Sketches of Olden Days

I usually visit Coleraine, County Londonderry, one of my favourite towns, several times a year.

There's a little book-shop tucked up a little street - Society Street - close to the parish church, which sells vintage books among other items.

On one occasion, I think in 2015, I found a small hardback book written in 1927, six years after the formation of Northern Ireland.

Click To Enlarge

It was by the Rev Canon Hugh Forde, with a forward by the Rt Hon Sir James Craig Bt (later 1st Viscount Craigavon), first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

Hugh Forde was born in Derry in 1847, educated at Dungannon Royal School, County Tyrone, and Trinity College, Dublin, where he achieved a master's degree and a doctorate.

The Roamer column in the Newsletter newspaper remarks that, following curacies in Macosquin and Maghera, Hugh became Rector in Kilcronaghan, Ballynascreen, and Tamlaght Finlagan (Ballykelly) successively before becoming a Canon of St Columb's Cathedral, Londonderry, from 1897 to 1922.

He had five children, including Kathleen, during his first marriage to Mary Ross from Limavady.

After Mary died he married Dorothea Millar from Buncrana, in 1884, and had three more children, one of whom, Lieutenant Kenneth Forde, was killed in action in Flanders on the 24th July, 1915, during the 1st World War.

Canon Forde retired to Portrush, County Antrim, in 1922 where he remained until his death in 1929.

He wrote and published four books: Round the Coast of Northern Ireland; Ulster at Bay; The Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle; and Sketches of Olden Days in Northern Ireland.

I heartily concur with Lord Craigavon when he wrote:

In commending these brilliant sketches to the people of Ulster, and to visitors to our shores, I do so with all the more pleasure, although our native country is teeming with historical interest and is well supplied with ancient monuments, suitable books of reference are comparatively few. 

Canon Forde has done a public service in compiling so accurate a record of Olden Days, and providing an interesting glimpse of the life led by Ulstermen of bygone times.

Seek it out if you can.

First published in July, 2016.

The Belvoir Shoot

Belvoir House: eastern elevation

I haven't paid Belvoir forest park a visit for awhile.

This is the nearest forest park to the city of Belfast.

In fact it used to have a touring caravan site adjacent to the stable block, though the forestry service closed that down several decades ago.

Belvoir was once a superb demesne, originally the seat of the 1ST VISCOUNT DUNGANNON (second creation) though Lord Dungannon sold it to Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, less than a century later.

I have a large, A4-sized paperback book entitled A Treasured Landscape: the Heritage of Belvoir Park, edited by Ben Simon.

If you are are interested in Belvoir park, seek it out.

Shortly after Sir Thomas Bateson, 2nd Baronet (later 1st Baron Deramore) died in 1890, the family decided to lease the estate, which in those days comprised no less than 6,348 acres in County Down.

Sir Thomas owned a further 7,762 in County Londonderry, 284 in County Antrim, and 2,927 in County Limerick (the Derry portion included estates shared with Lords Strafford and Londonderry, and Lady Louisa Trench). 

The Former Demesne with the Motte in the Background

The first lessee was Walter Wilson, a director of the Belfast shipbuilders Harland & Wolff, who lived there with his family from 1900 till about 1918.

Sir James Johnson, Lord Mayor of Belfast, was the final resident of Belvoir House.

He and his family lived there from 1919 until 1925.

I have already written about the ultimate fate of the great mansion and its disastrous demolition in 1961.

The house had been considered as the official residence for the new Governor of Northern Ireland.

Hillsborough Castle was chosen instead.

The estate was also a contender as the seat of the new Parliament of Northern Ireland, though Stormont was selected.

Belvoir House from the east with parkland

BELVOIR was a renowned shooting estate in its day: A shooting party stayed there for the weekend in 1904, and it is recorded that 431 pheasants, 32 hares, 2 rabbits, 2 woodcocks, and 17 ducks were bagged.

There was a pheasantry at the Big Meadow near the river Lagan.

Three years prior to this, the household comprised seventeen members of staff, including a governess, a housekeeper, under-butler, 1st footman, 2nd footman, page, lady's maid, cook, children's maid, stillroom maid, four housemaids, kitchen maid, scullery maid, and dairy maid.

In those days the estate comprised over 6,000 acres; today that acreage has shrunk to 185.

First published in February, 2016.

Franklin Maxims: III

• "HE THAT SPEAKS MUCH IS MUCH MISTAKEN."

First published in April, 2020.

Saintfield House

THE PERCEVAL-PRICES OWNED 6,807 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

RICHARD PRICE, of Greencastle, County Down, wedded Catherine, daughter of James Hamilton, by whom he had a son,

MAJOR-GENERAL NICHOLAS PRICE (c1665-1734), of Hollymount, MP for Downpatrick, 1692-3, County Down, 1695-1714, who married Dorcas, fourth daughter of Roger West, of The Rock, County Wicklow, and had issue,

JAMES, his heir;
Cromwell, of Hollymount; MP for Downpatrick, 1727-60;
NICHOLAS, succeeded his brother;
Sophia; Margaret; Anne. 

This distinguished soldier was a senior officer in CHARLES I's army, defended Londonderry ca 1692; changed the place-name from Tawnaghneeve to Saintfield; was half-brother of the Lady Elizabeth Cromwell; and leased Hollymount Demesne, 1695.

His eldest son,

JAMES PRICE, wedded Frances, natural daughter of the 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, and had issue, two daughters,

Catherine, m 1st J Savage, of Portaferry; and 2ndly, Very Rev E Baillie;
Dorcas, m Dr Whittle, of Lisburn.

Mr Price died without male issue, when the family estates devolved upon his brother,

NICHOLAS PRICE (c1700-42), of Saintfield, MP for Lisburn, 1736-42, who married firstly, Mary, daughter of Francis, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, Warwickshire, and had issue, a son,

FRANCIS, his heir.

