At Home with Lord O'Neill

RAYMOND, fourth Baron O'Neill, KCVO, TD, has had a remarkable and extraordinary life.

Born in London, the Hon Raymond Arthur Clanaboy O'Neill was only nine years old when his father Shane, the third Baron, was killed in action in Italy during the 2nd World War, in 1944.

I remember him well as regional chairman of the National Trust in Northern Ireland, at the annual general meetings which were held in those days, certainly the 1980s.

I also have fond memories of the Shane's Castle Railway, a miniature railway he established in April, 1971, which began at a platform near the Antrim gate lodge and terminated close to that romantic ruinous pile, SHANE'S CASTLE, at the shore of Lough Neagh, County Antrim.

Clare Weir of the Antrim Guardian had an utterly fascinating interview with Lord O'Neill in 2018, and I'd like to share Lord O'Neill's reminiscences with readers:-

WITH OVER 80 years of memories to share, it’s hard to know where to start when telling the story of Lord O’Neill of Shane’s Castle.

Born in [1st September] 1933 in London, the young Raymond O’Neill was moved out to rural Berkshire during the war.

“We didn’t go to school, we had a Governess. There were half a dozen of us,” he said.

When older he attended Ludgrove School and then went to Eton.

From there, he had four years in France, learning the language.

His wife, the late Georgina [granddaughter of 7th DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH], he says, spoke much better French after going to school in Switzerland.

In 1952 he joined the army, and went into the 11th Hussars in honour of the father of his great friend and contemporary, [4th] LORD DUNLEATH [also born in 1933], of Ballywalter.

He spent time in both England and Germany, before returning home to Shane’s Castle in the mid 1950s.

The original castle had burned to the ground accidentally in 1816 and the second, built by his great-great grandfather, was torched by the IRA in 1922 [article HERE].

“They (the IRA) were rather more polite in those days,” he said.

“My great-great-grandfather was in a wheelchair and they gave everyone a reasonable amount of time to get out.”

At the time, his great-uncle, SIR HUGH O'NEILL, was the target, being the first speaker at Stormont.

“The house then had ecclesiastical overtones, being designed by an ordained minister of the Church of Ireland,” Lord O’Neill explains.

“The main room was said to be more akin to a chapel, very long and high with two log fires and an organ. Some of the organ music written by the Rev William O’Neill [1st Baron O'Neill] is still used in Drummaul Parish in Randalstown. When I first came here I lived ‘over the yard’ above the stables until the new house was built in the late 1950s. There was no room. There were plenty of cottages dotted here and there but no room for all the family relics.”

The estate was requisitioned by the army during the war and some of it was used as an armaments depot.

“There were tin huts all round the forest. When I came they had handed half of it back and it was split in two with a wire fence and one had to sign in at the gate. They [the army] didn’t leave until 1955.”

Lord O’Neill joined the North Irish Horse, part of the Territorial Army, in memory of his father, who had been killed in action during the war, and also attended the Royal Agricultural College and did a stint in the City of London, lodging in a family mews house near Harrod's as he learned how to manage finances.

Following the death of his father, Lord O’Neill’s mother Ann married first Lord Rothermere, whose family owned the Daily Mail, and then Ian Fleming, a British Naval Intelligence officer who later became famous as the author of the James Bond novels.

Fleming had purchased a 20-acre plot in Oracabessa, Jamaica, which became known as Goldeneye.

“I loved it out there,” Lord O’Neill said.

“It was still part of the British Empire and there were governors with cocked hats wandering around. It was right on the edge of the sea and you could see the fish swimming around. I became fascinated by the underwater world, I loved snorkelling, there was no plastic in the oceans back then. Diving was a different matter, you can’t do that on your own or you will get into trouble!”

Lord O’Neill admits that Fleming didn’t quite know what to do with his stepson, and whilst whiling away the hours on the island, he became pals with society figure Blanche Blackwell, part of the old Jamaican establishment, who he describes as ‘a great friend’.

She was descended from the Lindo family of Jewish immigrants who had made their fortune from rum and sugar in the 19th Century and was mother of Chris Blackwell, who went on to found Island Records and went into the hospitality business.

His father was Joe Blackwell from Waterford, a captain in the Irish Guards and heir to the Crosse & Blackwell foods fortune.

Ironically, Chris has now turned Goldeneye into a luxury hotel as well as turning around the fortunes of a series of hotels along Miami Beach.

The Blackwell family also sold land to Noel Coward who built his own villa nearby.

Blanche passed away in 2017 at the ripe old age of 104 and a photo of her, surrounded by colourful parrots, takes pride of place in Lord O’Neill’s living-room.

“Goldeneye wasn’t luxurious at all in those days,” he recalled.

“There was no more than a net over the window to stop the bugs from coming in, it was just a place for Ian to write his books. Noel Coward’s place was a much more comfortable home.”

Another friend was the artist Lucian Freud, who painted Lord O’Neill’s mother.

Lord O’Neill also spent time in the Cayman Islands.

“It was so odd, a tiny little place, full of banks, the Rolls-Royces would turn up at the end of the day to take people home and drive all of five miles to the outskirts.”

Lord O’Neill’s mother Ann and Ian Fleming only had one son, Caspar, who met a tragic end.

“Caspar was fascinated by Egyptology and went to read it at Oxford - there must only have been three in his class. He loved to come to Shane’s Castle and go digging for artefacts and he adored the Antrim Hills. However he got himself in with a bad crowd and he was addicted to drugs. He took sleeping tablets and then he needed ‘uppers’ to wake himself back up again. He took his own life aged only 23 and then Ian died aged only 58. He used to smoke 60 or 70 a day and he had been warned, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Lord O’Neill says that he has tried to stay out of politics.

