Oak Park

THE BRUENS WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 16,477 ACRES 

JAMES BRUEN, said to have been of Tarvin, Cheshire, went to Ireland in Cromwell's Army and settled at Abbeyboyle, County Roscommon. He was administrator to his brother, Henry Bruen, of Dublin, in 1700.

James Bruen’s son,

MOSES BRUEN, of Boyle, County Roscommon, purchased land and property in counties Carlow and Wexford from the Beaucamp, Grogan and Whaley families.

Thereafter, the family settled at Oak Park, County Carlow, and Coolbawn, County Wexford.

This Moses, who died in 1757, left issue,

Moses;
HENRY, of Oak Park;
Bridget; Mary; Elinor Catherine; Margaret; Elizabeth.

The second son,

COLONEL HENRY BRUEN (1741-95), of Oak Park, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1785, MP for Jamestown, 1783-90, County Carlow, 1790-95, removed, ca 1775, to estates which he purchased in County Carlow.

He married, in 1787, Harriette Dorothea, daughter of Francis Knox, of Rappa Castle, County Mayo, and had issue,

HENRY, his heir;
John, of Coolbawn;
Francis, of Coolbawn;
Maria; Margaret; Harriett.

The son and heir,

COLONEL HENRY BRUEN (1789-1852), of Oak Park, and Coolbawn, County Wexford, married, in 1822, Anne Wandesforde, daughter of Thomas Kavanagh MP, of Borris House, County Carlow, by Lady Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John, 17th Earl of Ormonde, and had issue,

HENRY, of Oak Park;
Elizabeth; Harriet; Anne.

Colonel Bruen was succeeded by his only son,

THE RT HON HENRY BRUEN JP DL (1828-1912), of Oak Park and Coolbawn, MP for Carlow, 1857-80, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1855, Privy Counsellor, who married, in 1854, Mary Margaret, third daughter of Colonel Edward M Conolly MP, of Castletown, County Kildare, and had issue,

HENRY, his heir;
Edward Francis, Captain RN;
John Richard;
Arthur Thomas;
Charles;
Katherine Anne; Mary Susan; Elizabeth; Eleanor; Helen; Grace.

Mr Bruen was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY BRUEN (1856-1927), of Oak Park, and Coolbawn, Lieutenant, Royal Artillery, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1886, Wexford, 1909, who wedded, in 1886, Agnes Mary, youngest daughter of the Rt Hon Arthur M Kavanagh, of Borris, County Carlow, and had issue,

HENRY ARTHUR BRUEN (1887-1954), of Oak Park, Captain, 15th Hussars, who wedded, in 1913, Jane Catherine Gladys, daughter of Arthur George Florence McClintock, and had issue,

GLADYS PATRICIA BREUN (1914-), of Oak Park, who married, in 1939, Mervyn Anthony Arthur Rudyerd Boyse, son of Major Henry Thomas Arthur Shapland Hunt Boyse. They had four sons.

She lived in 1976 at Maryvale, Church Road, Ballybrack, County Dublin.

OAK PARK, near Carlow town, is a large Victorian classical house by W V Morrison.

It has two storeys, the entrance front having a five-bay central block with a pedimented portico of four huge Ionic columns.

The main block is prolonged by wings of the same height, initially set back though returning forwards with Wyatt windows at their ends.

The garden front of thirteen bays is duller in appearance.

The interior has splendid plasterwork in the style of Morrison; while the Hall boasts giant, free-standing Ionic columns.

Part of the former Oak Park estate, once the home of the Bruen Family, from 1775 to 1957, is now the 127 acre Oak Park Forest Park.

The Oak Park demesne was bought by Colonel Henry Bruen in 1775, after making his fortune in the American Army.

He was the grandson of James Bruen, of Tarvin, Cheshire, who came to Ireland with Oliver Cromwell and received land at Abbeyboyle, County Roscommon.

The Bruens intermarried with the County Mayo families, Knox of Rappa and Ruttledge of Bloomfield.

HMS Drake, the wreck of which lies at Church Bay, Rathlin Island, was torpedoed in 1917. One of her Captains was Edward Bruen, son of the MP. He was Captain when the ship was flagship on the Australian station circa 1912/13.

The Senior Naval Officer in Australia at the time was Admiral King-Hall (Admiral Sir George Fowler King-Hall KCB CVO) who had a very strong Ulster connection. Captain Edward Bruen RN was married to Olga Ker, one of the Montalto and Portavo family.

Captain Bruen later went on to command HMS Bellerophon at the Battle of Jutland.

The Bruen estate was mainly in the counties of Carlow and Wexford where they had houses at Oakpark in Carlow and at Coolbawn, Enniscorthy.

Francis Bruen was married to Catherine Anne Nugent, daughter of the Earl of Westmeath.

Three townlands in the barony of Athenry were offered for sale in the Landed Estates court in 1866.

All this land gave the Bruen family political power and, in 1790, Henry Bruen was returned to Parliament, winning the seat of a neighbouring family, the Butlers.

However, the Butlers reclaimed their seat five years later with the sudden death of the Colonel in December, 1795.

This allowed his son, also called Henry, to assume control of the estate.

The Bruen estate in County Galway amounted to over 700 acres in the 1870s but was part of an estate of almost 25,000 acres in total.

Manuscripts in the Irish Genealogical Office would suggest that the family held lands at Boyle, County Roscommon, in the 18th century.

These lands seem to have been at the centre of a legal case between the Bruen family and Richard St George.

Henry Bruen attended Harrow School alongside the poet Lord Byron and Robert Peel, with whom he would later serve as a Conservative MP.

Peel was Home Secretary at the time of Catholic Emancipation, a Bill which Henry Bruen supported.

Bruen quickly amassed the land surrounding Oak Park.

In 1841, a survey of every Bruen farm revealed that the family's estates in County Carlow covered 20,089 acres.

In the 1841 election, Henry defeated the Liberal candidate, Daniel O'Connell, Jnr., son of “The Liberator”.

