Glenveagh Castle

JOHN GEORGE ADAIR OWNED 16,308 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DONEGAL

The family of ADAIR was settled in Scotland, and later in Ulster, for many generations. 

According to tradition, the family derived its descent from Thomas, 5th Earl of Desmond, who having gone on a hunting expedition, lost his way, and spent the night between Tralee and Newcastle, County Limerick, where he was received and hospitably entertained by William MacCormac, whose daughter he subsequently married. 

At this alliance his family and clan were much offended, and compelled him to flee to France, and resign his title and estates to his younger brother in 1418. 

He died of grief at Rouen, in 1420, where the two kings of England and France were present. 

The 5th Earl of Desmond had issue, Maurice and John. 

MAURICE had issue, Maurice and Robert. 

ROBERT, returned to Ireland with the hope of regaining his family title and estates. 

This Robert killed Gerald, the White Knight (second son of Gerald, the then Earl of Desmond), in single combat, at Áth Dara (ford of the oaks), County Limerick, but was subsequently defeated and fled to Scotland, where he assumed the name of ADAIRE.

GEORGE ADAIR JP DL (1784-1823), of Bellegrove, and Rath, Queen's County (son of John Adair, of Rath), wedded, in 1822, Elizabeth, second daughter of the Very Rev Thomas Trench, Dean of Kildare, and had an only son,

JOHN GEORGE ADAIR (1823-85), of Glenveagh Castle, County Donegal, who married Mrs Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, widow of Montgomery Harrison Ritchie.

 
GLENVEAGH CASTLE, near Churchill, is described by Mark Bence-Jones thus:-

A Victorian-Baronial house of rough-hewn granite at the end of a wooded promontory jutting out into Lough Veagh, surrounded by the bare and desolate hills of a deer-forest, so large as to seem a world apart.

The Castle comprises a keep with battlements, flanked by a lower round tower and other buildings. The entrance is through a walled courtyard.

The formal garden boasts terraces with busts and statuary; with a bathing pool by the side of the lough; an Italian garden; a walled garden with a Gothic orangery; and a splendid variety of rare and exotic trees and shrubs.

Glenveagh National Park lies in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains in the north-west of County Donegal.

It is a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness of rugged mountains and pristine lakes.

The park, 40,000 acres in extent, consists of three areas.

The largest of these is the former Glenveagh Estate, including most of the Derryveagh Mountains.

The Glenveagh estate was created in 1857-9 by the purchase of several smaller holdings by John George Adair, a wealthy land speculator originally from County Laois.

Mr Adair was later to incur infamy throughout the county by evicting some 244 tenants in the Derryveagh evictions of 1861.

After marrying his American-born wife Cornelia, Adair began the construction of Glenveagh Castle in 1867, which was completed by 1873.

Adair, however, was never to fulfil his dream of creating a hunting estate in the highlands of Donegal and died suddenly in 1885 on return from a business trip to America.

After her husband’s death, Cornelia Adair took over the running of the estate and introduced deer stalking in the 1890s.

She continually sought to improve the Castle’s comforts and the beauty of its grounds, carrying out major improvements to the estate and laying out the gardens.

Over the next thirty years she was to become a much noted society hostess and continued to spend summers at the castle until 1916.

Following the death of Mrs Adair in London in 1921, Glenveagh fell much into decline and was occupied by both the anti-treaty and Eire army forces during the Irish civil war.

Glenveagh’s next owner was not to be until 1929 when purchased by Professor Arthur Kingsley Porter of Harvard University who came to Ireland to study Irish archaeology and culture.

The Porters mainly entertained Irish literary and artistic figures, including his close friend AE Russell whose paintings still hang in the library of the castle.

Their stay was to be short, however, as Arthur Kingsley Porter mysteriously disappeared from Inishbofin Island in 1933 while visiting the island.

The last private owner was Henry McIlhenny (1910-86), of Philadelphia, USA, who bought the estate in 1937.

Mr McIlhenny was an Irish-American whose grandfather, John, grew up in Milford, a few miles north of Glenveagh.

After buying the estate, McIlhenny devoted much time to restoring the castle and developing its gardens.

Eventually he began to find travelling to and from Ireland too demanding and the upkeep of the estate was also becoming a strain.

In 1975, he agreed the sale of the estate to the Irish government, allowing for the creation of a national park.

In 1983 he donated the castle to the Irish state, along with its gardens and much of the contents.

Glenveagh National Park opened to visitors in 1984, while the Castle itself opened in 1986.

First Published in February, 2012.  Source: GLENVEIGH NATIONAL PARK.

Mitchelstown Castle

THE EARLS OF KINGSTON WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CORK, WITH 24,421 ACRES

The family of KING was originally of Feathercock Hall, near Northallerton, Yorkshire, and the first of its members we find upon record in Ireland is

SIR JOHN KING, Knight, who obtained from ELIZABETH I, in requital of his military services, a lease of Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon; and, from JAMES I, numerous valuable territorial grants, and several of the highest and most lucrative political employments.

He married Catherine, daughter of Robert Drury, and grand-niece of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir William Drury, and had issue,

ROBERT, his heir;
John;
Edward;
Dorothy; Mary.

