Franklin Maxims: VIII

AN HONEST MAN WILL RECEIVE NEITHER MONEY NOR PRAISE, THAT IS NOT HIS DUE.

First published in May, 2020.

Talbot of Carton

The Castle and Lordship of Malahide, on the sea coast, near Dublin, was possessed by the family of Talbot from a period contemporary with the first introduction of English government into Ireland, and at this moment they furnish an instance unusually rare, of a baronial estate having continued for upwards of 650 years in the male heirs and name of him on whom it had been originally conferred by HENRY II.

It is remarkable, too, that of the ancient seigniorial estates in Ireland, whose lords were vested with the dignity of parliamentary barons, not one can be traced to have been held directly and immediately under the crown but the lordship of Malahide.

In this respect Malahide seems to have been unique in Ireland, and its lords, pursuant to the nature of their original tenure and the terms of their royal charters, never rendered homage, suit, or service to any but the crown; nor acknowledged any superior but the King alone.

Richard de Talbot, who is mentioned in the Domesday Book, was the common ancestor of the Lords of Malahide, and of the Earls of Shrewsbury; and in consequence of the well-known affinity of those two branches, the family in Ireland, by ancient entails and settlements, made the members of the house of Shrewsbury next heirs in remainder to their Irish estates.

SIR THOMAS TALBOT, Knight, of Malahide, County Dublin (representative of the ancient and eminent family of Talbot, of Malahide), had a grant, in 1529, of livery of all of his father's estates in several counties in Ireland.

Sir Thomas, in 1532, being sued in the Exchequer for not executing the office of High Sheriff of County Dublin, pleaded the patent granted to his grandfather by EDWARD IV, exonerating him and his heirs from such offices, and declared that he would not act as High Sheriff; whereupon the proceedings were discontinued.

By Catherine his wife he had three sons, of whom WILLIAM TALBOT succeeded at Malahide; and

ROBERT TALBOT was father of

WILLIAM TALBOT, Recorder of Dublin ca 1603, who acquired the estate of CARTON, County Kildare, and was created a baronet, in 1623, designated of Carton, County Kildare.

Sir William married Alison, daughter of John Netterville, of Castleton, County Meath, and had issue, sixteen children, including

ROBERT, his successor;

Peter (Most Rev), RC Archbishop of Dublin;

Richard, created Earl of Tyrconnell;

Margaret; Frances; Eleanor; Mary.

The first house on record at Carton was during the 17th century, when Sir William Talbot, Recorder of Dublin ca 1603, was given a lease of the lands by the 14th Earl of Kildare, and is thought to have built a house. The house and lands were forfeited to the crown in 1691; and sold, in 1703, to Lieutenant-General Richard Ingoldsby, Master-General of the Ordnance.

Sir William died in 1634, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ROBERT TALBOT, 2nd Baronet (c1610-70), of Carton, who wedded Grace, daughter of GEORGE, 1ST BARON BALTIMORE, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;

Frances; Mary.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his only son,

SIR WILLIAM TALBOT, 3rd Baronet (c1643-91), who espoused, in 1683, the Lady Anne Nugent, daughter of Richard, 2nd Earl of Westmeath; the marriage was, however, without issue.

Following the demise of his royal master, JAMES II, Sir William was attainted, his lands and titles forfeited.

First published in June, 2022.  Talbot arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

The Montagu Case

DAVE ADAMS HAS SENT ME AN ARTICLE FROM THE WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER, DATED WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH, 1892

THE DUKES OF MANCHESTER WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ARMAGH, WITH 12,298 ACRES. THEIR COUNTY ARMAGH SEAT WAS TANDRAGEE CASTLE. THE RT HON LORD ROBERT MONTAGU, OF CROMORE HOUSE, WAS THE SECOND SON OF GEORGE, 6TH DUKE. 

CRUELTY TO A CHILD - EXTRAORDINARY CASE IN IRELAND: WOMAN CHARGED WITH CAUSING THE DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER

The correspondent of The Central News at Coleraine reports that considerable sensation has been caused in that town and neighbourhood by the committal for trial, on a Coroner's warrant, of Mrs Annie Margaret Montagu, the charge against her being the causing of the death of her daughter, Mary Helen Montagu, aged three years.

The accused is the wife of Mr Montagu, of CROMORE HOUSE, Coleraine, eldest son of Lord Robert Montagu, who is an uncle [sic] of the 7th Duke of Manchester. [Lord Robert was the 7th Duke's brother].

