Rockingham House

THE KING-HARMANS WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ROSCOMMON, WITH 29,242 ACRES

NICHOLAS HARMAN, of Carlow, settled in Ireland during the reign of JAMES I.

He was one of the first burgesses of Carlow, named in the charter granted to that borough by JAMES I in 1614, and was High Sheriff of County Carlow in 1619.

By Mary his wife he was father of 

HENRY HARMAN, of Dublin, who had by Marie his wife, five sons and as many daughters, viz.

Edward, of Derrymoyle;
Anthony, dsp before 1684;
THOMAS, of whom hereafter;
William;
Henry, ancestor of HARMAN OF PALACE;
Anne; Mary; Jane; Margaret; Mabel.

Mr Harman died before 1649, and was succeeded by his third son, 

SIR THOMAS HARMAN, Knight, of Athy, knighted by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas, Earl of Ossory, in 1664, Major in the army, 1661, MP for counties Carlow and Kildare.

Sir Thomas obtained a grant of considerable estates in County Longford, under the Act of Settlement, dated 1607.

He married Anne Jones.

Sir Thomas died in 1667, and they were both buried in Christ Church, Dublin, having had issue, with a daughter, Mary, a son,

WENTWORTH HARMAN, of Castle Roe, County Carlow, Captain of the Battleaxe Guards, 1683, who wedded firstly, in 1679, Margaret, daughter of Garrett Wellesley, of Dangan, and had issue, with one daughter, two sons, namely,

Thomas, b 1681, dsp;
WENTWORTH, of whom hereafter.

Mr Harman married secondly, in 1691, Frances, sister and heir of Anthony Sheppard, of Newcastle, County Longford, and had further issue,

ROBERT, successor to his nephew;
Francis, died 1714;
Anthony;
William;
CUTTS (Very Rev), successor to his brother;
ANNE, m Sir Anthony Parsons Bt, of Birr Castle.

Mr Harman died in 1714, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

WENTWORTH HARMAN, of Moyne, County Carlow, who espoused, in 1714, Lucy, daughter of Audley Mervyn, of Trillick, County Tyrone (and sister and heir of Henry Mervyn, of same place), and had issue,

WESLEY, his heir;
Thomas.

Mr Harman died in 1757, when was succeeded by his eldest son,

WESLEY HARMAN, of Moyle, who wedded Mary, daughter of the Rev Dr Nicholas Milley, Prebendary of Ullard, Diocese of Leighlin, by whom he had an only son,

Wentworth, who dsp in his father's lifetime.

Mr Harman died in 1758, and was succeeded by his uncle,

ROBERT HARMAN (1699-1765), of Newcastle, County Longford, and Millicent, County Kildare, MP for County Kildare, 1755, County Longford, 1761, who married Ann, daughter of John Warburton, third son of George Warburton, of Garryhinch, in the King's County.

Mr Harman dsp, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,

THE VERY REV CUTTS HARMAN (1706-84), of Newcastle, Dean of Waterford, who wedded , in 1751, Bridget, daughter of George Gore,of Tenelick, County Longford, Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, and sister of John, Lord Annaly, by whom he had no issue.

The Dean presented to his cathedral the very fine organ which it possesses.

He died in 1784, and bequeathed his estates to his nephew, the son of his sister ANNE, who espoused, as above, Sir Lawrence Parsons,

LAWRENCE PARSONS-HARMAN (1749-1807), of Newcastle, MP for County Longford, who assumed the additional surname of HARMAN in 1792, on succeeding to his uncle's estates.

He married, in 1772, the Lady Jane King, daughter of Edward, 1st Earl of Kingston, by which lady he had an only daughter,

FRANCES, of whom hereafter.

Mr Parsons-Harman was elevated to the peerage, in 1792, in the dignity of Baron Oxmantown, County Dublin.

He was advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1806, as EARL OF ROSSE, with special remainder, in default of male issue, to his nephew, Sir Lawrence Parsons, 5th Baronet, of Birr Castle.

His lordship died in 1807, when his peerage passed according to the limitation, and his Harman estates devolved upon his only daughter and heir,

THE LADY FRANCES PARSONS-HARMAN, of Newcastle, who married, in 1799, Robert Edward, 1st Viscount Lorton, and had issue,

ROBERT, 2nd Viscount, succeeded as 6th Earl of Kingston;
LAWRENCE HARMAN, succeeded to the Harman estates;
Jane; Caroline; Frances; Louisa.

Her ladyship died in 1841, when was succeeded in her estates by her second son,

THE HON LAWRENCE KING-HARMAN (1816-75), of Newcastle, and of Rockingham, County Roscommon, who assumed the additional surname of HARMAN.

