1st Marquess of Downshire

This family, of Norman extraction, was originally called de la Montagne.

In the reign of EDWARD III its members were styled "Hill, alias de la Montagne"; but in succeeding ages they were known by the name of HILL only.

SIR MOYSES HILL, Knight, descended from the family of HILL, of Devon (two members of which were judges of England in the beginning of the 15th century, and one Lord Mayor of London, 1484), went over to Ulster, as a military officer, with the Earl of Essex, in 1573, to suppress O'Neill's rebellion.

This Moyses was subsequently appointed governor of Olderfleet Castle, an important fortress at the period, as it protected Larne harbour from the Scots.

His first land purchase in County Down came in 1607, when he bought the Castlereagh estates of the hapless Conn O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

Thereafter Sir Moyses acquired the Kilwarlin estate - now Hillsborough - from the Magennises.

He represented County Antrim in parliament, 1613, and having distinguished himself during a long life, both as a soldier and a magistrate, Sir Moyses died in 1629-30, and was succeeded by his elder son,

PETER HILL; but we pass to his younger son, ARTHUR, who eventually inherited the estates, upon the demise of Peter's only son, Francis Hill, of Hill Hall, without male issue.

The said

ARTHUR HILL, of Hillsborough, was Colonel of a regiment in the service of CHARLES I, and he sat in parliament under the usurpation of CROMWELL, as well as after the Restoration, when he was sworn of the privy council.

Colonel Hill married firstly, Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Bolton, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, by whom he had, with other issue, Moyses, who wedded his cousin Anne, eldest daughter of Francis Hill, of Hill Hall, and left three daughters.

He espoused secondly, Mary, daughter of Sir William Parsons, one of the Lords Justices of Ireland, and had three other sons and a daughter, the eldest of whom,

WILLIAM HILL, succeeded to the estates at the decease of his half-brother, Moyses, without male issue.

This gentleman was of the privy council to CHARLES II, and JAMES II, and was MP for County Down.

He married firstly, Eleanor, daughter of the Most Rev Dr Michael Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, by whom he had an only son, MICHAEL.

Mr Hill wedded secondly, Mary, eldest daughter of Sir Marcus Trevor, who was created Viscount Dungannon (1st creation) in 1662 for his signal gallantry in wounding OLIVER CROMWELL at Marston Moor, and had two other sons.

He died in 1693, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

MICHAEL HILL (1672-99), of Hillsborough, a member of the privy council, and of the parliaments of England and Ireland.

This gentleman espoused Anne, daughter and heir of Sir John Trevor, of Brynkinalt, Denbighshire, Master of the Rolls, Speaker of the House of Commons, and first Lord Commissioner of the Great Seal, and had two sons,

TREVOR, his heir;
Arthur, 1st Viscount Dungannon (2nd creation).

Mr Hill was succeeded by his elder son,

TREVOR HILL (1693-1742), of Hillsborough, who was elevated to the peerage, in 1717, as  Baron Hill, of Kilwarlin, and Viscount Hillsborough, of County Down.

His lordship wedded Mary, eldest daughter and co-heir of Anthony Rowe, of Muswell Hill, Middlesex; and left (with a daughter, Anne, wedded to John, 1st Earl of Moira) an only son, his successor,

WILLS, 2nd Viscount (1718-93), who was created Viscount Kilwarlin and Earl of Hillsborough, in 1751, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his uncle Arthur Hill; and enrolled amongst the peers of Great Britain, in 1756, as Baron Harwich, in Essex.

His lordship was advanced to an English viscountcy and earldom, in 1772, by the titles of Viscount Fairford and Earl of Hillsborough.

The 1st Earl was further advanced, in 1789, to the dignity of a marquessate, as MARQUESS OF DOWNSHIRE.

He married, in 1747, Margaretta, daughter of Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, and sister of James, 1st Duke of Leinster, by whom he had surviving issue,

ARTHUR, his successor;
Mary Amelia, m to 1st Marquess of Salisbury;
Charlotte, m to 1st Earl Talbot.

His lordship wedded secondly, Mary, 1st Baroness Stawell, and widow of the Rt Hon Henry Bilson-Legge, son of the 1st Earl of Dartmouth, by whom he had no issue.