His uncle Terence was a one-time leader of the Official Unionist Party who became the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

Terence O’Neill [later a life peer as the Lord O'Neill of the Maine] was known for his moderate and conciliatory approach, which angered some of his rivals.

“When I saw Paisley shouting ‘O’Neill must go’, I decided to join the Alliance Party,” said Lord O’Neill.

“I have never been active but I have always been a firm supporter.”

He has also been involved with the Ulster Countryside Committee, the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

“When I first became involved, no-one wanted to come here,” he recalls.

“Northern Ireland was in turmoil, there were bombs going off and daily shootings, it was certainly a hard sell.”

He was also on the board of the National Trust in Northern Ireland and is still involved in regimental associations.

A former Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim (he was succeeded by Joan Christie), Lord O’Neill was tasked with welcoming dignitaries to Northern Ireland.

Avowed anti-royalist Mo Mowlam ‘pretended I wasn’t there’, he remembers, adding that he enjoyed long chats about his beloved jazz music with former US president Bill Clinton.

“We exchanged stories about Presentation Hall in New Orleans. He, like I, was a big jazz fan,” Lord O’Neill said.

“On that first visit to Belfast City Hall, he was supposed to play the saxophone, but he ran out of time, it never happened. In fact I kept him so long on the tarmac after he landed, it was probably my fault!”

Not surprisingly, perhaps his greatest passion is for steam.

Shane’s Castle hosts the annual May Day Steam Rally and also had its own railway in the not-too-distant past.

Lord O’Neill is an avid collector of rail memorabilia and has had a number of paintings of his favourite trains commissioned by top artists.

One depicts him in his racing Mercedes, one of only a handful ever made, with a train chugging alongside.

The car itself was later sold to a collector for an eye-watering sum - Lord O’Neill had bought it for £1,000.

In his office hangs a painting of the former railway at the castle, which closed to the public in 1994, and one of his favourite engines, Quo Vadis.

The Showman's road locomotive was built in 1922 by Burrells in Thetford, Norfolk, and was later sold to Dorset and was even shipped to New Zealand for an exhibition.

Two of the trains which used to ferry visitors around the grounds of Shane’s Castle were sold to the ill-fated Causeway rail project and are now lying in storage.

Lord O’Neill admits he would like to buy them back one day, but is pleased that the station is still being used for corporate meetings and private functions.

Other engines and carriages have gone off to museums and heritage railways around the UK and Ireland.

Shane’s Castle is still very much a working estate and has hosted such diverse events as scout jamborees to the dance event Planet Love.

The Game Fair and Antrim Show are also annual fixtures, along with the religious event ‘Open Skies’.

And of course, the smash hit HBO series Game of Thrones has also used the grounds of the old castle as a film location - although Lord O’Neill says he has no interesting celebrity gossip to share - preferring to ‘leave them all to it’.

Eldest son Shane attended Cirencester College and takes charge of the day-to-day running of the 3,500 acres, 2,000 of which lie inside the estate walls.

This includes 800 acres of farmland ‘and quite a lot of bog’, as well as some trees thought to be over 200 years old.

Some were damaged in the storms in 2018, which Lord O’Neill says is ‘really rather sad - some were totally uprooted’.

Other features include two bridges and the ‘big gate’ at Randalstown, which Lord O’Neill describes as ‘the most impressive entrance in Northern Ireland’.

He takes a keen interest in his family history and gets tipped off by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses if ‘something of interest’ is coming on the market.

His house in the grounds of the castle is full of paintings, drawings and etchings of the old castle as it looked in the glory days, which he has either collected or had commissioned.

Copies of more illustrious pieces are kept, with the originals loaned out to top galleries.

Lord O’Neill is especially fascinated by the story of Laura Bell, who lived in a cottage on RAM'S ISLAND, which is also part of the estate and is now leased to the River Bann and Lough Neagh Association Company.

Miss Laura Eliza Jane Seymour Bell from Glenavy was a ‘very good looking lady of ill repute’ who entertained her guests for a short time at the cottage, and drew the ire of local people living on the shoreline because of her very noisy parties.

In the 1860s, Laura experienced a religious conversion and became an established woman evangelist, preaching in public and holding evangelical tea parties at her home.

The cottage burned to the ground after a particularly raucous party held by American and Canadian airmen stationed at Langford Lodge.

“I’m afraid when you have a cottage on an island, you have to have someone living in it or it will fall into disrepair,” said Lord O’Neill.

Also hanging on the walls of his home are the plans of a ‘cottage orné’ once owned by the family on the shores of Lough Beg.

The Rev William Chichester became an heir after two of the O’Neill brothers died without having children and changed his name to O’Neill.

“By the time he visited the cottage, word was that it had become a brothel, frequented by the great and the good of the day. He was said to have been so appalled that he ordered it be burned down. I doubt it is true, but it’s a good story!”

I wish to express my gratitude to Clare Weir, Deputy Editor of the Antrim Guardian.  O'Neill arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Malone Place, Belfast

Malone Place at Sandy Row, May, 2020 (Timothy Ferres)

MALONE PLACE, Belfast, is a short, narrow terrace of little houses tucked away from the madding crowd.

You might catch a glimpse of it if you are travelling past the beginning of the Lisburn Road.

It's actually at the very end of Sandy Row, leading to Bradbury Place.

This diminutive terrace is one-sided, as it were.

The Toll-house Garden, May, 2020 (Timothy Ferres)

There's an enclosed 'garden' opposite the houses, with railings, locked up, without any seating.

Incidentally, King William Park (aptly named, being adjacent to loyal Sandy Row) has no seating, either; so bring a picnic rug!

