Greyabbey House

THE MONTGOMERYS OWNED 3,739 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

This is the Braidstane line of the noble house of EGLINTON.

ROBERT MONTGOMERIE, second son of Alexander, Master of Montgomerie, and brother of Alexander, 2nd Lord Montgomerie (ancestor of the Earls of Eglinton), obtained for his patrimony, from his grandfather, Alexander, 1st Lord Montgomerie, the lands of Braidstane, and thus became its laird.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

ROBERT MONTGOMERIE, 2nd Laird of Braidstane, who dsp and was succeeded by his brother,

ALEXANDER MONTGOMERIE, 3rd Laird, who dsp and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,

ADAM JOHN MONTGOMERIE, 4th Laird, who married the eldest daughter of Sir John Colquhoun, of Luss, and had issue,

ADAM, ancestor of the EARLS OF MOUNT ALEXANDER;
George (Very Rev), Dean of Norwich, afterwards Lord Bishop of Meath;
Patrick, Colonel in the French Army during the reign of HENRY IV;
ROBERT, of whom hereafter.

The youngest son, 

ROBERT MONTGOMERY, was father of 

JOHN MONTGOMERY,

Who settled in Ulster during the early part of the reign of JAMES I with his cousin Hugh, 6th Laird of Braidstane (afterwards 1st Viscount Montgomery), his lordship having brought several of his clan from Scotland, that they might settle upon his new estates, and assist upon the plantation of the country. 

To this John he granted lands at Gransha, in the Ards, where he (John) settled, where he was esteemed a man of opulence, which supposition caused his house to be attacked by robbers, himself, his wife, and all his servants were inhumanely murdered, save one, who escaped with his son,

HUGH MONTGOMERY, of Maghera, County Londonderry, MP for Newtownards, who had been left for dead in attempting to defend his father; but recovering from his wounds, he lived to an old age, on his property at Maghera, to which he removed after the attack on his paternal dwelling.

Mr Montgomery represented the borough of Newtownards in Parliament, 1634-41, and lies buried with his father in the church of Donaghadee.

He left two sons,

HUGH, his heir;
John.

The elder son,

HUGH MONTGOMERY, of Maghera, was an officer in the army and distinguished himself against the insurgents in 1641.

He was captain in Sir John Montgomery's regiment, and afterwards Major under Sir Charles Coote.

Major Montgomery wedded a daughter of Sir Robert McClelland, by whom he had several daughters and an only son, his successor,

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, of Maghera, who espoused Mary, eldest daughter and co-heir of Captain James Magill, of Kirkistown, County Down, by which marriage he acquired a great accession of property.

He had issue, with one daughter, Lucy (who died unmarried, 1701), an only son, his successor,

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, who married firstly, in 1719, Catherine, daughter of Edward Hall, of Strangford, and had issue,

Edward, who died in 1726;
WILLIAM, his heir.

He wedded secondly, in 1725, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Hill, of Buckinghamshire, and had further issue,

Hugh, died unmarried 1765;
James, died unmarried 1796;
Robert, died unmarried 1758;
Samuel, Lieutenant-Colonel.

Captain Montgomery was an officer of Dragoons, who served with reputation in Spain under Charles Mordaunt, the great Earl of Peterborough.

He purchased, ca 1715, the estate of GREY ABBEY from his kinsman, James Montgomery, and rebuilt the mansion house, the former having been burnt accidentally in 1695.

Captain Montgomery died in 1755, and was succeeded by his second son,

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY (1721-99), of Grey Abbey, MP for Hillsborough, 1761-99, who wedded, in 1749, Susanna, daughter and sole heir of John Jelly, of Rathmullan, County Down, and had issue,

William, Major, k/a in America, 1781;
HUGH, his heir;
Edward, RN;
Francis, Captain, 67th Regiment;
Dorcas.

Mr Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

THE REV HUGH MONTGOMERY (1754-1815), of Grey Abbey, who married, in 1782, Emilia Ward, youngest daughter of Bernard, 1st Viscount Bangor (by his wife, the Lady Anne Bligh, daughter of John, Earl of Darnley), and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
Hugh Bernard, army officer;
Edward (Rev), Rector of Portaferry;
Arthur Hill, of Tyrella;
John Charles, Barrister;
Francis Octavius, army officer;
George Augustus Frederick Sandys, Lieutenant RN;
Anne Catherine; Emilia Georgiana Susanna.

The Rev Hugh Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY JP DL (-1831), of Grey Abbey, High Sheriff of County Down, 1824, who wedded, in 1817, the Lady Amelia Elizabeth Parker, second daughter of Thomas Parker, 5th Earl of Macclesfield, by which lady he had issue, an only child,

HUGH MONTGOMERY JP DL (1821-94), of Grey Abbey, High Sheriff of County Down, 1845, who married, in 1846, the Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Herbert, second daughter of Edward, 2nd Earl of Powis, KG, and had issue,

WILLIAM EDWARD, his heir;
ROBERT ARTHUR, succeeded his brother;
Percy Hugh Seymour (1856-1902);
FRANCIS HENRY, succeeded his brother;
George Fitzmaurice, father of HUGH EDWARD;
Lucy Florentia; Edith Cecilia; Charlotte Henrietta Emily; Evelyn Mary.

Mr Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM EDWARD MONTGOMERY JP DL (1847-1927), of Grey Abbey, High Sheriff of County Down, 1900, who espoused, in 1891, Alberta Victoria, daughter of Major-General the Rt Hon Sir Henry Ponsonby GCB, but had no issue.

General Montgomery was succeeded by his brother,

MAJOR-GENERAL ROBERT ARTHUR MONTGOMERY CB CVO (1848-1931), of Grey Abbey, who married Maria Maud, second daughter of Richard Gosling, by whom he had no issue.

General Montgomery was succeeded by his brother,

FRANCIS HENRY MONTGOMERY (1857-1941), of Grey Abbey, who died unmarried, when the estate devolved upon his nephew,

MAJOR HUGH EDWARD MONTGOMERY JP DL (1906-69), of Grey Abbey (son of George Fitzmaurice Montgomery), High Sheriff of County Down, 1955, who wedded, in 1938, Anne, only daughter of Brigadier Charles Graeme Higgins CMG DSO DL, of Badbury Hill, Faringdon, and had issue,

WILLIAM HOWARD CLIVE MONTGOMERY (1940-), who married, in 1965, Daphne, daughter of Brigadier the Hon Geoffrey John Orlando Bridgeman (son of 1st Viscount Bridgeman), and had issue,

Hugh Geoffrey Clive, b 1966;
Rose Evelyn, b 1968;
Frances Mary, b 1970;
Flora Anne Selina, b 1974.

