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

NICHOLAS PRICE, of HOLLYMOUNT, near Downpatrick, County Down, wedded Catherine, daughter of James Hamilton, MP, and widow of Vere Essex Cromwell, 4th EARL OF ARDGLASS, 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.

Drenagh House

THE McCAUSLANDS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LONDONDERRY, WITH 12,886 ACRES

 This is a junior branch (which settled in Ulster during the reign of JAMES VI, King of Scots) of the ancient Scottish house of MACAUSLANE, of Buchanan, which sprang from

JOHN MACAUSLANE, who acquired the lands of Buchanan, on The Lennox, and from whom they descended in direct male succession to Sir Walter MacAuslane, 11th Laird, who lived during the reign of ROBERT II.

The heir male is said to have settled in Ulster during the reign of JAMES VI, King of Scots.

He had two sons, of whom the elder,

ANDREW MACAUSLANE, was grandfather of 

COLONEL ROBERT McCAUSLAND (c1685-c1734), of Fruit Hill, near Limavady, styled his "cousin" in the will of Captain Oliver McCausland, of Strabane, of which he was left executor and also a legatee.

He had estates in the parish of Cappagh, County Tyrone, and succeeded under the will of the RT HON WILLIAM CONOLLY to considerable property in County Londonderry.

Colonel McCausland married, in 1709, Hannah, daughter of William Moore, of Garvey, and widow of James Hamilton, junior, of Strabane, and by her left surviving issue,

CONOLLY, his heir;
Marcus, of Daisy Hill;
Frederick, of Streeve Hill;
Sarah; Rebecca; Hannah.

The eldest son,

CONOLLY McCAUSLAND (1713-94), of Fruit Hill, wedded, in 1742, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Gage, of Magilligan, and eventually sole heir to her brother, Hodson Gage, of BELLARENA and left issue, 

CONOLLY, his heir;
Marcus;
Hannah; Elizabeth; Sarah; Sydney.

The elder son,

CONOLLY McCAUSLAND (1754-1827), of Fruit Hill, espoused, in 1778, Theodosia, sister to Maurice, 3rd Baron Hartland,  and daughter of THOMAS MAHON, of Strokestown House, by Jane, daughter of Maurice, Lord Brandon, and had issue,

MARCUS, his heir;
Conolly Robert;
Frederick Hervey;
Jane; Elizabeth; Eleanor; Theodosia.

Mr McCausland, who assumed the name of GAGE in 1816, was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

MARCUS McCAUSLAND DL (1787-1862), of Fruit Hill (Drenagh), who married, in 1815, Marianne, daughter of Thomas Tyndall, of The Fort, near Bristol, and had issue,

CONOLLY THOMAS, his heir;
Marianne; Theodosia Sydney; Henrietta Caroline; Katherine Geraldine;
Eleanor Georgiana; Julia; Georgiana; Adelaide.

Mr McCausland was succeeded by his only son,

CONOLLY THOMAS McCAUSLAND JP DL (1828-1902), of Drenagh, High Sheriff of County Londonderry, 1866, Captain, Derry Militia, who wedded, in 1867, Laura, second daughter of St Andrew, 15th Baron St John of Bletso, and had issue,

MAURICE MARCUS, his heir;
Patrick;
Edmund Thomas William;
Eleanor Marianna Katharine; Lucia; Geraldine; Julia Sydney; Lettice Theodosia; Emily Octavia.

Captain McCausland was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON MAURICE MARCUS McCAUSLAND (1872-1938), of Drenagh, High Sheriff of County Londonderry, 1908, Lord-Lieutenant of County Londonderry, 1926-38, who wedded, in 1902, Eileen Leslie, second daughter of ROBERT ALEXANDER OGILBY, OF PELLIPAR, County Londonderry, and had issue,

CONOLLY ROBERT, his heir;
Helen Laura, b 1903;
Eileen Mary, b 1910.

Mr McCausland was succeeded by his only son,

CONOLLY ROBERT McCAUSLAND MC JP DL (1906-68), of Drenagh, Lieutenant-Colonel, Irish Guards, who espoused, in 1932, the Lady Margaret Edgcumbe, daughter of 6th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, and had issue,

MARCUS EDGCUMBE, his heir;
Antony Richard, b 1941;
Piers Conolly, b 1949;
Mary Fania; Caroline Ann.