In the middle of this small enclosure there is a plaque which tells us that the gardens of the toll gate cottage were close to this location.

The old toll-gate cottage certainly was across the street, at the corner of the present Tollgate House of 1987-88, quite a large prosaic block on Bradbury Place.

The Toll-gate Cottage, looking towards Shaftesbury Square, ca 1910

In the name of Progress the little cottage, built about 1815, was swept away in the autumn of 1961.

Let's be thankful that Malone Place survives.

The Northern Ireland Department for Communities' Historic Buildings Database has written a lot about Malone Place, and has already compiled information from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

Malone Place, May, 2020 (Timothy Ferres)

Malone Place commences at the very end of Sandy Row, where its junction with the Lisburn Road begins.

It terminates at the Malone Place General Practitioners' Maternity Hospital, a block of ca 1925.

Blondin Street runs from here to Gaffikin Street.

In the 1974 Belfast street directory there are fifteen houses, all odd-numbered:-

• 1 ~ 'Scotts, General Dealers.'
• 3-5 ~ Vacant.
• 7 ~ Thompson, WJ & Sons ~ Boot & Shoe Repairers and Retailers.
• 9 ~ Robertson, Miss A.
• 11 ~ Walmsley, Richard B.
• 13 ~ Delaney, William John.
• 15 ~ Turley, James.
• 17 ~ Greer, Mrs Margaret.
• 19 ~ McNamara, John.
• 21 ~ Madill, Miss M.
• 23 ~ Evans, Francis.
• 25 ~ Burgess, W.
• 27 ~ Irwin, Mrs Ellie.
• 29 ~ Watson, Mrs Florence.

Number One, known as Malone Place Apartment, is available for rent.

Number Five (the ground floor) was for sale in May, 2020.

Number Seven seemed to be a private residence from between 1843-49, when it was built, till about 1895, when it became a shop. It remained a shop until about 2004, when it reverted back to being a domestic residence.

Number Nine has always been a residential property. About 1850 a railway clerk lived here, followed by several other clerks, and a reporter in the Belfast Telegraph in 1884.

Number Seventeen, like the rest, was built about 1850. In 1867, one Jane Crosbey was summonsed to appear in court on a charge of having been disorderly in the public street, information having been received by magistrates ‘as to the character of the house she kept’.

The Historic Buildings database, dated 2011, remarks that Number Twenty-three is:

"A two-storey, two-bay Victorian mid-terrace dwelling built ca1860. Forming part of the latter half of the terrace, the exterior of the house has retained its general character, although some historic features of interest have been lost following refurbishment of the terrace in ca2000." 

"The overall intact external appearance of the terrace ensures that it is a good surviving example of housing of this type. Number 23 adds significant value to the group as a whole, makes a positive architectural contribution to the character of the area."

That evaluation applies to many of the others. 

First published in May, 2020.

Rathgael Album: II

Rathgael House ca 1939

John Lowry, a descendant of the Rose-Clelands, of Rathgael House, near Bangor, County Down, has kindly sent me more photographs of Rathgael and its lake.

At Rathgael Lake ca 1940

John's father, Desmond H D Lowry (wearing glasses) is second from the left on the rowing-boat.

Rathgael Lake (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

I visited Rathgael in 1922, and it's now being redeveloped as a very fine housing.

Rathgael Lake (Timothy Ferres, 2022)

The lake is still there, and will be part of this new development.

The castellated twin towers guarded the entrance to the walled yard.

A cannon was strategically sited in the grounds.

First published in May, 2020.

Kilshannig House

THE BARONS FERMOY WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CORK, WITH 15,543 ACRES

The family of DE LA RUPE, or ROCHE, according to the Irish Peerage, and Rudiments of Honour, by Francis Nichols, published in 1727, were materially descended from CHARLEMAGNE; and in the remarkable pedigree of the ancestors of this family, it is shown that they derive their descent from the most illustrious sources, their progenitors being allied, by intermarriages, with the great Counts of Flanders, the Counts of Bavaria, ALFRED, and other Saxon Kings of England; the House of Capet in France, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, and other Anglo-Norman kings.

The Roches came to Ireland in the reign of HENRY II, along with other Anglo-Norman chiefs in Strongbow's time; and in the reigns of RICHARD I and KING JOHN, they got large grants of lands in County Cork, in the territory of Fermoy, which, from them, was called Roche's Country, and they erected a castle, and founded a Cistercian monastery at Fermoy, and they had seats at Castletown Roche and other places.

RALPH DE LA ROCHE, son of Alexander de Rupe, alias DE LA ROCHE, was patriarch of the family in Ireland.

He married Elizabeth de Clare, by the Princess Joan of Acre, his wife, daughter of EDWARD I and his Queen, ELEANOR, of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, by the Princess Joan of Acre, his wife, daughter of EDWARD I.

This Ralph had issue, DAVID, father of John de Rupe or la Roche, Baron of Fermoy, who had MAURICE FITZJOHN, Lord De La Roche, of Fermoy, from whom descended,

DAVID ROCHE, Lord Roche, surnamed The Great, who sat in Parliament as VISCOUNT ROCHE, of Fermoy, in the reigns of EDWARD IV and HENRY VII.

He married Jane, daughter of Walter Burke, called MacWilliam, and had issue,

MAURICE, his successor;
Redmond;
Ulick;
Theobald;
William;
Philip;
Gerald;
Edmond;
Jacob;
Helena.

His lordship died ca 1492, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

MAURICE ROCHE, 2nd Viscount, who married twice; and by Joanna, his first wife, daughter of James, Earl of Desmond, had a son and successor,

DAVID ROCHE, 3rd Viscount, father, by Catherine his wife, daughter of MacCarthy Mor, of a son and successor,

MAURICE ROCHE, 4th Viscount, who wedded Grania MacCarthy, and had issue,

DAVID, his successor;
William;
John;
Helena; Marcella; Catherine.