He wedded, in 1837, Mary Cecilia, seventh daughter of James Raymond Johnstone, of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, and had, with other issue, a second son.

On his death, the property passed to his eldest son,

THE RT HON EDWARD ROBERT KING-HARMAN JP MP (1838-88), of Rockingham, County Roscommon,

Lord-Lieutenant of County Sligo, MP for Sligo, 1877-80, and Dublin, 1883-5, and for the Isle of Thanet, 1885-8, Colonel, 5th Battalion, Connaught Rangers, eldest son the the Hon Lawrence Harman King-Harman, of Rockingham.

Mr King-Harman married, in 1861, Emma Frances, daughter of Sir William Worsley, 1st Baronet, and had issue,

Lawrence William (1863-86), died unmarried;
Frances Agnes, mother of EDWARD CHARLES STAFFORD;
Violet Philadelphia.

Mr King-Harman was succeeded by his grandson,

EDWARD CHARLES STAFFORD-KING-HARMAN (1891-1914), who assumed, in 1900, the additional surnames and arms of KING-HARMAN.

He married, in 1914, Olive Pakenham, daughter of Henry Pakenham Mahon, and had issue,

LETTICE MARY STAFFORD-KING-HARMAN, born in 1915.

Captain Stafford-King-Harman was killed in action.

The family was seated at Rockingham, Boyle, County Roscommon, and Taney House, Dundrum, County Dublin.

ROCKINGHAM HOUSE, near Boyle, County Roscommon, the superb demesne of the King-Harmans, Viscounts Lorton, is bounded on the north by beautiful, island-studded waters of Lough Key; and, on the south, by a long line of lofty wall, overhung from within by a bordering estate along the road from Boyle to Dublin.

This was a large, Classical mansion, designed and built in 1810 by John Nash for General Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton, a younger son of 2nd Earl of Kingston to whom this part of the King estates had passed.

Rockingham was remarkable due to its dome front and 365 windows.

It accidentally burnt down in 1957, as the result of an electrical fault, after which it was taken over by the Irish Land Commission.

The great mansion was declared as unsafe in 1970 and subsequently demolished.

 

The remnants of the house can be seen in the park to this day, such as its two 'tunnels' (which allowed the staff to unload provisions from boats and bring them to the house unseen).

These tunnels are still accessible to this day.

The demesne was magnificent, with a straight beech avenue three-quarters of a mile in length; and 75 miles of drives within the estate.

Sir Cecil William Francis Stafford-King-Harman, 2nd Baronet (1895-1987), considered rebuilding Rockingham after its catastrophic fire of 1957 with its original two storeys and dome; however, it transpired that the expense was prohibitive, so the estate was sold and the Irish forest service demolished the ruin of the once-great mansion.

The Moylurg Tower which provides a spectacular view of the lake, was built on the original foundations of Rockingham House.

First published in June, 2011.  Stafford-King-Harman armscourtesy of the NLI.

Craigavad House

JOHN MULHOLLAND (1819-95), son of Andrew Mulholland, of BALLYWALTER PARK, County Down, married, in 1851, Frances Louisa, daughter of HUGH LYLE, of Knocktarna House, County Londonderry.

Mr Mulholland, MP for Downpatrick, 1874-85, was elevated to the peerage, in 1892, in the dignity of BARON DUNLEATH, of Ballywalter, County Down.

CRAIGAVAD HOUSE, County Down, in name at least, was in existence as far back as 1783, as the home of the Pottingers, of whom Thomas Pottinger was first sovereign (chief magistrate or mayor) of Belfast.

By 1817, however, the house had been acquired by Arthur Forbes.

Following Forbes' death, the house was acquired by John Mulholland, later 1st Baron Dunleath.

A neo-classical house was built in 1851 to the designs of Thomas Turner, formerly an assistant to Charles Lanyon, but by this time practising on his own account.

The contractors were John Kelly and Robert McCready, of Belfast, and the estimated cost was £3,379 (about £400,000 today).

Mulholland initially leased the property from the representatives of SIR ROBERT KENNEDY, of Cultra Manor.

The accommodation included two gate lodges, billiards-room, laundry, drying loft and kitchen; a farmyard with steward's house, barn, piggery and stable.

The gate lodges were valued at £8 each (ca £1,000 today).

By 1869, Craigavad House was occupied by George Washington Charters who appeared to be renting the house from John Mulholland.

About 1882, Sir Edward Porter Cowan, a whiskey distiller, was residing at Craigavad House.

The house was then let by the Cowan family to A M Kirker JP, a prosperous potato grower.