Mr Price espoused secondly, in 1732, Maria, daughter of Colonel the Hon Alexander Mackenzie, second son of 4th Earl of Seaforth, and had further issue.

He was succeeded by his son, 

FRANCIS PRICE (1728-91), of Saintfield, MP for Lisburn, 1759-76, High Sheriff of County Down, 1753, who espoused, in 1752, Charity, daughter of Mathew Forde, of Seaforde, County Down, and had issue,

NICHOLAS, his heir;
Christian Arabella; Harriet Jane; Mary.

Mr Price was succeeded by his son,

NICHOLAS PRICE JP DL (1754-1847), of Saintfield House, who married, in 1779, the Lady Sarah Pratt, daughter of Charles, 1st Earl Camden, and had issue, an only daughter,

MISS ELIZABETH ANNE PRICE (1780-1867), who wedded, in 1804, James Blackwood, of Strangford, County Down (a descendant of BLACKWOOD of Clandeboye), who assumed, 1847, the name and arms of PRICE,  and had issue,

Nicholas, 1805-19;
JAMES CHARLES, of whom presently;
William Robert Arthur;
Richard;
Sarah; Mary Georgiana; Sarah Elizabeth; Elizabeth Catherine.

The grandson of Nicholas Price,

JAMES CHARLES PRICE JP DL (1807-94), of Saintfield House, High Sheriff of County Down, 1859, married, in 1840, Anne Margaret, eldest daughter of Patrick Savage, of Portaferry, and had issue,

Nicholas, 1842-89;
JAMES NUGENT, of whom hereafter;
William Charles, died in infancy;
Francis William;
Harriet Anna; Elizabeth Dorcas; Catherine Anne.

Mr Price was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

JAMES NUGENT BLACKWOOD-PRICE JP DL (1844-1927), of Saintfield House, High Sheriff of County Down, 1902, who wedded, in 1869, Alice Louisa, daughter of William Robert Ward, and had issue,

Conway William, b 1872;
Edward Hyde (Rev), b 1875;
ETHELWYN MARY, of whom hereafter.

Mr Blackwood-Price's only daughter,

MISS ETHELWYN MARY BLACKWOOD-PRICE (1871-1933), married, in 1901, Richard Douglas Perceval, of Downpatrick, and had issue,

Richard John Perceval-Price, b 1902;
Michael Charles Perceval-Price, Lt-Col, MC JP DL (1907-2002); High Sheriff, 1951.

SAINTFIELD HOUSE, near Saintfield, County Down, was built ca 1750 by Francis Price.

It is a double gable-ended house of three storeys over a basement.

It has a five-bay front and a three-bay rear.

The house had single storey three-bay wings which ended in two-storey two-bay pavilions with high pyramidal roofs and central chimneys.

One of these has been demolished.

To the west of the house is a large stable-block.

It has been greatly modified but retains a small bell-cot, with bell, over the gateway.

Beside it is a tall cylindrical brick water-tower which is now in need of repair.

This largely walled demesne in drumlin country, approximately one mile north of Saintfield, dates from 1709, when the property was purchased by Nicholas Price of Hollymount.

The site of the original house has not been established, but it most probably lay close to the present stables & farmyard, parts of which belong to this period.

After Francis Price, MP for Lisburn, succeeded his father to the property in 1742, he built the present mansion, a tall five-bay gable-ended double pile house of three storeys over a basement.

The flanking wings, which incorporated high pyramidal roofs, were added by his son Nicholas, former Black Rod in the Irish Parliament, after he sold the family's Dublin residence ca 1800.

The interior has been altered at various times, with the hall being given a ceiling of Adamesque plasterwork ca 1900.

Little trace of the early and mid-18th century formal landscape survives, though some of the woodland planting doubtless has its origin in this period.

The core of the present informal landscape park was created by Nicholas Price from the 1760s, with most of the work probably taking place in the years after his marriage to the Lady Sarah Pratt in 1779.

This landscape process involved building an extensive demesne wall, closing public roads, putting down new winding carriage drives, building a ha-ha in front of the house and making a small lake with island in a glen to the south.

Once used as a fish-pond, this lake was created by damming a stream where it emerged from a marshy hollow.

New woodland blocks were planted, including perimeter belts and screens, and many of the original stone-faced banks built to protect these survive.

To the south, beyond the glen, an oval hillock was specially adapted for training and racing horses.

The large walled garden, located south of yard, was probably built ca 1760-80, but assumed its present form, being divided into three parts, in the 1840s.

The glasshouses, no longer extant, lay against the south facing north wall (by the yard) and overlooked an ornamental garden with curved southern stone wall (lined with brick on south side).

The two enclosed, walled areas to the south were devoted to kitchen and cold frames (in the south- east corner).

The parkland area immediately around the house had largely assumed its present appearance by the time "insurgents" occupied the place for three days in June, 1798.

After the Union, possibly around 1810, gate lodges were built at the town gate and the west gate, the latter being placed opposite the entrance; both lodges, which have been sold, are in a Regency-Gothic style with hipped roofs, distinctive canted bays and naive, Y-tracery lancet windows; both may be the work of George Dance, the Younger.

In 1847, a new Saintfield-Belfast road was laid down on the east side of the demesne and this work was followed by additional landscaping on the east side of the park.

This included the planting of a large woodland block, laying down a new main avenue approach though this wood and building a highly ornate Tudor-Picturesque-style gate lodge, possibly designed by James Sands, since demolished.

A more modest gate lodge, now sold, was also built facing the new road on the north side of the demesne, giving access to the kennels and yard.

Venerable trees were lost and damage caused to the woods by the Big Wind of January, 1839.

During later Victorian times, exotics were planted in the pleasure grounds to the south of the house and some of these survive.

The demesne woodlands are managed, rhododendron ponticum is being cleared and trees planted.

First published in July, 2010.

Stephenstown House

THE FORTESCUES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LOUTH, WITH 5,262 ACRES

This is a cadet branch of FORTESCUE of Dromiskin (from whom descended the EARLS OF CLERMONT, and the BARONS CLERMONT and CARLINGFORD).

