Stuart Hall

THE EARLS CASTLE STEWART WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY TYRONE, WITH 32,615 ACRES

This family is derived from a cadet of the House of Murdoch, 2nd Duke of Albany, the Regent, third son of ROBERT II, King of Scots.

This cadet (whose elder brother was Andrew, first and last Lord Avondale), was

WALTER STEWART, of Morphie, Aberdeenshire, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Arnot, of Arnot, Fifeshire, and by her had issue, a son,

ALEXANDER STEWART, of Avondale, who had a charter of the lands and barony of Avondale on the resignation of his uncle, Lord Avondale (born 1485-6).

He was one of the lords auditors, 1488, but died before June, 1489, when he was succeeded by his son (by some said to be his brother),

ANDREW STEWART, 1st Lord Avondale, who wedded Margaret, sister of David, 1st Earl of Cassillis, and had with other issue,

ANDREW, his successor;

Henry, 1st Lord Methven;

James;

Alexander;

William;

Barbara; Agnes; Anne.

His lordship fell at the battle of Flodden, 1513, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ANDREW (c1505-48), LORD STUART OF OCHILTREE, or LORD OCHILTREE,who, having exchanged his barony of Avondale, with Sir James Hamilton,for thatof OCHILTREE, was ordained to be called LORD STUART OF OCHILTREE, in time to come, by Act of Parliament, 1542-3.

His lordship married Margaret Hamilton, natural daughter of James, 1st Earl of Arran, leaving an only surviving son,

ANDREW (c1521-91), 2nd Lord Ochiltree, commonly called The Good Lord Ochiltree, who married firstly, Agnes, daughter of John Cunningham, of Caprington; and secondly, Margaret, widow of John Wallace, of Craigie, and daughter of 1st Earl of Glencairn, and had with other issue,

Andrew Stewart, Master of Ochiltree; father of ANDREW, 3rd Lord;

James, EARL OF ARRAN;

William (Sir).

Lord Ochiltree was succeeded by his grandson,

ANDREW, 3rd Lord Ochiltree (1560-1629), who having sold the feudal barony of OCHILTREE to his cousin, Sir James Stuart, of Killeith, was created, 1619, BARON CASTLE STUART, of County Tyrone, where he possessed considerable estates.

He wedded, ca 1587, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Kennedy, of Blairquhan, and had issue,

ANDREW, his successor;
JOHN, 5th Baron;
Robert, ancestor of the Earl Castle Stewart;
Margaret, m George Crawford, of Crawfordsburn;
Maria, m John Kennedy, of Cultra;
Anna.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ANDREW, 2nd Lord Castle Stuart (1590-1639), who had been previously created a baronet.

He espoused, ca 1604, the Lady Anne Stewart, fifth daughter and co-heiress of John, 5th Earl of Atholl, by which lady he had issue,

ANDREW, 3rd Baron;
JOSIAS, 4th Baron.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ANDREW, 3rd Baron (-1650), who married Joyce, daughter and heiress of Sir Arthur Blundell, by whom he had issue, an only child, MARY, who wedded Henry 5th Earl of Suffolk.

His lordship died without male issue, and the honours devolved upon his brother,

JOSIAS, 4th Baron (c1637-62), who espoused Anne, daughter of John Madden, of Enfield, Middlesex, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Charles Waterhouse, of Manor Waterhouse, County Fermanagh.

This marriage was without issue and the titles reverted to his uncle,

JOHN, 5th Baron, after whose decease without issue, the title remained in abeyance until 1774, when it was claimed by, and allowed to

ANDEW THOMAS STEWART-MOORE (1725-1809), (revert to descendants of the Hon Robert Stuart, of Irry, youngest son of 1st Baron), High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1755.

His lordship was created Viscount Castle Stewart, 1793; and advanced to an earldom, in 1800, as EARL CASTLE STEWART, County Tyrone.

His lordship wedded, in 1782, Sarah, daughter and co-heir of of the Rt Hon Godfrey Lill, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, by whom he had issue,

ROBERT, his successor;
Andrew;
Caroline; Sarah.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROBERT, 2nd Earl (1784-1854), who espoused, in 1806, Jemima, only daughter of Colonel Robinson, by whom he had issue,

EDWARD, 3rd Earl;
CHARLES ANDREW KNOX, 4th Earl;
Andrew Godfrey, in holy orders, father of 6th Earl.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDWARD, 3rd Earl (1807-57), who married, in 1830, Emmeline, only surviving daughter and heir of Benjamin Bathurst, in a childless marriage.

His lordship was succeeded by his brother,

CHARLES ANDREW KNOX, 4th Earl (1810-74), who wedded, in 1835, Charlotte Raffles Drury, only daughter of Acheson Quintin Thompson, of County Louth, and had issue,

HENRY JAMES, his successor;
Mary; Ella Sophia; Alice Maude; Margaretta.

His lordship was succeeded by his son,

HENRY JAMES, 5th Earl (1837-1914), High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1870, who espoused, in 1866, Augusta Le Vicomte, daughter of Major William Stewart Richardson-Brady, and had issue, two daughters,

Mary; Muriel Albany.

