Wodehouse Gems: I

CARRY ON, JEEVES, BY SIR P G WODEHOUSE, KBE

P G Wodehouse's mastery of the English Language was quite unsurpassed.

Here's Bertie Wooster's description of Lady Malvern in Carry On, Jeeves.

It always brings a smile to my face. Instanter, as Bertie would say:-

Lady Malvern was a hearty, happy, healthy, overpowering sort of female, not so very tall but making up for it by measuring about six feet from the O. P. to the Prompt Side.

She fitted into my biggest arm-chair as if it had been built round her by someone who knew they were wearing arm-chairs tight about the hips that season.

She had bright, bulging eyes and a lot of yellow hair, and when she spoke she showed about fifty-seven front teeth. She was one of those women who kind of numb a fellow's faculties.

First published in  July, 2011.

Wodehouse Gems: II

Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves by Sir P G Wodehouse, KBE, published  in 1963

Bertie Wooster's arch-adversary, Roderick Spode, Earl of Sidcup, features heavily in this book.

Spode, as Bertie calls him, is a character we all love to hate.

Here is one of my favourite passages that always makes me laugh:-

'...Spode pivoted round and gave me a penetrating look. He had grown a bit, I noticed, since I had last seen him, being now about nine foot seven. ...I had compared him to a gorilla, and what I had had in mind had been the ordinary run-of-the-mill gorilla, not the large economy size'. 

...'To ease the strain, I asked him if he would have a cucumber sandwich, but with an impassioned gesture he indicated that he was not in the market for cucumber sandwiches..."a muffin?" 


No, not a muffin, either. He seemed to be on a diet.

"Wooster", he said, his jaw muscles moving freely, "I can't make up my mind whether to break your neck or not."

And so on. Wodehouse's command of the English language was supreme. Brilliant.

Wodehouse's character, Spode, is believed to be modelled on the war-time fascist leader, Sir Oswald Mosley Bt.

The Mosleys had a connection with Staffordshire, the county where Spode pottery is made; hence the name.

First published in March, 2009.

Mitchelstown Castle

THE EARLS OF KINGSTON WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CORK, WITH 24,421 ACRES

The family of KING was originally of Feathercock Hall, near Northallerton, Yorkshire.

The first of its members we find upon record in Ireland is

SIR JOHN KING, Knight (c1560-1637), who obtained, from ELIZABETH I, in requital of his military services, a lease of Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon; and, from JAMES I, numerous valuable territorial grants, and several of the highest and most lucrative political employments.

He married Catherine, daughter of Robert Drury, and grand-niece of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir William Drury, and had, with other issue,

ROBERT, his heir;
John;
Edward;
Dorothy; Mary.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ROBERT KING, Knight, of Boyle Abbey, Muster Master-general of Ireland, who wedded firstly, Frances, daughter of Sir Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott, of Ballyshannon, and had, with other children,

JOHN (Sir), 1st Baron Kingston;
ROBERT, created a Baronet.

Sir Robert died in 1657, and was succeeded by his youngest son,

THE RT HON ROBERT KING (c1625-1707), of Rockingham, County Roscommon, MP for Ballyshannon, 1661-6, County Roscommon, 1692-9, and for Boyle, 1703-7.

Mr King was created a baronet, 1682, designated of Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon.

He wedded Frances, daughter and co-heiress of Colonel Henry Gore, and died in 1707, leaving issue, his eldest surviving son,

SIR JOHN KING, 2nd Baronet (1673-1720), MP for Boyle, 1695, 1703, and 1713, and for County Roscommon, 1715-20, who espoused Elizabeth, daughter of John Sankey, of Tennalick, County Longford,  and dsp 1720, when the title devolved upon his brother,

SIR HENRY KING, 3rd Baronet (1680-1739), PC, MP for Boyle, 1707-27, and for County Roscommon, 1727-40, who married, in 1722, Isabella, who was 13th in descent from EDWARD III, and sister of 1st Viscount Powerscourt, by whom he had issue,

ROBERT, created Baron Kingsborough;

EDWARD, 1st Earl of Kingston;

Isabella; Anne.

