five-bay central block with a pedimented portico of four huge Ionic columns.

The main block is prolonged by wings of the same height, initially set back though returning forwards with Wyatt windows at their ends.

The garden front of thirteen bays is duller in appearance.

The interior has splendid plasterwork in the style of Morrison; while the Hall boasts giant, free-standing Ionic columns.

Part of the former Oak Park estate, once the home of the Bruen Family, from 1775 to 1957, is now the 127 acre Oak Park Forest Park.

The Oak Park demesne was bought by Colonel Henry Bruen in 1775, after making his fortune in the American Army.

He was the grandson of James Bruen, of Tarvin, Cheshire, who came to Ireland with Oliver Cromwell and received land at Abbeyboyle, County Roscommon.

The Bruens intermarried with the County Mayo families, Knox of Rappa and Ruttledge of Bloomfield.

HMS Drake, the wreck of which lies at Church Bay, Rathlin Island, was torpedoed in 1917. One of her Captains was Edward Bruen, son of the MP. He was Captain when the ship was flagship on the Australian station circa 1912/13.

The Senior Naval Officer in Australia at the time was Admiral King-Hall (Admiral Sir George Fowler King-Hall KCB CVO) who had a very strong Ulster connection. Captain Edward Bruen RN was married to Olga Ker, one of the Montalto and Portavo family.

Captain Bruen later went on to command HMS Bellerophon at the Battle of Jutland.

The Bruen estate was mainly in the counties of Carlow and Wexford where they had houses at Oakpark in Carlow and at Coolbawn, Enniscorthy.

Francis Bruen was married to Catherine Anne Nugent, daughter of the Earl of Westmeath.

Three townlands in the barony of Athenry were offered for sale in the Landed Estates court in 1866.

All this land gave the Bruen family political power and, in 1790, Henry Bruen was returned to Parliament, winning the seat of a neighbouring family, the Butlers.

However, the Butlers reclaimed their seat five years later with the sudden death of the Colonel in December, 1795.

This allowed his son, also called Henry, to assume control of the estate.

The Bruen estate in County Galway amounted to over 700 acres in the 1870s but was part of an estate of almost 25,000 acres in total.

Manuscripts in the Irish Genealogical Office would suggest that the family held lands at Boyle, County Roscommon, in the 18th century.

These lands seem to have been at the centre of a legal case between the Bruen family and Richard St George.

Henry Bruen attended Harrow School alongside the poet Lord Byron and Robert Peel, with whom he would later serve as a Conservative MP.

Peel was Home Secretary at the time of Catholic Emancipation, a Bill which Henry Bruen supported.

Bruen quickly amassed the land surrounding Oak Park.

In 1841, a survey of every Bruen farm revealed that the family's estates in County Carlow covered 20,089 acres.

In the 1841 election, Henry defeated the Liberal candidate, Daniel O'Connell, Jnr., son of “The Liberator”.

However, the Bruen hold on the seat lapsed with the death of Henry in 1852; but his son, also confusingly called Henry, returned to the House of Commons in 1857 and held his seat until 1880, which marked the end of the family's 90-year history of political involvement over three generations.

The current mansion house at Oak Park is the result of four periods of expansion and remodelling carried out between 1797 and 1902.

Twenty-two years after he arrived, Henry employed Michael Boylan to redecorate the house.

In 1832, the second Henry Bruen commissioned William Morrison to re-model the house and in 1876 Samuel Bolton, a builder, signed a contract for a major extension, which took three years to complete.

However, on 22nd February, 1902, the house was gutted by fire.

After eight hours of fighting the blaze, all that remained was the north wing. Fortunately, a large number of paintings, furniture and books were saved by the workers.

The house was rebuilt under the supervision of William Mitchell.

The last male Bruen, the fifth Henry, died in 1954.

By then, the estate had reduced in size to a relatively small 1,500 acres.

He left nothing to his estranged daughter Gladys, who had several years earlier married Prince Milo of Montenegro.

The remainder of the estate was bequeathed to a cousin in England, minus a weekly income for life of £6 to his daughter, Patricia.

In 1957, the estate was purchased at auction for £50,555 by Brownes Hill Estates, who already owned the nearby estate in which a Norfolk farmer was principal partner.

However, within three years the property was back on the market after fierce protest from smaller farmers in opposition to the purchase by the Norfolk farmer.

