Ravensdale Park

THE BARONS CLERMONT WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LOUTH, WITH 20,369 ACRES

This family deduces its pedigree from common ancestors with the EARLS FORTESCUE, viz. remotely, Sir Richard le Forte, a Norman knight, in the train of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR; and, more remotely, Lord Chief Justice Fortescue.

The first of its members that settled in Ireland,

SIR FAITHFUL FORTESCUE (c1581-1666), Knight, removed to that kingdom early in the reign of JAMES I, and commanded an infantry regiment there.

Sir Faithful obtained large possessions in Ireland, amongst which was Dromiskin Castle, County Louth.

He wedded Anne, daughter of Garret, 1st Viscount Moore, of Drogheda, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR THOMAS FORTESCUE (c1620-1710), Knight, Governor of Carrickfergus Castle, who espoused firstly, Sydney, daughter of Colonel William Kinsmill; and secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Ferdinand Carey, and had issue,

WILLIAM;
Chichester.

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his grandson,

THOMAS FORTESCUE (1683-1769), MP for Dundalk, 1727-60, who married Elizabeth, daughter of James Hamilton, and sister of James, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil, and had issue,

James, father of WILLIAM, 2nd VISCOUNT CLERMONT;
WILLIAM HENRY, of whom hereafter;
Margaret; Charlotte.

Mr Fortescue's younger son,

THE RT HON WILLIAM HENRY FORTESCUE (1722-1806), MP for County Louth, 1745-60, Monaghan, 1761-70, was sworn of the Privy Council, 1764, and appointed Postmaster-General.

Mr Fortescue was elevated to the peerage, in 1770, in the dignity of Baron Clermont, of Clermont, County louth.

His lordship was created, in 1776, BARON and VISCOUNT CLERMONT, with remainder to his brother, the Rt Hon James Fortescue, of Ravensdale Park, County Louth, MP for that county.

His lordship was further advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1777, as EARL OF CLERMONT, but without the reversionary grant.

He was installed as a Knight Founder of the Order of St Patrick (KP) in 1795.

His lordship espoused Frances, eldest daughter of Colonel John Murray, County Monaghan; but dying without issue, in 1806, the earldom expired, while the other honours devolved, according to the limitation, upon his nephew,

WILLIAM CHARLES FORTESCUE, 2nd Viscount (1764-1829), only surviving son of his deceased brother, mentioned above, by Mary Henrietta, eldest daughter of Thomas Orby Hunter, of Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire.

His lordship died at Ravensdale Park, County Louth, unmarried, when the viscountcy expired.

The title was revived, however, in 1852, when his kinsman,  

THOMAS FORTESCUE, was created BARON CLERMONT (2nd & 3rd creation).

• Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont (1815-87)
• Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford, 2nd Baron Clermont (1823-98) (brother).

RAVENSDALE PARK, near Dundalk, County Louth, was a large, rather austere, early Victorian house built of granite with a plain, irregular aspect.

A lofty Italianate campanile with an open belvedere atop dominated the mansion.

Ravensdale was built for Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont, the architect being Thomas Duff of Newry.

It was partly two and partly three storeys, though mainly the same height, with an eaved roof.

The garden front was remarkably long, being ten bays.

There was another front of five bays with a domed octagon at one corner.

Ravensdale became the home of Lord Clermont's younger brother and successor, the politician Chichester Fortescue, 1st and last Lord Carlingford (who married the famous Frances, Countess Waldegrave).

It was sold to Sir Daniel Dixon Bt, father of 1st Lord Glentoran; then sold again to Lord Arran.

Ravendale was sold, yet again, in 1920, and was burnt shortly afterwards.

Much of the former estate is now a forest park; while the Ravensdale Equestrian and Trekking Centre operates from the demesne.

Ravensdale Forest is part of the former demesne.

First Published in May, 2011.   Clermont arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Magherintemple House

THE CASEMENTS OWNED 3,312 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

This family came over to Ulster from Ramsey, Isle of Man, early in the 18th century.

HUGH CASEMENT (c1720-97), of Bessvale, Ballinderry, County Antrim, married, in 1740, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev George Higginson, Rector of Ballinderry, and had issue,

George, surgeon RN; father of Maj-Gen Sir William Casement KCB;
ROGER, of whom presently;
Thomas;
Higginson;
Mary; Eleanor; Jane.

