Innismore Hall

THE HALLS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY FERMANAGH, WITH 6,540 ACRES

WITH GRATITUDE TO IRWIN BROWN, AUTHOR OF INNISMORE HALL, WHO WAS BORN AT INNISMORE HALL AND LIVED THERE UNTIL 1955. I ALSO WISH TO THANK HENRY SKEATH.

ROBERT HALL, born ca 1771 (said to come from Enniskillen, County Fermanagh), undertook business in the city of Dublin. Mr Hall prospered thereafter and enjoyed an income of £5,000 per annum. In 1828, he purchased an estate in County Tipperary, subsequently called Merton Hall. He also owned land in counties Wicklow and Louth.

Mr Hall was murdered by a farm labourer on his farm at Uskane, in 1841, following a dispute.

Robert Hall was succeeded by his son,

RICHARD HALL JP (1805-), of Innismore Hall, County Fermanagh, and 12 Kensington Gate, London, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1843, who married Maria, daughter of Major John Devereux, of Killimer Castle.

Mr Hall purchased a farm and buildings at Derrybrusk, County Fermanagh, in 1839 (Derrybrusk House had been damaged by fire).

In the 1840s, he built Innismore Hall, probably to the designs of Sir Richard Morrison. 

He bequeathed his estate to his wife Maria (who died in 1887) and, as her eldest daughter, Mrs Elizabeth Jane Porter, had died, intestate, in 1887, the residue of the estate passed to his other daughter, Marion Gray Hall (as stated in the will). Marion Gray would have become the owner in 1887. 

His younger daughter, Marion, born ca 1849, wedded George Gray, a London artist.

His elder daughter,

ELIZABETH JANE HALL (1845-87), married, in 1863, John Grey Vesey Porter JP DL (1818-1903), of Belle Isle Castle, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1844.

The marriage was desirable from the financial point of view and because the Belleisle and Innismore estates 'marched'. 

But it was childless and, it would seem, unhappy, partly on account of the disparity in their ages, and partly (it may be conjectured), on account of Porter's cantankerousness. 

In September, 1870, Mrs Porter formed an illicit liaison with one Captain Leonard Poynter of the 16th Regiment, then stationed in Enniskillen. 

Porter found out about this affair in December and, with the aid of his butler and other men-servants, lured Captain Poynter to Belleisle, where (according to Crawford) he was considerably knocked about, had his hair and one side of his luxuriant moustache cut off, and was then severely horse-whipped by Porter personally. 

Captain Poynter brought an action for assault and battery against Porter and claimed damages of £10,000. 

Porter would probably have been well advised to have settled out of court. Instead, a packed Dublin courtroom was regaled for almost a week with salacious details of the doings of Mrs Porter and Captain Poynter at Belleisle. 

In the end, the jury - obviously composed of stern Victorian paterfamiliae - found for Captain Poynter, but awarded him a farthing in damages. Shortly afterwards, Porter successfully sued for divorce. 

His wife and her parents retired to London, where Mrs Porter died, still only in her early forties, in 1887.

In 1871, Mr Porter divorced his wife and she returned to live at Innismore Hall.

By 1873, the family had moved to London and resided at 9 Norfolk Street, Park Lane.

Marion Grey sold to the estate to John J West.

In 1913, the property was bought by Albert Ovens Brown, who sold it in 1966.

INNISMORE HALL, near Derrybrusk, County Fermanagh, was a two-storey, seven-bay house of ca 1840.

One side elevation had a curved, one-bay bow.

It had an imposing entrance front comprising a tripartite bowed portico of four large Corinthian columns.

Steps led to the front porch.

The house was cement-rendered, the outer walls being two feet thick.

The reception rooms had marble fireplaces.

Upstairs, there were three principal bedrooms, two of which had dressing-rooms attached.

The gate lodge, now demolished, was single-storey, three-bay front; hipped roof; pedimented portico over a doorway supported on two Doric columns.

Innismore Hall was demolished in the 1950s.

Its great Corinthian columns, however, survive at the entrance to Portora Royal School, Enniskillen.

Irwin Brown has published Innismore Hall.

First published in November, 2012.

The Bates Baronets

Baronet's Badge

JOHN BATES (1803-55), a solicitor, Town Clerk of Belfast, 1842-55, was father of

RICHARD DAWSON BATES, of Brandon Towers, Strandtown, Belfast, Solicitor and Clerk of the Crown, who married, in 1920, Mary, daughter of Professor Robert Foster Dill, MD, and had issue,

John, died 1874;
RICHARD DAWSON, of whom we treat.

Mr Bates died in 1881, and was succeeded by his only surviving son,

RICHARD DAWSON BATES (1876-1949), who married, in 1920, Jessie Muriel, daughter of Sir Charles Cleland, of Glasgow.

