Back Fire!

Back Fire: A Passion For Cars And Motoring (2001) is one of my favourite motoring books.

I lent it to a friend a year ago, who has yet to return it to me.

Back Fire is a collection of the Hon Alan Clark's columns for the magazine Classic Cars and other journals along with a few extracts from his celebrated diaries.

I had a sneaking admiration for Alan Clark, despite his reputation.

He eventually became Right Honourable, as a Privy Counsellor.

His father, the Lord Clark, was the famous art historian and broadcaster.

I have the collection of Alan Clark's Diaries and Back Fire.

If Mr Toad hadn't pre-dated Alan Clark by some 21 years ~  The Wind in the Willows was published in 1908 and Clark born in 1929 ~ one could make a good case for Clark's having been the model for Kenneth Grahame's daredevil, outrageous, but loveable, rogue.

Conservative MP, historian, man about town, notorious womaniser ~ and at the same time fiercely loyal husband and father ~ he died in 1999.

He bought his first car, a six-and-a-half litre vintage Bentley, while he was still at Eton and only 17 - it was typical of the stylish flamboyance which became his trademark.

Many a Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Buick and Chevrolet followed. So did old Citroens, a VW Beetle and latterly a beloved and "totally reliable" Discovery.

He was a collector par excellence, who was addicted to the buying and selling of cars all his adult life.

Every garage and enclosed space at Saltwood Castle, the family home in Kent, remains full of Clark's cars.

Clark's son James writes in Back Fire that "Outside the family, I truly believe, cars were my father's greatest love".

But he didn't approve of over-enthusiastic restoration.

When he drove his 1920 Silver Ghost, of which there is a photograph in Back Fire on the 1993 Rolls Royce Enthusiasts' Alpine Commemorative Run, a fellow competitor remarked, to Clark's amusement, that

if he can't afford to maintain his car properly he shouldn't be allowed on the event.

Whatever else Clark was or wasn't, he was never dull and he was certainly a writer,

What do we want a classic car for? Showing off, of course. Nothing wrong with that; they are more idiosyncratic than beach jewellery.

First published in March, 2014. 

Derreen House

THE MARQUESSES OF LANSDOWNE WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KERRY, WITH 94,983 ACRES

The Earls of Kerry trace their origin to a common ancestor in the direct line with the eminent houses of FitzGerald, Windsor, Carew, McKenzie, etc; namely, Walter FitzOtho, Castellan of Windsor in the 11th century; whose eldest son, GERALD FITZWALTER, obtained a grant, from HENRY I, of Moulsford, Berkshire.

This Gerald wedded Nest ferch Rhys, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, Prince of South Wales, and had issue,

MAURICE, ancestor of the ducal house of LEINSTER;
WILLIAM, of whom presently;
David (Rt Rev), Bishop of St David's.

The second son,

WILLIAM FITZGERALD,

Lord of Carew, called by Giraldus Cambrensis the eldest son; but the pedigree of the family of LEINSTER setting forth the contrary, his mother's inheritance, and assuming that surname, bespeak him a younger son, which is confirmed by the unerring testimony of the addition of chief, ermine, to his coat armour (a certain sign of cadence, to distinguish him and his posterity from the elder branch of the family. 

This William was sent, in 1171, by Strongbow into Ireland with his son, Raymond, where, for a time, he assisted in the reduction of that kingdom; but returning to his native country, died in 1173, leaving issue by Catherine, daughter of Sir Adam de Kingsley, of Cheshire, seven sons and a daughter.

The eldest son,

RAYMOND FITZGERALD, surnamed, from his corpulence, Le Gros, having, as stated above, accompanied his father into Ireland, was a principal in the reduction of that kingdom.

He married Basilia, sister of Strongbow, and had, as a marriage portion with her, a large territorial grant and the constableship of Leinster.

After this, we find him aiding MacCarthy, King of Cork, against his rebellious son, and acquiring for his services a large tract of land in County Kerry, where he settled his eldest son,

MAURICE FITZRAYMOND, who espoused firstly, Johanna, daughter of Meiler Fitzhenry, founder of Great Connell Priory, County Kildare, and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, by whom he had a son,

THOMAS, who assumed the surname of FITZMAURICE, and became Baron Kerry.

This Thomas founded the Grey Franciscan abbey of Ardfert in 1253.

He married Grace, daughter of MacMurrough Kavanagh, son of the king of Leinster; and dying in 1280, was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAURICE FITZTHOMAS, 2nd Baron; who sat in the parliament held at Dublin in 1295, and attended a writ of summons of EDWARD I, 1297, with horse and arms, in an expedition against Scotland.

He wedded Mary, daughter and heir of Sir John McLeod, of Galway; and dying in 1303, was succeeded by his son,

NICHOLAS, 3rd Baron; whose son,

MAURICE, 4th Baron, having a dispute with Desmond Oge MacCarthy, killed him upon the bench before the judge of assize, at Tralee, in 1325, for which he was tried and attainted by the parliament of Dublin, but was not put to death.

His lands were, however, forfeited, but restored, after his death, to his brother and successor,

JOHN, 5th Baron; from whose time, we pass over almost four centuries, and to come to

THOMAS, 21st Baron (1668-1741), who was created, in 1722, Viscount Clanmorris and EARL OF KERRY.

His lordship wedded, in 1692, Anne, only daughter of Sir William Petty, Physician-General to the army in Ireland in 1652.

Sir William Petty was celebrated for his extraordinary talents, and surprising fortune.

In 1664, he undertook the survey of Ireland; and, in 1666, he had completed the measurement of 2,008,000 acres of forfeited land, for which, by contract, he was to receive one penny per acre, and did actually acquire an estate of £6,000 a year.

This eminent and distinguished person died of gangrene in his foot, in 1687.

The Earl of Kerry had issue,

WILLIAM;
JOHN, of whom presently;
Elizabeth Anne; Arabella; Charlotte.

His lordship's second son,

THE HON JOHN FITZMAURICE (1706-61), having inherited the Petty estates upon the demise of his maternal uncle, Henry Petty, Earl of Shelburne, in 1751 (when that earldom expired), assumed the surname and arms of PETTY, and was advanced to the peerage as Baron Dunkeron and Viscount FitzMaurice.

