Anne's Point Acquisition

SELECTIVE ACQUISITIONS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

PROPERTY: Anne's Point, near Mount Stewart Estate, County Down

DATE: 1988

EXTENT: 14.61 acres

DONOR: S & K Hamilton

First published in January, 2015.

Mount Bellew House

THE GRATTAN-BELLEW BARONETS OWNED 10,516 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY GALWAY

This family springs from a common ancestor with the BARONS BELLEW, of Barmeath Castle.

MICHAEL BELLEW, of Mount Bellew, County Galway, married Jane, daughter of Henry Dillon, and had issue,

CHRISTOPHER DILLON, his heir;
Mary Catherine. 

Mr Bellew died in 1797, and was succeeded by his son,

CHRISTOPHER DILLON BELLEW (1763-1826), of Mount Bellew, who wedded, in 1794, Olivia Emily, only daughter of Anthony, 4th Baron Nugent of Riverston, and had issue,

MICHAEL DILLON BELLEW (1796-1855), of Mount Bellew, who espoused, in 1816, Helena Maria, daughter of Thomas Dillon, of Dublin, and had numerous issue, of whom

CHRISTOPHER, his heir;
Thomas Arthur, father of 3rd Baronet.

Mr Bellew was created a baronet in 1838, designated of Mount Bellew, County Galway.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE REV SIR CHRISTOPHER BELLEW, 2nd Baronet (1818-67), a Catholic priest, whose brother,

THOMAS ARTHUR BELLEW (1820-63), married, in 1858, Pauline, daughter of the Rt Hon James Grattan MP, and had issue,

HENRY CHRISTOPHER, his heir;
Mary Helena.

Mr Bellew added the name and arms of GRATTAN in 1859.

He was succeeded by his son,

HENRY CHRISTOPHER GRATTAN-BELLEW (1860-1942), of Mount Bellew, who, succeeding his uncle as 3rd Baronet, wedded, in 1885, the Lady Sophia Maria Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of George, 7th Earl of Granard, and had issue,

Herbert Michael, 1886-1906;
CHARLES CHRISTOPHER;
William Arthur;
Thomas Henry;
Arthur John (Sir), Knight, CMG;
Helena Barbara; Moira Jane; Angela Mary.

Sir Henry was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR CHARLES CHRISTOPHER GRATTAN-BELLEW, 4th Baronet (1887-1948), MC, who wedded, in 1923, Maureen Peyton, daughter of Sir Thomas George Segrave, and had issue,

HENRY CHARLES, his successor;
Deirdre Maureen.

Sir Charles, Lieutenant-Colonel, King's Royal Rifle Corps, was succeeded by his son,

SIR HENRY CHARLES GRATTAN-BELLEW, 5th and present Baronet, born in 1933, who married firstly, in 1956, Naomi, daughter of Dr Charles Cyril Morgan; secondly, in 1967, Gillian Hulley; and thirdly, in 1978, Elzabe Amy, daughter of Henry Gilbert Body.

By his second wife he had issue,

PATRICK CHARLES, b 1971;
Deirdre Sophia, b 1967.

Photo credit: Dr Patrick Melvin & Eamonn de Burca

MOUNT BELLEW HOUSE, Mount Bellew Bridge, County Galway, was a house of mainly late-Georgian style.

It was remodelled ca 1820 by Christopher Dillon Bellew.

Mount Bellew comprised a three-storey centre block, with a single-bay entrance front.

The central block had a Venetian window at the top storey of the centre block.

It boasted a notable library which was said to have held one of the finest collections of books during its era.

Mount Bellew was sold about 1938 and subsequently demolished.

The Grattan-Bellews owned a further 10,593 acres in the Queen's County, and 1,895 in County Roscommon.

First published in March, 2016.

A Group at Dromore Palace

A Group of Dilettanti at the Bishop's Palace, Dromore (Image: The National Trust)

A Group of Dilettanti at the Bishop's Palace, Dromore, County Down, attributed to Thomas Robinson, a pupil of George Romney.

