Moore Hall

THE MOORES OF MOORE HALL OWNED 12,371 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY MAYO

The family of MOORE claimed descent from THE RT HON SIR THOMAS MORE, statesman and Lord Chancellor to HENRY VIII.

THOMAS MORE, born at Chilston, near Madley, in Herefordshire, married Mary, daughter of John ApAdam, of Flint, and had a son,

GEORGE MOORE, who settled at Ballina, County Mayo, Vice-Admiral of Connaught during the reign of WILLIAM III.

He wedded Catherine, daughter of Robert Maxwell, of Castle Tealing, Scotland, by Edith his wife, daughter of Sir John Dunbar, and was father of

GEORGE MOORE, of Ashbrook, County Mayo, living in 1717, who married Sarah, daughter of the Rev John Price, of Foxford, County Mayo, by his wife, Edith Machen, of the city of Gloucester, and by her had two sons,

George, of Cloongee;

JOHN, of whom we treat.

The younger son,

JOHN MOORE, of Ashbrook, County Mayo, born ca 1700, espoused Jane, daughter of Edmund Athy, and had issue,

Robert, dsp 1783;

GEORGE, of whom presently;

Edmund, of Moorbrook;

Sarah; Jane.

His second son,

GEORGE MOORE (1729-99), of Moore Hall, Ashbrook, and Alicante, Spain, married, ca 1765, Catherine, daughter of Dominick de Killikelly, of Lydacan Castle, County Galway, and had issue,

John, 1763-99;

GEORGE, of whom hereafter;

Thomas;

Peter.

The second son,

GEORGE MOORE (1770-1840), of Moore Hall, wedded, in 1807, Louisa, daughter of the Hon John Browne, sixth son of John, 1st Earl of Altamont, and had issue,

GEORGE HENRY, his heir;

John;

Arthur Augustus.

The eldest son,

GEORGE HENRY MOORE JP DL (1810-70), MP for County Mayo, 1847-57, 1868-70, High Sheriff of County Mayo, 1867, espoused, in 1851, Mary, eldest daughter of Maurice Blake, of Ballinafad, County Mayo, and had issue,

GEORGE AUGUSTUS, his heir;

Maurice George, CB, Colonel, Connaught Rangers;

Augustus George Martin;

Henry Julian;

Nina Mary Louisa.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

GEORGE AUGUSTUS MOORE (1852-1933), of Moore Hall and Ebury Street, London, High Sheriff of County Mayo, 1905, who died unmarried.

George Henry Moore (Image: Wikipedia)

THE MOORES had originally been an English Protestant settler family.

The father of George Moore (1729-99), John Moore, converted to catholicism when he married Jane Lynch Athy from one of the principal Catholic families in County Galway.

Using her connections among the "Wild Geese," Irish Jacobite exiles in Spain, Jane supported her son in getting established in the wine import business in Alicante, Spain.

He subsequently changed his religion, and married, in I765, Katherine de Kilikelly, an Irish Catholic raised in Spain.

George made his fortune and returned to erect Moore Hall in 1792, above the shore of Lough Carra.

"He thus solidified the shift of the family from being New English settlers of Protestant faith to their nineteenth-century identity as Irish Catholic landlords who had never been humbled by the "Penal Laws" — that set of regulations aimed at limiting the property and power of Irish Catholics, and put in force after William of Orange routed James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1688."

"The change in the confessional identity of the Moore family, like the circumstances of G H Moore's death, is important to the story of George Moore. These matters would one day be the occasion of a quarrel about family history that broke up the surviving Moore brothers, saw Moore Hall become vacant, and scattered the last generation of Moores abroad."

"Of the four sons of George Moore of Alicante, the eldest was John Moore (1763-99), a scapegrace trained in Paris and London for the law, and for a few days in 1798 the first President of the Republic of Connaught."

"Aided by French invaders at Killala, John Moore participated in the surprise victory of General Humbert over a British garrison at Castlebar on 27 August 1798, assumed nominal leadership of the rebels, then got captured after the rout of the small Irish forces."

"President Moore died while under house arrest in a Waterford tavern. The second son of Moore of Alicante was a mild-tempered man, also named George Moore. A gentleman scholar rarely out of his library, he wrote histories of the English and French revolution, something in the manner of Gibbon."

"Moore the historian had three sons by Louisa Browne, the first being George Henry Moore, the only one of the three not to die by a fall from a horse."