The offence, as is alleged, was committed on February 13th, and on that day, according to the evidence taken at the inquest, the child was locked in a dark room by her governess as a punishment for some offence.

A short time afterwards, Mrs Montagu went into the room, and, it is said, tied the little girl's hands behind her back with a stocking, and, having fastened to this a piece of string, fixed it to a ring in the wall of the room.

About three hours later the mother went to the door of the room, and called her child by name several times, but there was no answer.

She opened the door, and, going to the place where she left the little girl, found her dead.

She carried the body to her own room, stripped off the clothes, and tried to restore life, but without success.

She then called the governess, and told her what had happened.

At the conclusion of the evidence, the Coroner (Mr. Caldwell) committed Mrs Montagu for trial at the Londonderry Assizes.

STATEMENT BY THE FATHER

The Press Association's correspondent has had an interview with Mr A C Montagu JP, the father of Helen Montagu, aged three years, who was found dead in a small dark room, where she had been tied to a ring in the wall by her mother, under circumstances detailed above.

Mr Montagu, who lives at Cromore House, Portstewart, is a son of Lord Robert Montagu, and a grandson of the Duke of Manchester.

He was formerly a lieutenant in the navy, but was compelled to leave the service, owing to an exceptional tendency to seasickness.

Mrs Montagu, who stands committed for trial on a charge of killing her child, is of Scotch extraction, and the daughter of a late wealthy London tea merchant.

She is a lady who is noted in the North of Ireland for her daring horsemanship and her splendid management of high-spirited animals.

They move in the best society, and Cromore is one of the finest mansions in the district, being surrounded by an extensive and valuable estate.

The circumstances of the child’s death, so far as they have leaked out through the meagre reports of the coroner’s inquest, which lasted five hours, have caused the greatest excitement in Ulster.

When, the correspondent proceeds, he called on Mr Montagu, he found that gentleman engaged with his spiritual adviser, the local parish priest.

He willingly granted an interview and escorted the correspondent upstairs to the dark room.

This is an apartment about 6ft. square, with no fireplace or window, and opens into what is known as the children's room, which is bright and airy.

Two rings were fastened by screws into a board, and it was to one of these rings that the child was tied.

There is no ventilation in the apartment except what comes from beneath the door, a mere chink and from* between a couple of badly placed boards.

Mr Montagu mentioned, in the course of the interview, that the little child was his only daughter. He has seven sons.

In reply to a question he stated that it was erroneous to say, as had been implied, that the child got no food on Saturday from breakfast time, which was eight o'clock.

She had come down late that morning, the conjecture being that she was not feeling very well and it was in consequence of this that she got the meal at eleven.

Asked how such a punishment came to be awarded to a child of three years for soiling her clothes, Mr. Montagu said:

"Mrs Montagu entertains very strong opinions on the subject of the upbringing, training, and correction of children. Her theory, which I think to a great extent is right, is that the spirit of disobedience, or any tendency to disobedience, must be conquered from the very earliest years.

She insists upon obedience and cleanliness in her children, and unless they are punished early they soon learn bad habits. She also believed in restraint and confinement as the best punishment."

Asked if it was not too long to leave the child without visiting her, Mr Montagu replied,

"Yes, perhaps it was too long, but then Mrs Montagu has so much to do. I believe she was out for some time while the child was confined, and most of the rest of the time she was in the kitchen attending to various domestic duties."

Mr Montagu added that he thought the governess was kind to the children.

She had never been anything to the contrary.

She had been with them a year last October.

It was on the governess’s report of misbehaviour that Mrs Montagu acted.

The child was a little wilful at times, and Mrs Montagu believed that the natural inclination to that must be suppressed, or the child would grow quite beyond control.

The correspondent adds that the body of the child was buried with great privacy: Mr Montagu and one of his boys took the coffin in the family carriage, which, with blinds drawn, was driven in the direction of Bushmills, where there is a Roman Catholic burying-ground.

[A cablegram in another column states that Mrs Montagu has been sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment, for the murder of her daughter].

First published in May, 2014.

Dundonald: Glebe House

DUNDONALD, County Down, now almost consumed within Greater Belfast, was once a charming, picturesque village, with its own tavern, meeting-house, parish and presbyterian churches, and a row of cottages lining the main road.

This continuous line of cottages was known as Gape Row.