His lordship was succeeded by his son,

ARTHUR, 2nd Marquess (1753-1801), who espoused, in 1786, Mary, Baroness Sandys, daughter of the Hon Martyn Sandys, and his wife Mary, daughter of William Trumbull, of Easthampstead Park, Berkshire, and had issue,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL SANDYS TRUMBULL, his successor;
Arthur Moyses William;
Arthur Marcus Cecil, 3rd Baron Sandys;
Arthur Augustus Edwin;
George Augusta;
Charlotte; Mary.

The 2nd Marquess died in 1801, and the Marchioness having subsequently succeeded to the estates of her uncle, Edwin, 2nd Baron Sandys, was created, in 1802, BARONESS SANDYS, with remainder to her second and younger sons successively.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL SANDYS TRUMBULL, 3rd Marquess (1788-1845), KP, who married, in 1811, the Lady Mary Windsor, eldest daughter of Other, 5th Earl of Portsmouth, and had issue,

ARTHUR WILLS BLUNDELL SANDYS TRUMBULL WINDSOR, his successor;
William Frederick Arthur Montagu;
Arthur Edwin;
Charlotte Augusta; Mary Penelope.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

• Wills Hill, 1st Marquess (1718–93)
• Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess (1753–1801)
• Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, 3rd Marquess (1788–1845)
• Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess (1812–68)
  • Arthur Hill, Viscount Kilwarlin (1841–1841)
• Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess (1844–74)
• Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbull Blundell Hill, 6th Marquess (1871–1918)
• Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess (1894–1989)
• Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess (1929–2003)
• Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Hill, 9th and present Marquess (b 1959)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Edmund Robin Arthur Hill, styled Earl of Hillsborough.

The Downshire Papers are deposited at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

In 1870, Lord Downshire owned 115,000 acres, mainly in County Down; and a further 5,000 acres at Easthampstead Park in Berkshire.

These estates generated an income of £80,000 per annum, or £3.6 million in today's money.

The Downshires also maintained a grand residence in London, Downshire House (above) at 24 Belgrave Square, now part of the Spanish embassy, it is thought.

Their principal seat was Hillsborough Castle; and they also had a marine residence, Murlough House, near Dundrum, also in County Down.

The Hillsborough Castle Guards

Lord Downshire sold Hillsborough Castle to the Government in about 1921, I think; and Murlough remained with the family till the 1940s or 50s.

Easthampstead Park was sold after the 2nd World War.

Other seats included North Aston Hall, Oxfordshire; Timweston, Buckinghamshire; and Hill Park, Kent.

Today the Downshires live at Clifton Castle, near Ripon in North Yorkshire.

Downshire arms courtesy of European Heraldry. First published in July, 2009.

1st Duke of Albemarle

DUKEDOM OF ALBEMARLE

1660-88

The family of LE MOYNE, MONK or MONCK, was of great antiquity in Devon, and in that county they had, from a remote period, possessed the Manor of Potheridge, which lineally descended to

GEORGE MONCK (1608-70), the celebrated general under the usurper, Cromwell, who, for his exertions in restoring the Monarchy, was created, by CHARLES II, 1670, Baron Monck, of Potheridge, Baron Beauchamp, of Beauchamp, Baron of Teyes, Devon, Earl of Torrington, and DUKE OF ALBEMARLE.

This eminent person was lineally descended from ARTHUR PLANTAGENET, 1st Viscount Lisle, natural son of EDWARD IV.

His Grace was soon after installed a Knight of the Garter.

To explain His Grace's titles it is necessary to state that Elizabeth Grey, the wife of his ancestor, Arthur Plantagenet, was sister and heir of John Grey, Viscount Lisle, and daughter of Edward Grey, by Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Talbot, eldest son of John, Earl of Shrewsbury, by his second wife, Margaret, eldest daughter and co-heir of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and Albemarle, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter and heiress of Gerard Warine, Lord Lisle, by Alice, daughter and heiress of Lord Teyes.

The military and naval achievements of MONCK have shone so conspicuously in history that any attempt to depict them in a work of this description could have no other effect than that of dimming their lustre.

He crowned his reputation by the course he adopted after the death of CROMWELL, in restoring the monarchy, and thus healing the wounds of his distracted country.

