1st Earl of Stair

THE EARLS OF STAIR WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN WIGTOWNSHIRE, WITH 82,666 ACRES

The name of Dalrymple (which is local, and assumed from the barony of Dalrymple, Ayrshire), occurs in Scottish records as early as the 14th century. WILLIAM DE DALRYMPLE acquired, in 1450, the lands of Stair-Montgomery, in Ayrshire, with his wife, Agnes Kennedy, an heiress, and was succeeded by his son, WILLIAM DALRYMPLE, of Stair, who married Marion, daughter of Sir John Chalmers, of Gadgirth, in the same county.

This lady was one of the Lollards of Kyle, summoned, in 1494, before the king's council on account of their heretical doctrines; but JAMES IV, King of Scotland, treating the charge with contempt, the accused were dismissed.

The great-grandson of this William and Marion,

JOHN DALRYMPLE, of Stair, was one of the first that openly professed the reformed doctrines, and joined the earls of Lennox and Glencairn, in 1544, against the Earl of Arran.

He wedded Isabel, daughter of Thomas Kennedy, of Bargany, by his wife, the Lady Agnes Montgomery, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Eglinton; and was succeeded by his son,

JAMES DALRYMPLE, of Stair, whose great-grandson,

JAMES DALRYMPLE (1619-95), of Stair,

Having been bred to the bar, was appointed, in 1657, by Cromwell, at the recommendation of General Monck, a Lord of Session, and was confirmed therein by CHARLES II, who created him a baronet in 1664. In 1671, Sir James became president of the court of Session, from which he was removed in 1681, and obliged the next year to retire into Holland. 

Returning with the Prince of Orange in 1688, he was restored to the presidency after the Revolution, and elevated to the peerage, in 1690, in the dignity of Baron Glenluce and Stranraer, and Viscount of Stair.

He espoused Margaret, eldest daughter of James Ross, of Balneil, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;

James;

Hew;

Thomas;

David.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 2nd Viscount (1648-1707); who was created, in 1703, Baron Newliston, Glenluce, and Stranraer, Viscount of Dalrymple, and EARL OF STAIR, with remainder, failing his own male issue, to the heirs male of his father.

His lordship, who was Lord Justice Clerk, and afterwards Lord Advocate and Secretary of State, has obtained unenviable notoriety by the part he took in the massacre of Glencoe.

He married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir John Dundas, of Newliston, Linlithgowshire, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;

William;

George, of Dalmahoy, ancestor of the 7th Earl.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 2nd Earl (1673-1747), KT, a military officer of high rank and renown, and a participator in the victories of the Duke of Marlborough.

His lordship served as brigadier at the battle of Oudenarde in 1708, and was bearer of the despatches announcing the victory to England. He subsequently attained the rank of field-marshal, and was appointed commander of the forces on the Rhine, with which he served as second-in-command under GEORGE II, in the battle of Dettingen; and afterwards of Her Majesty's forces in England. 

In 1715, Lord Stair went to France in a diplomatic capacity, and after the death of LOUIS XIV, was constituted ambassador extraordinary to that court. The object of his embassy was of the utmost importance, and his manner of executing it the most brilliant and spirited. His lordship wedded Eleanor, widow of James, Viscount Primrose, and daughter of James, 2nd Earl of Loudoun, but had no issue. 

In consequence of the marriage of his next brother and heir presumptive with a peeress, Lord Stair surrendered, in 1707, all the honours to the Crown, and obtained a new charter, containing, in default of male issue, a reversionary clause in favour of any one of the male descendants of the first Viscount whom his lordship should name; in conformity with which his lordship executed a deed immediately prior to his decease, in 1747, appointing his nephew John, the son of his second brother, George, his successor. 

But that nomination was contested by the Hon James Dalrymple, second son of the Hon William Dalrymple, and the Countess of Dumfries; and the House of Lords deciding in his favour, in 1748, he succeeded as

JAMES, 3rd Earl; but dying without issue, in 1760, the honours reverted to his elder brother,

WILLIAM, as 4th Earl (1699-1768), KT; who had inherited the earldom of Dumfries at the decease of his mother Penelope, Countess of Dumfries.

He espoused Anne, daughter of William Duff, of Crosbie; but dying in 1768, without issue, the earldom of Dumfries passed into the right line, and the honours of the house of Stair reverted to his cousin,

JOHN, 5th Earl (1720-89); the personage who had been already defeated  under his uncle's nomination, but had then succeeded to his uncle's fortune without dispute.

His lordship married a daughter of George Middleton, a banker in London; and dying in 1789, was succeeded by his only son,

JOHN, 6th Earl (1749-1821), one of the representative lords; British ambassador to the court of Prussia.

This nobleman died without issue, when the honours reverted to his cousin,

JOHN WILLIAM HENRY, 7th Earl (1784-1840), descendant of George, of Dalmahoy, youngest son of the 1st Earl.

His lordship wedded, in 1808, Laura, youngest daughter of John Manners (grandson of John, 2nd Duke of Rutland), of Grantham Grange, by Louisa his wife, late Countess of Dysart, which marriage was dissolved in 1809, in consequence of a prior contract in 1804, with Johanna, daughter of Charles Gordon, deemed a valid marriage by the laws of Scotland when it took place.

The latter marriage was, however, annulled in June, 1820.