According to the key listing members of the group in the watercolour copy it contains likenesses of:-

Thomas Robinson;

Dr Robinson;

The Rev H E Boyd;

Thomas Stott;

F Burroughs;

Dr Percy, Lord Bishop of Dromore;

Sir George Atkinson;

Arthur, 3rd Marquess of Downshire;

The Hon Edward Ward;

 Robert, Viscount Castlereagh;

Mr Chermside;

The Rev Archibald Boyd.

The painting was purchased by the National Trust from Edward, 7th Viscount Bangor, in 1967, with a grant from the Ulster Land Fund.

It is on display at Castle Ward, Strangford, County Down.

First published in July, 2020.

Terrace Hill House

TERRACE HILL HOUSE was located in the townland of Ballynahatty, Edenderry, on the outskirts of Belfast.

It was close to Minnowburn, now a property of the National Trust.

Frederick Russell (1811-76) was Terrace Hill's first owner, having been brought up at Edenderry House.

The original house of ca 1856 was said to have been commodious, with servants' quarters.

At least as early as 1780 there was a bleach-green in Edenderry which belonged to John Russell, but in the 1830s the Russell family gave up linen bleaching and converted their premises into a flour mill drawn by water power. At this period (1780) the Russells, later associated with Newforge, were settled at Edenderry.

When Russell died, Terrace Hill House was briefly occupied by a family called Ferguson before becoming the home of Matthew Coates, who lived there with his wife ca 1898.

Freddy’s Steps were first constructed by Frederick Russell in late 1800s and are the most direct route to Terrace Hill viewpoint at Minnowburn.

In the County Down land deeds of 1876, "Frederick Russell, address Ballynahatty, Newtownbreda, owned 18 acres." 

Several years later, in the early 20th century, Terrace Hill was purchased by Edward (Ned) Robinson, proprietor of the Robinson & Cleaver's department store in Belfast.

When Robinson sold his interest in the store he demolished Terrace Hill House and, in 1936, built a new residence (still called Terrace Hill).

It was designed by the architects Young & Mackenzie.

Terrace Hill House is surrounded by lawns, gardens and a swimming pool, and was occupied by Mr Robinson until his death in 1947.

In the 1980s, it was a residential home for children.

The farm buildings, now the National Trust warden's office, were the base for Minnowburn Youth Farm.

The house was for sale in October, 2014, and now has a new owner.

Robinson & Cleaver's Royal Irish Linen Warehouse, Donegall Square North, was built 1886-88 by Young and Mackenzie. It used to be one of Belfast's finest department stores. Fifty heads of the store's erstwhile patrons still pop out of the exterior, including Queen Victoria and the Maharajah of Cooch Behar.

First published in February, 2011.

New Co Down DLs

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY LIEUTENANTS

Mr Gawn Rowan-Hamilton, Lord-Lieutenant of County Down, has been pleased to appoint:-

Mrs Fiona Caroline Gail Chamberlain CB

Comber

 

Mr Simon John Best

Poyntzpass

Mrs Tracy Helen Pringle Hamilton MBE

Ringdufferin

Toye 

To be Deputy Lieutenants of the County, Commissions bearing date the 7th day of October 2026

Signed

Gawn Rowan Hamilton

Lord Lieutenant of the County

Discover Northern Ireland

I cannot recall how long I've had a copy of this guide-book.

For me it encapsulates the very essence of Northern Ireland and the best places to visit.

Discover Northern Ireland was first published in 1976 by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

It was revised in 1977. A third edition was published in 1981. Has it been re-issued since then?

It most certainly ought to be.

Click Image to Enlarge

The book was written by Ernest Sandford.

The media has described it thus:

'A wonderful guidebook, an eminently readable guidebook ... it should be considered as a school textbook for local information ... in its detail and general comprehensiveness it is unique.'

This, to my mind, remains the definitive guide to Northern Ireland.

First published in March, 2010.

Hezlett House

Hezlett House (Image: Northern Ireland Tourist Board)

The first of the Hezlett family to reside at Liffock,

ISAAC HEZLETT (1720-90), married firstly, Margaret Kerr, and had issue, a son,

SAMUEL.

He wedded secondly, Esther _______, and had further issue,

JOHN (Jack), emigrated to America.