WILLIAM FORTESCUE, of Newrath, County Louth, younger son of SIR THOMAS FORTESCUE, of Dromiskin, married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Nicholas Gernon, of Milltown, County Louth, and died in 1734, leaving, with other issue, a third son,

CAPTAIN MATTHEW FORTESCUE, Royal Navy, who wedded, in 1757, Catherine Doogh, and had (with a daughter, Catherine) a son,

MATHEW FORTESCUE, of Stephenstown, who espoused Mary Anne, eldest daughter of John McClintock MP, of Drumcar, and had issue,

MATHEW, his heir;
Anna Maria; Harriet; Emily.

The only son,

MATHEW FORTESCUE DL (1791-1845), of Stephenstown, married, in 1811, Catherine Eglantine, eldest daughter of Colonel Blair MP, of Blair, and had issue,

Mathew Charles, died in infancy;
JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM, his heir;
Frederick Richard Norman, father of MATTHEW CHARLES EDWARD;
William Hamilton;
Clermont Mathew Augustus.

Mr Mathew Fortescue was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM FORTESCUE JP DL (1822-91), of Stephenstown, and Corderry, Lieutenant-Colonel, RA; High Sheriff of County Louth, 1861, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of County Louth, 1868-79, who wedded, in 1857, Geraldine Olivia Mary Anne, daughter of the Rev Frederick Pare, by the Hon Geraldine de Ros his wife.

He dsp in 1891, and was succeeded by his nephew,

MATTHEW CHARLES EDWARD FORTESCUE JP DL (1861-1914), of Stephenstown, High Sheriff of County Louth, 1903, Major, 6th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, who wedded, in 1894, Edith Magdalen, eldest daughter of Sir Charles Arthur Fairlie-Cunninghame Bt, though the marriage was without issue.

*****

After the death of Mrs Pike-Fortescue in 1966, Stephenstown was inherited  by her nephew, Major Digby Hamilton, who sold it about 1974.

STEPHENSTOWN HOUSE, near Dundalk, County Louth, was a square Georgian house of two storeys over a basement, five bays long and five bays deep.

The house was extended in 1820 by the addition of two wings of one storey over the basement.

One of these wings was demolished later in the 19th century.

At some time in the earlier part of the 19th Century the windows were given Tudor-Revival hood mouldings, but later the house was refaced with cement and the hood mouldings replaced by classical pediments and entablatures.

Alas, the once-great mansion is now ruinous.

Although neglected in recent years, Stephenstown House continues to play a vital role in its surroundings.

It is located on the highest point in the locality dominating the skyline and providing a point of drama in the landscape.

The outlying buildings are in fair condition and their survival contributes further to Stephenstown's significance.

The house became ruinous by the 1980s.

Abandoned Ireland has an interesting article about it here.

Other former seat ~ Wymondham Cottage, Oakham, Rutland.

First published in March, 2012.

Craigavad House

JOHN MULHOLLAND (1819-95), son of Andrew Mulholland, of BALLYWALTER PARK, County Down, married, in 1851, Frances Louisa, daughter of HUGH LYLE, of Knocktarna House, County Londonderry.

Mr Mulholland, MP for Downpatrick, 1874-85, was elevated to the peerage, in 1892, in the dignity of BARON DUNLEATH, of Ballywalter, County Down.

CRAIGAVAD HOUSE, County Down, in name at least, was in existence as far back as 1783, as the home of the Pottingers, of whom Thomas Pottinger was first sovereign (chief magistrate or mayor) of Belfast.

By 1817, however, the house had been acquired by Arthur Forbes.

Following Forbes' death, the house was acquired by John Mulholland, later 1st Baron Dunleath.

A neo-classical house was built in 1851 to the designs of Thomas Turner, formerly an assistant to Charles Lanyon, but by this time practising on his own account.

The contractors were John Kelly and Robert McCready, of Belfast, and the estimated cost was £3,379 (about £400,000 today).

Mulholland initially leased the property from the representatives of SIR ROBERT KENNEDY, of Cultra Manor.

The accommodation included two gate lodges, billiards-room, laundry, drying loft and kitchen; a farmyard with steward's house, barn, piggery and stable.

The gate lodges were valued at £8 each (ca £1,000 today).

By 1869, Craigavad House was occupied by George Washington Charters who appeared to be renting the house from John Mulholland.

About 1882, Sir Edward Porter Cowan, a whiskey distiller, was residing at Craigavad House.

The house was then let by the Cowan family to A M Kirker JP, a prosperous potato grower.

In 1910, the house was acquired by John Campbell White, Lord Mayor of Belfast, 1919-20.

Royal Belfast Golf Club bought Craigavad House and surrounding grounds in 1925 for £6,000 (about £302,000 in 2024) from White's widow and had a course designed by the eminent English course architect, H C Colt, who also laid out Royal Portrush Golf Club.

A major refurbishment costing £40,000 was undertaken in 1958; and in 1978 a grand central hall, rising through the centre of the building, was incorporated.

An extension was added to the clubhouse in 2000, designed by Barrie Todd Architects, which replaced an earlier extension of the 1960s.

This added a new informal bar and glazed entrance to the club.

First published in March, 2014.

Franklin Maxims: II

• HE THAT WOULD LIVE IN PEACE AND AT EASE, MUST NOT SPEAK ALL HE KNOWS, NOR JUDGE ALL HE SEES.

First published in April, 2020.

Carrigglas Manor

THE LEFROYS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LONGFORD, WITH 4,229 ACRES

The LEFROYS are of Flemish extraction, and emigrated from Cambrai to England in the time of the Duke of Alva's persecutions, settling at Canterbury, Kent.

The first settler, about 1559, was ANTOINE LEFROY, a native of Cambrai, who settled in Canterbury ca 1587, where his descendants followed the business of silk dying.