To the gloomy and jealous mind of the Usurper, General Monck was at times a cause of uneasiness and distrust; and to a letter addressed to the General himself, Cromwell once added the following singular postscript:

"There be that tell me there is a certain cunning fellow in Scotland called George Monck, who is said to lie in wait there to introduce Charles Stuart; I pray you use your diligence to apprehend him, and send him up to me."

From the time of the Restoration to that of his death, the Duke of Albemarle preserved the confidence and esteem of the restored monarch and his brother, the Duke of York; the former always calling him his "political father".

With the populace, Monck always enjoyed the highest degree of popularity, and his death was lamented as a national misfortune.

His funeral was public, and his ashes were deposited in HENRY VII's chapel, Westminster Abbey, with the remains of royalty.

The 1st Duke espoused Anne, daughter of John Clarges, and sister to Sir Thomas Clarges Bt, by whom His Grace had an only son,

CHRISTOPHER, 2nd Duke (1653-88), who was installed a Knight of the Garter, 1671, and sworn of the Privy Council.

His Grace wedded the Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter and co-heir of Henry, Duke of Newcastle, by whom he had an only son, who died immediately after his birth.

The 2nd Duke went out Governor-General to Jamaica, in 1687, accompanied by Sir Hans Sloane Bt, and died there in the following year, when all his honours became extinct.

Former town residence ~ Clarendon House, Piccadilly, London.

First published in October, 2017.  Albemarle arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Moyallon House

This is a branch of the family of CHRISTIE, of Dundee.

ALEXANDER CHRISTY, born in Scotland, 1642, passed over into Ulster, and purchasing an estate at Moyallon, County Down, he had issue, by Margaret his wife,

John, his heir;
Sarah.

Mr Christy died in 1722, and was succeeded by his only son,

JOHN CHRISTY, of Moyallon, who married Mary, daughter of _____ Hill, and had issue,

Alexander, who went into Scotland;
John, of Ormiston Lodge, near Edinburgh;
James;
THOMAS, of whom hereafter;
Joseph.

The fourth son,

THOMAS CHRISTY (1711-80), who succeeded to the Moyallon estate, wedded Mary, daughter of _____ Bramery, and had issue,

John, drowned 1758;
HANNAH, of whom we treat;
Mary.

The elder daughter,

HANNAH CHRISTY (1748-80), espoused John Wakefield, to whom she carried the estate at Moyallon, and had issue,

THOMAS CHRISTY WAKEFIELD (1772-1861), who married, in 1795, Jane Sandwith, daughter of Jacob Goff, and had issue,

THOMAS CHRISTY, his heir;
Jacob Goff;
Charles Frederick;
Elisa; Hannah Christy; Mary Phelps; Jane Sandwith; Charlotte;
Isabella Nicholson; Sophia; Elisabeth.

Mr Wakefield was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS CHRISTY WAKEFIELD (1795-1878), who wedded Mary Anne, daughter of Thomas Wilcocks, and had surviving issue,

Edward Thomas (1821-96);
Thomas Haughton (1824-61);
JANE MARION, of whom hereafter;
Jemima Sarah.

The elder daughter,

JANE MARION WAKEFIELD (1831-1909), wedded John Grubb Richardson (1813-91) as his second wife, and had issue,

THOMAS WAKEFIELD;
Marion; Sarah; Maria; Anne Wakefield; Sarah Edith; Jean Goff; Gertrude; Ethel.

The only son of this marriage,

THOMAS WAKEFIELD RICHARDSON (1856-1928), married Hilda ______ and had issue,

John Stephens Wakefield (1898-1985), of Bessbrook; died unmarried;
ALEXANDER REGINALD WAKEFIELD, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

ALEXANDER REGINALD WAKEFIELD (1902-84), of Moyallon, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1950, married (Edith Cecilia) Marianne, daughter of the Rev Hugh Edmund Boultbee.

MOYALLON HOUSE, near Gilford, County Down, comprises two storeys and three bays over a high basement and attic rooms.

It was built ca 1795 and remodelled in 1863 by John Grubb Richardson, possibly incorporating earlier fabric.

The townland of Moyallon was settled in 1675 by the Christys, who are thought to have introduced the linen trade into the area. 