Sir John died in 1637, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ROBERT KING, Knight, muster master-general of Ireland, who wedded firstly, Frances, daughter of Sir Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott, of Ballyshannon, and had, with other children,

JOHN, his successor;
Henry;
ROBERT, created a Baronet.

Sir Robert died in 1657, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN KING, who received the honour of knighthood and, although an active Cromwellian, was elevated to the peerage, 1660, by CHARLES II, for his zeal in inspiring the monarchy, in the dignity of Baron Kingston, of Kingston, County Dublin.

His lordship married Catherine, daughter of Sir William Fenton, of Mitchelstown, County Cork, and granddaughter of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, principal secretary of state, and had issue,

ROBERT, his successor;
JOHN, 3rd Baron.

By this lady his family acquired the estate of Mitchelstown.

His lordship died in 1676, and was succeeded by his elder son,

ROBERT, 2nd Baron, who dsp 1693, having settled his estates to his uncle, Sir Robert King, in consequence of his brother, and the inheritor of his honours,

JOHN, 3rd Baron (c1664-1728), having conformed to the church of Rome; but this nobleman appears afterwards to have enjoyed the estates.

He was appointed a gentleman of the privy chamber to JAMES II, and following the fortunes of his master into France, was outlawed; but after his father's death, returning into Ireland, he had a pardon from the crown.

His lordship wedded, in 1683, Margaret, daughter of Florence O'Cahan, and had issue,

Robert;
JAMES, his successor;
Catherine; Sophia.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

Portrait of a man, possibly James, 4th Baron Kingston
(Image: Ulster Museum)

JAMES, 4th Baron (1693-1761), who married twice; but dying without male issue, in 1761, the BARONY EXPIRED, while an estate of £6,000 a year, and a large personal fortune, devolved upon his only surviving daughter, MARGARET.

Sir Robert King's youngest son,

THE RT HON ROBERT KING (c1625-1707), of Rockingham, County Roscommon, MP for County Roscommon, 1692-9, MP for Boyle, 1703-7, Privy Counsellor, was created a baronet in 1682, designated of Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon.

Sir Robert wedded, ca 1670, Frances, daughter and co-heir of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Gore, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
HENRY, 3rd Baronet;
Mary;
two other sons and three other daughters.

Sir Robert was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN KING, 2nd Baronet (1673-1720), MP for Boyle, 1695-1714, County Roscommon, 1715-20, who dsp 1720, when the title devolved upon his brother,

THE RT HON SIR HENRY KING, 3rd Baronet (1680-1740), MP for Boyle, 1707-27, County Roscommon, 1727-40, Privy Counsellor, who espoused, in 1722, Isabella, sister of Richard, Viscount Powerscourt, and had issue,

ROBERT, created BARON KINGSBOROUGH;
Henry;
EDWARD, created EARL OF KINGSTON;
Anne; Elinor; Frances; Isabella.

Sir Henry was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ROBERT KING, 4th Baronet (1724-55), who was elevated to the peerage, in 1748, in the dignity of Baron Kingsborough; but died unmarried, when that dignity expired, and the baronetcy devolved upon his lordship's brother,

SIR EDWARD KING, 5th Baronet (1726-97), who was created, in 1764, Baron Kingston, of Rockingham; and, in 1766, Viscount Kingsborough, 1766.

His lordship was further advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1768, as EARL OF KINGSTON.

• Edward King, 1st Earl (1726–97);
• Robert King, 2nd Earl (1754–99);
• George King, 3rd Earl (1771–1839);
  • Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1795–1837);
• Robert Henry King, 4th Earl (1796–1867);
• James King, 5th Earl (1800–69);
• Robert King, 6th Earl (1804–69);
• Robert Edward King, 7th Earl (1831–71);
• Henry Ernest Newcomen King-Tenison, 8th Earl (1848–96);
  • Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1873–73);
• Henry Edwyn King-Tenison, 9th Earl (1874–1946);
• Robert Henry Ethelbert King-Tenison, 10th Earl (1897–1948);
• Barclay Robert Edwin King-Tenison, 11th Earl (1943–2002);
• Robert Charles Henry King-Tenison, 12th Earl (b 1969).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Charles Avery Edward King-Tenison, styled Viscount Kingsborough (b 2000).

MITCHELSTOWN CASTLE was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Kingston.

It was one of the largest Gothic-Revival houses in Ireland, a noble and sumptuous structure of hewn stone, in the castellated style, erected after a design by Mr Pain, of Cork, at an expense of more than £100,000.

Mitchelstown is about thirty miles north of the city of Cork.

The buildings occupied three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth being occupied by a terrace, under which are various offices.

The principal entrance, on the eastern range, was flanked by two lofty square towers rising to the height of 106 feet, one of which was called the White Knight's tower, from its being built on the site of the tower of that name which formed part of the old mansion.

At the northern extremity of the same range were two octagonal towers of lofty elevation.

The entrance hall opened into a stately hall or gallery, eighty feet in length, with an elaborately groined roof, richly ornamented with fine tracery, and furnished with elegant stoves of bronze, and with figures of warriors armed cap-a-pie; at the further extremity was the grand staircase.

Gallery

Parallel with the gallery, and forming the south front and principal range, were the dining and drawing-rooms, both noble apartments superbly fitted up and opening into the library, which was between them.