(Image: William Montgomery)

GREY ABBEY HOUSE, Greyabbey, County Down (also known as Rosemount), derives its name from the late adjacent 12th century Cistercian abbey.

The ruins of the abbey can be seen from Grey Abbey House.

The manorial demesne, long known as Rosemount, was established in the early 17th century, and the present house was built in the early 1760s.

Originally the property of the Clandeboye O’Neills, Grey Abbey was granted in 1607 to Sir Hugh Montgomery.

In 1634, his son, Sir James, built a ‘noble house and stately out-offices’.

It was described by William Montgomery in 1683 thus:

a double roofed-house and a baron and fower flankers with bakeing and brewing houses, stable and other needful office houses….built after the forraigne and English manner; with outer and inner courts walled about and surrounded with pleasant gardens, orchards, meadows and pasture inclosures under view of ye said house called Rosemount from which ye manner taketh name. The same was finished by …Sir James AD 1634. 

In 1701, William Montgomery was to add to this account that

"...only some small convenient additions of buildings and orchards were made by ye sd William and improved lately by his sd son James. "

Harris’s County of Down, 1744, related that

Rosemount was the mansion house of Sir James Montgomery …he built here a noble house and stately out-offices (which were afterwards burnt down Ann. 1695) and laid out fine gardens behind it, executed in the form of a regular Fortification, some Bastions of which are yet to be seen.

However the present worthy proprietor [William Montgomery] has built a neat and commodious house with handsome offices on part of the site of the former offices, and laid out his gardens and Out-grounds about it in elegant taste.

This house, too, built in 1717 by William Montgomery (d 1725), was itself later burnt.

In the absence of surviving 17th or 18th century Montgomery estate maps (no doubt burnt in one of those fires or in a fire in a fire in the agent’s house), it is difficult to be certain where exactly these various early buildings stood.

The house, which was accidentally burnt in 1695, may have stood in the vicinity of the present stable yard, and indeed could have the 1717 house, but some believe could have stood on the seaward side of the present mansion.

The ‘fortified’ garden may have occupied what is now the walled garden to the north-west, but there seems to be no physical sign of this today.

It is possible that the present yard, being a complex of 18th and 19th century buildings, could incorporate elements of the ‘handsome offices on part of the site of the former house’, mentioned by Harris in 1744.

The present house, Rosemount, located on a rise in the park, was built from 1762 by William Montgomery, who had succeeded to the property in 1755.

It was still being erected when James Boswell visited the place on 2nd May 1769 and noted the excellent house of Mr Montgomery’s own planning, and not yet finished.

The house is a three-storey block over basement, Palladian in style, with six-bay entrance front, hipped roof and balustraded roof parapet.

(Image: William Montgomery)

There is a three-sided bow in the centre of the garden front (Gothic windows on ground floor, inspired by Castle Ward, are a later addition, possibly ca 1785) and canted projections and diagonally set single-storey side porches on the side elevations, the latter being added in 1845-6 to design of James Sands, commissioned by Hugh Montgomery, who succeeded to the estate from his father, William, in 1831.

The roof-balustraded parapets were also added in the 1840s. A single-storey smoking room extension was added to the north-east in 1895.

The existing naturalistic landscape park with its woodlands, shelter belts, meandering walks and sweeping carriage drives, was laid out as a setting for this house in the 1760s or 1770s. 

The old abbey ruins were made a feature of this park and a sunken drive was created below the garden front of the house.

In the 1840s, a masonry pedestrian humped bridge was built, allowing access to the park across this sunken way.

Near the abbey a well house was built in the 1770s, known as ‘The Nun’s Well’, possibly replacing a medieval well-house mentioned by Harris in 1744.

The stable yard, being a complex of one and two-storey ranges of both 18th and 19th century construction, including a free-standing game larder, are hidden within the park, as is the walled garden lying to the north-west.

The three 19th century gate lodges were added in the 19th century; viz. the old gate lodge ca 1820, known as Rosemount Cottage, made redundant by a re-alignment of the public road; the Abbey entrance of ca 1815-20; and the village West Gate Lodge of ca 1860.

The entrance lodge is in Georgian-Gothic style, as is the pinnacles gate-screen, and appears to have been inspired by the lodges at Mount Stewart, designed by George Dance (the younger), in 1808-09.

In 1843, the garden designer, Ninian Niven, made some alterations to the park layout, notably adding a parterre to the terrace on the north east side of the house. 

This has been grassed over in recent decades. 

The parkland survives today in good order and contains fine mature trees with shelter belts and woodlands down to the lough shore.

Contemporary ornamental planting is maintained to the east and west of the north front; the south entrance front is in lawns, with a sweeping carriage drive.

Part of the walled garden to the northwest of the house is cultivated.

A portion of what was once a much larger orchard is retained.

*****

William Montgomery, who lives with his family at Grey Abbey estate today, is descended from the younger brother of the 1st Earl of Mount Alexander, Sir James Montgomery, who was given the Grey Abbey estates which remain, in part, in the family today.

The family is, therefore, of the same family but not directly descended from him.

In early Victorian times, the family owned land in the Ards Peninsula extending to some 5,000 or more acres, though this figure would have been closer to 100,000 acres in the 16th century.

The Montgomerys also owned the Tyrella estate, near Rathmullan, County Down - it having come into the family through the marriage of William Montgomery to Suzanne Jelly in 1749.

Mrs Daphne Montgomery is the granddaughter of 1st Viscount Bridgeman.

William Montgomery is a Trustee of Weston Park estate in Shropshire.

The Bridgeman family inherited Weston Park itself during the 18th century and today it is run as a trust by the Weston Park Foundation.

First published in May, 2010; revised in 2014.

1st Baron Penrhyn

THE BARONS PENRHYN WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN CARNARVONSHIRE, WITH 41,348 ACRES

The family of PENNANT derives its descent from TUDOR TREVOR, Lord of Hereford and Whittington, founder of the tribe of The Marches. JOHN PENNANT, merchant, of Liverpool, the immediate ancestor of the Pennants, of Pennryn Castle, was second son of Edward Pennant, of Clarendon, in Jamaica, chief justice of that island, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Colonel John Moore, and grandson of Gifford Pennant, a military officer who went to Jamaica, and who was second son of Henry Pennant, of Holywell and Bagillt.

This John Pennant married Bonella, daughter of Joseph Hodges, of Jamaica, and had issue, two sons,

John, dsp;

RICHARD, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

RICHARD PENNANT MP (1737-1808) was elevated to the peerage of Ireland, in 1783, in the dignity of BARON PENRHYN, of the Kingdom of Ireland.

