Thursday 30 December 2021

Mount Bellew House

THE GRATTAN-BELLEW BARONETS OWNED 10,516 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY GALWAY

This family springs from a common ancestor with the BARONS BELLEW, of Barmeath Castle.

MICHAEL BELLEW, of Mount Bellew, County Galway, married Jane, daughter of Henry Dillon, and had issue,
CHRISTOPHER DILLON, his heir;
Mary Catherine. 
Mr Bellew died in 1797, and was succeeded by his son,

CHRISTOPHER DILLON BELLEW (1763-1826), of Mount Bellew, who wedded, in 1794, Olivia Emily, only daughter of Anthony, 4th Baron Nugent of Riverston, and had issue,

MICHAEL DILLON BELLEW (1796-1855), of Mount Bellew, who espoused, in 1816, Helena Maria, daughter of Thomas Dillon, of Dublin, and had numerous issue, of whom
CHRISTOPHER, his heir;
Thomas Arthur, father of 3rd Baronet.
Mr Bellew was created a baronet in 1838, designated of Mount Bellew, County Galway.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE REV SIR CHRISTOPHER BELLEW, 2nd Baronet (1818-67), a Catholic priest, whose brother,

THOMAS ARTHUR BELLEW (1820-63), married, in 1858, Pauline, daughter of the Rt Hon James Grattan MP, and had issue,
HENRY CHRISTOPHER, his heir;
Mary Helena.
Mr Bellew added the name and arms of GRATTAN in 1859.

He was succeeded by his son,

HENRY CHRISTOPHER GRATTAN-BELLEW (1860-1942), of Mount Bellew, who, succeeding his uncle as 3rd Baronet, wedded, in 1885, the Lady Sophia Maria Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of George, 7th Earl of Granard, and had issue,
Herbert Michael, 1886-1906;
CHARLES CHRISTOPHER;
William Arthur;
Thomas Henry;
Arthur John (Sir), Knight, CMG;
Helena Barbara; Moira Jane; Angela Mary.
Sir Henry was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR CHARLES CHRISTOPHER GRATTAN-BELLEW, 4th Baronet (1887-1948), MC, who wedded, in 1923, Maureen Peyton, daughter of Sir Thomas George Segrave, and had issue,
HENRY CHARLES, his successor;
Deirdre Maureen.
Sir Charles, Lieutenant-Colonel, King's Royal Rifle Corps, was succeeded by his son,

SIR HENRY CHARLES GRATTAN-BELLEW, 5th and present Baronet, born in 1933, who married firstly, in 1956, Naomi, daughter of Dr Charles Cyril Morgan; secondly, in 1967, Gillian Hulley; and thirdly, in 1978, Elzabe Amy, daughter of Henry Gilbert Body.

By his second wife he had issue,
PATRICK CHARLES, b 1971;
Deirdre Sophia, b 1967.
Photo credit: Dr Patrick Melvin & Eamonn de Burca

MOUNT BELLEW HOUSE, Mount Bellew Bridge, County Galway, was a house of mainly late-Georgian style.

It was remodelled ca 1820 by Christopher Dillon Bellew.

Mount Bellew comprised a three-storey centre block, with a single-bay entrance front.

The central block had a Venetian window at the top storey of the centre block.

It boasted a notable library which was said to have held one of the finest collections of books during its era.


Mount Bellew was sold about 1938 and subsequently demolished.

The Grattan-Bellews owned a further 10,593 acres in the Queen's County, and 1,895 in County Roscommon.

First published in March, 2016.

4 comments :

Christopher Bellew said...

It is sad that so many of your pieces end wth "the house was demolished in ..." Long may Barmeath exist and be lived in by Bellews. Thank you for an especially interesting post for me.

Timothy Belmont said...

Yes it's a shame.

Recall the series The Irish RM? I gather they used Mount Kennedy House, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, as Major Yeates' residence.

I'll be posting about it soon.

Tim

Andrew said...

Look forward to that. Love the RM and Mrs Cadogan's much maligned barm brack.

Unknown said...

I have enjoyed reading the brief outline of the history of the Grattan-Bellew family. Sadly, Sir Henry, the fifth baronet, died in 2022. he spent part of his life in Kenya (he was there during the Mau Mau insurrection) and later lived in Rhodesia and South Africa before returning to Ireland. He was very friendly and down-to-earth and had a great sense of humour.