Mr Bates received the honour of knighthood in 1921.

Sir Richard Dawson Bates Bt OBE (Image: NPG)

 

Sir Dawson was created a baronet in 1937, designated of Magherabuoy.

He was MP for East Belfast, 1929-45; NI Minister of Home Affairs, 1921-43.

• Privy Counsellor
• OBE, 1919
• Knight Bachelor, 1921
• Baronet, 1937

In his retirement, strained financial circumstances and security (he constantly required a police escort) led him to rent Butleigh House, near Glastonbury, Somerset.

Magherabuoy House (Image: Magherabuoy House Hotel)

It was here that he died in 1949.

Sir Dawson's body was flown back to Northern Ireland for burial at Ballywillan parish church.

Sir Dawson lived at Magherabuoy House, Portrush, County Antrim (above), from 1934-47.

Although Portrush is in County Antrim, the townland of Magherabuoy presumably straddles the bordering county of Londonderry.

Sir Dawson was succeeded by his only son,

SIR JOHN DAWSON BATES, 2nd Baronet (1921-98), MC, of Butleigh House, Somerset, who wedded, in 1953, Mary Murray, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Murray Hoult, and had issue,

RICHARD DAWSON HOULT, his successor;
Charles Joseph Dill;
Drusilla Mary Cynthia.

Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR RICHARD DAWSON HOULT BATES, 3rd Baronet (1956-), who married, in 2001, Harriet Domenique, daughter of Domenico Scaramella, and has issue,

Isobel Jessie Mary, born in 2002.

In 2003, the 3rd Baronet lived in the Isle of Man.

Brandon Towers, Connsbrook Avenue, Belfast (Image: Rev J McC Auld)

Brandon Towers appeared to be a Victorian semi-detached villa, located between Connsbrook Avenue and the river Connswater in east Belfast.

Former residence ~ Pitchpenny House, Fonthill Bishop, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

First published in May, 2010.

43-47 University Road, Belfast

43-47, University Road, Belfast (Image: InsideOut NI)

43-47, UNIVERSITY ROAD, Belfast, an elegant and neat terrace, very possibly the oldest property in the city's University Quarter.

Trevor Carleton MA, my former geography master writing in the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society's Historic Buildings in the Vicinity of the Queen's University of Belfast (revised edition, 1980), dates this terrace to circa 1830; whereas other sources suggest 1840; so between 1830 and 1840 seems plausible.

Rear of terrace at Claremont Mews (Timothy Ferres, 2025)

This charming little terrace, opposite University Street, consists of two storeys in lovely cinnamon-coloured brick, with double-pitched mansard roof and recessed dormers.

Mansard roof at 43-47 University Road (Timothy Ferres, 2025)

Claremont Mews is to the rear of the terrace; running from 2 Claremont Street to Camden Street.

A historic map of about 1830 shows the terrace prior to the development of University Square and Queen's University itself.

Incidentally, do any readers have knowledge of the brewery which stood at the Lisburn Road?

Historic OS map of ca 1830

The terrace suffered some bomb damage in the 1970s or 80s, following which most of the glazing bars were removed.

More recently, however, the terrace has been admirably and faithfully restored by InsideOut NI.

In 1974 this terrace comprised three flats.

Nicholson of Crannagael

THE NICHOLSONS OWNED ABOUT 1,112 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ARMAGH

THE REV WILLIAM NICHOLSON, of Tallbridge, County Armagh, Rector of Derrybrochus, settled in Ulster, and was murdered in the Irish rebellion of 1641.

He married Elizabeth Percy, and had a son,

JOHN NICHOLSON, of Cranagill, County Armagh, who purchased the lands of Breaheaville and Derry, County Tyrone, 1632, and was murdered with his father at Cranagill, leaving a son,

WILLIAM NICHOLSON (1632-1715), of Cranagill, who joined the Society of Friends.

He wedded Isabella Gilbert, and had issue,

JOHN, of whom presently;
Thomas and
James, both killed at the siege of Derry, 1688-9;
Abraham, died young;
Jacob;
Prudentia; Sarah; Elizabeth; Jane.

The eldest son,

JOHN NICHOLSON, of Derrycaw, where he built his house in 1698, espoused Margery Brownlow, and dvp 1704, having had issue,

William, of Derrycaw;
James;
JOHN, of whom hereafter;
Isaac;
Benjamin;
Thomas;
Isabel; Elizabeth.

The third son,

JOHN NICHOLSON (1691-), of Hall's Mill, near Lawrencetown, County Down, married, in 1710, Mary Walker, of Lurgan, and had issue,

John;
Jonathan;
Benjamin;
Thomas;
William;
JAMES, of whom presently;
Sarah; Mary.