Entrance Hall

The whole pile had a character of stately baronial magnificence, and from its great extent and elevation formed a conspicuous feature in the surrounding scenery.

Near the Castle was a large fish-pond, and from a small tower on its margin, water was conveyed to the baths and to the upper apartments of the castle, and across the demesne to the gardens, by machinery of superior construction.

The gardens were spacious and tastefully laid out, the conservatory 100 feet in length and ornamented with a range of beautiful Ionic pilasters.

The parkland, which comprised 1,300 acres, was embellished with luxuriant plantations, and included a farming establishment on an extensive scale, with buildings and offices of a superior description, on the erection of which more than £40,000 was expended.

It was estimated that the castle, with the conservatories, farm, and the general improvement of the demesne, cost its noble proprietor little less, if not more, than £200,000 (£8.3 million today).

"Big George", the 3rd Earl, was renowned for his extravagant hospitality.

The 4th Earl continued to entertain his visitors regally at Mitchelstown.

One of the under-cooks  was a young man called Claridge.

Lord Kingston suffered a financial downfall: His lordship - and house guests - locked the doors against the bailiffs and were besieged therein for a fortnight, until finally the Castle was possessed, creditors satisfied and much of the estate was sold.

What remained of the estate was inherited by the 5th Earl's widow. Thereafter, Economy reigned.

The house was looted and burned in 1922 by the IRA, which had occupied it for the previous six weeks.

The order to burn the building, to prevent the newly established Irish Free State army from having use of it, was made by a local Republican commandant, Patrick Luddy, with the approval of General Liam Lynch.

It is clear that one of the motivations for the burning was to try to cover up the looting of the castle's contents, including large amounts of furniture, a grand piano, paintings by Conrad, Beechy and Gainsborough.

Many of these objects have come up for sale in recent years and some, such as the piano, are still kept locally.

The Castle was severely damaged by the fire.

However, it is clear from documents in the National Archives of Ireland that, for example, in places where the fire had not reached, 'mantelpieces had been forcibly wrenched from the walls and carted.'

As this episode took place at the height of the Irish Civil War, there was no appetite afterwards to prosecute anyone for their role in the looting and burning.

The ashlar limestone of the castle was later removed to build the new Cistercian abbey at Mount Melleray, County Water.

The site of the building is now occupied by a milk powder processing plant and the surrounding 1,214 acre demesne (private park) of the castle has been destroyed.

Lord Kingston's town residence between 1826-32 was 3 Whitehall Place, London, now part of the Department of Energy & Climate Change.

Kingston Arms courtesy of European Heraldry.   First published in February, 2012.

1st Marquess Conyngham

THE MARQUESSES CONYNGHAM WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CLARE, WITH 27,613 ACRES

The family of CONYNGHAM was originally of Scottish descent, and of very great antiquity in that part of the United Kingdom.

WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM, Bishop of Argyll, a younger son of William, 4th Earl of Glencairn, in 1539, left a son,

WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM, of Cunninghamhead, Ayrshire, who had two sons,

WILLIAM, who succeeded at Cuninghamhead, and was created a baronet in 1627, designated of Cunninghamhead, Ayr; and

THE REV ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM or CONYNGHAM, who, entering into Holy Orders and removing into Ireland, was appointed, in 1611, the first protestant minister of Enver and Killymard, County Donegal.

He was appointed to the deanery of Raphoe, in 1630, on the consecration of Dean Adair as Lord Bishop of Killaloe.

Dean Conyngham settled at Mount Charles, County Donegal, which estate he held, by lease, from the Earl of Annandale, and wedded Marion, daughter of John Murray, of Broughton, by whom he had no less than 27 children, of which four sons and five daughters survived infancy.

The Dean died in 1660, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

SIR ALBERT CUNNINGHAM or CONYNGHAM, Knight,  Colonel, 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, who was appointed, in 1660, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance in Ireland.

Sir Albert fought on the side of WILLIAM III at the Boyne, Limerick etc, and fell in a rencounter with the Rapparees, near Colooney in County Sligo.

He espoused Mary, daughter of the Rt Rev Robert Leslie, Lord Bishop of Raphoe, and was succeeded, on his decease, 1691, by his only surviving son,

MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY CONYNGHAM, of Slane Castle, MP for Killybegs, 1692-3, County Donegal, 1695-1706, who served during the reign of JAMES II as captain in Mountjoy's Regiment.

When JAMES II desired his army to shift for itself, Conyngham prevailed upon 500 of his regiment to remain united, and with them offered his services to WILLIAM III.

He became subsequently Major-General, and fell, 1706, at St Estevan's, in Spain.

General Conyngham wedded Mary, daughter of Sir John Williams Bt, of Minster Court, Kent, and widow of Charles, Lord Shelburne, by whom he got a very considerable property, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his successor;
Henry;
Mary.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

WILLIAM CONYNGHAM, of Slane (an estate forfeited, in 1641, by Lord Slane), who was succeeded at his decease by his brother,

THE RT HON HENRY CONYNGHAM (1705-81), captain of horse on the Irish establishment, MP for Killybegs, 1727-53, when he was elevated to the peerage, in 1753, in the dignity of Baron Conyngham, of Mount Charles, County Donegal.