The elder son,

SAMUEL HEZLETT (1753-1821), of Liffock, espoused Esther Steel, and had issue, eight children, of whom the eldest son,

ISAAC HEZLETT (1796-1883), married, in 1823, Jane Swan, of Bannbrook House, and was father of

HUGH HEZLETT (1825-1906), father of

HUGH HEZLETT (1872-1946), who wedded, in 1910, Margaret Ann Mark, by whom he had issue, three children, of whom

HUGH HEZLETT JP (1911-88), married, in 1945, Molly Douglas.

Their adopted son, Hugh Douglas Hezlett, born in 1960, lives in the Isle of Man.

HEZLETT HOUSE, near Castlerock, County Londonderry, is a single-storey thatched cottage dating from ca 1691.

The cottage served as the rectory for the Archdeacon of Derry, the Ven Roger fford, from 1693 to 1719; and for four of his successors until 1761.

The walls are built of un-coursed rubble with roughcast and a core of earth and sand.

This historic farmhouse is noted for its cruck construction, a method seldom used in the Province during that period.

Some sections of the cottage are left bare to expose the cruck trusses and other structural details.

Isaac Hezlett (1720-1790) was the first Hezlett to live in the cottage at Liffock.

His ancestors came to Liffock from the townland of Grange, which was part of the church lands on the west bank of the river Bann near its estuary.

Isaac acquired the cottage and some land in 1766.

At this point in his life he was married to his second wife Esther and had two sons; Samuel from his first marriage with Margaret Kerr and Jack, half-brother to Samuel.

When Samuel’s father died, he inherited the farm at the age of 37, and about five years later he married Esther Steel. She was 22 years his junior and they had eight children.

Samuel was intimidated by local insurgents to join the United Irishmen; his half-brother Jack was an ardent supporter.

He was threatened to be hanged from the Spanish chestnut tree in his own garden.

By 1798 the Irish rebellion was at its height and the two brothers were on opposite sides of the war. 

30,000 lives were lost when the rebels were finally defeated.

Jack escaped to the recently created United States of America while Samuel remained with his family in their home at Liffock until he died in 1821.

Samuel's eldest son, Isaac (1796-1883), married Jane Swan (1805-1896) in 1823.

He built a two-storey extension to form a new self-contained unit for his mother and sisters.

This extension could be regarded as forerunner of what we call today a "granny-flat."

Isaac also increased the acreage farmed at Liffock.

Jane was an educated and capable woman and by marrying her, Isaac ensured that his offspring would be well nurtured and given encouragement to develop their abilities.

At least two of their sons were sent for a formal education to Templemoyle Seminary; an agricultural school.

A third son attended Royal Belfast Academical Institution (Inst); and another one became a bank official.

Hugh Hezlett (1825-1906), Samuel and Jane’s eldest son, increased the acreage of the farm once more.

By putting his education to good use he made the farm more productive; more cash crops were grown and the herds of dairy cattle and sheep were increased.

The outputs from the farm which generated income included the cash crops of flax, barley, potatoes, oats and turnips, in addition to wool, milk, calves, pigs and eggs.

Hugh also oversaw an extensive re-modelling of the farmyard and outbuildings.

The Land Act paved the way for further acts which enabled tenant farmers to buy the land they had hitherto rented; so, by the early 20th century, the Hezletts were not tenant farmers but owner-occupiers.

The second Hugh Hezlett (1872-1946) inherited the farm in 1906 when his father (the first Hugh) died.

He managed the farm and dairy, while his brother Thomas performed much practical labour and ran a daily milk round in Castlerock.

He married Margaret Ann Mark in 1910 and they had three children.

As he got older Hugh spent much of his time and energy devoted to public life.

The third Hugh Hezlett (1911-1988) married Molly Douglas in 1945.

They adopted a child (Hugh Douglas, born in 1960), who moved to the Isle of Man.

In 1976, with funds provided by Ulster Land Fund and the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, the National Trust acquired the house from Hugh Hezlett.

Following a fire in 1987 further restoration was required, and although as much of the remaining structure was re-used, some replication was required.

The building was re-thatched in 2000.

First published in October, 2022.