Wednesday 1 June 2022

Milford House

THE McCRUMS OWNED 46 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ARMAGH


The family of McCrum originated from Argyllshire, where they were seated from very ancient times.


WILLIAM McCRUM (1785-1879), son of William McCrum (1756-1818, a farmer from County Armagh, by his wife, Elizabeth Harper, of County Armagh), married, in 1818, Judith, daughter of Moses Paul, and had issue,
ROBERT GARMANY, of whom presently;
Martha, died in infancy.
The only son,

ROBERT GARMANY McCRUM JP DL (1827-1915), of Milford House, County Armagh, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1889, wedded, in 1864, Anne Eliza Riddall, of Armagh, and had issue,
WILLIAM, his heir;
Harriette, b 1867.
Mr McCrum was succeeded by his only son,

WILLIAM McCRUM (1865-1932), of Milford House, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1909, who espoused, in 1891, Maude Mary, daughter of Dr W W Squires, of Montreal, Canada, and had issue, an only son,

CECIL ROBERT McCRUM OBE* (1892-1976), of The Mall, Armagh, Captain, Royal Navy, who wedded Ivy Hilda Constance (1891–1990), daughter of William Nicholson, and had issue,
Patrick, 1917-22;
Antony, b 1919; 
MICHAEL WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Robert.
*Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, St James's Palace, SWl. 1st January, 1943: The KING has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following to be Additional Officers of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order : Captain Cecil Robert McCrum, RN (Ret.).

The third son,

Michael McCrum CBE, Headmaster, Eton College, 1970-80
(Image: Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge)

MICHAEL WILLIAM McCRUM CBE
(1924-2005), a distinguished academic and historian, married, in 1952, Christine Mary Kathleen, daughter of Sir Arthur Brownlow Frederick fforde GBE,  and had four children, of whom 

(John) Robert McCrum, born in 1953, is a well-known editor and writer.

*****

Harriette McCrum. Photo Credit: Armagh County Museum

Robert Garmany McCrum's only daughter,

HARRIETTE (1867-1951), of The Mall, Armagh, married, in 1898, the Rev David Miller, and had issue, four sons,
Robert Craig;
William McCrum;
David Riddall;
Edward Wentworth.

MILFORD HOUSE, near Armagh City, County Armagh, is a two-storey, Italianate country house, built for Robert Garmany McCrum between 1865-1904.

It has a three-sided bow; pedimented three-bay projection; and camber-headed windows.


There is an elaborate range of glasshouses running at right-angles from the middle of the front.

During the Victorian era, the grounds extended to 46 acres.

The manor house passed into the ownership of William McCrum in 1915.

Never adept at business, he lost heavily in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and was forced to auction the contents of the house the following year and sell the mill the year after that.

Mr McCrum died penniless in 1932 and the Milford House came into the ownership of the Northern Bank.

In 1936, the bank leased it to a private boarding school for girls (Manor House School), who bought it outright for £3,000 in 1940.

The school closed in 1965; and in 1966 the property was sold to the Northern Ireland Hospital Authority for use as a special care home.

This shut in 1988 and since then the property became vacant.

In 1936, the house was leased and ultimately sold to a girls' school.


In 2000, the Friends of Manor House was established by Stephen McManus in collaboration with Armagh Council to secure the future of the property.


The building was sold to the current owners in 2002.

The Milford Buildings Preservation Trust continues to work tirelessly to protect Milford House, its parkland and gardens.

First published in May, 2014.

2 comments :

Dave in South Australia said...

Which McCrum invented the penalty kick in soccer. There is a memorial to this on the green at Milford. BTW - I enjoy your blog - brings back memories of a Co Down (Newtownards) childhood and the Belmont area during schooldays at CCB.

Anonymous said...

William McCrum (1865-1932) son of RG McCrum invented the penalty kick rule.