The youngest son,

JAMES NICHOLSON (1734-79), of Dublin, who purchased, in 1760, the Hill portion of Crannagael from John Nicholson, of Tallbridge, wedded firstly, in 1755, Ruth Morton, of Grange; and secondly, 1777, Sarah ______, and had issue by his first wife,

JOSEPH, of whom presently;
Samuel;
James;
Sarah; Ruth.

The eldest son,

JOSEPH NICHOLSON (1758-1817), of Dublin, and afterwards of Bernagh, Grange, County Tyrone, Bessbrook and Crannagael, County Armagh, espoused, in 1782, Abigail, daughter of James Hogg, of Lisburn, and had issue,

James, died in infancy;
James, of Keady, died unmarried;
JOSEPH, of whom presently;
Thomas, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, USA;
John, died in New York, USA;
Mary; Ruth.

The third son,

JOSEPH NICHOLSON JP (1786-1805), of Crannagael, County Armagh, married, in 1810, Elizabeth, daughter of George Roe, of Mount Roe, County Armagh, and had issue,

Joseph (1811-30);
George Roe, died young;
Charles James;
HENRY JOSEPH, of whom hereafter;
Elizabeth; Charlotte Matilda; Frances Elizabeth.

The fourth son,

HENRY JOSEPH NICHOLSON JP (1832-1907), of Crannagael, County Armagh, wedded, in 1865, Emma, daughter of Andrew MacCallum, of Nottingham, and had issue,

HENRY PERCY, his heir;
George Edward Roe, b 1873;
Thomas MacCallum, Indian Army;
Mary Frances Josephine, m R R Atkinson, of Summer Island, of Loughgall.

Henry Joseph Nicholson (Image: BBC News website)

Mr Nicholson was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY PERCY NICHOLSON (1866-), of Crannagael.

CRANNAGAEL HOUSE, near Portadown, County Armagh, is a mid-18th century Georgian house, owned and occupied by Jane and John Nicholson.

The exact date of building is uncertain.

The present house, however, appears to be largely a rebuilding or remodelling of ca 1842 of an older property which has traditionally been dated to the 1760s.

The original house has been variously described as of 1760-3 and 1769, and built for James Nicholson.

It was called 'Cranagill' on maps of 1834-5.

Previously there were two gate lodges associated with the property, both now demolished.

The property is surrounded by gardens, parkland and mature woodland, and the accommodation overlooks an apple orchard.

A self-contained apartment on the East Wing comprises three bedrooms, one double, one twin and one single bedroom.

First published in December, 2016.

1st Marquess of Linlithgow

THE MARQUESSES OF LINLITHGOW WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN LINLITHGOWSHIRE, WITH 11,870 ACRES

The Surname of HOPE is one of great antiquity in Scotland; and the ancestor of the present family, JOHN DE HOPE, is said to have come from France in the retinue of Madeleine, Queen Consort of JAMES V, King of Scots, in 1537, and settling in Scotland, left a son, EDWARD HOPE, who was one of the most considerable inhabitants of Edinburgh in the reign of QUEEN MARY; and being a great promoter of the Reformation, was chosen one of the commissioners for the metropolis to the parliament in 1560.

He left a son,

HENRY HOPE (c1533-91), a very eminent merchant, who wedded a French lady, Jacqueline de Tott, and had two sons; the elder of whom,

SIR THOMAS HOPE (1573-1646), being bred to the Scottish bar, first attained eminence in 1606, by his defence of the six ministers (clergymen) tried for high treason, for denying that the King possessed authority in matters ecclesiastical; and acquired, eventually, the largest fortune ever accumulated by a member of the legal profession in Scotland.

He was subsequently appointed King's Advocate, and created a baronet, in 1628, designated of Craighall.

Sir Thomas left a very large family; from the eldest son of which descend the Hopes of Craighall.

The fourth son,

SIR JAMES HOPE (1614-61), of Hopetoun, a member of the Scottish bar, marrying Anne, only daughter and heir of Robert Foulis, of Leadhills, Lanarkshire, acquired the valuable mines there, and applying himself to mineralogy, brought the art of mining to the highest perfection ever known before in Scotland.

Sir John was appointed, in 1641, Governor of the Mint, and constituted a Lord of Session in 1649.

His eldest surviving son,

JOHN HOPE (1650-82), of Hopetoun, took up his residence at Niddry Castle, the barony of which he purchased from Lord Winton; and he also purchased, about the same time (1678) the barony of Abercorn, with the office of Heritable Sheriff of the County of Linlithgow, from Sir Walter Seton.

Mr Hope, who represented Linlithgowshire in Parliament, 1684, married Margaret, eldest daughter of John, 4th Earl of Haddington, by whom he had a son and a daughter.