The eldest son,

SIR ROBERT KING, 4th Baronet (1724-55), was raised to the Peerage, in 1748, in the dignity of BARON KINGSBOROUGH, but died unmarried in 1755, when that dignity expired, while the baronetcy devolved upon his brother,

SIR EDWARD KING, 5th Baronet (1726-97), created Baron Kingston, 1764, Viscount Kingsborough, 1766, and EARL OF KINGSTON, 1768.

He wedded, in 1752, Jane, daughter of Thomas Caulfeild, of Donamon, County Roscommon, and had, with other issue,

ROBERT, his successor;

Jane.

• Robert King, 2nd Earl (1754–99);
• George King, 3rd Earl (1771–1839);
  • Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1795–1837);
• Robert Henry King, 4th Earl (1796–1867);
• James King, 5th Earl (1800–69);
• Robert King, 6th Earl (1804–69);
• Robert Edward King, 7th Earl (1831–71);
• Henry Ernest Newcomen King-Tenison, 8th Earl (1848–96);
  • Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1873–73);
• Henry Edwyn King-Tenison, 9th Earl (1874–1946);
• Robert Henry Ethelbert King-Tenison, 10th Earl (1897–1948);
• Barclay Robert Edwin King-Tenison, 11th Earl (1943–2002);
• Robert Charles Henry King-Tenison, 12th Earl (b 1969).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Charles Avery Edward King-Tenison, styled Viscount Kingsborough (b 2000).

MITCHELSTOWN CASTLE was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Kingston.

It was one of the largest Gothic-Revival houses in Ireland, a noble and sumptuous structure of hewn stone, in the castellated style, erected after a design by Mr Pain, of Cork, at an expense of more than £100,000.

Mitchelstown is about thirty miles north of the city of Cork.

The buildings occupied three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth being occupied by a terrace, under which are various offices.

The principal entrance, on the eastern range, was flanked by two lofty square towers rising to the height of 106 feet, one of which was called the White Knight's tower, from its being built on the site of the tower of that name which formed part of the old mansion.

At the northern extremity of the same range were two octagonal towers of lofty elevation.

The entrance hall opened into a stately hall or gallery, eighty feet in length, with an elaborately groined roof, richly ornamented with fine tracery, and furnished with elegant stoves of bronze, and with figures of warriors armed cap-a-pie; at the further extremity was the grand staircase.

Gallery

Parallel with the gallery, and forming the south front and principal range, were the dining and drawing-rooms, both noble apartments superbly fitted up and opening into the library, which was between them.

Entrance Hall

The whole pile had a character of stately baronial magnificence, and from its great extent and elevation formed a conspicuous feature in the surrounding scenery.

Near the Castle was a large fish-pond, and from a small tower on its margin, water was conveyed to the baths and to the upper apartments of the castle, and across the demesne to the gardens, by machinery of superior construction.

The gardens were spacious and tastefully laid out, the conservatory 100 feet in length and ornamented with a range of beautiful Ionic pilasters.

The parkland, which comprised 1,300 acres, was embellished with luxuriant plantations, and included a farming establishment on an extensive scale, with buildings and offices of a superior description, on the erection of which more than £40,000 was expended.

It was estimated that the castle, with the conservatories, farm, and the general improvement of the demesne, cost its noble proprietor little less, if not more, than £200,000 (£8.3 million today).

"Big George", the 3rd Earl, was renowned for his extravagant hospitality.

The 4th Earl continued to entertain his visitors regally at Mitchelstown.

One of the under-cooks  was a young man called Claridge.

Lord Kingston suffered a financial downfall: His lordship - and house guests - locked the doors against the bailiffs and were besieged therein for a fortnight, until finally the Castle was possessed, creditors satisfied and much of the estate was sold.

What remained of the estate was inherited by the 5th Earl's widow. Thereafter, Economy reigned.

The house was looted and burned in 1922 by the IRA, which had occupied it for the previous six weeks.

The order to burn the building, to prevent the newly established Irish Free State army from having use of it, was made by a local Republican commandant, Patrick Luddy, with the approval of General Liam Lynch.

It is clear that one of the motivations for the burning was to try to cover up the looting of the castle's contents, including large amounts of furniture, a grand piano, paintings by Conrad, Beechy and Gainsborough.

Many of these objects have come up for sale in recent years and some, such as the piano, are still kept locally.

The Castle was severely damaged by the fire.

However, it is clear from documents in the National Archives of Ireland that, for example, in places where the fire had not reached, 'mantelpieces had been forcibly wrenched from the walls and carted.'