Moore Hall (Image: Robert French)

MOORE HALL, near Ballyglass, County Mayo, is a Georgian mansion built between 1792-6 by George Moore.

It comprises three storeys over a basement, with an entrance front of two bays on either side of a centre breakfront; including a triple window, and fluted pilasters on console brackets.

There is a Venetian window above the entrance doorway, beneath a single-storey Doric portico.

The house was burnt by the IRA in 1923, and is now a ruinous shell.

Colonel Maurice Moore, CB, had intended to rebuild the house, albeit on a smaller scale.

Moore Hall (Image: Comhar - Own work, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11252115

Colonel Moore's elder brother, George Augustus Moore, died in 1933, leaving  an estate valued at £70,000 (about £5.1 million in 2021).

His ashes were buried on Castle Island in Lough Carra.

First published in 2021.

The Stewart Baronets

THE STEWART BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY TYRONE, WITH 27,905 ACRES

CAPTAIN ANDREW STEWART accompanied Andrew Stuart, 3rd Lord Ochiltree and 1st Baron Castle Stewart, from Scotland, and settled at Gortigal, County Tyrone ca 1620.

His younger brother, James, of Ballymenagh, County Tyrone, was ancestor of the Stewarts of Killymoon. 

By Sarah, his wife, to whom letters of administration were granted, 1658, he had issue,

Robert;

HUGH, of whom presently;

Andrew;

James, a naval officer, slain in battle, m a daughter of Adm Sir C Shovel.

Captain Stewart, who had been actively engaged against the rebels, died before 1658.

His second son,

HUGH STEWART, of Gortigal, wedded Margaret, daughter of Thomas Morris, of Mountjoy Castle, and had four sons, of whom the youngest,

THE REV HUGH STEWART (1711-1800), Rector of Termon, County Tyrone, wedded, in 1755, Sarah, sister and co-heir of Sir Henry Hamilton Bt, of Castle Conyngham, County Donegal, and daughter of the Venerable Andrew Hamilton DD, Archdeacon of Raphoe, and Sarah his wife, daughter and heiress of Henry Conyngham, of Castle Conyngham), and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Andrew, East India Company;
Henry (Rev), Rector of Loughgilly, Co Armagh;
Ann; Sarah; Amelia.

The Rev Hugh Stewart died at Bath, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON JOHN STEWART (1757-1825), of Athenree, who having attained eminence at the Bar, was appointed attorney-general for Ireland in 1799, and sworn of the privy council of that kingdom.

Mr Stewart was subsequently MP for Augher, 1794-7, Bangor, 1797-1800. and Tyrone, 1802-6, and 1812-25.

He was created a baronet in 1803, designated of Athenree, County Tyrone.

Sir John espoused Mary, daughter of Mervyn Archdale, of Castle Archdale, and had issue,

HUGH, his successor;
Mervyn;
Barbara; Mary; Phœbe Julia.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR HUGH STEWART, 2nd Baronet (1792-1854), MP for Tyrone, 1830-35, who wedded firstly, in 1826, Julia, daughter of Marcus Gage, and had issue,

JOHN MARCUS, his successor;
Julia.

He wedded secondly, in 1837, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev Henry Lucas St George, and had further issue,

Hugh;
Henry Lucas St George;
Elizabeth; Mary; another daughter.

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN MARCUS STEWART, 3rd Baronet (1830-1905), DL, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1858, who married, in 1856, Annie Coote, daughter of George Powell Houghton, and had issue,

Albert Fortescue, d 1925;
HUGH HOUGHTON, his successor;
GEORGE POWELL, successor to his brother;
John Marcus;
Charles Gage;
Cosmo Gordon;
Julian Leslie (Rev);
Annie Coote Houghton; Mary; Madeleine Delamont; two other offspring.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR HUGH HOUGHTON STEWART, 4th Baronet (1858-1942), JP DL, Brigadier-General in the army, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1903, who married twice, though the marriage was without issue.

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his brother,

SIR GEORGE POWELL STEWART, 5th Baronet (1861-1945), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who wedded, in 1895, Florence Maria Georgina, daughter of Colonel Sir James Godfray, and had issue,

John Houghton (1895-1915) killed in action;
HUGH CHARLIE GORFRAY, his successor;
Mary.

