Brackenber Dinner

Every year, if I'm here, I attend the annual Brackenber House School Old Boys' dinner. It's held at the Ulster Reform Club in Royal Avenue, Belfast.

It was a dry evening, so I donned the glad rags, including the old school tie, and cycled into town.

The door-man at the club invariably advises me to bring my bike inside for safety.

Thence I made my way upstairs to the top floor, where the Old Billiards Room is located.

Brackenber House, Cleaver Avenue, Belfast

I gather there were forty-eight of us this year, a good number given that Brackenber closed in 1985.

As always this was a memorable occasion.

I was seated at Table Two.

There were several familiar faces missing this year, though apologies were received from a number of Old Boys and naturally numbers are dwindling: names of deceased Old Boys are read out to us. 

Gordon McCaw beside me suggested that I enable an audible feature to the Blog (how on earth is that done?), and Paddy Lowry mentioned "Spotify."

The Oxford grey lounge suit remains in remarkably excellent condition, given that it was tailored in Belfast in 1982; it still fits me like a glove; a greedy moth, however, has gained access to it and there are two holes. 

I shrug my shoulders and wear it regardless.

Johnny Irvine, who was at Brackenber with me in 1973, was at the dinner this year.

Stradbally Hall

THE COSBYS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN THE QUEEN'S COUNTY, WITH 10,110 ACRES

In the time of QUEEN MARY, this family, originally of the counties of Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, settled in Ireland.

ROBERT COSSBYE, of Harmston, in Lincolnshire, living in 1516, married Isabel, daughter and heiress of Ralph Pare, of Great Leake, Nottinghamshire, and had a son and heir,

JOHN COSBIE, who wedded Mabel, daughter of _____ Agard, of Foston, Nottinghamshire, and had two sons, viz. RICHARD, of Great Leake, and

FRANCIS COSBIE (1510-80),

The patriarch of the family in Ireland, a man famed for personal courage, as well as civil and military talents. When young he served in the wars of HENRY VIII in the Low Countries, and was not undistinguished. His abandonment of his native soil arose from the downfall of the Lord Protector, Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, whose daughter Mary, widow of Sir Henry Peyton, Knight, he had married. 

Deeming the disgrace and death of that once potent nobleman a sentence of exclusion from place and preferment in England, against his immediate connections at least, Cosbie (Mary Seymour, his first wife, being then dead), removed to Ireland, taking with him his second wife, Elizabeth Palmer, and the two surviving sons of the first. Here, in the land of his adoption, he soon found the opportunity of establishing a reputation, which he despaired of effecting in the land of his birth. 

He became an active defender of The Pale, and his vigilance, zeal, and success attracting the observation of government, he was appointed, by QUEEN MARY, 1558, General of the Kern, a post of great trust and importance in those times.

In 1559 he represented the borough of Thomastown in parliament, when he was constituted, by ELIZABETH I, Sheriff of Kildare.

Cosbie was granted, in 1562, the site of the suppressed abbey St Francis at Stradbally.

He married firstly, the Lady Mary Seymour, daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;
Henry;
Arnold.

General Cosby wedded secondly, in 1575, Elizabeth Palmer, and had issue, an only daughter, Catherine.

He fell at the battle of Glendalough, 1580, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ALEXANDER COSBY, of Stradbally Abbey, who also obtained very extensive grants of land in the Queen's County.

He wedded Dorcas, daughter of William Sydney, of Otford, Kent, maid of honour to ELIZABETH I, and had issue,

FRANCIS, father of WILLIAM; fell at the battle of Stradbally Bridge;
RICHARD, succeeded to his nephew;
Charles;
Arnold;
Mabel; Rose.