Mr Hope having embarked with the Duke of York, and several other persons of distinction, in HMS Gloucester, 1682, was lost in the wreck of that vessel, a few days after going abroad, aged 32.

His son,

CHARLES HOPE (1681-1742), who was born in the previous year, succeeded to the family estates, and was elevated to the peerage, in 1703, in the dignities of Baron Hope, Viscount Aithrie, and EARL OF HOPETOUN.

His lordship was installed as a Knight of the Thistle at Holyrood House in 1738.

He espoused, in 1699, Henrietta, only daughter of William, 1st Marquess of Annandale, and had thirteen children, of whom the eldest son,

JOHN (1704-81), 2nd Earl wedded thrice; and was father of

JAMES (1741-1816), 3rd Earl, who, at the demise of his great-uncle, George, Marquess of Annandale, in 1792, inherited the large estates of that nobleman, and the earldoms of Annandale and Hartfell, neither of which dignities, however, did he assume, but simply added the family name of the deceased lord, JOHNSTONE, to that of HOPE.

His lordship was nominated Lord-Lieutenant and Hereditary Sheriff of Lochmaben Castle.

He wedded, in 1766, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of George, 6th Earl of Northesk, by whom he had five daughters, though no male issue.

The honours, therefore, devolved upon his half-brother,

SIR JOHN HOPE (1765-1823), 4th Earl, KB, PC, then Lord Niddry, General in the army, Colonel, 42nd Regiment of Foot, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, who, for his gallant achievements in the Peninsular War, had been elevated to the UK peerage, in 1814, as Baron Niddry.

His lordship married twice: firstly, in 1798, Elizabeth, youngest daughter of the Hon Charles Hope Weir, of Craigiehall, by whom he had no issue; and secondly, in 1803, Louisa Dorothea, third daughter of Sir John Wedderburn Bt, by whom he had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
James;
Charles;
George;
Henry;
William;
Lewis;
Thomas;
Adrian;
Alicia; Jane.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 5th Earl (1803-43), who espoused, in 1826, Louisa, eldest daughter of Godfrey, 3rd Lord Macdonald, and had issue,

JOHN ALEXANDER, 6th Earl (1831-73), who wedded, in 1860, Etheldred Anne, eldest daughter of Charles Thomas Samuel Birch-Reynoldson, of Holywell Hall, Lincolnshire, and had issue,

JOHN ADRIAN LOUIS, his successor;
Charles Archibald;
Estrella; Dorothea Louisa.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN ADRIAN LOUIS, 7th Earl (1860-1908), KT GCMG GCVO PC, who wedded, in 1886, Hersey Alice, third daughter of the 4th Baron Ventry.

His lordship was advanced to the dignity of a marquessate, in 1902, as MARQUESS OF LINLITHGOW.

John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess (1860–1908);
Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess (1887–1952);
Charles William Frederick Hope, 3rd Marquess(1912-87);
Adrian John Charles Hope, 4th Marquess (b 1946).

The heir apparent is the present holder's eldest son, Andrew Christopher Victor Arthur Charles Hope, styled Earl of Hopetoun (b 1969).

The heir apparent's heir apparent is his elder son, Charles Adrian Bristow William Hope, styled Viscount Aithrie (b 2001).

Lord Aithrie served as one of the Queen's Pages of Honour at the 2014 State Opening of Parliament.

HOPETOUN HOUSE, Linlithgowshire, is the ancestral seat of the Marquesses of Linlithgow.

It is located near South Queensferry to the west of Edinburgh.

Hopetoun was built in 1699-1701 and designed by Sir William Bruce.

The mansion was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748, being one of his most notable projects.

The interior was completed by his sons, John and Robert Adam.

The grand entrance hall dates from 1752.

The parklands in which it lies were laid out in 1725, also by William Adam.

The east front centres on the distant isle of Inchgarvie and North Berwick Law.

The walled garden dates from the late 18th century.

In the grounds an 18th-century mound was excavated in 1963 to reveal the remains of the earlier manor house, Abercorn Castle, dating from the 15th century.

The Hope family acquired the land in the 17th century.

Other former seats ~ Raehills, Dumfriesshire; Ormiston Hall, Haddingtonshire.

First published in February, 2014.

The Reid Baronetcy

ALEXANDER REID, of Ballymacashen, near Killinchy, County Down, died in 1884 and was father of

JOSEPH REID JP (1836-1928), of 22 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast (built ca 1870 and now The Hub), Managing Director, Forster Green and Company, who married and had an only son,

22 Elmwood Avenue (Timothy Ferres, 2021)

DAVID DOUGLAS REID JP (1872-1939), of Rademon, County Down, a barrister, MP for East Down, 1918-22, County Down, 1922-39, High Sheriff of County Down, 1936.