A group of closely related Quakers settled along the River Bann between Moyallon and Lawrencetown in subsequent years, building mansion houses that reflected the increasing success of the linen manufacture and trade in which they were engaged (Rankin).

A house is known to have existed on the site in 1781, when the nearby Friends Meeting House was built.

A house on the present site was built in 1794 by Thomas Christy Wakefield, who had been living in another house nearby, also known as Moyallon House, which had been gutted by fire.

In 1840 Moyallon House comprised cellars, turf house, potato house, stables and lofts, a coach house, byre and privy.

In 1863, Moyallon was said to be  "rebuilt, enlarged and new wings added to it, also neat offices and gate lodges in progress."

Moyallon gate lodge

Thomas Jackson, an architect and Quaker himself, was well known to the Richardsons, having designed meeting houses in Belfast and Lisburn, and is thought by Dean to be responsible for the gatehouses at Moyallon.

John Grubb Richardson was a descendant of the Richardsons of Lisnagarvey, some of the earliest plantation settlers in the area, recorded there in 1610.

Many generations of the family were involved in the making and marketing of linen, initially in Glenmore, Lambeg and eventually in Liverpool, Philadelphia, New York, and the model village of Bessbrook.

John Grubb Richardson purchased from Lord Charlemont the Mount Caulfield estate in Armagh, where his cousins the Nicholsons had already established a spinning mill.

Richardson built a model village at Bessbrook from 1845, initially around spinning mills and eventually weaving factories with houses, a school, churches and a shop but no access to alcohol in accordance with the temperance practised by Quakers.

In 1853, Richardson married Jane Marion Wakefield of Moyallon House and the property eventually passed to the couple on the death of her father. (Rankin)

In 1863, Richardson inherited an estate in County Tyrone and it is the sale of this estate which appears to have allowed him both to become the sole owner of Bessbrook works and village and to extend his new residence at Moyallon.

A further gate house was added to the estate in 1871.

John Grubb Richardson died in 1890, leaving his widow in residence at Moyallon House until her death in 1909.

Jane Richardson had two stepchildren and seven children of her own, one of whom, Thomas Wakefield Richardson, took over the house on his mother’s death.

In 1901, Mr Richardson lived in the house with his English wife, a cook and a Quaker housemaid.

In 1911, Richardson and his wife were away from home but their staff had been enlarged to include a cook, lady’s maid, housemaid, kitchen maid and parlourmaid.

Moyallon House passed to his widow, and, as the couple were childless, in 1945 the house became the property of their nephew, Alexander Reginald Wakefield Richardson.

In 1934, the ground floor of the house included a dining room, drawing room, library, morning room, flower room, cloakroom, billiards room, bedroom, butler’s pantry, servants’ hall, scullery, two kitchens, servant's bedroom, two cloakrooms, boot-rooms, three pantries and a larder.

On the first floor there were seven bedrooms, a sitting room, a bathroom with hot and cold water and a WC (lavatory).

On the second floor had six servants’ bedrooms, a bathroom and a box-room.

The outbuildings comprised a glass-walled museum (now gone), a laundry, drying-room and loft with three servants’ bedrooms, three steam-heated greenhouses, stabling, four garages (one with two rooms over), stores and agricultural buildings.

The grounds included two grass tennis-courts and a croquet lawn.

Alexander Reginald Wakefield Richardson and his wife Marianne had four children at Moyallon but, in the 1940s, two of their children died of typhoid and a further child died a few years later.

Because of the associations of the house with this terrible event, Alexander, Marianne and their son Hugh moved into a nearby Richardson property, The Grange.

The furniture in the then vacant Moyallon House was auctioned off and the premises was leased to the Department of Health and Social Services as a residential special care school.

A fine marble fireplace was removed at this period and fitted in Derrymore House, Bessbrook, a property which had been donated by the Richardsons to the National Trust.

In the 1970s the house was occupied by a Mrs Mathers who ran it as a guest house, following which it was vacant for some years.

In the early 1980s the house was renovated as a family home.

The south wing of the house is now called ‘The Lodge’ and in the 1990s was developed into three self-contained flats by the architect William C Callaghan, of Portadown, County Armagh.