Alexander Cosby, slain at the battle of Stradbally Bridge with the O'Mores, 1596, was succeeded, although for a few minutes only, by his eldest son,

FRANCIS COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, who being slain as stated above, never enjoyed the inheritance, but was succeeded by his infant child,

WILLIAM COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, born in 1596, who died in June that year, when the estates reverted to his uncle,

RICHARD COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, Captain of the Kern, who gained the battle of Dunamace over the O'Mores, 1606, who espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Pigott, Knight, of Dysart, and had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;
FRANCIS, who succeeded his nephew at Stradbally;
Sydney;
William;
Dorcas.

Richard Cosby died in 1631, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

ALEXANDER COSBY (1610-36), of Stradbally Hall, who married Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Slingsby, Knight, of Kilmore, County Cork, and was succeeded by his son,

FRANCIS COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, who dsp before 1638, when he was succeeded by his uncle,

FRANCIS COSBY (1612-), of Stradbally Hall, MP for Carysfort, who wedded Ann, daughter of Sir Thomas Loftus, Knight, of Killyan, and had issue,

ALEXANDER, his heir;
Thomas, of Vicarstown; father of THOMAS;
Sydney.

The eldest son,

ALEXANDER COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Henry L'Estrange, of Moystown, King's County, and had issue,

DUDLEY, his heir;
Henry;
Thomas;
Loftus;
Alexander, father of PHILLIPS;
William;
Arnold;
Anne; Elizabeth; Jane; Dorcas; Isabella; Celia; Dorothy.

Alexander Cosby died in 1694, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

DUDLEY ALEXANDER SYDNEY COSBY (1662-1729), of Stradbally Hall, Lieutenant-Colonel, MP for Queen's County, 1703-29, who married firstly, Ann, daughter and heir of Sir Andrew Owen, Knight, which lady dsp 1698; and secondly, Sarah, daughter of Periam Pole, of Ballyfin, by whom he had,

POLE, his heir;
Sarah.

Colonel Cosbie was succeeded by his son,

POLE COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, who wedded Mary, daughter and co-heir of Henry Dodwell, of Manor Dodwell, County Roscommon, and by her, left at his decease, in 1766 (with a daughter, Sarah, who married firstly, the Rt Hon Arthur Upton, of Castle Upton; and secondly, Robert, Earl of Farnham), a son and successor,

DUDLEY ALEXANDER SYDNEY COSBY (c1730-74), MP for Carrick, 1763-8, 1ST BARON SYDNEY, of Leix, so created in 1768.

His lordship, Minister Resident to Denmark, wedded, in 1773, the Lady Isabella St Lawrence, daughter of Thomas, 1st Earl of Howth, but died in the ensuing month, January, 1774, without issue.

His peerage became extinct, while the inheritance reverted to his lordship's cousin,

VICE-ADMIRAL PHILLIPS COSBY (1729-1808), of Stradbally Hall, Admiral of the Red, who espoused, in 1792, Eliza, daughter of William Gunthorpe, and sister of William Gunthorpe, of Southampton, but having no issue, was succeeded at his decease by his kinsman,

THOMAS COSBY (1742-98), of Vicarstown, and afterwards of Stradbally, who wedded firstly, Frances Booker, and by her had two sons, both of whom died young.

He married secondly, Grace, daughter and co-heir of George Johnstone, of Glaslough, County Monaghan, and had issue,

Dudley, accidentally drowned, 1789, sp;
Francis, drowned at cork, 1791, sp;
THOMAS, his heir.

Mr Cosby was succeeded by his only surviving son,

THOMAS COSBY, of Stradbally Hall, Governor of Queen's County, High Sheriff, 1809, who wedded, in 1802, Charlotte Elizabeth, daughter of the Rt Hon Thomas Kelly, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, and had issue,

THOMAS PHILLIPS, his heir;
William (Rev);
Sydney, father of ROBERT ASHWORTH GODOLPHIN;
Wellesley Pole;
Frances Elizabeth; Harriet Georgiana.

