Learmount Park

In June, 2026, I paid my first visit to Learmount Park, formerly the country estate of the Beresfords, scions of the Marquesses of Waterford.

The forest park is adjacent to the tiny village of Park in County Londonderry.

There is a small car park beside the former estate schoolhouse and adjoining teacher's residence.

This schoolhouse was built by (it is presumed) Henry Barré Beresford in 1824; and once had sixty-four pupils.

It closed as a school in the 1960s.

Learmount parish church (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

THE little parish church stands close to the schoolhouse. It was erected in 1831 and cost £747 (equivalent to almost £70,000 in 2026).

Memorial to Henry Barré and Eliza Beresford (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

This neo-Gothic church is surrounded by a graveyard and is in very good condition.

Memorial to Rev William Montgomery Beresford (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

I walked the short distance through woodland and forest to the derelict Learmount Castle.

Learmount Castle (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

Sadly the house has been unoccupied since 1983, when it operated as a youth hostel.

I couldn't see the roof; the fabric of the building is not, however, beyond redemption. It could potentially be restored.

Learmount Castle (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

A large wing, which was set back, was demolished by the Northern Ireland forest service in 1970. 

The Beresford arms are still above the main entrance, which is stepped.

Visitors were greeted by a pair of gruesome bearded mask dripstones (one remains) on the hood moulding around the main door.

Remaining sculpted mask (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

At the top of the stepped parapet there was a sculpted buck’s head (de la Poer crest); two dragons’ heads (Beresford crest) adorned the lower sections of the stepped parapet.

Were Learmount Castle (likely named "castle" after an earlier dwelling) ever to be restored, these sculpted heads could be replicated with advice from Lord Waterford or other members of the family.

Pond in the walled garden (Timothy Ferres, 2026)

The erstwhile coach-house behind the house is in good condition and is used as accommodation; while the former walled garden of about 1⅓ acres has been grassed over and contains a circular pond. 

Quintin Castle

QUINTIN CASTLE is located on the Ards Peninsula, about 2½ miles east of Portaferry,  County Down.

It is one of the very few inhabited Anglo-Norman castles in Ulster.

The original castle was built by John de Courcy in 1184.

In the later middle ages the castle was held by the Smiths, a dependent family of the Savages.

In the mid-1600s, Sir James Montgomery, a relation of the Savages, purchased the castle and the surrounding lands from Dualtagh Smith.

Sir James and his son William renovated the castle, adding a large house to it as well as a walled courtyard.

At some period after an interlude in the 1650s, when a Cromwellian officer held Quintin, the Montgomerys sold the castle to George Ross, a member of an influential local family who held lands at Kearney.

Ross never lived at the castle, which remained in its mid-17th century form until the 1850s, when one of his descendants, Elizabeth Calvert, set about remodelling it.

Entrance Front of Quintin Castle. Image: Robert John Welch (1859-1936)

Quintin Castle was, by that time, a ruinous structure, much of whose stone, according to the OS Memoirs, had been taken by local people.

This remodelling included the raising in height of the central keep, the construction of drawing and dining rooms and the general decoration to the entire building, as well as rebuilding the courtyard walls, gates and outer towers.

In 1897, the estate was sold by the Land Commission.

The house, however, remained with the descendants of the Calverts, one of whom, Magdalen King-Hall, became a writer whose many works included The Wicked Lady, a story of highwaymen and women, which later became a successful film.

The King-Halls sold the castle in the 1920s and Quintin passed though a series of owners, one of whom, James O'Hara, ran the building as a nursing home during the 1980s.

It may have been at this stage that that the secondary entrance in the front facade was added, perhaps to provide easier access for some of the elderly residents.

The central keep was raised; a walkway constructed within the battlements; a drawing-room which opened into the inner gardens; and a dining-room constructed on the lowest floor of the great tower. 

Most of the grounds were also enclosed by a massive stone wall.

In the 1870s the estate comprised 1,007 acres.

*****

Quintin Castle was extensively refurbished by the builders McGimpsey and Kane, changing hands most recently in 2006.

It underwent a further restoration ca 2006, when it was bought by the property developer, Paul Neill.

In 2011, one bank moved against him taking control of two of his retail parks in Bangor over a £37m debt. 

Mr Neill was subsequently declared bankrupt.

Consequently, the Irish government's National Asset Management Agency (Nama) repossessed the castle in 2012.

In June, 2013, Quintin Castle was sold (asking £1.65m with 22 acres) to the Tayto Group (owned by the Hutchinson family's Manderley Food Group).

In July, 2016, the new owners applied for planning permission to convert the castle into an eight-bedroom "boutique hotel," with permission to utilize the courtyard for functions such as weddings.