Sir George was succeeded by his surviving son,

SIR HUGH CHARLIE GODRAY STEWART, 6th Baronet (1897-1994), DL, of Loughmacrory Lodge, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1955, who espoused firstly, in 1929, Rosemary Elinor Dorothy, daughter of George Peacocke, and had issue,

DAVID JOHN CHRISTOPHER, his successor;
Elinor Godfray.

Click to enlarge

He married secondly, in 1948, Diana Margaret, daughter of James Edmund Hibbert, and had further issue,

Jane Diana;
Hugh Nicholas (Nick).

Sir Hugh was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR DAVID JOHN CHRISTOPHER STEWART, 7th and present Baronet (1935-), who lives in Somerset.

Nick Stewart, whose half-brother is the present baronet, has kindly sent me two old photographs of Ballygawley House taken by his father in the winter of 1914.

At that time the demesne was known as Greenhill.

BALLYGAWLEY HOUSE, near Ballygawley, County Tyrone, was set in its own parkland, was a Classical mansion of two storeys, with a two-storey portico supported by two giant Doric columns and a shallow dome.

It was built for the 2nd Baronet between 1825 and 1833, to the design of John Hargrave.

Seemingly, the mansion suffered an accidental fire during the 1920s and the Stewart family never returned to it. 

First published in December, 2010. 

Lizard Manor

THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS OWNED 12,714 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY LONDONDERRY

I VISITED LIZARD MANOR, NEAR AGHADOWEY, COUNTY LONDONDERRY, IN FEBRUARY, 2012. THE HOUSE STANDS ON A HILL AND A COBBLED DRIVE WINDS UP TO IT.

The manor of Lizard was established by the Honourable The Irish Society in 1618, and a conveyance of this manor to the Ironmongers' Company from the Society was executed in November of the same year. By this deed, the Society did "fully, clearly, and absolutely grant" the Manor of Lizard, and all the rents, advowsons [sic], tithes, and all other profits whatsoever, except timber, &c., at the yearly rent of £11. 6s. 8d., to the Ironmongers' Company, their successors and assigns for ever, to the only use and behoof [sic] of the said Company. 

Towards the end of 1614, GEORGE CANNING, a native of Barton in Warwickshire, was appointed agent by the Company and charged with building a bawn and castle at Agivey. 

A lease was granted to George Canning in 1617 for 41 years [no fine; annual rent, £120]. 

In 1630, Paul Canning, a member of the Ironmongers' Company and their agent in Ireland, sold his estate in England, and spent it in planting and stocking the Company's estate, and also at his own charge built a church.

The charter to the Irish Society granted by JAMES I was revoked in the reign of CHARLES I, by decree of the Star Chamber, in Hilary Term, 1638, and all the estates were escheated to the Crown.

In 1662, in the reign of CHARLES II, letters patent were issued, containing, with but little alteration, all the clauses of the charter of JAMES I.

The renewed grant from the Society to the Ironmongers' Company of the Manor of Lizard, dated 1663, recites, that

The King takes into consideration the vast sums of money the Society and the several Companies of London had laid out and disbursed in their building and planting.

In 1658, Paul Canning acquired a new lease [fine, £500; annual rent, £270].

This lease was assigned to another George Canning, whose son, George, obtained a new lease in 1705 for 21 years [fine, £1,900; annual rent, £250]. 

Stratford Canning, a son of George, failed to renew this lease and the estate was leased to Messrs Leckey, Macky, Cunningham and Craighead, 1726, for 41 years. 

When the lease expired in 1767 it was auctioned, and after William Alexander failed to pay with a fine of £21,000, the estate was leased to a Mr Dupree from London, for 61 years and three lives [fine, £21,000; annual rent, £600]. 

Dupree never visited the estate and his son sold the lease in 1813 to the Beresford and Hill families, who retained the estate until the death, in 1840, of the Most Rev Nathaniel Alexander [Bishop of Meath], the last of the three lives in the lease. 

LIZARD MANOR, near Aghadowey, is a two-storey, mid-Victorian house built ca 1861.

Henry Anderson, the local agent to the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, was the first occupant.

In 1861, offices were completed. These offices (which may have included the two-storey, red brick stable block to the west of the dwelling) were completed by 1864.

The servant’s block, which abuts the northern return of Lizard Manor, was utilised as a dwelling by the estate steward.

Henry Anderson continued to reside at Lizard Manor until his death in the 1870s.

In 1874, the property was acquired by the Stronge family of Tynan Abbey, County Armagh, who continued to hold Lizard Manor until the 1950s.

