The Hermitage

THE BARONS MASSY WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 24,571 ACRES

The first of this noble family that settled in Ireland was GENERAL HUGH MASSY, who had a military command to repress the rebellion of 1641. General Massy was descended from Hamon de Massey, one of the companions in arms of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, who obtained large grants in the counties of Durham and Cheshire, and was created Baron of Dunham Massy.

General Massy wedded Margaret Percy, and had a son,

HUGH MASSY, of Duntrileague, who espoused Amy, daughter of John Benson, and had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
John, of Knockaneevan, County Limerick;
William, of Stoneville, County Limerick;
Charles (Very Rev), Dean of Limerick, ancestor of the Massy Baronets;
Margaret, m William Baker.

The eldest son,

COLONEL HUGH MASSY (1685-1757), of Duntrileague, married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rt Hon George Evans, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
George (Ven), Archdeacon of Ardfert;
John, killed in a duel;
Godfrey, in holy orders;
William; 
EYRE, 1st LORD CLARINA;
Charles;
Amy; Elizabeth; Catharine.

Colonel Massy was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH MASSY (1700-88), of Duntrileague, who, having represented County Limerick in several parliaments, was raised to the peerage, 1776, in the dignity of BARON MASSY, of Duntrileague, County Limerick.

His lordship espoused firstly, Mary, daughter and heir of James Dawson, of Ballinacourty, County Tipperary, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
James;
John;
Elizabeth.

He married secondly, Rebecca, daughter of Francis Dunlap, of Antigua, and had further issue,

Francis Hugh;
Eyre;
George;
Margaret; Rebecca Frances; Caroline; Amy.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH, 2nd Baron (1733-90), who wedded, in 1760, Catherine, eldest daughter and co-heir (with her sister Sarah, Countess of Carrick) of Edward Taylor, of Ballymore, County Limerick, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
Edward;
George Eyre;
John;
Catherine; Mary Anne; Jane; Sarah.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH, 3rd Baron (1761-1812), who married, in 1792, Margaret, youngest daughter of William Barton, of Grove, County Tipperary, and had issue,

HUGH HAMON, his successor;
George William;
John;
Dawson, in holy orders;
Grace Elizabeth; Catherine; Susan Maria; Margaret Everina; Elizabeth Jane Sarah Anne.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH HAMON, 4th Baron (1793-1836), who wedded, in 1826, Matilda, daughter of LUKE WHITE, of Luttrellstown Castle, County Dublin, and had issue,

HUGH HAMON INGOLDSBY, his successor;
John George Hugh.

The 5th Baron died young, and the 6th Baron, a young man of 19, inherited up to 38,000 acres.

He was said to have an affluent lifestyle with little regard to pecuniary matters.

Grand parties took place at Killakee, and numerous hunting expeditions both there and in Limerick. 

His great-grandson, the 6th Baron, sat in the House of Lords from 1876 to 1915.

As of 2010, the title is held by the latter's great-great-grandson, the 10th Baron, who succeeded his father in 1995.
 

THE HERMITAGE, Castleconnell, County Limerick, was an imposing Georgian house built about 1800 for George Evans Bruce, a disgraced banker.

It was situated in a spectacular location overlooking the Falls of Doonass on the River Shannon.

The Hermitage had a five bay entrance front with a pediment supported by paired huge Corinthian pilasters which framed the centre bay.

The Hermitage (Image: Dr Paul O'Brien)

There was a balustraded roof parapet.

The garden front consisted of five bays, the end bays having quoins. 

There was a modest, though richly decorated hall with statue niches.

The Hermitage is now demolished.

Seemingly only the foundations now remain of the once beautiful house; broken steps, old kitchen garden walls and the dilapidated fountain all indicating that this was once a very wealthy estate.

During the 18th century, Duntrileague was the seat of the Massys, but in the 19th century their main residence was The Hermitage, close to Limerick city.

In the 1870s Lord Massy owned 8,568 acres in County Limerick and 1,120 acres in County Tipperary; however, his largest estate was in County Leitrim, amounting to over 24,000 acres in 1878.

The Massy family had property in north County Leitrim following the bequest of the White estate at Lareen to John, 6th Lord Massy.

In the 1830s, the Massy estate also comprised property in the parish of Killora, County Galway, where the agent was George Falkner.

This property seems to have been leased by Richard Rathbourne, of Ballymore.

It was offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates court in 1852.

Most of the Massy lands were sold in the last two decades of the 19th century; followed by the family residences in the early years of the 20th century.

There is a good article about the Massy family here.

First published in May, 2011.  Massy arms courtesy of European Heraldry.
^[update

Kinlough House: II

THE BIG HOUSE AT KINLOUGH, COUNTY LEITRIM

From Chapter Eight of A Man May Fish by T C Kingsmill Moore, first edition published 1960, copyright Estate of T C Kingsmill Moore 1979. 

"… My son tells me that you are an ardent fisherman. We have a house on the shore of Lough Melvin which fishes well in April, and there will be some salmon in the Bundrowse. If you could spare a week or a fortnight of your Easter vacation to stay with us my wife and I would be very pleased.”

This letter, the first of many phrased with the same careful courtesy, introduced me to the big lakes of the west and to a feature of Irish country life then rapidly passing away.

At Bundoran a wizened coachman met me with an outside car which soon covered the hilly miles to where the Big House stood, surrounded on three sides by woodland and open on the fourth, where lawns and fields sloped to the water’s edge.

In spring, the daffodils spread themselves in golden drifts down to the lake, in autumn the scarlet lobelia blazed a flare of colour between house and shrubberies.

The house itself, built when the Georgian style was yielding to the Victorian, was large but architecturally undistinguished.

