Stormont House

Entrance Front

SPEAKER'S HOUSE (now Stormont House) is a neo-Georgian two-storey red-brick building of 1926, located within the Stormont Estate to the south-east of Parliament Buildings.

A stepped-stone, paved rear terrace is enclosed to the rear garden by a rough-hewn sandstone wall.

Speaker’s House was the first building to be erected as part of the redevelopment of the Stormont Estate in east Belfast.

Following the Government of Ireland Act (1920) Stormont Castle estate was selected as the home of the newly-formed Northern Ireland Government and Parliament.

The Stormont Estate was acquired by the Commissioners of Public Works and Buildings of HM Government in 1921 at a cost of £20,334 (ca £900,000 in 2015).

However, the Parliament Buildings were not completed and opened until 1932.

The architect chosen to design Speaker’s House was Ralph Knott (1878-1929), a partner in Knott & Collins.

Knott is best known for designing London County Hall opposite Westminster, and was originally selected by the Board of Works to design the Parliament Buildings.

He was, however, replaced as architect by Arnold Thornely.

Despite losing the contract for designing the main block of Parliament Buildings, Knott was still contracted to design a pair of parallel administration blocks that would accommodate the civil service offices.

Garden Front

Knott did, nevertheless, complete Speaker’s House in 1926.

Following the partition of Ireland, architecture in Ulster did not immediately follow modern trends but embraced a neo-Georgian revival.

Hugh Dixon, MBE, states that buildings of this type possessed their own distinct identities, but derived some elements from earlier buildings in Ulster.

Speaker’s House, along with T F O Rippingham’s contemporary series of police stations, possesses features such as a hipped roof, Georgian multi-pane glazing and side chimneys.

Focussing on Rippingham’s police stations, Mr Dixon wrote that neo-Georgian architecture was popular in newly-formed Northern Ireland as the style ‘was an environmental success, blending with the older buildings along the streets of Ulster’s towns, or taking its place quietly in more isolated country situations." 

In the case of Speaker’s House, it was clear that the neo-Georgian style could also be successfully applied to state buildings, remarked Mr Dixon.

Speaker’s House was the official residence of the Speaker of the NI House of Commons until 1945, when the present Lord Dunleath's grandfather, Sir Harry Mulholland Bt MP, retired.

Thereafter, it became the residence of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir Basil Brooke Bt (Sir Harry Mulholland's brother-in-law).

Sir Harry purchased Sir Basil's town residence, Storbrooke, on Massey Avenue, thereby effectively doing a house-swap.

Since the devolution of government, Stormont House is no longer the Speaker's residence.

The building was extended in the 1970s when a large two-storey administration complex was added to its eastern side.

Stormont House was used by the Northern Ireland Office until 2022, when the NIO moved to a new office, Erskine House, in Chichester Street, Belfast.

First published in October, 2014.  Acknowledgments: The Lord Dunleath and DOENI Historic Buildings Branch.

Belleek Manor

THE KNOX-GORE BARONETS OWNED 22,023 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY MAYO

JAMES KNOX (1774-1818), third son of Francis Knox, of Rappa Castle, County Mayo, was called to the bar, 1797, and returned by the borough of Taghmon to the last Irish Parliament, 1797-1800.

He settled at Broadlands Park in County Mayo, became a magistrate, 1803, and deputy governor of that county.

In 1813, Mr Knox assumed, in compliance with the will of his maternal grandfather, Annesley Gore, the surname and arms of GORE in addition to those of KNOX.

He married, in 1800, the Lady Maria Louisa Gore, eldest daughter of ARTHUR, 2ND EARL OF ARRAN, by Anna, his second wife, daughter of the Rev Boleyn Knight, of Ottley, Yorkshire, and had issue,

FRANCIS ARTHUR, his heir;
James;
Henry William;
Annesley;
George Edward;
Anna Maria; Louisa Maria; Eleanor Adelaide; Charlotte Catharine.

Mr Knox-Gore, Ranger of the Curragh of Kildare, was succeeded by his eldest son,

FRANCIS ARTHUR KNOX-GORE JP (1803-73), of Belleek Abbey, Lieutenant-Colonel, North Mayo Militia, who wedded, in 1829, Sarah, daughter of Charles Nesbitt Knox, of Castle Lacken, and had issue,

CHARLES JAMES, his successor;
Jane Louisa; Matilda.

Colonel Knox-Gore, Lord-Lieutenant of County Sligo, 1831-68, succeeded to the estates of his great-grandfather, Annesley Gore, brother of the 1ST EARL OF ARRAN, on the demise, in 1821, of the Rt Hon Henry King, who had a life interest in the property.

He was created a baronet in 1868, designated of Belleek Manor.

Sir Francis was succeeded by his son,

SIR CHARLES JAMES KNOX-GORE, 2nd Baronet (1831-90), of Belleek Manor.

The baronetcy expired following the decease of the 2nd Baronet.

BELLEEK MANOR (now Belleek Castle hotel), Ballina, County Mayo, is a large Tudor-Gothic mansion built about 1825 for Francis Knox-Gore, later 1st Baronet.

It has a symmetrical front with three stepped gables flanked by slender, polygonal, battlemented turrets and pinnacles.