Mr Cosby, High Sheriff of Queen's County, died in 1832, and was succeeded by his son,

THOMAS PHILLIPS COSBY JP DL (1803-51), of Stradbally Hall, High Sheriff of Queen's County, 1834, Captain, Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, and dsp 1851, when the property devolved upon his nephew,

ROBERT ASHWORTH GODOLPHIN COSBY JP (1837-1920), of Stradbally Hall, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of the Queen's County, High Sheriff of Queen's County, 1863, Colonel, 3rd Leinster Regiment, who wedded firstly, in 1859, Alice Sophia Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir George Edward Pocock Bt, of The Priory, Christchurch, Hampshire, and had issue,

DUDLEY SYDNEY ASHWORTH, his heir;
Sydney George Coventry;
Edith Augusta Emily; Mary Powlet; Aline Islay; Lilian Alice; Violet Grace.

Colonel Cosby married secondly, in 1885, Eliza, daughter of the Rev Capel Molyneux, Vicar of St Paul's, Onslow Square, and widow of Sir Charles Goring, 9th Baronet, of Highden, Sussex.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

DUDLEY SYDNEY ASHWORTH COSBY DL (1862-1923), of Stradbally Hall, Captain, 3rd Battalion, Scottish Rifles, who wedded, in 1895, Emily Mabel, daughter of Lieutenant-General James Gubbins, and had issue,

ERROLD ASHWORTH SYDNEY, his heir;
Eric James Dudley;
Ivan Robert Sydney;
Irene Mabel Alys; Dulcie Iris Voilet.

Captain Cosby was succeeded by his eldest son,

ERROLD ASHWORTH SYDNEY COSBY (1898-1984), of Stradbally Hall, Major, The Rifle Brigade, who wedded, in 1934, Enid Elizabeth, daughter of Major Maurice William Chetwode Hamilton, and had issue,

ADRIAN PATRICK SYDNEY ALEXANDER;
David Ashworth Sydney Phillips, b 1947;
Julian Charles Seymour Francis, b 1947;
Anthea Moira Enid, b 1940.

Major Cosby was succeeded by his eldest son,

ADRIAN PATRICK SYDNEY ALEXANDER COSBY (1937-), of Stradbally Hall, Irish Guards, who married, in 1972, Alison Margaret, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Wylie, and has issue,

THOMAS SYDNEY ASHWORTH, b 1974;
Mary Siobhan Elizabeth, b 1973.

Entrance Front

STRADBALLY HALL, County Laois, is a nine-bay, two-storey Georgian house, built in 1772.

The present mansion's predecessor was erected by Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Cosby in 1699, likely incorporating an earlier dwelling.

Stradbally Hall (Image: Ger Browne, 2021)

About 1868, Ralph Ashworth Godolphin Cosby engaged Sir Charles Lanyon to enlarge and re-model the house in the Italianate style.

Garden Front

A new entrance front was added with a large, single-storey, balustraded portico.

Stradbally estate is now renowned for its Electric Picnic music festival held in the grounds.

First published in December, 2016.

Mount Stewart Memories

On the White Stag at Mount Stewart

WILLIAM PATTERSON RECOUNTS HIS MEMORIES OF MOUNT STEWART, ANCESTRAL SEAT OF THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY

I was a young man living in County Down near Greyabbey.

It was 1964 if I remember correctly, and on occasion I would meet a dark haired lady of middle years dressed as a ‘nanny’ - blue uniform and darker overcoat - and pushing a very smart ‘pram’ which contained a cherubic small boy of about 18 months with fair hair.

We got chatting on one occasion and we walked the long winding footpath together towards Mount Stewart where she explained that her charge was Lady Mairi Bury’s grandson, Charles Villiers.

Nanny Ellis holding Master Charles

Her name was Elizabeth Ellis - a Scottish lady - but I was asked to call her ‘Nanny’ like everyone else.

I was invited to her apartment in Mount Stewart to take tea and biscuits on several occasions, and it was during these visits that I met Charles’ mother, Elizabeth Villiers, and his very well known grandmother, Lady Mairi.