His lordship was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1756, as Viscount Conyngham; and further advanced, in 1781, as Earl Conyngham, the barony to descend, in case of failure of issue, to Francis Pierpoint Burton, the eldest son of his sister Mary, by Francis Burton.

His lordship married, in 1774, Ellen, only daughter and heir of Solomon Merret; but dying without an heir, in 1781, all his honours became extinct, except the barony of Conyngham, which devolved, according to the limitation, upon the above-mentioned

FRANCIS PIERPOINT BURTON as 2nd Baron (c1725-87), who wedded, in 1750, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Rt Hon Nathaniel Clements, and sister of Robert, Earl of Leitrim, and had issue,

HENRY, his successor;
Francis Nathaniel (Sir), GCH;
Catherine; Ellena; Henrietta.

His lordship, on inheriting the title and estates of his uncle, assumed the surname and arms of CONYNGHAM.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY, 3rd Baron (1766-1832), who, in 1787, was created Viscount Conyngham, of Slane, County Meath; Viscount Mount Charles, of Mount Charles, County Donegal; and, in 1797, Earl Conyngham.

In 1801, Lord Conyngham was appointed a Knight of St Patrick. In 1803, he was appointed Governor of County Donegal, a post he held until 1831, and Custos Rotulorum of County Clare in 1808, which he remained until his death.

His lordship was created, in 1816, Viscount Slane, Earl of Mount Charles, and MARQUESS CONYNGHAM.

In 1821, he was created Baron Minster, of Minster Abbey, Kent, sworn of the Privy Council, and appointed Lord Steward, a post he retained until 1830.

From 1829 until his death, in 1832, he served as Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle.

• Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess (1766–1832);
  • Henry F Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles (1795–1824);
• Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess (1797–1876);
• George Henry Conyngham, 3rd Marquess (1825–82);
• Henry Francis Conyngham, 4th Marquess (1857–97);
• Victor George Henry Francis Conyngham, 5th Marquess (1883–1918);
• Frederick William Burton Conyngham, 6th Marquess (1890–1974);
• Frederick William Henry Francis Conyngham, 7th Marquess (1924–2009);
• Henry Vivien Pierpont Conyngham, 8th Marquess (b 1951).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Alexander Burton Conyngham, styled Earl of Mount Charles.

The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Rory Nicholas Burton Conyngham, styled Viscount Slane.

The Marquesses Conyngham were seated at The Hall, Mount Charles, County Donegal, now thought to be unoccupied.

The Hall is an early to mid-18th century double, gable-ended house of three storeys and five bays.

It has a pedimented door-case, bold quoins and a solid parapet concealing the roof and end gables.

At one end of the house there is a conservatory porch with astrigals and round-headed windows.

A salt works (also in the grounds of the former Conyngham estate) provided employment to local people during the 18th century.

8th Marquess Conyngham

The present Lord and Lady Conyngham continue to live at the ancestral seat, Slane Castle, County Meath.

Buncraggy House

BUNCRAGGY HOUSE, one of several notable houses on the Conyngham Estate, was home of the Burton family for most of the 18th century.

The house remained in the possession of the O'Gorman family until the end of the 19th century, when it became the property of the Caher family.

The house is still occupied and the yard buildings are the centre of a farming enterprise.

Other properties included Islandmagrath, Burtonhill House, Summerhill and Meelick House.

First published in November, 2011.  Conyngham arms courtesy of European Heraldry. 

Patrick Revival

STAR OF THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS ORDER OF ST PATRICK

One of the three great national Orders of Chivalry, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (KP), has lain dormant since the investiture of the last Knight, HRH The Duke of York (later George VI), in 1936.

The last surviving Knight was another son of  King George V, HRH The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster.

He died in 1974.

I have read about and studied the history of the Order, its constitution and establishment at length.

Since the partition of Ireland, in 1922, there have been no non-royal conferrals.

The 3rd Duke of Abercorn, first Governor of Northern Ireland, was the very last non-royal conferral, in 1922.

Serious and sustained attempts were made to keep the Order alive (hence King George V appointing his sons).

The continuance of the great Order was discussed for many years, including how it could continue; and after a period, be revived.

Lords Craigavon  and Brookeborough were both most desirous that the Order be revived for Northern Ireland, as a national Order ~ like the Garter in England and the Thistle in Scotland.

Despite the fact that, technically, the Order remains on the statute book (it’s still on the royal family website), it has been allowed to wither and hibernate.

Sir Winston Churchill was the last statesman to endeavour to revive the Order

Having read some documents, it is my belief that the key players in the Order’s revival today would be:-

• The Prime Minister
• The Foreign Secretary
• The Northern Ireland Secretary
• The First Minister of Northern Ireland
• The Northern Ireland Assembly
• The Sovereign

 

I have to mention the Irish Government because the government of the then Irish Free State was instrumental in its resistance to keeping the Patrick alive, or extant.

However, to my knowledge, the Garter and the Thistle are in the personal gift of the Sovereign, so I wonder whether the revival of the Patrick should really be "politicised" at all.

It need merely be reconstituted, with new statutes, officers and chapel.

The Order of St Patrick would need to be reconstituted; new and more appropriate Statutes drawn; and probably a new Chapel found for the banners, hatchments etc of the new Knights.