His lordship died without male issue, and the titles reverted to his cousin,

ANDREW JOHN, as 6th Earl (1841-1921); who married, in 1876, Emma Georgiana Diana, daughter of Major-General Arthur Stevens, and had issue,

Andrew John, Viscount Stuart (1880-1915), killed in action;
Robert Sheffield (1886-1914), killed in action;
ARTHUR, of whom presently;
Charles Patrick;
Katherine Frances.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

ARTHUR, 7th Earl (1889-1961), MC, Major, Machine Gun Corps, MP for Harborough, 1929-33, who wedded, in 1920, Eleanor May, daughter of Solomon Robert Guggenheim, and had issue,

David Andrew Noel, Viscount Stuart (1921-42), killed in action;
Robert John Ochiltree, Viscount Stuart (1923-44), died of wounds in action;
ARTHUR PATRICK AVONDALE, of whom hereafter;
Simon Walter Erskine.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

ARTHUR PATRICK AVONDALE, 8th Earl (1928-2023), of Stuart Hall, near Stewartstown, County Tyrone, who married firstly, in 1952, Edna, daughter of William Edward Fowler, and had issue,

ANDREW RICHARD CHARLES, his successor;

Bridget Ann.

His lordship was succeeded by his son,

ANDREW RICHARD CHARLES, 9th Earl (1953-), who wedded, in 1953, Anniw Yvette, daughter of Robert le Poulain, and has issue, a daughter,

Celia Elizabeth, born in 1976.

THE other major event of his long reign as head of the family was the 1st Earl's acquisition, in 1782, of a third manor in County Tyrone, the manor of Orritor, alias Orator.

Orritor was near Stewartstown, and was thus geographically well-situated to round off the existing manors of Castle Stewart and Forward.

However, the Orritor Estate adjoined Drum Manor and was, thus, closer to Cookstown than Stewartstown; or New Mills, around where the Forward estate is situated.

The fourth manor in the Tyrone estate came in by inheritance, not deliberate purchase, and was remote from the other three: the manor of Hastings, alias Castlegore (near Castlederg) formerly the property of the Edwards family of Castlegore.

Robert Stewart of Stuart Hall had married Margaret Edwards of Castlegore back in 1722; and, as a result of failure of heirs male in the Edwards family, Castlegore passed to the Stuarts.

In 1862, the four manors generated an annual income of £7,567.

A further temporary addition to the Tyrone estate was made in 1866, when Lord Stuart, later 5th Earl Castle Stewart, married the heiress of the Richardson Brady family of Oaklands, alias Drum Manor, Cookstown.

On his death in 1914, however, he was succeeded in the earldom and in the Castle Stewart estates by his cousin; but at Drum Manor by one of his daughters, Lady Muriel Close.

STUART HALL, near Stewartstown, County Tyrone, was built about 1760 for Andrew, 1st Earl Castle Stewart.

It was originally a three-storey Georgian block with a pillared porch, joined to an old tower-house by a 19th century Gothic wing.

More recently, the top two storeys of the main block were removed, giving it the appearance of a Georgian bungalow.

Stuart Hall was blown up by the IRA in July, 1972, and subsequently demolished.

A new dwelling was subsequently built on the site in 1987.

The present house is surrounded by lawns and a maintained woodland garden.

Gillian, Countess Castle Stewart, informed me that Stuart Hall Estate was sold in early 2024 to Sean Coyle, a resident and successful businessman from the county.

Earlier this year (2025) Mr Coyle was awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. 

Lady Castle Stewart was delighted that, at the same time, he purchased and saved the Collection of family portraits, where they remain.

The Castle Stewart Dutch art collection remains under the care of the National Trust still at Ardress House on public display, and our Coronation Robes and Coronets at the NT's Spring Hill House property.

There is a ha-ha to grazing, with fine views of the landscape park and woodland beyond.

The stables and farm buildings survive from the 18th century and are listed.

The walled garden has a 1832 date stone and is adorned by a castellated wall and two folly towers backing onto the former stack yard.

Rowan describes it as ‘…castellated, of rubble stone with brick corbelling and a plump round tower at either end.’

A stone inscription on a frieze, though, has an inscription which reads either 1783 or 1785.

The walled garden is not kept up.

There were extensive glasshouses.

The chief attribute of the demesne is the fine stands of mature trees, disposed in the landscape style of the mid-18th century.

There is also forest planting.

A gate lodge of ca 1835 has gone but the gate screen remains.

First published in December, 2009. 

Mullaghmore House

 THE STACKS OWNED 3,134 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE

THE RT REV CHARLES MAURICE STACK (1825-1914), Lord Bishop of Clogher, of Nedsherry, County Fermanagh, son of the Rev Edward Stack by his wife, Tempe, daughter of the Rev Walter Bagot, Rector of Monasterevin, County Kildare, wedded, in 1859, Margaret Jane Auchinleck, of Crevenagh, County Tyrone, and had issue,

Edward Churchill, of Ardess, Kesh;
CHARLES MAURICE, of whom hereafter;
Walter Auchinleck (Rev);
William Bagot (Rev);
Elizabeth Mary.

The second son,

THE REV CHARLES MAURICE STACK (1865-c1939), Vicar of Magheracloone, Kells, County Monaghan, married, in 1901, Anna Kathleen, daughter of the Rev Thomas Lindsay FitzGeorge Stack, of Mullaghmore, County Tyrone, and had issue,

Marcia Elizabeth Margaret, b 1902;
Kathleen Tempe, b 1904;
Mary, b 1907;
Meta Dorothea, b 1910.

MULLAGHMORE HOUSE, near Omagh, County Tyrone, is a detached three-bay, two-storey, Georgian house, built ca 1750.

There is a two-storey return to the rear, with an extended lower two-storey addition; single-bay two-storey annex to east of return; lean-to two-storey addition to west of return, lean-to single-storey porch to north of extension.

The late-Georgian front pile may have been built ca 1800, but the rear is possibly older.

The Stack family owned Mullaghmore during the Victorian era.

According to the present owner, the orangery was re-built in 2002 on the site of an early 19th century predecessor that collapsed in the 1940s.

The interior was renovated in 1952, when many historic features were altered.