The eldest son,

DAVID ROCHE, 5th Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1566, espoused Helena, daughter of James, 10th Baron Dunboyne, and had issue,

Maurice, his successor;
William;
EDMOND, of whom hereafter;
Gerald;
James.

The third son,

EDMOND DE LA ROCHE, died in 1540, leaving (with a daughter, Joan, married, in 1508, to David de Courcy, Baron Kingsale) a son,

MAURICE ROCHE, who, when Mayor of Cork, in 1571, received a signed letter from ELIZABETH I, with a patent and livery collar, in acknowledgment of his services in suppressing the rebellion of the Earl of Desmond.

He died in 1593, leaving three sons, JOHN, EDWARD, and Patrick, and was succeeded by the eldest,

JOHN ROCHE, who dsp and the estates devolved upon his brother,

EDWARD ROCHE FITZMAURICE FITZEDMUND, who died in 1626, having three sons, FRANCIS, Edward, and Maurice, of whom the eldest,

FRANCIS ROCHE, High Sheriff of County Cork, 1641, entertained Sir Warham St Leger, the Provost-Marshal of Munster, at his seat, Trabolgan, and assisted him for the King.

He wedded Jane Coppinger, by whom he left at his decease, 1669 (with a younger son, Edmund), a son and heir,

EDWARD ROCHE (1645-96), of Trabolgan, who wedded, in 1672, Catherine, daughter of James Lavallin, of Walterstown, County Cork, and died in 1696, having had issue (with four daughters) four sons,

FRANCIS, his heir;
Edmund;
Maurice;
James.

The eldest son and heir,

FRANCIS ROCHE (1673-1755), of Kildinan and Trabolgan, died unmarried, when the former estate descended to his elder nephew, Edmund, before mentioned, and the latter, of Trabolgan, to his other nephew,

EDWARD ROCHE, of Trabolgan, Colonel, Imokilly Horse, who wedded, in 1781, Susanna, elder daughter of Sir George Wombwell Bt, of Yorkshire, by whom he had one son, Edmund Edward, who predeceased him in 1803, a prisoner of war at Lyons, France.

Mr Roche died in 1828, and bequeathed his estates to his nephew (only son of his elder brother, Edmund),

EDWARD ROCHE (1771-1855), of Trabolgan and Kildinan, who espoused, in 1805, Margaret Honoria, only child and heiress of William Curtain, and had issue,

EDMOND BURKE, his heir;
Frances Maria.

Mr Roche was succeeded by his only son,

EDMOND BURKE ROCHE (1815-74), MP for County Cork, 1837-55, who wedded, in 1848, Elizabeth Caroline, daughter of James Brownell Boothby, of Twyford Abbey, and had issue,

EDWARD, his successor;
JAMES BOOTHBY BURKE, succeeded his brother;
Elizabeth Caroline Burke.

Mr Roche was elevated to the peerage, in 1865, in the dignity of BARON FERMOY, of County Cork.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDMUND FITZEDMUND BURKE, 2nd Baron (1850-1920), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Cork, 1873, who espoused, in 1877, Cecilia, daughter of Standish, 3rd Viscount Guillamore, and had issue, an only child,

Ada Sybil (1879-1944).

His lordship died without male issue, when the title devolved upon his brother,

JAMES BOOTHBY BURKE, 3rd Baron (1852-1920), MP for East Kerry, 1896-1900, who married, in 1880, Frances Ellen, daughter of Frank Work, and had issue,

EDMUND MAURICE BURKE, his successor;
Francis George;
Eileen; Cynthia.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

(EDMUND) MAURICE BURKE, 4th Baron (1885-1955),

(Edmund) Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron (1885–1955);
Edmund James Burke Roche, 5th Baron (1939–84);
(Patrick) Maurice Burke Roche, 6th Baron (b 1967).

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother, the Hon Edmund Hugh Burke Roche.

Garden Front

KILSHANNIG HOUSE, Rathcormack, Fermoy, County Cork, was built between 1765 and 1766 for Abraham Devonsher, a wealthy Cork burgher, on the summit of a gentle hill about six miles south of Fermoy.

Mr Devonsher served as High Sheriff of County Cork, 1762, and MP for Rathcormack between 1756 and 1776.

Originally a Quaker, he was expelled from the Quaker community in 1756 for 'conformity to the world' and for his involvement in politics.

His architect was a Sardinian, Davis Ducart, whose Irish career began in the 1760s and continued until his death in about 1785.

Ducart balanced his career as a canal and mining engineer with some of the second half of the 18th century’s most innovative Irish houses.

Entance Front

He was arguably the most accomplished architect working in Ireland between the death of Richard Cassels and arrival of James Gandon.

As a southern European, he remained completely loyal to the Baroque and never ventured into the new neo-Classisical style.

Kilshannig has four formal fronts.

The entrance is of rose red brick while the other fronts are of cut sandstone with limestone dressings.

The brick facade has a mezzanine floor, segmental headed windows, a fine tripartite stone centrepiece with blind occuli and a round-headed niche on the upper floor.

The other fronts have more regular fenestration although they incorporate several unusual details.

This seven-bay block is attached to a pair of square pavilions by straight narrow links, single storied and elaborately arcaded on the garden front.

From the pavilions the wings extend back towards the entrance in an L-shape and reconnect to the main block by curved walls to form a pair of enclosed courtyards.

Saloon Ceiling

Kilshannig contains a splendid series of rich 18th century rooms with perhaps Ireland’s finest decorative plasterwork, executed by the Lafrancini brothers during their second visit.