Lady Mairi had a rather disconcerting cool appraising stare, but she must have decided that I was suitable company as I was a welcome visitor, and got to attend a couple of her famous parties.

Billy in the Nursery

I cannot remember now at this remove most of their names, but they were the great and good of society and the arts.

The ladies were very glamorous and dripping with diamonds and the men suitably attired to match their companions.

I thought I might be very out of my depth, but I was very pleased to find them, with a few exceptions, easy to speak to and interesting to listen to.

Michael O’Duffy was a very well known Irish tenor at the time and he entertained the guests accompanied by the wonderful Duncan Morrison from Stornoway on the piano.

Duncan used to play for Rev Sydney MacEwan on many of his recordings.

I met Duncan on several different occasions at Mount Stewart and we exchanged Christmas Cards for several years after.

One character I remember from one of her parties was a gentleman of whom it was whispered had psychic powers, by name Clifford Frost.

I was in deep conversation with someone, I can’t remember who, when he weaved his way over and asked to see my hand.

He took my proffered palm and stared at it, weaving slightly all the while as a result of the bountiful liquid refreshment on offer by our hostess, then dropped it and walked off saying “You’ll get all you want out of life”.

You know, despite the odd knock-back, he wasn’t far wrong.

When Jessie Matthews - dancer, actress, star of stage and screen and latterly on radio as Mrs Dale in Mrs Dale’s Diary, came to open a garden fête for Lady Mairi, I had the pleasure of meeting her, and on giving her a donation for her charity, I was rewarded with a hug and a kiss, and told I was a darling.

I admit to blushing, but walked around on air for the rest of the afternoon.

Billy at the Swimming-pool

There was a well concealed private swimming-pool belonging to the family on the Strangford Lough side of the road which I was kindly offered the use of, and spent many a happy day there in the company of Nanny, Charles the baby and my dog Kim and sometimes just on my own.

On one of these solitary visits I daringly removed my swimming togs and for the first time swam in the nude.

Billy & Charles at the Swimming-pool in 1965

I found it to be a wonderful experience - no clinging togs and a great feeling of being at one with nature.

On many warm summer days we walked around the beautiful gardens enjoying the flowers and shrubs, the statues, and little concealed nooks and crannies - little worlds within the larger one.

The well known composer and pianist from Stornoway, Duncan Morrison (above), in green velvet Scottish evening attire, with his sister Bella Morrison in a black dress (with a rather curious third figure present, seemingly in fancy dress with a black fur hat and a blacked face - maybe having been cast as "the Black Man" who had brought in a New Year?).

Wonderful days with lasting memories for me, and I bless the day I struck up a conversation with Nanny Ellis, who continued to be a friend for many years after she had left the employ of the family.

The memories all come back when I occasionally return to Mount Stewart as one of the many visitors, and one of the few who remember this historic house as a wonderful family home.

First published in February, 2019.

Leslie Hill

THE LESLIES OWNED 7,428 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

This family springs from

THE REV PETER LESLIE (1686-1773), born at Westminster, Rector of Ahoghill, County Antrim, who married, in 1718, Jane, daughter of the Most Rev Anthony Dopping, Lord Bishop of Meath, and had issue,

HENRY (Rev),1719-1803;
EDMUND, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

THE VEN EDMUND LESLIE (1735-90), appointed Archdeacon of Down, 1782, and also a prebendary of Connor, wedded firstly, Jane, daughter of JOHN MACNAGHTEN, of Benvarden, County Antrim, and had issue,

Peter, died in London;
Bartholomew, died in India;
JAMES, of whom we treat;
Edmund, died in India;
Mary.

He espoused secondly, Eleanor, daughter of George Portis, of London, and issue,

George;
Henry (Very Rev), Dean of Connor;
Samuel, Rear-Admiral, of Donaghadee;
Ellen.