As part of this development, a verandah of wood and glass that is shown on the first survey photograph was taken down and a single-storey flat-roofed extension built in its stead.

The grounds of Moyallon House today extend to about 400 acres.

There are mature shelter trees, with a line of stately Wellingtonias.

Formal gardens and terracing at the house are presently grassed over.

The walled garden, with a turreted potting-shed, is uncultivated.

The head gardener’s house is inhabited.

Two gate lodges were added in the 1880s to the designs of Thomas Jackson (Front Lodge and Rear Lodge).

Remembrance Sunday

FOR THE FALLEN: THE GLORIOUS DEAD

They went with songs to the battle,

They were young, straight of limb,
 

True of eyes, steady and aglow,
 

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
 

They fell with their faces to the foe,

 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,
 

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
 

We will remember them.

LAURENCE BINYON, 1869-1943

Killakee House

THE BARONS MASSY WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY DUBLIN, WITH 3,422 ACRES

The first of this noble family that settled in Ireland was

GENERAL HUGH MASSY, who had a military command to repress the rebellion of 1641.

General Massy was descended from HAMON DE MASSEY, one of the companions in arms of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, who obtained large grants of the counties of Durham and Cheshire, and was created Baron of Dunham Massey.

The General married Margaret Percy, and had a son,

HUGH MASSY, of Duntrileague, County Limerick, who wedded Amy, daughter of John Benson, and had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
John;
William;
Margaret; Amy.

The eldest son,

COLONEL HUGH MASSY (1685-1757), of Duntrileague, espoused Elizabeth, daughter of the Rt Hon George Hampden Evans MP, and had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
George, Archdeacon of Ardfert;
John, killed in a duel;
Godfrey, in holy orders;
William;
EYRE, 1st BARON CLARINA;
Charles, dsp;
Mary; Amy; Elizabeth; Catherine.

The eldest son,

HUGH MASSY (1700-88), having represented County Limerick in several parliaments, was elevated to the peerage, in 1776, in the dignity of BARON MASSY, of Duntrileague, County Limerick.

His lordship married firstly, Mary, daughter and heir of James Dawson, of Ballynacourte, County Tipperary, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
James;
John;
Elizabeth.

The 1st Baron wedded secondly, Rebecca, daughter of Francis Delap, of Antigua, and by that lady had three other sons and five other daughters, viz.

Francis Hugh;
Eyre;
George;
Margaret; Rebecca; Frances; Caroline; Amy.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH, 2nd Baron (1733-90), who married, in 1760, Catherine, eldest daughter and co-heir of Edward Taylor, of Ballymore, County Limerick, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
Edward;
George Eyre;
John;
Catherine; Mary Anne; Jane; Sarah.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH, 3rd Baron (1761-1812), who wedded, in 1792, Margaret, youngest daughter of William Barton, of Grove, County Tipperary, and had issue,

HUGH HAMON, his successor;
George William;
John;
Grace Elizabeth; Catherine; Susan Maria; Margaret Everina; Elizabeth Jane Sarah Anne.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH HAMON, 4th Baron (1793-1836), who married, in 1826, Matilda, youngest daughter of LUKE WHITE, of Woodlands, County Dublin, and had issue,

HUGH HAMON INGOLDSBY;
John George Hugh.

THIS marriage brought the Massy family to Killakee, where Luke White had lands and a house.

The 5th Baron died young, and the 6th Baron, a young man of 19, inherited up to 38,000 acres.

He was very fond of the affluent life with little regard for money matters. Huge parties took place at Killakee and numerous hunting expeditions both there and in Limerick.

His great-grandson, the 6th Baron, sat in the House of Lords from 1876 to 1915.

As of 2010, the title is held by the latter's great-great-grandson, the 10th Baron, who succeeded his father in 1995.

KILLAKEE HOUSE, near Rathfarnham, County Dublin, was a two-storey, stucco-faced house of symmetrical aspect with a curved bow in the centre front and similar bows in the gables.

It contained thirty-six rooms, a balustraded parapet to the roof, a veranda with slender iron uprights and a balcony above along the centre of the front, which gave the house the appearance of a Mediterranean villa.

The Killakee estate contained the infamous Hellfire Club on the summit of Montpelier Hill.