He married Anne Susannah, daughter and heir of General Hugh Warburton, but dsp in 1808, when he was succeeded by his cousin,

GEORGE HAY DAWKINS-PENNANT MP (1763-1840), of Penrhyn Castle, Carnarvonshire, who married Sophia Maria, daughter of Cornwallis, 1st Viscount Haywarden, and had issue,

JULIANA ISABELLA MARY, of whom presently;

Emma Elizabeth Alicia.

The elder daughter,

JULIANA ISABELLA MARY DAWKINS-PENNANT, of Penrhyn Castle, wedded, in 1833, EDWARD GORDON DOUGLAS-PENNANT MP, and had issue,

GEORGE SHOLTO GORDON, his heir;

Archibald Charles Henry;

Eleanor Frances Susan; Caroline Elizabeth Emma; Emma S.

Colonel Douglas-Pennant, MP for Carnarvonshire, 1841-66, Lord-Lieutenant of Carnarvonshire, 1866-86, was elevated to the peerage, in 1866, in the dignity of BARON PENRHYN (2nd creation), of Llandegai, Carnarvonshire.

His lordship was succeeded by the eldest son,

GEORGE SHOLTO GORDON, 2nd Baron (1836-1907), JP DL.

• George Sholto Gordon Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn (1836–1907)
• Edward Sholto Douglas-Pennant, 3rd Baron Penrhyn (1864–1927)
• Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Baron Penrhyn (1894–1949)
• Frank Douglas-Pennant, 5th Baron Penrhyn (1865–1967)
• Malcolm Frank Douglas-Pennant, 6th Baron Penrhyn (1908–2003)
• Simon Douglas-Pennant, 7th Baron Penrhyn (born 1938)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, the Hon. Edward Sholto Douglas-Pennant (b 1966).

Penrhyn Castle (Image: North Wales Holiday Cottages)

PENRHYN CASTLE, near Bangor, Carnarvonshire, was built by the architect Thomas Hopper, also known for the design of Gosford Castle in County Armagh.

Hopper also supervised the designing and making of furniture, carpets and decorative objects for the castle, all in the Neo-Norman style.

Featuring fantastical beasts, faces and patterns, the furnishings drew on the skills of local craftsmen, with furniture created in oak, ebony, marble and even in slate from Penrhyn quarry.

In 1840, with the mansion completed, George Hay Dawkins-Pennant died.

His daughter, Juliana, inherited Penrhyn, and her husband, Edward Gordon Douglas adopted the name Pennant and later became 1st Baron Penrhyn.

In 1949, after the death of the 4th Baron, the land and title separated, and the land was inherited by the 4th Baron's niece, the Lady Janet Harper.

Two years later, Penrhyn Castle, along with the Ysbyty Ifan and Carneddau estates, came under the care of the National Trust.

Former Town House ~ Mortimer House, Halkin Street, Belgrave Square.

First published in February, 2021.

The Staples Baronetcy

This family settled in Ulster during the reign of JAMES I.

ALEXANDER STAPLES, of Yate Court, Gloucestershire, married firstly, Avis, daughter of Richard Browne, of Marlborough, Wiltshire, and secondly, Elizabeth. He had issue,

George, purchased the Manor of Fovant;

Richard of Boreham;

Alexander, of Nottingham; Mayor of Nottingham, 1629;

Edward;

THOMAS, of whom hereafter;

William.

Mr Staples died in 1590; his fifth son,

THOMAS STAPLES, of Lissan, County Tyrone, and Faughanvale, County Londonderry, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1640, settled in Ulster ca 1610 as part of the plantation of Ulster.

This Thomas settled at Moneymore, County Londonderry (then being constructed as part of the terms of the plantation grant to the Worshipful Company of Drapers, which had been granted large swathes of the new county in 1611). His stone house is marked in a map of 1635 as in the centre of Moneymore, beside the Market Cross.

Mr Staples was created a baronet by CHARLES I in 1628, designated of Lissan, County Tyrone, and of Faughanvale, County Londonderry.

About the same date, he purchased several leases, including the lands of the town of Cookstown, and 180 acres at what is now the Lissan demesne.

It is thought that a dwelling existed on the estate at this time along with an Iron Forge which was used to smelt the iron deposits found across the estate.

Mainly as a result of the existence of the forge, the dwelling house survived the Rebellion of 1641.

Sir Thomas married, ante 1623, Charity, only child of Sir Baptist Jones, of Vintnerstown, and had issue,

BAPTIST, 2nd Baronet;
ALEXANDER, 3rd Baronet;
ROBERT, 4th Baronet.

Sir Thomas died in 1653, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR BAPTIST STAPLES, 2nd Baronet (1625-72), of Lissan and Faughanvale, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR ALEXANDER STAPLES, 3rd Baronet, of Lissan and Faughanvale, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1661, MP for Strabane, 1661-65, who espoused Elizabeth Conyngham, by whom he had no male issue.

Sir Alexander was succeeded by his brother,

SIR ROBERT STAPLES, 4th Baronet (1643-1714), of Lissan, MP for Dungannon, 1692, Clogher, 1695, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1703, who wedded, in 1682, Mary, eldest daughter of the Most Rev John Vesey, Lord Archbishop of Tuam, and had issue,

JOHN, 5th Baronet;
Robert;
Thomlinson;
ALEXANDER, 6th Baronet;
Thomas (Rev), Rector of Derryloran; father of JOHN, MP, ancestor of C S Lewis;
Jane; Ann; Rebecca; Mary.

The present Lissan House substantially owes its existence to Sir Thomas's third son Sir Robert, 4th Baronet.

Having married another heiress in the person of Mary Vesey, he improved the estate, building mills and enlarging the iron forge as well as substantially constructing the present house (incorporating large parts of the pre-existing dwelling) ca 1680.

He also created the walled garden which survives today.

The main feature of his house was the gargantuan oak staircase which still (following a reconstruction due to collapse in 1895) dominates the hall today.

Thomas Ashe, writing his report to the Archbishop of Armagh, from whom the land was originally leased, said, in 1703,

"Robert Staples has built a very good stone house; the rooms are noble, lofty and large. There is a very handsome staircase which leads to chambers above with a large parlour and dining room. The house is well-shingled and stands near a small tenement with four pretty rooms. He has built a handsome stable, large barns and a turf house all well shingled."

Sir Robert died in 1714, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN STAPLES, 5th Baronet (1684-1730), who wedded Mary Goslin, by whom he had no male issue, and was succeeded by his younger brother,

SIR ALEXANDER STAPLES, 6th Baronet (1693-1742), who married, in 1735, Abigail, daughter of Thomas Townley, and had issue, an only child,

SIR ROBERT STAPLES, 7th Baronet (1740-1816), who married firstly, in 1761, Alicia, daughter of Rev Thomas Staples, by whom he had a daughter, Sarah.