It was suggested in the 20th century that the Great Hall at Stormont would be fitting as a chamber for the banners.

A former Archbishop of Armagh offered St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, as the Chapel of the Order.

The insignia of the Order remains, including at least 22 chains, stars, mantles and sashes; as does the Sovereign’s regalia and the Grand Master’s insignia.

All of the insignia still exists at the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, I believe.

I respectfully and humbly call on Her Majesty’s Government to consider the revival of our great Order of St Patrick, as a gesture of goodwill towards the people of Northern Ireland.

Like the Garter and the Thistle, it should be restricted to a few dozen.

It should remain in the personal gift of the Sovereign.

I have been using my website to give exposure to the Patrick for a number of years and will continue so to do.

The Rev Professor Peter Galloway, LVO, OBE, JP, has written a book about the Order, entitled The Most Illustrious Order: The Order of Saint Patrick and its Knights, by Unicorn Press.

Earl of Blessington

The ancestor of William Stewart, first and last Earl of Blessington of the first creation, the Rt Hon Luke Gardiner (c1690-1755), MP for Tralee, 1725-7, Thomastown, 1727-55, Privy Counsellor, Vice-treasurer of Ireland, married, in 1711, Anne, only daughter and sole heiress of the Hon Alexander Stewart, second son of William, Viscount Mountjoy and Earl of Blessington.

Mr Gardiner was succeeded in his estates by his son,

THE RT HON CHARLES GARDINER MP (1720-69), also of the Privy Council, MP for Taghmon, 1742-60, who inherited the estates of his maternal great-grandfather, Lord Blessington, upon the extinction of the male issue in that family.

He married, in 1741, Florinda, daughter of Robert Norman, and had issue,

LUKE, his successor;
Florinda; Anne;
William Neville, General in the Army.

The eldest son,

THE RT HON LUKE GARDINER MP (1745-98), Privy Counsellor, Colonel, the Dublin Militia, succeeding to his ample possessions, MP for County Dublin, 1773-79, Colonel, the Dublin Militia, married, in 1773, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir William Montgomery, and had issue,

CHARLES JOHN, his successor;
Margaret; Louisa.

Mr Gardiner was elevated to the peerage, in 1795, in the dignity of VISCOUNT MOUNTJOY, of Mountjoy, County Tyrone.

His lordship's first wife died in 1783, and he wedded secondly, in 1793, Margaret, eldest daughter of Hector Wallis.

Lord Mountjoy fell at the head of his regiment, during the unfortunate rebellion in Ireland, in 1798, and was succeeded by his son and heir,

CHARLES JOHN, 2nd Viscount (1782-1829), who was created, in 1816, EARL OF BLESSINGTON (of the second creation).

His lordship married firstly, in 1812, Mary Campbell, daughter of Alexander MacDougall, and had issue,

Luke Wellington (1813-23);
Harriet Anne Jane Frances.

He espoused secondly, in 1818, Margaret, daughter of Edmund Power.

The peerages expired on the decease of the first and last Earl in 1829.

Charles John Gardiner, 1st Earl of Blessington (1782-1829)  was best known for his marriage to Margaret Farmer, née Power, whom he married at St Mary's, Bryanston Square, London, on 16 February 1818 (only four months after her first husband's death).

He was present at the trial of Queen Caroline.

After she left her first unhappy marriage, Margaret Power had stayed for almost three years with her parents, then moved to Cahir, in 1809 to Dublin, and from 1809-1814 with a Dublin acquaintance, Captain Thomas Jenkins, of the 11th light dragoons, with whom she formed a close relationship.

It was during her Hampshire stay that she met Gardiner, seven years her senior (Gardiner's first wife died sometime after 1812, having borne him two illegitimate children prior to their marriage and two legitimate children, Lady Harriet Gardiner and Luke Wellington Gardiner, Viscount Mountjoy).

Jenkins received £10,000 from Gardiner to cover the jewels and clothing that he had purchased for Margaret, buying his approval for Gardiner's and Power's marriage, after which she changed her name to Marguerite.

Honeymooning in Ireland, they returned to a newly leased town mansion at 10 St James's Square, London, in 1820.

This address (now the base of Chatham House) soon became a social centre, but their heavy spending and extravagant tastes meant that, despite his annual income of £30,000 from his Irish estates, they were soon both heavily in debt.

On the 25th August, 1822, they set out for a continental tour with Marguerite's youngest sister, the twenty-one-year-old Mary Anne, and servants.

They met Count D'Orsay (who had first become an intimate of Lady Blessington in London in 1821) in Avignon on 20 November 1822, before settling at Genoa for four months from 31 March 1823.

There they met Byron on several occasions, giving Lady Blessington material for her "Conversations with Lord Byron".

After that they settled for the most part in Naples, also spending time in Florence with their friend Walter Savage Landor, author of the "Imaginary Conversations" greatly admired by Lady Blessington.

It was in Italy, on 1 December 1827, that Count D'Orsay married Harriet Gardiner to strengthen the tie between himself and her stepmother Lady Blessington.

The Blessingtons and the new couple moved to Paris towards the end of 1828, taking up residence in the Hôtel Maréchal Ney, where Lord Blessington suddenly died aged 46 of an apoplectic stroke in 1829.