His descendent in the fourth generation, 

THOMAS LEFROY (1680-1723), of Canterbury, married Phœbe, daughter of Thomas Thomson, of Kenfield, by Phœbe his wife, daughter of William Hammond, of St Alban's Court, Kent, and granddaughter of the Rt Hon Sir Dudley Digges, of Chilham Castle, Kent, Master of the Rolls, and had a son,

ANTHONY LEFROY (1703-79), of Leghorn and Canterbury, who married, in 1738, Elizabeth, sister of  Benjamin Langlois MP, many years Under Secretary of State, and had (with one daughter, Phoebe, married to an Italian nobleman), two sons,

ANTHONY PETER;
Isaac Peter George.

The elder son, 

ANTHONY PETER LEFROY (1742-1819), Lieutenant-Colonel, 9th Dragoons, married, in 1765, Anne, daughter of Colonel Gardiner, and had issue,

THOMAS LANGLOIS, of whom hereafter;
Anthony, an army captain;
Benjamin, ancestor of Jeremy John Elton Lefroy MP;
Christopher;
Henry (Rev), Vicar of Santry.

The eldest son, 

THE RT HON THOMAS LANGLOIS LEFROY  (1776-1869), of Carrigglas Manor, LORD CHIEF JUSTICE OF IRELAND, espoused, in 1799, Mary, only daughter and heir of Jeffry Paul, of Silver Spring, County Wexford, member of the younger branch of the family of Sir Robert Paul Bt, and had issue,

ANTHONY, his heir;
THOMAS PAUL, succeeded his brother;
Jeffry (Very Rev), Dean of Dromore;
George Thomson, High Sheriff of Co Longford, 1845;
Jane Christmas; Anne; Mary Elizabeth.

Lord Chief Justice Lefroy, one of the most distinguished lawyers of his time, was called to the Bar in 1797, and appointed a Bencher of the King's Inn, 1819.

He was MP for Trinity College, Dublin, from 1830 until his elevation to the Bench, which took place in 1841, when he was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer.

He was appointed Lord Chief Justice in 1852.

The eldest son,

ANTHONY LEFROY JP DL (1800-90), of Carrigglas Manor, MP for Trinity College, Dublin, 1858-70, County Longford, 1830-47, High Sheriff of County Longford, 1849, married, in 1824, Jane, eldest daughter of Robert Edward, 1st Viscount Lorton, and granddaughter of Robert, 2nd Earl of Kingston, and had issue,

Thomas, died an infant;
Frances Jane; Mary Louisa.

Mr Lefroy was succeeded by his brother,

THOMAS PAUL LEFROY QC (1806-91), of Carrigglas Manor, County Court Judge of Down, Chancellor of the Diocesan Court of Down, Connor and Dromore, Bencher of the King's Inns, who wedded, in 1835, the Hon Elizabeth Massy, daughter of Hugh, 3rd Baron Massy, and had issue,

THOMAS LANGLOIS HUGH, his heir;
AUGUSTINE HUGH, successor to his brother;
Anthony William Hamon (Rev);
Charles Edward;
George Henry;
Alfred Henry;
Margaret Everina; Mary Georgina; Millicent Elizabeth; Grace Elizabeth; Frances Anna.

Judge Lefroy was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS LANGLOIS HUGH LEFROY JP DL (1836-1902), of Carrigglas Manor, High Sheriff of County Longford, 1892, Barrister, who espoused, in 1894, Dorothy Winifred, daughter of Robert Carreg DL, of Carreg, Carnarvonshire.

He dsp 1902, and was succeeded by his brother,

AUGUSTINE HUGH LEFROY JP DL (1839-1915), of Carrigglas Manor and The Lodge, Boxted, Colchester, Essex, High Sheriff of County Longford, 1909, who wedded, in 1878, Isabel Mary, eldest daughter of John Hebblethwaite, of St Clair, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and had issue,

HUGH PERCIVAL THOMSON, his heir;
Augustine George Victor;
Mary Elizabeth; Kathleen Grace.

The eldest son,

HUGH PERCIVAL THOMSON LEFROY DSO MC (1880-1954).

It is believed that Jeffry and Tessa Lefroy were the last of the family to live at Carrigglas.

They had moved in to the house in 1976 and opened to visitors in 1985.

Sadly, the cost of maintaining the mansion house was unsustainable and, after twenty-nine years, they sold the estate in 2005.

CARRIGGLAS MANOR, near Longford, County Longford, is one of the larger and more impressive country estates still extant in that county.

It features buildings from two distinct periods and in two different architectural styles.

The present manor house is built on, or close to, the site of an earlier house.

The estate was originally a manor of the Anglican Bishops of Ardagh.

It was left to Trinity College, Dublin, in the 17th century and was later leased by Trinity College, ca 1695, to the Newcomen family (later the Gleadowe-Newcomen family).

The estate appears to have been later bought by the Newcomens in 1772.

The owner or resident at the turn of the 19th-century, Sir William Gleadowe-Newcomen, commissioned the eminent neoclassical architect James Gandon (1742-1823) to design for him an unusual house/villa.

Gleadowe-Newcomen later went bankrupt, following financial troubles that led to the eventual collapse of the Newcomen Bank, before work could start on this house/villa.

However, a magnificent stable block and farmyard with central pedimented archways, and an elegant triumphal arch gateway incorporating gate lodges to either side, designed by Gandon were built at Carrigglas.

An unusual walled garden on oval-plan and a gardener's house may also have been built to designs by Gandon.

Carrigglas was leased to, and later bought by, Thomas Lefroy (1776-1869) ca 1833.

Reputedly the character Mr Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was based on Judge Lefroy (they met in England when Lefroy was attending college there during the late-18th century).

Lefroy engaged the architect Daniel Robertson (d 1849) to design a new house for him at Carrigglas, ca 1837, demolishing the earlier country house to site.