Maj-Gen Sir William Casement KCB (Image: National Army Museum)

The second son,

ROGER CASEMENT (c1756-1832), of Harryville, County Antrim, wedded firstly, Catherine, daughter of the Rev Joseph Cosnahan, of Peel, Isle of Man, and had issue,

William;
John;
George;
Hugh, grandfather of (Sir) Roger David Casement CMG;
Julius;
Roger;
THOMAS, of whom presently;
Robert (Rev);
Francis;
Cornelius;
Elizabeth; Catherine; Elinor; Rosetta.

He espoused secondly, in 1819, Margaret, daughter of Andrew McQuilty, and had, with further issue,

Roger;
George, of Fenagh, Co Antrim, barrister;
JOHN, succeeded his half-brother;
Julius;
Margaret; Elizabeth; Ann.

Mr Casement's seventh son,

THOMAS CASEMENT JP (1799-1874), of Ballee House, County Antrim, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1874, married, in 1848, Dorinda Deborah, daughter of Thomas Abbot JP, of Mount Bellew, County Galway, and left an only daughter and heiress,

CATHERINE COSNAHAN CASEMENT, of Ballee House, who wedded, in 1869, COLONEL ELDRED THOMAS POTTINGER, Royal Artillery.

Thomas Casement's half brother,

JOHN CASEMENT JP (1825-1902), of Magherintemple, County Antrim, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1881, married firstly, in 1849, Charlotte, daughter of Brabazon Newcomen, of Camla House, County Rosscommon, and had issue,

ROGER, of whom presently;
Brabazon Newcomen, MD.
John, Rear-Admiral.

Mr Casement wedded secondly, in 1859, Charlotte, daughter of Alexander Miller, of Ballycastle.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROGER CASEMENT JP DL (1850-1928), of Magherintemple, who married, in 1877, Susanna, daughter of James Beatty, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Francis, Maj-Gen, DSO; father of FRANCIS CHARLES CASEMENT;
Roger Hugh;
Robert James;
Edgar Reginald.

The eldest son,

JOHN CASEMENT DSO DL (1880-1944), of Magherintemple, Captain, Royal Navy, married, in 1916, ANNA BEATRICE, daughter of John Frederick William Hodges, of Glenravel, County Antrim, though the marriage was without male issue.

His widow,

ANNA BEATRICE, MRS CASEMENT OBE (1887-1975), inherited Magherintemple for her lifetime, with reversion to her nephew,

FRANCIS CHARLES CASEMENT JP DL (1920-76), of Magherintemple, Major, Royal Artillery, who wedded, in 1942, Lesley, daughter of Captain Cecil Richard Brown, and had issue,

Hugh Francis, b 1947;
Patrick John, b 1951;
Robert Charles, b 1953;
Sarah Lindesay; Anne Louisa; Susan Catherine.

*****

Patrick Casement, OBE, was Chairman of the National Trust's  Northern Ireland Committee, 2000-2010. 

He is a zoology graduate from Oxford and holds a masters degree in Ecology; farms a large beef and sheep farm; has previously served on the Northern Ireland Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside. 

MAGHERINTEMPLE HOUSE, near Ballycastle, County Antrim, was built ca 1875 in the Scottish-Baronial style, the seat of the Casement family.

Mr Roger Casement (Sir Roger Casement CMG) was a member of this family.

Magherintemple House (Image: Twitter)

An earlier, quite modest, house called Churchfield was described in 1835 as being a plain two storey dwelling, the property of the Casement family from 1790.

It was considerably enlarged in 1874-75 for John Casement, adding an austere Scottish-baronial block in Ballyvoy stone with gate lodge in matching style.

The grimness of the architecture is, to some degree, offset by the good high position of the house and its splendid views.

The gardens are maintained.

There is a walled garden on a slope, with a bog garden at the bottom.

The walled garden is fully planted up with vegetables, fruit and ornamental plants.

The present layout dates from 1973.

There are both woodland and shelter trees.

The gate lodge replaced an earlier lodge located on the opposite side of the gates.

Two small stone figures that are placed in the rockery in the garden are said to have come from Culfeightrin Church.

Magherintemple gate lodge is available for rent.

First published in December, 2010.

Franklin Maxims: VIII

AN HONEST MAN WILL RECEIVE NEITHER MONEY NOR PRAISE, THAT IS NOT HIS DUE.

First published in May, 2020.

Talbot of Carton

The Castle and Lordship of Malahide, on the sea coast, near Dublin, was possessed by the family of Talbot from a period contemporary with the first introduction of English government into Ireland, and at this moment they furnish an instance unusually rare, of a baronial estate having continued for upwards of 650 years in the male heirs and name of him on whom it had been originally conferred by HENRY II.