Colonel McCausland was succeeded by his eldest son,

MARCUS EDGCUMBE McCAUSLAND (1933-72), of Drenagh, who married, in 1962, June Patricia MacAdam, and had issue,

CONOLLY PATRICK, b 1964;
Shane Francis Marcus, b 1968;
Marianne Laura, b 1970.

Captain McCausland, an officer in the Ulster Defence Regiment, became the first soldier to be murdered by the IRA, in 1972.

His elder son,

CONOLLY PATRICK McCAUSLAND (1964-), of Drenagh, married Sheelagh Ann Williams, and has issue, four daughters, of whom two are twins.

DRENAGH, near Limavady, is the finest demesne in County Londonderry and one of the noblest country houses in Ulster.

Drenagh House, formerly known as Fruithill, was inherited by Colonel Robert McCausland, agent of the Rt Hon William "Speaker" Conolly, who had purchased the estate from the Phillips family.

Colonel McCausland erected the first house a few hundred yards south-east of the present mansion, overlooking the Glen Plantation.

The original house was extended in 1796, and was said to have had a fine demesne with well laid out walks and plantations.

The walled garden of that period is still retained along with one barn and a gardener’s house.

The house had a different avenue approach from the old Coleraine Road and this can still be discerned from early maps.

Before the old house was abandoned, a new avenue approach was made to the house from the new Coleraine Road (now Broad Road).

During this period (ca 1830) W Hargrave was commissioned to consider designs for a new house which was three storeys with canted bays.

However, before these plans could materialise into buildings, both McCausland and Hargrave died and the present gate lodge, known as Logan’s Lodge, or the east lodge of ca 1830, is all that was built of Hargrave’s design.

Charles Lanyon, who arrived in County Antrim as surveyor in 1836, was commissioned to prepare designs for house, offices and outhouses; and these appear to have reached fruition about 1840.

At the same time, the west avenue approach was changed and the west lodge was built to Lanyon’s specifications.

Pleasant gardens were extended in the Glen, with a viewing platform having impressive niche and fountain below and beyond a pool and parterre.

Nothing remains of the former house.

Today Drenagh demesne extends to about 1,000 acres.

It comprises two storeys, using an agreeable pinkish sandstone ashlar.

There is a five-bay entrance front, with a recessed central bay and a single-storey Ionic portico whose outer columns are coupled.

The adjoining front is of six bays, with a pedimented breakfront which is emphasized by three massive pilasters supporting the pediment.

There is a lower service wing at the side; a balustraded parapet round the roof and on the portico.

There is a magnificent single-storey, top-lit central hall with screens of fluted Corinthian columns.

An elegant double staircase, with exquisite cast-iron balusters, rises from behind one of the screens.

There are also rich plasterwork ceilings in the hall, over the staircase and in the drawing-room.

The morning-room and dining-room have more modest ceilings.

The outbuildings are extensive.

A vista through the gap in the trees beyond the entrance front boasts an idyllic landscape far below.

Most notable is the Chinese Garden, with its circular "moon gate", developed by the Lady Margaret McCausland in the 1960s.

The demesne itself is part-walled and dates from the early 18th century.

There are fine woodland, parkland and shelter belt trees.

The ground within the demesne is undulating, descending to the Castle River running to the south of the house and to the Curly River to the north and east.

Neither river is used as an ornamental feature.

An unusual Italianate high balustraded terrace, with a commanding view point, formerly looked over an extensive 19th century Italian Garden, which is now overgrown.

The vista at the present time overlooks what has become dense woodland, including exotics and rhododendrons.

A water garden in the foreground includes a handsome stone pond built in the 1960s to the designs of Frances Rhodes.

The 'Moon Garden' was also designed by Frances Rhodes in 1968.

It is an enclosed area influenced by both Chinese and Arts and Crafts garden design, which remains fully planted up.

It incorporates pre-1830s office buildings.

Outside is the ‘Orbit Garden’, also by Rhodes, planted with shrubs, trees and herbaceous material.

An area south east of and adjacent to the house had a late 20th century ornamental garden, which is now grassed.

The walled garden is used for nursery planting.

It was enlarged after the present house was built. Logan’s Lodge, 1830 by Hargrave, pre-dates the present house.

The main entrance gate lodge, gates and screen are ca 1840 by Lanyon.

Streeve, the dower house, is within the demesne and has its own garden.

Images courtesy of Conolly McCausland.   First published in February, 2010.

1st Baron Ormathwaite

THE BARONS ORMATHWAITE WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN RADNORSHIRE, WITH 12,428 ACRES

JOHN BENN, of Moor Row, Whitehaven, Cumberland, married Mary, daughter of William Grayson, and died about 1729, leaving issue,

WILLIAM;

Mary, m John Bell.

