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.

The Blackwood Baronets (1763)

The Blackwoods, represented by the noble house of Dufferin, are of Scottish extraction, and can be traced in the public records of Scotland to a very early period. One branch migrated to France, of which was the celebrated Adam Blackwood (1539-1613), privy counsellor to MARY, Queen of Scots (whose marriage with the Dauphin of France he had negotiated), and senator of the Presidial Court of Poitiers.

He died there in 1613, leaving ample proofs of his talents as a civilian, a poet, and a divine; and was there interred with great pomp under a marble monument, inscribed with a long epitaph, styling him "Nobilis Scotus, inclytorum majorum, in Caledonia notus." 

The male line of the French Blackwoods became extinct at the death  of SIMON XAVIER DE BLACVOD, Chevalier, Seigneur des Frozes in Poitou, whose eldest daughter and co-heiress, MARIE THÉRÈSE BLACVOD, married, in 1776, Jean Philippe Bellin de la Bontadière, Chevalier, Seigneur des Cotes. A scion of the Fifeshire family (from which Fifeshire family also derived the Poitou branch) was

JOHN BLACKWOOD, of Bangor, County Down, born in Scotland in 1591, who became possessed of considerable landed property in Ulster, which he settled on the marriage of his son. 

He died in 1663,  and was interred at Bangor Abbey.

His grave-stone reads:

HERE LIES [JOHN] BLACKWOOD, MERCHANT, LATE PROVOST OF BANGOR, WHO DEPARTED THIS LYFE THE 22 OF MAY 1663 AND OF AGE 72. 

HERE LYES A MAN WHO LIV'D OF LATE INTO A FLOORISHING ESTATE YET WAS IT HIS GLORY THAT THERBY HIMSELF HE DID NOT MAGNIFY A SOBER IVST [Just] AND ..... MAN AND THOVGH HIS LIFE WAS BVT A SPAN YET IT SO BLAMELESS WAS THAT HE DESERVES A LASTING MEMORIE.

John Blackwood wedded Janet Clerke, and had, with three daughters, a son and successor,

JOHN BLACKWOOD, of Ballyleidy, County Down, who was attainted by JAMES II.

He espoused Anna Wauchope, and died in 1698, leaving, with three daughters, an only son,

JOHN BLACKWOOD, of Ballyleidy, also attainted by JAMES II's parliament. 

He married Ursula, daughter and co-heir of Robert Hamilton, of Killyleagh, and by her had issue,

ROBERT, his heir;

James, ancestor of the Blackwoods (now PRICES) of Saintfield;

Ursula.

The elder son,

ROBERT BLACKWOOD (1694-1774), of Ballyleidy, married firstly, in 1721,  Joyce, sister of JOSEPH, 1ST EARL OF MILLTOWN, and had issue,

Leeson, d 1773;
JOHN, of whom hereafter;
Margaret.

He wedded secondly, Grace Macartney, and had further issue,

William;
Grace; Sarah; Elizabeth; Ursula Harriot; Dorcas.

Mr Blackwood was created a baronet in 1763, designated of Ballyleidy, County Down.

He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR JOHN BLACKWOOD, 2nd Baronet (1721-99), who married, in 1751, DORCAS, 1ST BARONESS DUFFERIN AND CLANEBOYE, eldest daughter and heiress of James Stevenson, of Killyleagh, and had issue,

Leeson;
Robert;
JAMES STEVENSON, his successor;
John (Rev);
HANS, succeeded his brother;
Price;
Henry, Vice-Admiral; cr a baronet, designated of the Navy;
Anne; Sophia; Dorcas; Margaret Catherine.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR JAMES STEVENSON BLACKWOOD, 3rd Baronet (1755–1836), who inherited the barony at the decease of his mother and succeeded, in 1807, as 2nd Baron Dufferin and Claneboye.

Sir James married, in 1801, Anne Dorothea, daughter of John, 1st Baron Oriel, though the marriage was without issue.

He was succeeded in the family honours by his brother,

HANS, 3rd Baron and 4th Baronet (1758-1839), who espoused firstly, in 1784, Mehetabel Hester, daughter of Robert Temple, and had issue,

Robert Temple (1788-1815);
Hans;
PRICE, 4th Baron;
Henrietta.