It is remarkable, too, that of the ancient seigniorial estates in Ireland, whose lords were vested with the dignity of parliamentary barons, not one can be traced to have been held directly and immediately under the crown but the lordship of Malahide.

In this respect Malahide seems to have been unique in Ireland, and its lords, pursuant to the nature of their original tenure and the terms of their royal charters, never rendered homage, suit, or service to any but the crown; nor acknowledged any superior but the King alone.

Richard de Talbot, who is mentioned in the Domesday Book, was the common ancestor of the Lords of Malahide, and of the Earls of Shrewsbury; and in consequence of the well-known affinity of those two branches, the family in Ireland, by ancient entails and settlements, made the members of the house of Shrewsbury next heirs in remainder to their Irish estates.

SIR THOMAS TALBOT, Knight, of Malahide, County Dublin (representative of the ancient and eminent family of Talbot, of Malahide), had a grant, in 1529, of livery of all of his father's estates in several counties in Ireland.

Sir Thomas, in 1532, being sued in the Exchequer for not executing the office of High Sheriff of County Dublin, pleaded the patent granted to his grandfather by EDWARD IV, exonerating him and his heirs from such offices, and declared that he would not act as High Sheriff; whereupon the proceedings were discontinued.

By Catherine his wife he had three sons, of whom WILLIAM TALBOT succeeded at Malahide; and

ROBERT TALBOT was father of

WILLIAM TALBOT, Recorder of Dublin ca 1603, who acquired the estate of CARTON, County Kildare, and was created a baronet, in 1623, designated of Carton, County Kildare.

Sir William married Alison, daughter of John Netterville, of Castleton, County Meath, and had issue, sixteen children, including

ROBERT, his successor;

Peter (Most Rev), RC Archbishop of Dublin;

Richard, created Earl of Tyrconnell;

Margaret; Frances; Eleanor; Mary.

The first house on record at Carton was during the 17th century, when Sir William Talbot, Recorder of Dublin ca 1603, was given a lease of the lands by the 14th Earl of Kildare, and is thought to have built a house. The house and lands were forfeited to the crown in 1691; and sold, in 1703, to Lieutenant-General Richard Ingoldsby, Master-General of the Ordnance.

Sir William died in 1634, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ROBERT TALBOT, 2nd Baronet (c1610-70), of Carton, who wedded Grace, daughter of GEORGE, 1ST BARON BALTIMORE, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;

Frances; Mary.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his only son,

SIR WILLIAM TALBOT, 3rd Baronet (c1643-91), who espoused, in 1683, the Lady Anne Nugent, daughter of Richard, 2nd Earl of Westmeath; the marriage was, however, without issue.

Following the demise of his royal master, JAMES II, Sir William was attainted, his lands and titles forfeited.

First published in June, 2022.  Talbot arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

The Montagu Case

DAVE ADAMS HAS SENT ME AN ARTICLE FROM THE WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER, DATED WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH, 1892

THE DUKES OF MANCHESTER WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ARMAGH, WITH 12,298 ACRES. THEIR COUNTY ARMAGH SEAT WAS TANDRAGEE CASTLE. THE RT HON LORD ROBERT MONTAGU, OF CROMORE HOUSE, WAS THE SECOND SON OF GEORGE, 6TH DUKE. 

CRUELTY TO A CHILD - EXTRAORDINARY CASE IN IRELAND: WOMAN CHARGED WITH CAUSING THE DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER

The correspondent of The Central News at Coleraine reports that considerable sensation has been caused in that town and neighbourhood by the committal for trial, on a Coroner's warrant, of Mrs Annie Margaret Montagu, the charge against her being the causing of the death of her daughter, Mary Helen Montagu, aged three years.

The accused is the wife of Mr Montagu, of CROMORE HOUSE, Coleraine, eldest son of Lord Robert Montagu, who is an uncle [sic] of the 7th Duke of Manchester. [Lord Robert was the 7th Duke's brother].

The offence, as is alleged, was committed on February 13th, and on that day, according to the evidence taken at the inquest, the child was locked in a dark room by her governess as a punishment for some offence.

A short time afterwards, Mrs Montagu went into the room, and, it is said, tied the little girl's hands behind her back with a stocking, and, having fastened to this a piece of string, fixed it to a ring in the wall of the room.

About three hours later the mother went to the door of the room, and called her child by name several times, but there was no answer.

She opened the door, and, going to the place where she left the little girl, found her dead.