These have noble proportions, magnificent chimneypieces and joinery, and deeply coved Rococo ceilings.

Staircase

Most notable are the columnar hall, the double height saloon, which occupies the centre of the garden front, and the superb stone spiral staircase.

Mr. Devonsher was childless and left his estate to his nephew, after whom the house changed hands with monotonous regularity, deteriorating continuously with each passing year.

Trabolgan

Before 1837, Kilshannig was sold to Edward Roche (1771-1855), of Trabolgan House, who used the mansion as a winter residence, as did his son Edmond Burke Roche, raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Fermoy.

Kilshannig had a succession of owners during the 20th century until Commander Douglas Merry and his wife purchased it in 1960.

At that stage Kilshannig was in poor condition: The cupolas had disappeared; one wing was ruinous; and the whole house badly needed attention.

Fortunately Commander Merry possessed a singular combination of engineering skill and aesthetic sensitivity with considerable 'DIY' skills, and it is entirely due to his efforts that the house survived the 20th century.

His son Hugo, a successful bloodstock agent, now lives at Kilshannig with his wife Elaine and their family.

They have continued the good work and have recently given the whole house a new roof, reinstated the cupolas and clad them in copper and a great deal of other work.

This has all been executed to the highest possible standards, to make the house secure for the next hundred years.

Former residence ~ Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk.

Fermoy arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  Select bibliography ~ Irish Historic Houses Association.

Rose-Cleland of Rathgael

THE ROSE-CLELANDS OWNED 599 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DOWN

The family of CLELAND (formerly spelt Kneland) was of great antiquity in Scotland. Their coat-of-arms, tradition states, was acquired by their being hereditary foresters to the ancient Earls of Douglas.

JAMES CLELAND, of that Ilk, in Lanarkshire, ancestor of the Clelands of that Ilk and of several other families of the same surname, joined his cousin Sir William Wallace in 1296 for the relief of his country against the English, along with a considerable number of noblemen and gentlemen.

He was present at, and assisted Sir William Wallace in most of his exploits, particularly in capturing Thomas of Longueville, commonly called The Red Rover.

After the death of Sir William Wallace he firmly supported the cause of ROBERT THE BRUCE, and for his loyalty and good services that king gave him several lands in the barony of Calder, West Lothian.

WILLIAM CLELAND, of that Ilk, fifth in descent from the above James Cleland, and in the reign of JAMES III, King of Scotland, about 1462, married Jean Somerville.

His son and successor,

ALEXANDER CLELAND, of that ilk, was killed in 1513 at the battle of Flodden, along with his cousin, William Cleland, of Faskine, fighting valiantly in defence of their Scottish King, JAMES IV.

To a charter of 1498, there was appended a seal of this Alexander, upon which was a hare, leaping, with a hunting horn about his neck.

The lineal descendant of this gentleman,

JOHN CLELAND, of Whithorn, Wigtownshire, was appointed factor to James, 5th Earl of Galloway, and in 1731, wedded Margaret Murdoch, only child of the Provost of Whithorn.

He died in 1747, having had issue,

William, died in infancy;
JAMES, of whom hereafter;
John;
Katharine; AGNES; Margaret.

The second daughter,

AGNES CLELAND (1740-75), espoused firstly, in 1766, Lieutenant Richard Rose, of the East India Company's European Regiment, by whom she had an only child, JAMES DOWSETT ROSE, who afterwards assumed the additional surname of CLELAND.

She married secondly, in 1774, William Nicholson, of Balloo House, though the marriage was without issue.

John Cleland's son and successor,

JAMES CLELAND, of Newtownards, County Down, wedded, in 1770, Sarah, only child of Captain Patrick Baird, though the marriage was without issue.

He died in 1777, when the his estate reverted to his nephew,

JAMES DOWSETT ROSE-CLELAND JP DL (1767-1852), of Rathgill, County Down, High Sheriff of County Down, 1805, who succeeded to his father's property in 1768, and to that of his paternal grandfather, Richard Rose, of Abingdon, Berkshire, in 1784.

In compliance of the testamentary injunction of his cousin, Patrick Cleland, of Ballymagee, he assumed the additional surname and arms of CLELAND (his mother's name).

He espoused firstly, in 1790, Sarah, only child of William Eaton Andrews, of London, and had issue,

William Nicholson, died in infancy;
Elizabeth Hawkins.

Mr Rose-Cleland married secondly, in 1832, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Nicholson Steele-Nicholson, of Balloo House, and had issue,

JAMES BLACKWOOD, heir to his father;
RICHARD, successor to his brother;
Edward Allen, b 1840;
Henry Somerville, b 1843;
Agnes Elizabeth; Isabel Hamilton;
Margaret Sabina, m Arthur Wellington Garner, of Garnerville.

Mr Rose-Cleland commanded the Newtownards Yeomen Infantry at the battle of Saintfield, 1798; and three months' later raised the Rathgael Yeomen Infantry, and received repeated thanks from the Government for his services.

He presided at the contested election for County Down between Robert, Viscount Castlereagh (later 2nd Marquess of Londonderry), and Colonel the Hon John Meade, which lasted 21 days.

Mr Rose-Cleland was succeeded by his eldest son,

JAMES BLACKWOOD ROSE-CLELAND (1835-56), of Rathgael House, who died at Constantinople, and was succeeded by his brother,

RICHARD ROSE-CLELAND (1836-92), of Rathgael House, who married, in 1861, Elizabeth Wilhelmina, daughter of Robert Kennedy, of Lisburn, County Antrim, and had issue,

James Dowsett, b 1862;
Robert Kennedy, b 1863;
Richard, died in infancy;
Charles Arthur, b 1876;
Elizabeth Helen Louisa; Mary Isabella Eveline; Edith Adelaide;
Maude Ethel; Florence May; Alice Gertrude; Catherine Mabel; Harriet Ella.