D'Orsay and his wife then accompanied Lady Blessington to England, but the couple soon separated.

D'Orsay lived with Lady Blessington until her death, and she let out Lord Blessington's St James's house.

Lord Blessington's country seat was Mountjoy Forest Lodge, near Omagh, County Tyrone.

His London residence was at 10 St James's Square.

The County Tyrone estates, comprising about 40,000 acres in Newtownstewart, Rash and Mountjoy Forest, contained two residences of quite modest size, Rash House and The Cottage.

Given his wealth, status and interest in architecture, it is surprising that Gardiner never constructed a large country residence in County Tyrone, although it was reported in 1791 that he was ‘about building’ a great house near Omagh.

The Blessington estate stretched from Newtownstewart to Mountfield at its height.

The afforestation was supervised by John McEvoy from 1791.

Part of the estate was sold ca 1846 to a prosperous Omagh family balled Spiller, who acquired 400 acres, including Rash House, the original shooting-lodge of Old Mountjoy and built by the Gardiners.

Luke Gardiner, Viscount Mountjoy, developed large parts of the city of Dublin, including Mountjoy Square.

His principal Dublin homes were at 10, Henrietta Street, and Mountjoy House, Pheonix Park.

J A K Dean, in his useful gazetteer, The Gate Lodges Of Ulster, tells us that,

Mountjoy Forest was an estate with a convoluted history. Sir William Stewart bought the property here at Rash in 1631, his grandson becoming Lord Mountjoy in 1688. By 1782, the property had passed to Luke Gardiner, a rich Dublin banker, who became Viscount Mountjoy in his own right.

It was he who was mainly responsible for giving the estate its present appearance, planting upwards of 200,000 trees in a programme of afforestation that was to be continued by his son Charles John, who became Earl of Blessington in 1816. At this time the demesne was "7-8 miles in circumference, and enclosed in an 8' high stone wall for much of its length".

He also gave the house, then called "The Cottage", its present castellated Tudor character. The Earl is best known for his lavish theatrical entertainments here, his beautiful and wayward wife and the squandering of his inheritance before his death in 1829.

A visitor in 1854 refers to an auction six years previous: "...the once magnificent demesne ... affords nothing of the attention of the tourist , being quite broken up, and sold to different proprietors".

There were two gate lodges, both pre-1833.

S J Murphy has written an account of the Gardiners here. 

First published in June, 2012.  Blessington arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Sir Les!

This morning I fondly remember my old chum and associate Sir Leslie Colin Patterson.

I'd been recommended a dental supplier by the former Australian Cultural Attaché to the Court of St James, Sir Les.

Sir Les and Timothy Belmont go back a long way, in fact.

I am firmly of the belief that Sir Les has been indispensable as Australia's cultural attaché.

High Sheriffs: 2021

APPOINTMENTS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE

APPOINTMENT OF SHERIFFS FOR NORTHERN IRELAND FOR 2021

County Antrim

Mrs Susan Jane Pinkerton
Ballymoney
County Antrim


County Armagh

Dr Alan Manson Turtle MBE

Richhill
County Armagh


County Down

Mrs Kathleen Mary Spencer
Killinchy

County Down


County Fermanagh

Mrs Catherine Jane Irwin MBE

Dairies Big
Enniskillen
County Fermanagh


County Londonderry

Miss Paula Margaret McIntyre MBE
Portstewart
County Londonderry


County Tyrone

Mr Bernard Joseph Curran
Gortnagarn
Omagh
County Tyrone


County Borough of Belfast

Councillor Michael Andrew Long
Belfast



County Borough of Londonderry

Miss Linda Heaney

Londonderry

County Londonderry

Abbeyleix House

THE VISCOUNTS DE VESCI WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN THE QUEEN'S COUNTY, WITH 15,069 ACRES

This and the illustrious family of De Burgh, Marquesses and Earls of Clanricarde, derive from a common progenitor; namely,

JOHN, Earl of Comyn and Baron of Tonsburgh, Normandy, son of BALDWIN II of Boulogne, founder of the house of BLOIS, in France.

From the eldest son of this noble John descended the house of Clanricarde; and from the younger,

EUSTACE DE BURGE, Baron of Tonsburgh, that of which we are now to treat.

This Eustace had two sons, Charles and John, both companions in arms of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.

The elder son,

CHARLES, built the castle of Knaresborough, in Yorkshire, and was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN FITZ RICHARD, who wedded Margaret, aunt of King STEPHEN, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

EUSTACE FITZ JOHN, feudal lord of Knaresborough, who espoused Beatrix, daughter and sole heir of Ivo de Vesci, by Alda, only daughter and heir of William Tyson, Lord of Alnwick, and was succeeded by his elder son,

WILLIAM, who assumed the name and arms of VESCI, and had a grant from HENRY II of Alnwick Castle.

He was sheriff of Northumberland during the greater part of that reign, and was a principal commander in the battle fought near Alnwick, wherein the Scottish army sustained a signal overthrow.

This William's elder son,

EUSTACE DE VESCI (1169-1216), one of the twenty-five feudal barons appointed to enforce the observance of MAGNA CARTA, married Margaret, daughter of WILLIAM, King of Scotland.