The house was restored between 2000-02 by the present owner.

Upon the removal of render during the most recent renovation, the front pile was discovered to be built of random rubble stone with very large quoins that likely came from a more substantial structure.

The owner believes that the re-used, tooled quoins may be late medieval.

The temporary removal of render also revealed several blocked low doors and diminished windows with deeply splayed embrasures.

Additionally, two low brick tunnels originating from the kitchen were discovered, one leading outside to east of the kitchen and the other running under the boiler room.

During that renovation, a toppled twelve-foot standing stone was discovered buried in front of the house.

The stone weighs several tons, is tooled and not indigenous to this area.

The present building, as it appears today, was in all probability built by the Stack family, who had connections to several properties in the area, and in England, and who also constructed the nearby Knock-na-moe Castle (1875), which was demolished ca 1990.

The Stack family donated stained-glass windows in St Columba's parish church, where one member, the Rev William Stack, had been curate.

Another family member, the Rev Richard Stack, was rector of Cappagh, 1807-12.

Mullaghmore House was later owned by the Scott family, who had many military connections and frequently rented out the house.

In 1922, Major-General Patrick Scott rented the house to the Gorman family.

The late Sir John Gorman was born here in 1923.

Sir John's father had been a Royal Irish Constabulary district inspector for County Tyrone, and during the partition, he along with several other former RIC members formed the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the house. The house served as the RUC headquarters for a number of weeks before the group moved to the more secure Seskinore House.

According to the owner, the present house was built in stages and the oldest section is likely to be the kitchen.

First published in August, 2014.

Crevenagh House

THE AUCHINLECKS OWNED 2,616 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE

IN MEMORY OF FIELD-MARSHAL SIR CLAUDE JOHN EYRE AUCHINLECK GCB GCIE CSI DSO OBE

THE REV JAMES AUCHINLECK (1646-c1685), Rector of Cleenish, County Fermanagh, married Margaret Keith, and had issue (with others who died young),

JAMES, of whom presently;
William;
Alexander;
Katherine; Margaret; Jean.

The Rev James Auchinleck was succeeded by his son,

JAMES AUCHINLECK (1675-1746), of Thomastown, County Fermanagh, who wedded, ca 1698, Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel James Corry MP, of Castle Coole, and had, with other issue (who died young),

JAMES, his heir;
Alexander;
Rebecca; Margaret; Mary; Sarah; Elizabeth.

The elder son,

JAMES AUCHINLECK (1704-52), of Thomastown, married, in 1734, Susanna, daughter of John Corry, of Lisanock, and had issue,

Leslie;
Armar;
James;
John;
William;
George;
Corry;
ALEXANDER, of whom presently;
Anketell (Rev);
Elizabeth; Sarah.

Mr Auchinleck's eighth son,

THE REV ALEXANDER AUCHINLECK (1749-1833), of Castle Lodge, and Mullans, Fintona, County Tyrone, Rector of Rossory, wedded, in 1784, Jane, daughter of James Corry Eccles, of Shannock, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

James Eccles (Rev);
William;
John (Rev), grandfather of FIELD-MARSHAL SIR CLAUDE AUCHINLECK;
DANIEL ECCLES, of whom presently;
Anna.

The youngest son,

DANIEL ECCLES AUCHINLECK (1797-1849), of Crevenagh, espoused, in 1833, Elizabeth Dorothea, daughter of the Rev Thomas Lindsay Stack JP, Rector of Badony, and had issue,

THOMAS his heir;
William Lowry, Brigadier-General;
Daniel;
Margaret; Anna.

The eldest son,

THOMAS AUCHINLECK JP DL (1837-93), of Crevenagh, and Shannock Green, County Fermanagh, Major, Royal Tyrone Fusiliers, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1872, married, in 1868, Jane, daughter of George Henry Loxdale, of Grassendale, Liverpool, and had issue,

DANIEL GEORGE HAROLD, his heir;
Bessie Sarah; Norah Lilian Loxdale.

Major Auchinleck was succeeded by his son,

DANIEL GEORGE HAROLD AUCHINLECK (1877-1914), of Crevenagh, Captain, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who wedded, in 1902, Charlotte Madeleine, only daughter of Robert Scott, of Dungannon, County Tyrone, and had issue, an only son, ROBERT PATRICK AUCHINLECK, who died in infancy, 1906.

Captain Auchinleck was killed in action during the 1st World War.

*****

CREVENAGH was eventually to be inherited by Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Reginald Auchinleck Darling JP (1897-1958), who fought in the 1st World War; was commissioned in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; fought in the 2nd World War, 1939-43, when he retired due to ill-health.

His eldest son,

Gerald Ralph Auchinleck Darling RD QC DL (1921-96), was educated at Harrow; was an officer in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve; fought in the Second World War; was Fleet Fighter Pilot and Test Pilot Eastern Fleet; Chief Test Pilot, British Pacific Fleet.

On the death of his father in 1958 he had inherited Crevenagh House, near Omagh, where, from his school days, he had spent many happy holidays with his extended family. 

He was proud of his descent from the Auchinleck family who had always lived there, and resolved to maintain it as a family home despite his ties to life in London (in his London office there was a Donegal landscape and a map showing the wartime achievements of Ulster).

In 1990 he became a Deputy Lieutenant of County Tyrone and, in 1993, High Sheriff. 

In his obsequies address, the Right Rev Brian Hannon, Bishop of Clogher, paid tribute to Gerald Darling's contribution to the work of Edenderry parish, where he had served as parish secretary.

The Bishop related how, before a major court appearance, Darling would ease the tension by thinking of his favourite spots on the river, the snipe bogs and the mountains of Tyrone.