Robertson designed the new house in an Elizabethan/Tudor architectural idiom, creating a highly picturesque building with a dramatic roof-line of tall Tudoresque chimney-stacks, crenellated turrets and gabled projections that ranks as one of the finest buildings of its type in Ireland.

Robertson was also an accomplished landscape architect, well-known for his work on the Italian gardens at Powerscourt, and he also carried out extensive landscaping at Carrigglas.

The Lefroy family remained at Carriglass Manor until about 2005, when they sold the estate and grounds. 

Other former seat ~ The Lodge, Boxted, Colchester, Essex.

First published in June, 2012.

Franklin Maxims: I

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), a Founding Father of the United States of America, published an almanac entitled Poor Richard's Almanack.

This series of pamphlets ran from 1732 until 1758.

They contained many wise and profound maxims.

I've been so impressed by them that I'm going to post some on the blog.

Here's the first:-

A LITTLE NEGLECT MAY BREED GREAT MISCHIEF;

FOR WANT OF A NAIL THE SHOE WAS LOST;

FOR WANT OF A SHOE THE HORSE WAS LOST;

AND FOR WANT OF A HORSE THE RIDER WAS LOST, BEING OVERTAKEN AND SLAIN BY THE ENEMY, ALL FOR WANT OF CARE ABOUT A HORSE-SHOE NAIL.

First published in April, 2020.

Tallaght Castle

THE first mention we find of the ecclesiastical Province of Dublin is in the 7th century.

In 1152 it was made an archbishopric.

In 1214 the bishopric of Glendalough, which had been founded in the 6th century, was incorporated with Dublin.

It is 64 miles in length from north to south and 46 in the greatest breadth; containing the entire county of Dublin, most of County Wicklow, and part of two others.

The Archbishops had a Dublin residence at 16 St Stephen's Green.

Tallaght Castle, painted for Archbishop Cleaver (1745-1819)

TALLAGHT CASTLE, according to the Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, was originally a castellated edifice of considerable strength, and eventually a modernized and plain mansion.

Alexander de Bicknor, Archbishop of Dublin, 1317-49, established Tallaght Castle in 1324; though it was erected as a means of protection for the town rather than an archiepiscopal residence.

In the mid 1400s, improvements were made by Archbishop Tregury, leading to an increase in usage by subsequent Archbishops.

Archbishop Hoadly built a palace on the remains of the original castle from 1727-29.

The grounds had a brewery, granary and stables.

The structure itself was a spacious but long and narrow building, made of grey stone, and remarkably austere.

The interior contained many apartments of ample proportions, though none were highly embellished.

The hall, entered by a flight of stone steps, measured 21 feet square, and was lit by two tiers of windows.

The dining-room was 25 feet long by 21 feet in width, and was adorned was the archiepiscopal coat-of-arms, "impaled with a shield quarterly, charged in the first quarter with a pigeon".

These arms bore the date 1729, and above was the crest, a "hawk perched on a round ball".

Underneath the armorial bearings was the inscription "JOHANNES HOADLY, HANC DOMUM REFECIT."

The great drawing-room or saloon, measuring 33 feet by 21, contained the only portrait in the palace - a full length of Archbishop Hoadly, who was translated the the See of Dublin in 1729.

The library was a small room with a large window, from which, as with all the windows of the reception rooms, very fine views were afforded of Montpelier Hill, County Dublin, and the adjacent tract of beautiful scenery.

The gardens were designed with "unpleasing formality"; though the historian would have derived some gratification from finding the remains of a tower, an integral part of the original palace.

By 1760 some of the buildings were said to have become dilapidated.

Archbishop Fowler, translated to Dublin in 1778, surrounded the demesne with a wall and made other improvements; though it was judged that the situation of Tallaght was unfavourable as a residence for the Archbishops; and the palace was, eventually, forsaken.

Tallaght, in the 18th century, was said to be "rendered ... undesirable by the depredations of outlaws and robbers, who have peculiarly infested this neighbourhood."

In 1803, the anglican Archbishops of Dublin ceased to reside at Tallaght.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1821 which declared that the palace was unfit for habitation.

In 1822, it was sold to Major Palmer, Inspector-General of Prisons, who pulled most of the palace down and used the materials to build his mansion, "Tallaght House", as well as a schoolhouse and several cottages.

A tower from the original castle was left untouched and later was incorporated in the current priory building.

When the Dominican friars took a lease out on the property in the 1840s one of the buildings was converted into a chapel.

This was replaced by a purpose-built church in 1883.

Part of the house burned down in the first decade of the 1900s.

First published in January, 2018.

Adare Manor

THE EARLS OF DUNRAVEN AND MOUNTEARL WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LIMERICK, WITH 14,298 ACRES 

The descent of the Earls of Dunraven from the ancient Milesian princes is certified by the recognition of the pedigree of their ancestor, Thady Quin, of Adare, in a record entered in Ulster King-of-Arms' office by Sir Richard Carney, Knight, Ulster King of Arms, 1688.

Con Cead Caha, or Con of the Hundred Battles, described by genealogists as monarch in Ireland during the 2nd century, is represented as the founder of the family of QUIN; his grandson, Cormac, who is said to have reigned in AD 254, was the first who adopted the surname of QUIN, which signifies a descendant of Con. The family certainly possessed large territories in Ireland, and governed as hereditary chieftains, before the invasion of the English in the reign of HENRY II. 

The Earls of Dunraven descended from a branch which for many centuries possessed great feudal power in County Clare, whence their ancestors were finally expelled by the more powerful family of O'Brien, and settled in County Limerick.

JAMES QUIN, of Kilmallock, County Limerick (whose brother, John Quin, a Dominican friar, was Bishop of Limerick, 1521), had a son,

DONOUGH QUIN, who was father of

DONOUGH QUIN, who married Judith, heiress of the family of O'Riordan, which had been settled for more than five centuries in County Limerick.