Gape Row on the right, not far from the former Old Moat Inn.

The last cottage to stand was the old post office, and they were all swept away by 1934.

Opposite Gape Row, across the main road, the prospect remained rural and agricultural.

The Glebe House. Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

The Glebe House, former residence of the Rectors of Dundonald, still stands on the hillside, in its own grounds.

It was erected in 1819 by the Rev Roger Moore Dillon, Rector from 1810 till 1851, and cost £830 to build (equivalent to about £73,000 in 2019).

This Georgian rectory is today part of a residential home, and is surrounded by extensions and various additions.

The residential home, St Elizabeth's Court, is named after the parish church which still stands on the other side of the main road.

The parish church was named after Elizabeth Cleland, of Stormont Castle.

The main block comprises two storeys and three bays, with a fanlighted door.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

There are single or one and a half storey wings.

The outbuildings, however, included a carriage house, piggery, and potato house.

A garden remains at the front of the house, down a few steps, and the grounds originally extended to twelve acres.

A series of Rectors resided in the Glebe House, including the Rev Andrew Cleland (from 1851-80).

The Rev Thomas Herbert Frizelle, Rector from 1951-80, built the new parish church, which was completed in 1966.

Thomas Frizelle was probably the last Rector to live at the Glebe House, because a new rectory was built within the glebe grounds, south of the Glebe House.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

On my way home I cycled over to Church Green, now the heart of old Dundonald, and spotted a Victorian post-box.

First published in July, 2020.

The Portaferry Hotel

THE PORTAFERRY HOTEL is a substantial, long, relatively plain, two-storey block located at the corner of the Strand and Castle Street in Portaferry, County Down.

The Ards Peninsula and Strangford Lough are amongst the most picturesque parts of Northern Ireland.

This building, amalgamated and much altered, formerly comprised separate properties, one of which is probably pre-1834.

A large section to the south-east was the site of two smaller houses, which were demolished in 1991 when the hotel was extended.

To the rear there are large modern extensions.

The facade is rendered and painted.

The roof of the main section is mainly gabled, though is hipped on the corner.

The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates, with three plain, rendered chimney stacks to the southern elevation, with matching pots.

A Small cast-iron skylight is in the middle of the roof to the south elevation.

Two Buildings seen to the left now form the Hotel

This building was built in stages and represents the amalgamation of a number of properties and the demolition of others.

Eventually the remainder of the property on the south, or strand side incorporated the site now covered by the present hotel as well as land and buildings to the rear.

During the early 19th century, however, the lease was sub-divided, with the buildings to the rear becoming Maxwell's Distillery (later a corn mill and by 1860s, falling into dereliction) and a tan yard, run by William Warnock.

The rest of the section to the corner formed one large property, with a separate house next to it further along The Strand.

In 1835, the larger property to the corner was in the possession of Hugh Boden and included a two-storey dwelling house with extensive single storey outbuildings.

The dwelling further along The Strand (also two-storey) was the home of Eliza Lyttle.

In 1860, Edward Bryce had obtained a lease of the large corner property, as well as the house beyond; and for most of the next two decades ran a spirit grocer's on the corner, whilst sub-letting the two houses beyond.

In 1880, Mr Bryce sold the lease to Henry McGrath, an auctioneer and leading figure in Portaferry's social, cultural and political life.

The property remained in the McGrath family until 1933, when the lease was bought by William Lyons, who sold it three years later to a local businessman, William McMullan.

With many other business interests already, McMullan sub-let the spirit grocer's to a Mrs Corbett and her daughter, Miss Thompson, who decided to open a hotel on the site.

Thus, during the late 1930s, the spirit grocer's and the buildings to Castle Street were converted and a door opened from the hotel to the house on The Strand (likely Hugh Boden's residence in 1835).

In 1947, the lease was acquired by a Mrs Wolson, who had been in the hospitality trade for some time, and who extended the business, taking in the whole of the former house.

When Mrs Wolson retired she sold the hotel to Brian Waddell of Waddell Media in Holywood.

He was in partnership with a boat builder from Bangor by the name of Palmer.

They sold to John Herlihy, former manager of the ill-fated Russell Court Hotel on the Lisburn Road, Belfast, who improved and extended the Portaferry Hotel to the greatest degree.

Adjoining houses, numbers eight and nine, were acquired and demolished, and the hotel was extended on to this site, extensively renovating the entire building in the process.