Strangely, after a lifetime of trout-fishing, he caught his first salmon only in 1995.

One of his family remembers the fishing picnics in childhood - "as, unfortunately, a mizzly day is good for fishing, the picnics were often rather damp affairs".

But that was balanced by the warmth of bedtime stories in the family flat in the Middle Temple where it is said the family below, willy-nilly, added to the appreciative audience for Darling's dramatic readings of Winnie the Pooh. 

He would, friends say, have been equally at home as a farmer, taking great pride in his forestry and Belted Galloway cattle and never more at home than working in ragged jeans with his chainsaw.

A permanent record of Gerald Darling his distinction as a lawyer will be his contribution to that definitive work, Halsbury's Laws of England (Admiralty and Ship Collisions), the third edition of 1952. 

In 1992 he was made an Honorary Bencher of the Northern Ireland Bar.

Born at Erganagh, Co Tyrone, 8th December, 1921; called to the Bar, Middle Temple 1950, Bencher 1972, Treasurer 1991; Barrister, Northern Ireland 1957, Honorary Bencher 1992; RD 1967; QC 1967; member, Panel of Lloyd's Arbitrators in Salvage Cases 1967-78, Appeal Arbitrator 1978-91; member, Panel of Wreck Commissioners 1967-96; QC, Hong Kong 1968; Judge, Admiralty Court of the Cinque Ports 1979-96; trustee, Royal Naval Museum 1985-90; Lloyd's Silver Medal 1991; married 1954 Susan Hobbs (one son, one daughter); died Londonderry 13 September 1996.

Photo Credit: Gordon Dunn

CREVENAGH HOUSE, near Omagh, County Tyrone, is a two-storey house built ca 1820 by Daniel Eccles Auchinleck, great-uncle of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck. 

It has a three-bay entrance front with Wyatt windows in both storeys and a projecting porch.

The side is also of three bays.

A lower, two-storey range was subsequently added by Auchinleck's son, Major Thomas Auchinleck, behind the original block and parallel with it.

Photo Credit: Stephen Paskin

The principal rooms in the main block have fine plasterwork ceilings; while the hall floor is of mosaic depicting the Seven Ages of Man.

There are doors made of mahogany from the Auchinleck family plantations in Demerara.

The surrounding parkland is of the same age as the house, graced by mature parkland trees and clumps of rhododendron.

Shelter woods of mature trees are maintained to the north, south and west.

The walled garden is part-cultivated, having three walled sides and one of water.

The farm buildings are listed and there is a gate lodge in good condition.

Crevenagh House was gutted by fire in February, 2026.

First published in November, 2010.

1st Earl of Belmore

Lineage of Corry

JOHN CORRY, former provost of Dumfries in Scotland, settled, in 1639, at Tullynagardy, in the Ards, County Down.

The Corrys were probably well-known in Newtownards during the 17th and 18th centuries: Another John Corry (1771-1851), a farmer, married Susan White. They farmed at Concord Farm, Tullynagardy, built about 1800, but beside ruins ca 300 years old.

Later in life he established a timber business in Belfast called Corry & Montgomery, in 1814, and it was the foundation of the James P Corry & Company in 1814. John moved to Ballyalton House, beneath Scrabo Hill, after he gave the Tullynagardy farm to his daughter Mary, born in 1794. They called it Concord Farm. John Corry and his wife Susan had eight children.

Yet another branch established the Corry's Star Shipping line. They owned Scrabo Quarries and helped to build early Belfast. One of their ships was named the Jane Porter. Robert Corry is remembered as having introduced Scrabo Stone to Ireland as a building material.

He started the firm originally as building contractors and became a great timber merchant; and he founded a major shipping line. 

The original John Corry was appointed a freeman of Belfast in 1654.

Corry spent only a brief period in Belfast and Lisburn before purchasing lands in County Fermanagh.

Corry thrived and, in 1646, bought the Coole estate from Roger Atkinson for £860.

Its extent was about 4,576 acres.

He married Blanch Johnston and had a son,

COLONEL JAMES CORRY (1634-1718), of Castle Coole, MP for Fermanagh, 1692-1718, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1671, and County Monaghan, 1677, who married firstly, in 1663, Sarah, daughter of Oliver Anketell, of Anketell Grove, County Monaghan, and had, with other issue,

JOHN, of whom presently.

He wedded secondly, 1683, Lucy, daughter of Henry Mervyn, of Trillick, without further issue.

Colonel Corry was succeeded by his only son,

COLONEL JOHN CORRY (1667-1726), of Castle Coole, MP for Enniskillen, 1711-13, County Fermanagh, 1719-26, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1711, who espoused, in 1701-2, Sarah, third daughter and co-heir of William Leslie, of Prospect, County Antrim, and had issue,

LESLIE, of Castle Coole;

Martha, m Captain Edmund Leslie;

SARAH, m Galbraith Lowry; mother of Armar, 1st Earl of Belmore;

Mary; Elizabeth.

Lineage of Lowry

JAMES LOWRY or LAURIE (who is said to have been of the family of Laurie of Maxwelton), moved from Scotland to Ulster during the 17th century, settled at Ballymagorry, County Tyrone, before 1641, and died intestate 1665.

He was succeeded by his son,

JOHN LOWRY (1609-89), of Aghenis, County Tyrone, who married firstly, Mary, daughter of James Buchanan, and by her had, with other issue,

ROBERT, of whom presently.

He wedded secondly, Jane, daughter of William Hamilton, of Ballyfatten, and by her had further issue.

He was present with his second wife at the siege of Derry, where he died in 1689.