His lordship was further advanced, in 1753, to an earldom, as EARL OF SHELBURNE.

He married, in 1734, his first cousin Mary, daughter of the Hon William FitzMaurice, by whom he had issue, WILLIAM, his successor; and Thomas, who married Mary, Countess of Orkney, a peeress in her own right.

His lordship was created a peer of Great Britain, in the dignity of Baron Wycombe.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM, 2nd Earl (1737-1805), KG, a general in the army, and a distinguished statesman in the reign of GEORGE III.

In 1782, his lordship, after the death of the Marquess of Rockingham (under whom he filled the office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), was nominated PRIME MINISTER.

The 2nd Earl was advanced, in 1784, to the dignities of Earl of Wycombe, Viscount Calne and Calstone, and MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE.

The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin is named after William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and 1st Marquess of Lansdowne.

His lordship married firstly, in 1765, the Lady Sophia Carteret, daughter of John, Earl Granville, by whom he left one son, JOHN, his successor.

He wedded secondly, in 1779, the Lady Louisa FitzPatrick, daughter of John, Earl of Upper Ossory, by whom he had a son, HENRY, 3rd Marquess; and a daughter, Louisa, who died young.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

JOHN, 2nd Marquess (1765-1809), who espoused, in 1805, Lady Gifford, widow of Sir Duke Gifford, of Castle Jordan, in Ireland; but dying without issue, the honours devolved upon his half-brother,

LORD HENRY PETTY, who had already distinguished himself as an eloquent public speaker, and had attained considerable popularity by his enlightened views as a statesman.

His lordship succeeded also to the honours of the house of KERRY upon the demise of his cousin.

• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess (1780–1863);
  • William Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry (1811–36);
• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess (1816–66);
• Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess (1845–1927);
• Henry William Edmund Petty-FitzMaurice, 6th Marquess (1872–1936);
  • Henry Maurice John Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kerry (1913–33);
• Charles Hope Petty-FitzMaurice, 7th Marquess (1917–44);
• George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-FitzMaurice, 8th Marquess (1912-99);
• Charles Maurice Petty-FitzMaurice, 9th Marquess (b 1941).

The heir apparent is the present holder's elder son, Simon Henry George Petty-Fitzmaurice, styled Earl of Kerry.

The 3rd Marquess declined the offer of a dukedom.

DERREEN HOUSE, near Lauragh, County Kerry, sits in an exceptionally beautiful site at the River Kenmare.

It was enlarged between 1863-66 by the 4th Marquess of Lansdowne, who built a new wing.

The house was further enlarged after 1870 by the 5th Marquess, who was subsequently Governor-General of Canada, Viceroy of India and HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Derreen House article was burnt in 1922 and rebuilt 1924-6 in a similar style by The 5th Marquess.

The house underwent further work following an attack of dry rot during this period.

It comprises two storeys over a basement, with white rendered walls and dormer gables.

DERREEN GARDEN extends over the greater part of the peninsula on which it lies.

It covers an area of 60 acres and includes nearly eight miles of paths, which wind through mature and varied woodland.

In the moist and mild climate, tender and exotic plants flourish.

Many of the paths in the garden provide marvellous glimpses of the sea (Bay of Kilmakilloge) and the distant mountains (Caha Mountains, Macgillycuddy's Reeks).

Derreen garden is particularly noted for its rhododendrons and tree ferns.

Throughout the garden a rich patina of moss, lichens ferns and saxifrages gives a sub-tropical feel to the whole area.

As a foil to the luxuriant plantings, there are great natural outcrops of rocks.

The garden is open to the public every day from April to October.

During the 2nd World War Derreen was separated from the Lansdowne title by the death of Charles, 7th Marquess, who was killed in action in 1944, when his entailed estates were inherited by a kinsman.

Derreen, not being entailed, was inherited by his sister, Katherine Evelyn Constance Petty-Fitzmaurice, Lady Nairne (1912–1995), and is now owned and managed by her grandson, Charlie Bigham.

The seat of the Marquesses of Lansdowne is now Bowood House, Wiltshire.

Former town house ~ Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square, London.

First published in July, 2013. 

Lough Cutra Castle

THE VISCOUNTS GORT OWNED 940 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY GALWAY

WILLIAM SMYTH, of Rossdale, Yorkshire, passed over into Ulster in the reign of CHARLES I, and settling at Dundrum, County Down, became ancestor of the family which we are treating, and of the Smyths of Drumcree, Gaybrook, etc.

His son,

WILLIAM SMYTH, of Dundrum, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Dewdall, and by her had two sons, viz.

THOMAS, his heir;
James.

The elder son,

THE RT REV THOMAS SMYTH (1650-1725), was, for his great piety and learning, at the recommendation of Dr Tenison, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, promoted to the see of Limerick in 1696.

His lordship married Dorothea, daughter of the Rt Rev Ulysses Burgh, Lord Bishop of Ardagh, and had issue,

William (Very Rev), Dean of Ardfert, dsp;
CHARLES, of whom presently;
John;
Michael;
Henry;
Thomas;
George;
Arthur;
Edward;
James;
Mary; Dorothea; Elizabeth.

The eldest surviving son,

CHARLES SMYTH (1698-1784), who succeeded to the estates of his father, MP for Limerick City, 1731-76, espoused Elizabeth, sister and heir of Sir Thomas Prendergast, last baronet of that name, and widow of John Dixon Haman, and had issue,

Thomas, MP, dsp;
JOHN PRENDERGAST, of whom we treat;
Charles Lennox;
Juliana, mother of CHARLES, 2nd Viscount.

The second son,

JOHN PRENDERGAST-SMYTH, was elevated to the peerage, in 1810, in the dignity of Baron Kiltarton, with remainder to his nephew, Charles Vereker, the son of his sister Juliana.

His lordship was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1816, as VISCOUNT GORT, of Gort, County Galway.