The Archdeacon's eldest surviving son, 

JAMES LESLIE JP DL (1768-1847), of Leslie House, County Antrim, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1799, succeeded to the estates on the demise of his uncle, James Leslie, in 1796.

He wedded, in 1795, Mary, daughter of Adam Cuppage, of Donaghcloney, County Down, and had issue,

JAMES EDMUND;
Henry, JP, of Seaport Lodge, Portballintrae;
Frances Seymour, of the Home Office;
JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM (Rev);
Bartholdus George Albert (1812-15).

The eldest son,

JAMES EDMUND LESLIE JP DL (1800-81), of Leslie Hill and SEAPORT LODGE, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1854, wedded, in 1823, Sarah, youngest daughter of the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Sandford, Bishop of Edinburgh, and had issue,

James Sandford, 1824-29;
Henry Erskine, 1825-29;
EDMUND DOUGLAS, of whom hereafter;
Daniel Sandford, died in infancy;
Seymour Montague, b 1835; father of JAMES GRAHAM;
Francis Macnaghten, b 1837; in the army;
Erskine Douglas, died in infancy;
Frances Mary; Mary Wilhelmina; Sarah Agnes; Jane Elizabeth.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL EDMUND DOUGLAS LESLIE was granted the honorary rank of Colonel in 1877. 

He was succeeded by his third son,

EDMUND DOUGLAS LESLIE JP DL (1828-1904), of Leslie Hill and Seaport Lodge, Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Colonel, 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, who died unmarried in 1904, and was succeeded by his nephew,

JAMES GRAHAM LESLIE JP DL (1868-1949), of Leslie Hill and Seaport Lodge, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1907, barrister, some time head of a department in the Office of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, who espoused, in 1901, Grace, only daughter of J Lamont Brodie, of Wimbledon, and had issue,

SEYMOUR ARGENT SANDFORD, CMG, his heir;
Grace Margaret Hester, b 1905;
Mary Etheldritha (Audrey), b 1908.

Mr Leslie was succeeded by his son and heir,

SEYMOUR ARGENT SANDFORD LESLIE CMG (1902-53), of Leslie Hill, Financial Secretary, Tanganyika, who married, in 1930, Eleanor Mary Stuart, and had issue,

JAMES FRANCIS LESLIE TD JP DL (1933-2021), Honorary Colonel, D (North Irish Horse) Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry, 1991 (in succession to the Lord O'Neill), married Patricia Jane Elizabeth (née Swales) (d 2023), and had issue,

JAMES SEYMOUR LESLIE (1958-2009), Sheriff of Co Antrim, 2006;

JOHN GRAHAM EDMUND, successor to his late brother;

Jane Elizabeth Rose.

John Leslie apprises me that he inherited the estate on the death of his mother in 2023.

John and Katy, his partner, reside at Leslie Hill (as they have done for the past 15 years).

The estate continues to be run as a farm breeding sheep and working extensively with timber.

John and Katy make films themselves in Ireland, North and South, Europe and America; and the estate is often used as a filming location by many well known production companies including Universal, HBO, and the BBC. It has become a most useful diversification. The open farm has been closed since 2013.

Mrs Judena Leslie was Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland, 2015- 21.

*****

THE CREST of this family has traditionally been an angel, though a gryphon is sometimes used by some portions of the family. 

The motto, Grip Fast, has remained unchanged since the time of QUEEN MARGARET of Scotland, by whom it was given to Bartolf (Bartholomew), under the following circumstances:

In crossing a river swollen by floods, the Queen was thrown from her horse, and in danger of being drowned, when the knight, plunging into the stream, seized hold of Her Majesty's girdle; and as he brought her with difficulty towards the bank, she frequently exclaimed grip fast, and afterwards desired that he should retain the words as his motto, in remembrance of the occurrence.

LESLIE HILL, near Ballymoney, County Antrim, was built by James Leslie ca 1750, on the site of an older castle. 