Originally the walls of all the main rooms had been covered with French cartoons in grisaille, illustrating scenes from classical mythology.

The many life-sized nudes were a little too explicit for Victorian taste, and pictures and furniture had been arranged to hide the more compromising details.

When a later generation, bracing itself to acknowledge the facts of anatomy, removed the obstructions, it was too late.

The discolouration was permanent.

Already the house was an anachronism, a manor house without an estate.

For nearly a century, when Irish country life had been built on a structure of landlord and tenant, it had been the centre of interest for a barony, its stables full of carriages and horses, its garden a model, its owners men of learning and public spirit.

Politics and literature have dealt harshly with the Irish landlord.

Sad and mad they may have been; too often they were absentees.

But many of them were men of culture, bravery, and a high sense of public duty.

Their libraries were good and sometimes remarkable.

They planted world-famous gardens.

They organised and endowed innumerable Irish charities, relieved distress, and helped and advised such tenants as were willing to accept their advice.

Much of their time was spent in hunting and field sports, but these provided employment of the type that the Irish countryman likes, and made the big house a centre of interest and society.

Above all, they supplied a personal relationship which made up for many abuses.

A good landlord was united to his tenantry by bonds part patriarchal, part feudal, and entirely human, which formed a not unsatisfactory pattern of life.

Now all of this has been changed, shattered irretrievably by a great reform which had enabled the tenants to become freeholders.

The landlords lived on, financially not much worse off, still doing their duty on bench and synod, and spending much of their leisure in sport; but the ties which bound them and their families to the countryside were snapped.

Old retainers still remained.

The coachman who had met me was serving his fourth generation, the parlour maid had been nurse to my host, the gardener had been trained by his grandfather.

But the dust was settling; the Big House was dying at its roots.

My host, who had for some years been living a life of use and wont in which sport had ceased to play a part, his guns licensed but unfired, his rods idle in their cases, now roused himself to put his son and myself on the road to true orthodoxy.

He was orthodox to a fault, his fishing methods not so much dated as out-dated, but I owe him a grounding in caution, in boat-craft, and in etiquette which was to help me in difficult times and places...

For four years my fishing centred around the Big House, ten days in spring and the same in August.

The old retainers were dropping away.

“I’ve seen what I’ve seen and I’ll not see much more,” said the coachman, now nearly ninety on the last occasion that he drove me to the station.

On my next visit he was gone.

Kate, the parlour maid, found her rheumatism too crippling, and the gardener retired on a pension to a cottage.

The squire had ceased to come to the lake with us, and he was intellectually less alert.

Over the port he had been eager to cross-question me on all the vexed problems of the day, with his unvaried courtesy treating my undergraduate opinions as if they were worth listening to.

Now he avoided discussion.

When things puzzled him he no longer sought an answer.

He lived more and more in the past.

A weary, slightly despairing look often came over his kindly face.

I was too young to recognise the significance of these changes, signs that the organism could no longer adapt itself to its environment, the first, faint, far-borne notes of the trumpet of Azrael.

Then at one stride came disaster.

Father and mother were dead; the son, always delicate, became incurably ill.

The Big House had fallen.

Another old Irish family had come to an end.

Of the Big House itself only a few ruins now remain.’ 

T.C. Kingsmill Moore was born in Dublin in March 1893 and he died there in February, 1979, at the age of 85. He went to school in Marlborough, England, and returned to Dublin to take a degree at Trinity College. 

During the First World War, from 1917-18, he was in the Royal Flying Corps in France and Flanders. He became a barrister on his return to Dublin and during the Civil War from 1922-23 was also the War Correspondent for the Irish Times. 

In 1947 he was appointed a judge of the High Court and in 1961 a judge of the Supreme Court, retiring in 1965. His visits to the Big House at Kinlough took place between 1914 and 1917 when he was an undergraduate in Trinity. 

First published in March, 2019. 

Lane-Fox Estate

THE LANE-FOXES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 18,850 ACRES

The family of FOX, which is of ancient descent, ranked amongst the most influential and opulent in the north of England.

WILLIAM FOX, living in the reign of EDWARD IV, acquired by marriage with Sybil, daughter of John de Grete, the lands of Grete, Yardley, Worcestershire.

He was succeeded by his son,

JOHN FOX, of Grete, living in 1523, father, by Alice his wife, of

JOHN FOX, of Grete, who married and was father of

THOMAS FOX, of Grete, who, by his wife, had issue,

Richard, of Mosely;
Thomas, of Yardley;
John, of King's Norton;
Henry, of Yardley;
EDMUND, of whom we treat;
Joan; Dorothy.

The youngest son,

EDMUND FOX, of Birmingham, wedded Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Hugh Grossbrooke, and had issue,

Richard, died without issue;
Edward;
JOSEPH, of whom hereafter;
Thomas, of the Inner Temple;
Timothy, in holy orders.

The third son,  

JOSEPH FOX, born in 1617, held a major's commission in the army serving in Ireland.

He married Thomasine, widow of Sir Henry Pierce Bt and daughter of Henry, 2nd Lord Blayney, by Jane his wife, daughter of Gerald, Viscount Drogheda, by whom he had issue, with four daughters, a son and successor,

HENRY FOX, who espoused firstly, Jane, daughter of Robert Oliver, of Clonodfoy, and had several sons, who all died young.

He married secondly, in 1691, THE HON FRANCES LANE, daughter of Sir George Lane, of Tulsk, County Roscommon (Secretary of State in Ireland, created Viscount Lanesborough), and sister and heiress of James, Viscount Lanesborough, who died in 1724, by whom he had issue,

Henry, died young;
GEORGE, heir to his father;
James, ancestor of the Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, CBE;
Sackville;
Denny Henrietta; Jane; Frances; Anne.