His eldest son,

ROBERT LOWRY, of Aghenis, one of the Commissioners for the counties of Armagh and Tyrone, 1698, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1707-8 and 1719, espoused Anna, daughter of the Rev John Sinclair, of Holyhill, County Tyrone, by Anna Galbraith, and died in 1729, having had issue,

Robert, dsp;
GALBRAITH;
James (Rev), founded the branch seated at Pomeroy House.

Robert Lowry (Image: National Trust, Castle Coole)

The second son and eventual heir,


GALBRAITH LOWRY-CORRY (1706-69), of Aghenis, MP for County Tyrone, 1748-68, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1733, and County Monaghan, 1743.

He assumed, 1764, on the death of his sister-in-law Martha, wife of Edmund Leslie-Corry MP, the additional surname and arms of CORRY.

Galbraith Lowry-Corry MP (Image: The National Trust)

He wedded, in 1733, Sarah, second daughter and eventual co-heir of Colonel John Corry MP, of Castle Coole, and had issue,

ARMAR, his successor;
Anne, m William, 1st Earl of Enniskillen.

Mr Lowry-Corry was succeeded by his son,

ARMAR LOWRY-CORRY (1740-1802), MP for County Tyrone, 1768-81, who assumed the additional surname and arms of CORRY.

Mr Lowry-Corry was elevated to the peerage, in 1781, in the dignity of Baron Belmore, of Castle Coole, County Fermanagh.

1st Earl of Belmore (Image: the National Trust)

His lordship was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1789, as Viscount Belmore; and further advanced, in 1797, to the dignity of an earldom, as EARL OF BELMORE.

He espoused, in 1772, the Lady Margaret Butler, eldest daughter of Somerset, 1st Earl of Carrick, by whom he had an only surviving child,

SOMERSET, styled Viscount Corry.

His lordship married secondly, in 1780, Harriet, eldest daughter and co-heir of John, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, by whom he had an only daughter, Louisa Mary Anne, who wedded, in 1804, George, 6th Earl of Sandwich.

He married thirdly, in 1794, Mary Anne, daughter of Sir John Caldwell Bt, but by her had no issue.

His lordship was succeeded by his son and heir,

SOMERSET, 2nd Earl (1774-1841), MP for County Tyrone, 1797-1800, Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of Jamaica, 1828-32, who wedded, in 1800, the Lady Juliana Butler, daughter of Henry, 2nd Earl of Carrick, and had issue,

ARMAR, his successor;
Henry Thomas;
Sarah.

2nd Earl of Belmore (Image: the National Trust)

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

ARMAR, 3rd Earl (1801-45), High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1832, who espoused, in 1834, Emily Louise, daughter of William Shepherd, and had issue,

SOMERSET RICHARD, his successor;
Armar, grandfather of 7th Earl;
Frederick Cecil George;
Henry William.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

SOMERSET RICHARD, 4th Earl (1835-1913), GCMG PC JP, Governor of New South Wales, 1868-72, who married, in 1861, Anne Elizabeth Honoria, daughter of Captain John Neilson Gladstone, and had issue,

ARMAR, his successor;
CECIL, 6th Earl;
Ernest;
Theresa; Florence; Madeline; Mary; Winifred; Edith; Violet; Margaret; Dorothy; Kathleen.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARMAR, 5th Earl (1870-1948), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1901, Captain, Inniskilling Fusiliers, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

CECIL, 6th Earl (1873-1949), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1916, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1922, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his cousin,

GALBRAITH ARMAR, 7th Earl (1913-60), JP DL, Major, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who married, in 1939, Gloria Anthea, daughter of Herbert Bryant Harker, and had issue,

JOHN ARMAR, his successor;
Anthea Geraldine (the Lady Anthea Forde);
Sarah Lilian.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son,

JOHN, 8th and present Earl (1951-), of the Garden House, Castle Coole, who married, in 1984, the Lady Mary Jane Meade, daughter of John, 6th Earl of Clanwilliam, and has issue,

JOHN ARMAR GALBRAITH, styled Viscount Corry;
Montagu Gilford George;
Martha Catherine.

I have written an article about the Lowrys of Pomeroy here.

As 1st Earl of Belmore, Armar Lowry-Corry's three names represented the three components of his future inheritance: Armar, the valuable church-lands in Fermanagh; Lowry, his paternal estate in Tyrone; and Corry, the remainder of his Fermanagh estate and his country seat.

Belmore Mountain - or Mount Belmore - is a hill in west County Fermanagh.

 I've written about the 8th and present Earl.

In 1852 the Fermanagh estate amounted to 7,140 acres in addition to the 14,900 acres of church-land leased from the Lord Bishop of Clogher; while the Tyrone lands comprised 41,448 acres.

The Belmore estates also encompassed counties Monaghan, Longford, Armagh and Dublin. This amounted, in all, to 72,715 acres.

In 1789 the gross rentals were as follows: Fermanagh church-lands £2,700; Fermanagh estate £1,400; Longford estate plus miscellaneous small properties £1,565; and Tyrone estate £7,130: giving a total rental of £12,795. By 1800 this had increased to £16,645.

The income generated by the estates allowed Castle Coole to be constructed at a cost of £57,000 in 1798, equivalent to approximately £20 million today.

The Belmores were one of the most powerful and influential landed families of their time.

Apart from their County Fermanagh seat, the palatial Castle Coole, the Belmores had a London house at 56 Eaton Place.

The family today live at the Garden House in the grounds of Castle Coole.

First published in December, 2009.  Belmore arms courtesy of the NLI.

Killymoon Castle

Early in the reign of JAMES VI and I,

JAMES STEWART (1595-1679) moved from Scotland, and purchasing Cookstown, County Tyrone, and the adjacent lands from Dr Allen Cooke, settled himself at Ballymenagh; while his brother, Andrew Stewart (ancestor of SIR JOHN STEWART, of Athenree, created a baronet, 1803), settled at Gortigal in the same county.