There are oriels at the sides; and the central porch is surmounted by a twin corbelled oriel.

*****

The mansion and its parkland are described by the NIAH thus:-

"A COUNTRY HOUSE erected for Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Francis Arthur Knox-Gore (1803-73), first Baronet; widely accepted as a particularly important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition, 'a noble mansion in the later English style of architecture' (Lewis 1837 II, 189);"

"Confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking manicured lawns and the broad River Moy; 

the symmetrical frontage centred on a Tudoresque door-case showing pretty Georgian Gothic glazing patterns; 

the construction in a deep grey limestone offset by sheer dressings not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also compounding a ponderous monochrome palette; 

the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual effect with the principal "apartments" defined by handsome bay windows;"

"And the elongated pinnacles embellishing a multi-gabled roof-line: meanwhile, although traditionally attributed to John Benjamin Keane of Mabbot Street [James Joyce Street], Dublin, strong comparisons with the contemporary Coolbawn House (1823-39), County Wexford, put forward Frederick Darley, Junior (1798-1872), as an equally likely design source. 

Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where contemporary joinery; 

and decorative plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the considerable artistic potential of the composition. 

Furthermore, an adjoining stable complex; the nearby Knox-Gore monument; and an eye-catching gate house, all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a much depleted estate having historic connections with the Knox-Gore family, including Sir Charles James Knox-Gore, 2nd Baronet; 

and the succeeding Saunders-Knox-Gore family, including Major-General William Boyd Saunders-Knox-Gore (née Saunders) (1827-1902); 

and Matilda Saunders-Knox-Gore (née Knox-Gore) (1833-1912); Lieutenant-Colonel William Arthur Gore Saunders-Knox-Gore JP DL (née Saunders) (1854-1925); and Lieutenant-Colonel William Arthur Cecil Saunders-Knox-Gore JP DL (née Saunders) (1888-1975)."

*****

THE KNOX-GORES continued to live at Belleek Manor until the 1940s.

Marshall Doran, a merchant navy officer and an avid collector of fossils and medieval armour, acquired the run down property in 1961.

He proceeded to restore the house and opened it as a hotel in 1970.

Some of the rooms are in 19th century style, whilst most of the interior design has a medieval and nautical theme.

Today the Belleek Castle Hotel is owned by the Mayo Trust and managed by Marshall’s son, Paul Doran, and Ms Maya Nikolaeva.

First published in March, 2016.

The Bar Hall Acquisition

SELECTIVE ACQUISITIONS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

PROPERTY: Bar Hall Lands, Ards Peninsula, County Down

DATE: 1986-2003

EXTENT: 104.90 acres

DONOR: Mrs McClelland

Barr Hall Bay (historic OS map)

First published in February, 2015.

The Argory

THE MacGEOUGH-BONDS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ARMAGH, WITH 7,213 ACRES

JOSHUA MacGEOUGH (1683-1756), of Drumsill, parish of Grange, County Armagh, married Anne, only daughter and heir of Brigadier-General the Rt Hon William Graham, MP for Drogheda, 1727-48, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
John, dsp;
Samuel, of Derrycaw;
Elizabeth, m W Houston, of Orangefield;
Mary; Anne.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM MacGEOUGH, of Drumsill, married firstly, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Walter Bond, of Bondville, parish of Tynan, County Armagh, and had a son,

JOSHUA, his heir.

He wedded secondly, the daughter of Joseph Boyd, and had three daughters,

Elizabeth; Mary; Anne.

Mr MacGeough died ca 1791, and was succeeded by his only son,

Joshua MacGeough

JOSHUA MacGEOUGH (1747-1817), of Drumsill, who espoused Anne, daughter of Joseph Johnstone, of Knappagh, County Armagh, and had issue,

William, his heir, of Drumsill, dsp;
WALTER, of whom we treat;

Mary Anne; Isabella; Elizabeth; all of Drumsill.

The younger son,

WALTER MacGEOUGH-BOND (1790-1866), of Drumsill, Silverbridge, and The Argory, County Armagh, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1819, Barrister, assumed, in 1824, the name and arms of BOND in addition to his own.

Walter MacGeough-Bond with his youngest son,
Edward Staples MacGeough-Bond (Image: The National Trust)

He married, in 1830, Anne, second daughter of Ralph Smyth, of Gaybrook, County Westmeath, and had, with other issue,

JOSHUA WALTER, his heir;
Ralph MacGeough-Bond-Shelton, of The Argory;
William;
Robert John MacGeough, of Silverbridge;
Edward Staples;
Mary Isabella; Anna Maria.

The eldest son,

JOSHUA WALTER MacGEOUGH-BOND JP DL (1831-1905), of Drumsill, County Armagh, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1872, MP for Armagh City, 1855-57 and 1859-65, married, in 1856, Albertine Louise, daughter of Frederick Shanahan, Barrister, and had issue,

WALTER WILLIAM ADRIAN, his heir;
Ralph Xavier, Lt-Col; d 1946;
Angeline Aimee Eliza; Anne Albertine Mary.