Mr Herlihy was in the right place at the right time, as the Northern Ireland Office used the premises extensively.

When John Herlihy retired in 2005, he sold the hotel to a hospitality group who also owned the Hillside Bar in Hillsborough.

Their intention was to turn the Portaferry Hotel into apartments, but were prevented when they went bankrupt in the recession of 2008.

Bill Wolsey, OBE, bought out the group's assets from the Ulster Bank, and owner-managed it for several years before leasing it to an American couple.

After a year, they experienced financial difficulties and disappeared - probably to the United States.

Bill Wolsey's Beannchor Group then leased it out (2016) to the Arthurs family - local butchers and businessmen.

Since then the hotel has thrived under local ownership.

I am particularly grateful to Richard Graham, a former manager at the hotel, for additional information.

First published in June, 2014.

Ann Street, Belfast

57-59 Ann Street, Belfast (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

ANN STREET, Belfast, runs from 21, Arthur Square, to Queen's Bridge.

The oldest remaining building is probably at 57-59 Ann Street, now Bogart, a menswear shop.

These premises are at the corner of Ann Street and Upper Church Lane.

57-59 Ann Street: Upper Church Lane elevation (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

Marcus Patton, OBE, in his Historical Gazetteer of central Belfast, remarks that the building dates from about 1830; and was refaced fifty years later, ca 1885.

"Ornate and elegant four-storey stucco building with Italianate details including rich cornice and balustraded parapet with spiked urn finials; ornamental shop front with iron cresting and panelled pilasters; delicate moulding round panel on gable to Upper Church Lane."

33, Ann Street (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

Number 33, in 1907, was occupied by Erskine & Sons Ltd, trunk, bag, and portmanteau manufacturers.

About 1960, number 33 became the premises of H Johnston, Wholesale & Retail Umbrella, Sunshade & Walking Stick Manufacturer, a business which once held a royal warrant from His Majesty The King, and proudly displayed the said warrant outside their premises.

This building dates from about 1850, and is three storeys in height.

• 1852  William H Milligan, Grocer, tobacco, and snuff manufacturer
• 1880  John Woods & Co, wholesale grocers
• 1910  Erskine & Sons, trunk, bag, and portmanteau manufacturers

The brick is now painted over, with stucco quoins and parapet moulding.

Johnston's distinctive gilded umbrella unfurled with a blue-sleeved arm adorned the exterior of the shop, having originally hanged resplendently outside 31 High Street.

Fish City, a seafood restaurant, opened in 2013 and has become well established in the city centre today.

First published in July, 2022.

Franklin Maxims: VII

LEARN OF THE SKILFUL: HE THAT TEACHES HIMSELF, HATH A FOOL FOR HIS MASTER.

First published in May, 2020.

Carrigglas Manor

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

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

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

His descendent in the fourth generation, 

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

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

ANTHONY PETER;
Isaac Peter George.

The elder son, 

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

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

The eldest son, 

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

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

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

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

He was appointed Lord Chief Justice in 1852.

The eldest son,

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

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

Mr Lefroy was succeeded by his brother,

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

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

Judge Lefroy was succeeded by his eldest son,

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

He dsp 1902, and was succeeded by his brother,

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

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

The eldest son,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First published in June, 2012.

The Queen's Birthday

Her Majesty The Queen LG LT GCVO GBE PC is 79 today.

Her Majesty was born at King's College Hospital, London.

In 2007, Her Majesty received The Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2012, HM, as Duchess of Cornwall, was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), as illustrated on HRH's armorial bearings.

In 2016, HM was appointed a Privy Counsellor.

On New Year's Day, 2022, The Queen, as Duchess of Cornwall, was appointed a Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

On the 16th June, 2023, it was announced that The King had appointed Her Majesty to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 2024.

In June, 2024, Her Majesty received The Royal Family Order of King Charles III.

The Queen was appointed Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom in July, 2025.

Dalway of Carrickfergus

THE DALWAYS OWNED 2,477 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

JOHN DALLWAYE (1550-1618) went over to Ulster from Devon in 1573, a cornet in the army of ELIZABETH I under Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex.

John Dallwaye was Mayor of Carrickfergus, 1592 and 1600, and in 1613 was MP for Bangor in the Parliament of Ireland.

The Common Seal of Carrickfergus

He married Jane, granddaughter of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and related by the mother to Shane MacBrian O'Neill, of Lower Clandeboye.