In 1910, the house was acquired by John Campbell White, Lord Mayor of Belfast, 1919-20.

Royal Belfast Golf Club bought Craigavad House and surrounding grounds in 1925 for £6,000 (about £302,000 in 2024) from White's widow and had a course designed by the eminent English course architect, H C Colt, who also laid out Royal Portrush Golf Club.

A major refurbishment costing £40,000 was undertaken in 1958; and in 1978 a grand central hall, rising through the centre of the building, was incorporated.

An extension was added to the clubhouse in 2000, designed by Barrie Todd Architects, which replaced an earlier extension of the 1960s.

This added a new informal bar and glazed entrance to the club.

First published in March, 2014.

Tallaght Castle

THE first mention we find of the ecclesiastical Province of Dublin is in the 7th century.

In 1152 it was made an archbishopric.

In 1214 the bishopric of Glendalough, which had been founded in the 6th century, was incorporated with Dublin.

It is 64 miles in length from north to south and 46 in the greatest breadth; containing the entire county of Dublin, most of County Wicklow, and part of two others.

The Archbishops had a Dublin residence at 16 St Stephen's Green.

Tallaght Castle, painted for Archbishop Cleaver (1745-1819)

TALLAGHT CASTLE, according to the Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, was originally a castellated edifice of considerable strength, and eventually a modernized and plain mansion.

Alexander de Bicknor, Archbishop of Dublin, 1317-49, established Tallaght Castle in 1324; though it was erected as a means of protection for the town rather than an archiepiscopal residence.

In the mid 1400s, improvements were made by Archbishop Tregury, leading to an increase in usage by subsequent Archbishops.

Archbishop Hoadly built a palace on the remains of the original castle from 1727-29.

The grounds had a brewery, granary and stables.

The structure itself was a spacious but long and narrow building, made of grey stone, and remarkably austere.

The interior contained many apartments of ample proportions, though none were highly embellished.

The hall, entered by a flight of stone steps, measured 21 feet square, and was lit by two tiers of windows.

The dining-room was 25 feet long by 21 feet in width, and was adorned was the archiepiscopal coat-of-arms, "impaled with a shield quarterly, charged in the first quarter with a pigeon".

These arms bore the date 1729, and above was the crest, a "hawk perched on a round ball".

Underneath the armorial bearings was the inscription "JOHANNES HOADLY, HANC DOMUM REFECIT."

The great drawing-room or saloon, measuring 33 feet by 21, contained the only portrait in the palace - a full length of Archbishop Hoadly, who was translated the the See of Dublin in 1729.

The library was a small room with a large window, from which, as with all the windows of the reception rooms, very fine views were afforded of Montpelier Hill, County Dublin, and the adjacent tract of beautiful scenery.

The gardens were designed with "unpleasing formality"; though the historian would have derived some gratification from finding the remains of a tower, an integral part of the original palace.

By 1760 some of the buildings were said to have become dilapidated.

Archbishop Fowler, translated to Dublin in 1778, surrounded the demesne with a wall and made other improvements; though it was judged that the situation of Tallaght was unfavourable as a residence for the Archbishops; and the palace was, eventually, forsaken.

Tallaght, in the 18th century, was said to be "rendered ... undesirable by the depredations of outlaws and robbers, who have peculiarly infested this neighbourhood."

In 1803, the anglican Archbishops of Dublin ceased to reside at Tallaght.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1821 which declared that the palace was unfit for habitation.

In 1822, it was sold to Major Palmer, Inspector-General of Prisons, who pulled most of the palace down and used the materials to build his mansion, "Tallaght House", as well as a schoolhouse and several cottages.

A tower from the original castle was left untouched and later was incorporated in the current priory building.

When the Dominican friars took a lease out on the property in the 1840s one of the buildings was converted into a chapel.

This was replaced by a purpose-built church in 1883.

Part of the house burned down in the first decade of the 1900s.

First published in January, 2018.

The Belvoir Shoot

Belvoir House: eastern elevation

I haven't paid Belvoir forest park a visit for awhile.

This is the nearest forest park to the city of Belfast.

In fact it used to have a touring caravan site adjacent to the stable block, though the forestry service closed that down several decades ago.

Belvoir was once a superb demesne, originally the seat of the 1ST VISCOUNT DUNGANNON (second creation) though Lord Dungannon sold it to Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, less than a century later.

I have a large, A4-sized paperback book entitled A Treasured Landscape: the Heritage of Belvoir Park, edited by Ben Simon.

If you are are interested in Belvoir park, seek it out.