SIR CHARLES STRONGE, 7th Baronet (1862-1939), lived at Lizard Manor.

After 1889, the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers began to sell portions of its estate; and in 1891 the Stronge family purchased Lizard Manor and its associated lands from the company.

The Stronges employed a large number of domestic servants, cooks and maids to manage the estate.

Lizard Manor was described at that time as

"a first class dwelling that consisted of 22 rooms and possessed a large number of outbuildings, including two stables and two coach houses, five cow houses, a boiling house and a barn."

The layout of Lizard Manor has not been altered since 1904, although some of the original minor outbuildings have been demolished in the intervening years.

Sir Charles Stronge had taken over possession of Lizard Manor from his father in 1897, although Edmond Stronge continued to reside at Rusky until his death about 1910.

Sir Charles Stronge remained at the site until his own death in 1939.

Lizard Manor remained in his family until coming into the possession of the Rt Hon Phelim O’Neill (later 2nd Baron Rathcavan) in 1953; and who resided there till 1978, when he moved to County Mayo.

*****

Lizard Manor dates from ca 1861; however, due to its association with the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, the origins of the Victorian manor stretch back to the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th Century.

The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers was granted lands in the parish of Aghadowey.

In 1614, George Canning, the first agent of the company in Ulster, constructed a bawn and castle in the parish.

The ‘Manor of Lizard’ was established by the company in 1618, comprising lands which amounted to a total of 38,470 acres.

The title of the manor was derived from the Company’s armorial bearings, which included lizards.

The Ironmongers, having leased out their land to their agent for almost two centuries, took over control of the Manor of Lizard ca 1840 and carried out a survey of all its properties and land.

With the completion of the survey the company carried out a number of improvements to their lands, which included the construction of a permanent residence for their agent in the townland of Rusky.

Lizard Manor continues to be utilised as a private dwelling and has undergone few alterations over the past 150 years, retaining much of its original mid-Victorian character.

The demolition or dilapidation of the associated outbuildings has been the only notable alteration to have occurred to the original property.

The house comprises two storeys, with a five-bay front, centre break-front with two narrow windows above; plain projecting porch below; a three-sided bow in side elevation; eaved roof on a plain cornice.

Many trees surround the grassed area near the house, which is on a hill above the Aghadowey River.

The Company’s arms comprise lizards, hence the name.

There is a maintained ornamental garden, enclosed by a beech hedge, near the west side of the house.

A free-standing glasshouse has gone. An orchard to the north of the house is backed by a walled garden, which is of brick.

Tennis Court in 2012

The glasshouses, on the north wall of the walled garden, are ruinous and uncultivated.

First published in March, 2012.

Ballywhite House

THE RT HON WILLIAM BROWNLOW (1726-94), of Lurgan, MP for Armagh County, 1753-94, married firstly, in 1754, Judith Letitia, eldest daughter of the Very Rev Charles Meredyth, Dean of Ardfert, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
CHARLES, heir to his brother.

He wedded secondly, in 1765, Catherine, daughter of Roger Hall, of Mount Hall, County Down, and had further issue,

James (1772-1832);
FRANCIS, of whom hereafter;
Catherine, m, in 1783, M Forde, of Seaforde;
Isabella, m, in 1796, Richard, 4th Viscount Powerscourt;
Elizabeth, m, in 1791, John, 4th Earl of Darnley;
Mary Anne, died unmarried 1791;
Frances Letitia, m, in 1800, John, 2nd Viscount de Vesci;
Selina; Louisa.

Mr Brownlow's youngest son,

THE REV FRANCIS BROWNLOW (1779-1847), Rector of Cumber Upper, County Londonderry, espoused, in 1799, the Lady Catherine Brabazon, daughter of Anthony, 8th Earl of Meath, and had issue,

William, ancestor of the BARONS LURGAN;

John (Very Rev), Dean of Clonmacnoise, 1862-82;

JAMES, of whom we treat;

Anne Julia; Isabella Elizabeth; Martha Grace; Mary; Catherine Cecilia.

The youngest son,

JAMES BROWNLOW (1808-96), married, in 1849, Maria Harriet, daughter of General Rainey, and had issue,

WILLIAM CLAUDE BRABAZON, his heir;

Charles James Rainey;

Maurice FitzGerald;

Harold Arthur (Rev);

Catherine Frances; Caroline Grey; Maria Isabella; Emily Louisa; Margaret Ethel de Vesci; Esme Bligh.