He died in 1621, leaving a son,

THADY QUIN (1645-1726), of Adare, who wedded firstly, Bridget, daughter and heir of Andrew Rice, of Dingle, County Kerry; and secondly, Frances, daughter of Major Hull, son of Sir William Hull, Knight; and thirdly, Catherine, daughter of Piers Morony, by whom he had issue,

VALENTINE, his heir;
John;
James;
Catherine; Eleanor; Judith.

Thady Quin was succeeded by his eldest son,

VALENTINE QUIN, of Adare, who espoused Mary, eldest daughter and co-heir of Henry Widenham, of The Court, County Limerick, and had issue,

WINDHAM, his heir;
George, of Quinsborough;
Mary; Margaret; Alice; Catharine; Anne.

Mr Quin died in 1744, and was succeeded by his elder son,

WINDHAM QUIN (1717-89), of Adare, High Sheriff of County Limerick, 1747, MP for Kilmallock, 1768-76, who married, in 1748, Frances, daughter of Richard Dawson, of Dawson's Grove, County Monaghan, and had issue,

VALENTINE RICHARD, his successor;
Windham, lt-col in the army;
John, in holy orders;
Elizabeth; Mary; Catherine; Frances.

Mr Quin's eldest son,

VALENTINE RICHARD QUIN (1732–1824), MP for Kilmallock, 1800, was created a baronet in 1781, designated of Adare, County Limerick.

Sir Valentine was elevated to the peerage, in 1800, in the dignity of Baron Adare, of Adare, County Limerick; and advanced to a viscountcy, in 1816, as Viscount Mount-Earl.

His lordship was further advanced, in 1822, to the dignities of Viscount Adare and EARL OF DUNRAVEN AND MOUNTEARL.

He wedded firstly, in 1777, Frances, daughter of Stephen, 1st Earl of Ilchester, and had issue,

WINDHAM HENRY, his successor;
Richard George;
Elizabeth; Harriett.

His lordship espoused secondly, Mrs Blennerhasset, widow of Colonel Blennerhasset, but had no further issue.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

2nd Earl of Dunraven (Image: National Library of Wales)

WINDHAM HENRY, 2nd Earl (1782-1850), MP for County Limerick, 1802-20, who married, in 1810, Caroline, daughter of Thomas Wyndham, and had issue,

EDWIN RICHARD, his successor;
Windham Henry, father of the 5th Earl;
Anna Maria Charlotte.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDWIN RICHARD, 3rd Earl (1812-71), KP, MP for Glamorgan, 1837-51, who wedded firstly, in 1836, Augusta, daughter of Thomas Gould, and had issue,

WINDHAM THOMAS, his successor;
Augusta Emily; Mary Frances; Caroline Adelaide; Edith; Emily Anna.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son,

WINDHAM THOMAS, 4th Earl (1841-1926), KP CMG OBE PC, who espoused, in 1869, Florence Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Charles Lennox Kerr, and had issue, three daughters,

Florence Enid; Rachael Charlotte; Aileen May.

His lordship died without male issue, when the titles reverted to his cousin,

WINDHAM HENRY, 5th Earl (1857-1952), CB DSO DL, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1914, who married, in 1885, the Lady Eva Constance Aline Bourke, daughter of Richard, 6th Earl of Mayo, and had issue,

RICHARD SOUTHWELL WINDHAM ROBERT, his successor;
Valentine Maurice;
Olein Eva Constance; Kathleen Sybil.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD SOUTHWELL WINDHAM ROBERT, 6th Earl (1887-1965), CB CBE MC, who espoused firstly, in 1915, Helen Lindsay, daughter of John Swire; and secondly, in 1934, Nancy, daughter of Thomas B Yuille, by whom he had issue,

THADY WINDHAM THOMAS, his successor;
Melissa Eva Caroline; Caroline Olein Geraldine.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son,

THADY WINDHAM THOMAS, 7th Earl (1939-2011), who married, in 1969, Geraldine, daughter of Air Commodore Gerald Ward McAleer CBE, and had issue, an only child,

THE LADY ANNA ELIZABETH WYNDHAM-QUIN (1972-), who wedded, in 2009, Duncan Yeats, son of Patrick Johnson, and has issue,

Tarka Valentine Mary (b 2015);
India Catherine Nancy (b 2016).

Following the death of the 7th Earl without male issue, the titles expired.

Unable to bear the expense of maintaining Adare Manor, the 7th Earl sold it and its contents in 1984.

The mansion was purchased by an Irish-American businessman, Tom Kane, and subsequently converted into a hotel.

Adare Manor was originally a two-storey, seven-bay early 18th century house, most likely built about 1725 by Valentine Quin, grandfather of the 1st Earl of Dunraven.

From 1832, the 2nd Earl, started rebuilding the house in the Tudor-Revival style as a way of occupying himself (his wife was handicapped).

When the house was almost completed in 1846, A W Pugin was commissioned to design some features of the Great Hall.

Between 1850-62, the 3rd Earl finally completed the mansion by building the principal garden front.

The Great Hall is a room of vast size and height, divided down the middle by a screen of giant Gothic arches of stone.

A carved oak Minstrels' Gallery runs along one side; originally there was once an organ loft.

Mark Bence-Jones remarks that Adare Manor, as completed, is a picturesque and grey stone pile, composed of various elements that are rather loosely tied together; some of which are reproduced from Tudor originals in England. viz. the entrance tower, bearing a verisimilitude to the Cloister Court at Eton College.

The Long Gallery above is 132 feet long and 26 feet in height.

The mansion is set in a 840-acre estate and now operates as a luxury hotel, featuring the Adare Golf Club, Elemis Treatment Rooms, Townhouses and Villas on the rest of the resort.

President Clinton stayed at Adare Manor in September, 1998.

First published in August, 2011.

Lower Crescent, Belfast

Lower Crescent in 2014:  looking towards Botanic Avenue and Cameron Street

Lower Crescent and Upper Crescent, both in the University quarter of south Belfast, have always inspired me, even since childhood.

Lower Crescent, which runs from 4, University Road to Botanic Avenue, is to the north of Upper Crescent.