The estate was bought by the Irish Land Commission for £68,000, and seven hundred acres were divided up among small holders, while the house and the remaining land were taken over as a research centre for the Irish Agricultural Institute (Teagasc).

The last member of the Bruen family to be buried in the family's private burial ground at the Mausoleum was Gladys, the estranged wife of Henry (d 1969). 

First published in April, 2011.

I am grateful to Henry Woods and Robert Power for most of the information; further reading about the Bruens and Oak Park can be read here.

The Brooke Baronets (1822)

SIR BASIL BROOKE (1567-1633) was one of the Captains of the English Army selected to take reinforcements to Ireland in 1598. He served in Munster and under Lord Docwra in the conquest of Ulster; was a servitor in the Plantation and one of the Commissioners for the settlement of the Irish Church.

He was Governor of Donegal County and therein received large grants of land, including the Borough and Castle of Donegal, both of which he rebuilt, and in the banqueting hall of the latter are still to be seen the arms of the Brookes of Leighton impaling Leycester of Toft, Cheshire.

He was knighted in 1616; died 1633, and was interred in St Werburgh's, Dublin.

Sir Basil married Anne, daughter of Laurence Leycester, of Chester, and granddaughter of Sir Ralph Leycester (c1518-72), of Toft, Cheshire, by whom he had issue,

HENRY, his heir;

Anne; Elizabeth.

His only son,

SIR HENRY BROOKE (c1613-71), Knight, of Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Governor of Donegal, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1669, MP for Donegal, 1661-6, received, in recompense for his services during the rebellion of 1641, grants of lands in County Fermanagh.

Sir Henry married firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Captain John Wynter; and secondly, Anne, daughter of Sir George St George Bt, of Carrickdrumrusk, County Leitrim.

For his third wife, Mr Brooke espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Henry, Lord Docwra.

He died in 1671, and was succeeded by the eldest son (by his second wife),

THOMAS BROOKE, of Donegal, Major, Williamite Regiment of Foot, MP for Antrim Borough, 1695-6, who wedded Catherine, daughter of Sir John Cole Bt, of Newlands, County Dublin, and sister of Cole, Lord Ranelagh.

Captain Brooke died in 1696, leaving a son,

HENRY BROOKE (1671-1761), of Colebrooke, MP for Dundalk, 1713-27, County Fermanagh, 1727-60, Governor of County Fermanagh, who married, in 1711, Lettice, daughter of Mr Alderman Benjamin Burton, of the city of Dublin.

Mr Brooke left at his decease, in 1761, four daughters and two sons, of whom

ARTHUR BROOKE, MP for County Fermanagh, 1761-83, Maryborough, 1783-5, was created a baronet, 1764, which honour ceased at his demise in 1785; and

FRANCIS BROOKE, who wedded, in 1765, Hannah, daughter of Henry Prittie, of Dunalley, County Tipperary, and sister of the 1st Baron Dunalley, and had issue,

Arthur (Sir), KCB, lieutenant-general;
Richard Prittie, major-general;
Francis, lieutenant-colonel;
HENRY, of whom presently;
George Frederick;
Caroline; Harriet; Elizabeth.

Mr Brooke died in 1800, and was succeeded by his youngest surviving son,

HENRY BROOKE (1770-1834), of Colebrooke, County Fermanagh, who was created a baronet in 1822, designated of Colebrooke, County Fermanagh.

Sir Henry married, in 1792, Harriet, daughter of the Hon John Butler, and granddaughter of Brinsley, 1st Viscount Lanesborough, and had issue,

Francis, fell at Waterloo;
Henry, died young;
ARTHUR BRINSLEY;
Butler (Rev);
Edward Basil, major-general;
Richard, later HOWARD-BROOKE;
Thomas;
George Augustus Frederick;
Harriett Elizabeth; Maria; Selina.

He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR ARTHUR BRINSLEY BROOKE, 2nd Baronet (1797-1854), who wedded, in 1841, Julia Henrietta, daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir George Anson, and had issue,

VICTOR ALEXANDER, his successor;
Harry Vesey (Sir);
Arthur Basil;
Constance Henrietta.

Sir Arthur was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR VICTOR ALEXANDER BROOKE, 3rd Baronet (1843-91), who espoused, in 1864, Alice Sophia, daughter of Sir Alan Edward Bellingham Bt, and had issue,

ARTHUR DOUGLAS, his successor;
Ronald George;
Butler;
Victor Reginald;
Alan Francis (Field-Marshal), cr Viscount Alanbrooke;
Alice Mildred; Hylda Henrietta.

