SIR MICHAEL DE BERNEVAL, Knight, the first settler, joined the English expedition, with three armed ships, and effected a descent upon Berehaven, County Cork, previous to the landing of his chief, the Earl of Pembroke, in the province of Leinster.
Sir Michael is mentioned in the records at the Tower of London as one of the leading captains in the enterprise; and in the reigns of
HENRY II and
RICHARD I, he was lord, by tenure, of Berehaven and Bantry.
From this gallant and successful soldier we pass to
SIR ULPHRAM DE BERNEVAL, Knight, the tenth in descent, first possessor of Crickstown Castle and estate, and the founder of what was termed the "Crickstown Branch" of the family.
The great-grandson of this Sir Ulphram,
NICHOLAS DE BERNEVALL (fourth of the same Christian name), married a daughter of the Lord Furnivall, and left three sons,
Christopher (Sir), father of 1st Baron Trimlestown;
John, ancestor of the Barons Kingsland;
Barnaby (Sir), an eminent lawyer.
The eldest son,
SIR CHRISTOPHER BARNEWALL (
c1400-46), as the name began to be spelt, succeeded to the patrimonial estate of Crickstown; and was, in 1445 and 1446, Vice-Treasurer of Ireland and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
He married Matilda, daughter of Sir _____ Drake, of Drakerath, and had two sons, of whom the younger,
SIR ROBERT BARNEWALL, Knight, was elevated to the peerage by
EDWARD IV, in 1461, in the dignity of BARON TRIMLESTOWN, of Trimlestown, County Meath.
"
The next patent of creation that occurs" said the historian, William Lynch, in his work on Feudal Dignities,
"is one of considerable importance, as being the first grant (in Ireland) of any description of peerage conveying, by express words, the dignity of a baron of parliament."
The patent was dated in the second year of EDWARD IV's reign, and thereby the King ordained and constituted Sir Robert Barnewall, Knight, for his good services to His Majesty's father when in Ireland, as essendum unum baronum parliamenti nostri infra terram nostram prædictam, to hold to him and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, and to be called by the name of Domini et Baronis de Trymleteston, etc;
And also that the said Sir Robert should be one of his, the King's, Council within the said land during his life, with the fee of £10 yearly, payable out of the fee-farm of Salmon Leap and Chapelizod etc.
His lordship wedded firstly, Elizabeth Broune, by whom he acquired a considerable estate, and had two sons,
CHRISTOPHER (Sir), his heir;
Thomas.
He espoused secondly, Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Plunkett, but had no other issue.
His lordship was succeeded at his decease in 1470 by his elder son,
CHRISTOPHER, 2nd Baron; who obtained a pardon for his participation in the treason of Lambert Simnel.
His lordship married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Plunkett, of Rathmore, and had issue,
JOHN, his heir;
Robert;
Ismay;
a daughter;
Alison.
His lordship died
ca 1513, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
JOHN, 3rd Baron (1470-1538), an eminent judge and politician, who wedded no less than four times, and was succeeded at his decease by the only son of his first wife, Janet, daughter of John Bellew, of Bellewstown,
PATRICK, 4th Baron, who espoused Catherine, daughter of Richard Taylor, of Swords, County Dublin, and widow of Richard Delahyde, Recorder of Drogheda.
His lordship died in 1562, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
ROBERT, 5th Baron, who married Anne, only daughter of Alderman Richard Fyan, Mayor of Dublin; but dying issueless, in 1573, the barony devolved upon his brother,
PETER, 6th Baron. This nobleman dying in 1598, was succeeded by his only son, by Catherine, daughter of the Hon Sir Christopher Nugent, and granddaughter of Richard, 11th Baron Delvin,
ROBERT, 7th Baron (
c1574-1639), who wedded Genet, daughter of Thomas Talbot, of Dardistown, County Meath, by whom he had issue,
Christopher, father of MATTHIAS, 8th Baron;
John;
Patrick;
Richard;
Matthew;
Mary; Catherine; Ismay.
His lordship had a memorable dispute with the Lord Dunsany regarding precedency, which was decided in favour of Lord Trimlestown by the Privy Council in 1634.
He was succeeded by his grandson,
MATTHIAS, 8th Baron (1614-67), eldest son of the Hon Christopher Barnewall, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward FitzGerald, Knight.
This nobleman serving against the usurper
CROMWELL was excepted from pardon for life, and had his estates sequestered; but surviving the season of rebellion and rapacity, he regained a considerable portion of his lands.
His lordship espoused, in 1641, Jane, daughter of Nicholas, 1st Viscount Netterville, and was succeeded by his only surviving son,
ROBERT, 9th Baron, who married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Dungan Bt, and niece of William, Earl of Limerick, by whom he had two sons and five daughters,
MATTHIAS, 10th Baron;
JOHN, 11th Baron;
Jane; Bridget; Dymna; Catharine; Mary.