She carried the body to her own room, stripped off the clothes, and tried to restore life, but without success.

She then called the governess, and told her what had happened.

At the conclusion of the evidence, the Coroner (Mr. Caldwell) committed Mrs Montagu for trial at the Londonderry Assizes.

STATEMENT BY THE FATHER

The Press Association's correspondent has had an interview with Mr A C Montagu JP, the father of Helen Montagu, aged three years, who was found dead in a small dark room, where she had been tied to a ring in the wall by her mother, under circumstances detailed above.

Mr Montagu, who lives at Cromore House, Portstewart, is a son of Lord Robert Montagu, and a grandson of the Duke of Manchester.

He was formerly a lieutenant in the navy, but was compelled to leave the service, owing to an exceptional tendency to seasickness.

Mrs Montagu, who stands committed for trial on a charge of killing her child, is of Scotch extraction, and the daughter of a late wealthy London tea merchant.

She is a lady who is noted in the North of Ireland for her daring horsemanship and her splendid management of high-spirited animals.

They move in the best society, and Cromore is one of the finest mansions in the district, being surrounded by an extensive and valuable estate.

The circumstances of the child’s death, so far as they have leaked out through the meagre reports of the coroner’s inquest, which lasted five hours, have caused the greatest excitement in Ulster.

When, the correspondent proceeds, he called on Mr Montagu, he found that gentleman engaged with his spiritual adviser, the local parish priest.

He willingly granted an interview and escorted the correspondent upstairs to the dark room.

This is an apartment about 6ft. square, with no fireplace or window, and opens into what is known as the children's room, which is bright and airy.

Two rings were fastened by screws into a board, and it was to one of these rings that the child was tied.

There is no ventilation in the apartment except what comes from beneath the door, a mere chink and from* between a couple of badly placed boards.

Mr Montagu mentioned, in the course of the interview, that the little child was his only daughter. He has seven sons.

In reply to a question he stated that it was erroneous to say, as had been implied, that the child got no food on Saturday from breakfast time, which was eight o'clock.

She had come down late that morning, the conjecture being that she was not feeling very well and it was in consequence of this that she got the meal at eleven.

Asked how such a punishment came to be awarded to a child of three years for soiling her clothes, Mr. Montagu said:

"Mrs Montagu entertains very strong opinions on the subject of the upbringing, training, and correction of children. Her theory, which I think to a great extent is right, is that the spirit of disobedience, or any tendency to disobedience, must be conquered from the very earliest years.

She insists upon obedience and cleanliness in her children, and unless they are punished early they soon learn bad habits. She also believed in restraint and confinement as the best punishment."

Asked if it was not too long to leave the child without visiting her, Mr Montagu replied,

"Yes, perhaps it was too long, but then Mrs Montagu has so much to do. I believe she was out for some time while the child was confined, and most of the rest of the time she was in the kitchen attending to various domestic duties."

Mr Montagu added that he thought the governess was kind to the children.

She had never been anything to the contrary.

She had been with them a year last October.

It was on the governess’s report of misbehaviour that Mrs Montagu acted.

The child was a little wilful at times, and Mrs Montagu believed that the natural inclination to that must be suppressed, or the child would grow quite beyond control.

The correspondent adds that the body of the child was buried with great privacy: Mr Montagu and one of his boys took the coffin in the family carriage, which, with blinds drawn, was driven in the direction of Bushmills, where there is a Roman Catholic burying-ground.

[A cablegram in another column states that Mrs Montagu has been sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment, for the murder of her daughter].

First published in May, 2014.

Dundonald: Glebe House

DUNDONALD, County Down, now almost consumed within Greater Belfast, was once a charming, picturesque village, with its own tavern, meeting-house, parish and presbyterian churches, and a row of cottages lining the main road.

This continuous line of cottages was known as Gape Row.

Gape Row on the right, not far from the former Old Moat Inn.

The last cottage to stand was the old post office, and they were all swept away by 1934.

Opposite Gape Row, across the main road, the prospect remained rural and agricultural.

The Glebe House. Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

The Glebe House, former residence of the Rectors of Dundonald, still stands on the hillside, in its own grounds.

It was erected in 1819 by the Rev Roger Moore Dillon, Rector from 1810 till 1851, and cost £830 to build (equivalent to about £73,000 in 2019).

This Georgian rectory is today part of a residential home, and is surrounded by extensions and various additions.

The residential home, St Elizabeth's Court, is named after the parish church which still stands on the other side of the main road.