Sir Victor was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ARTHUR DOUGLAS BROOKE, 4th Baronet (1865-1907), JP, DL, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1896, who married, in 1887, Gertrude Isabella, daughter of Stanlake Batson, and had issue,

BASIL STANLAKE, his successor;
Victor Mervyn;
Arthur Francis;
Sylvia Henrietta; Sheelah.

Sir Arthur was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR BASIL STANLAKE BROOKE, 5th Baronet (1888-1973), KG CBE MC, who was elevated to the peerage, in 1952, in the dignity of VISCOUNT BROOKEBOROUGH, of Colebrooke, County Fermanagh.

*****

The Brookes of Colebrooke remain one of the oldest landed families in Ulster.

The Brookeborough Papers are deposited at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

The Rt Hon Sir Basil, 5th Baronet, was the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

His second but eldest surviving son, John, 2nd Viscount, and 6th Baronet, was also a notable politician.

Alan, 3rd and present Viscount, and 7th Brooke Baronet, succeeded in 1987.

Lord Brookeborough, a Knight of the Garter, is Lord-Lieutenant of County Fermanagh.

First published in November, 2010.

Altidore Castle

THE DOPPING-HEPENSTALS OWNED 1,568 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY WICKLOW

JOHN DOPPING, of Frampton, Gloucestershire, and of Dopping Court, Dublin, married Joan, daughter of John Elliott, of Shropshire, and had an only son,

ANTHONY DOPPING, of Dopping Court, Dublin, Clerk of the Privy Council in Ireland, Feodary of the Province of Leinster, and Examiner of the Court of Wards, who wedded Margaret, daughter of Gilbert Domvile, MP for County Kildare, by Margaret his wife, daughter of the Most Rev Dr Thomas Jones, Lord Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, sister of the 1st Viscount Ranelagh.

Mr Dopping died in 1649, having had issue (with a daughter), a son,

THE MOST REV DR ANTHONY DOPPING (1643-97), Lord Bishop of Meath, of Dopping Court, Dublin, who espoused, in 1670, Jane, daughter of Samuel Molyneux, of Castle Dillon, County Armagh, and had issue,

Samuel, MP for Armagh;
ANTHONY, of whom hereafter;
Margaret; Lucy; Mary; Jane.

His lordship died in 1697, and was buried in St Andrew's Church, Dublin.

His second, and eventually eldest surviving son,

THE RT REV ANTHONY DOPPING (1675-1743), of Dopping Court, Lord Bishop of Ossory, who espoused Dorothea, daughter of Ralph Howard MP, of Shelton Abbey, County Wicklow, ancestor of the Earls of Wicklow, and had issue,

ANTHONY, his heir;
Jane Lucy; Alice; Margaret; Frances; Katherine.

His lordship died in 1743, and was buried in St Andrew's Church, Dublin.

He was succeeded by his only son,

ANTHONY DOPPING, of Lowtown, County Westmeath, who married, in 1756, Alice, daughter of James D'Arcy, of Hyde Park, County Westmeath, and of Derrycassan, County Longford, and had issue (with two daughters),

Samuel (1760-1822), dspm;
RALPH, who carried on the line.

Mr Dopping was succeeded by his elder son, who died as above, while the family was carried on by the younger son,

RALPH DOPPING (1766-1818), of Erne Head and Derrycassan, who wedded, in 1798, Catherine, daughter of Philip Smyth, of Grouse Hall, County Cavan, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Henry, of Erne Head;
Mary; Frances.

Mr Dopping was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN DOPPING JP (1800-55), of Derrycassan, High Sheriff of County Longford, 1823, who wedded, in 1822, Frances, daughter of James Henry Cottingham, of Somerville, County Cavan, and had issue,

RALPH ANTHONY, his heir;
John Francis;
James Henry;
Charlotte Henrietta; Sarah Rose.

Mr Dopping, who was drowned in 1855, was succeeded by his eldest son,

RALPH ANTHONY DOPPING-HEPENSTAL JP DL (1823-87), of Derrycassan, High Sheriff of County Longford, 1859, Honorary Colonel, Longford Rifles, who espoused firstly, in 1858, DIANA DALRYMPLE, daughter of the Rev Lambert Watson Hepenstal, of Altadore, County Wicklow, and had issue,

LAMBERT JOHN, his heir;
Susannah Elizabeth Louisa Mary Caroline; Haidee Emily Rose; Diana Charlotte.