The house originally consisted of a gable-ended main block of three storeys over a high basement, joined to two-storey office wings by single-storey links.

The principal block has a seven-bay front with a three-bay pedimented breakfront; doorway, with two Doric columns and a fanlight under a baseless pediment.

There is a lunette window in the pediment which lights the attic. The former wings were of three bays and the links of two.

There is a flagged hall with screen; principal rooms have modillion cornices and doors with shouldered architraves.

The attic room has a convex-coved ceiling and central roundel containing a portrait which may be of the James Leslie who built the House. 

Alas, the wings and connecting links were demolished in 1955.

The present owner is directly descended from the Rt Rev Henry Leslie (chaplain to CHARLES I, Bishop of Down & Connor, 1635) and the 4th Earl of Rothes, by his marriage to Agnes Somerville. 

Leslie Hill has been occupied continuously by the Leslie family for more than 350 years.

In 1778, while the United States was trying to retain the independence it had declared in 1776, the American frigate "Ranger", under John Paul Jones, opened fire on Carrickfergus Castle and attacked HMS Drake, putting it out of action.

This attack, and the fact that the French had allied themselves to the colonists in the American revolution, caused alarm in Ireland which, at that time, was practically bereft of Crown forces.

This led to a demand for the local volunteers, a citizen's militia, recruited mainly from the protestant middle class and led by the nobility, at their own expense, to defend the Irish coast and guard life and property.

Leslie Hill was used as a bivouac and for drilling purposes.

The estate was of considerable acreage, comprising 7,428 acres, with a progressive farm, but much of the land was sold to the tenants under the Land Act of 1903.

Not all the Leslies in Ulster remained there: in 1718 a James Leslie of the Coleraine area came to New England, USA, to settle with the Scots Presbyterians in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Later in 1729, another James Leslie and his wife Margaret Sheerar, left Coleraine to settle in Topsfield, Massachusetts, he also is a lineal descendant of the 4th Earl of Rothes and his wife Agnes Somerville. 

There is a book published by the Essex Institute about the members of this family.

It is of significance that another James Leslie and his family left Ballymoney for the long voyage to America.

They left the linen mills of Balnamore, near Leslie Hill to join forces with the large working world of the great Amoskeag Cotton Mills of Manchester, New Hampshire.

James Seymour Leslie (1958-2009) was a NI politician, a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

THE Castle Leslie demesne, adjacent to Ballymoney, lies in a ridge above the Bann Valley. Continuous ownership of the Leslie family adds interest in the property.

The house of ca 1760  has landscaped parkland to the north, with fine trees and a small, artificial, late 19th century lake complete with island and boat-house.

A ha-ha separates the south front lawns from parkland and exposes the fine distant views.

There are stands of mature trees and mixed woodland. A late 19th century, ‘Robinsonian’ garden is no longer distinguishable.

A small enclosed garden to the east of the house has two lily ponds constructed ca 1891 of unusual shape.

These are listed, together with the enclosing walls and a nearby ice house.

Ornamental shrubs and trees, with under-planting of wild flowers, decorate the access route to the walled gardens.

The walled garden has a rectangular western part, which is partially cultivated and under restoration to be attractive and productive for modern usage.

The Melon House has been restored. Remnants of other glasshouses are exposed.

The garden is divided into two by a brick wall and the smaller eastern part is uncultivated.

The outbuildings are notable, fully restored and open to view.

A disused gate lodge at the main entrance is of ca 1911 and replaced a pair removed when the road was realigned in the 1850s.

The house is private and grounds are private.

The family formerly had a marine residence, SEAPORT LODGE, at Portballintrae.

First published in November, 2010.

Bagenal of Newry

JOHN BAGNALL, Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme, wedded Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Whittingham, of Middlewich, Cheshire, and had issue,

NICHOLAS;

Ralph (Sir);

Richard.