He espoused secondly, Mary, daughter of Sir William Barker Bt, and had further issue,

ROBERT, his successor;
Anna Maria.

He married thirdly, in 1776, Jane Vesey, daughter of John, 1st Baron Knapton, and sister of the Viscount de Vesci, and had further issue,

Isabella;
Elizabeth Selina;
Anne;
Catherine.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his only son, 

SIR ROBERT STAPLES, 8th Baronet (1772-1832).

By the time of the 7th and 8th Baronets in the mid-18th century, the main branch of the family had moved to Castle Durrow in County Kilkenny. Lissan House was let to a minor branch of the family under The Rt Hon John Staples KC MP, first cousin of the 8th Baronet.

John Staples was a talented lawyer and was the last speaker in the Irish House of Commons before its dissolution in 1801. He went on two grand tours of Italy and Greece, furnishing Lissan with a fine collection of books, paintings and marbles.

His second wife was Henrietta, younger daughter of the Viscount Molesworth, one of the Duke of Marlborough's generals during the war of the Spanish Succession.

Sir Robert died without legitimate issue, as a result of which the Castle Durrow property was bequeathed to his eldest (illegitimate) son, whilst Lissan passed to the Rt Hon John Staples' eldest son,

SIR THOMAS STAPLES, 9th Baronet (1775-1865), QC, who espoused, in 1813, Catherine, daughter of the Rev John Hawkins, but had no issue.

Sir Thomas was a notable lawyer and was appointed Queen's Advocate in Ireland in 1845.

He married Catherine, another heiress, a partnership which made them one of the wealthiest families in Ireland.

Sir Thomas purchased the largest town house on Merrion Square in Dublin and made several notable additions to Lissan House, most notably the large ballroom (or music room), built to take advantage of views of the water gardens.

As a prosperous Dublin barrister, he was able to indulge himself in making Lissan a more fashionable house than it had ever been before, his most obvious contribution being to add the single-storey ballroom to the right-hand side of the entrance front.

In the main block of the house, he created Regency interiors in what is now the dining-room and the library, although only that in the dining-room survives.

Externally, he built out a porch (with two front columns answered by two pilasters either side of the Tuscan columns in the door-case, and a triglyph frieze), and altered the roof-line with the effect that the roof was disguised behind a parapet.

This latter change provided a loft to the house, and meant that the top windows were no longer overshadowed by the roof. 

No expense was spared on the construction of this addition, which was fitted with an early central heating system, was double glazed and which had sprung floorboards to aid dancing.

The room was decorated in a striking oriental scheme of scarlet and black and was decorated with vastly expensive hand-painted Chinese wallpaper originally purchased by Sir Thomas' sister Grace, Marchioness of Ormonde, for Kilkenny Castle.

Small portions of this wallpaper survive today, touched up by the last owner, Mrs Hazel Dolling.

Sir Thomas died childless in 1865, as a result of which the title and estate were inherited by the Rev John Molesworth Staples' eldest son Nathaniel, 10th Baronet.

However, Sir Thomas left the contents of Lissan House as well as the entire family fortune to his wife Catherine.

Unfortunately Catherine, Lady Staples, disliked Sir Nathaniel to such an extent that on her death both the fortune and furniture were bequeathed to her god-daughter, Mary Banks.

Thus the estate began a process of swift financial decline. 

SIR NATHANIEL ALEXANDER STAPLES, 10th Baronet (1817-99), JP DL, married, in 1844, Elizabeth, daughter of Captain James Head, and had issue,

JOHN MOLESWORTH, 11th Baronet;
James Head (1849-1917);
ROBERT PONSONBY, 12th Baronet;
Cecilia; another daughter.

Sir Nathaniel was a civil servant in India and during his absence on the subcontinent several members of the wider Staples family began to remove the remaining contents of the house.

The Rt Hon John Staples' third youngest daughter Charlotte had married William Lenox-Conyngham of Springhill in 1824.

During the 1860s and 70s, she and her eldest son, Sir William Lenox-Conyngham, systematically removed the entire contents of the Lissan library along with the best paintings in the house, including a portrait of the Rt Hon John Staples by Batoni. All of these can still be found at Springhill today.

When Sir Nathaniel eventually settled at Lissan during the 1880s, despite his straightened financial circumstances, he added a substantial porte-cochere to the front of the house and purchased the clock tower from the market-house in Magherafelt which he added to the West end of the house.

At the age of 55, Sir Nathaniel evicted Elizabeth, Lady Staples, from the house and lived out his remaining years in the scandalous company of a young clairvoyant, Mary Potter, who was originally from Cookstown.

By the time of his death in 1899, the family were all but financially ruined.

Sir Nathaniel was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN MOLESWORTH STAPLES, 11th Baronet (1847-1933), who was pronounced "insane" and spent the entire duration of his baronetcy in an asylum in England until his death in 1933.

As a result of this, the estate was first occupied by the second eldest son of the family, James Head Staples, who had originally settled at Braemar, Scotland.

He and his wife built a creamery, took in boarders, and Mrs Staples taught cookery and lace-making so that local girls would have some training to enable them to find work in Cookstown.

He also fitted a second-hand water turbine on the Lissan Water in 1902, which supplied the house with its sole source of electricity until 2007 (and which is still in full working order today).

The estate remained, however, in terminal decline.

When James Head Staples died in 1911, the house was left temporarily unoccupied until his eccentric younger brother,

SIR (ROBERT) PONSONBY STAPLES, 12th Baronet (1853-1943), of Lissan, who wedded, in 1883, Ada Louise, daughter of H Stammers, and had issue,

ROBERT GEORGE ALEXANDER, his successor;
Violet Hope; Beatrice Joyce Head; Nora Lettice Mary.

Sir Ponsonby was persuaded to leave London and settle at Lissan in 1912.

Sir Ponsonby was a notably talented artist.

He had gone to the Catholic University of Leuven to study architecture at the age of twelve before moving to Dresden to study fine art.

When he returned to London during the 1880s he quickly became one of the most famous portrait artists of his day.

He exhibited his first picture at the Royal Academy aged 21.

Sir Ponsonby was also an infamous socialite and member of the Café Royal set.

He was a friend and favourite of King Edward VII.

His most famous attribute was his refusal to wear shoes.

He believed that the earth exuded natural electricity which was beneficial to the health and thus shunned the wearing of shoes and listing his principal occupation as "barefoot walking" in the 1926 Who's Who.

Today his paintings are hugely valuable but, whilst existing at the centre of the social scene in fin de siecle London, his work did not make him a wealthy man.