The 1st Viscount died unmarried in 1817, when the family honours devolved upon his nephew,

CHARLES, 2nd Viscount (1768-1842), PC, Constable of the City of Limerick, Colonel of its Militia, Privy Counsellor, who married firstly, in 1789, Jane, widow of William Stamer, and had issue,

JOHN PRENDERGAST, his successor;
Juliana; Georgiana.

He wedded secondly, in 1810, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Palliser, by whom he had a son,

Charles, born in 1818.

His eldest son,

JOHN PRENDERGAST, 3rd Viscount (1790-1865), MP for Limerick, 1817-20, Mayor of Limerick, 1831-2, who espoused firstly, in 1814, Maria, daughter of Standish, 1st Viscount Guillamore, and had issue,

STANDISH, his successor;
John;
Henry;
Richard;
Adolphus Edward Prendergast;
Maria Corinna; Emily Henrietta.

He wedded secondly, in 1861, Elizabeth Mary, daughter of John Jones.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

STANDISH PRENDERGAST, 4th Viscount (1819-1900), JP, High Sheriff of County Galway, 1843, who married, in 1847, Caroline Harriet, daughter of Henry, 4th Viscount Gage, and had issue,

JOHN GAGE PRENDERGAST, his successor;
Foley Charles Prendergast;
Standish William Prendergast;
Jeffrey Edward Prendergast;
Elizabeth Maria; Isolda Caroline; Mabel Elizabeth; Laline Maria; Corinna Julia.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN GAGE PRENDERGAST, 5th Viscount (1849-1902), JP, who wedded, in 1885, Eleanor, daughter of Edward Smith Surtees, and had issue,

JOHN STANDISH SURTEES PRENDERGAST, his successor;
Standish Robert Gage.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

JOHN STANDISH SURTEES PRENDERGAST, 6th Viscount (1886-1946), VC GCB CBE DSO MVO MC, FIELD-MARSHAL.

LOUGH CUTRA CASTLE, once known as Loughcooter Castle, is near Gort in County Galway.

It was designed by John Nash and is located in a romantic setting above a lough.

The Castle was built from 1811 for the 2nd Viscount Gort, who had an admiration for East Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight and stipulated that his new home should be similar in design.

Lough Cutra Castle is battlemented with machicolations.

The 3rd Viscount suffered ruinous financial losses as a result of the Irish famine, since he refused to collect any rents and donated large sums to charity.

Consequently, Lough Cutra was sold by the Encumbered Estates Court in 1851.

The Gort family subsequently moved to the Isle of Wight, where they, somewhat ironically, acquired East Cowes Castle.

Lough Cutra was purchased in 1854 by Field-Marshal the Viscount Gough, who added a wing and clock-tower two years later.

During the Victorian era, the estate comprised 6,628 acres.

Interestingly, Lord Gough commissioned wallpaper by Cole & Son for a design featuring Union Flags and coronets.

The Castle was sold by the Gough family later in the 19th century and remained empty for many years; until it was bought back post-1945 by the 7th Viscount Gort for his great-niece, Elizabeth Sidney.

Thereafter the Castle was sold again and is now privately owned.

In May, 2015, TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Lough Cutra Castle.

First published in May, 2015.  Gort arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

The George

The Clandeboye estate schoolhouse, County Down, was built by Lord Dufferin in ca 1858.

William Burn submitted designs for the school in 1850, and a further design was commissioned from Benjamin Ferrey in 1854.

Neither plan was executed and the architect of the school as it was built remains uncertain.

In the mid 1970s Ballysallagh Primary School was converted to licensed premises (The George) and was largely extended in the process, with large function rooms added.

Click to Enlarge

The George at Clandeboye, County Down, was a hostelry I frequented often in my younger days.

I have found a little leaflet entitled The George.



Many Saturday nights were spent here during the seventies and eighties.

Incidentally, the George's postal address was Crawfordsburn Road, Clandeboye, County Down.

The lodge bedroom block was constructed in 1992-4 to designs by Alan Cook Architects.

It now forms a part of Clandeboye Lodge Hotel.

First published in June, 2011.

Killynether: III

Several years ago I drove to Drumbeg: to explore the graveyard of St Patrick's parish church.

Drumbeg is a lovely leafy area on the outskirts of Belfast, close to Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, within a stone's throw of the River Lagan and canal.

Is the church on the County Antrim or County Down side of the river? County Down, I'm sure.

I've just had a look at the map.

The little church itself is most photogenic and picturesque, with a large graveyard on one side.

My purpose was to locate the Weir family plot.

The Weirs used to live at KILLYNETHER HOUSE, Scrabo, County Down.

Seemingly they resided near Drumbeg prior to that, at a property called Oak Hill in Dunmurry, Belfast.

In 1852, Arthur Collins Weir was a merchant who undertook business at his company, the Manchester Woollen Warehouse, 24½, Bridge Street in Belfast (would 24½ equate to 24A today?).

His residence was 1 Albion Place.

First published in March, 2009.

Florida Manor

THE GORDONS OWNED 4,768 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

AND 8,806 ACRES IN COUNTY TYRONE

THE MANOR OF FLORIDA WAS GRANTED BY KING CHARLES I, WITH MANORIAL RIGHTS AND ROYALTIES. It was established in 1638 on lands previously acquired by Sir James Montgomery (second son of SIR HUGH MONTGOMERY) from Con O'Neill, the name Florida apparently having been derived from Sir James's fondness for flora or flowers. During the Commonwealth (1649-60), the lands were placed in the custody of a Colonel Barrow, but returned to Montgomery hands, after much wrangling, in 1664.

In 1691-2, the Manor came into possession of the Crawford family and passed to Robert Gordon of DELAMONT PARK, through marriage to Ann, the niece and sole heiress to the estate of David Crawford, ca 1770. It was undoubtedly one of the Gordons who built the present house, probably ca 1780-1800, possibly constructed around an earlier Montgomery dwelling which (if a later date stone in the adjacent farmyard is to be believed) may have dated from in or around 1676.

The Manor House is shown on a map of 1834 (along with the large farmyard to the rear, the steward's house and the gate lodges to the east and north).

The rear conservatory or porch and the early Victorian chimney pots may have been added around this time also.

In the later 1800s, with the passing of successive land acts, much of the Gordon lands began to be sold off.