His lordship wedded secondly, in 1801, Elizabeth, daughter of William Henry Finlay, and had further issue,

William Stear (Rev);
Henry Stevenson;
Anna Dorothea; Elizabeth Dorcas; Henrietta Catherine; two other daughters.

The 3rd Baron was succeeded by his son and successor,

PRICE, 4th Baron and 5th Baronet (1794-1841), who married, in 1825, Helen Selina, daughter of Thomas Sheridan, and had issue,

FREDERICK TEMPLE, 5th Baron and 6th Baronet (1826–1902), who was created, 1871, Earl of Dufferin; and advanced to the dignity of a marquessate, in 1888, as MARQUESS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA.

*****

John Francis Blackwood, 11th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye (b 1944), would be the 12th Blackwood Baronet of Ballyleidy, and the 8th Blackwood Baronet of the Navy; the baronetcy, however, remains dormant.

The Blackwood Baronets' London residence was 13 Cavendish Square.

First published in June, 2012.

Knocktopher Abbey

THE LANGRISHE BARONETS OWNED 2,615 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILKENNY

This family is descended from Sir Nicholas Langrish, Knight, who was seized of the Manor of Langrish, Hampshire, in 1273. The Irish branch is descended from Rafe, or Ralph, third son of Nicholas Langrishe, of Langrishe. 

Ralph Langrishe, of Bordon, died between 1542-59; the third in descent from him was Major Hercules Langrishe (1594-1659), Carver in Ordinary to Queen Henrietta Maria, who prevented the arrest of the "Five Members" by CHARLES I.

HERCULES LANGRISHE (1620-), took part in the first battle of Roundway Down, Wiltshire, where his father and brother Lucullus were wounded, and in the defence of Bristol.

He appears in the Petty Census as Lieutenant in the garrison at Drogheda in Captain FitzGerald's Troop of Horse and was appointed Commissioner for setting out lands to the officers and soldiers of the Army, 1657, and Collector of Poll Tax, 1661.

He married, in 1657, Anne, sister of Daniel Reading, of Rathfarnham, County Dublin, MP for Newcastle/Lyons, County Kildare, and had issue, all born in Drogheda,

JOHN, his heir;

Elizabeth; Anne.

Hercules Langrishe was living in Drogheda, 1662, according to the Ormonde Papers of that year, and was succeeded by his son,

JOHN LANGRISHE (1660-1735), who became proprietor of the borough of Knocktopher, County Kilkenny.

Mr Langrishe, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1696, married firstly, Alicia, second daughter of Harry, 2nd Baron Blayney, and widow of Thomas Sandford, of Sandford Court; and secondly, Miss Sandford, daughter of Colonel Sandford; but had issue by neither of those ladies.

He wedded thirdly, Mary, daughter of Robert Grace, feudal baron of Courtstown, and had an only son, his successor,

ROBERT LANGRISHE (c1696-1769), of Knocktopher, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1740, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in Ireland, 1745-9, who espoused Anne, daughter of Jonathan Whitby, and had issue,

HERCULES, his heir;
Olympia.

Mr Langrishe was succeeded by his son and heir,

THE RT HON HERCULES LANGRISHE (1731-1811), of Knocktopher, MP for Knocktopher, 1761-1800, who was created a baronet in 1777, designated of Knocktopher Abbey, County Kilkenny.

Sir Hercules, who was a member of the Privy Council, represented the borough of Knocktopher in the Irish parliament for forty years, during which period he ranked amongst the most distinguished of its members, and was the first who advocated and obtained a partial relaxation of the most atrocious code of laws which oppressed the Roman Catholics of Ireland, a code that consigned 80% of the population to unmitigated and grinding slavery, and reduced the whole of the state to semi-barbarism.

He married, in 1755, Hannah, daughter and co-heir of Robert Myhill, of Killarney, County Kilkenny, and sister of Jane, wife of Charles, 1st Marquess of Ely, and had issue,

ROBERT, his successor;
John;
James (Very Rev), Dean of Achonry;
Elizabeth; Mary Jane; Hannah.

Sir Hercules was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ROBERT LANGRISHE, 2nd Baronet (1756-1835), who wedded, in 1782, Anne, daugher of Bellingham Boyle, and granddaughter of the Most Rev Dr John Hoadly, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, and had issue,

HERCULES RICHARD, his successor;
Anne; Henrietta Maria; Elizabeth.