Lord Stair died in Paris sp; and was succeeded by his kinsman,

SIR JOHN HAMILTON DALRYMPLE, 5th Baronet (1771-1853), KT, as 8th Earl.

His lordship, a general in the army, Knight of the Thistle, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, was created a Baron of the United Kingdom, in 1841, in the dignity of Baron Oxenfoord, of Cousland, in the county of Edinburgh, with remainder to his brother,

NORTH HAMILTON, 9th Earl (1776-1864), who espoused firstly, in 1817, Margaret, daughter of James Penny, of Arrad, Lancashire, and had issue,

JOHN HAMILTON, his successor;

Elizabeth Hamilton; Anne; Agnes; Margaret.

He married secondly, in 1831, Martha Willett, daughter of Colonel George Dalrymple, and had further issue, a son,

George Grey.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN HAMILTON, 10th Earl (1819-1903), KT, 

John Hamilton, 10th Earl (1819–1903);
John Hew North Gustav Henry, 11th Earl (1848–1914);
John James, 12th Earl (1879–1961);
John Aymer, 13th Earl (1906–1996);
John David James, 14th Earl (born 1961).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, John James Thomas Dalrymple, styled Viscount Dalrymple (born 2008).

Seats ~ Lochinch Castle, Castle Kennedy, Wigtownshire; Oxenfoord Castle, Edinburgh; Bargany, Girvan, Ayrshire.

The Hume Baronetcy

GEORGE HUME, elder son of Sir John Hume, of North Berwick, and grandson of Patrick Hume, of Polwarth, in Scotland, had a grant of lands in County Fermanagh.

Mr Hume was created a baronet in 1671, designated of Castle Hume, County Fermanagh.

He left three sons and one daughter, viz.

JOHN, his heir;
George (Rev), father of the 4th Baronet;
CHARLES, succeeded his brother;
Phœbe.

The eldest son,

SIR JOHN HUME, 2nd Baronet, of Tully Castle or Castle Hume, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1662, Governor of County Fermanagh, and an active partisan of WILLIAM III, 1689, wedded Sidney, daughter and co-heir of James Hamilton, of Manor Hamilton, County Leitrim, and had surviving issue,

GUSTAVUS, his heir;
Hester, m Captain James Creighton;
Catherine, m Sir James Caldwell Bt;
Elizabeth, m Patrick, Lord Polwarth;
Anne, m Col Hugh Caldwell;
Mary, m Robert Johnston.

Sir John died in 1695, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON SIR GUSTAVUS HUME, 3rd Baronet (c1670-1731), of Castle Hume, MP for County Fermanagh, 1713-31, Privy Counsellor, who wedded the Lady Alice Moore, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Drogheda, and had issue,

Moore (1704-32);
Gustavus, died young;
MARY, m in 1736 N Loftus (assumed name of HUME;  cr EARL OF ELY);
ALICE, m George Rochfort, of Rochfort.

Sir Gustavus was succeeded by his cousin, 

SIR CHARLES HUME, 4th Baronet, only surviving son of the Rev George Hume, of Tully, County Fermanagh (which George was second son of the 1st Baronet); at whose decease without issue, ca 1747, the title became extinct.     

*****

According to the Rev George Hill, in The Plantation in Ulster 1608-20 (Belfast, 1877), the founder of the Hume family in County Fermanagh, Sir John Hume (of North Berwick, who belonged to the Hume family of Polwarth later created Earls of Marchmont), was granted the proportion of Ardgart, alias Carrinroe, in 1610, and bought the neighbouring proportion of Moyglasse from its original patentee in 1615.

On the former he built  'a fair strong castle,' Tully; and the latter he neglected. Later, in 1626, he bought from his brother, Alexander, the smaller but contiguous proportion of Drumcose.

This made him the largest landowner in County Fermanagh at the time. He died in 1639.

In spite of its fairness and strength, and a garrison consisting of 'all the English and Scottish settlers in the immediate vicinity,' Tully was compelled to surrender in 1641.

All within it were massacred, contrary to the signed and sworn articles of surrender, except for Lady Hume (wife of Sir John's son and successor, Sir George, who was absent at the time), her immediate family and the constable of the castle.

*****

Alistair Rowan writes evocatively in The Buildings of Ireland: North-West Ulster:-

...That sense of isolation which the early 17th-century planters in Ulster must have known, is immediately excited by the sight of the roofless, ivy-covered mass of Tully Castle, rising from its knoll above the lough. Its isolation was its downfall, for the castle ... surrendered to Captain Rory Maguire in 1641 and was burnt with its inhabitants. It has since remained a ruin. ...'

Of Castle Hume, Alistair Rowan writes:-

"it holds an important place in the history of Irish classicism, for it was here that Richard Castle, who was to become one of the principal protagonists of Irish Palladian architecture, made his début. ... By 1725 Castle had come to London, where in 1728 he met Sir Gustavus Hume, ... who brought him to Ireland that year..."

Castle Hume was his first work, built for Sir Gustavus from 1728 and burnt (accidentally) the next year, but completed again.

An estate map of 1768 shows it to have been a small classical house of three storeys with a pedimented centre and with pineapples and other sculpture along its stone balustrade (the 1768 map does not bear out this description at all: it gives an artist's impression of a decidedly old-fashioned house, peppered with chimney pots).