22 Elmwood Avenue (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

Mr Reid was created a baronet in 1936, designated of Rademon, County Down.

He died at Brown's Hotel, Mayfair, London, in 1939, where he had been unwell for a fortnight.

Lady Reid was with him when he died.

Sir David is buried at Kilmore parish church.

When he died the title became extinct.

Rademon House today

RADEMON HOUSE, near Crossgar, County Down, was originally a five-bay house of ca 1667, comprising three storeys over a basement, with single-storey wings.

It was built by the Johnston family, whose heiress married James Crawford, of Crawfordsburn, later in the 18th century.

Arthur Johnston (1721-1814) was MP for Killyleagh, 1769-76.

Rademon was enlarged and embellished in the mid-19th century.

The house was gutted by fire in the 1950s, though was rebuilt successfully to designs of the Hon Claud (later 4th Baron) Phillimore, who lowered the centre block by one storey and added a storey to the wings, thus creating a two-storey, nine-bay front.

The Victorian Rademon House features in J A K Dean's Plight of the Big House in Northern Ireland, page 93.

The demesne comprised 544 acres.

There are fine mature trees in undulating parkland and on the north side of the avenue.

Mature woodland is managed.

Rademon House is on sloping ground and has been terraced.

Lawns descend to ornamental planting and a pond.

There is a part-walled garden, which lies in a sheltered spot.

It is partly cultivated with a glass-house.

Photo Credit:@ShortcrossDavid

A SANDSTONE obelisk monument of ca 1864 was erected as a memorial to William Sharman-Crawford MP  "by a grateful and attached tenantry."

The monument is set on a rise within the Rademon Estate.

It is in ashlar sandstone and consists of a tall obelisk and plinth set on top of a broad, stepped sunken base surrounded by a ha-ha-like ditch.

The obelisk is tapered and has a pyramidal top and a short base with rope moulding.

William Sharman-Crawford MP (Image: Ulster Museum)

The plinth has a corbelled cornice course with pediments, a stepped and chamfered base course, and is topped with urns to the corners.

There are square panels to each face of the plinth.

The north panel contains a bronze relief plaque with two classical style female figures flanking a draped oval containing profile portrait of Sharman-Crawford.

The plaque is inscribed "S[amuel] F[erres] Lynn" and dated 1864.

The panel to the east side of the plinth contains an inscription referring to the subscription for the monument raised by the tenantry.

To the south side is Crawford's coat-of-arms; and to the west is a further inscription containing some information of his life and career.

The large base to the monument is topped with a shallow chamfer with which merges into steps and squat, pyramidal headed corner piers.

Beyond this, the base is grass covered and gently slopes down to granite coped edging, around which is the ditch or ha-ha.

William Sharman-Crawford(1781-1861) was the local landlord and owner of the Rademon House estate on which the monument stands, an estate which, through marriage, passed to his family in 1814. Sharman (who added his wife's surname Crawford to his own, in 1805, and also held lands in north County Down and County Cork) was a radical MP for Dundalk, 1835-37, and for Rochdale, 1841-52. He retired from public life in 1852 after defeat in the County Down election.

The original farm buildings remain, as does an old bridge.

There is a fine corn mill, house and outbuildings.

The gate lodge of ca 1820 is gone.

Rademon estate was eventually purchased by Lieutenant-Commander James Osborne King DSC DL RN, whose family lived there until ca 1999.

Shortcross Gin is distilled at the Rademon Estate by David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong. 

First published in May, 2010.

Castledawson

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND, 1837

CASTLEDAWSON, or Dawson's Bridge, a market and post town, partly in the parish of Ballyscullion, but chiefly in that of Magherafelt, barony of Loughinsholin, County Londonderry; 28 miles north-west of Belfast.

This place derives its name from its proprietors, the Dawson family.

On the planation of Ulster, the eight townlands of Moyola were granted by JAMES I to Sir Thomas Phillips, whose sons sold them, in 1633, to Thomas Dawson, from whom they descended to the Rt Hon George Robert Dawson, brother-in-law of the Rt Hon Sir Robert Peel Bt.

The town appears to have assumed its present form and name in 1710, during the proprietorship of Joshua Dawson, Chief Secretary for Ireland, and for many years MP for Wicklow.

The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin, was erected in 1710 by Joshua Dawson, who sold it to the Dublin Corporation in 1715 for £3,500 (equivalent to about £650,000 in 2025).

Castledawson is delightfully situated on the two sides of the River Moyola, over which is a handsome stone arch, erected by the Dawson family, and from this circumstance the town derived its former name of Dawson's Bridge: consisting of two principal and some smaller streets, containing, in 1831, 129 houses, many of which are large and well built.