Mr MacGeough-Bond was succeeded by his eldest son,

Sir Walter MacGeough-Bond (Image: The National Trust)

SIR WALTER WILLIAM ADRIAN MacGEOUGH-BOND JP DL (1857-1945), of Drumsill and The Argory, County Armagh, Vice-President of Court of Appeal at Cairo, Egypt, Knight Bachelor, 1917, who wedded, in 1901, Ada Marion, youngest daughter of Charles Nichols, of Dunedin, New Zealand, and had issue, an only child,

WALTER ALBERT NEVILL MacGEOUGH-BOND DL (1908-86), High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1952, died unmarried.

Garden Front

THE EARLIEST document relating to the MacGeoughs' Argory lands -  then known as Derrycaw -  dates from the 1740s, when Joshua foreclosed the mortgage on the property from a family named Nicholson, who stayed on as tenants.

Joshua McGeough's principal house was Drumsill, near Armagh.

He married Anne Graham, and their son William, the first of six children, first married Elizabeth Bond, the daughter and heiress of Walter Bond of Bondville, County Armagh.

When Joshua died in 1756, his house and estate at Drumsill passed to his elder son, William.

Joshua MacGeough, William's only son, rebuilt Drumsill House between 1786-8, apparently to the design of the master mason, William Lappan. He commissioned Francis Johnston to add wings to it in 1805-6, shown in two signed drawings now at the Argory.

Joshua McGeough died in 1817, leaving a curious will by which his eldest son William was given only £400 a year; while Drumsill was left to his second son Walter and his three daughters.

Walter was not, however, permitted to live there after his marriage as long as two of his sisters remained unmarried.

Isabella died later in the same year, leaving Walter her jointure of £10,000, but Mary-Ann and Eliza lived on as rich spinsters at Drumsill (with £20,000 each) for the rest of their lives.

Walter MacGeough, who had become a barrister after graduating from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1811, must have realised that his sisters were unlikely to marry, or to give up Drumsill. He therefore lost no time in adding to the land he had inherited at Derrycaw, and building a new house there - later to be known as the Argory.

Work began on The Argory in 1819, and the main block and offices were more or less complete by 1824, when he assumed the additional name and arms of Bond, from 'affectionate regard to the family of his deceased grandmother'. 

Since Walter's eldest son, Joshua Walter, had already inherited Drumsill from his spinster aunts, The Argory was left to the second son Ralph, or Captain Shelton, who adopted the additional name of Shelton after a distant relation who may have left him some money.

Entrance Front

When Ralph died without issue in 1916, Walter Adrian MacGeough-Bond, who had already inherited Drumsill in 1905, inherited The Argory.

He moved most of the contents of Drumsill to The Argory and sold Drumsill in 1917.

He was a lawyer, ending his career as Vice-President of the Court of Appeal in Cairo, and received a knighthood for his services.

In 1901 he married Ada Marion, daughter of Charles Nichols, of Dunedin, New Zealand, a founding partner of Dalgety, Nichols & Company.

Their son, Walter Albert Nevill (Tommy) MacGeough-Bond DL, was born in 1908, attended Eton, and King's College, Cambridge.

Long a student and patron of the Arts, he and his family's interest in music is reflected throughout the Argory.

He formed a large personal art collection, including many works by Ulster artists.

Sir Walter's son and successor, the late Walter Albert Nevill MacGeough-Bond, presented The Argory and demesne of 320 acres to The National Trust in 1979.

He died in 1986 and is buried in the grounds beside the house. 

Quoting selectively from  The MacGeough Bonds of The Argory, by Olwen Purdue:

"Sir Walter was The Argory's most reluctant owner. He had worked as a judge in Cairo, Egypt and was knighted for his efforts and, like Captain Shelton, had an unwelcome culture shock on coming to The Argory.

He was also an unenthusiastic Moy resident and wrote: The Argory is not a desirable residence for me on account of the excessive dampness of the valley of the Blackwater.

I have, as you know, been advised by high medical authority to avoid a damp climate. And avoid it he did, spending as much time as possible in Rome and Nice.

He even brought an Italian man, Secondo Belucci, to work in The Argory. Some members of the local Orange Order found this really offensive and wrote this nasty letter to him saying basically 'we've got perfectly good Protestant people here, why don't you get them to work for you?"

Dr Purdue says that Sir Walter oversaw the sale of much of the family's lands in the final stages of land reform, choosing safe investments for the proceeds of sale.

He had married Ada Nicholls in 1901.

Their marriage was deeply unhappy and, again, they lived separate lives.

Sir Walter's wife Ada, Lady Bond, was known to leave The Argory and stay in a hotel whenever her husband was expected home.

Their son Nevill inherited The Argory and lived there for 30 years, becoming towards the end an "increasingly isolated and eccentric addition to the community". 

Like his father, he hated the damp weather, spending his summers in Jamaica, and only ventured into the chilly St James's Church in Moy, wrapped in several coats.

The Troubles deeply affected Nevill. His friends in Tynan Abbey, Sir Norman Stronge and his son, James, who was in the RUC, were murdered by the IRA on January 21, 1983.

Nevill's driver, Frederic Lutton, was also ambushed and shot dead by the IRA in 1979, inside The Argory's grounds.