By the 1880s, the manor house itself appears to have been leased by Thomas Brand.

By 1917 (at least), the demesne and its buildings had been acquired by William Devenney, a local farmer who appears to have lived in the steward's house.

Thus Florida, unoccupied, fell into disrepair; but after the 2nd World War, it was bought by Milo Pickaar, who renovated much of the building.

The estate now belongs to the Lagan family.

The manor of Florida, near Killinchy, County Down, comprised the townlands of Ballybunden, Drumreagh and part of the townland of Kilmood.

Photo Credit: Florida Manor NI

The house is a Listed Building as being of special architectural and historic interest. The lands of Killinchy and Kilmood were constituted as the Manor of Florida in 1638. The present Florida Manor is thought to date from the period 1796.

The Department of Environment lists the house B+ and suggests construction dates of 1780 to 1799. It is a substantial Georgian three storey rendered house of the handsome boxy variety. 

The entrance front has three wide bays. A balustraded porch with four Ionic columns projects from the narrower central bay which is recessed. The porch has a window on its side elevations and a window on either side of the entrance door which is surmounted by a semicircular fanlight.

The entrance front is made charmingly asymmetric by a curving curtain wall reaching out to a single storey wing attached to the stables quadrangle. Doric pilasters at regular intervals demarcate this section of the house.

The side elevation is similarly treated to the entrance front although the three bays are equal in width. However each bay contains two windows on each floor rather than one as on the entrance front. 

A string course below the first floor windows is aligned with the top of the porch balustrade. It is repeated as an entablature under the very slim parapet. Hipped roofs slope up to the chimneys which unusually are Elizabethan in appearance.

Agar Murdoch & Deane record that the ground floor includes the entrance hall with decorative plasterwork and a “massive carved oak chimney-piece and inset mirror”.  

Three reception rooms, a conservatory, and the kitchen, scullery and pantry are also noted. Four bedrooms and a bathroom are recorded on the first floor. The second floor was laid out as a flat with three bedrooms and two reception rooms. The estate agents described the gardens as follows:-

“With ‘island’ lawn, gravelled drive with trees and shrubs. Formal garden – walled and with perimeter flowerbeds and lawns. Side garden with lawn, flowerbeds and shrubs. Greenhouse and stonewall with arched recessed and bench seats.”

Photo Credit: Florida Manor NI

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) states that the Crawford family purchased part of the estate from the Montgomerys of Rosemount, Greyabbey, in 1691.

It later became the seat of the Gordon family through marriage.

The architect of the house is unknown.

A memorandum of agreement dated 1775 in the PRONI archive between Robert Gordon and Hugh Agnew, a brick-maker, is for ‘fifty thousand bricks or any greater number…’

This may relate to the construction of the house.

The late Sir Charles Brett wrote in his book Buildings of North County Down,

Florida Manor itself is a rather mysterious house, probably of 17th century origin but much altered, with a disconcerting combination of possibly late 18th century pompous tetra-style Ionic porch and sprouting polygonal Elizabethan-style chimney-pots.

On the basis of the latter, Hugh Dixon has suggested it may have been rebuilt around 1810, and, on the model of Narrow Water Castle, proposed a possible attribution to Thomas Duff.

In 1791, the estate was described as containing 1,300 acres of arable land and 400 acres of bog and it was let for £1,000 per annum.

In 1867, when Robert Francis Gordon took possession of the Florida Manor estate, it was valued at £4,634.

However, the bulk of Florida Manor, including the townlands of Ballygraffan, Ballyminstragh, Kilmood, Lisbarnet, Raffrey, Ravara and Tullynagee, formed part of the Londonderry Estates.

There is very little information relating directly to Florida Manor itself, though it is possible to draw together some information about the building of the house or, at least, to establish an approximate date of when the house was completed.

A bill of complaint declares that, when John Crawford Gordon died in 1797, his brother David succeeded to the estate, which included the manor-house and demesne.

Moreover, a survey of 1794 for the Florida demesne of John Crawford recorded that it comprised just over 100 acres.

A memorandum of agreement between Robert Gordon and Hugh Agnew, a brick-maker, for 'fifty thousand bricks or any greater number...' is dated 1775.

The Gordons sold Florida Manor in 1910.

More recently, the demesne was purchased by Michael Lagan.

Today, within the demesne's original stone perimeter wall lie 200 acres of extensive landscaped grasslands, private lakes, walkways and bridal paths.

The house still appears derelict at the time of writing, though the original stable-yard has been restored to form apartments of a high calibre.

The restoration and conversion of the stable-yard has transformed it into private dwellings and stables, at a cost of £2 million.

The original stable block dates back to at least the 17th Century as a small cast iron plaque dated July 18th, 1676, has been uncovered and restored within the original grounds.

The design & restoration has been carried out taking into account the unique aspects of the site and using traditional materials such as a natural slate roof, sash windows and stone archways, all adding to create an aesthetically pleasing form to this distinctive development.

The former land-steward’s dwelling, a short distance away from the stables, has also been restored.

In 1755, Robert Gordon married the widow Alice Whyte and through this connection the Gordons acquired Florida Manor.

THE LOYAL FLORIDA INFANTRY YEOMANRY CORPS (GORDON YEOMANRY)

In 1797, David Gordon, son of Robert Gordon, succeeded to the estate on the death of his brother John Gordon.

The estate included the mansion house called Florida Manor and demesne.

David Gordon was a Magistrate and records show that a Court operated at the manor and they highlight the myriad of offences that could be brought before the manor Court.

The court still appeared to be in operation by the early 19th century, as case papers dated 1805 recite David Gordon's title to the lordship of the manor and his accompanying rights.

Records also state that the court met at least once a year, when petty constables were appointed.

David Gordon was also one of the magistrates who collected evidence about the 1803 rebellion.

During the latter part of the 1700s, Yeomanry forces were raised by landed gentry to support the  Crown and the regular army to combat the impending French invasion/Irish rebellion against the Crown [1796-1798].

The local landowner, magistrate and lord of the manor at Killinchy, David Gordon, raised such a force and named it the "Loyal Florida Infantry" Yeomanry Corps [Gordon Yeomanry].