He married Barbara Lindsey, of Leith, and dying at Derryloran, County Tyrone, left a son,

WILLIAM STEWART (1625-1706), who moved to Killymoon, County Tyrone, which his father had purchased in 1634, and wedded Margaret, eldest daughter of John Shaw, of BALLYGALLY, County Antrim, by whom he had issue,

JAMES;
Alexander;
Henry, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1711;
John, drowned in the river Killymoon whilst yet a boy;
Margaret; Mary.

The eldest son,

JAMES STEWART (1665-1726), of Killymoon, married, in 1709, Helen, daughter of Patrick Agnew, of KILWAUGHTER, County Antrim, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
Patrick;
Margaret, m William Agnew, of Kilwaughter.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM STEWART (1710-97), of Killymoon and Ballymenagh, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1738, MP for County Tyrone, 1747-68, espoused, in 1740, Eleanor, eldest daughter of Sir Henry King Bt, of Rockingham, and had issue,

JAMES, of Killymoon, MP;
HENRY, of whom presently;
Edward, of London;
Isabella; Frances.

William Stewart (Image: the National Trust)

The eldest son,

JAMES STEWART (1742-1821), of Killymoon, MP for County Tyrone, 1768, married, in 1774, Elizabeth, daughter and eventually co-heir (with Lady Ponsonby, wife of 1st Lord Ponsonby, and Mrs Staples, wife of the Rt Hon John Staples, of Lissan) of Richard, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, had, with other issue,

WILLIAM (1780-1850), at whose death Killymoon was sold;
Louisa, m H J Clements MP, of Ashfield Lodge.

James Stewart (Image: Ulster Museum)

James Stewart was Colonel of the Strabane Volunteers, 1780, Captain, Cookstown Cavalry, 1796, and served in the Newmills Yeomanry, 1802.

KILLYMOON CASTLE, Cookstown, County Tyrone, was built in 1802-3 for Colonel James Stewart MP, to the designs of John Nash.

Colonel Stewart's family had held the property since 1634.

He had obtained plans for a new house incorporating parts of the old one, which had been destroyed by fire ca 1800, from the Dublin architect, Robert Woodgate; however, in 1802 he was replaced by Nash.

Nash exhibited two drawings for his scheme at the Royal Academy in 1802.

Killymoon was Nash's first castle in Ireland, and reputedly cost £80,000 to build (about £7.4 million today).

It was described in the Irish Penny Journal of 1841 as "one of the most aristocratic residences in the province of Ulster", with state apartments consisting of "a breakfast-parlour, dining room, ante-room and drawing-room, all of which are of noble proportions and their woodwork of polished oak".

When sold in the 1880s the details of the sale referred to the demesne being almost entirely surrounded by a wall of 10 to 12 feet in height, the demesne being entered by four lodges and avenues, containing two stone quarries, a huge quarry and kiln, a gravel pit, labourers' cottages, and two ornamental cottages; a walled garden and kitchen gardens, with lawns and ornamental shrubberies; vineries, peach and fig houses; a conservatory, stove, mushroom and forcing houses, potting sheds, tool houses, two excellent gardeners' dwelling houses, and an ice house.

This park was clearly approved of by Sir Joseph Paxton, who wrote:

I have visited most of the celebrated country seats in the Kingdom and a very large number on the continent, and I have never seen one - for the extent of it - more compact, more perfect in itself, or where the highest natural beauties have been more aided by refined taste and judgment, than Killymoon.

This demesne was, in 1922, nevertheless, decimated and sold off in lots, mostly for its timber.

Part of it is now used as a golf course.

The gate lodges and the two gardeners' houses no longer stand; the conservatory is ruinous; though substantial 18th century outbuildings, for farm use, and an 18th century saw mill remain intact, close to the castle.

Colonel James Stewart was an absentee client for Nash and much of the supervision of the new castle fell to his wife.

She is known, through surviving correspondence, to have been discussing the design of two cottages with Nash as late as 1805.

For his part, Colonel Stewart is notorious for having 'lost' his new castle in a night's gambling, but the next day the winner, the Prince Regent (later GEORGE IV), told him he could keep his "little cabin" in Ireland.

In 1850 the property was sold, following the decease of William Stewart, who was a bachelor, and was bought by the Moutray family.

The present owner's family bought it at the break-up of the estate in 1922.

*****

TODAY'S CASTLE has a romantic silhouette in a splendid location above the Ballinderry River with a back-drop of sweeping woodland and parkland.

The principal front is dominated by an almost central battlemented, machicolated round tower and turret; at one end, an octagonal tower with similar features; and at the other end the profile of the square tower in the adjoining front, the base of which is arched to form a porte-cochére.

The latter tower has slender, octagonal corner turrets with cupolas.

The windows are pointed, grouped together under segmental hood mouldings, which Nash and his ilk regarded as being Saxon.

There is good interior planning with square, circular and octagonal rooms fitted together.

The hall has a double staircase and is lit by a Gothic lantern on a plaster, fan-vaulted ceiling.

The Library is in the form of a Gothic chapel, with stained-glass windows.

Extensive stables, out-houses and labourers cottages were built on the demesne, and on completion of the residential quarters Colonel Stewart had the 585 acres of the Killymoon demesne enclosed by a wall 10 to 12 feet high.

Entrance to the demesne was by way of four stone lodges and avenues at various points along the boundary wall.

The Killymoon estate remained the property of the Stewart family for six generations; however, their extravagant lifestyle caused the Stewart family to fall on hard times, especially during the years of the Irish famine.