A bullet was fired at Nevill and embedded in the door of the car. Terrified, he stayed away for a time. In addition, The Argory was becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, so Nevill decided to give the house to the National Trust:

"It was a very hard thing... having been in the family for these generations, for him to have to be the one to pass it out of the family,"

Dr Purdue continues: 

"But basically the family line died out with him and there wasn't going to be anyone else that would step in."

The demesne was established for the present house on the banks of the River Blackwater, built in 1824, and includes Pleasure Gardens, stable yard, South Lodge, gate screens and gates.

The grounds are fully maintained with fine mature trees, shrubs and lawns.

The architects, A & J Williamson, made plans for the gardens in 1821, the shape of which is adhered to, but the internal layout differs from the original plan.

The Pleasure Ground to the north-east of the mansion house has herbaceous borders, yew arbours, a tulip tree, a well- placed cedar and twin pavilions.

There is an enclosed early 19th century sundial garden at the house, with box-edged rose beds.

A riverside lime walk under pollarded limes is planted with daffodils.

An ilex avenue leads to the walled garden, which is made of brick and not cultivated.

Of the three gate lodges, two of ca 1835 are occupied; and an earlier lodge of ca 1825 is not used.

First published in August, 2010.  MacGeough-Bond arms courtesy of the NLI.

Grange, County Armagh

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND, 1837

GRANGE, a parish, partly in the barony of ONeilland West, but chiefly in that of Armagh, County Armagh, two miles north from the cathedral city of Armagh, on the road to Belfast.

The parish, which was formed out of the parish of Armagh in 1777, comprises about 6,800 acres.

The land is generally good, and well cultivated; there is a considerable quantity of bog.

There are quarries of excellent limestone and freestone, from which latter the stone is raised for the restoration of Armagh Cathedral.

A considerable quantity of linen cloth is woven here, and there is an extensive bleach-green at Allistragh.

The principal seat is Castle Dillon, the splendid residence of Sir Thomas Molyneux Bt, near whose extensive and richly wooded demesne is an obelisk, 60 feet high, erected by the Rt Hon Sir Capel Molyneux Bt, in 1782, to commemorate the passing of some acts securing the independence of the Irish Parliament.

Here are also Drumsill, the residence of the Misses MacGeough; Allistragh, of R McBride; The Grange, of M Pringle; and the Glebe House, of the Rev C W Lyne.

Drumsill House (Image: Armagh Chronicle/X)

The living is a perpetual cure, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Dean of Armagh.

The curate has a stipend of £100, paid by the Dean; and the Glebe House, a large and commodious building surrounded by a fine plantation, and a glebe comprising 37¾ acres.

St Aidan's parish church, Grange, County Armagh

The church [St Aidan's] is a handsome edifice, built in 1779 [?1776], of compact limestone, with a square tower and octagonal spire.

In the Roman Catholic divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Armagh, and has a small plain chapel.

The parochial school is situated near the church, and is aided by an annual donation from the incumbent; two schools for females are aided by the Dean, the incumbent, and Miss MacGeough; and a National School is aided by an annual donation of £20 from Lord Charlemont, who also built the school-house; they afford instruction to about 270 children.

Sir Capel Molyneux, [3rd] Baronet, bequeathed a rent charge of £30, on the Castle Dillon Estate, to the poor Protestant housekeepers of this parish, which is distributed by the incumbent.

1st Earl Macartney

The ancient family of MACARTNEY is stated by William Playfair to be descended from a younger son of the MacCarthy Mór, of County Cork, who went over to Scotland to assist ROBERT THE BRUCE, King of Scotland, whom he served in his wars, and was awarded with a grant of land in Argyllshire, whereon are still to be seen the ruins of a castle, the ancient possession of MACARTNEY in that county.

Subsequently, driven from their original resting-place, the Macartneys fixed themselves in Galloway. The family divided into three branches: MacCartney of Leathes, MacCartney of Auchinleck, and MacCartney of Blacket.

 Of the Auchinleck branch of MACARTNEY was 

GEORGE MACARTNEY, who married, in 1522, Margaret, daughter of Godfrey MacCullogh, of Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbright, and had issue, several children, of whom

PATRICK MACARTNEY espoused the daughter of John McLellan, and was father of

BARTHOLOMEW MACARTNEY, of Auchinleck, who wedded, in 1587, Mary, only daughter of John Stewart of Auchinleck, and had a son,

BARTHOLOMEW MACARTNEY, of Auchinleck, who wedded Catherine, daughter of George Maxwell, of Orchardton; though he died in the lifetime of his father, leaving a son,

GEORGE MACARTNEY (1626-91), who removed into Ulster in 1649 and settled near Belfast, where he acquired a large estate.

Macartney was one of the most significant figures in the economic development of early 17th century Belfast.

He was a Captain of Horse, Surveyor-General of the Province of Ulster, and Sovereign (Mayor) of Belfast, 1662-3.

Macartney and his family lived in a house near what is now called Millfield, as recorded in his will dated 1691: 

"... his new dwelling house in Belfast, with back-house, garden, meadow, field, and likewise all the furniture, plenishing, and utensils belonging to the same."

In 1671, Mr Macartney served the office of High Sheriff, and in 1688 he proclaimed WILLIAM & MARY at Belfast, for which he was soon after obliged to flee to England, and was attainted by JAMES II's parliament held at Dublin in 1689.