Mr Fox was succeeded by his eldest son,

GEORGE FOX (c1697-1773), MP for the City of York, who inherited by will the great estates of Lord Lanesborough, and assumed, by act of parliament, in 1750, in accordance with the testator's injunction, the additional surname and arms of LANE.

He wedded, in 1731, Harriet, daughter and sole heiress of the Rt Hon Robert Benson, Lord Bingley; and was created, on the extinction of his father-in-law's peerage, 1762, BARON BINGLEY (second creation), of Bingley, Yorkshire.

By this lady, with whom he acquired £100,000 (ca £21.6 million today), and £7,000 a year, he had an only son, 

THE HON ROBERT FOX-LANE (1732-68), who wedded, in 1761, the Lady Brigit Henley, eldest daughter of Robert, Earl of Northington, Lord Chancellor of England; but predeceased his father, without issue, in 1768.

His lordship, having survived his only child, devised his great estates in England and Ireland to his nephew,

JAMES FOX-LANE (1756-1821), of Bramham Park, Yorkshire, MP for Horsham, who wedded, in 1789, Mercia Lucy, youngest daughter of George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers, and had issue,

GEORGE, his heir;
William Pitt;
Sackville;
Thomas Lascelles;
Marcia Bridget.

Mr Fox Lane left his very extensive estates strictly entailed upon his eldest son,  

GEORGE LANE-FOX (1793-1848), of Bramham Park, MP for Beverley, who wedded, in 1814, Georgiana Henrietta, daughter of Edward Percy Buckley, of Minestead Lodge, Hampshire, and had issue,

GEORGE, his heir;
Frederica Elizabeth.

Mr Lane-Fox was succeeded by his only son,

GEORGE LANE-FOX (1816-96), of Bramham Park, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1846, who wedded, in 1837, Georgiana Henrietta, daughter of Edward Percy Buckley, by the Lady Georgiana West, his wife, daughter of John, Earl De La Warr, and had issue,

George Sackville Frederick (1838-1918);
James Thomas Richard;
Kathleen Mary; Caroline Alexina.

The younger son,

JAMES THOMAS RICHARD LANE-FOX (1841-1906), was father of

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL THE RT HON GEORGE RICHARD LANE-FOX (1870-1947), who married, in 1903, Agnes, daughter of 2nd Viscount Halifax.

The combination of her wealth, his determination and the compulsory purchase of the family's Irish estates, allowed George to honour a promise he had made to his grandfather, The Squire, to rebuild the House.  The family reoccupied in 1907.

George was wounded in the First World War, serving with the Yorkshire Hussars, a regiment he later commanded.  He had been elected to Parliament in 1906 and held several government posts including Secretary of State for Mines in 

In 1933, he was created BARON BINGLEY (third creation); however, he had four daughters and, on his death, the title again became extinct.

THE FAMILY continues to live at their ancestral home, Bramham Park, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, where their estate comprised 15,000 acres.

The Lane-Foxes had estates in Yorkshire, Dorset, and The Court, near Lanesborough, in Ireland.

Their London residence was at 12 Albemarle Street.

*****

IN 1666, GEORGE LANE (1620-83) was granted lands in counties Dublin, Meath, Kilkenny, Longford, Waterford and Cork.

This George was the son of Richard Lane, of Tulsk, County Roscommon, and was created Viscount Lanesborough in 1676.

He acquired lands in the baronies of Roscommon and Ballintober, County Roscommon, and in County Longford, in 1678 and 1679 respectively.

These grants were further augmented by the purchase of the Duke of Buckingham's Irish estates in 1710.

In 1724, the Lanesborough title became extinct.

The Lanesborough estates in England and Ireland were inherited by the 2nd Viscount's sister, who was married to Henry Fox.

Though the Longford and Roscommon properties were sold to Luke White in 1819, the Lane-Fox family continued to hold substantial property in both counties Leitrim and Waterford.

For the most part they were absentee landlords, their estates being managed by a succession of stewards, including Joshua Kell, who was a member of the Grand Jury for Leitrim, in 1851.

The family sold the bulk of their remaining estates to the Irish Land Commission in the early years of the 20th century.

First published in March, 2013. 

Mohill Castle

THE CROFTON BARONETS, OF MOHILL, WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 9,590 ACRES

JOHN CROFTON, of Mote, County Roscommon, Escheator-General in the reign of ELIZABETH I (descended from the Lords Crofton, of Crofton, Lancashire), married, ca 1565, Jane, sister of Sir Henry Duke, Knight, and had issue,

Edward;
John;
William;
HENRY.

The youngest son,

HENRY CROFTON, of Mohill Castle, County Leitrim, upon whom his father settled the castle and lands of Mohill, 1607, obtained a patent from CHARLES I, erecting Mohill into a manor.

Armorial bearings of Anne, 1st Baroness Crofton

By Ursula Moore, his wife, he left at his decease, in 1643, a son, his successor,

THOMAS CROFTON, of Mohill, who wedded, in 1707, Bridget, daughter of Hugh Morgan, of Cottlestown, and died in 1738, having had issue,

Thomas, dsp 1729;

HUGH, of whom presently;

Elizabeth.

He was succeeded by his second son,

HUGH CROFTON, (c1709-67) of Mohill, MP for County Leitrim, 1743-60, who wedded, in 1730, Anne, daughter of George Crofton, of Lisnadern, and had three sons and a daughter, Elizabeth.

Mr Crofton was succeeded by his second surviving son, 

MORGAN CROFTON (1733-1802), of Mohill, who was created a baronet in 1801, designated of Mohill, County Leitrim.