As this episode took place at the height of the Irish Civil War, there was no appetite afterwards to prosecute anyone for their role in the looting and burning.

The ashlar limestone of the castle was later removed to build the new Cistercian abbey at Mount Melleray, County Water.

The site of the building is now occupied by a milk powder processing plant and the surrounding 1,214 acre demesne (private park) of the castle has been destroyed.

Lord Kingston's town residence between 1826-32 was 3 Whitehall Place, London, now part of the Department of Energy & Climate Change.

 First published in February, 2012.

Dunluce Reconstructed

A wonderful animated reconstruction of one of Northern Ireland's most celebrated ruins, Dunluce Castle, County Antrim.

Paradise Hill

THE HENNS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CLARE, WITH 7,664 ACRES

The family of HENN, one of English origin, was settled in County Clare for upwards of two centuries. RICHARD HENN, High Sheriff of County Clare, 1738, obtained a grant of "Paradise Hill", and various estates in that county, in 1685, from the Earl of Thomond.

WILLIAM HENN (c1720-96), second son of Thomas Henn (younger brother and devisee of Richard Henn, the grantee of Paradise Hill), High Sheriff of County Clare, 1766, was called to the Irish Bar and appointed a Judge of the King's Bench, 1768.

He married Miss Elizabeth Parry, and had (with three daughters) an only son,

WILLIAM HENN, Master of the Irish Court of Chancery, 1793, who wedded, in 1782, Susanna, sister of Sir Jonathan Lovett Bt, of Liscombe Park, Buckinghamshire, and had issue,

WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Jonathan, QC;
Richard, Commander RN;
Eleanor; Susanna; Eliza; Jane; Frances.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM HENN (c1782-1857), who, like his father, became a Master in Chancery in Ireland, 1822, espoused, in 1809, Mary Rice, eldest daughter of George Fosbery, of Clorane, County Limerick, by Christiana his wife, daughter of Thomas Rice, of Mount Trenchard, in the same county, and had issue,

William, died unmarried;
THOMAS RICE, of whom hereafter;
Jonathan Lovett, died unmarried;
George;
Richard;
Christiana; Susanna; Mary; Ellen; Jane.

The second son,

THOMAS RICE HENN KC JP DL (1814-1901), of Paradise Hill, County Clare, Barrister, County Court Judge, Chairman of Quarter Sessions for County Carlow, 1859, and for County Galway, 1868, Recorder of Galway, 1878, married, in 1845, Jane Isabella, second daughter of the Rt Hon Francis Blackburne, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, and had issue,

William, Lieutenant RN; dsp;
FRANCIS BLACKBURNE, of whom we treat;
Thomas Rice;
Edward Lovett;
Richard Arthur Milton, of Castle Troy House;
Henry (Rt Rev), Bishop of Burnley;
Adela Jane; Mary Rice.

The second son,

FRANCIS BLACKBURNE HENN JP (1848-1915), of Paradise Hill, Barrister, wedded, in 1880, Helen Letitia Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Gore, of Woodlands, County Clare, and had issue,

WILLIAM FRANCIS;
Thomas Rice, b 1901;
Muriel Helen Isabella Rice; Lilian Adela Gore; Maud Susan Beatrice.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM FRANCIS HENN CBE MVO (1892-1964), of Paradise Hill, wedded, in 1915, Geraldine Frances Jane, daughter of Thomas George Stacpoole-Mahon, and had issue,

WILLIAM BRYAN, AFC, b 1917;
Francis Robert, CBE, b 1920;
Margaret Geraldine, b 1922.

PARADISE HILL, Ennis, County Clare, was a two-storey Georgian house, with two curved bows and a Gothicized Venetian window as its doorway.

High-pitched roofs and pointed dormer gables were added in the Victorian era; and iron balconies.

Paradise Hill was burnt in 1970.

Francis Robert Henn, CBE, has compiled The Henn Family of Paradise, including early lineage and reminiscences.

First published in March, 2016.

Cabra Castle

THE PRATTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CAVAN, WITH 8,095 ACRES

The branch of the family of which we are treating was settled in Leicestershire in 1641, when three brothers, Joseph, Benjamin and John Pratt, migrated thence; Joseph and Benjamin to Ireland, John to Jamaica. Joseph and Benjamin obtained lands in County Meath from CROMWELL, which they divided between them. The elder was ancestor of the PRATTS of Cabra; the younger, of the WINTERS of Agher.