*****

The original demesne is now split up, but the house retains stone-walled terrace gardens, which were depicted as being fully planted up.

The walled garden is in separate ownership.

There is medieval-style gateway leading into the grounds of ca 1855, and a tall octagonal rubble-constructed folly tower within the grounds.

First published in January, 2011.

Kilmood Vicarage

The Vicarage (Image: Rev Dr Stanley Gamble, Vicar of Kilmood)

The Rev Dr Stanley Gamble has sent me a photograph of the vicarage, parish of Kilmood, County Down.

This handsome glebe house was built in 1825, partly by a gift of £415 [about £40,000 in 2020] from the patrons, Lord Downshire and Mr Gordon, and a loan of £129 from the Board of First Fruits.

The Gordon Family, in consideration of getting the alternate presentation, gave 10 acres of land as a glebe, and endowed the vicarage with a rent charge of £40 payable out of their estate of Florida.

The Vicarage, Kilmood, 2021 (Image: Anon)

This is a lofty dwelling, with two storeys over a basement; its main entrance at a protruding porch on a side gable.

Georgian sash windows enhance its appearance.

The other side of the house has a single-storey extension, thought to have been used as storage.

The Rev Thomas Tenison was possibly the first incumbent to reside in the vicarage; followed by the Rev Frederick Flood.

Side Porch at the Vicarage, 2021 (Image: Anon)

It is thought that the property continued to serve as the vicarage until ca 1923, when the parish of Kilmood (and Tullynakill) united with that of Killinchy.

The old vicarage is located at Ballybunden Road, about a mile outside Kilmood.

First published in April, 2021.

Back Fire!

Back Fire: A Passion For Cars And Motoring (2001) is one of my favourite motoring books.

It's a collection of the Hon Alan Clark's columns for the magazine Classic Cars and other journals along with a few extracts from his celebrated diaries.

I had a sneaking admiration for Alan Clark, despite his reputation.

He eventually became Right Honourable, as a Privy Counsellor.

His father, the Lord Clark, was the famous art historian and broadcaster.

I have the collection of Alan Clark's Diaries and Back Fire.

If Mr Toad hadn't pre-dated Alan Clark by some 21 years ~  The Wind in the Willows was published in 1908 and Clark born in 1929 ~ one could make a good case for Clark's having been the model for Kenneth Grahame's daredevil, outrageous, but loveable, rogue.

Conservative MP, historian, man about town, notorious womaniser ~ and at the same time fiercely loyal husband and father ~ he died in 1999.

He bought his first car, a six-and-a-half litre vintage Bentley, while he was still at Eton and only 17 - it was typical of the stylish flamboyance which became his trademark.

Many a Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Buick and Chevrolet followed. So did old Citroens, a VW Beetle and latterly a beloved and "totally reliable" Discovery.

He was a collector par excellence, who was addicted to the buying and selling of cars all his adult life.

Every garage and enclosed space at Saltwood Castle, the family home in Kent, remains full of Clark's cars.

Clark's son James writes in Back Fire that "Outside the family, I truly believe, cars were my father's greatest love".

But he didn't approve of over-enthusiastic restoration.

When he drove his 1920 Silver Ghost, of which there is a photograph in Back Fire on the 1993 Rolls Royce Enthusiasts' Alpine Commemorative Run, a fellow competitor remarked, to Clark's amusement, that

if he can't afford to maintain his car properly he shouldn't be allowed on the event.

Whatever else Clark was or wasn't, he was never dull and he was certainly a writer,

What do we want a classic car for? Showing off, of course. Nothing wrong with that; they are more idiosyncratic than beach jewellery.

First published in March, 2014. 

General Gage

The family of GAGE, which is of Norman extraction, derives its descent from De Gaga, Guage, or Gage, who accompanied WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR into England, and was rewarded with large grants of land in the Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire; adjacent to which forest he fixed his abode, and erected a seat at Clearwell. He also built a large mansion house in the town of Cirencester, where he died, and was buried in the abbey there.

The ancestor of the present Lord Gage,

JOHN GAGE, whose name is found in deeds during the time of HENRY IV, and who was lineally descended from the Norman, left a son,

JOHN GAGE, who married Joan, daughter and co-heir of John Sudgrove, of Sudgrove, Gloucestershire.