Castle Hume is supposed to have been in ruins by 1793; but this seems improbable, because it was let, from at least 1781 to his death in 1797, to Hugh Montgomery of Derrygonnelly, a substantial Fermanagh country gentleman.

It cannot have been abandoned in the early 19th century either, because "Capability" Brown's well-known disciple, John Sutherland, re-made the grounds ca 1813 and his work was intact twenty years later.

All that remains today is a long avenue of about thirty beech trees leading up to where the house stood, and a courtyard of stable offices:-

... [They] are typical of Castle's robust manner ... . The present court contains two main blocks linked by a range of seven arcaded coach houses. The large block, L-shaped, contained the stables, with an exceedingly fine elliptically vaulted ceiling in cut bricks supported on an arcade of Tuscan columns ...

In 1713, Sir Gustavus Hume's estate had been credited with the same rental as that of Sir Nicholas Loftus of Fethard – £1,500 a year.

In 1729 the former had a rental of £3,000; and in 1736 the latter had a rental of the same amount.

A schedule to the settlement made on the second marriage of Henry, Earl of Ely in 1775 gives the following figures for the Hume acreage and rental:-

The manor of Hamilton, Co. Leitrim (later known as the Glenfarne estate), containing 17,384 (Irish) acres at a rental of £2,115; the manors of Tully and Ardgart, Co. Fermanagh, containing 17,810 acres at a rental of £3,331; and the manors of Castle Hume and Moyglass, Co. Fermanagh, containing 4,122 acres at a rental of £2,153. 

This makes a grand total of 38,317 acres at a rental of £7,498, subject to 'fees' (which presumably include head rents) of £345.

Glenfarne had come into the family through the marriage of Sir John Hume, 2nd Baronet (d 1695) and Sidney (d 1686), daughter and co-heiress of James Hamilton of Manor Hamilton.

Glenfarne was later, probably ca 1806, settled on Lord Robert Ponsonby Tottenham, second son of the 1st Marquess of Ely, Bishop of Killaloe, 1804-20, of Ferns, 1820-22, and of Clogher, 1822-50.

About the house and demesne of Castle Hume: When the Rev Richard Twiss was rowed along Lough Erne in 1775, it was still the most 'conspicuous' seat adorning the lough:-

'... "What a spot to build on and form a retreat from the business and anxiety of the world". 

Such were the thoughts of Arthur Young [quoted by Alistair Rowan], as he was also rowed past Lord Ely's wooded estate in Sir James Caldwell's barge in 1776.

He envied the proprietor, who then used the estate simply to derive a periodical profit, felling the trees with "sacrilegious axe" and "ignoring its picturesque potential. ..."

Obviously, Young whose Tour was of the whistle-stop variety, had not bothered to obtain basic information from Sir James Caldwell, who owned the neighbouring estate of Castle Caldwell, near Belleek, and would have been able to tell him all about Loftus v Hume.

Castle Hume, as has been seen, was neglected until ca 1813, and it would seem that the Elys had no proper Fermanagh seat until the 1830s.

This was not just because of the cost of the lawsuit; it was also because of the cost of their lavish building enterprises in the Dublin area.

Following the Flight of the Earls in 1607, the Crown seized Irish land in Ulster and granted it out in large parcels to English and Scottish planters on condition that they build settlements and provide strongholds loyal to the king. 

The Hume Baronets

Sir John Hume, of Polwarth in Berwickshire, was granted 2,000 acres at Tully, known as ‘Carrynroe’, in 1610, and had built a castle on Tully Point by 1613.

The life of the castle was brief. 

Sir John died in 1639 and was succeeded by his son, Sir George. 

In 1641, Rory Maguire set out to recapture his family’s lands. He arrived with a large following on Christmas Eve, and found the castle full of women and children, but most of the men were away. 

Lady (Mary) Hume surrendered, believing that she had assured a safe conduct for all in her care, but on Christmas Day the Maguires killed 60 women and children and 15 men, sparing only the Humes.

The castle was burnt and the Humes never returned. 

Castle Hume, a classical house, was built by Sir Gustavus Hume, 3rd Baronet, in 1728-9, on a different site and this, in turn, was replaced by Ely Lodge.

Curiously, Sir George Hume, 1st Baronet, who lived principally at Tully Castle, is said to have been created a baronet, but no record of such a creation has been discovered.

A "disposition" is referred to, granted to him in 1641 by his brother, Patrick Hume of Hutton Bell, wherein he is called "Knight Baronet"; but in his Service as heir to his father, in the following year, 1642, he is only called "Miles," Knight.

He died before March 1675, leaving, it was claimed, two sons, Sir John Hume and the Rev George Hume.

There is no conclusive evidence that Sir George had not other sons.

He married Mary Maynard (d 1702).

Sir John Hume, 2nd Baronet,  married before March 1675, Sidney, daughter of James Hamilton, and by her had four sons, who were all living in 1685; videlicet, James Hume, John Hume, Gustavus Hume, and Claud Hume, and died in 1695. 

He left also several daughters, of whom Elizabeth married in October 1697 Patrick Hume, called Lord Polwarth, eldest son of Patrick, 1st Earl of Marchmont.

This lady was the "daughter Bettie," whose death his lordship so deeply laments in his Letters to Sir Gustavus Hume in 1711.