He married Jane, youngest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Henri D'Abzac, of the family of Count of Périgord, and had issue,

HUGH, of whom presently;
Henry, in holy orders;
Morgan, grandfather of Lt-Col James Crofton;
Anne Magdalene; Jane.

Sir Morgan was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR HUGH CROFTON, 2nd Baronet (1763-1834), of Mohill Castle, who married, in 1787, Frances, youngest daughter of Ralph Smyth, of Barbarvilla, County Westmeath, and had issue,

MORGAN GEORGE, his heir;
Hugh;
Ralph;
Henry William;
Augustus;
Charles;
Richard Maximilian;
Parsons;
Frances; Jane; Barbara; Anne Digby.

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR MORGAN GEORGE CROFTON, 3rd Baronet (1850-1900), who wedded Emily, daughter of the Rt Hon Denis Daly, of Dunsandle, County Galway, and had issue,

HUGH DENIS, his heir;
Denis.

• Sir Hugh Denis Crofton, 5th Baronet (1878–1902);
• Sir Morgan George Crofton, 6th Baronet (1879–1958);
• Sir Patrick Simon Crofton, 7th Baronet (1936–87);
• Sir (Hugh) Denis Crofton, 8th Baronet (b 1937).

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother, Edward Morgan Crofton (b 1945).

*****

MOHILL CASTLE, Mohill, County Leitrim, was stated to have been a simple early house with tall gable ends, adjacent to the village of Mohill.

It was occupied for a period in the 19th century by the Kane family.

Unfortunately I have no images of Mohill Castle.

An 18th century house stands on the site of the castle.

This may be, or have been known as Mohill House.

First published in December, 2012.

Belhavel House

THE LYONS-MONTGOMERYS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 10,179 ACRES

CAPTAIN JOHN LYONS, of Drogheda, County Louth, second son of John Lyons, of Ledestown, County Westmeath, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Henry Williams, Deputy-Governor of Antigua, married Dorothea, daughter of Hugh Montgomery, son of Sir Thomas Montgomery, Knight, and had issue,

John, killed in a duel, 1754;
HUGH, of whom presently;
Charles, Town Major of Halifax.

The second son,

HUGH LYONS (1750-92), assuming the name of MONTGOMERY, wedded, in 1773, Catherine, daughter of Richard, 4th Viscount Boyne, and had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
Charles (Rev), Rector of Innismagrath;
Georgina; Elizabeth; Catherine.

Mr Lyons-Montgomery was succeeded by his elder son,

HUGH LYONS-MONTGOMERY (1780-1826), of Belhavel, County Leitrim, who wedded, in 1812, Elizabeth, daughter of the VERY REV STEWART BLACKER, of Carrickblacker, County Armagh, Dean of Leighlin, and by her (who wedded secondly, Monsieur de Champrè) had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
Lambert Stewart, Lt-Col, Scots Fusiliers;
Charles, Captain, 65th Bengal Infantry;
Elizabeth; Caroline; Sophia; Louisa.

Mr Lyons-Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH LYONS-MONTGOMERY JP DL (1816-82), High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1840, MP for Leitrim, 1852-8, who espoused, in 1840, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Smith, of Annesbrook, County Meath; and had issue,

Hugh, died in 1874;
HENRY WILLOUGHBY STEWART, his heir;
Lambert de Winton;
Alfred Otho;
Kynaston Walter Otho;
Elizabeth; Caroline Matilda; Ada Louisa Mary; Evelyn Clemina;Henrietta Emily Anna;
Florence Maud; Norma Wilhelmina; Ethel Constance; Beatrice Cecilia Blanche.

Mr Lyons-Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

HENRY WILLOUGHBY STEWART LYONS-MONTGOMERY (1850-), of Belhavel, Lieutenant, Leitrim Militia, who married, in 1876, Jane Singer, only child of Captain Travers Crofton, of Lakefield.

*****

BELHAVEL HOUSE, near Killargue, County Leitrim, was built during the Irish Famine.

The family took up residence there in 1850.

Owing to Mr Lyons-Montgomery's impecunious circumstances, his house and estate were declared bankrupt by a Dublin High Court in 1880.

As a consequence, he, his wife and some family members moved to France where he died a few years later.

By 1900 the big house was in ruins and was demolished by the Irish Land Commission.

The stones were used to construct a new road.

The Irish tourist association survey in the 1940s recorded that "every stone was taken away to build houses throughout the district".

An earlier castle, also in Belhavel, is reputed to have been built by the first Montgomery to settle in the area in the 17th century. 

Do any readers have an image of Belhavel House?

First published in September, 2012.  Lyons-Montgomery arms courtesy of the NLI.

Slacke of Ashleigh

THE REV WILLIAM RANDAL SLACKE OWNED 2,390 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY LEITRIM

WILLIAM SLACKE, of Annadale, County Leitrim, the family seat, married his cousin Angel Anna Slacke, having had issue (with four daughters),

RANDAL JAMES, his heir;
James Wilkinson;
William.

Mr Slacke died in 1810, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

DR RANDAL JAMES SLACKE, of Strokestown, County Roscommon, who wedded, in 1800, Jane, daughter of James Cooper, and was father of

THE REV WILLIAM RANDAL SLACKE (1808-77), Rector of St John's, Newcastle, County Down, who espoused, in 1834, Mary, daughter of Jacob Owen, of Mountjoy Square, Dublin, and had issue,

OWEN RANDAL, his heir;
William Randal, Colonel, Royal Engineers (Newcastle, County Down);
Margaret Jane.

