Corick House

THE STORYS OWNED 2,065 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE 

JOHN STORY (1648-1725), of Bingfield Hall, Hexham, Northumberland, settled in Ulster about 1697. Mr Story was established on church land at Corick, County Tyrone, by the Rt Rev St George Ashe (1658-1718), Lord Bishop of Clogher.  He was the elder brother of the Rt Rev Joseph Story, Lord Bishop of Kilmore.

Mr Story sold his estate at Bingfield Hall and removed to Ulster under the auspices of Bishop Ashe. He and his son, Thomas, acquired an estate within the See of Clogher, where they built their first residence.

Mr Story died at Corick in 1725, leaving issue,

THOMAS, of whom presently;
Joseph, ancestor of STORY of Bingfield;
John, b 1681;
Samuel, b 1683.

The eldest son,

THOMAS STORY (1678-1768), of Corick, wedded, in 1707, Rebecca ______, and had five sons and two daughters, of whom,

JOHN, of whom presently;
Joseph (Rev), rector of Monaghan (1711-84);
Thomas, 1715-44;
Benjamin, father of JOHN BENJAMIN, s his uncle.

The eldest son,

JOHN STORY (1708-80), died unmarried, and was succeeded by his nephew,

THE REV JOHN BENJAMIN STORY (1764-1844), of Corick, Canon Chancellor of Clogher, who married, in 1790, Jane, daughter of Alexander Young, of Coolkeeragh, County Londonderry, by Catherine his wife, daughter of Richard Hassard, of Gardenhill, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

JOHN BENJAMIN, his heir;
Alexander, died unmarried;
Anne; Kate; Elizabeth; Jane; Letitia; Frances Thomasina; Maria.

The eldest son,

JOHN BENJAMIN STORY, of Corick, wedded, in 1840, Catherine, daughter of Captain Valentine Munbee, of Horringer, Suffolk; though dsp in 1862, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,

THE REV WILLIAM STORY, of Corick, Rector of Aghabog, who espoused Sarah, daughter of John Black, and had issue,

JOHN BENJAMIN, his heir;
William George Theaker, b 1863;
Marion Letitia; Alice Gertrude; Emma Mary Geraldine.

He died in 1888, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN BENJAMIN STORY, MB, M.Ch, FRCSI, (1850-1926), of Corick and 6 Merrion Square North, Dublin, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1911, who married, in 1892, Blanche Christabel, daughter of the Rev J W Hallowell, and had issue,

Eleanor Constance, OBE;
Joan Blanche.

Dr Story was educated at Winchester; and Trinity College Dublin; Surgeon Oculist to GEORGE V in Ireland; President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; and of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom, 1918-19,

The King has appointed Mr John Benjamin Story, MB, FRCSI, to be Honorary Surgeon Oculist to His Majesty in Ireland, in room of Mr Charles Edward Fitzgerald, MD, deceased.

CORICK HOUSE, near Clogher, County Tyrone, was originally built at the end of the 17th century, as a double gable-ended block of two storeys over a basement, with five bays.

In 1863, on the instructions of William Story, the house was enlarged and altered to the design of the Belfast firm of Sir Charles Lanyon.

A new garden front with a large canted bay in its centre and a three-storey tower with Italianate hipped slate roof were added. The original dining room remained unaltered.

The house sits on an elevated site above the River Blackwater, and is approached from the north by a straight avenue, laid down in the 1690s, lined with mature beech trees.

The enclosing parkland, some of whose trees were considered very fine as early as 1835, was developed in the later 18th century.

It is bordered to the south by the river Blackwater, and contains mature trees in set, undulating ground, including a planted rath.

The area around the house is enhanced by a maintained, ornamental garden.

The walled garden is partly cultivated, with a glasshouse.

There are three gate lodges, all of which pre-date the 1850s.

The last member of the Story family, a granddaughter of Dr John Benjamin Story, sold Corick to Mrs Jean Beacom; and the surrounding farmland to local farmers.

Corick House is now a country house hotel.

First published in January, 2013.