The son and successor of this John,

SIR JOHN GAGE (c1420-86), Knight, made great additions to his estate by purchases, and, further, by marrying Eleanor, daughter and heir of Thomas St Clere, lord of the manor of Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, and had issue,

WILLIAM;
John, ancestor of GAGE OF RATHLIN ISLAND;

The elder son,

WILLIAM GAGE (c1456-96), who resided at Burstow, in Surrey, wedded Agnes, daughter of Benjamin Bolney, and was succeeded by his son,

THE RT HON SIR JOHN GAGE KG (1479-1556), a distinguished soldier and statesman in the reigns of HENRY VIII, EDWARD VI, and QUEEN MARY, whose services are thus detailed in an ancient manuscript written by his third son, Robert Gage.

This eminent person espoused Philippa, daughter of Sir Richard Guildford KG, and had issue,

EDWARD, his heir;
John;
Robert;
William;
Alice; Anne; Elizabeth Cicily.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR EDWARD GAGE KB, of Firle, Sussex, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Parker, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Edward;
Thomas;
Agnes; Philippa; Mary; Margery; Lucy; Margaret.

Sir Edward died in 1568, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN GAGE, at whose decease, in 1595, without issue, the estates, including no less than fifteen manors, devolved upon his nephew,

JOHN GAGE, who was created a baronet in 1622, designated of Firle, Sussex.

Sir John wedded Penelope, daughter of Thomas Darcy, 1st Earl Rivers, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
John;
Edward;
Henry;
Frances; Penelope; Elizabeth; Anne.

Sir John died in 1633, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS GAGE, 2nd Baronet, who wedded, in 1635, Mary, eldest daughter and co-heir of John Chamberlain, of Sherburn, Oxfordshire, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
JOHN, 4th Baronet;
Henry, dsp;
Joseph, of Sherburn;
Catherine; Mary; Frances.

Sir Thomas died in 1654, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR THOMAS GAGE, 3rd Baronet, who died unmarried in 1660, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR JOHN GAGE, 4th Baronet (c1642-99), who espoused firstly, Mary, daughter of Robert Middlemore, of Edgebaston, Warwickshire, and had issue,

Bridget; Mary.

He married secondly, Mary, daughter of Sir William Stanley Bt, and had further issue,

JOHN, 5th Baronet;
THOMAS, 6th Baronet;
WILLIAM, 7th Baronet;
Mary.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN GAGE, 5th Baronet (c1691-1700), who was succeeded by his brother,

SIR THOMAS GAGE, 6th Baronet (c1694-1713), who died on his travels, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,

SIR WILLIAM GAGE, 7th Baronet (1695-1744), KB, who, conforming to the Church of England, was elected to the last Parliament of GEORGE I, as MP for Seaford, 1727-44.

Sir William died unmarried, in 1744, and his sisters, Lady Shelley and the Viscountess Fauconberg, became his co-heirs, while the title reverted to his kinsman,

THOMAS GAGE, as 8th Baronet (c1702-54); who was created, in 1720, Baron Gage, of Castlebar, County Mayo, and VISCOUNT GAGE, of Castle Island, County Kerry.

His lordship married firstly, in 1717, Benedicta Maria, Theresa, only daughter and heir of Benedict Hall, of High Meadow, Gloucestershire, and had issue,

William Hall, his successor;
THOMAS, of whom we treat;
Theresa.

He wedded secondly, in 1750, Jane, widow of Henry Jermyn Bond, by whom he had no child.

His lordship's younger son,

THE HON THOMAS GAGE (c1718-87), the celebrated General Gage, Commander-in-Chief, North America, 1763-75, Governor of Massachusetts Bay, 1774-5, wedded, in 1758, Margaret, daughter of Peter Kemble, President of the New Jersey Provincial Council, and had issue,

HENRY, his successor;
John;
William Hall (Admiral Sir, GCB);
Maria; Charlotte; Harriet; Louisa; Emily.

General Gage was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY GAGE (1761-1808), who succeeded to the viscountcy of Gage following the decease of his uncle, the 2nd Viscount.

• Henry Hall, 4th Viscount  (1791–1877);
• Henry Charles Gage, 5th Viscount (1854–1912);
• Henry Rainald Gage, 6th Viscount (1895–1982);
• George John St Clere Gage, 7th Viscount (1932–1993);
• (Henry) Nicolas Gage, 8th Viscount (born 1934).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, the Hon Henry William Gage (b 1975).

Gage arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Donaghadee: Manor House Garden

THE DE LACHEROIS FAMILY OWNED 1,356 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

The following information has been obtained from the Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest (Northern Ireland), compiled by Terence Reeves-Smyth in November, 2020.

Layout of Walled Garden ca 1830 (OSNI)

THE MANOR HOUSE, Donaghadee, County Down, was the residence of a landed family called Delacherois (De La Cherois).

It is located close to the centre of the town, and pleasure gardens were directly opposite the manor house, at the other side of the main road.