The Rev William Slacke, who served at St John's for no less than thirty-three years, was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR OWEN RANDAL SLACKE CB JP (1837-1910), Captain, 10th Royal Hussars, Divisional Commissioner for the Northern Division, Ireland, who married firstly, in 1863, Katherine Anne, eldest daughter of Sir Charles Lanyon, of THE ABBEY, County Antrim, and had issue,

CHARLES OWEN, his heir;
Helen Marie.

Sir Owen wedded secondly, in 1875, Fanny Rose (31 Chesham Street, London), third daughter of Peter Connellan DL, of Coolmore, County Kilkenny, and had further issue,

Randal Beresford;
Roger Cecil.

Sir Owen was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES OWEN SLACKE (1872-1916), of Wheatfield, Belfast, who espoused, in 1902, Kate, daughter of the Rt Hon SIR DANIEL DIXON, 1st Baronet, of Ballymenoch, Holywood, County Down, and had issue,

RANDAL CHARLES, born 1904;
Edith Avril, born 1908.

Photo Credit: History of Newcastle

Captain Slacke, Royal Irish Rifles, was killed in action.

ASHLEIGH HOUSE, Maghera, County Down, is a Georgian two storey, late Regency style gentleman’s residence of ca 1840, set at the end of a winding drive to the north of the Bryansford Road, approximately half a mile north-west of Newcastle.

The main building is roughly square in plan, with a projecting porch to the front and a long narrow wing to the north which links to outbuildings.

The front façade is symmetrical.

In the centre of the ground floor is a large projecting porch set with a slightly projecting bay.

Granite steps lead to a broad timber panelled door to the west front of the porch, a fanlight above with chamfered top corners and margin panes.

The rear elevation of the this north wing appears to have some large modern windows, but the main hipped roof section of the house appears largely original.

There are original outbuildings to the north.

The house was built by the Rev William Randal Slacke, Rector of St John's, Newcastle.

He lived in the house until his death in 1877.

His widow lived in it during the 1880s, and then her son, Colonel William Randal Slacke, lived in it occasionally until at least 1918.

The house appears to have been rented to others for certain years during this period (e.g. 1861-65 & 1907-10), when William Slacke lived in the rectory, and his son was serving elsewhere.

The elder son, the Rev Owen Randal Slacke, was Rector of Bryansford, 1919-28.

I wish to express my gratitude to History of Newcastle for their assistance with this article.

First published in June, 2019. Slacke arms courtesy of the NLI.

Hatley Manor

THE WHYTES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 10,989 ACRES

JAMES WHYTE (son of Mark Whyte, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Edwards, of Old Court, County Wicklow), married firstly, in 1783, Gertrude, daughter of James Gee, grandson of William Gee, of Bishop Burton, and had issue,

JAMES, his heir;
Robert, who took the name of Moyser.

He wedded secondly, the daughter of Sir Thomas Hildyard, and had a daughter, ANN CATHERINE, who succeeded to the Hildyard estates.

Mr Whyte died in 1807, and was succeeded by his elder son,

JAMES WHYTE, of Pilton House, Barnstaple, Devon, who married, in 1805, Frances Honoria, daughter of the Rt Hon John Beresford, brother of 1st Marquess of Waterford, and had issue,

JOHN JAMES, his heir;
James Richard (Rev);
Robert Charles;
Mark Beresford;
Charles;
William Thomas;
Selina Catherine Harriet; Frances Honoria; Mary; Barbara Henrietta.

Mr Whyte died in 1852, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN JAMES WHYTE JP DL (1806-89), of Newtown Manor, County Leitrim, Lieutenant-Colonel, 7th Hussars, who espoused, in 1842, Mary Ann Jesse, daughter of Charles Dieudonné de Montenach, and had issue,

CHARLES CECIL BERESFORD, his heir;
Theodore William;
Marie Elizabeth Frances Medora; Marie Gertrude; Emma Frances Honoria; Florence Alma Julia.

Mr Whyte was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES CECIL BERESFORD WHYTE JP DL (1845-1923), of Newtown Manor and Hatley Manor, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1877, who married, in 1874, Petronella Hallberg, daughter of Herr Magnus Hallberg Riksdagsman, of Sweden (who succeeded to the estates of Charles Manners St George JP DL and Madame Ingrid Christina St George, in counties Leitrim and Roscommon), and had issue,

CECIL HARMAN BALDWIN, his heir;
John Theodore Marcus;
Maryanne Christina de Montenach St George;
Ingri Melesina Beatrice Gertrude;
Mona Selina Petronella; Chisogona Constantia Barbara Beresford;
Florence Holda Medora; Lucile Theodora Gwendoline;
Ebba Harline d'Iberville Le Moyne; Edith Estelle Ermyntrude le Poer.

The eldest son,

CECIL HARMAN BALDWIN ST GEORGE WHYTE (1881-), High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1911, Lieutenant, 5th Battalion, the Connaught Rangers.

HATLEY MANOR, near Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, built about 1830, became the seat of the Whytes through marriage.

In the manner of Castle Ward House, it has a split personality: The entrance front is Italianate; the garden front, Gothic.

The house faces across a forecourt to the main street of Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim.

The Gothic front overlooks the demesne, which leads to the river.

Hatley was originally a seat of the St George family, of Hatley St George, Cambridgeshire.

The last St George to live there is interred in an elaborate Victorian-Classical mausoleum in the grounds.

Charles Cecil Beresford Whyte and his wife left Hatley Manor in 1908 and went to live in Newton Manor near Dromahaire, a residence owned by Charles Whyte.

Hatley Manor was subsequently leased to Richard Allen, Clerk of the Crown and Peace, who remained in residence there until 1916.

It was thereafter let to his successor, Robert Lonsdale, who had been Crown Solicitor in Manorhamilton.

Mr Lonsdale remained there until 1926, when he retired and went to live in Dublin and England.