After settling at Lissan, his finances evaporated and he was known to often ask the postman for a loan or to pawn his own paintings in order to raise funds.

A great sale was held during his tenure which lasted two full days and which saw the remaining pictures and fine furnishings sold off, many to the Lenox-Conyngham family at Springhill where they remain today.

By 1943, the estate, stripped of its furnishings and largely sold off, was virtually bankrupt.

Sir Ponsonby was succeeded by his son,

SIR ROBERT GEORGE ALEXANDER STAPLES, 13th Baronet (1894-1970), of 2, Barkfield, Freshfield Road, Formby, Lancashire, who married, in 1922, Vera Lilian, daughter of John Jenkins, and had issue, two daughters,

HAZEL MARION, of whom hereafter;
Elizabeth Hope.

Sir Robert was educated at Campbell College, Belfast, and Trinity College Dublin; fought in the First World War; Lieutenant, Royal Army Service Corps; was a director of Peter Marsh & Sons (Northern Ireland) in 1961.

He discovered that he could no longer afford to live at Lissan.

Sir Robert consequently employed Harry Dolling as estate manager and settled in England, where he could find suitable employment.

Mr Dolling divided Lissan House into apartments and, from 1943 until the late 1960s, the house was home to over a hundred people living in self-contained flats and tenements carved out of the once elegant public rooms and bedrooms.

The remaining contents of value were sent to be stored temporarily at Springhill, where they were mixed with the Lenox-Conynghams' own property and were presented mistakenly to the National Trust along with Springhill in 1957.

Sir Robert feared that he would be the last of the Staples to live at Lissan. He had only two daughters as issue.

The younger, Elizabeth, had settled with her own family in England; whilst the elder, Hazel, (following a spell in the WRNS) had settled into a life on the seas with the Cunard Line as purser on the Queen Mary and Caronia.

Neither had any interest in the now crumbling, run-down and bankrupt estate.

However, the 13th Baronet's death in 1970, the elder daughter Hazel visited Lissan with her mother and met the agent, Mr Dolling.

Within the year the pair were married and both settled at Lissan, returning the house to a single dwelling for the occupation of themselves and Hazel's mother Vera, Lady Staples.

Whilst Hazel inherited the house and estate from her father, the baronetcy passed to Sir Jack Staples and from him to his cousin and, in swift succession, to his two brothers, the present being the 17th Baronet, Sir Richard Staples.

Both inherited the title at advanced ages and neither have any male heirs.

As a result, a search was instigated by Debrett's in the 1990s seeking the next Staples baronet and a ten year genetic research programme started in 2002 which it was hoped would locate the next Baronet.

Three candidates, Garth Staples and Gerald Staples of Nova Scotia, Canada and David Staples of the USA, have been identified as within a sufficient genetic distance according to family tree, all of whom are descended from Matthew Staples.

It is believed that Matthew Staples was in the company of Governor Cornwallis as a military blacksmith at Halifax in 1749 although the link with the Lissan family tree remains elusive and no one candidate has yet proved their claim.

SIR JOHN RICHARD STAPLES, 14th Baronet (1906-89), married, in 1933, Sybel, daughter of Dr Charles Henry Wade.

His cousin,

SIR THOMAS STAPLES, 15th Baronet (1905-97), married, in 1952, Frances Ann Irvine.

He died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother,

SIR GERALD JAMES ARLAND STAPLES, 16th Baronet (1909-99), who married, in 1951, Henrietta Owen, daughter of Percival Arland Ussher, and had issue, two daughters,

Emily Ann; Jacqueline Mary.

He was succeeded by his brother,

SIR RICHARD MOLESWORTH STAPLES, 17th Baronet (1914-2013), who married, in 1954, Marjorie Charlotte Jefcoate.

He was educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin; fought in the Second World War, in Burma; was with the Royal Air Force, 1940-52; was with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1952-59.

The title, one of the oldest in the baronetage, expired following the decease of the 17th Baronet.

Hazel Radcliffe-Dolling (neé Staples), elder daughter of the 13th Baronet, was the last member of the family to live at Lissan.

Former residence ~ 2, Barkfield, Freshfield Road, Formby, Lancashire.

The Staples Papers are deposited at PRONI.  First published in May, 2011.

Archdale of Castle Archdale

THE ARCHDALES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY FERMANAGH, WITH 27,410 ACRES OF LAND

The earliest reference to the Archdale family relates to Sir Edward Archdale of Norsom, Norfolk, and Macclesfield, Cheshire, who lived during the reigns of HENRY IV and HENRY V, and fought at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

The first of the family to settle in Ulster, during the reign of ELIZABETH I, was 

JOHN ARCHDALE (1578-1621), of Darsham, Suffolk, who married Katherine, eldest daughter of Sir William Temple, provost of Trinity College, Dublin.

In 1612, this John was granted 1,000 acres of land in County Fermanagh as part of the plantation of Ulster.

This gentleman, by the inscription over the gateway in the ruinous castle, appears to have erected the old mansion-house of Archdale.

By his wife he had, among other issue, two sons,

EDWARD, his heir;
John (Rev), Vicar of Lusk, County Dublin.

Mr Archdale was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDWARD ARCHDALE, who espoused Angel, daughter of Sir Paul Gore Bt (ancestor of the Earls of Ross etc) and had issue.

During his time, the castle which his father had erected was taken and burned by the rebels under Sir Phelim O'Neill, in 1641, and only two children of a numerous family survived.

One, a daughter, who was absent and married; the other, an infant son, WILLIAM, preserved by the fidelity of his nurse, an Irish Roman Catholic, which

WILLIAM ARCHDALE JP, of old Castle Archdale, after succeeding to the estates, married, in 1677, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Mervyn, of Omagh Castle and Trillick, both in County Tyrone, and had two sons and a daughter, namely,

MERVYN, his heir;
EDWARD, heir to his brother;
ANGEL, heiress to her brother.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

MERVYN ARCHDALE, of Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh, who died unmarried in 1726, and was succeeded by his brother,

EDWARD ARCHDALE (1694-1728), of Castle Archdale, a captain in Sir Gustavus Hume's Regiment of Dragoons, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1722, who married firstly, in 1728, Frances, daughter of Sir John Caldwell Bt; and secondly, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Cole, of Florence Court.

Dying without issue, however, before 1730, the estates devolved upon his only sister,

ANGEL ARCHDALE (c1688-1745), of Castle Archdale, who thus became heiress and representative of the family, when the spelling of her surname changed to ARCHDALL.