However, the Bruen hold on the seat lapsed with the death of Henry in 1852; but his son, also confusingly called Henry, returned to the House of Commons in 1857 and held his seat until 1880, which marked the end of the family's 90-year history of political involvement over three generations.

The current mansion house at Oak Park is the result of four periods of expansion and remodelling carried out between 1797 and 1902.

Twenty-two years after he arrived, Henry employed Michael Boylan to redecorate the house.

In 1832, the second Henry Bruen commissioned William Morrison to re-model the house and in 1876 Samuel Bolton, a builder, signed a contract for a major extension, which took three years to complete.

However, on 22nd February, 1902, the house was gutted by fire.

After eight hours of fighting the blaze, all that remained was the north wing. Fortunately, a large number of paintings, furniture and books were saved by the workers.

The house was rebuilt under the supervision of William Mitchell.

The last male Bruen, the fifth Henry, died in 1954.

By then, the estate had reduced in size to a relatively small 1,500 acres.

He left nothing to his estranged daughter Gladys, who had several years earlier married Prince Milo of Montenegro.

The remainder of the estate was bequeathed to a cousin in England, minus a weekly income for life of £6 to his daughter, Patricia.

In 1957, the estate was purchased at auction for £50,555 by Brownes Hill Estates, who already owned the nearby estate in which a Norfolk farmer was principal partner.

However, within three years the property was back on the market after fierce protest from smaller farmers in opposition to the purchase by the Norfolk farmer.

The estate was bought by the Irish Land Commission for £68,000, and seven hundred acres were divided up among small holders, while the house and the remaining land were taken over as a research centre for the Irish Agricultural Institute (Teagasc).

The last member of the Bruen family to be buried in the family's private burial ground at the Mausoleum was Gladys, the estranged wife of Henry (d 1969). 

First published in April, 2011.

I am grateful to Henry Woods and Robert Power for most of the information; further reading about the Bruens and Oak Park can be read here.

Duckett's Grove

THE DUCKETTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 4,923 ACRES

THOMAS DUCKETT, who first settled in Ireland, and purchased, 1695, Kneestown and other estates in County Carlow, from Thomas Crosthwaite, of Cockermouth, Cumberland, is stated, by Sir William Betham, Ulster King of Arms, to have been the son of JAMES DUCKETT, of Grayrigg, Westmorland, by his third wife Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Walker, of Workington, Cumberland.

James Duckett, of Grayrigg, was tenth in descent from JOHN DUCKETT, of Grayrigg, during the reign of RICHARD II (1377), who obtained that estate by his marriage with Margaret, daughter and heir of Willian de Windesore, Lord of the Manor of Grayrigg, in Westmorland.

John Duckett, of Grayrigg, was son of HUGH DUCKETT, of Fillingham, Lincolnshire, during the time of JOHN and HENRY III. This descent is elaborately given in a pedigree certified by Sir William Betham, Ulster King of Arms, in 1842.

The first settler in Ireland,

THOMAS DUCKETT, of Kneestown, County Carlow, married Judith, daughter and heir of Pierce Power, of Killowen, County Waterford, and was father of

THOMAS DUCKETT, of Phillipstown (which he purchased from the Earl of Ormond), who married, in 1687, Jane, daughter of John Bunce, of Berkshire, and had, with other issue, a son,

JOHN DUCKETT, of Phillipstown, and Newton, County Kildare, who wedded Jane, daughter of Thomas Devonsher.

The fourth son,

JONAS DUCKETT (1720-97), of Duckett's Grove, County Carlow, married Hannah, daughter of William Alloway, of Dublin, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
John;
Thomas;
Jonas;
Frederick;
Mary Alloway; Hannah; Jane.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM DUCKETT, of Duckett's Grove, born in 1761, wedded, in 1790, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Dawson Coates, of Dawson Court, banker in Dublin, and had issue,

JOHN DAWSON, his heir;
William;
Joseph Fade;
Thomas Jonas;
Elizabeth; Elizabeth Dawson.

The eldest son,

JOHN DAWSON DUCKETT (1791-1866), of Duckett's Grove, County Carlow, and Newtown, County Kildare, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1819, wedded, in 1819, Sarah Summers, daughter of William Hutchinson, of Timoney, County Tipperary, and had issue,

WILLIAM;
John Dawson;
Eliza Dawson;
Anne, m, in 1856, HARDY EUSTACE;
Sarah; Victoria Henrietta.

Mr Duckett was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM DUCKETT JP DL (1822-1908), of Duckett's Grove, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1854, Queen's County, 1881,  who wedded firstly, in 1868, Anna Maria (dsp 1894), third daughter of Thomas Harrison Morony JP, of Milltown House, County Clare.

Mr Duckett espoused secondly, in 1895, Marie Georgina, eldest daughter of Captain R G Cumming, and widow of T Thompson JP, of Ford Lodge, County Cavan.

He dsp in 1908, when the family estate devolved upon his nephew, Colonel John James Hardy Rowland Eustace, who assumed the additional arms and surname of DUCKETT. 

JOHN JAMES HARDY ROWLAND EUSTACE-DUCKETT JP (1859-1924), of Castlemore and Hardymount, County Carlow, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1895, Colonel, 8th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps, wedded, in 1895, Gertrude Amelia, daughter of Algernon Charles Heber Percy, of Hodnet Hall, Shropshire, and had issue,

Hardy Rowland Algernon (1896-7);
OLIVER HARDY;
Rowland Hugh, b 1902;
Elizabeth Gertrude; Doris Anna; Diana.

The eldest surviving son,

(OLIVER) HARDY EUSTACE-DUCKETT, espoused, in 1926, Barbara Kathleen,  daughter of Major William Charles Hall, and had issue,

Hardy, died in infancy;
Olive; Kathleen; 

*****

WILLIAM DUCKETT JP DL (see above).

Following William Duckett's death in 1908, his widow Maria continued to live at Duckett's Grove until 1916, when she abandoned the estate.