He married secondly, in 1867, Anne, third daughter of Richard Maxwell Fox DL MP, of Foxhall, County Longford, and had further issue,

Ralph Francis Byron;
Maxwell Edward;
Juanita Rose.

Colonel Dopping assumed, in 1859, the additional surname and arms of HEPENSTAL, in compliance with the testamentary injunction of his father-in-law, the Rev Lambert Watson Hepenstal, of Altidore, County Wicklow.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

LAMBERT JOHN DOPPING-HEPENSTAL OBE JP DL (1859-1928), of Derrycassan, County Longford, and Altidore Castle, County Wicklow, High Sheriff of County Wicklow, 1909, County Longford, 1910, Major, Royal Engineers, who wedded, in 1920, Amy Maude, daughter of Major Charles Robert Worsley Tottenham, though the marriage was without issue.

FAMILY OF HEPENSTAL

The Rev John Hepenstal, of Newcastle, County Wicklow, born in 1699, married, in 1726, Miss Adair, of Hollybrook, County Wicklow, and had issue,

William, who had two daughters;
EDWARD, of whom we treat.

The younger son,

EDWARD HEPENSTAL, of Newcastle, wedded, in 1759, Jane, daughter of John Lambert, of Kilcrony, and sister of Colonel Oliver Richard Lambert, and had issue,

John, dsp;
GEORGE, of whom presently;
Edward;
William.

The second son,

GEORGE HEPENSTAL, of Sandymount, espoused, in 1787, Hester Watson, and had (with other issue), a son,

THE REV LAMBERT WATSON HEPENSTAL (1788-1859), of Altadore, County Wicklow, who married firstly, in 1809, Elizabeth, daughter of William Ball, and had issue,

GEORGE RICHARD, his heir;
William;
Jane Anne; Esther Charlotte; Louisa Diana; Elizabeth Martha; Susanna Rebecca;
Selina Dalrymple; Emily Mary; DIANA DALRYMPLE (as above); Hester Maria.

Mr Hepenstal wedded secondly, in 1858, Cecilia, daughter of John Berkeley Deane, of Berkeley, County Wexford, without further issue.

ALTIDORE CASTLE, County Wicklow, described as a “Georgian toy fort“, was built near the ruins of a medieval castle of the O’Toole family in the eastern slopes of the Wicklow Mountains, west of Newtownmountkennedy.

From its elevated position it looks out over woods to the coastal plain and the Irish Sea beyond.

Altidore was built as a residence for General Thomas Pearce, uncle of the eminent architect, Sir Edward Lovett Pearce, ca 1730.

Sir Edward designed some of Ireland’s finest early Palladian buildings and architectural historians speculate that he may well have been responsible for the plans of Altidore.

It is clearly in the same vein as the early 18th century ‘sham’ forts and castles designed by Pearce and his cousin, the playright-turned-architect Sir John Vanbrugh.

Altidore was enlarged and modified for a subsequent owner, Major Henry Brownrigg, and by 1773 was owned by Rev William Blachford, Librarian of Marsh’s Library and father of the early Romantic poetess Mary Tighe, authoress of “Psyche, or the Legend of Love”, who lived at Altadore as a child.

Subsequently her brother, the noted agriculturalist John Blanchford, lived here with his wife Mary Anne, the daughter of Henry Grattan, the famous parliamentarian from nearby Tinnehinch.

Altidore comprises two stories over a basement, with crenellated towers at each corner and two formal fronts of five bays.

The façade, which faces the mountains, has a three-bay breakfront with a central Venetian window above a heavily blocked door case and a later pillared porch.

The basement appears as the ground floor at the rear, on account of the steeply sloping ground.

The interior has good early 18th century joinery and a panelled dining-room with plaster plaques.

From 1834 till 1918 the Dopping-Hepenstal family, of Derrycassan House (demolished in the 1930s) extensive landowners in County Wicklow, owned the estate.

They rarely lived in the castle and leased it out for long periods, on one occasion for use as a tuberculosis sanatorium. 

In the early 20th century Altidore changed hands more frequently and was owned by two different banks on separate occasions.