The only son,

WILLIAM BENN, of Moor Row, wedded Mary, daughter of Timothy Nicholson, and died in 1759, leaving issue, 

JOHN, his heir;

Mary, m the Rev Clement Watts.

The only son,

JOHN WALSH (formerly Benn) (1759-1825), of Ormathwaite, High Sheriff of Radnorshire, 1798, MP for Bletchingley, 1802-4, married, in 1778, Margaret, daughter of Joseph Fowke, of Bexley, Kent (by Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Walsh, Governor of Madras, and sister of John Walsh, of Warfield Park), and took the surname and arms of WALSH only, in 1795, pursuant to the will of the said John Walsh), and had issue,

JOHN BENN, his successor;

Elizabeth.

Mr Walsh was created a baronet in 1804, designated of Ormathwaite, Cumberland.

He was succeeded by his only son,

SIR JOHN BENN WALSH, 2nd Baronet (1798-1881), JP DL, of Warfield Park, and 28, Berkeley Square, London, High Sheriff of Radnorshire, 1823, MP for Sudbury, 1830-4, 1838-40, Radnorshire, 1840-68, who wedded, in 1825, the Lady Jane Grey, daughter of George, 6th Earl of Stamford, and had issue,

ARTHUR, his successor;

Digby (Rev);

Maria Katherine; Augusta Rosa.

His lordship was elevated to the peerage, in 1868, in the dignity of BARON ORMATHWAITE, of Ormathwaite, Cumberland.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR, 2nd Baron (1827-1920),

Arthur Walsh, 2nd Baron (1827–1920)
Arthur Henry John Walsh, 3rd Baron (1859–1937)
George Harry William Walsh, 4th Baron (1863–1943)
Reginald Walsh, 5th Baron (1868–1944)
John Arthur Charles Walsh, 6th Baron (1912–1984)

Seats ~ Penybont Hall, Llandrindod, Wells, Radnorshire; Ormathwaite, Keswick, Cumberland; Warfield Park, Bracknell, Berkshire; Eywood, Titley, Herefordshire.  Town House ~ 28, Berkeley Square.

The Stewart Baronets

THE STEWART BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY TYRONE, WITH 27,905 ACRES

ANDREW STEWART (commonly styled Captain Andrew Stewart), who, with Andrew, 1st Baron Castle Stewart, to whom he was related, and his (Andrew's) brother James, who afterwards fixed his abode at Ballymenagh, County Tyrone, went from Scotland to Ulster about 1627.

On his marriage (mentioned hereafter), he obtained from Lord Castle Stewart the greater part of the manor of Castle Stewart; but afterwards built, and resided at, another residence, called Gortigal, near Stewartstown, County Tyrone. 

Captain Stewart served with Colonel the Hon Robert Stewart, of Irry, in defence of the forts of Dungannon and Mountjoy; and at the rising of the rebels at Artclea, County Tyrone, for the purpose of destroying the Protestant families of that county, his house was attacked; but with a few Scots followers he defended it for two days, when assistance was sent to him from Mountjoy Fort.

He married Sarah, eldest daughter of Lord Ochiltree, and sister to Mary, Countess of Suffolk, and had issue,

Robert, whose only child, Janet, m 1684, R Bell;

HUGH, of whom we treat;

Andrew;

James, a naval officer, slain in battle;

Annie.

Captain Stewart, having long been a gentleman of vengeance, for his zeal and loyalty he evinced in the royal cause, was at length put to death by rebels in 1650.

His second son,

HUGH STEWART, of Gortigal, wedded Margaret, daughter of Thomas Morris, of Mountjoy Castle, and had four sons, of whom the youngest,

THE REV HUGH STEWART (1711-1800), Rector of Termon, County Tyrone, wedded, in 1755, Sarah, sister and co-heir of Sir Henry Hamilton Bt, of Castle Conyngham, County Donegal, and daughter of the Ven Andrew Hamilton DD, Archdeacon of Raphoe, and Sarah his wife, daughter and heiress of Henry Conyngham, of Castle Conyngham), and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Andrew, East India Company;
Henry (Rev), Rector of Loughgilly, Co Armagh;
Ann; Sarah; Amelia.

The Rev Hugh Stewart died at Bath, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON JOHN STEWART (1757-1825), of Athenree, who having attained eminence at the Bar, was appointed attorney-general for Ireland in 1799, and sworn of the privy council of that kingdom.