DUCKETT'S GROVE, near Carlow, County Carlow, was formerly at the centre of a 12,000-acre estate that dominated the landscape of the county for over 300 years.

It was built in 1830 for William Duckett.

It was designed in a castellated Gothic-Revival style by Thomas A Cobden ca 1825.

The mansion house incorporates numerous towers and turrets of varying shapes – round, square and octagonal.

One tall, octagonal turret rises from the structure.

Duckett’s Grove is elaborately ornamented with oriels and niches containing statues.

Several statues on pedestals surrounded the building and lined the approaches.

The house itself is situated in the townland of Rainstown, between Carlow and Tullow; but the estate comprised several large townlands and parts of others.

Following the departure of the Ducketts, the estate was managed by an agent until 1921; then by local farmers; and later by the Irish Land Commission.

The division of the lands was completed by 1930.

Duckett’s Grove was destroyed by fire in 1933, the cause never having been determined.

In September, 2005, Carlow County Council acquired Duckett’s Grove and commenced the restoration of two inter-connecting walled gardens.

It was officially opened in September, 2007, for use as a public park.

The first of the gardens, the Upper Walled Garden, has been planted with historical varieties of shrub roses and a collection of Chinese and Japanese peonies.

The second garden, the Lower Walled Garden, which was once the site of the family's old orchard, now contains a variety of fruits, including figs and historical varieties of Irish apples.

The borders were planted to contain a variety of shrubs and perennials.

First published in February, 2013.  Eustace-Duckett arms courtesy of the NLI.

Dunleckney Manor

THE NEWTONS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 5,134 ACRES

This family, originally from Lancashire or Cheshire, accompanied WILLIAM III to Ireland in 1688.

The first settler was Bartholomew Newtown, whose son,

JOHN NEWTOWN, wedded, in 1730, Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Lodge, of County Kilkenny and the city of Dublin, and founded the family residence at Bennekerry, a short distance from the town of Carlow, which, though still in the family's possession, was not then the family seat.

He died in 1748, leaving an eldest son,

BARTHOLOMEW NEWTOWN (d 1780), of Busherstown, County Carlow, who married, in 1767, Anne, daughter of Philip Bernard (by whom he acquired considerable property in the town of Carlow), and had issue (with a daughter, Catherine) two sons,

JOHN, Colonel, Carlow Militia, High Sheriff of Co Carlow, 1797; d unm;
PHILIP, of whom we treat.

The second son, 

PHILIP NEWTON (1770-1833), married, in 1785, Sarah, daughter of Beauchamp Bagenal, of Dunleckney, and had issue,

WALTER, his heir;

John;

Henry;

Philip;

Beauchamp Bartholomew. 

Sir Nicholas Bagenal came to Ulster as Marshal of ELIZABETH I's army, settled in County Carlow and founded Bagenalstown.

The family's first house at Dunleckney was built ca 1610, but a new house was built for Walter Newton, who inherited the estate from his mother, the Bagenal heiress, about 1850.

Mr Newton was succeeded by his son,

WALTER NEWTON (1790-1853), of Dunleckney, County Carlow, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1827, who married, in 1817, Anne, fifth daughter of the Hon George Jocelyn (second son of Robert, 1st Earl of Roden), and had issue,

PHILIP JOCELYN, his heir;
Thomasina Jocelyn.

Mr Newton was succeeded by his only son,

PHILIP JOCELYN NEWTON JP DL (1818-95), of Dunleckney Manor, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1846, who married, in 1841, Henrietta Maria, daughter of John Kennedy, of Dunbrody, County Wexford, and Cultra, County Down, and had issue,

Maria Charlotte;
ANNE HENRIETTA, of whom hereafter;
Adeline Sarah.

Mr Newton died without male issue, and was succeeded by his second daughter,

ANNE HENRIETTA, MRS W M VESEY (d 1927), of Dunleckney Manor, whose elder son,

SYDNEY PHILIP CHARLES VESEY CBE JP (1873-1932), Captain, King's Royal Rifle Corps, married, in 1902, Edith Blanch Power.

Dunleckney was sold in 1942.

It was subsequently owned by Mr Thomas Donnelly, who re-sold in 1958.

DUNLECKNEY MANOR, Bagenalstown, County Carlow, is a 19th century Tudor-Gothic house by Daniel Robertson of Kilkenny.

An early Irish example of the Tudor-Gothic style, the manor house, built about 1850, incorporates parts of an earlier house.

Robertson was a talented architect with a large country house practise, who worked comfortably in a variety of styles, from Classical to Gothic. His major buildings are at All Souls, Oxford, Johnstown Castle and Castle Boro, both in County Wexford.

Robinson's work at Dunleckney is certainly of a very high order.

The smooth ashlar surfaces make a superb foil to the crisp, delicately carved tracery details of the tower, door-case and oriel windows.

The interior has fine plaster fan vaulting in the late Perpendicular-Gothic style, and an elaborate wooden staircase which incorporates number of medieval wooden carvings ‘rescued’ from St Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny.

Helen and Derek Sheane purchased the house in 1989, and have spent the ensuing years in restoration.

They have carried out considerable works to the garden and parkland though the superb, straight, 18th century lime avenue was a casualty of long neglect.

First published in November, 2012.

Burton Hall

THE  BURTONS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 5,964 ACRES

SIR EDWARD BURTON, Knight, of Longner, Shropshire, representative of the family, was with EDWARD IV, successful in fourteen set battles between the Houses of York and Lancaster; and for his great loyalty and services, he was made knight-bannaret, under the royal standard in the field, in 1460.

Sir Edward was succeeded by his son,

SIR ROBERT BURTON, of Longner, who was knighted by EDWARD IV in 1478.

This gentleman received a grant of arms from John Writhe, Norroy King of Arms, in the same year, and was father of

SIR EDWARD BURTON, Knight, of Longner, Master of the Robes to HENRY VII. who wedded Jocosa, daughter of Thomas Cressett, of Upton Cressett, Shropshire.