Sir Robert as succeeded by his only son,

THE REV SIR HERCULES RICHARD LANGRISHE, 3rd Baronet (1782-1862), who espoused, in 1817, Maria, daughter of James Henry Cottingham, and had issue,

JAMES, his successor;
Richard;
Anne Maria; Rose Isabella.

Sir Hercules was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JAMES LANGRISHE, 4th Baronet (1823-1910), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1866, Lieutenant-Colonel, 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, who married firstly, in 1857, Adela de Blois Eccles; and secondly, in 1906, Algitha Maud, daughter of Sir Henry Daniel Gooch Bt, and had issue,

HERCULES ROBERT, his successor;
Adela Constance; Maria Cecilia; Mary Isabella; Frances Alice; Norah Elizabeth.

Sir James was succeeded by his only son,

SIR HERCULES ROBERT LANGRISHE, 5th Baronet (1859-1943), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1891, Honorary Major, Oxfordshire Light Infantry, Temporary Commander RNVR, who wedded, in 1887, Helen Amelrosa Hume, daughter of the Rt Hon William Wentworth Fitzwilliam Dick, and had issue,

TERENCE HUME, his successor;
Hercules Ralph, Lieutenant.

Sir Hercules was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR TERENCE HUME LANGRISHE, 6th Baronet (1895-1973), Captain, the Intelligence Corps, who married, in 1926, Joan Stuart, daughter of Major Ralph Stuart Grigg, and had issue,

HERCULES RALPH HUME, his successor;
Patrick Nicholas;
Robert Gore.

Sir Terence was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR HERCULES RALPH HUME LANGRISHE, 7th Baronet (1927-1998), who married, in 1955, Grania Sybil Enid, daughter of Mervyn Patrick, 9th Viscount Powerscourt, and had issue,

JAMES HERCULES, his successor;
Miranda Grania; Georgina Emma; Atalanta Sue.

Sir Hercules was succeeded by his only son,

SIR JAMES HERCULES LANGRISHE, 8th and present Baronet (1957-), of Arlonstown, Dunsany, County Meath, who married, in 1985, Gemma Mary Philomena, daughter of Patrick O'Daly, and has issue,

RICHARD JAMES HERCULES, b 1988;
Victoria Anna Jean, b 1986.

KNOCKTOPHER ABBEY, Knocktopher, County Kilkenny, is a house which incorporates the remains of the first Carmelite friary in Ireland.

It was rebuilt ca 1866 in the High-Victorian-Gothic style, following a fire.

The house has trefoil-headed, mullioned windows and several gables; high roofs; and a pyramidal-roofed porch tower.

The Abbey remained in the family until 1981.

First published in July, 2018.

Manor of Florida: III

Kilmood Parish Church (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

ST MARY'S parish church, Kilmood, County Down, was historically the estate church of FLORIDA MANOR.

Samuel Lewis (c1782-1865), in his topographical dictionary, remarked that

In 1819 the present church, an elegant structure, in the later English style, with a handsome tower and spire rising to the height of 120 feet, was erected near the site of the ancient ruins.

Stanley pointed out the armorial plaques on the south and west faces of the tower, representing the Marquesses of Downshire and the family of Gordon, who shared the alternate patronage of the vicarage.

No less than three marquesses had a connection with Kilmood, namely Downshire, Dufferin, and Londonderry.

St Mary's wouldn't look out of place in Suffolk, Surrey, or Kent, with its tall slim pinnacles, battlements, clock, and family arms. Really quite charming.

The original medieval church, after the dissolution of Comber monastery, fell into decay, and the tithes were annexed to those of the parish of Hillsborough, 14 miles away.

The present Georgian church was built in 1819 at the joint expense of the GORDON family, lords of the manor of Florida, and the Marquess of Londonderry, aided by a gift of £900 [about £100,000 in 2020] from the Board of First Fruits.

The cost was £2,215, equivalent to about £250,000 in 2020.

The interior is fitted up with Riga oak; the east window, of stained-glass, and of large dimensions and very beautiful, appears to have been copied from that of Salisbury Cathedral.

In the centre of the nave is a large, twenty-light, brass chandelier, reputedly of Dutch origin.