It had been endeavoured to establish that Sir John Hume had only one son, Gustavus Hume. He now shows that he had four sons, of whom Gustavus was the third. 

John married Sidney Hamilton before March, 1674/75 (Sidney Hamilton was born in 1648 and died on 20 Jan 1684/85 in Dublin, Ireland).

Of the four sons of Sir John Hume, three, viz. James Hume and John Hume, died young; and Claud Hume died unmarried, before December 1713. 

Sir Gustavus Hume, the third son, succeeded his father in 1695, and assumed the title of Baronet. 

He is said to have died without male issue, and no notice is taken of any son; but he appears to have had four sons, videlicet, Moore Hume, born on the 1st of August 1722. (a) 2. John Hume. 3. Gustavus Hume, who died at Whitechurch, in England; and, 4. George Lewis Hume, who was born in September 1715, and died young; but they all died before 1729 (Minutes of Evidence, 1838, p. 15), when their father made his Will in favour of his two daughters and co-heirs. Sir Gustavus Hume died without male Issue in October 1731. Gustavus married Lady Alice Moore. (Lady Alice Moore died about 1750.)

The short-lived 2nd Earl of Ely succeeded to the title and estates in 1766 and died, unmarried, in 1769. 

He bore the name Hume in addition to that of Loftus, and his father had assumed the additional name of Hume, because of his father's marriage into, and succession to, the estates of the Hume family in County Fermanagh and elsewhere. 

In 1736, the 1st Earl, then simply Nicholas Loftus, had married Mary (d 1740), elder daughter and heiress of the Rt Hon Sir Gustavus Hume, 3rd Baronet, of Castle Hume, County Fermanagh, who had died in 1731.

Under a Hume family settlement of 1729 and the terms of Sir Gustavus's will, Mary, the elder daughter, inherited the entire landed estates of the family, with a rental of £3,000 a year, and Alice, the younger daughter, £5,000 and Sir Gustavus's personal estate.

Nicholas Loftus, now Hume Loftus, thus came into immediate enjoyment of the Hume estates, which passed to the only son of the marriage, Nicholas Hume Loftus, 2nd Earl, in 1766, along with the paternal estates in County Wexford. 

TULLY CASTLE lies on a hill overlooking the west shore of Lower Lough Erne, north of the village of Derrygonnelly, in County Fermanagh.

The Castle was built between 1612 and 1615 for Sir John Hume of North Berwick.

It is a Plantation castle with a typically Scottish T-shaped plan with a square wing projecting from the centre of the south side containing the entrance and a former scale-and-platt timber stair.

The hall and parlour lay on the first floor, while the attics above contained the bedrooms, approached by a spiral stair  in a Scottish-style quarter-round turret projection.

The ground floor consists of a large barrel-vaulted chamber, used as the kitchen and storeroom, which has a huge fireplace and cooking recesses, but there are no windows, so light must have been provided by the fire and hanging lanterns.

The castle had a thatched roof and was surrounded by a bawn with 4 rectangular flankers.

It became an overgrown ruin until 1974 when it was acquired by the the NI Department of the Environment.

Subsequently the castle was excavated, revealing traces of the 17th century garden, and consolidation works were carried out. 

First published in August, 2011.

Tullynakill

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY GAZETTEER OF IRELAND, PUBLISHED IN 1846

TULLYNAKILL, a parish on the eastern border of the barony of Lower Castlereagh, 3¼ miles south-east by south of Comber, County Down.

It contains the village of Ardmillan.

Its length, south-south-eastward, is 2¾ miles; its breadth, exclusive of its portion of Strangford Lough, is 2 miles; but its breadth, inclusive of its portion of Strangford Lough, becomes its length, and is 3 miles; and its area, 2,923 acres.

The surface lies along the west shore of Strangford Lough; consists, in general, of prime land; and is traversed across the west wing by the road from Newtownards to Killyleagh.

Some large limestone quarries, in which fossil remains abound, are extensively worked; the stone resembles porphyry, and is conveyed both by land and water to all parts of the surrounding country.

Tullynakill Vicarage (Image: Rev Dr Stanley Gamble)

A manorial court with extensive jurisdiction and peculiar privileges was formerly held here, but it has fallen into disuse for many years.

The breadth of the strand of Strangford Lough within Tullynakill, or of the portion of its bed which is alternately covered and forsaken by the tide, varies from ½ mile to very nearly 2 miles; and the isles and islets either within this strand, or on its seaward margin, are Wood Island, Watson's Island, Gull Rock, Downey's Rock, Bird Island, Duck Rock, Long Island, Rolly Island, Reagh Island, Calf Rock, Horse Island, and Mahee Island - the last inhabited and comparatively large.

In the northern district, adjacent to the strand, are some limestone quarries.

Tullynakill Parish Church; demolished in 1970 (Image: Rev Dr Stanley Gamble)

This parish is a vicarage, and a separate benefice, in the diocese of Down.

The incumbent also holds the united benefices which constitute the corps of Kilroot prebend in the cathedral of Connor; and is non-resident in Tullynakill.

The rectorial tithes belong to the see of Down; but the whole parish being bishop's land, no composition for these tithes appears to have been made.

A curate receives a salary of £69 4s 7½d [about £8,500 in 2020].