He died in 1524, leaving, with a younger son, Thomas, an elder son, his successor,

JOHN BURTON, of Longner, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Poyner, of Boston, Shrophire, and had issue,

EDWARD, his successor;
Jane; Eleanor; Ankekoka; Ann; Ankred; Mary.

Sir Edward died in 1543, and was succeeded by his only son,

EDWARD BURTON (1510-58), of Longner, who wedded Ann, daughter and heir of Nicholas Madocks, of Wem and Coton, Shrophire, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir (ancestor of BURTON of Longner);
EDWARD, of whom we treat;
Humphrey;
Timothy;
Mary; Dorothy; Katherine.

Mr Burton's second son,

EDWARD BURTON, had issue, two sons, who both settled in Ireland in 1610,

Francis, dsp;
THOMAS, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

THOMAS BURTON, of Buncraggy, County Clare, whose will was proved in 1666, married Ann, daughter of _____ Shepherd, of Baycote, Herefordshire, and had issue (with two daughters), an only son,

SAMUEL BURTON, of Buncraggy, who married Margery Harris, and died in 1712, leaving issue,

Francis, of Buncraggy, MP;
Charles;
BENJAMIN, of whom hereafter;
Dorothea.

The third son,

BENJAMIN BURTON (c1665-1728), becoming an eminent banker in Dublin, was Lord Mayor of that city, 1706, MP for Dublin City, 1703-27, and High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1724.

He espoused, in 1686, Grace, elder daughter of Robert Stratford, of Belan, County Kildare, and had six sons, with as many daughters,

SAMUEL;
Robert;
Benjamin;
Edward;
Charles (Sir), MP for Dublin; cr a BARONET;
Francis;
Mary; Grace; Elizabeth; Lettice; Abigail; Jane.

Mr Burton was succeeded by his eldest son,

SAMUEL BURTON (c1708-67), of Burton Hall, MP for Knocktopher, 1741-60, County Carlow, 1761-7, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1724, espoused firstly, in 1708, Anne, daughter of Charles Campbell, of Dublin, and by her (who was killed by the fall of a scaffold at the coronation of GEORGE I in 1714) had issue,

BENJAMIN, his heir;
Hughes;
Samuel;
Katherine; Mary.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON BENJAMIN BURTON (1736-63), of Burton Hall, MP for County Sligo, 1757-60, Boyle, 1761-3, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1736,  a distinguished politician and statesman, who wedded, in 1734, the Lady Anne Ponsonby, daughter of Brabazon, 1st Earl of Bessborough, and had issue,

Benjamin, High Sheriff, 1760; MP for Sligo, 1757; d unm, 1763;
WILLIAM, succeeded to the estates;
Campbell;
Ponsonby;
Sarah; Anna. 

His second but eldest surviving son, 

WILLIAM HENRY BURTON (1739-1818), of Burton Hall, MP for Carlow County, 1768-1800, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1760, married, in 1765, Mary, only child of Henry Aston, County Wicklow, and had issue,

BENJAMIN, his heir;
William Henry;
Martha.

Mr Burton's eldest son, 

BENJAMIN BURTON, of Walcot House, Stamford, Lincolnshire, born in 1766, married and was father of

WILLIAM FITZWILLIAM BURTON JP (1796-1844), of Burton Hall, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1822, who wedded twice and had a numerous family.

His eldest son, 

WILLIAM FITZWILLIAM BURTON JP (1826-1909), of Burton Hall, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1849, 4th Light Dragoons, married twice and was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM FITZWILLIAM BURTON (1849-1927), of Burton Hall, County Carlow, and Goltho Hall, Wragby, Lincolnshire, who married, in 1877, Georgiana Spencer, fourth daughter of Captain the Hon William Henry George Wellesley RN, and granddaughter of Henry, 1st Lord Cowley.

Mr Burton, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1910, sold Goltho Hall in 1918.

His children assumed the additional surname of Mainwaring.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, 

MAJOR WILLIAM MAINWARING-BURTON (1881-1964), of Marsham Lodge, Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire, who married and had issue.

• Arthur William Mainwaring-Burton b 1914;
• Captain Frederick Henry Beresford Mainwaring-Burton b 1916;
• Georgiana Elizabeth Mainwaring-Burton b 1917;
• Major Anthony Benjamin Mainwaring-Burton b 1921;
• Allison Anne Mainwaring-Burton 1928-32.

BURTON HALL, near Carlow, County Carlow, a house of considerable significance, was begun in 1712.

It contained three storeys on a lofty plinth and nine bays, with a three-bay breakfront centre.

The doorway was rusticated, with many steps; bold quoins; a solid roof parapet.

A bow window was added to the garden front ca 1840, and the top storey was removed.

Burton Hall was sold by William Fitzwilliam Burton in 1927 (who died in the same year) and demolished five years later.

All that remains of Burton Hall's former existence is a three-bay, single-storey (over basement) granite building, originally a wing of the house, with carved stone dressings.

First published in May, 2012.

Ballintemple House

THE BUTLER BARONETS OF CLOGHGRENAN WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 6,455 ACRES

The family of BUTLER is one of the most ancient and illustrious in the British Isles; and for the services which, at different periods, it rendered to the Crown, it obtained titles of honour in each of the kingdoms of the realm.

THOMAS BUTLER (c1578-1642), of Cloghgrenan, County Carlow, was created a baronet in 1628, designated of Cloughgrenan, County Carlow.

Sir Thomas, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1612 and 1622, married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Colclough, Knight, of Tintern Abbey, County Wexford, and widow of Nicholas Bagenal, by whom he had four sons and three daughters.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR EDMUND BUTLER, 2nd Baronet, who wedded Juliana, daughter of Bernard Hyde, of Shinfield, Berkshire, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
James;
Eleanor.

Sir Edmund died ca 1650, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS BUTLER, 3rd Baronet, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1670 and 1691, who espoused firstly, Jane, daughter of the Rt Rev Dr Richard Boyle, Lord Bishop of Leighlin and Ferns; and secondly, in 1700, Jane, daughter of Edward Pottinger.