John Dallwaye obtained from Shane MacBrian O'Neill a grant of the greater part of the Tough of Bradenisland, or Broad Island (Ballycarry), and the lands of Kilroot.

On O'Neill's death, his lands became forfeited to the Crown; but in 1603, John Dallwaye, being then Constable of Carrickfergus Castle, obtained from JAMES I for ever "the Barony of Bradiland, at the rent of xiii Engl., to hold in free and common socage, as of the Castle of Carrickfergus." 

These lands, together with those purchased from James Hamilton, Lord Claneboye, were, in 1608, erected by letters patent, into the Manor of Dallwaye.

By his marriage with Jane he had an only child, Margaret (who wedded, ca 1603, John Dobbs, of Castle Dobbs).

Dallwaye made a freehold lease to Dobbs of the lands now called Castle Dobbs.

John Dallwaye was succeeded by his nephew,

JOHN DALLWAY, the elder son of his brother Giles (he had a younger brother also named John, who was captain in the army, and High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1636).

He married a daughter of William Edmonstone, of Red Hall, and had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;

Robert;

John;

Archibald;

Henry;

Helen.

John Dallway was Mayor of Carrickfergus, 1660 and 1661.

He died in 1665, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ALEXANDER DALWAY, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1662, who espoused Anne, daughter of John Parkes, of Carrickfergus, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;

Robert;

Elinor; Mary; Jane.

He died in 1668, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN DALWAY, who dsp 1687, and left his estates to his uncle,

COLONEL ROBERT DALWAY (1645-99), MP for Antrim Borough, 1696-9, who married, in 1695, Mary, daughter and heir of Sir John Williams, 2nd Baronet, of Minster, in Thanet, Kent, and widow of Charles, 1st Baron Shelburne, by whom he had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;

Henry;

John;

Anne; Elinor.

His eldest son,

ALEXANDER DALWAY (1669-1718), MP for Carrickfergus, 1715-18, wedded, in 1695, Anna Helena, daughter of Archibald Edmonstone, of Red Hall, and had issue,

ROBERT, his heir;

Archibald;

Alexander;

Elizabeth; Anne; Helena; Emily; Lettice.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROBERT DALWAY, who married, in 1718, Mary, daughter of Joseph Marriott, a brewer, of Francis Street, Dublin, and secondly, Jane Steele, of Craig's Castle, Ballymena.

By his first wife he had issue,

Robert, died in infancy;

MARRIOTT, his heir;

Mehetabella, m Noah Webb, and had issue, NOAH, of whom presently;

Anne; Eleanor; Mary.

Robert Dalway, High Sheriff of County Dublin, 1740, and a burgess in Parliament for the borough of Newry, 1721, died in 1761, and was succeeded by his son,

MARRIOTT DALWAY (c1725-95), MP for Carrickfergus, 1761-8, colonel of a volunteer battalion raised by himself, 1784; who dsp 1795, leaving his estates to his nephew, NOAH WEBB (see above), who in accordance with the will of his uncle assumed the name and arms of DALWAY.

This NOAH DALWAY (c1746-1820), of Bella Hill, Kilroot, County Antrim, espoused, in 1795, Ellen, daughter of the Ven. Conway Benning, Archdeacon of Dromore, and had issue,

MARRIOTT, his heir;

Noah, Lieutenant RN;

John Benning;

Henry;

George Montague;

Anne; Mary Margaret; Ellen; Millicent Jane; Jane; Lucy; Mehetabella.

Noah Dalway, a Commander in the Royal Navy, was MP for Carrickfergus, 1799-1800, Mayor of Carrickfergus, 1806, 1809, 1811, and 1816; and was the first MP for Carrickfergus in the UK Parliament, 1801.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

MARRIOTT DALWAY (1798-), of Bella Hill, who married, in 1827, Euphemia, daughter of Thomas Henry, of Castle Dawson, County Londonderry, and had issue,

MARRIOTT ROBERT, his heir;

Euphemia.

Mr Dalway was four times High Sheriff for the county of the town of Carrickfergus, and Mayor of Carrickfergus, 1838-42.

He was succeeded by his son,

MARRIOTT ROBERT DALWAY DL (1832-1914), MP for Carrickfergus, 1868-80, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1859, who married, in 1859, Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Armstrong Barnes, and had issue,

MARRIOTT WILLIAM;

Robert;

John;

Elizabeth.