Tullynakill Old Church (Image: Ards & North Down Borough Council)

The [new] church was built in 1825, by means of a gift of £830 15s 4½d [about £103,000 in 2020] from the Board of First Fruits.

The ruins of the old church, built, or according to some accounts rebuilt, in 1636 [1639], are still visible.

In 1868 the parishes of Tullynakill and Kilmood were united.

The united parishes of Kilmood and Tullynakill were combined with that of Killinchy in 1923.

The Georgian church was deconsecrated and demolished in 1970 due to dwindling congregations; so, ironically, the ruins of the 17th century church have outlived its successor.

The graveyard contains the grave of John McWilliams, killed at the Battle of Ballynahinch.

First published in March, 2021.

Augher Castle

THE CARMICHAEL-FERRALLS OWNED 236 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR HUGH LYLE CARMICHAEL (1764-1813), son of Hugh Carmichael by his wife Elizabeth (daughter of HUGH LYLE, of Coleraine), Governor of Demerara, married Catherine, last surviving child and heiress of Dr John Ferrall, of Jervis Street, Dublin, and had issue,

JOHN O'FERRALL CARMICHAEL, Lieutenant-Colonel, 18th Regiment and 6th Dragoon Guards, of Duncroft House, Staines, Middlesex (d 1836), who wedded Elizabeth, daughter of the Rt Rev John Porter, Lord Bishop of Clogher, and had issue,

JOHN JERVIS O'FERRALL, his heir;
Mary, m the Ven. C Burney, Archdeacon of Kingston-on-Thames.

His only son,

JOHN JERVIS O'FERRALL CARMICHAEL-FERRALL JP (1820-1904), Captain, Royal Navy, of Augher Castle, County Tyrone, served under Admiral Sir Charles Napier off the coast of Syria, and had the British and Turkish medals.

He married, in 1850, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Nugent Humble, 1st Baronet, of Cloncoskoran, County Waterford, and had issue, an only child,

JOHN, of Augher Castle.

Captain Carmichael-Ferrall assumed the additional surname and arms of FERRALL in 1852.

He was succeeded by his son,

JOHN CARMICHAEL-FERRALL JP DL (1855-c1925), of Augher Castle, Barrister, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1907, who wedded, in 1899, Elizabeth Emily (1856-1946), third daughter of the Rev David Henry Elrington, Vicar of Swords, County Dublin, by Matilda Rowena, his wife, daughter of the Rev Pierce William Drew, of the Strand House, Youghal.

SPUR ROYAL, also known as Augher Castle, stands outside Augher, County Tyrone.

It was originally a square, three-storey Plantation castle, with a peculiar triangular tower in the middle of each of its sides.

It was built ca 1615 by Sir Thomas Ridgeway, Earl of Londonderry, on the site of an older fortress.

The Castle was burnt in 1689 by the Jacobites, though was restored in 1832 by Sir James Richardson-Bunbury, 2nd Baronet, who added two castellated wings.

Augher Castle in 1770

The original castle (above) consisted of a pentagonal tower surrounded by a wall twelve feet high and flanked by four circular towers.

The wall has been removed, though one of the round towers has been restored.

The entrance gateway has also been removed and rebuilt on an elevated situation commanding some fine views, in which the remains of the old castle form an interesting object.

The mansion is situated in a well-wooded demesne of 220 acres, and on the edge of a picturesque lake.

Founded in the early 17th century, part of the bawn of the original house is incorporated into the present house of 1827 by Warren.

It has passed through many hands in recent times and little parkland remains.

A large portion of the present holding is taken up by the lake, making a spectacular setting for the house, which is surrounded by lawns and shelter trees.

Few mature trees remain of a once, ‘tastefully wooded’ site.

The walled garden is concreted.

There is a gate lodge of ca 1840.

At the time of the Plantation of Ulster, by virtue of a decree by JAMES I in 1611, Sir Thomas Ridgway, treasurer at war for Ireland, received, in 1613, a grant of 315 acres of land in the barony of Clogher, under an agreement that he should, within four years, settle on a parcel of land called Augher twenty Englishmen or Scots, chiefly artificers and tradesmen, to be incorporated as burgesses and made a body politic within the said four years; and should set apart convenient places for the site of the town, churchyard, market-place, and public school; he was likewise to assign to the burgesses houses and lands and 30 acres of commons.

Sir Thomas Ridgeway also received, in 1611, the grant of a market and two fairs to be held here.

In 1613, the town and precincts, with the exception of a fort and bawn called Spur Royal which had been erected, were created a borough. 

Spur Royal photo credit:  Kenneth Allen.  Carmichael-Ferrall arms courtesy of the NLI.  First published in October, 2010.

1st Baron Glanusk

THE BAILEY BARONETS WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN BRECKNOCKSHIRE, WITH 21,979 ACRES

JOHN BAILEY (1747-1813), of Wakefield, Yorkshire (son of John Bailey, of Great Wenham, Suffolk), married, in 1774, Susannah, sister of Richard Crawshay, and had issue,

JOSEPH, his heir;

Crawshay.

The elder son,

JOSEPH BAILEY (1783-1858), MP, High Sheriff of Monmouthshire, 1826, wedded firstly, in 1810, Maria, daughter of Joseph Latham, and had issue,

JOSEPH, his heir;

Richard;

John Crawshay;

William Latham;

Henry;

Maria Susan; Margaret; Jane.