He was buried in the Corporation Church of Belfast, having bequeathed 40 shillings to the poor of that parish, and other benefactions.

Mr Macartney married firstly, Janet, daughter of Quentin Calderwood, of Belfast, and had issue (with three daughters),

James;
Arthur, m Jane Chalmers;
John, died young;
Bartholomew, died young;
George, died young;
Quentin, died young. 

He wedded secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Butler, of Hale, Lancashire, and sister to the Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Butler, Knight, of Edmonton, Middlesex, and had further issue,

Chichester, dsp;
GEORGE, of whom hereafter.

The youngest son,

GEORGE MACARTNEY (1671-1757), MP for Belfast, 1692-3 and 1715-57, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1743, Deputy Governor, Colonel of a regiment of militia Dragoons, married firstly, in 1700, Letitia, daughter and co-heir of Sir Charles Porter, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, and had issue,

Charles, dsp 1759;
GEORGE, of whom we treat;
Hugh, dsp 1731.

He wedded secondly, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of William Dobbin, of Carrickfergus, County Antrim, but had no further issue.

George Macartney (Image: NMNI)

Colonel Macartney's surviving son,

GEORGE MACARTNEY, of Lissanoure, County Antrim, married, in 1732, Elizabeth, youngest daughter of the Rev John Winder, Vicar of Carnmoney, County Antrim, and had (with other issue),

GEORGE, his heir;
Letitia; Elizabeth.

Mr Macartney died in 1778, and was succeeded by his only son,

THE RT HON SIR GEORGE MACARTNEY KB (1737-1806), of Lissanoure, who married, in 1768, the Lady Jane Stewart, second daughter of John, 3rd Earl of Bute.

George Macartney was born at Lissanoure Castle, County Antrim, in 1737.

In 1764, he was appointed envoy-extraordinary to St Petersburg.

In this role he successfully concluded a commercial treaty with Russia and was awarded the Polish order of the White Eagle.

He returned to England in 1767 where he declined the offer of the embassy at St Petersburg and instead entered parliament as member for Cockermouth.

He resigned from this post when he was appointed Chief Secretary to the 1st Marquess Townshend, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1769 (he had already been voted member for Armagh in absentia in 1768).

Macartney was sworn of the Irish Privy Council in 1769, was appointed Knight of the Bath (KB) in 1772, and Governor of Toome Castle, 1714.

In 1775, he was appointed Captain-General and Governor of the Caribbee islands (Grenada, the Grenadines and Tobago), and the following year was raised to the peerage in the dignity of Baron Macartney, of Lissanoure, County Antrim.

Lord Macartney was in Grenada in 1779 when the island was attacked and captured by the French and for a short period he was held as a prisoner of war in France.

During 1780, Macartney was sent by Lord North on a confidential mission to Ireland.

He also sat for a while in the House of Commons as member for Beeralston, Devonshire.

In 1781, the East India Company appointed him Governor of Madras, India; he resigned from this post in ca 1785.

After declining the offer of being Warren Hastings' successor as Governor-General of India, Macartney arrived back in England in 1786.

He took his seat in the Irish house of lords in 1788 and served as custos rotulorum of Antrim, as a trustee of linen manufacture, and as a colonel in the yeomanry in Ulster.

1st Earl Macartney KB (Image: Ulster Museum)

Lord Macartney was advanced, in 1792, to the dignities of Viscount Macartney of Dervock and EARL MACARTNEY.

Later in the the same year, he was part of an embassy sent to China to discuss a potential trade treaty. The embassy arrived home in 1794.

In 1795 the Foreign Secretary, Lord Grenville, sent Lord Macartney to Italy on a confidential mission to LOUIS XVIII of France, who was then an exile at Verona.

When Macartney returned to England he was created Baron Macartney, of Parkhurst, Sussex, and of Auchinleck, Kirkcudbrightshire.

In 1796 he was appointed to his last official post as Governor of the Cape of Good Hope colony.

He resigned in 1798 and returned to England, where he declined Addington's offer of the chairmanship of the Board of Control.

Earl Macartney died in 1806 without issue, when the titles expired.

The Glens of Antrim Historical Society has written a history of the Macartney family. 

His ancestral seat was Lissanoure Castle, near Ballymoney, County Antrim.  

Macartney arms courtesy of European Heraldry. First published in March, 2010.

Fisherwick Lodge

FISHERWICK LODGE, near Doagh, County Antrim, is a former hunting lodge of the Marquesses of Donegall.

The lodge was re-built about 1805 as a hollow square, with two single-storey fronts of nine bays each.

It has lofty windows which reach almost to the ground, and a pedimented wooden door-case, with fluted columns.

Although the present house is likely to date from the early years of the 19th century, its origins are in an 18th-century hunting lodge for the Donegall estate.

The current lodge was built by the 2nd Marquess (1769-1844).

Its name derives from the barony of Fisherwick, one of the family's subsidiary titles.

The Lodge was built in the midst of an extensive deer park which covered "nearly all of six townlands, including Kilbride, Ballywee, Holestone, Douglasland, Ballyhamage and part of the parish of Donegore and the Grange of Doagh.

The 2nd Marquess, who had a reputation for extravagance, also laid out an artificial lake in front of the Lodge.