Marriott Robert Dalway and his family emigrated to Australia in 1886, where he died at Lorne, Victoria.

Dalway's Bawn and Bellahill (historic OS map)

BELLA HILL, according to the Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland in 1844, was a demesne in the parish of Kilroot, barony of Lower Belfast, County Antrim.

Bellahill House (Green Collection/NMNI)

It was situated 4½ miles north-east by north of Carrickfergus, close to the road thence to Larne.

"The modern mansion occupies a commanding site a little west of the road; and the old castellated mansion, consisting of two large towers, connected by a curtain wall, which is perforated with the entrance gateway, stands on the roadside, and is now used as stables."

The original dwelling is today known as "Dalway's Bawn."

Dalway's Bawn (Green Collection/NMNI)

The Northern Ireland Department of Communities website describes it thus:

"A well-preserved example of an early 17th century planter’s fortified enclosure, built in about 1609 by John Dalway, constable of Carrickfergus Castle, to secure his royal grant of land in the area." 

"Now enmeshed with a working farm, only part of the bawn is in State Care – the roadside wall and three flanker towers, viewable only from the road. A dwelling house formerly stood inside the bawn, but it was demolished in the 19th century."

The Brooke Baronetcy (1764)

SIR BASIL BROOKE (1567-1633), Knight, of Magherabeg and Brooke Manor, County Donegal, went over to Ulster during the reign of ELIZABETH I. Sir Basil served under CHARLES BLOUNT, Lord Mountjoy, and was appointed Governor of the town and castle of Donegal. He was likewise one of the commissioners for the settlement of Ulster, and obtained from the crown large grants of land in County Donegal.

Sir Basil's son and successor (by Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of John Leycester, of Toft),

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

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

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

He was succeeded by the eldest son (by his second wife),

THOMAS BROOKE (ante 1650-1696), of Donegal, MP for Antrim Borough, 1695-6, Major, Williamite Regiment of Foot, who wedded Catherine, daughter of Sir John Cole Bt, of Newlands, County Dublin, and sister of Cole, Lord Ranelagh.

Major Brooke died in 1696, leaving a son,

HENRY BROOKE (1671-1761), of Colebrooke, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1709, MP for Dundalk, 1713-27, County Fermanagh, 1727-60, Governor of County Fermanagh, who married, in 1711, Lettice, daughter of Mr Alderman Benjamin Burton, of the city of Dublin, and had issue,

ARTHUR, his heir;
FRANCIS, father of SIR HENRY BROOKE, 1ST BARONET;
Lettice.

Mr Brooke was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON ARTHUR BROOKE (1726-85), Governor of County Fermanagh, High Sheriff of Fermanagh, 1752, MP for County Fermanagh, 1761-83, Privy Counsellor, who married firstly, in 1751, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Fortescue, of Reynoldstown, County Louth, and had issue,

Henry, died in infancy;
Arthur, died in infancy;
Anne; Lætitia Charlotte; Selina Elizabeth.

He wedded secondly, at the Palace, Clogher, County Tyrone, in 1775, Elizabeth Foorde.

Mr Brooke was created a baronet in 1764, designated of Colebrooke, County Fermanagh.

He died at Dublin, and his sons having predeceased him, the baronetcy became extinct.

The baronetcy was, however, revived in 1822 in favour of Sir Arthur's nephew, Henry Brooke.

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

*****

IN HIS Brooke family history, Barton states that

... the first Basil Brooke [1567-1633] ... was a soldier-adventurer who came to Ireland in the late 16th century ... . He came as a captain in the English army bringing reinforcements to Ireland [in 1597], and later commanded a cavalry regiment under Sir Henry Docwra in the conquest of Ulster.

He distinguished himself as a servitor during the Tyrone wars and was one of those selected by the King for a proportion of the plantation. He was knighted in 1619, styled of Magherabeg and Brooke Manor, [Co. Donegal], became a Governor of [Co.] Donegal, and later was a member of the commission ordered by Charles I to enquire into how thoroughly the undertakers had fulfilled the conditions of their grants.

Thus the Brookes first entered Ulster under English arms and initially held their property in Donegal, not Fermanagh.

The former county was never truly colonised; due in part to its wildness and inaccessibility, colonists proved reluctant to attempt settlement.

Brooke appears to have been an energetic, determined and resourceful planter, eager to establish himself permanently in his adopted home.