Mr Brownlow was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM CLAUDE BRABAZON BROWNLOW JP (1850-1914), of Coolderry, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, who wedded, in 1882, Janet Georgina, daughter of Robert Orme, and had issue,

GUY JAMES, his heir;

Andrew L'Estrange;

Gwendolyn Sydney; Eileen Anne; Marjorie; Geraldine Maria; Nina Emily.

The elder son,

COLONEL GUY JAMES BROWNLOW DSO DL (1883-1960), of Hays, Sedgehill, Wiltshire, and Ballywhite, County Down, High Sheriff of County Down, 1945, wedded, in 1920, Elinor Hope Georgina, daughter of Colonel George John Scott, and had issue,

WILLIAM STEPHEN, his heir;

James Christy, of BALLYDUGAN HOUSE; High Sheriff of Co Down, 1971;

Anne.

Colonel Brownlow was succeeded by his elder son,

COLONEL WILLIAM STEPHEN BROWNLOW JP (1921-98), of Ballywhite, Lord-Lieutenant of County Down, 1990-96, High Sheriff of County Down, 1959, who married, in 1961, Eveleigh Finola Margaret, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel George William Panter, and had issue,

JAMES GEORGE CHRISTY;

Camilla Jane; Melissa Anne.

Ballywhite House (Image: Davina Jones/ Parallel Lives)

BALLYWHITE HOUSE is situated at Ballywhite Bay, about two miles north-west of Portaferry, County Down.

This is a Georgian house comprising two storeys with gable.

It was extended and enhanced in the Italianate style about 1870 by its then owner, John Warnock, a Downpatrick solicitor, who also added a conservatory.

A substantial pedimented projection, similar to a wing, juts out from the centre of the entrance front, which has coupled Corinthian pilasters on the upper storey.

One of the gable ends has a single-storey bow; while the other end has a Victorian conservatory joined to a single-storey ballroom wing.

*****

This property was originally an 18th century farm-house owned by the McDonnell familu.

Isabella McDonnell lived there in 1838.

John Warnock (1811-91) purchased the property about 1861.

It was sold ca 1918 to the 3rd Baron Lurgan, and subsequently passed to his cousin, Guy James Brownlow.

Colonel Brownlow's eldest son, William Stephen Brownlow, inherited Ballywhite House on his father's decease.

Mr & Mrs Jamie Brownlow now live at Ballywhite.

*****

THE grounds of Ballywhite extend to about 75 acres today

There were formerly two conservatories, one of which remains.

The site of the demolished conservatory has a garden at the present time.

The house is in a fine position, with views to Strangford Lough.

The grounds fall away to the south west and the area near the house is maintained as an ornamental garden.

There are other cultivated compartments around the house.

Attractive trees and shrubs are planted informally, but the arrangement of the grounds is organized into specific areas, including a paddock and managed woodland beyond the garden.

There is a cultivated productive garden enclosed by a laurel hedge, with a wooden nectarine house.

First published in February, 2014.

1st Viscount Blundell

The noble family of BLUNDELL was a junior branch of the Blundells of Ince, Lancashire, whose direct male heir, CHARLES ROBERT BLUNDELL, dsp 1838, having bequeathed his estates, including Ince Blundell, to Thomas Weld, their possessor.

SIR FRANCIS BLUNDELL MP (1579-1625), of London, brother and heir of Sir George Blundell, Knight, of Cardington, Bedfordshire (who had a grant of the manor of Blundell, King's County), was appointed, in 1619, secretary for the affairs of Ireland.

Sir Francis was created a baronet in 1620.

He married Joyce, daughter of William Serjeant, of Waldridge, Dinton, Buckinghamshire, and by her had a son and successor,

SIR GEORGE BLUNDELL, 2nd Baronet, of Blundell Castle, MP for Philipstown, 1661, who wedded Sarah, daughter and eventual heir of Sir William Colley, of Edenderry, King's County, and had (with two daughters) three sons,

FRANCIS, his heir;

William;

Winwood.

The eldest son,

SIR FRANCIS BLUNDELL, 3rd Baronet (1643-1707), of Blundell Castle, MP for King's County, 1692-3, 1695-9, and 1703-7, espoused firstly, in 1671, Ursula (d 1673), daughter of Sir Paul Davys; secondly, in 1675, Anne, only daughter of Sir Henry Ingoldsby Bt, by whom he had issue, nine children, including his son and successor,

SIR MONTAGUE BLUNDELL, 4th Baronet (1689-1756), of Blundell Castle, MP for Hastlemere, 1715-22, who married, in 1709, Mary, daughter of John Chetwynd, of Grendon, Warwickshire, and had issue,

Montagu, died unmarried 1732;

Elizabeth;

MARY, of whom presently.