He espoused secondly, in 1830, Mary Ann, daughter of John Thomas Hendry Hopper, and had a daughter,

Mary Anne Bertha.

Mr Bailey was created a baronet in 1852, designated of Glanusk Park, Brecknockshire.

Sir Joseph's eldest son,

JOSEPH BAILEY (1812-50), of Easton Court, Herefordshire, MP for Herefordshire, 1841-50, married, in 1839, Elizabeth Mary, daughter of William Congreve Russell, and had issue,

JOSEPH RUSSELL, of whom hereafter;

Henry James;

John Franklen;

Richard Crawshay;

Marian.

Mr Bailey predeceased his father, and the baronetcy devolved upon his eldest son,

SIR JOSEPH RUSSELL BAILEY, 2nd Baronet (1840-1906), VD JP MP, of Glanusk Park, High Sheriff of Brecknockshire, 1864, who espoused, in 1861, Mary Ann, daughter of Henry Lucas, and had issue,

William Russell, died in infancy;

JOSEPH HENRY RUSSELL, his successor;

William;

Arthur;

Herbert Crawshay, father of the 4th Baron;

John Lancelot;

Elizabeth Mabel; Edith; Cecile Mary; Margaret Elinor; Gwladys Mary.

Sir Joseph was elevated to the peerage, in 1899, in the dignity of BARON GLANUSK, of Glanusk Park, Brecknockshire.

1st Baron Glanusk (Image: Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery)

JOSEPH HENRY RUSSELL, 2nd Baron (1864-1928), CB CBE DSO, Lord-Lieutenant of Brecknockshire, 1905, who married, in 1890, Editha Elma, daughter of Major Warden Sergison, and had issue,

WILFRED RUSSELL, his successor;

Gerald Sergison;

Bernard Michael;

Dulcie Editha.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILFRED RUSSELL, 3rd Baron (1891-1948), DSO, Lieutenant-Colonel, Welsh Guards, who wedded firstly, in 1919, Victoria Mary Enid Ann, daughter of Colonel Frank Dugdale; and secondly, in 1942, Margaret Eldrydd, daughter of Major-General Thomas Herbert Shoubridge, by whom he had issue,

Elizabeth Shân Josephine (The Hon Dame Elizabeth Shân Josephine Legge-Bourke DCVO) .

His lordship died without male issue, when the titles devolved upon his cousin,

DAVID RUSSELL, 4th Baron (1917-97), son of the Hon Herbert Crawshay, who wedded, in 1941, Lorna Dorothy, daughter of Captain Ernest Courtenay Harold Norman Andrews, and had issue,

CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL, his successor;

Susan Mary.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son,

CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL, 5th Baron (1942-), who married, in 1974, Frances Elizabeth, daughter of Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Charles Lowe GCB DFC AFC, and has issue,

CHARLES HENRY;

Rosemary Elizabeth.

Glanusk Park House (Image: The Glanusk Estate Website)

GLANUSK PARK HOUSE was built for the ironmaster Sir Joseph Bailey, 1st Baronet, on land he bought in 1825.

Glanusk became one of the most important houses of south Wales, entertaining royalty and society.

The mansion house faced north-east, towards the river Usk, and stood on an elevated terrace above a particularly ornamental parterre garden.

It was an extensive, foursquare, three-storey house in Tudor-Gothic style with four octagonal ogee turrets, one in each corner.

Glanusk's skyline was characterised by many pinnacles and small towers.

A porte-cochere stood on the east of the south front, and a billiards-room was added in the 1840s.

It is believed that this was the second house to be built on the site.

Glanusk Park was recorded by Henri Gastineau as having been the seat of Sir David Wilkins prior to its purchase by the Baileys.

However, no other details of this earlier house have been found, there is no known record of its appearance or that of the grounds immediately surrounding it.

The Baileys' house was designed and built by Robert Lugar between 1825-30.

Construction was suspended in 1827 following the death of Joseph Bailey's first wife.

Lugar also designed most of the buildings in the park, creating a set piece.

The house was set at the top of a sloping lawn which was replaced from about 1860 by formal terraced gardens designed by Markham Nesfield.

In 1939 Glanusk Park House was requisitioned by the army and was subsequently badly damaged.

The 3rd Baron Glanusk died in 1948, and his widow later married the Viscount De L'Isle.

Lady De L'Isle took the decision in 1952 to demolish the house as the cost of repair and upkeep was thought to be prohibitive.

Demolition (by explosives) was complete by 1954.

The Glanusk estate was inherited by the 3rd Baron's daughter, the Hon Dame Shân Legge-Bourke DCVO, whose family continues to live there today.

Residence ~ 7, Douglas House, Maida Avenue, London, W2.

First published in January, 2021.

White of White Hall

THE WHITES OWNED 2,897 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

The family of WHITE, though long settled in Ulster, was of English extraction. In the reign of CHARLES I, the family owned considerable property in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and they were seated at Hudson Hall. During the English Civil War, they threw in their lot with the King, on whose behalf they raised and maintained, at their own expense, a troop of dragoons.

When the King's cause was lost, they were involved in its ruin; and one of the family, Fulke White, or Whyte, for so he spelt his name, took refuge in Ulster.