Finally, in 1945, James Albert Garland Emmet purchased the house and 300 acres of land from Percy Burton, an eccentric bachelor who had allowed it to become very dilapidated.

The Emmets carried out an extensive restoration and created a large new garden, centred on a pair of canals from the early 18th century garden layout.

The present owners, their grandson Philip and his wife, have farmed the estate organically for nearly 20 years.

The Emmets are descended from Thomas Addis Emmet, a leader of the United Irishmen and brother of the Irish nationalist and republican leader, Robert Emmet.

Altadore contains a small Robert Emmet museum, with a number of interesting original items.

Select bibliography ~ Irish Historic Houses Association. First published in February, 2018.

1st Duke of Warwick

DUKEDOM OF WARWICK

1445-46

Amongst the most eminent Norman families in the train of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR was that of BEAUCHAMP, and amongst those that shared most liberally in the spoils of the Conquest.

HUGH DE BEAUCHAMP, the companion in arms of the victorious Norman, who obtained grants to a very great extent from his triumphant chief, as he appears, at the general survey, to be possessed of large estates in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Bedfordshire, was the founder of this illustrious house in England.

This Hugh de Beauchamp had issue,

Simon;
Payne;
WALTER, of whom we treat;
Milo;
Adeline.

The third son,

WALTER DE BEAUCHAMP, of Elmley Castle, Gloucestershire, having married Emeline, daughter and heiress of Urse d'Abetot, Constable of the castle of Worcester and Hereditary Sheriff of Worcestershire, was invested with that office by HENRY I, and obtained a grant from the same monarch of all the lands belonging to Roger of Worcester, with a confirmation of certain lands given to him by Alice, widow of his father-in-law, the said Urse.

Walter de Beauchamp was succeeded by his son,

WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP (c1105-70), who, for his zeal in the cause of the Empress Matilda, was dispossessed of Worcester Castle by KING STEPHEN, to which, and all his other honours and estates, however, he was restored by HENRY II; and in that monarch's reign, besides the sheriffdom of Worcestershire, which he enjoyed by inheritance, he was Sheriff of Warwickshire, Sheriff of Gloucestershire, and Sheriff of Herefordshire.

He espoused Maud, daughter of William de Braose, and was succeeded at his decease by his son,

WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP, who married Joanne, daughter of Sir Thomas Walerie; and dying before the thirteenth year of KING JOHN's reign, was succeeded by his son,

WALTER DE BEAUCHAMP, Governor of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire.

The family line carried on uninterruptedly to

WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP (1237-98), who inherited not only the feudal Elmley from his father, but had previously derived from his mother the Earldom of Warwick (originally possessed by the Newburghs) and the Barony of Hanslape.

This eminent nobleman, a distinguished captain in the Welsh and Scottish wars of EDWARD I, wedded Maud, daughter and co-heiress of Richard FitzJohn, and had surviving issue,

GUY, his successor;
Isabella; Maud; Margaret; Anne; Amy.

William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick, was succeeded by his son,

GUY, 10th Earl (c1272-1315), so called in memory of his celebrated predecessor, the Saxon, Guy, Earl of Warwick.

This nobleman acquired high military renown in the martial reign of EDWARD I, distinguishing himself at the battle of Falkirk, for which he was rewarded with extensive grants of lands in Scotland.

He married Alice, daughter of Ralph de Toeni, of Flamsted, Hertfordshire, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
John;
Maud; Emma; Isabella; Elizabeth; Lucia.

His lordship died at Warwick Castle, and was succeeded by his son, but two years of age,

THOMAS, 11th Earl (c1313-69), KG, who sustained, in the brilliant reign of EDWARD III, the high military renown of his illustrious progenitor, and became distinguished in arms almost from his boyhood.

He wedded Katherine, daughter of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and had issue,

Guy;
THOMAS, his successor;
Reinbrun;
John;
Roger;
Hierom;
Maud; Philippa; Alice; Joan; Isabel; Margaret; Agnes; Juliana; Katherine.

The 11th Earl, one of the original Knights of the Garter, was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS, 12th Earl (1338-1401), KG, one of the principal opponents of RICHARD II, who espoused Margaret, daughter of William, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby, and had issue,

RICHARD, his successor;
Katherine; Margaret; Katherine; Elizabeth.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son,

RICHARD, 13th Earl (1382-1439), KG, who married firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas, 5th Lord Berkeley, and had issue, three daughters,

Margaret; Eleanor; Elizabeth.