Main Street, Castledawson (Image: Green Collection/NMNI)

Here are extensive cotton twist mills, built in 1803, and furnishing employment to about 100 persons in the buildings and about 800 in the adjoining parishes.

Near the town are large flour and oatmeal mills; and in several places in the neighbourhood are factories of course earthenware, bricks etc, and a bleach-green in which 800 pieces of linen are annually prepared for the London market.

The market is on Saturday, and is well supplied with every kind of provisions; and in the season great quantities of grain, pork, and butter are purchased here, principally for the Belfast merchants: the market-house and grain stores are extensive and well built.

Fairs are held on the last Saturday of each month, for the sale of linen cloth, yarn, cattle, pigs, sheep, and pedlary.

The eight townlands of Moyola were, in 1712, erected into the manor of Castledawson, with extensive privileges; and a manorial court is held monthly by the seneschal, in which debts to the amount of £20 are recoverable.

Petty sessions are held every alternate week; and there is a constabulary police station.

The soil in every part of the neighbourhood is fertile, and under an excellent system of cultivation.

Coal is found, but no attempt has been made to work it, the seams being too thin to pay the expense, while turf is abundant.

Nearly adjoining the town is The House, the residence of the Rt Hon George Robert Dawson, situated in a beautiful demesne, in which is an ancient avenue three miles in length, opening to a magnificent view of Lough Neagh, to which it extends.

Historic OS map of Castledawson ca 1830. Click to enlarge

On an eminence close adjoining the town stands a beautiful and lofty obelisk, erected by the Earl Bishop, to commemorate the virtues of the Dawson family:-

"A superb proportion square column of chiselled stone, rising to an elevation of about 60ft, surrounded by a little grove of fir trees. It tapered towards the top surmounted by a hollow ball of copper, rising slightly above it".

This great monument, erected in 1795, stood for 44 years until it was blown down during the Night of the Big Wind, 1839, and was never rebuilt.

In History of Methodism in Ireland, dated 1888, page 270, 

"At Castledawson the services were held in the house of Mr James Morrow, but in less than six months an attractive chapel was built. An obelisk stood on the ground, and was turned to good account, the base forming a porch, and the shaft a sort of spire, which soon afterwards was blown down."

There are several other handsome houses in the town and neighbourhood, the principal of which are Fairview, seat of R Henry; Rowan's Gift, of Captain Crofton; Millbrook, of A Spotswood; Mount Aerial, of S J Cassidy.

The parish church is small, but very neat; it stands on the western side of the river Moyola, in the parish of Ballyscullion.

Image: Green Collection/ NMNI)

The former church was built in 1710, by Joshua Dawson MP, and having fallen into ruin some years since,  the present structure was erected by the Rt Hon George Robert Dawson, by whom it has been beautifully ornamented; on a brass tablet in an ancient carved oak frame is inscribed the genealogy of the Dawson family; it has also a beautiful stained-glass window.

There is a large meeting-house for Presbyterians.

A school for boys and girls is supported by subscriptions; and at Hillhead is a school supported by the London Hibernian Society.

Of the castle built by Thomas Dawson, Deputy Commissary in the reign of CHARLES I, and which stood in the demesne near the church, little now remains, but the foundations of the walls and terraces are traceable.

The castle built by Joshua Dawson in 1713 is now in ruins.

Ancient urns, ornaments of gold, spears, celts, and other relics have been found here.

In the neighbourhood are some bogs, 30 feet deep, in which four separate layers of timber are imbedded: the lowest is principally oak, in a very sound and perfect state; the next chiefly yew, the third fir, and the uppermost birch, hazel, hawthorn etc.

Nuts, acorns, and the cones of fir are frequently found in these bogs, in very perfect condition.

Hatley Manor

THE WHYTES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LEITRIM, WITH 10,989 ACRES

JAMES WHYTE (son of Mark Whyte, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Edwards, of Old Court, County Wicklow), married firstly, in 1783, Gertrude, daughter of James Gee, grandson of William Gee, of Bishop Burton, and had issue,

JAMES, his heir;
Robert, who took the name of Moyser.

He wedded secondly, the daughter of Sir Thomas Hildyard, and had a daughter, ANN CATHERINE, who succeeded to the Hildyard estates.

Mr Whyte died in 1807, and was succeeded by his elder son,

JAMES WHYTE, of Pilton House, Barnstaple, Devon, who married, in 1805, Frances Honoria, daughter of the Rt Hon John Beresford, brother of 1st Marquess of Waterford, and had issue,

JOHN JAMES, his heir;
James Richard (Rev);
Robert Charles;
Mark Beresford;
Charles;
William Thomas;
Selina Catherine Harriet; Frances Honoria; Mary; Barbara Henrietta.