Mr Bagnall died in 1558, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON SIR NICHOLAS BAGNALL or BAGENAL (c1510-91), of London, Penrhyn, Newry, and Carlingford, Marshal-General of the Army in Ireland, 1550-3, Privy Counsellor (Ireland), MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1555-59, MP for Down, 1585.

Sir Nicholas Bagenal (Image: Newry & Mourne Museum)

He married, ca 1555, Eleanor, daughter and co-heir of  Sir Edward Griffith, of Penrhyn, Caernarvonshire, and had issue, including

HENRY;

Dudley;

Ambrose;

Mary; Frances; Margaret; Isabel; Anne; Mabel.

Sir Nicholas was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON SIR HENRY BAGNALL or BAGENAL (1556-98), of Newry, County Down, Norley Castle, and Stoke, Staffordshire, MP for Anglesey, 1586, who espoused, in 1577, Eleanor, daughter of Sir John Savage, of Clifton and Rock Savage, Cheshire, by his wife, the Lady Elizabeth Manners, daughter of Thomas, 1st Earl of Rutland, and had issue,

ARTHUR;

Gryffyth;

John;

Roger;

Anne; Anne; Eleanor; Mary; Elizabeth; Jane.

Sir Henry was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR BAGENAL, of Plâs Newydd and Newry, who married Magdalen, daughter of Sir Richard Trevor, and had issue, an only child,

NICHOLAS BAGENAL or BAGENALL (1629-1712), of Plâs Newydd, Anglesey, and Newry, County Down, MP for Anglesey, 1661, who wedded firstly, in 1671, Sidney (d 1684), daughter of ROGER GROSVENOR, of Eaton Hall, Cheshire; and secondly, in 1686, the Lady Anne Bruce, daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Ailesbury, and had issue, an only daughter, Elizabeth.

Mr Bagenal bequeathed the family estates to his cousins, Edward Bayly and Robert Needham, ancestors of the Marquess of Anglesey and the EARL OF KILMOREY respectively.

First published in May, 2022.

Castle Morres House

THE DE MONTMORENCYS OWNED 4,808 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILKENNY

MAJOR HERVEY RANDALL SAVILLE PRATT DL (1782-1859), third son of the Rev Joseph Pratt, of CABRA CASTLE, County Cavan, by the Hon Sarah de Montmorency his wife, daughter of Harvey, 1st Viscount Mountmorres, of Castle Morres, County Kilkenny, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1836, wedded, in 1811, Rose Lloyd, daughter of the Rt Rev John Kearney, Lord Bishop of Ossory, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Joseph;
Hervey Mervyn;
Raymond;
Anne Sarah; Letitia; Elizabeth; Sarah; Fanny.

Mr Pratt, who, upon the death of his father, succeeded his mother in the Kilkenny estates, which she and her sister Letitia, Marchioness of Antrim, had jointly inherited as co-heirs of their brother Hervey Redmond, 2nd Viscount Mountmorres.

He assumed, in 1831, the surname and arms of DE MONTMORENCY.

Mr de Montmorency was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN PRATT DE MONTMORENCY (1815-68), of Castle Morres, who married, in 1838, Henrietta O'Grady, daughter of Standish, 1st Viscount Guillamore, and had issue,

HERVEY JOHN, his heir;
WALLER, successor to his brother;
Mervyn Standish, barrister;
Raymond Oliver;
Katherine Maria; Rose Emily.

Mr de Montmorency was succeeded by his eldest son,

HERVEY JOHN DE MONTMORENCY JP (1840-73), of Castle Morres, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1872, late 2nd Dragoon Guards, who espoused, in 1867, Grace, daughter of Sir Thomas Fraser Grove Bt, of Ferne, Wiltshire, leaving issue, a daughter, Henrietta Kathleen.