This Fulke settled, it would appear, in the town of Antrim, where he maintained himself for many years by "teaching a classical school"; but in 1687, being then a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, he was invited by the Presbyterians of Broughshane, a village in the valley of the Braid, to become their minister.

White Hall (Image: JA McClelland/PropertyPal, 2025)

THE REV FULKE WHITE, of White Hall, County Antrim, Minister of Broughshane, 1687, father of

THE REV JAMES WHITE (-1761), of White Hall, father of

JOHN WHITE (-1770), of White Hall, father of

JAMES WHITE, of White Hall, Deputy Governor of County Antrim, 1793, who had issue, two sons,

JOHN, his heir;
JAMES ROBERT, succeeded his brother.

Mr White died in 1804, and was succeeded by his elder son,

White Hall (Image: JA McClelland/PropertyPal, 2025)

JOHN WHITE, of White Hall, High Sheriff of Antrim, 1845, who died in 1857, and was succeeded by his brother, 

JAMES ROBERT WHITE, of White Hall, Barrister, who wedded Frances, daughter of George Stuart, of Donaghey, County Tyrone, Surgeon-General of the Army in Ireland, and had issue,

GEORGE STUART, his heir;
John, CB (1902), of Innispollen, County Antrim;
Frances Avone; Jane.

His eldest son,

FIELD-MARSHAL SIR GEORGE STUART WHITE VC GCB OM GCSI GCMG GCIE GCVO (1835-1912), of White Hall, born at LOW ROCK CASTLE, Portstewart, County Londonderry, married, in 1874, Amelia Maria, daughter of Joseph Daly, at Bengal, India, and had issue,

JAMES ROBERT, his successor;
Rose Frances b 1876;
May Constance (1884-1937).

His only son, 

CAPTAIN JAMES ROBERT (Jack) WHITE DSO (1879-1946), of White Hall, had issue, 

DERRICK O'CLANCY WHITE (1942-2007).

The Whites were once the landlords of tenanted land stretching from Cushendun to Torr Head, County Antrim.

Sir Charles Brett, in his Five Big Houses of Cushendun, tells us that Mrs Patricia English, a descendant of the Whites, purchased Glendun Lodge, Cushendun, in 1959; and subsequently donated Cregagh Wood and Cushleake Mountain to the National Trust.

First published in May, 2013.  White arms courtesy of the NLI.

1st Duke of Sutherland

THE DUKES OF SUTHERLAND WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND, WITH 1,176,343 ACRES

Many antiquaries coincide in attaching a long and distinguished line of ancestors to this family, and in giving it an Anglo-Saxon origin.

They differ, however, as to the identity of its founder, some tracing that honour to Sir Allan Gower, Lord of Sittenham, in Yorkshire, and high sheriff of that county at the time of the Conquest; while others name William Fitz-Guyer, of Sittenham, who was charged with a mark for his lands in the sheriff's accounts, in 1167.

In more than a century afterwards, towards the close of the 13th century, we find SIR JOHN GOWER, one of the persons of note summoned to be at Carlisle, with horse and arms, on the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, to march against the Scots; and again, in the following year, the same personage is summoned, for a like purpose, to proceed to Berwick.

After Sir John comes  LAWRENCE GOWER, who obtained the King's pardon in the reign of EDWARD II for having been concerned with the Earl of Lancaster in the murder of Piers Gaveston (1st Earl of Cornwall), at Blacklow Hill, in 1312.

This Lawrence Gower was succeeded by

SIR NICHOLAS GOWER, who was returned one of the Knights of the Shire, in Yorkshire, during the reign of EDWARD III, to a great council summoned by Edward the Black Prince, then guardian of the realm, and held at Northampton; for which service, being in attendance fourteen days, he received the sum of £5 and 12s.

Twelve years later, we find Sir Nicholas obtaining the King's permission to go to Rome, with six valets and seven horses in his retinue; and in 1351 he was commissioned to investigate some outrage committed upon Hugh, Archbishop of Damascus, at Newstead, near Boland.

From Sir Nicholas we pass to his grandson,

SIR JOHN GOWER, who was standard-bearer to Prince Edward, son of HENRY VI, and having been made prisoner at the battle of Tewkesbury, in 1471, was there beheaded.

This gallant but unfortunate soldier had married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Goldsborough, one of the Barons of the Exchequer in the reign of HENRY VII, and left, with other children, his successor,

SIR EDWARD GOWER, who was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS GOWER, who was captain of a band of light horsemen in the army which invaded Scotland, under the Duke of Somerset, in 1547, and Master of the Ordnance in the expedition against the same kingdom in 1560.

His successor,

SIR EDWARD GOWER, was succeeded by his son,

THOMAS GOWER, whose son,

SIR THOMAS GOWER, Knight, of Sittenham, Yorkshire, was created a baronet in 1620.

He wedded Anne, daughter and co-heiress of John D"Oyley, of Merton, Oxfordshire, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS GOWER, 2nd Baronet (1605-72), twice Sheriff of Yorkshire, who remained firm in his allegiance to CHARLES I, and was ultimately a considerable sufferer.