Mr Whyte died in 1852, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN JAMES WHYTE JP DL (1806-89), of Newtown Manor, County Leitrim, Lieutenant-Colonel, 7th Hussars, who espoused, in 1842, Mary Ann Jesse, daughter of Charles Dieudonné de Montenach, and had issue,

CHARLES CECIL BERESFORD, his heir;
Theodore William;
Marie Elizabeth Frances Medora; Marie Gertrude; Emma Frances Honoria; Florence Alma Julia.

Mr Whyte was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES CECIL BERESFORD WHYTE JP DL (1845-1923), of Newtown Manor and Hatley Manor, High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1877, who married, in 1874, Petronella Hallberg, daughter of Herr Magnus Hallberg Riksdagsman, of Sweden (who succeeded to the estates of Charles Manners St George JP DL and Madame Ingrid Christina St George, in counties Leitrim and Roscommon), and had issue,

CECIL HARMAN BALDWIN, his heir;
John Theodore Marcus;
Maryanne Christina de Montenach St George;
Ingri Melesina Beatrice Gertrude;
Mona Selina Petronella; Chisogona Constantia Barbara Beresford;
Florence Holda Medora; Lucile Theodora Gwendoline;
Ebba Harline d'Iberville Le Moyne; Edith Estelle Ermyntrude le Poer.

The eldest son,

CECIL HARMAN BALDWIN ST GEORGE WHYTE (1881-), High Sheriff of County Leitrim, 1911, Lieutenant, 5th Battalion, the Connaught Rangers.

HATLEY MANOR, near Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, built about 1830, became the seat of the Whytes through marriage.

In the manner of Castle Ward House, it has a split personality: The entrance front is Italianate; the garden front, Gothic.

The house faces across a forecourt to the main street of Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim.

The Gothic front overlooks the demesne, which leads to the river.

Hatley was originally a seat of the St George family, of Hatley St George, Cambridgeshire.

The last St George to live there is interred in an elaborate Victorian-Classical mausoleum in the grounds.

Charles Cecil Beresford Whyte and his wife left Hatley Manor in 1908 and went to live in Newton Manor near Dromahaire, a residence owned by Charles Whyte.

Hatley Manor was subsequently leased to Richard Allen, Clerk of the Crown and Peace, who remained in residence there until 1916.

It was thereafter let to his successor, Robert Lonsdale, who had been Crown Solicitor in Manorhamilton.

Mr Lonsdale remained there until 1926, when he retired and went to live in Dublin and England.

Hatley Manor was subsequently purchased by the Flynn Family.

First published in June, 2012.

25 Donegall Street, Belfast

25 Donegall Street (Timothy Ferres, 2025)

25, DONEGALL STREET, Belfast, is located at Exchange Place, a narrow entry which runs from Donegall Street to Hill Street.

Marcus Patton, OBE, in his excellent Central Belfast: A Historical Gazetteer, remarks that number 25 was built about 1790.

This makes it most likely the oldest extant building in Donegall Street.

It remains as a plain, three-storey, rendered building; a round-headed archway entry leads into Exchange Place.

Archway at Exchange Place (Timothy Ferres, 2025)

The Lying-in Hospital operated here from 1794 until 1830:-

"Lying-in Hospital was born on 4th January 1794. It was a house—No. 25 Donegall Street—rented for 12 guineas per annum and contained six beds. After 35 years, due to deplorable conditions, the hospital moved in August 1830 to Clifton Street opposite the Charitable Institution."

In 1877 James Logan and Company, wire workers and ironmongers, operated from this address.

Rear elevation from Exchange Place (Timothy Ferres, 2025)

In 1974 the Bellow Machine Company; Belfast Uniform Clothing Company; Kelly Lockard Ltd; James Sloan, watchmaker; S Sherski, draper; and C Burns, jeweller, all operated from 25 Donegall Street.

Today the ground floor of Number 25 is a Scandinavian bakery called Bakarí.

Phœnix Lodge

WILLIAM CHARLEY OWNED 155 ACRES OF LAND AT SEYMOUR HILL, COUNTY ANTRIM

The family of CHARLEY, or CHORLEY, passing over from the north of England, settled in Ulster during the 17th century, at first in Belfast, where they were owners of house property for two hundred years; and afterwards at Finaghy, County Antrim, where

JOHN CHARLEY (c1659-1743), of Belfast, left a son,

RALPH CHARLEY (1674-1756), of Finaghy House, County Antrim, who wedded Elizabeth Hill, and had an only child,

JOHN CHARLEY (1711-93), of Finaghy House, who married Mary, daughter of John Ussher, and had issue,

Matthew, died unmarried;
JOHN, of whom hereafter;
Hill, died unmarried;
Jane, died unmarried.