KILMOOD PARISH CHURCH

KILMOOD, a parish in the barony of Lower Castlereagh, 2¼ miles north-north-west of Killinchy, County Down.

The surface consists in general of good land; and is drained chiefly by the river Blackwater.

The road from Comber to Killyleagh passes through the interior; and the demesne of Florida is in the south.

St Mary’s Church, Kilmood, was open for worship in 1822.

The site on which the church is built has been a place of worship since medieval times, having once been part of the monastic settlement in Comber.

The building of the present church was financed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners who gave £900; Lord Dufferin, who gave the bell; and the local squire, David Gordon of Florida Manor, who paid the remainder of the £2,215 bill.

Consequently the Gordons were, for many years, patrons of St Mary’s Kilmood, retaining the right to appoint the vicar.

St Mary’s Kilmood was regarded as the estate church of Florida Manor until 1928, when it was brought into the parish of Killinchy Union.

First published in May, 2012.

Purdysburn Pictures

THE BATTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY DOWN, WITH 12,010 ACRES

The Belfast Health & Social Care Trust has kindly sent me several images of Purdysburn House, Newtownbreda, County Down, and its pleasure grounds prior to demolition ca 1965.

I've already written about the Batt family here.

 

The pleasure grounds were laid out in the form of a Union Jack, and the design was once carried out with all the borders planted red, white and blue.

The wonderful yew-tree hedges were said to be unequalled in Northern Ireland. 

First published in September, 2016.  Batt arms courtesy of the NLI.

Lambay Castle

JOHN BARING (1697-1748), son of Franz Baring, Minister of the Lutheran Church at Bremen, settled in 1717 as a merchant and cloth manufacturer, at Larkbeer, near Exeter, and was naturalised 1723, by GEORGE I.

 He married, in 1729, Elizabeth, daughter of John Vowler, of Belair, and had issue,

John (1730-1816);
THOMAS;
FRANCIS, of whom hereafter;
Charles;
Elizabeth, m John Dunning, created BARON ASHBURTON.

The third son, who founded the London branch of the family,

FRANCIS BARING (1740-1810), an eminent London merchant, founder of Baring’s Bank, was created a baronet in 1793, designated of Larkbeer, Devon.

He married, in 1767, Harriet, daughter of William Herring, of Croydon, cousin and co-heir of the Most Rev Thomas Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury, and had issue,

Thomas, his successor;
Alexander, created BARON ASHBURTON (2nd creation);
HENRY, of whom we treat;
William;
George;
Harriet; Maria; Dorothy Elizabeth; Frances; Lydia.

Sir Francis's third son,

HENRY BARING (1777-1848), of Cromer Hall, Norfolk, espoused firstly, in 1802, Maria Matilda, daughter of William Bingham, and had issue,

Henry Bingham;
William Drummond;
Anna Maria; Frances Emily.

He married secondly, Cecilia Anne, eldest daughter of Vice-Admiral William Lukin Windham, and had further issue,

William Windham (1826-76);
EDWARD CHARLES, of whom we treat;
Robert;
Richard;
Thomas;
Evelyn, created EARL OF CROMER;
Walter.

The second son by Mr Baring's second marriage,

EDWARD CHARLES BARING (1828-97), of Membland Hall, and Revelstoke Manor, both in Devon, espoused, in 1861, Louisa Emily Charlotte, daughter of John Crocker Bulteel, by his wife, the Lady Elizabeth Grey, daughter of Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, and had issue,

Arthur, died in infancy;
JOHN, 2nd Baron;
CECIL, 3rd Baron;
Everard;
Maurice;
Hugo;
Rupert;
Elizabeth; Margaret; Susan.

Mr Baring was elevated to the peerage, in 1885, in the dignity of BARON REVELSTOKE, of Membland, Devon.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

JOHN, 2nd Baron (1863-1929), GCVO PC, Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex, 1926, who died unmarried, when the title devolved upon his brother,

CECIL, 3rd Baron (1864-1934), who wedded, in 1902, Maude Louise, daughter of Pierre Lorillard IV, and had issue,

RUPERT, his successor;
Daphne; Capypso.

His lordship was succeeded by his son,

RUPERT, 4th Baron (1911-94), 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Armoured Corps (during the 2nd World War), who espoused, in 1934, Flora Breckenridge, daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Hesketh, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
JAMES CECIL, 6th Baron.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

JOHN, 5th Baron (1934-2003), who died unmarried, when the title devolved upon his brother,

JAMES CECIL, 6th Baron (1938-2012), who married firstly, in 1968, Aleta Laline Dennis, daughter of Erskine Arthur Hamilton Fisher, and had issue,

ALEXANDER RUPERT, his successor;
Thomas James, b 1971.

He wedded secondly, in 1983, Sarah, daughter of William Edward Stubbs, and had further issue,

Flora Aksinia, b 1983;
Miranda Louise, b 1987.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ALEXANDER RUPERT, 7th Baron (1970-), of Lambay Castle.

LAMBAY CASTLE, Lambay Island, Rush, County Dublin, is a small, late-16th century fort with castellated gables, on Lambay Island, a square mile in extent, less than three miles off the coast of north County Dublin and inhabited since ancient times.

Shortly after the Anglo-Norman invasion, Lambay Island was granted to the archbishops of Dublin.

The large broad-ditch enclosure, still visible on the landscape today, was constructed in the medieval period.

In 1467, the island was given to John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, Lord Deputy of Ireland, thus enabling him to build a fortress to prevent pirates harbouring there, and plundering traffic between Ireland and England.

This fortress, with its four projecting corner bastions added in Tudor times, was later incorporated by Edwin Lutyens as an essential part of his design for the present castle.

The island was granted to John Challoner, Mayor of Dublin and Secretary of State for Ireland in 1560.

Challoner was ordered to build a fortified place of refuge and to re-establish a colony to guard against smugglers and pirates.

Challoner still owned Lambay in Elizabethan times, but in 1611 the island was granted to Sir William Ussher and his heirs.