Deer were hunted by hounds in the Doagh district, and the improvements by the 2nd Marquess included the establishment of large kennels and extensive stabling.

In 1899, the kennels were associated with the establishment of a racecourse at Lisnalinchy, which continued to exist in part up until the late 1950s, retaining the name East Antrim Hounds, but have since been relocated to the Parkgate district.

The estate is described in an 1812 statistical survey by the Rev John Dubourdieu:

"Close to [Doagh] is Fisherwick Lodge ... the building itself, which is very handsome, and the plantations, have much improved and enlivened the look of this well placed hamlet, which has, in addition, a good inn [Doagh or Farrell's Inn]."

The Ordnance Survey Memoir of 1838 describes the lodge thus:

An elegant and uniform structure in the Cottage style, forming with the offices a spacious quadrangular enclosure. It contains a regular suite of handsome apartments, and is constructed and finished in the most modern style.

Lord Belfast and his father, the 2nd Marquess, subsequently disentailed their estates, with the exception of Islandmagee.

It is recorded that the Donegall family took refuge at Fisherwick Lodge following the seizure in 1806 of the contents of their town residence in Belfast, Donegall House, by creditors.

Fisherwick Lodge was finally sold, in 1847, to John Molyneaux JP.

In 1894, Mr Molyneaux drained the artificial lake in front of the house.

The lodge has since been divided into two properties.

The south gate lodge was demolished ca 2000 and replaced with a modern dwelling.

First published in February, 2015.  Donegall arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

General Clinton

JOHN DE CLINTON, son of Thomas de Clinton, and the descendant of Geoffray de Clinton, Lord Chamberlain to HENRY I, marrying Ida, eldest of the four sisters and co-heirs of William de Odingsells, Lord of Maxstoke Castle, Warwickshire, and thus acquiring that lordship, seated himself there.

This John de Clinton was in the wars of Scotland in the time of EDWARD I, and had summons to Parliament, as Baron Clinton, in 1299.

He died in 1315, leaving two sons,

JOHN, his successor;
WILLIAM, created EARL OF HUNTINGDON.

The elder son,

JOHN, 2nd Baron (c1300-35), was summoned to Parliament from 1332 to 1335, in which latter year he died, and was succeeded by his son,

JOHN, 3rd Baron (c1325-98), summoned to Parliament from 1357 to 1397.

This nobleman inherited the estates of his uncle, William, Earl of Huntingdon.

His lordship was engaged in the French wars, with little interruption, during the reigns of EDWARD III and RICHARD II.

He wedded firstly, Idonea, elder sister of William, Lord Saye, and aunt and sole heir of Elizabeth, Baronesss Saye; she was also cousin and heir of William, Baron Sele.

By this lady he had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;
Thomas;
Margaret.

He espoused secondly, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of William de la Plaunch.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM, 4th Baron (1378-1431), who married Alice, daughter of William, 2nd Baron Botreaux, and was succeeded by his son,

JOHN, 5th Baron (1410-64); who exchanged his manor of Maxstoke with Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, for the manors of Whiston and Woodford, Northamptonshire.

His lordship, being a staunch Yorkist, was attainted in 1461, but on the subsequent re-establishment of his party, he was restored, and enjoyed the favour of EDWARD IV.

He wedded Joan, daughter of Edmund, 5th Baron Ferrers, and was father of

JOHN, 6th Baron (c1429-88), who wedded Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford, and was succeeded by his son,

JOHN, 7th Baron (1471-1514), who espoused firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Morgan, and was succeeded by his son,

THOMAS, 8th Baron (1490-1517), who married Mary, natural daughter of Sir Edward Poynings KG; and dying of the sweating sickness, was succeeded by his son,

EDWARD, 9th Baron (1512-85), who was one of the most eminent persons of the age in which he lived.

His lordship was created EARL OF LINCOLN in 1571, having previously filled the office of LORD HIGH ADMIRAL.

He married firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Blount, and had issue, three daughters,

Bridget; Katherine; Margaret.

His lordship wedded secondly, Ursula, daughter of William, 7th Baron Stourton, and had further issue,

HENRY, his successor;
William;
Thomas;
Frances; Anne; Elizabeth.

His lordship espoused thirdly, in 1552, Elizabeth, daughter of Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY, 2nd Earl (1541-1616), KB, who married firstly, in 1557, the Lady Catherine Hastings, daughter of Francis, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, and had issue,

Edward;
THOMAS, his successor.

He wedded secondly, in 1586, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Morrison, and had further issue,

Kendal;
Henry (Sir).

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

THOMAS, 3rd Earl (1568-1619), who espoused Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Sir Henry Knyvett MP, and had issue,

THEOPHILUS, his successor;
Henry;
Thomas;
Edward;
Charles;
Knyvett;
Arabella; Susan; Frances; Dorcas; Sara; Ann.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

THEOPHILUS, 4th Earl (1599-1667), KB, who married firstly, in 1622, Bridget, only daughter of William, 1st Viscount Say and Sele,

EDWARD, Lord Clinton, father of EDWARD, who succeeded his grandfather;;
Catharine; Arabella; Margaret.

He wedded secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Gorges.