This nobleman was succeeded by his son,

WILLIAM DE VESCI, who espoused firstly, Isabel, daughter of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury; and secondly, Agnes, eldest daughter of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby; and in right of the latter had a share of those lands assigned to him in Ireland, belonging to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke.

He died in 1253, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN DE VESCI, who was summoned to parliament, 1264, as Baron Vesci.

His lordship dsp 1289, and was succeeded by his brother,

WILLIAM DE VESCI, who was summoned to parliament in 1295, and was one of the competitors for the crown of Scotland during the reign of EDWARD I.

This nobleman was Justice in Eyre for all the royal forests beyond Trent, and one of the Justices-Itinerant touching the pleas of the forest, Governor of Scarborough Castle, and Lord Justice of Ireland, where he was Lord of Kildare.

His lordship died in 1297, leaving an only daughter, Isabel; and the male line of his family was continued by his brother,

THOMAS DE VESCI, who settled in Newlands, Cumberland, where the family continued until his descendant,

WILLIAM VESEY, having the misfortune to kill his antagonist in a duel, fled into Scotland, whence he removed to Ireland, in the reign of ELIZABETH I.

He wedded a daughter of the family of Ker of Cessford, and was succeeded by his only son,

THE VEN THOMAS VESEY, Archdeacon of Armagh, 1655; whose son and heir,

THE MOST REV JOHN VESEY (1638-1716), was consecrated Lord Archbishop of Tuam.

This learned prelate, who was thrice one of the Lords Justices of Ireland, left issue,

THOMAS;
Agmondisham, ancestor of the Earls of Lucan;
John, in holy orders;
William;
Francis;
Mary; Elizabeth; Anne.

His Grace was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS VESEY (c1668-1730), who was created a baronet in 1698, designated of Abbeyleix, Queen's County.

Sir Thomas, subsequently taking holy orders, was consecrated Lord Bishop of Killaloe in 1713, and translated to the see of Ossory in the following year.

He wedded Mary, only surviving daughter and heir of Denny Muschamp, of Horsley, Surrey, Muster-Master-General of Ireland, and his wife, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Most Rev Michael Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, by whom he had issue, two daughters, and a son, 

SIR JOHN DENNY VESEY, 2nd Baronet, who was elevated to the peerage, in 1750, by the title of Baron Knapton.

He espoused, in Elizabeth, daughter of William Brownlow MP, of Lurgan, County Armagh, by the Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, his wife, daughter of the 6th Earl of Abercorn, and had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
Elizabeth; Anne; Jane.

His lordship died in 1761, and was succeeded by his son,

THOMAS, 2nd Baron (1735-1804), who was created, in 1776, VISCOUNT DE VESCI, of Abbey Leix.

His lordship married, in 1769, Selina Elizabeth, eldest daughter and co-heir of the Rt Hon Sir Arthur Brooke Bt, of Colebrooke, County Fermanagh, by whom he had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
Arthur, in holy orders;
Charles;
Elizabeth;
Selina, m Andrew Nugent, of Portaferry.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 2nd Viscount (1771-1855), of Abbey Leix, who wedded, in 1800, Frances Letitia, daughter of the Rt Hon William Brownlow, of Lurgan, County Armagh, by whom he had issue,

THOMAS, his successor;
William John;
Catherine.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS, 3rd Viscount (1803-75),

• John Robert William Vesey, 4th Viscount (1844–1903);
• Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount (1881–1958);
• John Eustace Vesey, 6th Viscount (1919–83);
• Thomas Eustace Vesey, 7th Viscount(b 1955).

The heir apparent is the present holder's second son, the Hon Oliver Ivo Vesey.

In a Country Life article of 1991, entitled ‘Abbeyleix, County Laois ...’, the late John Cornforth provided a short but still serviceable account of Vesey family history, largely based on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland list of the de Vesci papers as it then stood:

... The Veseys first appeared in Ireland in the second quarter of the 17th century and, like a surprising number of families, rose through service in the Church of Ireland. The first of them, the Venerable Thomas, ended up as Archdeacon of Armagh in 1655 and died in 1662.

Both his sons followed him into the Church, the elder one, John, becoming Archbishop of Tuam [in 1679], a Privy Councillor and a Lord Justice of Ireland. Three of the Archbishop’s five sons also entered the church, with Thomas, the eldest, being made a baronet [in 1698] and a bishop [in 1713], in his father’s lifetime. He had the foresight to marry, [in 1699, Mary Muschamp], the granddaughter of an even more distinguished Archbishop, Michael Boyle, who was both Primate [1678-1702] and Lord Chancellor [1665-85]. ...

Through this marriage, Sir Thomas Vesey acquired the Abbeyleix estate, which was given to the couple as Mary’s marriage portion, by her father, Denny Muschamp. Muschamp was a tax farmer and land speculator as well as adviser to his father-in-law, Archbishop Boyle, and he became involved in Abbeyleix in 1675 through buying the rest of a 99-year Crown lease from the trustees of the will of Sir Edward Massey, an act that immediately led to litigation with the trustees and the beneficiaries of the will. That, together with other complications, led to a series of claims and counter-claims that caused the case to drag on until 1769. ... 