His lordship sat in
JAMES II's parliament in 1689, and dying in June that year, was succeeded by his eldest son,
MATTHIAS, 10th Baron, who had a commission in the 1st Troop of King James's guards under the Duke of Berwick, and fell in action against the Germans in 1692, when the barony devolved upon his brother,
JOHN, 11th Baron (1672-1746). The 10th Baron having been attainted by
WILLIAM III, that monarch granted the family estates to Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney; but those estates were subsequently recovered at law, and were enjoyed by the house of Trimlestown.
His lordship wedded Mary, only daughter of Sir John Barnewall, Knight, second son of Sir Patrick Barnewall Bt, of Crickstown, by whom he six sons and four daughters,
ROBERT, his heir;
John;
Richard;
Thomas;
James;
Anthony;
Thomasine; Margaret; Bridget; Catharine.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
ROBERT, 12th Baron (
c1704-79); who lived for many years in France, and pursued the study of medicine with great success.
After his return to Ireland he resided at Trimlestown, and gratuitously and freely communicated his advice to all who applied for it.
His lordship was succeeded at his decease by his eldest surviving son,
THOMAS, 13th Baron, a Knight of Malta, who conformed to the established church, and had a confirmation of the dignity (which, although adopted, was unacknowledged from the time of
CROMWELL), in 1795.
His lordship dying
unmarried, the title reverted to his cousin,
NICHOLAS, 14th Baron (1726-1813), who espoused firstly, in 1768, Martha Henrietta, only daughter of Monsieur Joseph D'Aquin, president of the parliament of Toulouse, by whom he had issue,
JOHN THOMAS, his heir;
Rosalia.
He married secondly, in 1797, Alicia, second daughter of Major-General Charles Eustace.
His lordship was succeeded by his son,
JOHN THOMAS, 15th Baron (1773-1839), who wedded, in 1794, Maria Theresa, daughter of Richard Kirwan, of Gregg, County Galway, and had issue,
THOMAS;
Martha Henrietta.
His lordship was succeeded by his son,
THOMAS, 16th Baron (1796-1879), who espoused, in 1836, Margaret Randalina, eldest daughter of Philip Roche, of Donore, County Kildare, and had issue,
THOMAS, died in infancy;
Anna Maria Louisa.
His lordship died without surviving male issue, when the barony became dormant.
In 1891, however, the peerage was was claimed by
CHRISTOPHER PATRICK MARY, de jure 17th Baron (1846-91), a descendant of the Hon Patrick Barnewall, second son of the 7th Baron.
The 17th Baron died before he had fully established his claim; but in 1893, his younger brother,
CHARLES ALOYSIUS, 18th Baron (1861-1937), was confirmed in the title by the Committee for Privileges of the House of Lords.
His lordship married, in 1889, Margaret Theresa, daughter of Richard John Stephens, of Brisbane, Australia, and had issue,
Reginald Nicholas Francis (1897-1918), killed in action;
CHARLES ALOYSIUS, of whom presently;
Ivy Esmay; Marcella Hilda Charlotte; Letitia Anne Margaret; Geraldine Christia Marjory.
He wedded secondly, in 1907, Mabel Florence, daughter of William Robert Shuff, of Torquay, Devon; and thirdly, in 1930, Josephine Francesca, fourth but second surviving daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Christopher John Nixon Bt, of Roebuck Grove, Milltown, County Dublin.
His lordship was succeeded by his second son,
CHARLES ALOYSIUS, 19th Baron (1899-1990), who espoused, in 1926, Muriel, only child of Edward Oskar Schneider, of Mansfield Lodge, Manchester, and had issue,
ANTHONY EDWARD, 20th Baron;
RAYMOND CHARLES, 21st Baron;
Diane.
He married secondly, in 1952, Freda Kathleen, daughter of Alfred Allen Atkins, of Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
ANTHONY EDWARD, 20th Baron (1928-97), who wedded firstly, in 1963, Lorna Margaret Marion, daughter of Charles Douglas Ramsay; and secondly, in 1977, Mary Wonderly, eldest daughter of Judge Thomas Francis McAllister, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
His lordship died without issue, when the honours devolved upon his brother,
RAYMOND CHARLES, 21st Baron, born in 1930, of Chiddingfold, Surrey.
There is no obvious heir presumptive to the Barony of Trimlestown.
An heir presumptive may be found amongst the descendants, if any, of Thomas Barnewall, of Bloomsbury, London, a cousin of the 17th and 18th Barons Trimlestown.
TURVEY HOUSE, Donabate, County Dublin, was a late 17th century mansion comprising two storeys below a gabled attic storey.
The upper storey has three distinctive lunette windows added between 1725-50.
The house has nine bays and lofty, narrow windows grouped in threes.
This was once the seat of the extinct Viscounts Barnewall (of Kingsland); though subsequently it passed to a kinsman, the 13th Baron Trimlestown.
*****
TRIMLESTOWN CASTLE, Kildalkey, County Meath, is a medieval tower-house with an 18th century house attached.
In the 19th century, the castle was adorned with ornamental towers, an embattled parapet, and other marks of the style which prevailed in the latter part of the 16th century.
Shortly afterwards, however, the family abandoned the castle and it became ruinous.
First published in December, 2015. Trimlestown arms courtesy of European Heraldry.