His lordship's grandson,

EDWARD, 5th Earl (1645-92), wedded, in 1674, Jeanne, daughter of Pierre de Guliere, Lord of Verun; though died without issue, when the earldom reverted to his cousin,

FRANCIS, as 6th Earl (1635-93), who espoused firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Killigrew, and had issue, an only child, Francis, who died in infancy.

He married secondly, Susan, daughter of the Rev Anthony Peniston, and had further issue,

Henry, 7th Earl;
GEORGE, of whom we treat;
Susannah.

His lordship's younger son,

ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET THE HON GEORGE CLINTON (c1686-1761), Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland, 1732, Governor of the Province of New York, 1741, wedded Anne, daughter and co-heir of General Peter Carle, and had, with other issue,

HENRY, his heir;
Mary; Lucy Mary.

Admiral Clinton's son and heir,

GENERAL THE RT HON SIR HENRY CLINTON KB (1730-95), Commander-in-Chief, America, 1778-82, who married, in 1767, Harriet, daughter of Thomas Carter, and had issue,

Frederick, died in 1774;
WILLIAM HENRY (General Sir), GCB, his heir;
Henry (Lieutenant-General Sir), GCB;
Harriet; Augusta.

Photo Credit: National Army Museum

Sir Henry was appointed Governor of Gibraltar in 1794, though died in London before taking up the post.

He was interred at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

The Barons Clinton, one of the oldest peerages still extant, are related to the Earls of Lincoln.

First published in April, 2020. General Clinton's arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Prehen House

THE KNOXES OWNED 3,641 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY LONDONDERRY

This appeared to be the direct representative line of the ancient and extended family of KNOX, the founder of that name. ADAMUS, son of Uchtred, obtained from the High Steward, during the time of ALEXANDER II, King of Scots, 1214-49, grants of the lands of Knock, Ranfurly, Crieff Castle, Craigend, etc, in Renfrewshire.

The descendants of ADAMUS assumed the name of Knox, derived, according to Patronymina Britannica, from the lands of Knocks or Knox, Knock being Gaelic for round-topped hill.

For many generations they were seated at Ranfurly Castle, the ruins of which lie between Glasgow and Greenock.

This Adamus was father of

JOHANNE DE KNOX, whose eldest son,

UTRED DE KNOCX, was father of

ALANUS DE KNOCKIS, during the time of ROBERT THE BRUCE, who had a son,

SIR JOHN DE KNOX, Lord of Ranfurly, who wedded, in 1371, the second daughter and co-heiress of Sir David Fleming, of Biggar, whose son was

ROBERT DE KNOCK, father of

UCHTRED DE KNOCKS, who had a son,

JOHN DE KNOCKS, who, by his wife, the only child of Sir Robert Maxwell, of Calderwood, had a son,

UCHTRED, father of

UCHTRED KNOX, of Craigend, Renfrewshire, who married Agnes, daughter of Lord Lyle, and had two sons,

UCHTRED, his heir;
George.

The elder son,

UCHTRED KNOX, espoused Janet, daughter of Lord Sempill, and had issue,

UCHTER, his heir;
William, of Silvyland, ancestor of the EARL OF RANFURLY, and KNOX OF BRITTAS.

The elder son,

UCHTER KNOX, of Ranfurly, wedded Isabella, daughter of ______ Cunningham, of Craigend, and had two sons,

John, of Ranfurly;
ANDREW, who eventually carried on the family.

The younger son,

THE RT REV ANDREW KNOX (1559-1633), was consecrated Lord Bishop of the Isles, 1605, and Lord Bishop of Raphoe, 1610.

The Bishop had a grant of the monastery and lands of Rathmullen, County Donegal, in 1614.

He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Ralph Bingley, Knight, of Rosguill, County Donegal, and had issue,

Thomas (Rt Rev), Bishop of the Isles, 1622;
ANDREW, of whom hereafter;
John, in holy orders;
Claud, in holy orders;
James.

Bishop Knox's second son,

ANDREW KNOX, of Rathmullen, County Donegal, wedded Rebecca, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Galbraith, of Dowish, County Londonderry, and had issue,

ANDREW, his heir;
Robert.

Mr Knox was succeeded by his elder son,

ANDREW KNOX, a major in the besieged army of Derry, attainted by the parliament of JAMES II in 1689.

By Mary his wife he left a son and successor,

GEORGE KNOX, of Rathmullen and Moneymore, County Donegal, who espoused Mary Wray, and had two sons, ANDREW, his heir, and a younger son (from whom descended Letitia, daughter of the Rev George Knox, Rector of Strabane, mother of General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence and John, 1st Baron Lawrence, Viceroy of India, 1864).

The eldest son,

COLONEL ANDREW KNOX  (1709-74), of Rathmullen and Moneymore, MP for County Donegal, 1743-68, married, in 1738, Honoria, daughter and heiress of Andrew Tomkins, of Prehen, County Londonderry, and had (with a daughter, Mary Ann, shot by John Macnaghten in 1760) a son, his heir,

GEORGE KNOX, of Prehen, who wedded, in 1760, Jane, daughter of Thomas Mahon, of Strokestown, County Roscommon, and sister of Maurice, 1st Lord Hartland, and had issue,

ANDREW, his heir;
Thomas, in holy orders;
Maurice;
Alexander;
Mary Anne.