Upper Crescent runs from 28, University Road to Crescent Gardens.

Number 5 for sale in 2014

The sale of much of Lord Donegall's Belfast estate in the early to mid-19th century freed large areas of land around the town for development.

The lands to the south, along the Malone Ridge, were particularly attractive to developers and fostered the construction of many fine late Georgian-style terraces from the mid 1830s onwards, a trend accelerated by the establishment of Queen's College (now Queen's University) in the area, in the later 1840s.

These grand, new terraces were occupied by the city's professional and business classes, vacating their former residences in the town centre, which, in turn, were gradually turned into shops and offices.

Upper Crescent was perhaps regarded as the grandest terrace development undertaken to the south of Belfast, an elegantly curving row of three-storey town-houses in a late Regency style, built in 1846 by the timber merchant Robert Corry.

Dr Paul Larmour has suggested that Sir Charles Lanyon may have been consulted about the design.

Corry himself undertook the building work and took up residence at 16 Upper Crescent.

For the first few years of its existence, this row was known as Corry's Crescent.

To the immediate north of Upper Crescent, where Crescent Church now stands, there was a large lawn which Corry used as a garden.

Shortly after this garden was laid out, however, Corry had it ploughed up and used for the cultivation of vegetables for relief of local workers suffering as a result of the famine.

To the north of this garden ran an old water course; to the east, some smaller gardens (belonging to other occupants of Upper Crescent); and further to the east and to the north-east ran Albion Lane.

In 1852, Robert Corry built another terrace to the north of his garden and just south of the old water course.

This new development, Lower Crescent, was much in the same vein as that to the south, and was occupied by the same mix of professionals and businessmen; though, by as early as 1860, the ground floors of some of the properties were used as offices.

In the late 1860s, a railway line was laid to the immediate north of Lower Crescent (along the line of the old water course).

In 1873, the large sandstone building, (originally Ladies Collegiate, later Victoria College), was added to the west end of the terrace, with two houses added to the east end by the end of the decade, the most easterly of which, Rivoli House, originally contained a dance academy run by a Frederick Brouneau.

The new railway line cut across Albion Lane and presaged the laying out of a new, broader thoroughfare, to be named Botanic Avenue.

Upper Crescent also witnessed further building in the 1860s and 70s, with two large William Hastings-designed properties erected to the west end in 1869, one of which, Crescent House (latterly a bank) also fronted on to University Road.

In 1878-79, two further houses were added to this end, on the ground between those of 1869.

In 1885-7, the large Presbyterian church (the present Crescent Church) was erected to plans by the Glasgow architect, John Bennie Wilson, on the west side of Robert Corry's former garden, with a two-storey terrace, the present Crescent Gardens, built on the site of smaller garden plots to the east end, in 1898.

During the first half of the 20th century, most of the properties of Upper and Lower Crescent, as well as Crescent Gardens, remained private dwellings.

However, by 1960 many were given over to business use; others divided into flats, with the former Rivoli House, (later called Dreenagh House), becoming a hotel.

This trend continued, and by the beginning of the 21st century none were occupied as private dwellings.

In the mid 1990s, three of the 1860-70 houses at the west end of Upper Crescent were demolished and a modern office block built in their place; whilst in 2000 the railway cutting to the south of Lower Crescent was built over, in preparation for a new development.

1 LOWER CRESCENT:

occupied by Frederick Gee, commission merchant. Gee appears to have remained there until at least 1882, though a Charles McDowell is listed by 1877. By 1899, it was in the hands of neighbouring Victoria College. When the Victoria College building changed hands to become the Crescent Arts Centre in 1978, this property remained associated with it, becoming The Octagon Gallery. It is largely used as a store by the Arts Centre.

2 LOWER CRESCENT:

One of the eleven houses which made up the original 1852 section of Lower Crescent. In 1858, it was occupied by John Savage, flax merchant. John Corry (a relative of the abovementioned Robert Corry) is listed as resident in 1862; Mrs Cuppage in 1877; and Mrs McDowell in the 1890-1900. The property came into possession of Victoria College at some time between 1910-20 and remained as such until that institution left Lower Crescent in the 1970s; however, for much of this period, it appears to have been leased to various businesses and private tenants. In the 1980s, it became a health centre (which appears to have been integrated with its neighbour, number 3); then a stationery shop; and later, offices.

3 LOWER CRESCENT:

In 1858, was listed as vacant, but was occupied by Henry Smith in 1860; the Rev John Moore in 1861; and William Moffat, 1877. In the 1890s and early 1900s, it was occupied by Mrs Margaret Byers, ounder of Victoria College. It was still in possession of Victoria College for some years after Mrs Byers' decease in 1912, but was either sold or leased out by the school by 1930, for by this date it had become a private dwelling once again. The property remained a dwelling house until the 1970s.

4 LOWER CRESCENT:

Thomas Hanlon, of Messrs George McTear & Company, Steam Packet Agents, Donegall Quay; Miss Jane Vance, by 1860. Miss Vance was followed a few years later by Dr Peter Redfern, who remained there until ca 1915. The property appears to remained a private dwelling until the 1950s, when it was divided into flats. It remained as such until the early 1980s, when the flats were converted to offices. The return is recorded as two storey in the valuation of 1860. The decoration to the second floor landing (which matches that to the first floor) suggests that it may have been raised a storey not long after this date.

5-6 LOWER CRESCENT:

Number 5 was occupied by Mrs Andrews; Henry Dickson resided at number 6. By 1860, number 5 was occupied by Aylward Connor, with its ground floor used as offices. Connor appears to have remained there until the late 1870s, when the property became home to Colonel Audain. Number 6 passed to Mrs Charnock in 1870, with both she and the Audain family occupying both houses until 1910 at least. Both buildings appear to have remained private dwellings until the 1970s, but by 1980 number 6 was an office. In the late 1980s, number 5 was coverted to a bar and night club, The Fly. In the late 1990s, this bar was greatly expanded, when its owners acquired number 6 and added a large extension to the rear of the newly-created single property.