She espoused NICHOLAS MONTGOMERY, of Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh, MP for County Fermanagh, 1761-1802, who assumed the surname and arms of ARCHDALL, and left, at her decease, an only son,

COLONEL MERVYN ARCHDALL JP MP (1725-1813), of Castle Archdale, and of Trillick, County Tyrone, MP for County Fermanagh, 1761-1802, who married, in 1762, Mary, daughter of William, 1st Viscount Carlow, and sister of John, 1st Earl of Portarlington, and had issue,

MERVYN, his heir;
WILLIAM, succeeded his brother;
EDWARD, succeeded his brother;
Henry;
Mary; Angel; Martha Caroline; Anna; Catherine; Elizabeth; Sidney; Wilhelmina Henrietta.

Colonel Archdale was succeeded by his eldest son,

GENERAL MERVYN ARCHDALL (1763-1839), of Castle Archdale, and of Trillick, County Tyrone, who wedded, in 1805, Jane, daughter of Gustavus Rochfort MP, of Rochfort, County Westmeath.

General Archdall was returned for the tenth time for Fermanagh at the general election of 1832.

He resigned on account of ill-health in 1834; and died of a stroke in 1839, when he was remembered as ‘a gallant soldier, a good landlord, a kind friend and a staunch Conservative’.

By his will, dated 28 Sept. 1829, he made provision for his relations, including his ‘reputed’ children Henry and Jane Grey, but left his residual estate to his brother,

WILLIAM ARCHDALL (1768-1857), of Castle Archdale and Trillick, Lieutenant-Colonel, 4th King's Own Regiment, wedded Mary, daughter of James Clarke, in an issueless marriage, and was succeeded by his brother,

EDWARD ARCHDALL JP DL (1775-1864), of Riversdale, County Fermanagh, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1813, who espoused, in 1809, Matilda, daughter of William Humphrys, and had issue,

MERVYN EDWARD, his heir;
WILLIAM HUMPHRYS, succeeded his brother;
Edward;
HENRY MONTGOMERY (Rev), succeeded his brother;
Nicholas Montgomery, of Riversdale and Crocknacrieve; father of 1st Baronet;
Ensign John;
Hugh Montgomery;
Audley Mervyn;
James Mervyn;
Richmal Magnall;
Mary; Letitia; Matilda.

Mr Archdale was succeeded by his eldest son,

MERVYN EDWARD ARCHDALE JP DL (1812-95), of Castle Archdale and Trillick, MP for Fermanagh, 1834-74, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1879, who married, Emma Inez, daughter of Jacob Goulding, and had issue,

Mervyn Henry, m Mary de Bathe and had issue;
Hugh James (brigadier-general), 1854-1921;
Georgina Emma Matilda; Blanche Mary Mervyn; Evelyn Jane.

The spelling of the surname of this branch reverted to ARCHDALE.

Mr Archdale's younger brother,

WILLIAM HUMPHRYS ARCHDALE JP (1813-99), of Castle Archdale, Riversdale, and Trillick, MP for Fermanagh, 1874-85, wedded firstly, in 1845, Emily Mary Rebecca, daughter of the Rev and Hon John Charles Maude, in a childless marriage; and secondly, in 1894, Matilda Mary, daughter of William Alley, though the marriage was without issue.

His younger brother,

THE REV HENRY MONTGOMERY ARCHDALE (1818-98), Rector of Trory, 1847-76, wedded, in 1848, Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of James Blackwood-Price, and had issue,

EDWARD, his heir;
Henry Dawson, died young;
James Blackwood;
Audley Mervyn;
Montgomery;
GEORGE, of Dromard, Kesh; father of MERVYN HENRY DAWSON;
Elizabeth; Richmal Magnall; Sarah Blackwood; Matilda Humphrys.

The Rev Henry Archdale was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON EDWARD ARCHDALE JP DL (1850-1916), of Castle Archdale and Trillick, Privy Counsellor, Lord-Lieutenant of County Tyrone, 1913, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1902, who espoused, in 1908, Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Harwood, though the marriage was without issue.

He was succeeded by his brother,

JAMES BLACKWOOD ARCHDALE JP DL (1853-1936), of Castle Archdale and Trillick, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1921, County Fermanagh, 1923, who married, in 1886, Elizabeth, daughter of George May, and had issue, a son,

HENRY BLACKWOOD ARCHDALE (1887-1939), of Castle Archdale and Trillick, who wedded, in 1921, Dorothy Audley, daughter of William Audley Mervyn, though the marriage was without issue.

He was succeeded by his cousin,

MERVYN HENRY DAWSON ARCHDALE JP DL (1904-68), of Ashburton, New Zealand, and of Castle Archdale, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1944, married Wilhelmina Rachael, daughter of John Castle, and had issue,

DESMOND, b 1932;
Patrick;
Michael;
Denis Theodore.

First published in March, 2012.

Blessingbourne House

THE MONTGOMERYS OWNED 7,996 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY FERMANAGH

AND 4,552 ACRES IN COUNTY TYRONE

HUGH MONTGOMERY was settled at Derrybrusk, County Fermanagh, by his kinsman, the Rt Rev Dr George Montgomery, Lord Bishop of Clogher, about 1618, and was father of

THE REV NICHOLAS MONTGOMERY (c1615-c1705), of Derrybrusk, Laureate of Glasgow University, 1634, Lieutenant in Sir James Montgomery's Regiment, and afterwards Rector of Carrickmacross, County Monaghan.

He left issue, with two younger sons (Robert, of Derrybrusk, Captain in the army, and Andrew, who succeeded his father as Rector of Carrickmacross), and a daughter, Catherine, who married Captain Alexander Acheson, an elder son,

HUGH MONTGOMERY JP (1651-1723), of Derrygonnelly, Captain of Horse under WILLIAM III, who married Katherine, daughter and heir of Richard Dunbar, of Derrygonnelly (by his wife, Anna Catherina, daughter of Lars Grubbe Stjernfelt, a cousin of King Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, and widow of Ludovic Hamilton, Baron of Dalserf, in Sweden), and great-granddaughter of Sir John Dunbar, Knight, of the same place, and had issue,

NICHOLAS;
HUGH, of whom we treat;
Richard, of Monea, Co Fermanagh;
Sarah; Anne; Jane; Margaret; Sidney.

Mr Montgomery's eldest son,

COLONEL NICHOLAS MONTGOMERY (1690-1763), of Derrygonnelly, married firstly, Angel, daughter and heir of William Archdall, of Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh, and assumed the surname of ARCHDALL.

By his first wife he had issue, an only son, Mervyn, MP, of Castle Archdale.

Colonel Montgomery wedded secondly, Sarah, daughter of ______ Spurling, of London, and had further issue,

Robert;
Richard;
Nicholas;
Edward;
Catherine; Sarah; Augusta; Elizabeth.