By his first wife he had two sons, of whom the elder,

SIR PIERCE BUTLER, 4th Baronet (1670-1732), MP for County Carlow, 1703-14, wedded, in 1697, Anne, daughter of Joshua Galliard, of Edmonton Berry, Middlesex.

Sir Pierce died without male issue, when the title reverted to his nephew,

SIR RICHARD BUTLER, 5th Baronet (1699-1771), MP for Carlow, 1730-60, who espoused, in 1728, Henrietta, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Percy, of Seskin, County Wicklow, by whom he had four sons and six daughters.

Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS BUTLER, 6th Baronet (1735-72), MP for Carlow, 1761-8, Portarlington, 1771-2, who married Dorothea, only daughter of  the Ven Dr Edward Bayley, of Ardfert, Archdeacon of Dublin, and niece of Sir Nicholas Bayley Bt, by whom he had four sons and as many daughters.

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR RICHARD BUTLER, 7th Baronet (1761-1817), High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1784, MP for Carlow, 1783-1800, who espoused, in 1782, Sarah Maria, daughter of Thomas Newenham, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
James;
Charles George;
Louisa.

Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS BUTLER, 8th Baronet (1783-1861), High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1818, who wedded, in 1812, Frances, daughter of John Graham-Clarke, and had issue,

RICHARD PIERCE, his successor;
Thomas;
Henry William Paget;
Arabella Sarah; Louisa Charlotte; Laura Mary; Antoine Sloet.

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR RICHARD PIERCE BUTLER, 9th Baronet (1813-62), High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1836, who married, in 1835, Matilda, daughter of Thomas Cookson, and had issue,

THOMAS PIERCE, his successor;
Richard Pierce;
Walter Selby;
Emma.

Sir Richard was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS PIERCE BUTLER, 10th Baronet (1836-1909), Vice Lord-Lieutenant of County Carlow, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1866, who wedded, in 1864, Hester Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Alan Edward Bellingham Bt, of Castle Bellingham, and had issue,

RICHARD PIERCE, his successor;
Thomas Edmond;
Walter Alan;
Edith Alice; Maude Isobel; Dorothea Hester; Eleanor Frances. 

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR RICHARD PIERCE BUTLER, 11th Baronet (1872-1955), OBE DL, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1905, who wedded, in 1906, Alice Dudley, daughter of the Very Rev and Hon James Wentworth Leigh, and had issue,

THOMAS PIERCE, his successor;
Joan; Doreen Frances. 

Sir Richard, Honorary Colonel, the Remount Service, was succeeded by his son,

SIR THOMAS PIERCE BUTLER, 12th Baronet (1910-94), CVO DSO OBE JP, Resident Governor of the Tower of London and Keeper of the Jewel House, 1969-71, who espoused, in 1937, Rosemary Liége Woodgate, daughter of Major James Hamilton Davidson-Houston, and had issue,

RICHARD PIERCE, his successor;
Caroline Rosemary;
Virginia Pamela Liége.

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his son,

SIR RICHARD PIERCE BUTLER, 13th Baronet (1940-), of London, a company director, who married, in 1965, Diana, daughter of Colonel Stephen John Borg, and had issue,

THOMAS PIERCE;
Stephen Patrick;
Rupert Dudley;
Anne Virginia. 

Ballin Temple House (Image: Turtle Bunbury)

BALLIN TEMPLE, near Tullow, County Carlow, was a fine three-storey Georgian mansion with a five-bay entrance front.

The centre bay was distinguished by a Venetian window and a pedimented Grecian-Doric porte-cochere.

The centre of the garden front had a colonnaded semi-circular bow. 

The mansion was destroyed by fire accidentally in 1917.

It existed as a shell for a number of years, and has subsequently been demolished apart from its elegant portico.

The following is a section of Turtle Bunbury's article about Ballintemple,  Ancient World, Ancient Fish:

Sir Richard Butler’s successful restoration of his family’s ancestral riverside estate at Ballintemple, County Carlow, has earned his small stretch of the River Slaney a well deserved alphabetical placement between Ashford and Ballynahinch Castles in the highly elite Great Fishing Houses of Ireland.

The project, commenced four years ago in conjunction with Robin Eustace Harvey, involved restoring both river banks, rebuilding the weirs and creating twenty four salmon pools.

Ballintemple started life as a sanctuary for members of the Knights Templar on leave from the Crusades. The estate formed part of William Marshall's vast inheritance through his marriage with Strongbow’s daughter in the late 12th century. 500 years later, the land was granted to Sir Thomas Butler of Cloghrennan, a first cousin of the “Great Duke” of Ormonde.

Sir Richard is the thirteenth generation in descent from Sir Thomas. His forbears generally played a modest role in the affairs of state. Perhaps the most notable family member was Piers Butler, sometime Senator of South Carolina and co-signatory of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

One hundred years ago the Ballintemple estate amounted to some 7,000 acres, upon which Sir Richard’s grandfather developed his passion for breeding Aberdeen Angus and Clydesdale shire-horses. He married Alice Mease, a granddaughter of the American actress Fanny Kemble.

On moving to the ancestral manor house at Ballintemple, the well-travelled Lady Alice described the estate as "one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen … in the spring the woods are literally carpeted with bluebells, the bluest and largest I have ever seen, often having fifteen bells on one stalk".

The burning of Ballintemple House in 1917, attributed to a plumber's blow-lamp and dry-rot filled rafters, was a great loss to Carlow’s architectural legacy. The shell was later demolished and only the 19th century classical portico now remains.

The Butler family then relocated to England where Sir Richard’s father, Sir Tom Butler, served as Resident Governor of the Tower of London. Subsequent confiscation’s and compulsory purchases by the Irish Land Commission whittled the Butler estate down to a few acres when Sir Richard inherited the property.