JOSEPH PRATT, High Sheriff of County Meath, 1698, married firstly, Frances, sister and heir of Colonel Thomas Cooch, of Cabra Castle, County Cavan, and Covoaddy [sic], County Donegal; and secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Audley Mervyn, and widow of Nathaniel Poole, and had issue,

Joseph, died young;
Benjamin (Dr), Provost, Trinity College, Dublin;
John, a Lord of the Treasury;
Thomas, dsp;
MERVYN;
Margaret.

The youngest son,

MERVYN PRATT (1687-1751), MP for Cavan County, 1715, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1722, wedded, in 1704, Elizabeth, daughter of the Hon Thomas Coote, of Cootehill in that county, and sister of the Earl of Bellamont, and had issue,

JOSEPH, his heir;
Elizabeth; Anne; Frances.

Mr Pratt was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE REV JOSEPH PRATT, of Cabra, who espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Knightley Chetwood, of Woodbrook, Queen's County, and had issue,

Mervyn, died 1798;
JOSEPH, of whom presently;
James Butler;
Elizabeth; Ann.

The second son,

THE REV JOSEPH PRATT (1738-1831), of Cabra Castle, wedded, in 1772, Sarah Morres, daughter of Harvey, 1st Viscount Mountmorres, by the Lady Letitia Ponsonby, his wife, daughter of Brabazon, Earl of Bessborough, and had issue,

JOSEPH, his heir;
Mervyn, d 1823;
Harvey, of Castle Morres, County Kilkenny;
Mary; Letitia.

Mr Pratt was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOSEPH PRATT JP (1775-1863), of Cabra Castle, Colonel of Militia, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1799, who espoused firstly, in 1806, Jemima Roberta, daughter of Sir James Stratford Tynte Bt, of Tynte Park, and by her had issue,

MERVYN, his heir;
Joseph Tynte;
Fitzherbert;
Walter Caulfeild;
Fitzmaurice Caldwell Tynte;
Hannah, Sarah Emily Tynte; Elizabeth Martha.

Colonel Pratt wedded secondly, in 1826, Nicola Sophia, widow of Claudius William Cole-Hamilton, of Kingscourt, County Meath, but by her had no issue.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

MERVYN PRATT JP DL (1807-90), of Cabra Castle, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1841, County Mayo, 1843, and County Meath, 1875, who espoused, in 1834, Madeline Eglantine, only daughter and heir of Colonel William Jackson, of Enniscoe, County Mayo, and had issue,

JOSEPH, his successor;
Louisa Catherine Hannah; Madeline Caroline Mary;
Jemima Roberta Emily Tynte.

Mr Pratt was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOSEPH PRATT JP DL (1843-1929), of Enniscoe, County Mayo, High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1874, County Mayo, 1876, who married, in 1870, Charlotte Eliza, only daughter of James Hamilton, of Cornacassa, County Monaghan, and had issue,

MERVYN, his heir;
Audley Charles (1874-1917);
Eglantine Madeline Georgina, died in infancy.

Mr Pratt was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAJOR MERVYN PRATT DSO JP (1873-1950), of Cabra Castle, and Enniscoe.

Major Pratt was badly wounded in the Boer War and never married.

He lived permanently at Enniscoe, County Mayo, and left Cabra Castle, County Cavan, unoccupied.

His younger brother, Colonel Audley Pratt, was killed in the 1st World war and also was unmarried.

Major Pratt died at Enniscoe and bequeathed Cabra to his nearest male relative, Mervyn Sheppard, a Malayan Civil Servant.

CABRA CASTLE, near Kingscourt, County Cavan, now a hotel, boasts a proud history dating as far back as 1760.

In 1964, the Pratts reluctantly disposed of the property, 265 years after Cabra land first came into the family possession.

A local family called Brennan bought the castle.

They renovated the building and converted it into a twenty-two bedroom hotel.

It was in their ownership until 1986, when it was then sold to a group of Arabs.

They closed down the hotel, finished off pre-booked functions, and then kept the building as a private house.

It effectively lay idle until 1991, when it was purchased by its present owners, the Corscadden family, who re-opened it as a hotel.