In 1995, the 7th and present Lord de Vesci sold Abbey Leix sold most of the demesne (excluding, however, the part which went with Knapton).

The purchasers were Sir David Davies, an international banker and businessman, and his wife, Linda, whose ‘spectacular restoration’ of the house carried forward the de Vesci tradition of improvement and was the subject of an article by Jeremy Musson entitled ‘Abbeyleix, County Laois ...’, published in Country Life on the 24th July, 2003.

Sir David has recounted his friendship with the late Lady Dufferin and how she gave him an Irish Moiled bull and heifer to start his own herd at Abbey Leix.

Prior to the sale of the house and its residual contents, Lord de Vesci had removed, among many other things, his collection of family portraits and the archive.

However, later in 1995, agreement was reached for the sale of the latter to the National Library of Ireland, where it is now made more easily and widely accessible by the publication of the present catalogue. 

The de Vesci Papers are deposited at the NLI.

Thomas Eustace Vesey, 7th and present Viscount de Vesci (b 1955) is managing director of Horticultural Coir Limited.

Entrance Front (Image: Sotheby's)

ABBEYLEIX HOUSE is a seven-bay, three-storey over basement with dormer attic Classical-style country house, begun 1773, with a pedimented breakfront having a cut stone Doric door-case to the ground floor.

Five-bay elevation to garden front with breakfront having cut sandstone door-case and Wyatt style window openings to flanking bays.

(Image: Sotheby's)

Two-bay single-storey wing to west, renovated ca 1840, with façade enrichments added.

It was extended to the west, post-1902, comprising a seven-bay single-storey wing with breakfront having three-bay advanced centre bay. Balustraded forecourt of ca 1840, to the north.

(Image: Sotheby's)

Formal gardens, post-1839, to south comprising series of artificial terraces with balustrades, flights of steps and ha-has.

ABBEY LEIX ESTATE is currently for sale (January, 2021). Sotheby's describe it thus:-

    

   "A splendid and most distinguished Irish 18th-century mansion positioned within a remarkable and ancient woodland demesne of over 1,000 acres.

Abbey Leix is one of the most venerable 18th-century houses in Ireland and, following a spectacular restoration, it is also one of the most congenial.

In any list of important Irish country houses Abbey Leix has a prominent place.

The late-18th-century mansion, clothed in the Italianate manner in 1859-60, enjoys a remarkable position within a private estate comprising some 1,120 acres and includes some of Ireland’s most notable remaining ancient woodland and extensive frontage to the River Nore.

The accommodation is grand and beautifully executed with the mansion comprising some 26,910 square feet or 2,500 square metres.

The mansion is augmented by ten lodges and cottages on the estate.

Abbey Leix was designed in 1773 by the noted architect James Wyatt.

The house is an elegant three-storey Classical mansion of seven bays, the three central bays under a triangular pediment.

The arrangement of rooms is elegant and simple, with three major rooms on the park front.

There is a deep hall, with a screen of columns separating it from the east-west-running staircase hall and corridor.

The music-room at the south-eastern corner of the house retains the light, decorative plasterwork for which Wyatt was so admired.

Plaster roundels framed by swags of husks were decorated with grisaille by the artist De Gree a few years after completion, probably about 1785.

In the middle of the 19th-century the Italianate character was adopted and the great Classical library and a conservatory were added.

At the same time the front of the house was enclosed within an Entrance Court with terraces added to the rear.

A comprehensive and sympathetic restoration was undertaken in 1995 [by the new owner, Sir David Davies CBE].

A new state dining-room was created.

The whole north-west corner of the accommodation was redesigned to provide a new family room, kitchen and butler’s pantry.

A considerable programme of conservation of the major rooms followed.

The works create a 21st-century family home with an appropriate balance between comfort and informality on the one hand and grandeur for entertaining and the display of art on the other.

Abbey Leix has one of the most important collections of trees in Ireland.

Whereas elsewhere in Ireland the primeval forests of oak, birch, alder and willow have been almost entirely depleted, the woods on Park Hill across the river from the house are among the last surviving remnants of Ireland’s ancient woodland.

Abbey Leix, like so many places in Ireland, owes its origins to religious settlement, and specifically to the French Cistercian monks who came to Ireland in the mid-12th-century.

The present demesne evolved out of the monastery’s granges, woods and fields.

One tree, the oldest oak in Ireland still survives from this period.

The de Vesci family fashioned a landscape as beautiful as the house they built during their ownership between 1675 and 1995.

A stud farm is positioned within the original farmstead and includes an attractive range of cut-stone outbuildings.

A beautiful principal yard, complete with a clock tower, was built of local limestone in 1822.

The quadrangular yard contains 24 loose boxes.

A separate farmyard has a range of farm sheds.

The farmland provides good grazing.

The limestone soil is ideal for rearing and keeping bloodstock, being well laid out in well sheltered and gently undulating fields and paddocks."

The house is set within a landscaped demesne approached by gravel drive; balustraded formal courtyard to Entrance Front with gravel drive and grass centrepiece; group of formal gardens to Garden Front including series of artificial terraces with balustrades, flights of steps and rubble stone ha-has; pond to sheltered garden to south-west. 

De Vesci arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  First published in December, 2011.