Dr James Ussher (1581-1656), Lord Archbishop of Armagh, lived on Lambay in 1626, but by 1650 he was resident in London.

His Grace was highly respected by Cromwell and is interred in Westminster Abbey.

The Ussher family held the Island for 200 years.

In the early years of the 17th century, Dirrick Huiberts Verveer, a wealthy Dublin merchant and shipowner, was granted a licence to keep taverns and to sell wine and spirits in the Skerries area and on Lambay.

Petty’s census of 1659 recorded a population of just nine islanders.

During the Williamite war, the island was used as an internment camp for 780 Irish soldiers and 260 rapparees.

In 1805, Lambay passed to Sir William Wolseley, an Ussher descendent.

In 1814, Margaret Talbot, widow of Richard Talbot (1735-1788), and then living in Eccles Street, agreed to purchase the island and the fishing rights from Wolseley for £6,500.

during the mid-19th century the island population rose to 100.

Richard, 5th Baron Talbot de Malahide (at his own expense but at the instigation of a Father Henry Young), built a two-roomed, mud-walled thatched school in 1834.

Nothing, however, remains of the thatched school nowadays.

Throughout much of the second half of the 19th century the island was a popular destination for steamer excursions.

James Considine, of Portrane House (brother of the late Heffernan Considine DL), purchased Lambay in 1888.

Count Considine set about developing the island as a hunting estate and was the first man to introduce deer onto the island.

Cecil, 3rd Baron Revelstoke, purchased Lambay in 1904.

While working in America he fell in love with Maud, daughter of the tobacco millionaire Pierre Lorillard.

She divorced her husband, the couple married and together they chose Lambay as their refuge from the world.

From 1907 onwards they restored and enlarged the small ruined fort as their principal residence, transforming the building “into a romantic castle” and placing it in the centre of a majestic circular enclosure beneath a canopy of Sycamore trees.

Lutyens Wing

The result is one of the few important Edwardian country houses in Ireland and the only Irish country house by the distinguished architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.

The three-bay centre of the northwest front, which faces a bastioned gateway in the Rampart Wall, is flanked by two full-height projecting bays, each with crow-stepped gables and tall chimneys.

Lutyens attached a wing to provide guest accommodation at the northeastern corner and "regarded the link between the two buildings as one of his most brilliant architectural coups" since the castle, which appears single storied on this front, continues to dominate the two-storey wing.

Along with the enlarged garden and farm buildings these additions were built in grey-green Lambay stone with grey pantile roofs to form a sequence of courts, walled gardens and enclosed yards that give the impression of a small hamlet nestling for protection beneath the castle’s walls.

Lambay is exposed to the elements and the castle is “constructed with small doors and small casements so that the inhabitants seem, on rough days, to be sheltering like monks.”

The interior has vaulted ceilings, stone fireplaces and a curved stone staircase, while much of the furniture and fittings chosen by Lutyens is still arranged just as he intended.

He also adapted and enlarged a number of other early structures and integrated them into an ingenious layout for the whole island estate, including the farm, gardens and plantations, all designed in collaboration with the horticulturalist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.

The walled kitchen garden pierces the Rampart Wall to the south with the mausoleum in memory of the Revelstokes, designed by Lutyens in 1930, on the opposite side of the enclosure.

He also designed The White House, overlooking the harbour on the western shores of the island, as a holiday home for the couple’s two daughters.

Alongside is a row of old Coastguard cottages and an open-air Real Tennis court, one of only two still in existence.

In the mid 1900s Lambay was home to more than eighty islanders, but today it is maintained by a handful of hardy individuals.

Cecil and Maud’s numerous descendants still own the island where their great-grandson Alex, 7th Lord Revelstoke, is the resident guardian and curator, making this the only one of Lutyens’ and Jekyll’s joint collaborations that still belongs to the family that first commissioned the work.

Lambay Island is a haven for wildlife and a National Bird Sanctuary.

Resident fauna includes a herd of fallow deer, a thriving colony of Atlantic grey seals, which pup on Lambay’s sheltered beaches, and, most unusually, a troop of wild wallabies.

The diverse bird life is of far greater significance, for this is an important seabird colony and their cries can be heard throughout the island.

Nesting birds include Fulmars, Guillemots, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters and Puffins, while Greylag Geese are common winter visitors.

First published in November, 2017.  Revelstoke arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Ballyarr House

LORD GEORGE AUGUSTUS HILL WAS A MAJOR LANDOWNER IN COUNTY DONEGAL, WITH 24,189 ACRES

LORD GEORGE AUGUSTUS HILL (1801-79), fifth son of Arthur, 2nd Marquess of Downshire, married firstly, in 1834, Cassandra Jane, fifth daughter of Edward Austen Knight (the novelist Jane Austen's brother), of Godmersham Park, Kent, and had issue,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL GEORGE SANDYS;
Augustus Charles Edward (1839-1908);
Norah Mary Elizabeth.

He wedded secondly, in 1847, Louisa, daughter of Edward Knight, and had further issue,

Cassandra Jane Louisa;
George Marcus Wandsbeck (1849-1911).

Lord George was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL GEORGE SANDYS HILL (1837-1923), of Gweedore, County Donegal, who espoused, in 1871, Helen Emily, daughter of the Most Rev and Rt Hon Richard Chenevix-Trench, Lord Archbishop of Dublin, and had issue.

BALLYARR HOUSE, near Ramelton, County Donegal, was built ca 1780.

It was acquired in 1842 by Lord George Hill.

Lord George had previously bought 23,000 acres in and around Gweedore.

Ballyarr’s most famous visitor during Lord George's time was the historian Thomas Carlyle, and it was he who later described the house as ‘a farm-like place’ with a ‘piazza’, an Italian style square that was then considered fashionable.

After Lord George's death, in 1879, the house passed through his family until it was sold in 1900, along with the adjacent mill, to William Russell.

It remained in the Russells’ hands until it was bought in 1974 by Ian Smith, a former hotelier and war hero, and his artist wife Peggy.

One wing of the house, which had been barely altered since Lord George’s time, had fallen into ruin and was demolished.