Hugh Montgomery's second son,

HUGH MONTGOMERY, of Derrygonnelly, wedded Elizabeth, daughter of the Ven William Armar, Archdeacon of Connor (by Martha his wife, daughter of Captain William Leslie, of Prospect), and sister of Colonel Margetson Armar (1700-73), of Castle Coole, County Fermanagh, and was father of Hugh Montgomery, of Castle Hume.

Mr Montgomery died before 1760, leaving a son,

HUGH MONTGOMERY (1739-97), of Castle Hume, who espoused, in 1778, Mary, daughter of Sir Archibald Acheson (afterwards 1st Viscount Gosford), and had issue,

HUGH, his heir;
Archibald Armar;
Mary Millicent.

Mr Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUGH MONTGOMERY (1779-1838), of Blessingbourne, Captain, 18th Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel, Fermanagh Militia, who married, in 1821, Maria Dolores Plink, of Malaga, Spain, and had an only son,

HUGH RALPH SEVERIN MONTGOMERY (1821-44), of Blessingbourne, who wedded, in 1843, Maria, daughter of Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg, of Hofwyl, Switzerland, sometime Landmann of the Republic of Bern, and had issue, a son and heir, 

THE RT HON HUGH DE FELLENBERG MONTGOMERY JP DL (1844-1924), of Blessingbourne, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1871, Tyrone, 1888, Captain, Fermanagh Militia, who espoused, in 1870, Mary Sophia Juliana, youngest daughter of the Hon and Rev John Charles Maude, Rector of Enniskillen, and had issue,

HUGH MAUDE DE FELLENBERG, his heir;

Archibald Armar (Sir), GCB etc, Field-Marshal;

Geoffrey Cornwallis;

Francis Trevilian;

(Charles) Hubert (Sir), KCMG etc;

Maurice William de Fellenberg;

Walter Ashley;

Ralph Noel Vernon;

Mary Millicent.

Mr Montgomery was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAJOR-GENERAL HUGH MAUDE DE FELLENBERG MONTGOMERY CB CMG (1870-1954), of Blessingbourne, who married, in 1894, Mary, second daughter of Edmund Langton, and Mrs Massingberd, of Gunby, Lincolnshire, and had issue,

Hugh Edmund Langton (1895-1971);
PETER STEPHEN, of whom hereafter;
Mary Langton; Elizabeth; Anne.

The younger son,

PETER STEPHEN MONTGOMERY JP DL (1909-88), of Blessingbourne, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of County Tyrone, died unmarried.

BLESSINGBOURNE HOUSE, near Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, is an Elizabethan-Revival style manor house built between 1870-74.

It comprises two storeys and an attic storey.

The windows are multi-gabled and mullioned, with carved, round chimney stacks. 

Located just north of Fivemiletown in County Tyrone, much of the estate was in the neighbouring county of Fermanagh.

Blessingbourne passed to the Montgomery family through marriage to the Armor family early in the 18th century.

Image: Irish Architectural Archive

This is a Regency period demesne, created for a modest dwelling of 1810, referred to as, ‘a romantic thatched cottage’ built as a bachelor pad for Hugh Montgomery. 

When the family left County Fermanagh their former seat was Derrygonnelly Castle, which was burnt in the late 18th century. 

Hugh Montgomery, known as ‘Colonel Eclipse’, married in 1821 and travelled abroad, needing the cottage only for very occasional visits.

The present house is considerably more substantial.

It is a large restrained Elizabethan style manor-house designed by F Pepys Cockerell and built between 1870-74 for Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery, grandson of Hugh.

Its grey stone elevations overlook a natural lough, Lough Fadda and is surrounded by a present-day garden around former sunken lawns, Fastigate yews and a gravel terrace, vestiges of the garden made for the present house.

A planted area and lawns on the south east side, which leads to the lough, is now a grazing field.

Views were opened up in the 1960s.

There is also a late 19th century rhododendron walk.

There are fine mature woodland and parkland trees.

A walk through the woods goes round the lake; a lake walk, via a rockery. 

There is public access in the woods and the Ulster Wildlife Trust undertakes some management here. 

This wood dates from the time of the present house.

The boat house and summer house have gone.

The part-walled garden is partly cultivated and dates from the time of the first dwelling. 

The Gardener’s House was replaced by a bungalow in the 1970s.

There is a delightful little Tudor-style gate lodge, built ca 1845 by Hugh Ralph Severin Montgomery after he succeeded to the property in 1838.

Major-General Hugh Montgomery's brother was Field-Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd.

Peter Montgomery, former president of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, stylishly redecorated much of the interior at Blessingbourne.

In December, 2007, the Daily Telegraph published an obituary of Hugh (Montgomery) Massingberd: 

". . . He was born Hugh John Montgomery at Cookham Dean, in Berkshire, on December 30, 1946. His father was in the Colonial Service and later worked for the BBC; his mother was a "Leftward-leaning schoolmistress". 

His remoter background, however, was distinctly grand, even if it promised a great deal more than it delivered.The Montgomerys, seated at Blessingbourne in Co Tyrone, were a Protestant Ascendancy family, albeit exceptionally conscious of the need to right the wrongs suffered by Roman Catholics. 

In his youth Hugh stayed at the Montgomerys' pseudo-Elizabethan (actually 1870) pile in the full expectation that one day it would be his. There was a strong military tradition in the family. Hugh's paternal grandfather was Major-General Hugh Montgomery, while his great-uncle, the major-general's younger brother, ended his career as Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1933 to 1936  

. . As a teenager, Hugh seemed to add substance to his dreams when he went to stay with his Uncle Peter at Blessingbourne. Peter Montgomery was something of a figure in Ulster, to such a degree that his homosexuality, at that date unknown to Hugh, did not prevent him from becoming Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone

... It was, therefore, a shattering blow to be told in his mid-teens that a cousin who intended to be a farmer would inherit Blessingbourne. This youth, it was judged, would be better qualified than Hugh to return the estate to order after years of benign neglect under Peter Montgomery."

The estate was eventually inherited by Captain Robert Lowry, a great-great grandson of Colonel Hugh Montgomery. 

I recall Captain Lowry voluntarily "skippering" the Duke of Westminster's motor yacht, Trasna, on loan to the National Trust ca 1988 at Crom estate:

The Grosvenors, Dukes of Westminster,  had a beautiful, classic, wooden motor yacht which they used to keep at Ely Lodge. It was called Trasna; it was the finest vessel I'd ever seen on Lough Erne. It was about fifty feet in length and held sixteen persons in comfort. Trasna sported a magnificent kind of figurehead on her bow: a golden sheaf, or bundle, of wheat (or corn). The vessel was acquired by the National Trust for a short period before acquisition by the Duke of Abercorn for Belle Isle. 