Shortly after Sir Thomas Bateson, 2nd Baronet (later 1st Baron Deramore) died in 1890, the family decided to lease the estate, which in those days comprised no less than 6,348 acres in County Down.

Sir Thomas owned a further 7,762 in County Londonderry, 284 in County Antrim, and 2,927 in County Limerick (the Derry portion included estates shared with Lords Strafford and Londonderry, and Lady Louisa Trench). 

The Former Demesne with the Motte in the Background

The first lessee was Walter Wilson, a director of the Belfast shipbuilders Harland & Wolff, who lived there with his family from 1900 till about 1918.

Sir James Johnson, Lord Mayor of Belfast, was the final resident of Belvoir House.

He and his family lived there from 1919 until 1925.

I have already written about the ultimate fate of the great mansion and its disastrous demolition in 1961.

The house had been considered as the official residence for the new Governor of Northern Ireland.

Hillsborough Castle was chosen instead.

The estate was also a contender as the seat of the new Parliament of Northern Ireland, though Stormont was selected.

Belvoir House from the east with parkland

BELVOIR was a renowned shooting estate in its day: A shooting party stayed there for the weekend in 1904, and it is recorded that 431 pheasants, 32 hares, 2 rabbits, 2 woodcocks, and 17 ducks were bagged.

There was a pheasantry at the Big Meadow near the river Lagan.

Three years prior to this, the household comprised seventeen members of staff, including a governess, a housekeeper, under-butler, 1st footman, 2nd footman, page, lady's maid, cook, children's maid, stillroom maid, four housemaids, kitchen maid, scullery maid, and dairy maid.

In those days the estate comprised over 6,000 acres; today that acreage has shrunk to 185.

First published in February, 2016.

Castlewellan: Moorish Tower

During my visit to CASTLEWELLAN Park, County Down in 2014 I came upon the ruins of the Annesleys' charming little Moorish Tower.

Keyhole entrance (Timothy Ferres, 2014)

This ruinous gazebo is located at the west, or north-west, end of the lake, on the edge of a steep slope.

The Annesley crest, incidentally, features a Moor's head; and William Armytage-Moore (1806-83), coincidentally, was brother of Priscilla Cecilia, Countess Annesley (wife of the 3rd Earl) and land agent to the 3rd and 4th Earls.

The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS) wrote about the tower in its 1976 gazetteer of historic buildings in the Mourne area of south County Down.

Fireplace (Timothy Ferres, 2014)

In 2014 the tower was obscured by forestry, its superb prospect obscured by fir and pine trees.

It was built in 1884 by Hugh, 5th Earl Annesley.

LORD ANNESLEY was the third largest landowner in County Down, with about 25,000 acres, extending from Slieve Croob to Slieve Donard.

Basement entrance (Timothy Ferres, 2014)

The UAHS described the Moorish Tower in 1976 as being in ruins, built on the edge of a steep slope.

About twenty feet in diameter inside and hexagonal in shape, the rusticated basement of great random granodiorite blocks, battered, with a doorway facing east.

The first floor made of smooth Victorian brick, a little porch on the opposite side from the door in the basement, a fireplace in the side to the left, no window in the side to the right.

Interior (Timothy Ferres, 2014)

The other three sides have Moorish, key-hole-shaped windows.

Both inside and outside, the brick walls had wooden strips for battening or plastering or, outside, slate or log-hanging.

The roof was slated (the gazebo is now roofless).

The gazebo was originally clad outside in vertical split logs, dentils under the gutter, the porch doorway under a shallow gabled roof with barge-boards.

photo credit: Follies Trust

It stood under mature trees in an idyllic position.

photo credit: Follies Trust

The prospect overlooking the lake was also idyllic (and still is), though this little gem became a neglected, ruinous, roofless shell, shut in by forestry.

THE GREAT NEWS, however, was that the Follies' Trust received a grant from the  NGO Challenge Fund, sponsored by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Forest Service, to undertake initial conservation work to the Tower.

When surrounding trees were cleared as part of the conservation process, the tower’s prospect of the demesne lake, Irish Sea and Mourne mountains was restored.

Work commenced during the summer, 2014.

(Timothy Ferres, March, 2015)

First published in February, 2014.  

1st Baron Lecale

REAR-ADMIRAL THE RT HON LORD CHARLES JAMES FITZGERALD MP (1756-1810), third son of JAMES, 1ST DUKE OF LEINSTER, and brother of William, 2nd Duke of Leinster, was elevated to the peerage, in 1800, in the dignity of BARON LECALE, of Ardglass, County Down.

Lord Charles had natural issue by an unknown lady,

HENRY, died in 1803;
Anna Maria.