Sir Montague was elevated to the peerage, in 1720, in the dignities of Baron Blundell, of Edenderry, King's County, and VISCOUNT BLUNDELL.

Lord Blundell died in 1756, and with him the titles expired.

His lordship's younger daughter,

THE HON MARY BLUNDELL, wedded, in 1733, William Trumbull, of Easthampstead Park, Berkshire, and had issue, an only child,

MARY TRUMBULL, who married, in 1760, Colonel the Hon Martin Sandys, son of Samuel, 1st Baron Sandys, and had issue, an only child,

MARY SANDYS (1764-1836), suo jure Baroness Sandys, who wedded, in 1786, Arthur, 2nd Marquess of Downshire, and had issue,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL SANDYS TRUMBULL, 3rd Marquess;

Arthur Moyses William, 2nd Baron Sandys;

Arthur Marcus Cecil, 3rd Baron Sandys;

Arthur Augustus Edwin;

George Augusta;

Charlotte; Mary.

Prospect of Blundell's house from the Castle (RJ Welch/ NMNI)

ON a high rock adjacent to the village of Dundrum, County Down, stand the picturesque ruins of the 13th century Dundrum Castle, consisting of a great circular keep or tower, and with a strikingly featured barbican.

Dundrum Castle ranks in importance with the castles at Carrickfergus and Dunluce.

The castle commands an extensive and varied prospect of Dundrum Bay, the sea to the south, and Lecale to the east; and the noble range of the Mourne Mountains to the south and south-west.

Ruins of Dundrum Castle, drawn by Mary Delany in 1758 

Ruins exist, south of the castle, of a larger and more domestic edifice (Blundell's House) which prevailed in the 16th century.

The celebrated MARY DELANY, wife of the Very Rev Patrick Delany, Dean of Down, drew the ruins of Dundrum Castle in 1758: the earliest known drawing of the castle.

Dundrum Castle: the circular keep and twin entrance towers (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

The Delanys resided during this time at MOUNT PANTHER.

Blundell's house can clearly be seen on the slope below the castle, with its steep roofless eaves.

Blundell's House, with Dundrum Castle behind it (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

The Queen's University of Belfast has published a fully comprehensive survey of an excavation undertaken at Blundell's House, Dundrum Castle, in 2009.

The castle itself, remarks the Parliamentary Gazetteer, is supposed to have been built for the Knights-Templars by Sir John de Courcy.

Dundrum Castle and curtain wall (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

It was reputedly held by the Knights till the abolition of their order in 1313; and afterwards held by the Prior of Down till the Reformation; when it next passed successively from GERALD, 11th EARL OF KILDARE, to the Magennises, on whose attainder it was forfeited to the Crown and granted, ca 1605, to the EARL OF ARDGLASS.

It afterwards became the property of Sir Francis Blundell, 1st Viscount Blundell, ca 1636; from whom it descended through marriage to the MARQUESS OF DOWNSHIRE.

The castle was finally dismantled about 1652 by the orders of OLIVER CROMWELL.

After 1660 the Blundells returned and built a gabled L-shaped mansion (Blundell's House) in the south-west corner of the outer bailey.

This dwelling was ruined by the time the property passed to the 2nd Marquess of Downshire in the early 19th century, though the trees on the hill were probably planted at this time.

The castle and grounds were placed in state care by the 7th Marquess in 1954.

First published in March, 2022. Blundell arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Louth Hall

THE BARONS LOUTH WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LOUTH, WITH 3,578 ACRES 

This noble family, the eldest branch of the numerous house of PLUNKETT, has a common ancestor with the Earls of Fingall and the Barons Dunsany; namely, John Plunkett, who was seated, about the close of the 11th century, at Beaulieu, County Louth. 

JOHN PLUNKETT, of Beaulieu, or Bewley, during the reign of HENRY III, who with Alice his wife, held the advowson of the Church of Beaulieu, 1322, and granted half an acre to found the church and churchyard there.

He had two sons,

JOHN, his heir;

Richard, ancestor of the Earls of Fingall and the Barons of Dunsany.