Hatley Manor was subsequently purchased by the Flynn Family.

First published in June, 2012.

Lawderdale House

THE LAWDERS OWNED 3,748 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY LEITRIM

WILLIAM LAWDER, of West Barns, Dunbar, Haddingtonshire, younger son of Sir Robert Lauder of the Bass, and Isabella, his wife, daughter of John, 1st Lord Hay of Yester, married Jonet Liddell, and had issue,

MAURICE, his heir;
Robert;
Hugh;
William;
John.

Mr Lawder died in 1556, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAURICE LAWDER, of Balhaven and West Barns, Bailie of Dunbar, 1561, MP for Dunbar, 1585, who wedded firstly, Nichola Home, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
John;
Robert;
Jonet; Helen; Margaret; Nichola.

He espoused secondly, Margaret Hamilton, who dsp 1580; and thirdly, Alison Cass, by whom he had issue,

Jonet; Isobel.

Mr Lawder died in 1602, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM LAWDER, of Belhaven and West Barns, Bailie of Dunbar, 1602, who married firstly, Elizabeth Hepburn, and had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;
William.

He wedded secondly, Margaret, daughter of James Hume, of Friarlands, Dunbar, and had issue,

James.

Mr Lawder died in 1618, at Clonyen, Killeshandra, County Cavan, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ALEXANDER LAWDER, of Balhaven, West Barns and Clonyen, who espoused Katherine Pringle, and had issue,

GEORGE, his heir;
Violet.

Mr Lawder died in 1631, and was succeeded by his only son,

GEORGE LAWDER, of Balhaven, West Barns, Haddingtonshire, and Mount Lawder, County Cavan, who married firstly, Elspeth Lawder, and had issue,

Robert;
Jane.

He wedded secondly, Agnes Bothwell, and had issue,

James, of West Barns;
Catherine.

Mr Lawder espoused thirdly, Isobel ________, and had issue,

WILLIAM, of whom hereafter;
Launcelot;
Andrew;
John;
George.

Mr Lawder died in 1649.

His third son,

WILLIAM LAWDER, of Bawnboy and Drumalee, County Cavan, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1681, was, with his nephew Launcelot, attainted by the parliament assembled by JAMES II at Dublin in 1689.

He married Dorothy Trench, and had issue,

William;
FREDERICK, of whom hereafter;
James.

Mr Lawder's second son,

FREDERICK LAWDER, of Cor, County Cavan, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1705, wedded Rebecca, daughter of David Rynd, of Derryvolan, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

William;
Thomas;
FREDERICK, of whom we treat;
Christopher;
James.

The third son,

FREDERICK LAWDER, of Mough (or Lawderdale) House, County Leitrim, espoused, in 1744, Rebecca, daughter of Christopher Rynd, of Fenagh, County Leitrim, and had issue,

RYND, his heir;
Henry;
Frederick;
James;
Deborah; Phœbe; Rebecca.

The eldest son,

RYND LAWDER (1746-1811), of Mough House, married Mary, daughter of John Beatty, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Frederick, settled in the USA;
Rynd, surgeon, 7th Hussars;
James, surgeon, East India Company;
William Henry;
Rebecca; Maria; Marcella; Margaret.

The eldest son,

JOHN LAWDER (1776-1853), of Mough, wedded, in 1816, Ellen, daughter of Matthew Nesbitt, of Derrycarne, County Leitrim, and had issue,

Rynd, dsp;
MATTHEW NESBITT (Rev), succeeded his brother William;
John, dsp;
James, dsp;
WILLIAM, of whom next;
Francis;
Henry;
Edward;
Ellen; Margaret.

The fifth son,

WILLIAM LAWDER JP DL (1824-76), of Mough, succeeded his father and changed the name of his residence to Lawderdale.

Mr Lawder died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

THE REV MATTHRE NESBITT LAWDER (1820-81), of Lawderdale, who espoused, in 1848, Anne, daughter of John Gumley, though the marriage was without issue, and he was succeeded by his cousin,

JAMES ORMSBY LAWDER JP DL (1847-), of Lawderdale, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1909, who married, in 1872, Jane Eliza, daughter of the Rev Edwin Thomas, Vicar of Carlingford, County Louth, and had issue,

CECIL EDWARD;
Violet; Pearl Edith.

The only son and heir,

CECIL EDWARD LAWDER, born in 1877, Lieutenant, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, wedded, in 1909, Violet Wood, second daughter of J Basden Orr, of Kelvinside, Glasgow.

LAWDERDALE HOUSE, Ballinamore, County Leitrim, is a plain two-storey, three-bay house, built ca 1850, with a gabled projecting entrance bay.

A hipped, corrugated-iron roof with brick and ashlar chimneystacks, bargeboards and a tower, were built in 1983.

The walls are roughcast and cement rendered.

There are two-storey stone outbuildings to the rear yard.

A range to the east was built in 1875, abutted by a lean-to outbuilding built about 1980.

Walled garden to east of house.

Ruinous private chapel to adjacent field.

Part of the former estate is now the Lawderdale Furniture Company.

First published in June, 2018.

Kinlough House

THE JOHNSTONS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 14,395 ACRES

ROBERT JOHNSTON (1768-1843), of Kinlough House, County Leitrim, and 23 Mountjoy Square, Dublin, married Florence, daughter of Henry Rathborne, of Dunsinea, County Dublin, and had, with other issue,

WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Henry (Ven.), Archdeacon of Elphin;
St George Robert.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM JOHNSTON JP (1814-88), of Kinlough House and Mountjoy Square, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1850, wedded, in 1856, Sarah Jane, daughter of the Rev William Percy, Rector of Carrick-on-Shannon, and had issue,

JAMES, his heir;
Florence Elizabeth; Sophia Mary;
Emma Caroline; Lucy Katherine.