Rathgael was inherited by the youngest son and the seven youngest daughters.

Rathgael House

Rathgill, or Rathgael House, dating from the 18th century, was originally the nucleus of a farm comprising 88 acres on the northern part of Clandeboye estate.

A reader has kindly sent me a collection of photographs relating to RATHGAEL.

The house was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Rathgael Training School.

A lake was created by the Cleland family in the late 1800s for fishing, and some of the planting surrounding it dates from that period.

A new housing development, known as Helen's Wood, has been created on land close to the location of Rathgael House.

First published in April, 2016.

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. 

Chambré of Hawthorn Hill

THE CHAMBRÉS OWNED 1,281 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ARMAGH

This family descends from JOHN DE LA CHAMBRÉ, who settled in Denbighshire, under Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln, in 1275. He is stated (in a very ancient pedigree in Norman French) to have been descended from Johan de la Chaumbré, "a nobelle Normanne, who entered England in ye traine of King William ye Conqueraure." 

This John de la Chambré married Mawith, daughter of Blethyn Vaughan, and had a son,

HENRY CHAMBRÉ, of Lleweni, living in 1236, who wedded Katherine, daughter of Edmond Charlton, and was father of

JOSHUA CHAMBRÉ, of Lleweni.

The lineal descendent of this gentleman,

RICHARD CHAMBRÉ, Lord of the Manor of Petton, Shropshire, espoused Mary, daughter of John Hill, of Ludlow, Shropshire, and died in 1563, leaving a second son,

GEORGE CHAMBRÉ, of Petton, who married Judith, daughter and co-heir of Walter Calcott, of Williamscote, Oxfordshire, and had issue, with a daughter, three sons, all named Calcott,

Calcott, dsp;
Calcott, MP, of Carnew and Shillelagh;
CALCOTT, of whom hereafter;
Hester.

The youngest son,

CALCOTT CHAMBRÉ, of Coolatrindle, County Wexford, born in 1602, left issue, two sons, viz.

Calcott;
CALCOTT, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

CAPTAIN CALCOTT CHAMBRÉ (-1753), of Wexford, married Mary, daughter of Oliver Walsh, of Dollardstown, County Kildare, and Ballykilcavan, Queen's County, by Edith his wife, sister of Raphael Hunt and had issue,

HUNT CALCOTT, his heir;
Chaworth Calcott, in holy orders;
Olivia.

The elder son,

HUNT CALCOTT CHAMBRÉ (-1782), of Carnew Castle, County Wicklow, wedded, in 1735, Anna Maria, eldest daughter and co-heir of William Meredith, and had, with other children (who died unmarried),

MEREDITH CALCOTT, his heir;
Ellinor; Anne; Henrietta.

The eldest surviving son,

MEREDITH CALCOTT CHAMBRÉ (1742-1812), of Hawthorn Hill, County Armagh, married, in 1785, Margaret, daughter and co-heir of George Faulkner, of County Dublin, and had issue,

HUNT WALSH, his heir;
William, Major-General;
Maria, m Rev R Henry, Rector of Jonesborough.

Mr Chambré was succeeded by his eldest son,

HUNT WALSH CHAMBRÉ JP (1787-1848), of Hawthorn Hill, Captain, Mullaglass Yeomanry, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1829, who wedded, in 1813, Rebecca, only daughter of William Upton, of Ballinabarney, County Limerick, and had issue,

Meredith, 1814-79;
William;
HUNT WALSH, of whom hereafter;
John, of Hawthorn Hill;
Catherine; Anna Maria; Rebecca; Margaret Elizabeth;
Olivia Henrietta Elizabeth; Mary Frances; Jane Hunt.

The third son,

HUNT WALSH CHAMBRÉ JP (1831-1914), of Dungannon House, County Tyrone, espoused, in 1860, Mary Anne Brunette, daughter of John Brett Johnston, of Ballykilbeg, County Down, and had issue,

Hunt Walsh Alan, b 1861, his heir;
John Brett Johnstone Meredith;
William Thomas Meredith;
CHARLES BARCLAY MACPHERSON, of whom we treat;
John;
William Henry;
Thomasina; Rebecca Mary Brunette; Olivia Isabella Kathleen;
Jane Henry Wray Young Mabel; Kathleen Georgaina Evelyn.

The fourth son,

CHARLES BARCLAY MacPHERSON CHAMBRÉ JP (1870-1950), of Hawthorn Hill, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1929, married, in 1906, Nina Lisa Francis Ochiltree, daughter of the Rev Alexander Stuart, and had issue, a son,

ALAN STUART HUNT CHAMBRÉ JP DL (1908-89), of Ringdarriff, Annahilt, County Down, who wedded, in 1933, Violet Aileen, daughter of Wickham Hercules Bradshaw Moorhead, and had issue,

JOHN ALAN, his heir;
Jean Mary, b 1938;
Rosaleen Aileen, b 1946.

His only son,

JOHN ALAN CHAMBRÉ (1939-), married, in 1968, Elizabeth Mildred, daughter of John Horace Willcox, and had issue,

WILLIAM WICKHAM MEREDITH, b 1969;
Thomas John Charles, b 1976;
Sophia Gabrielle, b 1971;
Kate Mabel Elizabeth, b 1978.

Hawthorn Hill pre-1922 (JAK Dean, Plight of the Big House)

HAWTHORN HILL was located at the foot of Slieve Gullion Mountain between Forkhill, County Armagh, and Newry, County Down.

It was built ca 1820 by Hunt Walsh Chambré.

The family is buried in Killeavy churchyard.