There was a private gallery used by the Gordons and their staff, which was at the back of the nave; it had to be removed in 1950, however, due to rotten, wooden joists in the west wall.

The Gordons sat at one side of the gallery, and the staff at the other; the former section having a heating-stove.

I'm seeking photographs of the Gordon gallery in the church.

Stanley took me upstairs and pointed out the former entrance to this gallery, through a door from the first landing, on the circular staircase in the tower.

The door has a brass plaque, inscribed PRIVATE.

St Mary's is renowned for its bell-ringing: Stanley informed me that they currently have a team of seventeen bell-ringers - there are six bells.

Memorial to David Gordon (1759-1837) & Mary Gordon
(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

There are several Gordon memorials in the nave, adorned with the family coat-of-arms and motto, Animo Non Astutia.

Memorial to Robert Gordon (1791-1864) (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

In the church-yard is a mausoleum in the crypt belonging to the Gordon family.

Stanley told me that he counted seven coffins, with plaques, belonging to the Gordons.

Kilmood had a royal visitor in 2019: His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent.

HRH The Duke of Kent visits St Mary's (Image: Diocese of Down & Dromore)

HRH visited St Mary's for a service to mark the unveiling and dedication of the church's newly-installed Walker pipe organ, and also the new Peace Bells, which were unveiled in 2018 to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice.

Kilmood parish church celebrated its bicentenary in 2022.

First published in April, 2021.

Hereditary Abbots

The Needhams, EARLS OF KILMOREY, have been Hereditary Abbots of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Newry and Mourne for centuries.

Sir Richard Needham, the 6th and present Earl (he doesn't use the title), a good friend of Northern Ireland, is the current hereditary abbot.

Sir Richard receiving a box of fish from County Down

In medieval times Newry and Mourne was beyond episcopal influence, being controlled instead by a 'mitred' abbot.

Following the dissolution of the monasteries, between 1536 and 1541, the BAGENAL family was granted monastic property in Newry and Mourne.

Through intermarriage the exempt jurisdiction was afterwards controlled by the Kilmorey and Anglesey families.

As lay abbots, the Earls of Kilmorey exercised their right to appoint a Vicar-General, to issue marriage licences; grants of probate of letters and wills of administration in intestacies; and to hear ecclesiastical and matrimonial causes.

Any appeals in these causes were not to the Lord Primate (Archbishop of Armagh), but directly to the Sovereign in chancery and a court of delegates.

Neither the pre-Reformation abbots nor the Earls of Kilmorey, however, could exercise the rite of confirmation.

The Archbishop of Armagh and the Bishop of Down were, therefore, invited into the exempt jurisdiction at certain times to carry out this function.

The General Synod of the Church of Ireland passed a bill in 1873 in which it was declared that Lord Kilmorey had been Lord of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Newry and Mourne until the passing of the Irish Church Act of 1869; that the Jurisdiction comprised the parish of Newry with St Patrick's Church, the parish of Kilkeel, and the chapelries of Kilmegan, Kilcoo, and Tamlaght.

First published in June, 2020.

The Prince of Wales

His Royal Highness The Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Rothesay, and Cambridge, Earl of Carrick and Strathearn, Baron of Renfrew, Baron Carrickfergus, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, KG, KT, GCB, is 44 today.

• Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter 
• Extra Knight of the Most Ancient & Most Noble Order of the Thistle
• Colonel, Welsh Guards
• Commander, Royal Navy
• Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army
• Wing Commander, Royal Air Force
• Personal Aide-de-Camp to HM The King
• Privy Counsellor, 2016
• Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, 2024

Royal Sussex Regiment

Click to Enlarge

If you happen to be walking past Anderson & McAuley's former premises at 1, Donegall Place, Belfast, you shall see a metal plaque which records the fact that, on the 28th June, 1701, ARTHUR, 3RD EARL OF DONEGALL (1666-1706), formed the 35th Regiment of Foot, which became part of the Royal Sussex Regiment.

Lord Donegall was 35 years of age when this occurred, and was killed in action merely five years later, at Fort Montjuich, near Barcelona, Spain.

Possible portrait of Arthur, 3rd Earl of Donegall
(Image: Ulster Museum)

The encampment of first recruits was within the precincts of the Jacobean BELFAST CASTLE (accidentally burned to the ground seven years later, in 1708).