However, one large fanlight window was saved and later erected in a house in Castle Street, Ramelton, known as ‘ The House on the Brae’, owned by Ramelton Heritage Society.

Ballyarr House was bought in 1981 by Andy O’Loghlin, bank manager, and his wife Breda.

They sold it to Roy and Noreen Greenslade in 1989 and the following year they oversaw a substantial restoration in order to return the interior to something like its original Georgian appearance.

The drawing room and library were returned to their previous proportions, with the addition of new fireplaces.

Ceiling cornices in the main bedroom were restored.

The exterior front elevation was also stripped of its stucco to reveal the original stone-work. 

LORD GEORGE HILL

In 1838, Lord George Augustus Hill purchased land in Gweedore and over the next few years expanded his holdings to 23,000 acres, including a number of offshore islands, the largest of which was Gola island.

He estimated that his lands had about 3,000 inhabitants, of whom 700 were rent payers.

Unlike previous landlords who often left their holdings and people alone, Lord George came to stay, and set about to improve the roads and bridges.

He had an advantage in that he knew the Irish language, the main language of the people of the area.

The first road into Gweedore was constructed in 1834 when the Board of Works constructed a road from Dunlewey to the Gweedore River and Lord George further improved the roads on his estate.

At Bunbeg he constructed a harbour and corn store and a general merchandise store.

By purchasing grain at the prices prevailing in Letterkenny, Lord George hoped to curb the practice of illicit distillation, which he perceived was one of the prime causes of distress in the area.

The suppression of illicit distillation was one thing in which Lord George had to admit he wasn't as successful as he would have liked.

Quite conveniently, although not mentioned by him or his admirers, the purchasing of grain from the tenants would have given them money with which to pay their rent. Potatoes were grown for their own needs.

About four miles from Bunbeg, up the Clady River, Lord George constructed a hotel, which he surrounded by a model farm.

Early editions of Hill's book were subtitled With Hints For Donegal Tourists, and this was, apart from demonstrating his agricultural improvements, the other purpose for writing Facts from Gweedore; he wanted people to come and stay in his hotel.

Hill also set up a shop in Bunbeg and imported a Scot named Mason to open a bakery.

Lord George was not for the "free market,"  and made sure that no one else opened up in opposition to him.

Margaret Sweeney was evicted for trying to set up a bakery without permission.

Almost immediately on taking up his land in Gweedore, Hill set about to improve the agricultural practices of his estate.

His tenants naturally were not so inclined to share the landlord's view of what was good agriculture and this became a bone of contention for many years even though Lord George was quite successful in abolishing the Rundale system.

Even he admitted that the re-organization of the farms was

a difficult task, and much thwarted by the people, as they naturally did not like that their old ways should be disturbed or interfered with...the opposition on the part of the people to the new system was vexatious and harassing.

In 1888, there were 800 official tenancies on the Hill estate, which increased the next year to 920, due to sub-tenants being recognized as official tenants, after a settlement negotiated between the landlord and the parish priest.

Downshire arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  First published in November, 2011.

Kilshannig House

THE BARONS FERMOY WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CORK, WITH 15,543 ACRES

The family of DE LA RUPE, or ROCHE, according to the Irish Peerage, and Rudiments of Honour, by Francis Nichols, published in 1727, were materially descended from CHARLEMAGNE; and in the remarkable pedigree of the ancestors of this family, it is shown that they derive their descent from the most illustrious sources, their progenitors being allied, by intermarriages, with the great Counts of Flanders, the Counts of Bavaria, ALFRED, and other Saxon Kings of England; the House of Capet in France, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, and other Anglo-Norman kings.

The Roches came to Ireland in the reign of HENRY II, along with other Anglo-Norman chiefs in Strongbow's time; and in the reigns of RICHARD I and KING JOHN, they got large grants of lands in County Cork, in the territory of Fermoy, which, from them, was called Roche's Country, and they erected a castle, and founded a Cistercian monastery at Fermoy, and they had seats at Castletown Roche and other places.

RALPH DE LA ROCHE, son of Alexander de Rupe, alias DE LA ROCHE, was patriarch of the family in Ireland.

He married Elizabeth de Clare, by the Princess Joan of Acre, his wife, daughter of EDWARD I and his Queen, ELEANOR, of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, by the Princess Joan of Acre, his wife, daughter of EDWARD I.

This Ralph had issue, DAVID, father of John de Rupe or la Roche, Baron of Fermoy, who had MAURICE FITZJOHN, Lord De La Roche, of Fermoy, from whom descended,

DAVID ROCHE, Lord Roche, surnamed The Great, who sat in Parliament as VISCOUNT ROCHE, of Fermoy, in the reigns of EDWARD IV and HENRY VII.

He married Jane, daughter of Walter Burke, called MacWilliam, and had issue,

MAURICE, his successor;
Redmond;
Ulick;
Theobald;
William;
Philip;
Gerald;
Edmond;
Jacob;
Helena.

His lordship died ca 1492, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAURICE ROCHE, 2nd Viscount, who married twice; and by Joanna, his first wife, daughter of James, Earl of Desmond, had a son and successor,

DAVID ROCHE, 3rd Viscount, father, by Catherine his wife, daughter of MacCarthy Mor, of a son and successor,

MAURICE ROCHE, 4th Viscount, who wedded Grania MacCarthy, and had issue,

DAVID, his successor;
William;
John;
Helena; Marcella; Catherine.

The eldest son,

DAVID ROCHE, 5th Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1566, espoused Helena, daughter of James, 10th Baron Dunboyne, and had issue,

Maurice, his successor;
William;
EDMOND, of whom hereafter;
Gerald;
James.

The third son,

EDMOND DE LA ROCHE, died in 1540, leaving (with a daughter, Joan, married, in 1508, to David de Courcy, Baron Kingsale) a son,

MAURICE ROCHE, who, when Mayor of Cork, in 1571, received a signed letter from ELIZABETH I, with a patent and livery collar, in acknowledgment of his services in suppressing the rebellion of the Earl of Desmond.