Sir Basil's grant of 1,000 acres was in a rugged precinct set aside for servitors and natives.

The land was of poor quality, the barony in which the land was located being described in the Book of Survey and Distribution fifty years later as "mountainous, boggy, rocky and with many ... ways hardly passable".

By 1622, however, Brooke was reported as having repaired a round bawn within which a house was standing, which had been occupied by an English settler in 1619.

He also acquired other property.

One of the written complaints of the Earl of Tyrconnell was that the Lord Deputy had appointed Captain Brooke to live in his castle, and

constrained the Earl to accept such rents as he had given order of to the said Captain to pay and to pass a lease thereof and four acres of the best lands thereunto annexed, for one and twenty years unto the said Captain.

By 1611, with the help of a royal grant, Brooke had repaired the castle, voluntarily built a bawn to enclose it, and a strong house of lime and stone adjacent to it.

This relatively secure and less isolated dwelling he occupied with his wife.

He was in fact appointed constable of the castle and given the ownership of it and the town of Donegal, both of which were inherited, with his other property, in 1633 by his only son Henry, who was then married and of full age.

The latter fulfilled the confidence which the commissioners had earlier expressed in his father.

During the rising of 1641, he was successful in "preserving from plunder" the town and castle and the surrounding district.

He afterwards fought on the parliamentary side in the civil war, serving as a captain of foot.

In consequence, he acquired a substantial area of land, worth more than £900 yearly, mostly by grant.

These new estates lay in the adjacent counties of Monaghan and Fermanagh, and had become available through the forfeitures of property by two leading local native landholders.

In Fermanagh he acquired most of the confiscated estates, including the old ancestral home, at Largie, of Lord Maguire, who had been hanged at Tyburn and whose family had ruled the county for most of three centuries from their base at Lisnaskea.

The latter's property  [ca 30,000 acres], which had until then survived "as a little bit of Gaelic Ireland left untouched", now formed the basis of the future Colebrooke estate (It was confirmed to Henry by royal patent in 1667).

The Donegal estates of the senior branch of the family passed by direct descent through three generations to Henry Vaughan Brooke, member of parliament for the county in the late 18th century.

In 1761 Thomas Brooke's grandson, Sir Arthur Brooke, 1st and last baronet of the first (1764) creation, succeeded.

In Sir John Blaquiere's "Members of the House of Commons 1770-1773, Notes on Same 1773", the entry under Fermanagh is:

Sir Arthur Brooke, Bt, has the principal interest in the county and will continue to do so while he unites with Archdale. He has the character of being one of the worst tempered men living and very stingy. ...

Sir Arthur inherited through his grandmother's brother, Lord Ranelagh, large and valuable property [either in possession or reversion], in the city of Dublin, Tipperary, Clare and Wiltshire, at his death in 1785 ... [little] was left but Colebrooke, denuded of trees and heavily encumbered.

First Published in January, 2011.

Old Dundonald

A Postcard of Dundonald taken about 1907

IN July, 2020, I cycled to Dundonald, County Down, formerly a village on the eastern outskirts of Belfast.

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, dated 1814-45, describes Dundonald thus:

A parish in the barony of Lower Castlereagh. The surface is gently hilly, consists of excellent land, and is traversed by the roads from Comber and Newtownards to Belfast. 

The principal residences are Dunlady, Rosepark, Bessmount, Summerfield, Rockfield, Unicarval, and Camperdown. 

The village of Dundonald is the site of two places of worship and a large bleaching-green. 

About a mile from the village stands a remarkable monument called the Kempe Stone, resembling a Cromlech, yet so far unique as to seem sepulchral. 

This parish is a rectory, and a separate benefice, in the diocese of Down. Patron, the Rev John Cleland.

The approach to Dundonald from Belfast is dominated by the Ulster Hospital; though a little further along the main road stands the Norman motte, surrounded today by a peaceful and quiet park.

I climbed the steep steps to the top of this motte, said to be one of the largest of its kind in Ulster, and admired the spectacular view.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

Immediately below the motte stand the impressive Cleland Mausoleum, the old and new parish churches, and the Presbyterian church.

The Mausoleum, said to be one of the tallest in Northern Ireland, was erected in 1842 by Elizabeth (Eliza) Cleland in memory of her beloved husband, Samuel Jackson Cleland (1808-42), of Storm Mount.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

Eliza's desire was that her husband's memorial could be seen from Storm Mount, as the house was called until Stormont Castle was built in 1858.