Mr Johnston was succeeded by his son,

JAMES JOHNSTON JP DL (1858-), of Kinlough House, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1884, who married, in 1890, Rebecca Ceely, daughter of Maurice Ceely Maude, of Lenaghan Park, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

William James, 1891-3;
ROBERT CHRISTOPHER, b 1896.

I have been unable to find much information relating to the Johnstons of Kinlough.

KINLOUGH HOUSE, originally known as Oakfield House, was the seat of the Johnston family in the early 18th century.

It was remodelled in the 1820s by Robert Johnston, who renamed it Kinlough House.

In 1943 the Irish Tourist Association Survey recorded that the house had been destroyed by fire twenty years earlier, but that the gardens were still open to the public.

Housing development is occurring on the site, adjacent to the walled garden.

It was a five-bay, two-storey over basement house, built ca 1800 by Robert Johnston; now ruinous.

Its roof has been removed.

There were two ashlar chimney-stacks with string courses; sandstone walls with ruled-and-lined render; and tooled limestone quoins and string course.

It had a Doric portico to the façade, with tripartite window and pediment above.

Segmental-arched openings to basement with cast-iron railings.

Although this impressive former country house now lies in ruins, the grandeur and elegance of the building still survives.

Detailing such as the flower motif to the tripartite window contributes to the artistic quality of the house.

First published in March, 2012.   Sir James (Jim) Kilfedder MP (1928-1995) was born at Kinlough, County Leitrim.

Glenfarne Hall

THE TOTTENHAMS WERE  MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 14,561 ACRES

This is a branch of TOTTENHAM of Tottenham Green, County Wexford, springing more immediately from TOTTENHAM of Ballycurry. SIR JOHN TODENHAM, Knight, the younger son of Sir Robert, and next brother to Sir Thomas Todenham, married Alice, daughter of Sir John Clifton (who died in 1447) and settled in Ireland, where he established the family of TOTENHAM, or, as now spelt, TOTTENHAM.

NICHOLAS LOFTUS TOTTENHAM (1745-1823), of Glenfarne Hall, County Leitrim, and St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, second son of CHARLES TOTTENHAM MP, of New Ross, by the Hon Anne Loftus his wife, married, in 1778, Mary, daughter and co-heir of Sir James May Bt, of Mayfield, County Waterford, and had issue,

CHARLES HENRY, his heir;
Loftus Anthony;
Anne; Mary; Letitia.

Mr Tottenham was succeeded by his elder son,

CHARLES HENRY TOTTENHAM (1786-1836), of Glenfarne Hall, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1820, who wedded, in 1814, Dorothea, daughter and heir of George Crowe, of Nutfield, County Clare, and had issue,

NICHOLAS LOFTUS, his heir;
Charles Henry;
Algernon;
Anne; Sarah Maria.

Mr Tottenham was succeeded by his eldest son,

NICHOLAS LOFTUS TOTTENHAM JP DL (1815-51), of Glenfarne Hall, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1841, who espoused, in 1835, Anna Maria, daughter of Sir Francis Hopkins Bt, MP, of Athboy, and heir of her brother, Sir Francis Hopkins, 2nd Baronet, and had issue,

ARTHUR LOFTUS, his heir;
George Charles Loftus;
Francis Loftus;
Henry Loftus;
Eleanor; Anna; Mary.

Mr Tottenham was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR LOFTUS TOTTENHAM JP DL (1838-87), of Glenfarne Hall, and Tudenham Park, County Westmeath, Captain, the Rifle Brigade, MP for Leitrim, 1880-85, Winchester, 1885-87, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1886, who married, in 1859, Sarah Anne, daughter of George Addenbrooke Gore, of Barrowmount, County Kilkenny, and had issue,

CHARLES GORE, his heir;
Ralph George;
Henry Arthur Leicester;
Frederick William;
Herbert Ponsonby;
Arthur Gore;
Reginald Stuart;
Blanche Mary; Edith Emily; Violet.

Mr Tottenham was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES GORE TOTTENHAM JP DL (1861-1929), of Tudenham Park, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1898, who wedded, in 1888, Georgina Alice, second daughter of the Baron Athlumney, and had issue,

HAROLD WILLIAM LOFTUS, born 1889;
Desmond Frank Charles Loftus;
Dorothy; Aileen; Angela.

GLENFARNE HALL, County Leitrim, was located very close to the border with Northern Ireland.

The house, which overlooked Lough MacNean, was built about 1820 for Charles Henry Tottenham.

*****

AT some point between 1879 and 1881, Arthur Tottenham sought financial assistance from Sir Edward Harland Bt, of Harland and Wolff shipbuilders in Belfast.

By 1881, Mr Tottenham had become insolvent and he found it impossible to repay the loan.

Sir Edward finally requisitioned the estate as repayment of the debt. 

The Tottenhams of Glenfarne Hall provides the following information:

By his influence he got the Sligo, Letrim and Northern Counties Railway laid from Enniskillen to Sligo in the late 1870s at a total cost of £347,000. 

In the process the money ran out and he went surety for a loan from Harland & Wolfe of Belfast to finish the railway and connect up with the main line at Collooney. 

He was the first chairman of the company and eventually sole contractor for the line’s construction. Later Sir Edward Harland took over Glenfarne Hall for this debt and Arthur Loftus was disinherited of his possessions in Leitrim. He was MP for Leitrim from 1880-85.

Sir Edward Harland died at Glenfarne Hall on the 24th December, 1895, and the property was subsequently bought by Colonel John George Adamson from Northumberland.