Mr Stewart was subsequently MP for Augher, 1794-7, Bangor, 1797-1800. and Tyrone, 1802-6, and 1812-25.

He was created a baronet in 1803, designated of Athenree, County Tyrone.

Sir John espoused Mary, daughter of Mervyn Archdale, of Castle Archdale, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
Mervyn;
Barbara; Mary; Phœbe Julia.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR HUGH STEWART, 2nd Baronet (1792-1854), MP for Tyrone, 1830-35, who wedded firstly, in 1826, Julia, daughter of Marcus Gage, and had issue,

JOHN MARCUS, his successor;
Julia.

He wedded secondly, in 1837, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev Henry Lucas St George, and had further issue,

Hugh;
Henry Lucas St George;
Elizabeth; Mary; another daughter.

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN MARCUS STEWART, 3rd Baronet (1830-1905), DL, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1858, who married, in 1856, Annie Coote, daughter of George Powell Houghton, and had issue,

Albert Fortescue, d 1925;
HUGH HOUGHTON, his successor;
GEORGE POWELL, successor to his brother;
John Marcus;
Charles Gage;
Cosmo Gordon;
Julian Leslie (Rev);
Annie Coote Houghton; Mary; Madeleine Delamont; two other offspring.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR HUGH HOUGHTON STEWART, 4th Baronet (1858-1942), JP DL, Brigadier-General in the army, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1903, who married twice, though the marriage was without issue.

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his brother,

SIR GEORGE POWELL STEWART, 5th Baronet (1861-1945), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who wedded, in 1895, Florence Maria Georgina, daughter of Colonel Sir James Godfray, and had issue,

John Houghton (1895-1915) killed in action;
HUGH CHARLIE GORFRAY, his successor;
Mary.

Sir George was succeeded by his surviving son,

SIR HUGH CHARLIE GODRAY STEWART, 6th Baronet (1897-1994), DL, of Loughmacrory Lodge, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1955, who espoused firstly, in 1929, Rosemary Elinor Dorothy, daughter of George Peacocke, and had issue,

DAVID JOHN CHRISTOPHER, his successor;
Elinor Godfray.

He married secondly, in 1948, Diana Margaret, daughter of James Edmund Hibbert, and had further issue,

Jane Diana;
Hugh Nicholas (Nick).

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR DAVID JOHN CHRISTOPHER STEWART, 7th and present Baronet (1935-), who lives in Somerset.

Nick Stewart, whose half-brother is the present baronet, has kindly sent me two old photographs of Ballygawley House taken by his father in the winter of 1914.

At that time the demesne was known as Greenhill.

BALLYGAWLEY HOUSE, near Ballygawley, County Tyrone, was set in its own parkland, was a Classical mansion of two storeys, with a two-storey portico supported by two giant Doric columns and a shallow dome.

It was built for the 2nd Baronet between 1825 and 1833, to the design of John Hargrave.

Seemingly, the mansion suffered an accidental fire during the 1920s and the Stewart family never returned to it. 

First published in December, 2010.

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.

Finnebrogue House

THE PERCEVAL-MAXWELLS OWNED 8,469 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

GEORGE PERCEVAL (1635-75) was the youngest son of Sir Philip Perceval, Knight, the distinguished statesman (great-grandfather of John, 1st Earl of Egmont), by Catherine Usher his wife, daughter of Arthur Usher and granddaughter of Sir William Usher, Clerk of the Council and Registrar of the Prerogative Court, Dublin.

He married Mary, daughter and heir of William Crofton, of Temple House, County Sligo, and by her had issue,

Philip, of Temple House, his heir;
WILLIAM, of whom we treat;
Charles;
Catherine.

Mr Perceval was drowned near Holyhead, on his voyage to England, with the 2nd Earl of Meath and other persons of distinction.

His second son,

THE VERY REV WILLIAM PERCEVAL (1671-1734), Archdeacon of Cashel and Dean of Emly, wedded, in 1708, Catherine, daughter of Henry Prittie, of Silvermines, County Tipperary, and had issue,

Kene (Rev), Vicar of Powerscourt & Castle Knock;
WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Charles (Rev), Rector of Mitchelstown;
Catherine.

The second son,

WILLIAM PERCEVAL (1711-84), Barrister, wedded firstly, in 1838, Elizabeth, daughter of John Croker, of Dublin (she dsp 1739).

He married secondly, in 1748, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Ward, of Lisbane, County Down, and had issue,

Charles (Rev);
William;
ROBERT, of whom we treat.