The Killymoon estate was sold in 1852 for £100,000.

In 1857, the castle had again been sold to the Cooper family; and, in 1865, Colonel Bolton, an English gentleman, purchased the castle.

A mere ten years later, Mervyn Stuart Thomas Moutray JP,  became the owner of Killymoon Castle until 1916, when Gerald Macura bought the castle and town of Cookstown for almost £100,000.

By 1918, Macura was also in financial difficulties and was compelled to sell off his assets.

Hence, in 1922, John Coulter bought the castle and grounds for the merely £100.

Today the castle remains the home of the Coulter family.

In addition, situated on what was previously some of the castle’s estate lands, is an 18-hole golf course.

Shortly before embarking on his long parliamentary career, the young James Stewart did the Grand Tour in Europe. A splendid portrait of him (now in the Ulster Museum) was painted in Italy some time in 1767 by Pompeo Batoni.

Stewart succeeded his father as one of the MPs for County Tyrone in 1768, retaining the seat continuously and without a contest for the next thirty-two years in Dublin and a further twelve after 1800 at Westminster. 

The Stewart of Killymoon Papers are held at the Public Record Office of NI.

From Killymoon Castle there are views across the parkland, where few trees remain.

The grounds were possibly designed by W S Gilpin for the present house.

Grass terraces to the south of the house descend to the river and are enlivened by yew trees.

Rowan quotes Paxton,

"I have visited most of the celebrated country seats in the kingdom and a very large number on the continent, and I have never seen one – for the extent of it - more compact, more perfect in itself, or where the highest natural beauties have been more aided by refined taste and judgement, than Killymoon."

Unfortunately the demesne is not as it once was: Ornamental garden buildings are lost; the vistas are over bare farmland to distant woods.

Extensive walled gardens, with some glass, are partially kept up.

The gardener’s house is ruinous; 18th century offices that pre-date the present house are extensive; one of three gate lodges survives; the northern part of the estate is now a golf course.

First published in November, 2010. 

Lissan House

THE STAPLES BARONETS OWNED 3,078 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE

This family settled in Ulster during the reign of JAMES I. THOMAS STAPLES, of Lissan, the founder of the family in Ulster, came from Bristol ca 1610, as part of the plantation of Ulster. This Thomas, fifth son of Alexander Staples, settled in Moneymore, County Londonderry (then being constructed as part of the terms of the plantation grant to the Worshipful Company of Drapers, which had been granted large swathes of the new county in 1611).

His stone house is marked in a map of 1635 as in the centre of Moneymore, beside the Market Cross. 

ALEXANDER STAPLES, of Yate Court, Gloucestershire, married firstly, Avis, daughter of Richard Browne, of Marlborough, Wiltshire, and secondly, Elizabeth.

Tomb of Alexander Staples (Image: Lissan House)

He had issue,

George, purchased the Manor of Fovant, Wiltshire;

Richard, of Boreham;

Alexander, of Nottingham;

Edward;

THOMAS, of whom hereafter;

William.

Mr Staples died in 1590. His fifth son,

THOMAS STAPLES, of Lissan, County Tyrone, and of Faughanvale, County Londonderry, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1640, wedded, ante 1623, Charity, only child and heiress of Sir Baptist Jones, of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, and had issue,

BAPTIST, his successor;
ALEXANDER, 3rd Baronet;
Thomas;
ROBERT, 4th Baronet;
Charity; Elizabeth.

Mr Staples was created a baronet by CHARLES I in 1628, designated of Lissan, County Tyrone.

About the same date, Sir Thomas purchased several leases, including the lands of the town of Cookstown and 180 acres at what now comprises the Lissan demesne.

It is thought that a dwelling existed on the estate at this time along with an Iron Forge which was used to smelt the iron deposits found across the estate.

Mainly as a result of the existence of the forge, the dwelling house survived the Rebellion of 1641.

Sir Thomas died in 1653, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR BAPTIST STAPLES, 2nd Baronet (1630-72), of Lissan and Faughanvale,, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR ALEXANDER STAPLES, 3rd Baronet, of Lissan and Faughanvale, MP for Strabane, 1661-5, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1661, who married Elizabeth Conynham, and had issue,

Elizabeth;
another daughter.

Sir Alexander died in 1673, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR ROBERT STAPLES, 4th Baronet (1643-1714), of Lissan, MP for Dungannon, 1692-3, Clogher, 1696-9, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1703, who wedded, in 1681/2, Mary, daughter of the Most Rev John Vesey, of Abbey Leix, County Laois, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
Robert, died in infancy;
another son, died in infancy;
Thomlinson;
ALEXANDER, 6th Baronet;
Thomas (Rev), 1702-62; father of Rt Hon John Staples MP;
Jane; Ann; Rebecca; Mary.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN STAPLES, 5th Baronet (1684-1730), who espoused Mary Goslin, and had issue,

Isabella Elizabeth;
two other daughters.

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

SIR ALEXANDER STAPLES, 6th Baronet (1693-1741), who wedded, in 1735, Abigail, daughter and heiress of Thomas Townley, of County Cavan, and had an only son,

SIR ROBERT STAPLES, 7th Baronet (1740-1816), who espoused firstly, in 1761, Alicia, daughter of the Rev Thomas Staples, of Lissan, by whom he had one daughter, Sarah, who married Samuel Jacob, of Mowbamam, County Tipperary.

He married secondly, Mary, eldest daughter of Sir William Barker Bt, and had issue,

ROBERT, his successor;
Anna Maria, m, 1790, R Smyth.