He left in 1919 during the Irish civil war though retained ownership of the house.

During the Irish troubles of 1918-21, the Hall was initially vandalised and then burnt down.

The estate was purchased by a firm of Belfast timber merchants who constructed a four-mile-long two foot gauge railway line to connect with the Sligo and Leitrim Northern Counties Railway.

This venture didn’t last long and the estate was purchased by the Irish Government, who distributed most of the land to its former tenants.

The remainder was planted.

The ruined Hall passed to the Colonel’s daughter Muriel in the 1930s.

In 1943 Irish Tourist Association survey recorded that only the gutted ruins of the house remained.

The bare walls of the Hall were finally tossed and used for forestry roads.

Today the estate is a public forestry park with amenity areas along the shores of Lough MacNean.

The only remaining building is the gatehouse which is a listed building.

First published in December, 2011.

Drumlease House

 THE WYNNES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 15,436 ACRES

This family claims descent from a distinguished chieftain of the 12th century, Rhirid Flaidd, Lord of Penrhyn, Merionethshire, within the ancient kingdom of Powys, who took the surname of Blaidd, or the wolf, from his maternal ancestor, Blaidd Rhudd, or the Bloody Wolf, Lord of Gest, near Penmorfa, Gwynedd, whose standard bore a wolf passant on an azure ground.

LEWIS GWYNNE AP CADWALLADER AP RYDDERCA AP DAVID, of Bala, wedded Sidney, daughter of Robert Wynne, of Maesmochnant, Denbighshire (of the Gwydir family), and had issue,

OWEN;
Cadwallader;
Catherine; Margaret.

The elder son,

OWEN WYNNE (c1620-70), the first who settled in Ireland, High Sheriff of counties Leitrim and Roscommon, 1659, married Catherine, widow of James Hamilton, son of Sir Frederick Hamilton, and daughter of Claud, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane, by the Lady Jane Gordon his wife, fourth daughter of George, Marquess of Huntly, and the Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter of Esmé, Duke of Lennox (which lady married thirdly, John Bingham, of Castlebar), and had issue,

James, killed at Malplaquet;
LEWIS, of whom hereafter;
Owen (1665-1737), MP, Lieutenant-General in the army;
John;
Catherine; Lucy; Dorothy.

The second son,

LEWIS WYNNE, married Rebecca, daughter of John Bingham, and was father of

OWEN WYNNE MP (1686-1755), of Hazelwood, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1723, Leitrim, 1724, who wedded Catherine, daughter of John ffoliot, and had issue,

James, m Susanna, daughter of Sir A Shaen Bt;
OWEN, of whom we treat;
John, died unmarried 1778.

The second son,

THE RT HON OWEN WYNNE MP (1723-89), of Hazelwood, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1745 and 1758, espoused, in 1754, Anne, sister of Robert, Earl of Farnham, and had issue,

OWEN, his heir;
John;
Henry;
Robert, of Rathmines Castle;
Richard (Rev);
William, barrister, MP;
Catherine.

Mr Wynne was succeeded by his eldest son,

OWEN WYNNE MP (1755-1841), High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1819 and 1833, who married, in 1790, the Lady Sarah Elizabeth Cole, eldest daughter of William, 1st Earl of Enniskillen, and had issue,

JOHN ARTHUR;
William Willoughby (Rev);
Anne; Sarah Frances; Elizabeth; Florence.

The eldest son,

THE RT HON JOHN ARTHUR WYNNE JP (1801-65), MP for Sligo, Privy Counsellor, Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, High Sheriff for counties of Sligo and Leitrim, married, in 1838, the Lady Anne Wandesforde Butler, daughter of James, 1st Marquess of Ormonde KP, and had issue,

OWEN;
James;
Sarah; Grace Florence.

The elder son,

OWEN WYNNE JP DL (1843-1910), of Hazelwood, High Sheriff of County Sligo, 1875, Leitrim, 1880, married, in 1870, Stella Fanny, youngest daughter of Sir Robert Gore-Booth Bt, and had issue,

MURIEL CAROLINE LOUISA;
Evelyn Mary; Madeline Mary; Dorothy Adelaide.

Mr Wynne, the last of his family in the direct male line at Hazelwood, succeeded his father in 1865.

His eldest daughter,

MURIEL CAROLINE LOUISA, MRS PERCEVAL, of Hazelwood, wedded, in 1892, Philip Dudley Perceval, second son of Alexander Perceval, of Temple House, County Sligo, and had issue,

DOROTHY SOPHIE PERCEVAL, born in 1903.

I have written about the family's other seat in County Sligo here.

DRUMLEASE HOUSE (also known as Lurganboy), Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, is a three-bay, two-storey over basement former glebe house, built in 1834, with a two-bay extension to the north and entrance porch.

The house was built by the original Owen Wynne who acquired land in the area, probably in the later 17th century.

It was noted as a lodge belonging to Owen Wynne in 1786.

The Rev Wilby Wynne was occupying Drumlease Glebe, barony of Dromahaire, at the time of the Griffith's Valuation.

The house, sometimes known as Lurganboy Lodge, was damaged by fire in 2002.

Former M-profile roof destroyed with ashlar chimneystacks; Snecked sandstone walls with limestone quoins and limestone string course to basement; tooled limestone block-and-start window surrounds and tooled sills set into segmental-headed blind arches to rear and side elevations; courtyard to north with renovated coach house and outbuilding.

The modest design and regular form of the former glebe is enhanced by the detailing in the stonework and the retention of many original features.

The house is located down a long private driveway and is nestled in a wooded area by the banks of the River Bonet.

Unfortunately the house was extensively damaged in a fire in 2002, although some interior joinery and fireplaces still survive.

First published in August, 2013.