The house was burnt by the IRA on the 22nd May, 1922, as a consequence of which one third of the block was demolished (compare the two images).

Judging by the number of chimneys, at least seven rooms were abandoned.

The front door with its former semi-circular fanlight and Doric columns stands to the right in the image.

Hawthorn Hill (Image: Stately Homes)

The Chambré family continued to live at Hawthorn Hill, the last owner being Charles Barclay MacPherson Chambré, whose son, Alan Stuart Hunt Chambré, sold the land to the Department of Agriculture in 1951.

The sale of the house followed in 1968, though a member of the family continued to live in it until the early 1970s when it was abandoned due to bomb threats from the IRA.

In 1968, the Chambré family sold the remainder of the estate to the Northern Ireland Forestry Commission.

Hawthorn House was therafter used as its headquarters.

The demesne lies on the east-facing slopes of Slieve Gullion.

There are mature trees from the early 19th century, later exotics, and forest planting from the 1950s.

Modern landscaping and ornamental planting now form part of the walled garden and outbuildings, which now house the visitor centre for Slieve Gullion Forest Park.

The gate lodge of ca 1834 is opposite the entrance and replaced a lodge that was contemporary with the house.

SLIEVE GULLION COURYARD, Killeavy, County Down, remains and is used commercially for weddings and other functions.

It is located at the foot of Slieve Gullion with a walled garden to its north-west and Hawthorn House to its South.

There are two gate lodges: a modified back lodge to the north; and a restored gate lodge to the east, opposite the entrance gates to the park.

The early 19th century rectangular courtyard is enclosed to all sides by former stables and related farm buildings, now all refurbished as offices, apartments, conference centre and restaurant or service block by the Forest Service.

All buildings are constructed in coursed granite rubble with natural slate roofs.

The eastern side of the courtyard assumed its present form between 1861 and 1907.

It was sold to the Forestry Commission in 1968.

The present buildings were developed to provide resources for the local community and tourists and opened to the public in 1995.

The complex was taken over in 1999 by Clanrye Employment and Training Services, Newry.

I am seeking photographs of Hawthorn Hill

First published in March, 2016.

Seaport Lodge

THE LESLIES OWNED 7,428 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

SEAPORT LODGE, an elegant two-storey villa in Portballintrae, County Antrim, was constructed in the mid-18th century as a holiday home for the Leslies of LESLIE HILL.

In 1832, Portballintrae consisted of only a few houses, chiefly occupied by maritime pilots, but ‘near this to the west side of the bay is Seaport House, the summer residence of James Leslie Esquire.’

Seaport Lodge was built about 1790, though its situation was ‘exposed and unprotected, [the location] was admirably calculated for that of a bathing lodge’.

By 1859, the Lodge had passed in the family from James Leslie (1768-1847) to his younger son Henry Leslie (1803-64), who was recorded as both occupant and owner of the property.

Henry Leslie continued to reside at Seaport Lodge until his death in 1864, at which time it passed to his widow, Harriet Ann Leslie.

In 1882, Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Douglas Leslie came into possession of Seaport.

Colonel Leslie resided there until his death, unmarried, in 1904 when his nephew, James Graham Leslie, took possession.

Despite the change in ownership during this period, Seaport Lodge was only used occasionally as a summer holiday home.

James Graham Leslie was still recorded as the householder of Seaport Lodge until 1929.

Seaport Lodge ca 2015 (Image: Timothy Ferres)

SEAPORT LODGE is a fine example of a mid-to-late-Georgian seaside dwelling built for purposes of leisure over the past concerns of defence and security.

Both Brett and Girvan give the construction date of Seaport Lodge as ca 1770, despite the Ordnance Survey documents claiming a later date of about 1790.

Sir Charles Brett states that the dwelling was constructed by James Leslie, soon after the completion of his other main residence, Leslie Hill, in 1772.

James Leslie’s ability to erect two major houses within such a short period led Brett to suggest that Leslie ‘much overstrained the family finances’ to realise his ambition of possessing a grand country house with a leisurely seaside retreat.

Local tradition states that Seaport Lodge was constructed gradually over a period of many years, originally designed solely for summer use.

The house did not possess fireplaces or servants quarters.

However, at an unknown date chimneys and fireplaces were installed as the dwelling came to be occupied outside of the summer months.

Seaport Lodge’s main domestic block was the first section of the building to be constructed.

Brett states that the two-storey western service wing was added later, most likely in 1827 as that date is inscribed on many of the later wing’s wall-plates.

An early painting of Seaport Lodge depicts rounded Gothic glazing to the ground floor; however the original glazing bars were replaced at the turn of the century when Colonel Leslie came into possession.

The dwelling also possessed a number of outbuildings, the most significant of which, its coaching stables, still survive and have been converted into a public house and restaurant.

Seaport Lodge (Image: Robert French/ NLI/ Ebay)

Seaport Lodge remained in the possession of the Leslie family until the mid-20th century.

The house has a round-headed entrance door in bow and the ground-floor windows are round-headed.

There are single-storey bows in the end elevations, with similar windows; and a conspicuous balustraded roof parapet.

The interior oval hall has a Classical plasterwork ceiling.

Seaport is presently white, though it is thought that it was originally grey in colour.

During the 1970s and 80s it was owned by Alexander Wyndham Hume Stewart-Moore, a senior director of Gallaher tobacco at that time.

The surrounding field has a curious structure built into the hill, now roofless.

Could it have been an ice-house?

A pair of charming Gothic gate lodges faced each other at the main entrance to Seaport Lodge.

They stood at the present entrance into the bar and restaurant, at the main road.

At the time of writing (2020) Seaport Lodge is undergoing extensive renovation and building work.