When Luke White acquired the estate, the Hellfire Club was already in a ruinous state.

In 1878, the total landholdings of the extended Massy/Massey families in Ireland amounted to over 98,000 acres. The landholdings of John Thomas, 6th Baron Massy, consisted of 8,568 acres in County Limerick, 24,751 acres in County Leitrim (acquired through the Whites), and 1,120 acres in County Tipperary, a total of 34,439 acres.

The estate at Killakee was, at that time, still in the registered ownership of Mrs Anne Salisbury White, Samuel White’s widow.

Mrs White died in 1880 and in her will she left Killakee House and 3,422 acres, including the magnificent gardens, to her late husband’s nephew, John Thomas, 6th Baron Massy.

Her sister-in-law, the Dowager Baroness Massy (Luke White’s daughter, and mother of the 6th Baron) died at her home, Milford.

The final demise of Killakee House came in 1941 when the bank, which had maintained a caretaker on the premises since 1924, and unable to find a purchaser, sold the house to a builder for salvage.

Having removed the slates, roof timbers, floors and other saleable items, the builder demolished the house.

It was an event that must have had a profound impact on Hamon Massy, occurring as it did in full sight of his little cottage.

Although he had no alternative, living in the shadow of his former mansion was probably not helpful in putting the past behind him.

The Killakee Woods were taken over by the Irish Forestry Department.

The demolition of Killakee House was a most unfortunate turn of events: Thousands of Ascendancy mansions were built in Ireland.

Killakee House, however, both in its style and location overlooking Dublin City and bay, was a house of particular merit.

This aspect of the house was obviously noted by the bank, which paid a caretaker for 17 years to keep the house secure.

In 1941, with the 2nd World War raging in Europe, it was evident to the bank that a buyer was not going to be found.

It decided to cut its loses and sold the house for its salvage value.

In 2001, sixty years after the event , Charles Guinness, of Tibradden House, recalled the demolition of Killakee House,

”In 1941, as a young boy, I walked up to Killakee with my mother when it was being demolished. 

The monkey-puzzle trees remained impressive and the huge glass-houses were still standing but vegetation had broken through the roofs. 

There was a melancholy atmosphere of decay and desolation. We salvaged a piece of stone and walked home sadly.” 

EXTRACTS FROM THIS ARTICLE ARE BY KIND PERMISSION OF FRANK TRACY, AUTHOR OF IF THOSE TREES COULD SPEAK: THE STORY OF AN ASCENDANCY FAMILY IN IRELAND.

Massy arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  First published in May, 2013.

Dumfries House Book

I was at home one day in March, 2014, when, somewhat unexpectedly, a postman arrived with a large parcel.

He handed me the package and I almost immediately recognized the hand-writing of an old school pal who works at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).

He knows how keen I am about heritage and country houses.

To my delight, the parcel contained a hard-back copy of Dumfries House.

In this landmark book, the author, Simon Green, draws on previously unpublished documents from the extensive archives of the Bute family, who lived in the house from the early 19th century until the death of Lady Bute in 1993.

There is a wealth of photographs, plans and drawings from the National Trust for Scotland and the RCAHMS.

Exploring the people and the ideas behind a unique building, 'Dumfries House' is the story of the survival of a treasured eighteenth century family residence.

First published in March, 2014.

Waring of Waringstown

THE WARINGS OWNED 2,438 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

This branch of the ancient family of WARING of Lancashire, whose patriarch, MILES DE GUARIN, came to England with WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, was established in Ulster during the reign of Queen MARY, when its ancestor fled to that province to avoid the persecution of the Lollards.

In the reign of JAMES II, the Warings of Waringstown suffered outlawry, and their home was taken possession of by the Irish at the period of the revolution, and most of their family records destroyed.

JOHN WARING settled within the civil parish of Toome, County Antrim, and married Mary, daughter of the Rev Thomas Pierse [sic], Vicar of Derriaghy, County Antrim, by whom he had three sons and several daughters.

One of Mr Waring's sons, Thomas, carried on the family tradition of tanning, having settled in Belfast about 1640. Since he was English and not Presbyterian, he had no difficulty in dealing with the Cromwellian regime.

Having become one of its most prosperous citizens, Thomas Waring, of Waring Street, was Sovereign (mayor) of Belfast between 1652-56.