The old walled garden, which must surely date from 1780-1800, survives.

The Dinner Bell Bistro.  Click to enlarge

I visited it at the end of May, 2022, mainly with the intention of having a light lunch at The Dinner Bell bistro, a small café restaurant in the former outbuildings of the walled garden; through which the garden is accessed.

Explanatory information (The Dinner Bell).  Click to enlarge.

Its captivation on a warm summer's day is irresistible: a serene haven of tranquillity within the celebrated seaside resort of Donaghadee, County Down.

A secret garden!

(Timothy Ferres, 2022)

I’ve seen old maps of the garden, and the section that is open today used to be the walled garden, doubtless thriving with abundant fruit and vegetables.

The ornamental section of the garden has been built over since the 1970s, but the walled garden remains today, complete with box-edged beds, a remarkable survival.

The front garden wall has a handsome stone castellated entrance from Killaughey Road in the town.

The remaining garden is rectangular, comprising almost half an acre, with stone walls, and two other entrances (now disused) from the pleasure grounds, one opposite the vehicle entrance and one near the west corner.

The Pond and Water Pump (Image: Tripadvisor)

The well in the garden is now enclosed by a cast-iron ornamental hand pump.

Produce was sold until the 1990s.

The garden is now part of the Dinner Bell bistro, Killaughey Road, and is accessible to patrons through the restaurant.

Eucalyptus Tree (Image: Tripadvisor)

The walled garden is now mainly ornamental, with statuary and columns, a rectangular pond, a large eucalyptus tree, and small terraced and paved areas with seating towards the south-west end.

It is laid out with a partly box-edged, partly stone-edged, perimeter border full of flowering shrubs and plants and geometrically-arranged paved and gravelled paths, some brick-edged.

Pair of Statues (Image: Tripadvisor)

Towards the north-east there are some rectilinear lawns and a row of apple trees in a central position running from south-east to north-west.

Against the south-west wall is a concealed wooden loggia; whereas at the opposite end, against the north-east wall, there is a summer-house or gazebo.

Summer-house (Image: Tripadvisor)

Immediately outside the walled garden to the north and north-west are mature trees, forming part of a larger garden plot of about one acre.

My intention is to revisit the garden in 2022, study its features more closely, and take more photographs.

Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest (NI) - November 2020.

Newbury Hall

THE VISCOUNTS HARBERTON OWNED 453 ACRES IN COUNTY KILDARE

JOHN PRINCE, Vicar of Berry Pomeroy, in his famous work, The Worthies of Devon (1701), says of the family of POMEROY that "this great progeny had their "dwelling" at the Castle of Berry Pomeroy, near Totnes, Devon, "from the Norman Conquest unto the days of KING EDWARD VI, which is upward of 500 years.

The name in several ages was severally written, as de Pomerio, de Pomeri, de la Pomerai and then Pomeroy. The first so called in England was RALPH DE LA POMERAI, who came in with WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, and was greatly assistant to him in obtaining this kingdom; for which reason he conferred upon him a noble estate, no less than fifty-eight lordships in Devonshire, as Sir William Dugdale tells us in his Baronage of England."

In the House of De La Pomerai, by Edward B Powley (1943), the descent is traced of the Pomeroy family from the above-mentioned RALPH, through a succession of the Baronial Lords of Berry Pomeroy, to SIR THOMAS POMEROY, who sold Berry Pomeroy to the Duke of Somerset in 1548.

ROBERT POMEROY, of Ingsdon Manor (now Ilsington), Devon, married Elizabeth, only daughter and heir of John Beaumont, of Ingsdon, and died in 1517, leaving issue,

ST CLEER POMEROY, of Ingsdon, who wedded Joanna Young, who was living in 1533, and had issue,

JOHN POMEROY, of Ingsdon, who died 1532-3, leaving by his wife Elizabeth a son,

HUGH POMEROY, who was under age in 1533, when his wardship and marriage were committed to Sir Philip Champernon.

He married twice, and had issue by his first wife,

JOHN POMEROY, who espoused Mary, daughter of Arthur Secombe, and had issue,

THE VERY REV ARTHUR POMEROY DD, who went to Ireland, 1672, as Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex, and obtained the Deanery of Cork.

He married Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir Richard Osborne, of Ballintaylor, County Waterford, and died in 1710, having had surviving issue a daughter, Mary, m to Sir Richard Cox Bt, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and a son,

THE VEN. JOHN POMEROY, Archdeacon of Cork, 1717, who wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Donellan, of Cloghan, County Roscommon, and died having had,

ARTHUR;

John.