His lordship wedded, in 1808, Julia, widow of Thomas Carton, of Monkstown, County Dublin, though the marriage was without further issue.

The 1st Baron's sister-in-law, Lady Henry FitzGerald, became de jure 21ST BARONESS DE ROS.

Lord Charles was raised amidst the splendour of CARTON HOUSE, near Maynooth, County Kildare, ancestral seat of the Dukes of Leinster, premier dukes, marquesses and earls of Ireland.

Leinster House was the family's Dublin residence.

In 1790, Lord Charles bought Ardglass Castle (also known as The Newark), County Down, and transformed it into a residence.

Early in his life, he joined the Royal Navy and quickly distinguished himself as an able captain.

He faced action on many occasions and eventually attained the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Red.

After his career in the Navy, Lord Charles, a privy counsellor, sat as MP for County Kildare, 1776-90, Cavan Borough, 1790-7, and Ardfert, 1798-1800.

Ardglass Castle (Robert J Welch/NMNI)

He inherited the Ardglass estate in 1790 and eradicated half of the 'New Works' to make his manorial home, perhaps to the designs of Charles Lilly.

When Lord Lecale became ill, and later died, William Ogilvie, who had married the Duchess of Leinster, bought the former estate for £28,000 and began to create the modern-day village of Ardglass.

Lord Lecale was married and had a son and daughter.

His only son, Henry, drowned at sea while serving with the Navy, in 1803, in the West Indies (Civita Vecchia), and soon afterwards his wife died also. 

Lord Lecale is buried at Bright parish church, County Down, where there is an elegant monument to his memory.

The barony became extinct in 1810.

Ardglass Castle is now better known as the club-house of Ardglass golf club.

First published in 2009.   Lecale arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Thomastown Park

THE BENNETTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN THE KING'S COUNTY, WITH 5,480 ACRES

NICHOLAS BENNETT married Mabel O’Kelly, of County Roscommon, and had issue,

Nicholas, died unmarried;
FRANCIS, his heir;
Mabel, m to John Ball;
Anne, died unmarried.

The eldest surviving son, 

FRANCIS BENNETT, of Thomastown, wedded Elizabeth Laffin, of County Kilkenny, and had issue,

Thomas, died unmarried;
VALENTINE;
Mary Catherine, m to Lt-Col L'Estrange;
Elizabeth Emily, m to John Farrell.

The younger son,

VALENTINE BENNETT JP DL, of Thomastown, High Sheriff of King's County (Offaly), 1830, married, in 1894, Elizabeth Helen, daughter of George Ryan, of Inch House, County Tipperary, and had issue,

FRANCIS VALENTINE, his heir;
George Henry;
Thomas Joseph;
Henry Grey;
Valentine;
FREDERICK PHILIP, succeeded his brother;
Albert;
Elizabeth Marian.

Mr Bennett died in 1839, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

FRANCIS VALENTINE BENNETT JP DL (1826-90), of Thomastown Park, High Sheriff of King's County, 1854, who died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother,

FREDERICK PHILIP BENNETT JP DL (1830-1905), High Sheriff of King's County, 1895, who died at Monaco.

Mr Bennett left his estate to Mr Valentine Ryan, on condition that he adopt the name of BENNETT.

THOMASTOWN PARK HOUSE, Frankford, near Birr, County Offaly, was built in the mid-18th century.

There is said to be an old castle within the demesne.

The house, built during the mid-18th century for the Leggat family, and in the ownership of the Bennett family during the 19th century, was once a large and important demesne within County Offaly.

The house even had a private chapel.

Though the country house itself is no longer extant, the associated structures of the demesne remain.

(Image: Country Life/Nicholas Kingsley)

Notable elements include the large walls which surround what once was a deer park; the finely tooled limestone entrance gates; the walled garden; and the outbuilding with ashlar bellcote.

The walled garden, outbuilding, deer park and former entrance gates and lodge to former Thomastown Park House, built ca 1750.

Main entrance gates (above) with square-profile, ashlar limestone gate piers with frieze and capping stones with wrought-iron gates flanked by pedestrian entrances with tooled limestone surrounds flanked by quadrant walls; large, walled deer park to north of former demesne with random coursed stone walls.

Walled garden to west of former house site with random coursed stone walls and red brick internal wall to north.

Outbuilding to farmyard complex with rough-cast rendered walls, corrugated roof and ashlar limestone bell-cote to south-east elevation.

Segmental and square-headed carriage arch openings with corrugated doors.

The estate was sold by Group Captain Richard Stephen Ryan CBE RAF in 1951.

There are more images of the house here.

First published in January, 2013.