The eldest son,

WILLIAM WARING (1619-1703), of Waringstown, County Down, became possessed (by purchase from the soldiers of Lord Deputy Fleetwood's horse regiment), in 1656, of the district of Clanconnel (of which the Waringstown estate is a part), and shortly after built the present mansion and the adjoining church.

Mr Waring, High Sheriff of County Down, 1669, married firstly, in 1656, Elizabeth, daughter of William Gardiner, of Londonderry, and had issue,

SAMUEL, his heir;
Mary, m Richard Close.

He wedded secondly, Jane, daughter of John Close, and had issue (with six daughters), seven sons, of whom the eldest,

SAMUEL WARING (1660-1739), of Waringstown, High Sheriff of County Down, 1734, MP for Hillsborough, 1703-15, married Grace, daughter of the Rev Samuel Holt, of County Meath, and had issue,

SAMUEL, his heir;
Richard, died unmarried;
Holt;
Jane; Sarah; Frances; Alice.

Mr Waring was succeeded by his eldest son,

SAMUEL WARING, of Waringstown, High Sheriff of County Down, 1734, who died unmarried, 1793, and was succeeded by his nephew,

THE VERY REV HOLT WARING (1766-1830), of Waringstown, Dean of Dromore, who wedded, in 1793, Elizabeth Mary, daughter of the Rev Averell Daniel, Rector of Lifford, County Tyrone, and had issue, five daughters,

Eliza Jane;
Anne;
Louisa;
Frances Grace;
Jane.

The Dean's cousin and son-in-law,

HENRY WARING JP (1795-1866), of Waringstown, Major in the army, who married, in 1824, Frances Grace, fourth daughter of the Very Rev Holt Waring, and had issue (with three other sons who died in infancy),

THOMAS, of whom presently;
Holt;
Henry;
Mary Louisa; Elizabeth Mary; Frances Jane; Anne; Susan; Selina Grace.

Mr Waring was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS WARING JP (1828-98), of Waringstown, Barrister, MP for North Down, 1885-98, Honorary Colonel, 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, High Sheriff of County Down, 1868-9, who married thrice: firstly, to Esther Smyth, of Ardmore, County Londonderry; secondly, in 1874, to Fanny Tucker, of Trematon Castle, Cornwall; and thirdly, to Geraldine Stewart, of Ballyedmond, Rostrevor, County Down.

By his second wife he had issue,

HOLT WARING JP DL (1877-1918 k/a), Major, Royal Irish Rifles, who married, in 1914, Margaret Alicia (1887–1968), youngest daughter of Joseph Charlton Parr, of Grappenhall Heyes, Warrington, Cheshire, banker, industrialist, and landowner.

The marriage was without issue.

MARGARET ALICIA WARING CBE JP (1887-1968), when her husband was killed in action at Kemmel Hill, France, chose to remain at the Waring family's 17th century home, Waringstown House, and became active within the local community.

Mrs Waring took a keen interest in Orangeism, serving as deputy grand mistress of Ireland, county grand mistress of Down, and district mistress of Down lodge no. 4 in the Association of Loyal Orangewomen of Ireland in 1929.

In 1929, she was elected to the Northern Ireland parliament as the official Unionist candidate for the single-seat constituency of Iveagh in County Down.

She was one of only two women standing for election and, as the only one to be elected, became the third female member of the Northern Ireland parliament (her two predecessors being Dehra Parker and Julia McMordie).

In 1933, she was appointed CBE for political, philanthropic, and public services.

Following her retirement from parliament, Mrs Waring continued to participate in public affairs.

From the mid-1930s, she was a member of the Northern Ireland war pensions committee, and in 1934 became a member of the Northern Ireland unemployment assistance board.

A longstanding enthusiast for cricket, in 1923 she was the first woman elected onto the committee of the Northern [Ireland] Cricket Union, and in 1954 became its president.

Failing health in later life having caused her to withdraw from wider public activities.

Mrs Waring died at Waringstown House, Waringstown, County Down, on the 9th May, 1968.

The Waringstown estate was inherited by her nephew, Michael Harnett, his wife Anne, and their children, Jane and William.

First published in November, 2013.