The elder son,

ARTHUR POMEROY (1723-98) was elevated to the Peerage, 1783, by the title (derived from the town of Harberton, Devon, the land barony having come into the family of Pomeroy by marriage with the heiress of the De Valletorts in 1207), of Baron Harberton, of Carbery, and advanced to the dignity of a viscountcy, 1791, as VISCOUNT HARBERTON. 

His lordship, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1752, MP for Kildare, 1761-83, wedded, in 1747, Mary, daughter and heir of Henry Colley, of Castle Carbery, County Kildare, and niece of Richard, 1st Lord Mornington, by whom he had, with other issue,

HENRY, his successor;

ARTHUR JAMES, 3rd Viscount;

JOHN, 4th Viscount.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY, 2nd Viscount (1749-1829), MP for Strabane, 1776-97, who espoused, in 1778, Mary, daughter of Nicholas Grady, of Grange, County Limerick, by whom he had one son, Henry (1778-1804).

His lordship was succeeded by his brother,

ARTHUR JAMES, 3rd Viscount (1753-1832), who married, in 1800, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Kinsley, of Dublin.

His lordship dsp 1832, and was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN, 4th Viscount (1758-1833), in holy orders, Prebendary of St Patrick's, Dublin, who wedded, in 1785, Esther, eldest daughter and co-heir of James Spencer, and had issue,

JOHN JAMES, his successor;

Arthur William (Rev);

George Francis;

Spencer Stewart;

Henry;

William Knox;

Elizabeth Esther.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN JAMES, 5th Viscount (1790-1862), who espoused, in 1822, Caroline, sixth daughter of the Rev Sir John Robinson Bt, and had issue,

John (1828-30);

Arthur James (1831-40);

JAMES SPENCER, his successor;

Mary Ann; Esther Caroline.

His lordship was succeeded by his only surviving son,

JAMES SPENCER, 6th Viscount (1836-1912), who married, in 1861, Florence Wallace, only daughter of WILLIAM WALLACE LEGGE, of Malone House, Belfast, and had issue,

ERNEST ARTHUR GEORGE, his successor;

RALPH LEGGE, 8th Viscount.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

ERNEST ARTHUR GEORGE, 7th Viscount (1867-1944), who wedded, in 1932, Fairlie, daughter of Colonel Charles D'Oyly Harmar, of Ramridge, Andover.

His lordship dsp 1944, and was succeeded by his brother,

RALPH LEGGE, 8th Viscount (1874-1956), OBE, who espoused, in 1907, Mary Katherine, only daughter of Arthur William Leatham, of Smallfield Place, Smallfield, Surrey, and had issue,

HENRY RALPH MARTYN, his successor;

THOMAS DE VAUTORT, 10th Viscount;

Robert William (twin), father of 11th Viscount;

Rosamund Mary.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY RALPH MARTYN, 9th Viscount (1908-80), who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

THOMAS DE VAUTORT, 10th Viscount (1910-2004), who married firstly, in 1939, Nancy Ellen, daughter of C A Penoyer; secondly, in 1950, Paula Stafford, daughter of Wilfred Sydney Baker; and thirdly, in 1978, Wilhelmine, daughter of Heinrich Wahl.

His lordship dsp, and was succeeded by his nephew,

HENRY ROBERT, 11th Viscount (1958-), who wedded, in 1990, Caroline Mary, daughter of Jeremy Grindle, and has issue,

PATRICK CHRISTOPHER, born in 1995;

Hugh William, Born 1997.

Image credit: Raymond Potterton, Auctioneers

NEWBURY HALL, or Newberry Hall, Carbury, County Kildare, is, Mark Bence-Jones in his Burke's Guide to Country Houses, remarks,

A Palladian house of red brick with stone facings.

It was built in the 1760s for Arthur Pomeroy, afterwards 1st Viscount Harberton, probably to the design of the amateur architect, Nathaniel Clements.

The centre block comprises two storeys over a basement with an attic storey above the cornice which has windows in the garden front, but not in the entrance front. 

Entrance front (Image: NLI)

The entrance front comprises three bays; a pedimented breakfront with Diocletian window above tripartite fan-lighted doorway with baseless pediment.

The roof parapet has urns.

The centre block is linked to two-storey wings or pavilions, each with one bay on either side of a three-sided bow, by curved sweeps with roundheaded rusticated doors and windows. 

Garden front (Image: NLI)

The garden front of the centre block is of one bay on either side of a curved central bow.

The house was purchased ca 1840 by Edward Woolstenholme and then by William Pilkington, a prominent Dublin publisher.

The Robinson family bought Newbury Hall and estate in 1911.

Image credit: Raymond Potterton, Auctioneers

The house and estate are currently for sale (June, 2026).