Mr Knox was succeeded by his eldest son,

ANDREW KNOX (1766-1840), of Prehen, Colonel, Donegal Militia, MP for Strabane, 1798-1800, who wedded, in 1790, Mary, daughter of Dominick McCausland, of Daisy Hill (Drenagh), County Londonderry, and had issue,

GEORGE, his heir;
Dominick;
Andrew, in holy orders;
Marcus, captain RN;
Thomas;
Jane; Honoria; Mary; Caroline; Benjamina.

Mr Knox was succeeded by his eldest son,

GEORGE KNOX JP DL (c1789-1848), of Prehen, High Sheriff of County Donegal, 1824, Captain, 2nd Dragoon Guards, who espoused, in 1827, Anna Maria, daughter of Robert Johnstone, of Magheramena Castle, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

GEORGE, his heir;
Letitia Mary;
Harriett.

Captain Knox was succeeded by his only son,

GEORGE KNOX JP DL (1832-1910), of Prehen, High Sheriff of County Donegal, 1862, Lieutenant-Colonel, Londonderry Artillery, who wedded Rose Virginie Grimm, of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and had issue,

EUGENIE, of whom we treat;
Augusta Georgina.

The elder daughter,

EUGENIE KNOX, wedded Ludwig Otto von Scheffler PhD, and had issue,

GEORGE CARL OTTO LOUIS;
Manon;
Virginie.

Their only son,

GEORGE CARL OTTO LOUIS VON SCHEFFLER-KNOX (1884-1966), inherited Prehen in 1910.

PREHEN HOUSE, County Londonderry, is a noble mid-18th century mansion, perhaps the finest early Georgian country house in Northern Ireland.

It was probably designed by Michael Priestly.

Prehan comprises two storeys over a basement of brick vaulting; of rubble, with ashlar dressings.

The entrance front has a pedimented breakfront centre, including acroteria.

The upper storey has four bays; while the lower storey has one bay on either side of the centre.

The front windows boast fine rusticated surrounds with keystones.

There is a lofty roof with a high parapet.

The rear of the house is U-shaped.

*****

Prehen means "place of the crows" in Gaelic; and during the 17th century the banks of the River Foyle in this vicinity were still thickly wooded.

The townland of Prehen, part of civil parish of Clondermot, and barony of Tirkeeran, was acquired as part of Goldsmiths' Proportion in 1614.

Thomas Raven's map of the Proportion, made in 1619, shows the townland clearly with a house located close to the water, south-west of the present mansion.

This building, evidently a single storey gable-ended dwelling, occupied by one William Taylor, was destroyed in the 1641 Rebellion.

The property was acquired in 1664 by Alderman Alexander Tomkins and his wife Margaret, daughter of Alderman Thomas Moncreiffe.

Tomkins was Mayor of Londonderry at the time of the siege in 1689, and there is a memorial dedicated to "Tomkins of Prehen" in St Columb's Cathedral, erected in 1678.

His house at Prehen, which was probably built in the 1660s, must have stood on the site of the present building.

Alderman Tomkins' son George served as MP for the city from 1715-39 and lived at Prehen.

It can confidently be deduced that the present house was built in the early 1740s.

It is therefore most likely to have been built by Colonel Andrew Knox, who, in 1738, married Honoria, daughter and heiress of Andrew Tomkins of Prehen.

*****

George Carl Otto Von Scheffler, born in 1884, was appointed a Page to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenbach and later Governor of the Royal pages at the Emperor's Court in Berlin, where he was honoured with the title of Baron.

He inherited Prehen from his grandfather aged only 26, but a condition of the inheritance was that he add the surname KNOX to his own for the term of his natural life, and that he become a British Citizen within two years of the testator's decease.

The inheritance was contested in court, which Baron Von Scheffler-Knox won, and he subsequently settled at Prehen.

Unfortunately, the 1st World War broke out in 1914 and Baron Von Scheffler-Knox was declared an enemy alien.

Consequently, the house and lands of Prehen were sequestered by the government and later placed on the open market under the Enemy Property Act.

The Baron died in 1966.

During the 1920s, the demesne was sold off in lots, and the house was subsequently subdivided into flats.

The once fine woodlands, for which Prehen was well known, were sold in 1927 to the McGregors, timber merchants, who thereafter felled many of the trees.

The felling caused controversy at the time and a portion of these woodlands were saved - the area now known as Prehen Wood.

Prehen Wood (18.48 acres) was purchased in 2003 by the Woodland Trust with support from the Prehen Historical and Environment Society.

During the 2nd World War the house was requisitioned by the army for troop accommodation.

Eventually, the mansion, its outbuildings, and some of the surviving parkland were acquired by in 1971 in the name of Julia Peck, granddaughter of Winifred Knox.

The house, then in a very poor state of repair, was subsequently restored by her parents, Carola and the late Julian Peck, who moved here from Rathbeale Hall, County Dublin, in 1974.

Mr Peck died in 2001 and Prehen was inherited by his son, Colin Peck, who opened the house to the public. 

Prehen was for sale in 2023.

First published in January, 2015.  Knox arms courtesy of the NLI.