Colleen and Nicholas Lowry today operate self-catering apartments on the estate.

First published in December, 2009.

Earldom of Ulster

Arms of Richard of York
(Image: European Heraldry)

Shortly after the death of Strongbow in 1176, HENRY II granted "Ulidia," the present counties of Antrim and Down, and afterwards called among the Anglo-Irish "Ulster," to

De Courcy arms

SIR JOHN DE COURCY (1150-1219),

Who having distinguished himself during the reign of HENRY II, in that monarch's wars in England and Gascony, was sent into Ireland, in 1177, as an assistant to William FitzAldelm, in the government of that kingdom. 

Sir John having prevailed upon some of the veteran soldiery to accompany him, invaded the province of Ulster with twenty-two knights, fifty esquires, and about three hundred foot soldiers; and after many hard-fought battles, succeeded in attaching that quarter of the kingdom to the crown. 

For which important service Sir John was created, in 1181 (being the first Englishman dignified with an Irish title of honour), EARL OF ULSTER.

His lordship remained in high favour during the remainder of the reign of his royal master, and performed prodigies of valour in Ireland; but upon the accession of KING JOHN, his splendour and rank having excited the envy of Hugh de Lacy, appointed Governor of Ireland by that monarch, Lord Ulster was treacherously seized while performing penance, unarmed and barefooted, in the churchyard of Downpatrick, on Good Friday, 1203, and sent over to England, where the King condemned him to perpetual imprisonment in the Tower, and granted to de Lacy all of Lord Ulster’s possessions in Ireland.

After the Earl of Ulster had been in confinement for about a year, a dispute happening to arise between KING JOHN and PHILIP II of FRANCE concerning the Duchy of Normandy, the decision of which being referred to single combat, KING JOHN, more hasty than advised, appointed the day, against which the King of France provided his champion; but the King of England, less fortunate, could find no one of his subjects willing to take up the gauntlet, until his captive in the Tower, the gallant Earl of Ulster, was prevailed upon to accept the challenge.

But when everything was prepared for the contest, and the champions had entered the lists, in presence of the monarchs of England, France, and Spain, the opponent of Lord Ulster, seized with a sudden panic, put spurs to his horse, and fled the arena; whereupon the victory was adjudged with acclamation to the champion of England.

The French king being informed, however, of Lord Ulster’s powerful strength, and wishing to witness some exhibition of it, Lord Ulster, at the desire of KING JOHN, cleft a massive helmet in two at a single blow.

The King was so well satisfied at this signal performance, that he not only restored Lord Ulster to his estates and effects, but desired him to ask anything within his gift and it should be granted.

To which Ulster replied, that having estates and titles enough, he desired that his successors might have the privilege to remain covered in the presence of His Majesty, and all future Kings of England; which request was immediately conceded.

He married Affreca, daughter of Godred Olafsson, King of Man and the Isles, and by Scandinavian and Irish help managed to maintain his possessions of Ulidia against all the power of the viceroy Hugh de Lacy, whom he defeated in a battle at Down in 1204; however, in May, 1205, KING JOHN bestowed the Earldom on

HUGH DE LACY (c1176-1242), who, according to Matthew Paris, a most famous soldier, obtained the earldom of Ulster from KING JOHN, by betraying and delivering into that monarch's power the celebrated John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster.

De Lacy arms

He subsequently, however, incurred the displeasure of the King, and was himself driven out of Ireland.

His wife was Emmeline, daughter and heir of Walter de Riddlesford, by whom he left at his decease an only daughter and heir, MAUD DE LACY, who wedded

WALTER DE BURGH (c1230-71), Lord of Connaught, and, became in consequence EARL OF ULSTER (second creation), in her right at her father's decease in 1242, and in his own right in 1264.

The issue of this marriage consisted of four sons, namely,

RICHARD, his successor;

Theobald, died at Carrickfergus;

William;

Thomas.

The eldest son,

RICHARD DE BURGH, 2nd Earl (1259-1326),

Usually called the Red Earl, the most powerful subject in Ireland, and general of all the Irish forces in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Gascony, was a great soldier and statesman. He founded the Carmelite monastery at Loughrea, built the castles of Ballymote, Corran, and Sligo, and eventually retired to the monastery of Athassel, where he died in 1326.

This nobleman married Margaret, daughter of John de Burgh.

De Burgh arms

The second son of the marriage,

JOHN DE BURGH, wedded Elizabeth, third daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, and died in 1313, having had one son,

WILLIAM DE BURGH, 3rd Earl (1312-33), who succeeded his grandfather in 1326, was knighted at London, 1328, and sat in the parliament in Dublin the following year. 

He was murdered on the 6th June, 1333, by Robert FitzRichard de Mandeville and his servants, near Shankill church, outside Belfast, in going to Carrickfergus. His wife and only daughter retired to England; and so barbarous an affair causing a prodigious outcry, the Lord Justice called a parliament, by whose advice he sailed to Carrickfergus; but, before his arrival, the country people had destroyed the murderers, with their abettors, killing, in one day, three hundred.

The wife of this nobleman was Maud, third daughter of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, grandson of HENRY III; and the only issue of this illustrious alliance,

THE LADY ELIZABETH DE BURGH (1332-63), de jure COUNTESS OF ULSTER, espoused, in 1352,

LIONEL, of Antwerp, KG, third son of EDWARD III, who became, in consequence, 4th Earl of Ulster, Lord of Connaught; and created, in 1362, DUKE OF CLARENCE.

This prince went over to Ireland, and was appointed Lord Lieutenant thereof in 1361.

By the great heiress of De Burgh he left, at his decease, one daughter,

PHILIPPA (1355-82), who was given in marriage, at the age of thirteen, by her grandfather, EDWARD III, to

EDMUND MORTIMER, 3rd Earl of March, and, in consequence of his marriage, 5th EARL OF ULSTER.

The issue of this marriage,

ROGER;

Edmund;

Elizabeth; Philippa.

The 5th Earl's elder son,

ROGER DE MORTIMER, 6th Earl of Ulster (1374-98), wedded Allianore, eldest daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, and had issue,

EDMUND, his successor;

Roger;

Anne; Eleanor.

The elder son,

EDMUND, 7th Earl (1391-1425), and 5th Earl of March, died without issue, and the heir to his estates was the son of his sister, the Lady Anne and the Earl of Cambridge,

RICHARD, 3RD DUKE OF YORK (1411-60), as 8th Earl of Ulster, who wedded Cecily Neville.

The eldest surviving son of this marriage,

EDWARD (1442-83), 4TH DUKE OF YORK, 9th Earl of Ulster, ascended the throne as EDWARD IV, when the Earldom of Ulster merged with the crown.