Ellison-Macartney of Mountjoy Grange

THE RT HON SIR WILLIAM ELLISON-MACARTNEY, KCMG, GOVERNOR OF TASMANIA,  GOVERNOR OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Towards the end of the reign of JAMES I,

THOMAS ELLISON, a younger son of an eminent merchant of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, went over to Ireland, and settled in the north-west part of that country.

He had issue a son,

THOMAS ELLISON, of Castletown, County Mayo, who had issue, a son,

THE REV THOMAS ELLISON, who married, in 1731, Mildred, daughter of Nathaniel Cooper, of Cappagh, and Old Grange, County Kilkenny, and had issue,

William, dsp;
JOHN, of whom presently;
Thomas (Rev), Rector of Castlebar;
Bingham;
Anne.

The second son,

THE REV DR JOHN ELLISON, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, Rector of Cleenish, diocese of Clogher, and afterwards Rector of Conwall, diocese of Raphoe, wedded, in 1776, Anne, daughter of John Olphert, of Ballyconnell, County Donegal, and had issue,

THOMAS;
John (Rev);
Henry;
Anne.

The eldest son,

THE REV THOMAS ELLISON, Prebendary of Killamery, Diocese of Ossory, espoused firstly, in 1803, Mrs Elizabeth Cox, widow, by whom he had a daughter, Martha; and secondly, in 1815, Catherine, second daughter of Arthur Chichester Macartney KC (1744-1827), and had issue,

JOHN WILLIAM, who assumed the additional name and arms of MACARTNEY;
Arthur;
Annette Anna Maria; Eleanor.

The elder son,

JOHN WILLIAM ELLISON-MACARTNEY JP DL (1818-1904), of Mountjoy Grange, MP for County Tyrone, 1874-85, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1870, married, in 1851, Elizbeth Phœbe, eldest surviving daughter of the Rev John Grey Porter, of Kilskeery, County Tyrone, Belle Isle, County Fermanagh, and Clogher Park, County Tyrone (eldest son of the Rt Rev John Porter, Lord Bishop of Clogher), by his wife, Margaret Lavinia, daughter of Thomas Lindsey, of Hollymount House, County Mayo, and of Lady Margaret Eleanor Lindsey, daughter of Charles, 1st Earl of Lucan, and had issue,

WILLIAM GREY, his heir;
Thomas Stewart Porter, of Clogher Park;
Arthur Hubert, of Kenwood, California, USA;
Henry John.

Mr Ellison assumed, by royal licence, 1859, the additional surname and arms of MACARTNEY, on the death of his maternal uncle, the Rev W G Macartney.

His eldest son,

THE RT HON SIR WILLIAM GREY ELLISON-MACARTNEY KCMG (1852-1924), of Ballydownfine, County Antrim, and Mountjoy Grange, County Tyrone, MP for South Antrim, 1885-1903, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1908, wedded, in 1897, Ettie Myers, eldest daughter of John Edward Scott, of Outlands and Devonport, and had issue,

John Arthur Mowbray, Lt-Col (1903-85);
Phœbe Katherine; Mildred Esther.

MOUNTJOY GRANGE, otherwise called Old Mountjoy, County Tyrone, is a long, low, irregular, battlemented house of ca 1780.

It has hood mouldings over the windows and a small square tower at one end.

The Northern Ireland Department of the Environment register describes it thus:

An asymmetrical two- and three-storey multi-bay castellated country house, built ca 1780, remodelled ca 1820. Built in Mountjoy Forest by the first Lord Mountjoy or his father, the MP for Taghmon in County Wexford, this was originally a modest five-bay two-storey dwelling. 

This complicated house was further developed by the Earl of Blessington and displays a multitude of accretions embellished with decorative features dating from the early nineteenth century. 

It is this rather complicated composition that remains to the present and retains most of its early nineteenth century features including, crenellated parapets, decorative chimneystacks, arched and mullioned sash windows and its irregular staggered layout. 

While some windows have been replaced with uPVC, the overall impression remains intact within its picturesque landscaped setting. 

It is a significant example of a large property that has developed according to fashion and was associated with a family of important landowners and public figures.

In 1876, the house became the seat of Sir William Ellison-Macartney, formerly Governor of Tasmania and Western Australia, and MP for Tyrone.

Mr Dickie acquired the property from the Macartney family in 1918.

First published in August, 2015.