He died in 1593, leaving three sons, JOHN, EDWARD, and Patrick, and was succeeded by the eldest,

JOHN ROCHE, who dsp and the estates devolved upon his brother,

EDWARD ROCHE FITZMAURICE FITZEDMUND, who died in 1626, having three sons, FRANCIS, Edward, and Maurice, of whom the eldest,

FRANCIS ROCHE, High Sheriff of County Cork, 1641, entertained Sir Warham St Leger, the Provost-Marshal of Munster, at his seat, Trabolgan, and assisted him for the King.

He wedded Jane Coppinger, by whom he left at his decease, 1669 (with a younger son, Edmund), a son and heir,

EDWARD ROCHE (1645-96), of Trabolgan, who wedded, in 1672, Catherine, daughter of James Lavallin, of Walterstown, County Cork, and died in 1696, having had issue (with four daughters) four sons,

FRANCIS, his heir;
Edmund;
Maurice;
James.

The eldest son and heir,

FRANCIS ROCHE (1673-1755), of Kildinan and Trabolgan, died unmarried, when the former estate descended to his elder nephew, Edmund, before mentioned, and the latter, of Trabolgan, to his other nephew,

EDWARD ROCHE, of Trabolgan, Colonel, Imokilly Horse, who wedded, in 1781, Susanna, elder daughter of Sir George Wombwell Bt, of Yorkshire, by whom he had one son, Edmund Edward, who predeceased him in 1803, a prisoner of war at Lyons, France.

Mr Roche died in 1828, and bequeathed his estates to his nephew (only son of his elder brother, Edmund),

EDWARD ROCHE (1771-1855), of Trabolgan and Kildinan, who espoused, in 1805, Margaret Honoria, only child and heiress of William Curtain, and had issue,

EDMOND BURKE, his heir;
Frances Maria.

Mr Roche was succeeded by his only son,

EDMOND BURKE ROCHE (1815-74), MP for County Cork, 1837-55, who wedded, in 1848, Elizabeth Caroline, daughter of James Brownell Boothby, of Twyford Abbey, and had issue,

EDWARD, his successor;
JAMES BOOTHBY BURKE, succeeded his brother;
Elizabeth Caroline Burke.

Mr Roche was elevated to the peerage, in 1865, in the dignity of BARON FERMOY, of County Cork.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDMUND FITZEDMUND BURKE, 2nd Baron (1850-1920), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Cork, 1873, who espoused, in 1877, Cecilia, daughter of Standish, 3rd Viscount Guillamore, and had issue, an only child,

Ada Sybil (1879-1944).

His lordship died without male issue, when the title devolved upon his brother,

JAMES BOOTHBY BURKE, 3rd Baron (1852-1920), MP for East Kerry, 1896-1900, who married, in 1880, Frances Ellen, daughter of Frank Work, and had issue,

EDMUND MAURICE BURKE, his successor;
Francis George;
Eileen; Cynthia.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

(EDMUND) MAURICE BURKE, 4th Baron (1885-1955),

(Edmund) Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron (1885–1955);
Edmund James Burke Roche, 5th Baron (1939–84);
(Patrick) Maurice Burke Roche, 6th Baron (b 1967).

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother, the Hon Edmund Hugh Burke Roche.

Garden Front

KILSHANNIG HOUSE, Rathcormack, Fermoy, County Cork, was built between 1765 and 1766 for Abraham Devonsher, a wealthy Cork burgher, on the summit of a gentle hill about six miles south of Fermoy.

Mr Devonsher served as High Sheriff of County Cork, 1762, and MP for Rathcormack between 1756 and 1776.

Originally a Quaker, he was expelled from the Quaker community in 1756 for 'conformity to the world' and for his involvement in politics.

His architect was a Sardinian, Davis Ducart, whose Irish career began in the 1760s and continued until his death in about 1785.

Ducart balanced his career as a canal and mining engineer with some of the second half of the 18th century’s most innovative Irish houses.

Entance Front

He was arguably the most accomplished architect working in Ireland between the death of Richard Cassels and arrival of James Gandon.

As a southern European, he remained completely loyal to the Baroque and never ventured into the new neo-Classisical style.

Kilshannig has four formal fronts.

The entrance is of rose red brick while the other fronts are of cut sandstone with limestone dressings.

The brick facade has a mezzanine floor, segmental headed windows, a fine tripartite stone centrepiece with blind occuli and a round-headed niche on the upper floor.

The other fronts have more regular fenestration although they incorporate several unusual details.

This seven-bay block is attached to a pair of square pavilions by straight narrow links, single storied and elaborately arcaded on the garden front.

From the pavilions the wings extend back towards the entrance in an L-shape and reconnect to the main block by curved walls to form a pair of enclosed courtyards.

Saloon Ceiling

Kilshannig contains a splendid series of rich 18th century rooms with perhaps Ireland’s finest decorative plasterwork, executed by the Lafrancini brothers during their second visit.

These have noble proportions, magnificent chimneypieces and joinery, and deeply coved Rococo ceilings.

Staircase

Most notable are the columnar hall, the double height saloon, which occupies the centre of the garden front, and the superb stone spiral staircase.

Mr. Devonsher was childless and left his estate to his nephew, after whom the house changed hands with monotonous regularity, deteriorating continuously with each passing year.

Trabolgan

Before 1837, Kilshannig was sold to Edward Roche (1771-1855), of Trabolgan House, who used the mansion as a winter residence, as did his son Edmond Burke Roche, raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Fermoy.

Kilshannig had a succession of owners during the 20th century until Commander Douglas Merry and his wife purchased it in 1960.

At that stage Kilshannig was in poor condition: The cupolas had disappeared; one wing was ruinous; and the whole house badly needed attention.

Fortunately Commander Merry possessed a singular combination of engineering skill and aesthetic sensitivity with considerable 'DIY' skills, and it is entirely due to his efforts that the house survived the 20th century.

His son Hugo, a successful bloodstock agent, now lives at Kilshannig with his wife Elaine and their family.

They have continued the good work and have recently given the whole house a new roof, reinstated the cupolas and clad them in copper and a great deal of other work.

This has all been executed to the highest possible standards, to make the house secure for the next hundred years.

Former residence ~ Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk.

Fermoy arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  Select bibliography ~ Irish Historic Houses Association.