He wedded secondly, Isabel, daughter and eventually heiress of Thomas, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and had issue,

HENRY, his successor;
Anne.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son,

HENRY, 14th Earl (1425-46), KG,

Who, before he had completed his nineteenth year, tendered his services for the defence of the Duchy of Aquitaine, was created, in 1444, PREMIER EARL OF ENGLAND; and his lordship obtained, at the same time, permission for himself and his heirs to wear a golden coronet in the presence of the King and elsewhere. 

Soon afterwards, in 1445, he was advanced to the dignity of a dukedom, as DUKE OF WARWICK, with precedence immediately after the Duke of Norfolk, and before the Duke of Buckingham; which extraordinary mark of royal favour so displeased the latter nobleman that an Act of Parliament was subsequently passed to appease his jealousy, declaring that the two dukes should take place of each other alternately year about, but with precedency of the first year to the Duke of Warwick;

After which His Grace had a grant in reversion of the death of the Duke of Gloucester, of the Channel Islands for the annual rent of a rose; also the Hundred and Manor of Bristol, and all the royal castles and manors in the Forest of Dean. 

His Grace was crowned, by the King himself, KING OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT.

The first Duke married, in the lifetime of his father, but when ten years old and then styled Lord Despencer, Cecily, daughter of Richard Richard Nevill, jure uxoris 5th Earl of Salisbury, by whom he had an only daughter, ANNE.

His Grace died aged 22, when the Dukedom (and the male line of this branch of the Beauchamps) expired, but his other honours devolved upon his daughter,

ANNE, 15th Countess of Warwick (1443-48), then but two years old, who was committed to the guardianship first of Queen Margaret, and afterwards of William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk.

Anne dying, however, a few years later, the honours of the illustrious house of BEAUCHAMP reverted to the young Countess's aunt,

ANNE, 16th Countess of Warwick (1426-92), wife of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury; and her husband was subsequently created EARL OF WARWICK, the celebrated Kingmaker.

Ancestral seat ~ Warwick Castle, Warwickshire. Town House ~ 32 St James's Square.

First published in October, 2017.

Derrymore Trip

IN MAY, 2014, I PAID A VISIT TO DERRYMORE HOUSE IN COUNTY ARMAGH

DERRYMORE HOUSE was acquired by the National Trust in 1952.

It's not far from Newry, County Down (the river Newry divides the adjoining counties).

I couldn't see any road signs to Bessbrook on my way in to Newry, so stopped the car and told the "sat-nav" that I wished to go to the said village.

So far, so good.

However, on approaching Bessbrook there were no obvious signs, so I stopped at the side of the main road twice and enquired of passers-by.

I was told to look for Rose Cottage; and indeed there was an unmarked drive beside this private cottage which I found, having re-traced my steps, as it were.

I gingerly drove up the track, which passed an old walled garden.

Eureka! I saw the familiar thatch and shape of Derrymore House.

There's a car-park beside this exquisite cottage orné.

Derrymore is larger than it appears because there is a basement below this single-storey house.

I arrived at about two-thirty and there were no other visitors, so I ventured in through a corner entrance.

It's a charming building, though only one room is open to visitors, if you exclude the entrance hall.

The drawing-room, as it formerly was, affords a beautiful aspect of the rolling lawn and landscape.

This is a spacious room, with a large central window.

I have unearthed an old picture of the way this room used to look, though it's largely unfurnished at the moment.

Presumably the chandelier is in storage or hanging in another property.

The plasterwork is not elaborate, though there is some detail at the fireplace.

There are various niches for books and so on.

The ceiling has an oval kind of recess with a chunky chain hanging from the middle, obviously meant to hang a heavy chandelier.

The drawing-room is also known as the Treaty Room, an allusion to the Act of Union which was said to have been drafted here.

This room has charming quatrefoil windows.

Sir Charles Coote considered Derrymore "without exception, the most elegant summer lodge".

I've written about the Corrys and Derrymore here.

*****

I remained in the house and conversed with the warden for about twenty-five minutes, before taking my leave and roving into the fine oak woods and demesne.

I passed The Woodhouse, a fair-sized house in the woods which was the residence of the Richardson family before they gave Derrymore to the National Trust.

There is a curious enclosed circular or oval garden deep within the woods, which has a shallow wall and stone archway, apparently of some antiquity.