Sir Richard Butler, a former director with Chase Manhattan and founder of the Pestalozzi Children's Trust, could never shake off his desire to return to his Irish homeland. His family likewise continue to view Ballintemple as an intrinsic part of their heritage. Over the past decade, Sir Richard and his neighbour Robin Eustace Harvey have been steadily resurrecting the estate.

An ancient wood of some 20 hectares running along the riverbanks has been designated a Special Area of Conservation by Duchas. Sir Richard’s eldest son Tom has created an exceedingly nutritious 10-hectare organic farm while Tom’s Canadian wife Pam (aka Kamala Devi) runs a popular yoga retreat at Ballintemple during the summer.


The reopening of the Ballintemple fishing beat in 2003 met with widespread approval by fishermen and conservationists alike. The Slaney is one of Ireland’s longest rivers, wending its way 120 kilometres from the Glen of Imaal in the Wicklow Mountains south through Carlow and Wexford and into the sea at Wexford Harbour. It offers salmon in spring and sea trout in summer.

Other residences ~ Garryhundon, County Carlow; 4, Rutland Court, London, SW7. 

 First published in February, 2012.  Butler arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Fenagh House

THE PACK-BERESFORDS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CARLOW, WITH 7,679 ACRES

SIR CHRISTOPHER PACKE (c1593-1682), Lord Mayor of London, son of Thomas Packe, of Northamptonshire, married thrice; and by his second wife, Anne, daughter of Simon Edmonds, he had issue,

Christopher;

SIMON, of whom hereafter;

Anne; Mary; Susanna.

The younger son,

SIMON PACK (1653-1701), was father of

THOMAS PACK (c1680-1758), of Ballynakill, Queen's County, married a daughter of ______ Kelly, of Ballynakill, and had issue, three sons, of whom the eldest,

THE VERY REV THOMAS PACK (1719-95), Dean of Ossory, married Catherine, daughter of Denis Sullivan, and had issue,

Thomas, died young;
DENIS, of whom hereafter;
Catherine; Anne.

The surviving son,

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR DENIS PACK KCB (1775-1823), wedded, in 1816, the Lady Elizabeth Louisa Beresford, daughter of George de la Poer, 1st Marquess of Waterford, and had issue,

Arthur John (Lt-Col);
DENIS WILLIAM, of whom we treat;
Elizabeth Catherine; Anne Elizabeth.

The younger son,

DENIS WILLIAM PACK-BERESFORD JP DL MP (1818-81), Captain, Royal Artillery, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1858, MP for County Carlow, espoused, in 1863, Annette Caroline, daughter of Robert Clayton Browne, and had issue,

DENIS ROBERT, his heir;
Arthur William;
Charles George, Major (1869-1914), killed in action;
Henry John, father of DENIS JOHN PACK-BERESFORD;
Reynell James;
Hugh de la Poer;
Algernon Dunbar;
Elizabeth Harriet; Annette Louisa.

In 1854 Captain Pack inherited the Irish estates from his uncle, General the Rt Hon William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford.

He assumed the additional surname and arms of BERESFORD, in compliance with the will of Lord Beresford.

The eldest son,

DENIS ROBERT PACK-BERESFORD JP DL (1864-1942), of Fenagh House, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1890, married, in 1891, Alice Harriet, only daughter of the James Acheson Lyle, of Portstewart House, though the marriage was without issue.

Mr Pack-Beresford was succeeded by his nephew,

DENIS JOHN PACK-BERESFORD (1905-86), of Fenagh House, Commander RN, who married firstly, in 1928, Basante Hoskins, in 1928; and secondly, in 1933, Daphne, daughter of Lieutenant Horace Robert Martineau VC, and had issue,

DENIS RAYMOND;
Elizabeth Ann.

Commander Pack-Beresford was Founder and President of the Irish Pedigree Pig Breeders Association, sometime representative to the Council of Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society of Scotland; Vice-President of the Irish Aberdeen-Angus Association; and member of the Council of the Royal Dublin Society.

FENAGH HOUSE, Bagenalstown, County Carlow, is a plain and austere stone dwelling, built ca 1829.

Fenagh House ca 1903

It is irregular in plan and extensive, though it has a symmetrical entrance front of three bays, the centre bay of which is recessed with a pillared porch.

First published in November, 2011.

Huntington Castle

THE DURDIN-ROBERTSONS OWNED 296 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY CARLOW

ALEXANDER REID, younger son of John Reid, feudally styled 4th Baron Ruadh of Straloch, assumed the name of ROBERTSON at the same time as his elder brother, John Reid, styled 5th Baron Ruadh of Straloch, who, in 1567, married his cousin Marjory, daughter of John Robertson, of Lude, and thereupon assumed the name of ROBERTSON, and was ancestor of the succeeding Barons Ruadh (a title which continued to be borne until this, the elder line, expired in 1807); and also of the Robertsons of Cray, and of West and East Bleaton.

This Alexander Reid, of Dounie, in Strathardle, Perthshire, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Scott, of Dounie, and had issue (besides a younger son, Walter, of Middle Dounie), an elder son,

JOHN REID or ROBERTSON, of East Dounie, who was father of

ALEXANDER ROBERTSON, of Dounie, born in 1585, who had, with other issue,

Alexander;
JAMES, of whom we treat.

The younger son,

JAMES ROBERTSON, born in 1608, removed to Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, in 1630, and settled at Orphir.

He had nine sons, who left numerous descendants; of whom the eldest son,

THOMAS ROBERTSON, born at Orphir, 1642, married a daughter of Magnus Halcro, and had issue,

James;
NICOL, of whom presently;
John.

The second son,

NICOL ROBERTSON, born in 1670, settled at Groundwater, and left by Catherine his wife, with other issue, a son,

GEORGE ROBERTSON (1706-80), of Upper Groundwater, who wedded Helen, daughter of Magnus Wilson, and had, with four daughters,

JAMES, his heir;
Thomas;
George;
Magnus;
John;
Andrew.