He was succeeded by his brother,

THE VEN WALLER DE MONTMORENCY JP (1841-1924), of Castle Morres, Archdeacon of Ossory, who wedded, in 1872, Mary, daughter of the Rt Rev James Thomas O'Brien, Lord Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, and had issue,

JOHN PRATT, his heir;
Geoffey FitzHervey, b 1876.

The Archdeacon was succeeded by his elder son,

CAPTAIN JOHN PRATT DE MONTMORENCY CMG DL RN (1873-1960), High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1921, who espoused firstly, in 1908, Margaret Elinor, eldest daughter of Colonel Samuel Pym; and secondly, in 1934, Norah, daughter of Colonel Mervyn de Montmorency, by whom he had issue,

Jane Avril, b 1936;
Sarah Anne, 1943-97.

CASTLE MORRES, Kilmaganny, County Kilkenny, was a splendid mid-18th century mansion by Francis Binden.

It comprised three storeys over a basement, with a nine-bay front.

There were single wings on either side of the centre block.

There was a three-bay central break-front with quoins and a rusticated ground floor.

The roof parapet had balustrades.

A balustraded perron and double stairway led to the doorway, which had Ionic columns and pediment.

There was a magnificent black marble chimney-piece in the hall, resplendent with a military trophy under a scroll pediment; and an eagle spreading its wings above.

Captain John Pratt de Montmorency sold Castle Morres to the Irish Land Commission in 1926.

In the 1930s its roof was removed; and the once great mansion house suffered its ultimate fate in 1978 when it was demolished.

First published in March, 2016.

1st Baron Armaghdale

JAMES LONSDALE JP DL (1826-1913), of The Pavilion, City of Armagh, son of Thomas Lonsdale, of Loughgall, County Armagh, married firstly, in 1846, Jane, daughter of William Brownlee, and had issue,

JOHN BROWNLEE, his heir;
Thomas;
James Rolston, MP; High Sheriff of Co Armagh, 1891;
Mary; Jane.

He wedded secondly, in 1856, Harriet, daughter of John Rolston, and had further issue, a daughter, Sara.

James Lonsdale was a prosperous tenant farmer at Loughgall. In the 1860s, he realised that, rather than merely producing and selling his own butter, it would be shrewder to buy other farmers’ butter for the English market.

He established butter depots in Armagh and many other parts of Ireland. About 1880, he moved the centre of his operations to Manchester and began to import food produce from the Empire. His two sons, John and Thomas, joined him in this lucrative enterprise.

Mr Lonsdale was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN BROWNLEE LONSDALE JP DL (1849-1924), of The Pavilion, a partner in J & J Lonsdale and Company, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1895, MP for Mid-Armagh, 1899-1918, and for fifteen years honorary secretary of the Irish Unionist Party.

Sir John, said to be a staunch opponent of Home Rule, led the Ulster Unionists for two years.

Photo Credit: Northern Ireland Assembly

In 1911 he was created a baronet, designated of The Pavilion, County Armagh.

Seven years later, in 1918, Sir John was elevated to the peerage, in the dignity of BARON ARMAGHDALE, of Armagh, County Armagh.

He served as HM Lord-Lieutenant of County Armagh from 1920-24.

Lord and Lady Armaghdale lived in the city of Armagh at The Pavilion, a single-storey house with exceptionally wide Georgian-glazed windows and a splendid portico of four Gothic columns supporting a Classical nomenclature.

The doorway was surmounted by a segmental, pointed fanlight with a Regency veranda on one side of the portico.

During the 19th century the grounds comprised twenty acres.

The conservatory was wooden and glass construction, with Georgian astragals obscuring the range behind it.

Turtle Bunbury has published a photograph (above) of the Lonsdales seated in their car at the Pavilion in 1904.

Lord Armaghdale didn't have long to enjoy the privileges of his noble title because he died in 1924; and, without an heir, the barony became extinct.

His estate amounted to £300,000, equivalent to £19.4 million in 2021.

First published November, 2009.