Templemore Abbey

THE CARDEN BARONETS OWNED 7,850 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TIPPERARY

This family, which is of antiquity, removed from Lincolnshire into Ireland about the middle of the 17th century.

The name is local, being derived from the township of Cawarden, or Carden, which lies about eleven miles south-south-east from Chester, which manor was the original inheritance of the family; but the elder branch terminating in co-heiresses, the manor of Over-Carden was carried by marriage into the family of Felton, about the end of the 16th century.

A branch of the family had been settled in Kent, where it appears that it had been for several generations possessed of the manor of Hodford; but that estate was alienated during the reign of ELIZABETH I, by John Carden, to the family of Cobbe, when there is reason to believe that the Cardens of Kent removed into Lincolnshire, and that from them diverged the Irish branch, springing from

JOHN CARDEN (c1623-1728), who settled at Templemore, County Tipperary, about 1650, and married Priscilla, daughter of John Kent, of County Kilkenny, by whom he had issue,

Jonathan, ancestor of CARDEN OF BARNANE;
JOHN, of whom we treat;
William;
Margery; Anne; Abigail; Margaret; two other daughters.

Mr Carden died at the extraordinary age of 105. His second son,

JOHN CARDEN, of Templemore, wedded, in 1717, Rebecca, daughter of Humphrey Minchin, of Ballynakill, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Minchin;
Paul.

The eldest son,

JOHN CARDEN (1720-74), of Templemore, espoused, in 1747, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of the Rev Robert Craven, and had (with other issue),

JOHN CRAVEN, his heir;
Christiana.

The eldest son,

JOHN CRAVEN CARDEN (c1758-1820), of Templemore, married firstly, in 1776, Mary, daughter of Arthur, 1st Viscount Harberton, and had issue,

John (1777-1811);
ARTHUR, his heir;
another son.

He wedded secondly, in 1781, Sarah, daughter of John Moore, and had issue,

Annesley;
Gertrude;
another daughter.

Mr Carden espoused thirdly, in 1788, Mary Frances, daughter of Henry Westenra, and sister of Warner William, 2nd Baron Rossmore, and had further issue,

HENRY ROBERT, 2nd Baronet;
Harriet Amelia; Frances.

He married fourthly, Anne, widow of the Viscount Monck.

Mr Carden was created a baronet in 1787, designated of Templemore, County Tipperary.

He raised and commanded the 30th Regiment of Light Dragoons, which, with many other regiments, was reduced at the peace of Amiens.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ARTHUR CARDEN, 2nd Baronet (1778-1822), High Sheriff of County Tipperary, 1820, who wedded Mary, daughter of Thomas Kemmis, of Shaen, Queen's County; but dying without issue, the title devolved upon his half-brother,

SIR HENRY ROBERT CARDEN (1789-1847), of Templemore, High Sheriff of County Tipperary, 1824, who espoused, in 1818, Louisa, daughter of Frederick Thompson, of Dublin, and had issue,

JOHN CRAVEN, his successor;
Frederick;
Henry Daniel;
Arthur (Rev);
Elizabeth Caroline; Sarah Sophia; Frances Mary.

Sir Henry was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN CRAVEN CARDEN, 4th Baronet (1819-79), DL, High Sheriff of County Tipperary, 1849, who married firstly, in 1844, Caroline Elizabeth Mary, daughter of Sir William Mordaunt Sturt Milner Bt, and had issue,

Beatrice Georgina; three other daughters.

He wedded secondly, in 1852, Julia Isabella, daughter of Admiral Charles Gepp Robinson, and had further issue,

JOHN CRAVEN, his successor;
Henry Charles;
Frederick Richard;
Coldstream James;
Derrick Alfred, ancestor of the 8th Baronet;
Julia Ellen Beatrice; Norah Irene; Eileen Olive.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN CRAVEN CARDEN, 5th Baronet (1854-1931), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Tipperary, 1882, who espoused, in 1891, Sybil Martha, daughter of General Valentine Baker, and had issue,

JOHN VALENTINE, his successor;
Audrey.

Sir John, the last of the family to live at Templemore Abbey, was succeeded by his son and heir,

SIR JOHN VALENTINE CARDEN, 6th Baronet (1892-1935), MBE, Captain, Royal Army Service Corps, who married firstly, in 1915, Vera Madeleine, daughter of William Henry Hervet-d'Egville; and secondly, in 1925, Dorothy Mary, daughter of Charles Luckraft McKinnon, by whom he had issue, an only child,

SIR JOHN CRAVEN CARDEN, 7th Baronet (1926-2008), of Jersey, Channel Islands, who wedded, in 1947, Isabel Georgette, daughter de Hart, and had issue, an only child, ISABEL MARY.

Sir John died without male issue, when the title passed to his kinsman,

SIR JOHN CRAVEN CARDEN, 8th and present Baronet.

Sir John Craven Carden, 5th Baronet (1854–1931)
Sir John Valentine Carden, 6th Baronet (1892–1935)
Sir John Craven Carden, 7th Baronet (1926–2008)
Sir John Craven Carden, 8th Baronet (born 1953).

Templemore Abbey (Image: Robert French)

TEMPLEMORE ABBEY, County Tipperary, replaced an earlier castle which was destroyed by a fire in the mid-18th century.

In its place another house was erected, though it, too, was demolished in the early 1800s and a new residence was constructed on an elevated location some distance from the original building.

Templemore Priory (Image: Henry Brocas; R Smith)

It was called Templemore Priory, though its name was changed subsequently to Templemore Abbey.

(Image: Robert French)

This residence was relatively modest, similar to a single-storey Gothic cottage; it was, however, considerably increased in size by the architect William Vitruvius Morrison in the Tudor-Gothic style.

This was said to have cost £36,000 (£4.3 million in today's money).

The completed mansion afforded a two-storey entrance front, with finials, oriels, gables, and a castellated parapet.

There was also a long, irregular side elevation.

The Abbey was burnt to the ground in 1921 by the IRA.

First published in August, 2019.