Mr Robertson was succeeded by his eldest son,

JAMES ROBERTSON (1734-), of Upper Groundwater, who wedded, in 1763, Catherine Heddle, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
Robert;
James;
William;
Helline; Catherine.

The eldest son,

THOMAS ROBERTSON (1765-1847), was the first of the family to leave Scotland.

After having spent his life at sea, he settled in London, and married, in 1807, Maria, daughter of Joseph Howell, of Cheltenham, by whom he had issue, an only son,

THOMAS STORM ROBERTSON MD FRCS (1809-59), who wedded, in 1843, Annabella, daughter of George Bland.

She dsp the following March.

He married secondly, in 1846, Maria Louisa, only daughter of Robert Manning, of Clapham, and had issue,

(THOMAS) HERBERT, his heir;
Maria Louisa; Eveline Constance.

Dr Robertson was succeeded by his only son,

(THOMAS) HERBERT ROBERTSON JP (1849-1916), of Huntington Castle, Hasketon Manor, Woodbridge, and 36, Bedford Square, London, Barrister, MP for South Hackney, 1896-1906, who espoused, in 1880, HELEN ALEXANDRIA MELIAN DURDIN, of Huntington Castle, by Melian Jones his wife, second daughter of Matthew Hayman, of South Abbey, County Cork, and had issue,

MANNING DURDIN, his heir;
Nevill Warham, b 1890;
Magnus Storm, b 1893;
Helen Manning; Brenda Melian Manning.

Mr Robertson was succeeded by his eldest son,

MANNING DURDIN ROBERTSON (1887-1945), who wedded, in 1912, Norah Kathleen, daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir Lawrence Worthington Parsons, and had issue,

LAWRENCE ALEXANDER;
Barbara Helen;
Olivia Melian (1917-2013).

Mr Robertson added the additional name of DURDIN in 1972.

He was succeeded by his son,

THE REV LAWRENCE ALEXANDER DURDIN-ROBERTSON (1920-94), who espoused, in 1949, Pamela Mary, daughter of Major Maurice Edward Barclay, and had issue,

DAVID MAURICE, his heir;
Mary Melian; Anna Margaret.

The son and heir,

DAVID MAURICE DURDIN-ROBERTSON (1952-2009), of Huntington Castle, married, in 1978, Moira, daughter of John McCaffrey, and had issue,

ALEXANDER J L;
Matthew;
Harry;
Sarah.

Mr Durdin-Robertson was succeeded by his eldest son,

ALEXANDER J L DURDIN-ROBERTSON, who married Clare, daughter of John Ormerod, and has issue,

Herbert David, b 2010;
Casper Esmonde John, b 2012;
Alexander Frederick Lawrence, b 2014.

Family of Durdin

It is stated that this family is a branch of a very ancient Essex family, and that JOHN DURDIN, a magistrate for that county, died in the early 17th century and was interred in Westminster Abbey, where there was a tablet to his memory.

JOHN DURDIN, his son, settled in County Cork ca 1639, and had a son,

MICHAEL DURDIN, of Ballymagooley, County Cork, 1663, who espoused Anne, daughter of Edmund Cotter, and sister of Sir James Cotter, Knight, and was father of

JOHN DURDIN (1676-1772), of Fortarabia, County Cork, who wedded Anne, daughter of Alexander Cole, and had a son,

ALEXANDER DURDIN (1712-1807), of Shanagarry, County Cork, and Huntington, County Carlow, who was married four times.

His sixth son,

WILLIAM LEADER DURDIN (1778-1849), of Huntington Castle, County Carlow, married, in 1820, Mary Anne, daughter of William Drury, of Ballinderry, County Wicklow, and had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;
Fidelia.

Dr Durdin was succeeded by his son,

ALEXANDER DURDIN LL.D JP (1821-82), of Huntington Castle, and Albany, Monkstown, County Dublin, who married, in 1851, Melian Jones, second daughter of Matthew Hayman, of South Abbey, Youghal, and had issue,

HELEN ALEXANDRINA MELIAN, as above;
Florence Amy; Melian Lucy Anne; Harriette Emily Hayman.

HUNTINGTON CASTLE, Clonegal, County Carlow, was built in 1625 by Lawrence, 1st (and last) Baron Esmonde, in a valley on the borders of counties Carlow and Wexford.

The site, which was previously occupied by an abbey and a 14th century castle, guards a pass through the Blackstairs Mountains, on the important route from Dublin to Wexford.

Huntington is a large tower-house of rough-hewn granite.

It was altered ca 1680 and again in 1720, when it was given a regular façade and a long wing on the northern side.

The Castle passed by marriage to the Durdin family, long established in County Cork where they had inherited the estates of William Penn.

In 1880, Helen, the Durdin heiress, married Herbert Robertson.

Victorian additions were made at the rear of the castle, while Manning Durdin-Robertson, a professional architect (and early devotee of concrete) carried out further alterations in the 1920s.

With her brother Lawrence, the writer and mystic Olivia Durdin-Robertson converted the under-croft into a temple to the goddess Isis in the 1970s while her nephew David, the late owner, and his wife Moira, completed a thorough restoration of the castle, garden and outbuildings.

Huntington contains a number of early panelled rooms and an eclectic family collection, all carefully arranged.

Outside are terraced gardens, an ancient yew walk and seventeenth century formal gardens, laid out in the Italian manner and recently restored.

The woods contain some fine specimen trees and the castle is connected to the village of Clonegal by a magnificent avenue of tall lime trees.

Huntington is now home to Alexander Durdin Robertson, his wife Clare and their sons.

The family is unusually talented and numbers artists, architects, writers and intellectuals amongst its ranks.

Alexander’s great-grandmother, Nora, wrote Crowned Harp.

First published in November, 2017.

Mount Wolseley

THE WOLSELEY BARONETS OWNED 2,547 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY CARLOW

This ranks amongst the most ancient families of Staffordshire, one of its ancestors being Lord of Wolseley, in the 13th century; and another, one of the Barons of the Exchequer in the reign of EDWARD IV.