The parish church was named after Elizabeth Cleland, of Stormont Castle.

The main block comprises two storeys and three bays, with a fanlighted door.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

There are single or one and a half storey wings.

The outbuildings, however, included a carriage house, piggery, and potato house.

A garden remains at the front of the house, down a few steps, and the grounds originally extended to twelve acres.

A series of Rectors resided in the Glebe House, including the Rev Andrew Cleland (from 1851-80).

The Rev Thomas Herbert Frizelle, Rector from 1951-80, built the new parish church, which was completed in 1966.

Thomas Frizelle was probably the last Rector to live at the Glebe House, because a new rectory was built within the glebe grounds, south of the Glebe House.

Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020

On my way home I cycled over to Church Green, now the heart of old Dundonald, and spotted a Victorian post-box.

First published in July, 2020.

The Portaferry Hotel

THE PORTAFERRY HOTEL is a substantial, long, relatively plain, two-storey block located at the corner of the Strand and Castle Street in Portaferry, County Down.

The Ards Peninsula and Strangford Lough are amongst the most picturesque parts of Northern Ireland.

This building, amalgamated and much altered, formerly comprised separate properties, one of which is probably pre-1834.

A large section to the south-east was the site of two smaller houses, which were demolished in 1991 when the hotel was extended.

To the rear there are large modern extensions.

The facade is rendered and painted.

The roof of the main section is mainly gabled, though is hipped on the corner.

The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates, with three plain, rendered chimney stacks to the southern elevation, with matching pots.

A Small cast-iron skylight is in the middle of the roof to the south elevation.

Two Buildings seen to the left now form the Hotel

This building was built in stages and represents the amalgamation of a number of properties and the demolition of others.

Eventually the remainder of the property on the south, or strand side incorporated the site now covered by the present hotel as well as land and buildings to the rear.

During the early 19th century, however, the lease was sub-divided, with the buildings to the rear becoming Maxwell's Distillery (later a corn mill and by 1860s, falling into dereliction) and a tan yard, run by William Warnock.

The rest of the section to the corner formed one large property, with a separate house next to it further along The Strand.

In 1835, the larger property to the corner was in the possession of Hugh Boden and included a two-storey dwelling house with extensive single storey outbuildings.

The dwelling further along The Strand (also two-storey) was the home of Eliza Lyttle.

In 1860, Edward Bryce had obtained a lease of the large corner property, as well as the house beyond; and for most of the next two decades ran a spirit grocer's on the corner, whilst sub-letting the two houses beyond.

In 1880, Mr Bryce sold the lease to Henry McGrath, an auctioneer and leading figure in Portaferry's social, cultural and political life.

The property remained in the McGrath family until 1933, when the lease was bought by William Lyons, who sold it three years later to a local businessman, William McMullan.

With many other business interests already, McMullan sub-let the spirit grocer's to a Mrs Corbett and her daughter, Miss Thompson, who decided to open a hotel on the site.

Thus, during the late 1930s, the spirit grocer's and the buildings to Castle Street were converted and a door opened from the hotel to the house on The Strand (likely Hugh Boden's residence in 1835).

In 1947, the lease was acquired by a Mrs Wolson, who had been in the hospitality trade for some time, and who extended the business, taking in the whole of the former house.

When Mrs Wolson retired she sold the hotel to Brian Waddell of Waddell Media in Holywood.

He was in partnership with a boat builder from Bangor by the name of Palmer.

They sold to John Herlihy, former manager of the ill-fated Russell Court Hotel on the Lisburn Road, Belfast, who improved and extended the Portaferry Hotel to the greatest degree.

Adjoining houses, numbers eight and nine, were acquired and demolished, and the hotel was extended on to this site, extensively renovating the entire building in the process.

Mr Herlihy was in the right place at the right time, as the Northern Ireland Office used the premises extensively.

When John Herlihy retired in 2005, he sold the hotel to a hospitality group who also owned the Hillside Bar in Hillsborough.

Their intention was to turn the Portaferry Hotel into apartments, but were prevented when they went bankrupt in the recession of 2008.

Bill Wolsey, OBE, bought out the group's assets from the Ulster Bank, and owner-managed it for several years before leasing it to an American couple.

After a year, they experienced financial difficulties and disappeared - probably to the United States.

Bill Wolsey's Beannchor Group then leased it out (2016) to the Arthurs family - local butchers and businessmen.

Since then the hotel has thrived under local ownership.

I am particularly grateful to Richard Graham, a former manager at the hotel, for additional information.

First published in June, 2014.