The considerable wealth of the Clelands was manifested in this massive monument, which cost £2,000 to build in 1842 (equivalent to about £190,000 in 2024).

It dominates the graveyard, standing at a corner, several paces from the old derelict parish church of St Elizabeth.

This great mausoleum has no door. Its exterior is accessible by a gate, though there is no obvious means of entry to the building itself.

On closer examination I think there are steps leading down to its basement, though the ground has been concreted over.

How many Clelands are interred here, and when was the last burial?

St Elizabeth's Parish Church, de-consecrated in 1967 

I'm interested to know more about the history of the old church, though I was informed that the new church (several yards away from it) was built about 1965, and the old church was used as a church hall until it was de-consecrated on the 26th July, 1967.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

A diamond-shaped stone on the tower bears the three dates of the churches built and rebuilt on this site, 1624, 1771 and 1838.

The adjacent Presbyterian church dates from about 1840.

From St Elizabeth's Church I rode along the Newtownards Road to Dunlady Road, where Dunlady House still stands, considerably altered today.

The original country house of five bays with quoins is recognizable.

Dunlady House. Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

One of the chimneys seems to have gone.

Dunlady House might be the oldest building in Dundonald today.

Its original occupants were probably the Hamiltons, though it was acquired by the Lamberts at the very beginning of the 18th century.

George Lambert was High Sheriff of County Down in 1720; followed by Robert Lambert in 1727.

Richard, 2nd Earl Annesley (1745-1824) married, in 1771, Anne, only daughter and heiress of Robert Lambert, of Dunlady, County Down.

If any readers are interested in learning more about the history of Dundonald, I suggest 'The Most Unpretending Of Places', written by Peter Carr, first published in 1987.

First published in July, 2020.

Rockfield House

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

When I was researching old Dundonald, County Down, in documents and old maps one particular property caught my eye.

Rockfield, 29, Greengraves Road, a few miles outside Dundonald, stands in a rural setting, presently derelict, surrounded by woods.

(Image: 28DaysLater, 2018)

This country house has an interesting history.

George Benn, in his History of Belfast, apprises us that the family of McClean, in the middle of the 18th century, was particularly well known in the town.

There were five brothers, all in trade.

Rockfield House (Image: LambertSmithHampton)

Adam McClean (c1767-1849), the son of an innkeeper, was a linen merchant and property developer based in High Street, Belfast.

This Adam McClean reputedly built Rockfield House between 1795-1800.

The house, approached by a driveway of several hundred yards, comprises two and a half storeys and five bays.

A single-storey wing has been added to one side of the house, and there is a complex of outbuildings at the rear, where there seems to be a courtyard.

There is a plain Ionic portico at the front entrance, pedimented with a central oculus.

Adam McClean, with his brothers, Samuel and Andrew, had a wine and spirit business in Sugarhouse Entry circa 1800.

(Image: 28DaysLater, 2018)

In 1831, he was appointed a committee member of the White Linen Hall.

McClean purchased the land to the rear of the White Linen Hall (now City Hall), between Linenhall Street and the future Great Victoria Street.

McClean’s Fields, as it was called, was a floodplain of the River Blackstaff and hardly any development occurred there until the land was drained in the 1850s.

McClean built a block of houses on Donegall Square South between Adelaide Street and Linenhall Street and Adelaide Street.

He also built numbers 7-11, Wellington Place ca 1830, three four-storey red brick houses (formerly a terrace of six).

7-11 Wellington Place, Belfast (Image: Alex. R Hogg, 1931)

Within three years of Adam McClean's death, in 1852, Rockfield was leased to James Shaw, a Belfast candle and soap manufacturer.

The house was subsequently occupied by Adam S Forster in 1873; and the Symington family in 1876.

Leopold and Helen Greeves lived at Rockfield from about 1909. Leopold's family ran the Conway Mill, and Helen's family owned Marsh's Biscuits.

In the late 1960s Rockfield was acquired by Isaac Agnew, who had established a Belfast motor dealership in 1931.

He died in 1979.

Subsequently Rockfield became a nursing home which, I gather, closed down about 2010.

Rockfield has been for sale since at least July, 2020; according to the estate agent, however, it could be demolished.

It's disappointing that the house could be demolished.

The grounds extend to 46 acres (almost 19 hectares), and offers  were invited in the region of £3 million.

First published in July, 2020.