I terminated my stroll at the Friends' Meeting House (the Richardsons were Quakers).

*****

ON my way back to Belfast, I stopped at the Corry monument, an obelisk at the side of the main road into Newry.

It's generally in good condition, though the Corry arms, carved from a block of sandstone, are badly eroded.

First published in May, 2014.

The Davis-Goff Baronets

THE DAVIS-GOFFS OWNED 2,576 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY WEXFORD

THE REV STEPHEN GOFFE or GOUGH, Rector of Bramber, West Sussex, 1603-5, and St Botolph's, 1605-6, married Deborah West, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
James;
Timothy;
Stephen (Rev);
John (Rev).

The eldest son,

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL WILLIAM GOFFE (c1605-c1679), wedded Frances, daughter of Major-General Edward Whalley, and had issue,

RICHARD, his heir;
Anne; Elizabeth; Frances.

The only son,

RICHARD GOFFE, of Waterford, County Waterford, espoused, in 1681, Hannah, daughter of Jonas Chamberlain, and had issue,

William;
Richard;
Jonas;
JACOB, of whom hereafter;
Mary; Hannah; Elizabeth.

The youngest son,

JACOB GOFF (1695-c1751), of Dublin, married, in 1721, Mary, daughter of John Fade, and had issue,

Joseph;
Fade;
JACOB, of whom we treat;
Hannah; Mary; Sarah; Elizabeth.

The third son,

JACOB GOFF (c1736-c1799), married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Wilson, and had issue,

Joseph Fade;
WILLIAM;
Anne; Dinah; Elizabeth.

The younger son,

WILLIAM GOFF (1762-1840), of Horetown House, County Wexford, High Sheriff of County Wexford, 1807 and 1811, wedded, in 1784, Rebecca, daughter of Edward Deaves, and had issue,

Jacob William, dsp;
REBECCA, of whom hereafter;
Mary; Sally; Lucy Anne; Arabella; Elizabeth.

Mr Goff's eldest daughter,

MISS REBECCA GOFF, espoused, in 1809, Francis Davis, of Waterford, and had issue,

STRANGMAN;
Henry (1825-63).

Mrs Davis died in 1859, and was succeeded by her elder son,

STRANGMAN DAVIS JP (1810-72), of Horetown House, County Wexford, who married, in 1835, Susan Maxwell, daughter of Arthur Ussher, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
Ussher;
Charles Edward;
Francis;
Margaretta Ussher; Julia Anna; Rebecca; Lucy Ussher.

Mr Davis added the additional surname of GOFF in 1845, under the terms of his uncle's will.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM DAVIS-GOFF JP DL (1838-1918), of Glenville, County Waterford, High Sheriff of Waterford City, 1869, County Waterford, 1892, who wedded, in 1866, Anna Maria, daughter of Michael Dobbyn Hassard, and had issue,

HERBERT WILLIAM, his heir;
William Ernest.

Mr Davis-Goff was created a baronet in 1905, designated of Glenville, County Waterford.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR HERBERT WILLIAM DAVIS-GOFF, 2nd Baronet (1870-1923), DL, High Sheriff of County Waterford, 1914, Captain, RASC, who espoused, in 1903, Margaret Aimée, daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Charles Stewart Scott GCB GCMG, and had issue,

ERNEST WILLIAM, his successor;
Charles Herbert;
Terence Richard;
Doreen Christian.

Sir Herbert was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ERNEST WILLIAM GOFF-DAVIS, 3rd Baronet (1904-80), who married, in 1941, Alice Cynthia Sainthill, daughter of Robert Woodhouse, and had issue,

ROBERT WILLIAM, his successor;
Annabel Claire; Julia Christian; Alice Maria.

Sir Ernest was succeeded by his only son,

SIR ROBERT WILLIAM DAVIS-GOFF, 4th and present Baronet (1955-), of Ballinacor, County Wicklow, and Lissen Hall, County Dublin, who wedded, in 1978, Nathalie Sheelagh, daughter of Terence Chadwick, of Lissen Hall, County Dublin, and has issue,

WILLIAM NATHANIEL (b 1980);
Henry Terence Chadwick;
James Sammy Chadwick;
Sarah Chadwick.

Residences ~ Ballinacor Estate, County Wicklow; Lissen Hall, Donabate, County Dublin; Eairy Moar Farm, Glen Helen, Isle of Man.