Since then the property has been extensively refurbished and expanded from twenty-four bedrooms, to incorporate the former Courtyard area bringing the total number of bedrooms to eighty.

The fine staircase hall is surrounded by a gallery at second-floor level, carried to an extent on iron brackets.

First published in February, 2012.

The Lady Anne Temple

Dawson Mausoleum (Image: Irish Arts Review)

On the 15th August, 2020, five of us visited Dartrey Estate, County Monaghan.

Having seen the New and Old stable blocks, the Iron Bridge, and the site of Dartrey House, we made our way through dense forest and woodland.

It was a warm and sunny day, perhaps the warmest of the year.

Eventually we emerged at a clearing and a little hill, which we drove up in the car.

A square red-brick building appeared at the top of the hill.

The immediate area round the building has been cleared of foliage, though it is surrounded by forestry commission land densely planted with fir trees.

The Temple directly faces the site of Dartrey House, though today the view is obscured by forest.

We had arrived at the Dartrey Mausoleum, a Georgian temple dedicated to the Lady Anne Dawson (1733-69), wife of Mr Thomas Dawson (1725-1813), later Baron Dartrey, Baron Cremorne and 1st Viscount Cremorne.

Lady Anne Dawson as Diana, by Sir Joshua Reynolds (Image: Sotheby's)

Lady Anne was the youngest daughter of Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret.

A great deal has already been written about the Temple, Lady Anne, and Thomas Dawson, so I shan't (or can't) add to it.

Given its description as a mausoleum, I suppose it's possible that Dawson had considered interring his young wife there, though she was buried at Dartrey Church in the estate, and later her remains were removed to Stoke Poges Church, Buckinghamshire.

John Redmill has written a fine article for the Irish Georgian Society about Lady Anne's Temple.

Noel Carney, a member of Dartrey Heritage Association, led us in to the mausoleum, through the large doors, and a cavernous chamber with a great domed ceiling.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

At the centre of this ceiling there is an oculus, from where light shines through to different parts of the temple at certain times of the day.

The dominant feature inside the Temple is the exquisite sculpture, on a plinth or base, with a large, elaborate funerary urn.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

This urn is adorned with the Dawson coat-of-arms.

In 1774 the Hibernian Journal wrote:-

"A few days ago was landed in Dublin a beautiful marble monument, done by Joseph Wilton Esq, of Portland Street, London, which Lord Dartrey is to erect in a temple at his seat in Co Monaghan to the memory of his late wife, Lady Anne Dawson, daughter of the late Earl of Pomfret."

(Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

In VOLUME X of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland, there is an account of the monument to Lady Anne, written in 1917, describing it thus:-

"On a wooded island [Black Island] in a lake in Lord Dartrey's demesne is a square building, with a single window in the roof, known as the Temple." 

"The monument is placed in an alcove of the wall, and consists of an altar of white marble, with grey background, approached by two steps of alabaster, and surmounted by a carved classic urn of white marble." 

"Resting on a cloud beside the urn is a life-sized figure of an angel, pointing on one hand on high, and with the other to a life-sized draped figure of Mr Dawson, who stands before the altar looking towards her, with an arm uplifted in a supplicating attitude, while his infant son stands clutching him as if in alarm."

The lengthy inscription below the sculpture states that the monument commemorates "Lady Anne Dawson, sixth daughter of Thomas Fermor, Earl of Pomfret ... in a grateful and affectionate sense of the Blessing he enjoyed in such a wife ..."

Lady Anne died in 1769, aged 36, though the monument couldn't have been erected until after 1770, the year Thomas Dawson was created Baron Dartrey.

In 1785, Lord Dartrey was advanced to a viscountcy, as Viscount Cremorne.

The monument to Lady Anne is generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest Georgian memorials in Ireland.

It once stood neglected. The roof had fallen in, and if the sculpture had not been in a niche it would have suffered even more damage from the elements.

Vandals had broken off fingers and toes, and the angel's arm had gone.

This superb sculpture and temple have been largely restored by the Dartrey Heritage Association, with the support of Monaghan County Council, the Irish Heritage Council and the Irish Georgian Society.

(Image: Henry Skeath, 2002)

This wonderful restoration has transformed a ruinous building into an architectural treasure; a phœnix that has risen from the ashes.

First published in August, 2020.