7 LOWER CRESCENT:

Robert Cassidy, a solicitor, who, (by 1860 at least) used the ground floor as an office. In 1870,  James Campbell is listed as resident; Henry F Thomas in 1877; Samuel Alexander in 1882; and Mrs Orr in 1910. The property appears to have been divided into flats in the 1960s, but had become an office (once again) by 1980.

8 LOWER CRESCENT:

Tobias Porter, Belfast Flour Mills Manager, who appears to have remained there until at least 1882. In 1899, Mrs Lyons is recorded as resident; with Miss Lyons in occupation from about 1910-40s. From the mid 1950s until the late 1970s, this property and number 9 served as the canteen for Victoria College. No doubt much of the internal changes to both buildings date from this period. The building has housed various offices from the late 1970s onwards.

9 LOWER CRESCENT:

Samuel Delacherois, gentleman. In 1860, it was occupied by a John K McCausland, who appears to have remained there until at least 1882. The next occupant was Miss Vance, who was followed by Mrs Jackson about 1915. In the 1940s, the property came into the possession of Victoria College; and in the following decade became, (along with neighbouring number 8), the college's canteen. After the departure of Victoria College from Lower Crescent in the late 1970s, the property was converted to offices.

10 LOWER CRESCENT:

And its neighbour to the east (11) were used as offices for the Ordnance Survey, but by 1860, number 10 was a private dwelling once again, occupied by Robert W Corry. Corry was followed in 1862 by John Arnold, who remained there until the mid 1880s at least. In 1899, Mrs McKnight is listed as resident; Miss Warner in 1910; Mr T Kernaghan, linen merchant, in 1920. By 1940, the property appears to have been divided into two flats. In 1960, three flats are recorded, with four in 1970. These fluctuating divisions of the property appear to have changed again in the later 1970s, when the first floor became amalgamated with the first floors of numbers 8 and 9 to form a large office suite.

11 LOWER CRESCENT:

Was, by 1860, occupied by Charles Gaussen, who was followed in 1861 by Henry Cuppage, who remained there until at least 1882. In 1899, William Pedlow, District Inspector, National Schools, Belfast South, is listed as resident; then David Wright, bottle merchant and representative of the Chilean Nitrate Committee; T  Kernaghan in 1920; and Mr S E Fitchie, wholesale stationer, in 1930. By 1940, the property became a nursing home; then a guest house in 1951; but reverted to a private residence from the late 1950s to the 1970s. By 1980, the property was converted to offices.

12 LOWER CRESCENT:

Built in 1877-78 to designs by architect William Hastings, who had also worked on the larger property to the east (13) two years earlier. The building was originally occupied by William J Morrison, with William Campbell in residence in 1899. Campbell remained there until some time between 1910-20. Miss Gardener occupyed the house in 1921. In 1930, a journalist named Alex Riddle and Professor Ivor Arnold are recorded as residents; with three occupants listed in 1940, two in 1951 and three in the 1960s and 1970s. Clearly the property must have been split into flats ca 1930. In the late 1980s, the building was converted to a restaurant, linked with the neighbouring hotel (13), with hotel rooms to the upper floors. In the late 1990s, the restaurant was converted to a public bar. 

Sources: Henderson's Belfast Directory; Belfast & Province of Ulster Directory; ST Carleton, The Growth of South Belfast (QUB MA thesis, 1967); John Caughey, Seize Then The Hour: A history of James P Corry & Compnay (Belfast, 1974), pp.28-29; David Evans, Historic buildings of Queen's University (revised edition, 1980); Alison Jordan: Margaret Byers, Pioneer of Women's Education (QUB Institute of Irish Studies).

First published in March, 2014.

Kinlough House

THE JOHNSTONS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 14,395 ACRES

ROBERT JOHNSTON (1768-1843), of Kinlough House, County Leitrim, and 23 Mountjoy Square, Dublin, married Florence, daughter of Henry Rathborne, of Dunsinea, County Dublin, and had, with other issue,

WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Henry (Ven.), Archdeacon of Elphin;
St George Robert.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM JOHNSTON JP (1814-88), of Kinlough House and Mountjoy Square, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1850, wedded, in 1856, Sarah Jane, daughter of the Rev William Percy, Rector of Carrick-on-Shannon, and had issue,

JAMES, his heir;
Florence Elizabeth; Sophia Mary;
Emma Caroline; Lucy Katherine.

Mr Johnston was succeeded by his son,

JAMES JOHNSTON JP DL (1858-), of Kinlough House, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1884, who married, in 1890, Rebecca Ceely, daughter of Maurice Ceely Maude, of Lenaghan Park, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

William James, 1891-3;
ROBERT CHRISTOPHER, b 1896.

I have been unable to find much information relating to the Johnstons of Kinlough.

KINLOUGH HOUSE, originally known as Oakfield House, was the seat of the Johnston family in the early 18th century.

It was remodelled in the 1820s by Robert Johnston, who renamed it Kinlough House.

In 1943 the Irish Tourist Association Survey recorded that the house had been destroyed by fire twenty years earlier, but that the gardens were still open to the public.

Housing development is occurring on the site, adjacent to the walled garden.

It was a five-bay, two-storey over basement house, built ca 1800 by Robert Johnston; now ruinous.

Its roof has been removed.

There were two ashlar chimney-stacks with string courses; sandstone walls with ruled-and-lined render; and tooled limestone quoins and string course.

It had a Doric portico to the façade, with tripartite window and pediment above.

Segmental-arched openings to basement with cast-iron railings.

Although this impressive former country house now lies in ruins, the grandeur and elegance of the building still survives.

Detailing such as the flower motif to the tripartite window contributes to the artistic quality of the house.

First published in March, 2012.   Sir James (Jim) Kilfedder MP (1928-1995) was born at Kinlough, County Leitrim.