Sir Robert wedded thirdly, in 1776, Jane, third daughter of John Denny, Lord Knapton, and sister to the Viscount de Vesci, by whom he had issue,

Isabella; Elizabeth Selina; Anne; Catherine.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his only son,

Sir Robert Staples, 8th Baronet

SIR ROBERT STAPLES, 8th Baronet (1772-1832), who died unmarried in 1832, when the title reverted to his cousin,

SIR THOMAS STAPLES, 9th Baronet (1775-1865), a barrister, MP for Knocktopher, 1800, son of the Rt Hon John Staples, of Dunmore, Queen's County, who espoused, in 1813, Catherine, daughter of the Rev John Hawkins.

Sir Thomas Staples, 9th Baronet,  by Martin Cregan

The marriage was without issue, and the baronetcy reverted to his cousin,

SIR NATHANIEL ALEXANDER STAPLES, 10th Baronet (1817-99), DP DL, son of the Rev John Molesworth Staples, Captain, Bengal Artillery, who wedded, in 1844, Elizabeth Lindsay, daughter of Captain James Head, and had issue,

JOHN MOLESWORTH, his successor;
James Head (1849-1917);
ROBERT PONSONBY, successor to his brother;
Cecilia; another daughter.

Sir Nathaniel was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN MOLESWORTH STAPLES, 11th Baronet (1848-1933), who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR ROBERT PONSONBY STAPLES, 12th Baronet (1853-1943), who married, in 1883, Ada Louise, daughter of Mr H Stammers, and had issue,

ROBERT GEORGE ALEXANDER, his successor;
Violet Hope; Beatrice Joyce Head; Nora Lettice Mary.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his only son,

SIR ROBERT GEORGE ALEXANDER STAPLES, 13th Baronet (1894-1970), of Lissan, Lieutenant, Royal Army Service Corps, who wedded, in 1922, Vera Lilian, daughter of John Jenkins, and had issue,

HAZEL MARION, of Lissan;
Elizabeth Hope (1924-70).

Sir Nathaniel Alexander Staples, 10th Baronet (1817-99);
Sir John Molesworth Staples, 11th Baronet (1848–1933);
Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, 12th Baronet (1853–1943);
Sir Robert George Alexander Staples, 13th Baronet (1894–1970);
Sir John Richard Staples, 14th Baronet (1906-89);
Sir Thomas Staples, 15th Baronet (1905–97);
Sir Gerald James Arland Staples, 16th Baronet (1909–99);
Sir Richard Molesworth Staples, 17th Baronet (1914–2013).

LISSAN HOUSE, near Cookstown, County Tyrone, is now open to visitors.

It owes its existence to Sir Thomas's third son, Sir Robert, 4th Baronet.

There is some evidence of building on the site ca 1580.

Construction of the present building began about 1620.

It was reconstructed ca 1690, with notable alterations in ca 1780, 1840 and  1880.

Lissan House today is mainly a plain, three storey, nine bay Georgian residence (with the later additions).

At one end there is a single-storey wing with a three-sided, mullioned bow.

The other end has a gable-ended office range; and in the middle of the entrance front, a "single-storey protuberance of unusual depth" embodying a porch and a bow-fronted porte-cochére with windows.

At some stage, after the mid-18th century, a garden was laid out here with "an artificial sheet of water with cascades and a picturesque bridge".

Lissan House was originally built ca 1690 by Sir Robert Staples, 4th Baronet.

It was extended in the early 1800s, and altered and extended again in the 1870s, including the addition of a clock tower in 1878 and a windowed porte-cochére ca 1880.

The main staircase and entrance hall were enlarged about 1888.

A long gallery wing to the west integrated with house in the early 1900s to permit easier access to the first floor of the house.

Apart from its 17th century origins and later Victorian additions, the house as it stands now is basically of the 18th century in general form and exterior appearance, while the interior is largely of the 19th century, with some 18th century elements.

The original house of the late 17th century was built of brick made on the estate; local stone, probably from a quarry near the house; and massive oak beams thought to have come from the woodlands on the estate.

Part of this 17th century building can still be seen in the core of the house, particularly in the kitchen area where the walls are between six and eight feet thick; and in the basement, where very old timbers survive.

The form and siting of Thomas Staples' first residence at Lissan is uncertain, but it may have been in the block attached to the south-west corner of the present house, known today as the Creamery.

The house remained the home of the Staples family for over three centuries, reputedly the longest occupation by any single family of a country house in the western part of Ulster.

The last owner and occupant, and last descendant of the Staples family, was Hazel Dolling, daughter of Sir Robert George Alexander Staples, 13th Baronet, who died in 1970.

She died in 2006 and passed the house and estate in trust, bequeathing the house to the community, intended by her to become a centre for music and arts for central Ulster.

The extensive estate, which is over 250 acres, includes a number of other buildings, including old farm buildings, an ice house, old stone bridges over the Lissan Water river, a walled garden of four and a half acres, a gardener's cottage, a gate lodge and pillars, an 18th century bridge and cascade designed by the architect Davis Ducart, and a generator house dating from 1902.

A 19th century ballroom is attached to the east side of the house.

The ornamental gardens have gone and the five acre walled garden (three walls) is today used as community allotments.

The Gardener’s House and offices are no longer used.

There are mature trees and forest planting.

The Lissan Water flows near the house, wooded on either side, and there are several bridges crossing the river, which is also the county boundary.

There were at least two gate lodges: the Cooktown entrance lodge of about 1830, which was derelict in 1994; Castor's gate lodge (demolished), en route to Lissan parish church; and a third Moneymore lodge, not far in a south-easterly direction from Castor's Lodge.

Lissan House and demesne is now run by a Trust.

Other former residence ~ 2, Barkfield, Freshfield Road, Formby, Lancashire.

First published in November, 2010.