The elder son,

JOHN PLUNKETT, of Beaulieu, was granted, during the time of EDWARD III, the wardship of Nicholas de Howth.

His son,

RICHARD PLUNKETT, of Beaulieu, King's Serjeant-at-Law, wedded Alice, daughter of D'Arcy, of Trim, and died in 1360, leaving a son and heir,

WALTER PLUNKETT, of Beaulieu, Sheriff of Louth during the reign of HENRY IV, who married Joan, daughter of Thomas Netterville, and died in 1436, when he was succeeded by his son,

WALTER PLUNKETT, of Beaulieu, who espoused Genet, daughter of John Luttrell, and was succeeded by his son,

WALTER PLUNKETT, of Beaulieu, who wedded the daughter of Bellew, of Bellewstown, and was succeeded by his son,

SIR JOHN PLUNKETT (1448-1508), of Beaulieu, Kilsaran, and Tallanstown, who married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Nangle, Baron of Navan, by Ismay his wife, daughter of Sir William Wells, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and had issue, six daughters and five sons, of whom,

Thomas, of Kilsaran;

OLIVER, of whom hereafter;

John.

Sir John's second son,

SIR OLIVER PLUNKETT, of Kilsaran, was elevated to the peerage, in 1541, in the dignity of BARON LOUTH (second creation).

His lordship wedded firstly, Catherine, daughter and heir of John Rochfort, of Carrick, County Kildare, by whom he had six sons and four daughters; and secondly, Maud, daughter and co-heir of Walter Bath, of Rathfeigh, by whom he had two sons and two daughters.

He was succeeded at his decease by his eldest son,

THOMAS, 2nd Baron (c1547-71), who married Margaret, daughter and heir of Nicholas Barnewall, and was succeeded at his decease by his eldest son,

PATRICK, 3rd Baron (1548-75), who wedded Maud, daughter of Lord Killeen; but dying  without issue (having been slain by McMahon, in the recovery of a prey of cattle, at Essexford, County Monaghan), the title devolved upon his brother,

OLIVER, 4th Baron; who having, with the Plunketts of Ardee, brought six archers on horseback to the general hosting, at the hill of Tara, 1593, was appointed to have the leading of County Louth.

He married firstly, Frances, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bagenall, Knight Marshal of Ireland, by whom he had five sons and three daughters; and secondly, Genet Dowdall, by whom he had no issue.

His lordship died in 1607, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

MATTHEW, 5th Baron, who wedded Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Fitzwilliam, of Meryon, and had four sons.

His lordship died in 1629, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

OLIVER, 6th Baron (1608-79);

Who, joining the Royalists in 1639, was at the siege of Drogheda, and at a general meeting of the principal Roman Catholic gentry of County Louth, held at the hill of Tallaghosker. His lordship was appointed Colonel-General of all the forces to be raised in that county; and in the event of his lordship's declining the same, then Sir Christopher Bellew; and upon his refusal, then Sir Christopher Barnewall, of Rathasker. This latter gentleman accepted the said post of Colonel-General, for which he was imprisoned, in 1642, at Dublin Castle, and persecuted by the usurper Cromwell's parliament.

His lordship married Mary, Dowager Viscountess Dillon, second daughter of Randal, 1st Earl of Antrim, and was succeeded at his demise by his only son,

MATTHEW, 7th Baron; who, like his father, suffered by his adhesion to royalty, having attached himself to the fortunes of JAMES II.

His lordship died in 1639, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

OLIVER, 8th Baron (de jure) (1668-1707);

Who, upon taking his seat in parliament, was informed by the Chancellor that his grandfather, Oliver, 6th Baron, had been outlawed in 1641; and not being able to establish the reversal of the same, the dignity remained, for the two subsequent generations, unacknowledged in law.

His lordship was succeeded by his only son, by Mabella, daughter of Lord Kingsland,

MATTHEW, 9th Baron (de jure) (1698-1754), who was succeeded by his eldest son,

OLIVER, 10th Baron (de jure) (1727-63), who wedded Margaret, daughter of Luke Netterville, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
Matthew;
Susannah; Anne.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

THOMAS OLIVER, 11th Baron (1757-1823), who had the outlawry of his great-grandfather annulled, and was restored to his rank in the peerage in 1798.