He was succeeded by his grandson,

SIR THOMAS GOWER, 3rd Baronet, a colonel of foot, who died in the camp at Dundalk in 1689; and never being married, the title reverted to his uncle,

SIR WILLIAM LEVESON-GOWER, 4th Baronet, who, by the adoption of his uncle, Sir Richard Leveson KB, of Trentham, in Staffordshire, inherited the entire of that gentleman's extensive estates.

Sir William was one of the Duke of Monmouth's bail in 1683, and represented Newcastle-under-Lyme in the four parliaments of CHARLES II.

He espoused the Lady Jane Granville, eldest daughter of John, Earl of Bath, and was succeeded, in 1691, by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN LEVESON-GOWER, 5th Baronet (1675-1709), who was elevated to the peerage, in 1703, in the dignity of Baron Gower.

His lordship married the Lady Catherine Manners, daughter of John, 1st Duke of Rutland, and died at Belvoir Castle.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 2nd Baron (1694-1754), who was constituted Lord Privy Seal and sworn of the Privy Council in 1742; and subsequently, having been twice one of the Lords Justices during the King's absence from the realm, was created, in 1746, Viscount Trentham and EARL GOWER.

1st Earl Gower, attributed to Thomas Hudson - artuk.org

His lordship wedded thrice and had a numerous family.

His eldest son,

GRANVILLE (1721-1803), 2nd Earl, married thrice.

His lordship, when Lord Trentham, was unanimously returned to Parliament, in 1747, for the City of Westminster; but vacated his seat two years afterwards, in consequence of being appointed one of the Lords of the Admiralty.

He filled the high offices of Lord Privy Seal, Lord Chamberlain, and Lord President of the Council.

His lordship was installed a Knight of the Garter, and created, in 1786, Marquess of Stafford.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

GEORGE, 2nd Marquess (1758-1833), KG, PC, who, during the lifetime of his father, had been summoned to parliament as Lord Gower (a courtesy title).

1st Duke of Sutherland KG (Image: Wikipedia)

His lordship, Knight of the Garter, Privy Counsellor, was created, in 1833, DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.

He espoused, in 1785, Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland and Baroness Strathnaver in her own right.

• George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke (1758–1833);

• George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke (1786–1861);

• George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke (1828–1892);

• George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower (1850-58), died in childhood;

• Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke (1851–1913);

• George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke (1888–1963).

Other titles (6th Duke onwards): Earl of Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley, of Brackley in the county of Northamptonshire (1846)

• John Egerton, 6th Duke (1915–2000);

• Francis Egerton, 7th Duke (b 1940).

• Heir apparent: James Egerton, styled Marquess of Stafford, eldest son of the 7th Duke. He has three daughters.

DUNROBIN CASTLE, near Golspie, Sutherland, has been the ancestral seat of the Dukes and Earls of Sutherland.

It was originally a fortified, square keep, with walls six feet thick and a vaulted ceiling, looking out from a cliff-top position.

The keep stood isolated for some two centuries until a staircase and a high house were added.

It was encased by a series of additions from the 16th century onwards.

In 1785, a large extension was constructed. Remarkably this early keep still survives, much altered, within the complex of these later extensions, making Dunrobin one of the oldest inhabited houses in Scotland.

Sir Charles Barry was retained in 1845 to completely re-model the castle, to change it from a fort to a house in the Scottish-Baronial style that had become popular among the nobility, who were inspired by Queen Victoria's new residence at Balmoral.

There is very much a French influence with conical spires to the whole project, including the gardens, based on Versailles, which he laid out in the 1850s.

Much of Barry's interior was destroyed by a fire in 1915 and the interior today is mainly the work of Scottish architect, Sir Robert Lorimer, who altered the top of the main tower and clock tower at the north side of the building to the Scottish-Renaissance style.

Following the death of the 5th Duke in 1963, the earldom and dukedom were separated.

The Dukedom passed on through the male line; whilst the present Countess of Sutherland inherited the Earldom.

The Castle became a boys’ boarding school for a period of seven years from the late 1960s before reverting back to being a family house.

Trentham Hall

TRENTHAM HALL, Staffordshire, was a seat of the Dukes of Sutherland.

In 1803, when the 1st Marquess of Stafford died, his son succeeded to the family estates, including Trentham, and married Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland.

Thus Trentham was acquired by the future Dukes of Sutherland.

Trentham Hall, it has been said, was the principal residence of the Most Noble George Granville [Leveson-Gower], Duke of Sutherland, Marquess of Stafford, Earl Gower, Viscount Trentham, and Hereditary Sheriff of Sutherland, who owned 12,744 acres of land in Staffordshire.

It was an elegant mansion, situated near the village in a park of 500 acres.

It has been entirely rebuilt during the last 14 years, and now has an elegant stone front and a lofty square tower.

The remodelling was also the work of Sir Charles Barry.

The Hall was one of many to be demolished in the 20th century, when in 1912 its owner, the 4th Duke of Sutherland, razed it after his offer to give it to the people of Stoke-on-Trent was rejected.

However, the gardens and the ornamental park with its lake and the estate woodlands have all been preserved.

There have been tentative proposals to rebuild Trentham Hall as a five star hotel.

However, in 2013, the developer St Modwen stated that the cost of refurbishing what remains of the buildings into a conference centre and an hotel was too much, at £35 million. 

Town residence in 1954 ~ 33 Wilton Crescent, SW1.

First published in February, 2014.