The youngest son,

ROBERT PERCEVAL (1756-1839), Physician-General to HM Forces in Ireland during Lord Talbot's viceroyalty, Professor of Chemistry, Trinity College, Dublin, espoused, in 1785, Anne, eldest daughter of John Brereton, of Rathgilbert, and had issue, an only child,

THE REV WILLIAM PERCEVAL (1787-1880), of Kilmore Hill, County Waterford, and Annefield, County Dublin, who wedded, in 1809, Anne, eldest daughter of John Waring Maxwell, of Finnebrogue, County Down (descended from a younger son of the Very Rev Robert Maxwell, Dean of Armagh, from whose eldest son, Robert, springs the noble house of FARNHAM), and had issue,

ROBERT, his heir;
John Maxwell, CB (1814-1900), of Dillon House, Downpatrick; General in the army;
Richard, of Kilmore Hill, Waterford;
Spencer;
William;
Charles Frederick;
Anne Sarah; Maria Dorothea; Caroline; Madelina.

Mr Perceval's eldest son,

ROBERT PERCEVAL-MAXWELL JP DL (1813-1905), of Finnebrogue and Groomsport House, and Moore Hill, County Waterford, wedded, in 1839, Helena Anne, daughter of William Moore, of Moore Hall, County Waterford, son of the Hon William Moore, second brother of the 1st Earl Mount Cashell, and had issue,

JOHN WILLIAM, his heir;
William John, of Moore Hill, Tallow;
Robert;
Stephen Richard Nassau;
Henry Spencer;
Mary Elizabeth; Madelina Dorothea;
Helena Anne; Harriette Louisa; Alicia Catherine;
ISABELLA MARIA, of Groomsport House;
ANNA CAROLINE, of Groomsport House.

Mr Perceval-Maxwell, High Sheriff of County Down, 1841, was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN WILLIAM PERCEVAL-MAXWELL (1840-75), of Tyrella House, County Down, High Sheriff of County Down, 1873, who married, in 1868, Selina Frances Imogene, eldest daughter of David Stewart Ker, of Montalto, County Down, and had issue,

ROBERT DAVID, his successor;
Anna Violet Madelina (1875-1902).

Mr Robert Perceval-Maxwell dvp in 1875, and was succeeded at his decease by his grandson,

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL THE RT HON ROBERT DAVID PERCEVAL-MAXWELL DSO JP DL (1870-1932), of Finnebrogue and Groomsport House, High Sheriff of County Down, 1911, who espoused, in 1895, Edith Grace, daughter of Dr Henry Haswell Head, and had issue,

JOHN ROBERT, his heir;
Richard Henry;
Patrick Edward;
Brian Stephen David.

Colonel Perceval-Maxwell was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAJOR JOHN ROBERT PERCEVAL-MAXWELL DL (1896-1963), of Finnebrogue, High Sheriff of County Down, 1937, who married, Phœbe Laura, daughter of Sir Benjamin Lennard Cherry, and had issue,

Robin;

Andrew John;
GAVIN RICHARD;

Peter;

Michael (1933-2022);
Selina Imogen Elizabeth Loraine. 

Major Perceval-Maxwell was a breeder of Shorthorn and Hereford cows, an active figure in the political and cultural life of Northern Ireland; a member of both the NI House of Commons and Senate; from 1945-49, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce; a founder member of the NI Regional Committee of the National Trust in 1936 and for a time the NI Government nominee on the Council of the NT in London.

Major Perceval-Maxwell's younger son,

GAVIN RICHARD PERCEVAL-MAXWELL (1924-2009), High Sheriff of County Down, 1968, married Patricia Margaret Angley, and had issue,

JOHN WILLIAM (Bill) RICHARD PERCEVAL-MAXWELL (1963-), who married Loveday Manners Price, and has issue,

Thomas Alexander William, born in 2006;
Cecily Florence Loveday, born in 2006.

W J R Perceval-Maxwell in 2019 at Home near Lorgues, France

The Perceval-Maxwell Papers are held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

The Perceval-Maxwell Papers are held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

FINNEBROGUE HOUSE, near Downpatrick, County Down, dates from at least the early 17th century and occupies a beautiful situation in undulating drumlin country by the meandering shores of Strangford Lough.

It was known to be in the possession of the Maxwell family in 1635, though the present house, an H-plan block, is basically late-17th century in date, with a central, winged range projecting at the front and back.