He married, in 1808, Margaret, eldest daughter of Randal, 13th Lord Dunsany, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
Randall Matthew;
Charles Dawson;
Henry Luke;
Edward Sidney.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS OLIVER, 12th Baron (1809-49), who espoused, in 1830, Anna Maria, daughter of Philip Roche, of Donore, County Kildare, by Anna Maria, his wife, youngest daughter of Randall, Lord Dunsany, and had issue,

RANDAL PERCY OTWAY, his successor;
Thomas Oliver Westenra;
Algernon Richard Hartland;
Augusta Anna Margaret; another daughter.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

RANDAL PERCY OTWAY, 13th Baron (1832-83) an officer in the 79th Highlanders.

14th Baron Louth

RANDAL PILGRIM RALPH, 14th Baron (1868-1941), JP DL, was an officer in the Westminster Dragoons and the Wiltshire Regiment, and served in the First and Second World Wars.

The 14th Baron, though not prominent in politics, did take part in public life: He was a member of the Irish Reform Association, and took part in the campaign for a Catholic University. In politics he was a Unionist. His papers show that he was an active sportsman and also travelled widely.

He sold most of the estate soon after the 1903 Wyndham Land Act. He died in 1941, and was succeeded by his only surviving son Otway, briefly 15th Baron, before his death in 1950.

Louth Hall and demesne at Tallanstown were sold and the family settled at Jersey, Channel Islands.

The 16th Baron died at Jersey, Channel Islands, on the 6th January, 2013, aged 83.

The title now devolves upon his lordship's eldest son, the Hon Jonathan Oliver Plunkett, born in 1952. 

LOUTH HALL, the ancestral demesne of the Barons Louth, is in the parish of Tallanstown, 2½ miles south of the village of Louth, County Louth.

The mansion is a three-storey Georgian house, built ca 1760, now in ruins.

There is a shallow, projecting, curved bow to the east of south elevation of ca 1805; and a tower-house to west of ca 1350.

The roof is not visible, hidden behind a crenellated parapet.

The Plunkett family crest is above the pediment.

Louth Hall is situated within what is now a field, with ranges of random rubble stone outbuildings of ca 1805, arranged around three yards; remains of walled garden to west; artificial lake to south, dovecote to south-west.

Entrance gates to north-east on roadside comprising tooled limestone squared piers, cast-iron gates, flanked by pedestrian gates and curving quadrant plinth surmounted by cast-iron railings.

This house was the home of the Plunkett family from the later medieval until the early-20th century. 

The 14th Baron sold most of the estate soon after the 1903 Wyndham Land Act.

He died in 1941, and his only surviving son, Otway, was briefly 15th Baron Louth, before his death in 1950.

The house and demesne were also sold, some years after the estate, and the family settled in Jersey, Channel Islands.

The continuity of occupation is reflected in the architectural changes, the migration from tower house to Georgian mansion.

A fire in 2000 destroyed delicate early 19th century interior plasterwork.

The archaeological, architectural and historical associations of this building are as immense as the structure itself. 

First published in March, 2013. 

Botanic Gardens Gate Lodge

Belfast's Botanic Gardens was established in 1828 as the Royal Belfast Botanical Gardens.

Its main entrance was (and remains) at 2, Stranmillis Road.

The Gardens continued as a private park for many years, only opening to members of the public on Sundays, prior to 1895.

It became a municial park in 1895, when the Belfast Corporation (Belfast City Council) bought the gardens from the Belfast Botanical and Horticultural Society.

The park, now comprising twenty-eight acres, contains a large conservatory, tropical fernery, rose garden, and many other interesting features.

Originally the park was considerably larger in size, though portions of land were conveyed to the Department of Education, the Ulster Museum, and the Queen's University of Belfast, for various purposes. 

The Stranmillis Road gate lodge, designed by William Batt, was built in 1877.

It was quite a lofty, single-storey building in red brick with Staffordshire blue bands and pointed stone arches at the openings.

A pair of portico arches were directly below the clock-tower, added three years later, which had buttresses and carved capitals.

This structure was built by public subscription.

The tower's steep roof was in the French château style.

The adjoining lodge had paired windows, a tall roof with elaborate iron cresting, a pair of chimneys, and bracketed eaves.

Gate lodge location: February, 2018

Only the stone gates, with lamps and poppy finials, survive today.

Hugh Dixon said of its demise:-

The demolition of the lodge in 1965 was unnecessary in that the site remains empty. It was also unfortunate, in removing an important architectural focus for this busy junction, and a feature which gave arrival at the Botanic Gardens a sense of occasion.

First published in February, 2014.