First published in May, 2012.

The Blaquiere Baronetcy

Arms of 1st Baron De Blaquiere

ANTHONY DE BLAQUIÈRE, a French noble of Guyenne, married Elizabeth de Montiel, and had a son, Florence, who settled at Lozère, Languedoc, and was father of

JEAN DE BLAQUIÈRE (c1676-1753), of Greenwich, Kent, who took refuge in England in consequence of the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685.

This Jean married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Pierre de Varennes, of The Strand, Westminster, and had issue,

Lewis, died unmarried, 1754;
Matthew, died in the East Indies;
John Elias, died in infancy;
James, a military officer;
JOHN, of whom hereafter;
Catherine; Jane; Mary; Susanna.

The fifth and youngest son,

JOHN DE BLAQUIERE (1732-1812), a lieutenant-colonel in the 17th Dragoons, having been appointed principal secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1772, and invested, in 1774, with the Order of the Bath, was created a baronet in 1784, designated of Ardkill, County Londonderry.

Sir John was sworn of the Privy Council in Ireland, and appointed His Majesty's Great Alnager of that kingdom.

He married, in 1775, Eleanor, daughter of Robert Dobson, of Anne's Grove, County Cork, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
WILLIAM, of whom hereafter;
Edmund, died young;
George (1782-26); m, in 1826, widow of Mr Leigh;
Peter Boyle, ancestor of the 6th Baron;
Anna Maria; Eleanor; Catherine Elizabeth.

Sir John was elevated to the peerage, in 1800, in the dignity of BARON DE BLAQUIERE, of Ardkill, County Londonderry.

His eldest son and heir,

JOHN, 2nd Baron (1776-1844), of Ardkill, was Alnager and Collector of the Subsidies of Alnage in Ireland, 1797-1817, when the office was abolished.

About 1812 he was a prisoner in France and never established his right to vote.

His lordship died unmarried, when the family honours devolved upon his brother,

WILLIAM, 3rd Baron (1778-1851), FRS, a distinguished general in the Army, who married, in 1811, the Lady Harriet Townshend, daughter of George, 1st Marquess Townshend, and had issue,

JOHN, his successor;

WILLIAM BARNARD, 4th Baron;

Rose.

His lordship and Lady Harriet separated in 1814.

The 3rd Baron died at Norwood, Surrey, by shooting himself while suffering from smallpox.

He served in Flanders, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in India; major-general, 1813; lieutenant-general, 1825; general, 1841.

His elder son,

JOHN, 4th Baron (1812-71), married firstly, in 1849, Anna, daughter of John Christie; and secondly, in 1852, Eleanor Amelia, daughter of William, 1st Baron Hylton, though the marriage was without issue.

The titles consequently devolved upon his brother, 

WILLIAM, 5th Baron (1814-89), Captain, Royal Navy, who married, in 1862, Anna Maria, daughter of John Wormald, at St. Marylebone Church, Marylebone, London.

His lordship died without issue, and was buried at Brockworth Manor, Gloucestershire.

The titles reverted to his first cousin once removed,

WILLIAM BARNARD, 6th Baron (1856-1920), who wedded, in 1888, Lucinne, daughter of George Desbarats, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada; the marriage, however, was without issue, when the titles expired.

THE CHIEF SECRETARY'S LODGE, Phoenix Park, Dublin, was surrounded by 62 acres of parkland and was completed in 1776.

It was purchased by HM Government in 1782 and became the official residence of the Chief Secretary until 1922, when it became US Ambassador's residence. 

I have written an article about the Chief Secretary's Lodge HERE.

*****

PORTLEMAN HOUSE (or Port Loman), near Mullingar, County Westmeath, former residence of the 1st Baron de Blaquiere, was an 18th century house of three storeys and six bays.

It was built on rising ground above Lough Owel. The grounds comprised eight acres.

The main entrance was in a pillared recess; elaborate curved staircase. It is now demolished.

*****

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN BLAQUIERE, BARONET, KCB, 1ST BARON DE BLAQUIERE

Blaquiere was the fifth son of Jean de Blaquiere, a French merchant who had emigrated to England in 1732, and his wife Marie Elizabeth de Varennes. He at first served in the Army, in the 18th Dragoons (later the 17th Dragoons), where he achieved the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

In 1771 Blaquiere was appointed Secretary of Legation at the British Embassy in Paris, a post he held until 1772. The latter year Lord Harcourt, HM Ambassador in Paris, was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Blaquiere joined him as Chief Secretary for Ireland.

He became a Privy Counsellor the same year and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Bath two years later.

Blaquiere was to remain Chief Secretary until Harcourt's resignation in January, 1777. He had been elected to the Irish House of Commons for Old Leighlin in 1773, a seat he held until 1783.

After a few months for Enniskillen in 1783, he sat then for Carlingford from 1783-90; for Charleville from 1790-98; and for Newtownards from 1798 till the Act of Union in 1801.

In 1784 Blaquiere was created a baronet, of Ardkill in the County of Londonderry; and in 1800 he was raised to the peerage as 1st Baron de Blaquiere, of Ardkill in the County of Londonderry.

Lord de Blaquiere also sat as MP for Rye from 1801-02 and for Downton from 1802-06.

*****

I HAVE BEEN so far unable to find any record of the de Blaquieres owning a residence in County Londonderry, despite the name Ardkill being in their territorial title.

It is, perhaps, more likely that they simply owned land.

The Ardkill estate, Clondermot, County Londonderry, by marriage: The estate was bought for him by Alexander Tompkins, of Prehen, County Londonderry, father of Maria Tompkins (wife of Robert Dobson), and grandfather of Eleanor Dobson, the 1st Barons' wife.

First published in May, 2016.