ROBERT WOLSELEY (1587-1646), Clerk of the King's Letters Patent (son of John Wolseley, of Stafford, by Isabella, daughter of John Porter, of Chillington, in the same county), was created a baronet, in 1628, designated of Wolseley, Staffordshire.

Sir Robert married, in 1630, Mary, second daughter of Sir George Wroughton, Knight, of Wilcot, Wiltshire, by whom he had issue, five sons and six daughters.

The youngest son, Colonel William Wolseley, commanded the Inniskilling Regiment at the battle of the Boyne, and was also at the battle of Newtownbutler.

He was subsequently appointed Master of the Ordnance, sworn of the Privy Council, and constituted one of the Lords Justices of Ireland.

Sir Robert died in 1646, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY, 2nd Baronet (c1630-1714), a distinguished senator during the reigns of CHARLES I and CHARLES II, having represented Staffordshire in Parliament, 1654-60, and taken an active part in public affairs.

He wedded Anne, youngest daughter of William, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, and had issue,

Charles;
William, 3rd Baronet;
Henry, 4th Baronet;
RICHARD, of whom we treat;
Robert;
Elizabeth; Mary; Anne; Dorothy; Bridget; Penelope; Susan; Penelope; Frances; Constance.

The fourth son,

CAPTAIN RICHARD WOLSELEY (1655-1724), an officer in the army of WILLIAM III in Ireland, MP for Carlow Borough, 1703-13, 1715-24, married Frances Burneston, and had issue,

Richard, died 1733;
WILLIAM, who inherited the English baronetcy;
RICHARD, of whom we treat.

The youngest son,

RICHARD WOLSELEY (1696-1769), of Mount Arran, County Carlow (to whom his father left his Irish estates), MP for Carlow Borough, 1727-60, 1761-8, was created a baronet, in 1744, designated of Mount Wolseley, County Carlow.

Sir Richard married firstly, Anne Smith, and had issue,

William (Rev); grandfather of FREDERICK WOLSELEY (Wolseley Cars);
Clement, father of the 4th Baronet and grandfather of the 5th & 8th Baronets;
Katherine.

He wedded secondly, in 1727, Alice, fourth daughter of Sir Thomas Molyneux Bt, of Castle Dillon, County Armagh, and had further issue,

RICHARD, his successor.

Sir Richard was succeeded by his son,

SIR RICHARD WOLSELEY, 2nd Baronet (1729-81), who espoused, in 1765, Letitia, daughter of Anthony Marlay, of Celbridge, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;
Matilda.

Sir Richard was succeeded by his only son,

SIR WILLIAM WOLSELEY, 3rd Baronet (1775-1819), who died unmarried, when the baronetcy devolved upon his cousin,

THE REV SIR RICHARD WOLSELEY, 4th Baronet (1760-1852), of Mount Wolseley, who married thrice, without issue, when the title devolved upon his cousin,

SIR CLEMENT WOLSELEY, 5th Baronet (1794-1857), High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1852, Major, Carlow Militia, who married, in 1833, Alice Elizabeth, daughter of Peter van Homrigh, and had issue,

JOHN RICHARD, his successor;
CLEMENT JAMES, 7th Baronet.

Sir Clement was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR JOHN RICHARD WOLSELEY, 6th Baronet (1834-74), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Carlow, 1861, who wedded, in 1859, Frances Annabella, daughter of Captain Arthur Blennerhassett, and had issue, three daughters,

Ada Frances Alice; Amelia Cecilia Louisa; another daughter.

Sir John died without male issue, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR CLEMENT JAMES WOLSELEY, 7th Baronet (1837-89), JP DL, who wedded, in 1872, Constance Louisa, daughter of Lieutenant-General Robert Parker Radcliffe, though the marriage was without issue, when the baronetcy reverted to his cousin,

THE VERY REV SIR JOHN WOLSELEY, 8th Baronet (1803-90), of Mount Wolseley, Dean of Kildare, 1859-90, who espoused, in 1832, Anne, daughter of John Maunsell, though the marriage was without issue, when the title reverted to his kinsman,

SIR CAPEL CHARLES WOLSELEY, 9th Baronet (1870-1923), a descendant of the first Baronet, who married, in 1907, Beatrice Sophia, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel William Wallingford Knollys, though the marriage was without issue, when the baronetcy reverted to his kinsman,

SIR REGINALD BEATTY WOLSELEY, 10th Baronet (1872-1933), a descendant of the first Baronet, who wedded, in 1930, Marian Elizabeth, daughter of William Alfred Baker, though the marriage was without issue, when the title reverted to his kinsman,

THE REV SIR WILLIAM AUGUSTUS WOLSELEY, 11th Baronet (1865-1950), a descendant of the first Baronet, who espoused, in 1932, Sarah Helen, daughter of William Cotton Grummitt, though the marriage was without issue, when the baronetcy reverted to his kinsman,

SIR GARNET WOLSELEY, 12th Baronet (1915-91), a cobbler, descendant of the first Baronet.

This Baronetcy has been dormant since the death of the 12th Baronet in 1991. The senior male heir to the baronetcy may exist among the descendants (if any).

Mount Wolseley House (Image: Tripadvisor)

MOUNT WOLSELEY, near Tullow, County Carlow, is a two-storey, Victorian, vaguely Italianate house.

It has a distinctive bracket cornice, camber-headed windows, and a balustraded porch.

There has presumably been a Wolseley dwelling on this location since the designation of the first Baronet, in 1744, of Mount Wolseley.

Mount St Joseph's (Image: old postcard)

Sir John Richard Wolseley, 6th Baronet, was succeeded in the title by his brother, Sir Clement James Wolseley, may have been the last of the Wolseley Baronets to reside there.

Sir John's daughters subsequently sold Mount Wolseley to the Patrician Brothers in 1925, when it became a school.

Today Mount Wolseley House is the private home of the Morrisseys, though a hotel, spa, and golf resort has been built within the grounds.

First published in August, 2020.