Entrance Front. Photo Credit: Finnebrogue House

The house is of two storeys over a basement, with an attic storey in the side and rear elevations.

The entrance front is of five bays, with two additional bays at the end of each wing.

The upper storey of the central range is treated as a piano nobile, with higher windows than those below.

Following a fire in 1795, this house was subject to a comprehensive restoration by Dorothea Maxwell.

The original high-pitched roof was replaced by a roof that was lower, though still high by late 18th century standards; late-Georgian sash windows were inserted. Some of the internal partition walls are of peat or turf.

The surrounding parkland was the focus of an extensive late 17th century and early 18th century geometric designed landscape.

Photo Credit: Finnebrogue House

Typically, this layout was focused upon the house, which stands on an elevated position, with a north-south axis view to Down Cathedral and Inch Parish Church.

A series of symmetrical enclosures, comprising courts, gardens and orchards, would have surrounded the building, including an entrance court on the north side.

Straight tree-lined avenues were aligned on the house while the demesne included regularly disposed 'fair plantations', mentioned in 1744 by Walter Harris in The Ancient and Present State of County Down.

Relics of these early formal features include the ‘Fairy Gates’ (ca 1680), which may not be in situ, and presently lie on the south side of the demesne.

The formal geometric layout was replaced by the present ‘naturalistic’ landscape park in the late 18th century by Colonel John Maxwell, of Falkland, and John Waring Maxwell.

The landscape designer has not yet been established.

New surrounding shelter belts and screens were planted, the woodlands considerably extended, an expansive 27 acre lake was dug and carefully disposed clumps and isolated tree specimens were added to the open meadows.

Main Gate Lodge

The old, straight, tree-lined avenues were swept away and, in their place, a new sinuous drive was laid down to approach the house from the south-east; its gate lodge was built in the 1880s by Fennell.

Additional plantings were added to the parkland in early Victorian times while, at this time, the demesne was also lavishly developed as a model farm.

The parkland has traditionally had tree cover on the north and west sides to protect it from the prevailing winds.

The ornamental and productive gardens lie to the north of the house, while the Pleasure Garden immediately behind the house had lawns, a summer house and some exotic planting.

The gardens fell into disrepair in the latter part of the 20th century.

By then, most of the land beyond the gardens was in separate ownership.

The walled garden has a date stone, ‘John Waring Maxwell, Esq, 20 February 1802’; it is not cultivated and the glasshouses have gone.

A gardener’s house, bothy and offices remain.

An outer walled garden had modern glass-houses.

Finnebrogue remains a private house; however it is available for selected corporate & charity events by prior arrangement.

Its period architecture also makes it suitable as a location for film and television.

The old mansion is reputed to be the oldest inhabited house in Northern Ireland.

The estate, bordered by the Quoile river and Strangford Lough, also included the ruins of the 12th-century Cistercian Abbey of Inch.

It was let in perpetuity to Henry Maxwell by Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Ardglass, in 1628.

But this must have been in recognition of an assignment to Maxwell of an earlier 'deed of feoffment' [sic] forever granted in 1606 by Lord Ardglass's father, Edward Lord Cromwell, to a Londoner who at some point between 1606 and 1628 had transferred his interest to Maxwell.

It is uncertain whether there was a house on the site at this time, or when the original house was built; but the Maxwells do not seem to have taken up residence there until the late 17th century.

The Maxwell estates in County Down at the time of Maxwell's death in 1869 comprised, according to Catharine Wilson, 8,469 statute acres, including the Groomsport or barony of Ards estate, consisting of Ballycroghan, Ballygrainey, Balloo, Ballyholme, Ballymaconnell, Ballymagee, Gransha and Groomsport, with some urban property in nearby Bangor.

Finnebrogue, Catharine Wilson states, was, at this time,

... surrounded by 1300 acres of wooded demesne ... . Groomsport House in the coastal village of Groomsport ... [had been] built as a jointure house for Mrs Waring Maxwell, but was largely used as a summer home by the Maxwells [after her death in 1842]. ...

Henry Maxwell's great-grandson, John Waring Maxwell of Finnebrogue, built Groomsport House, a Tudor-Revival finialed and turreted stone villa, at a cost of about £6,000 in 1849.

Groomsport House

Maxwell was MP for Downpatrick. He also built the parish church in Groomsport in 1842, which was designed by the famous Belfast architect, Charles Lanyon. 

In 1869 the Maxwell income from their estates was £13,881, or £1.2 million in today's money.

First published in July, 2010.