The eldest surviving son,

JOHN CHARLEY (1744-1812), of Finaghy House, married, in 1783, Anne Jane, daughter of Richard Wolfenden, of Harmony Hill, County Down, and had issue,

John, of Finaghy House (1784-1844), dsp;
Matthew, of Finaghy House and Woodbourne;
WILLIAM, of whom we treat.

The third son,

WILLIAM CHARLEY (1790-1838), of Seymour Hill, Dunmurry, married, in 1817, Isabella, eldest daughter of William Hunter JP, of Dunmurry, and had issue,

JOHN, of Seymour Hill;
WILLIAM, succeeded his brother;
Edward, of Conway House;
Mary, of Huntley;
ANNE JANE, of whom hereafter;
Eliza; Isabella; Emily.

The second daughter,

ANNE JANE CHARLEY (1822-1904), of Phœnix Lodge, married William Stevenson, Junior, in 1842, by whom she had no issue.

IN 1837, the Ulster Railway Company opened its first line from Belfast to Lisburn. 

To encourage more use of the railway, free passes were offered to people if they built new homes near the stations and halts.

 It is thought that this may have influenced William Charley (1790-1838) to build Phœnix Lodge for his daughter, Anne Jane, in 1837, shortly before he died.

In 1842, Anne married William Stevenson, of Belfast, and they lived at Phoenix Lodge until his death in 1855.

His widow then moved to live with her mother at Huntley.

In 1882, the name of the house was changed simply to The Lodge, following the notorious Phœnix Park murders in Dublin.

Captain Arthur Charley (1870-1944) lived there with his wife, Clare, after the Great War until his brother, Edward Charley (1859-1932) died and he moved into Seymour Hill House.

In the 1930s, The Lodge was rented by Lord and Lady Ampthill.

In 1940, Major-General Sir James and Lady Cooke-Collis lived there (he was the first Ulster Agent in London, but died in 1941 as the result of a German air raid on his club in London).

Thereafter it was occupied by Major-General Vivian Majendie, GOC Northern Ireland.

In 1947, The Lodge was bought by Mrs Harland, sister of Sir Milne Barbour Bt, of Conway House.

Despite being listed, the house was vested in the early 1960s, following Mrs Harland's death.

The grounds taken over for the expansion of a nearby factory. 

A large, weeping ash tree dominated the front lawn of the Lodge.

The information has been sourced from Lisburn Historical Society.    First published in March, 2011.

Annadale Hall

Annadale Hall (Image: Alexander Robert Hogg, 1921)

ANNADALE HALL, Newtownbreda, County Down, originally known as Galwally, was first occupied, according to some records, by George Portis.

It is thought that Mr Portis (c1734-97) was Collector of Revenue and Customs for Belfast and was buried at Carlingford churchyard.

Annadale was a plain three-storey block over a basement, with five bays and lofty chimneys.

Galwally was renamed Annadale Hall after Anne, Countess of Mornington (eldest daughter of Arthur, 1st Viscount Dungannon, of Belvoir Park).

Lady Mornington was the mother of the 1st Duke of Wellington.

Annadale Hall was acquired ca 1840 by Alexander McDonnell.

Following his death, in 1855, it passed to his son-in-law, Robert Calwell.

The house was badly damaged by fire in 1914, apparently as a result of incendiary devices planted by Suffragettes.

Annadale suffered another arson attack in 1921, and remained in a ruinous condition until its demolition about 1952.

The grounds were subsequently sold for the Hampton Park housing development. 

Annadale Hall was once part of the Belvoir estate, though Lord Dungannon subsequently built a dividing wall.

Lord Donegall also lived at Annadale for a period, and it is said that Lady Blessington once resided there.

As a girl, Lady Mornington lived in the newly-built Belvoir House, and later at Annadale.

First published in January, 2013.

1st Baron O'Neill

EDWARD, 1st VISCOUNT CHICHESTER (1568-1648), Governor of Carrickfergus, Lord High Admiral of Lough Neagh, married firstly, in 1605, Anne, daughter of John Coplestone, of Eggesford, Devon, and had issue,

Arthur, 1ST EARL OF DONEGALL;

JOHN, of whom we treat;

Edward.

He wedded secondly, between 1616-26, Mary Denham.

The second son,

THE HON JOHN CHICHESTER (1609-47), a colonel in the King's Army, espoused Mary, eldest daughter of Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh, and had issue,

Arthur, succeeded as 2nd Earl of Donegall;

JOHN, of whom hereafter;

Elizabeth; two other daughters.

The younger son,

JOHN CHICHESTER, was father of

THE REV WILLIAM CHICHESTER, who married Lydia, daughter of Henry Arvse, and had issue,

THE REV ARTHUR CHICHESTER (1716-68), Vicar of Drummaul, Randalstown, who wedded Mary, daughter of Henry O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, and was father of

THE REV WILLIAM CHICHESTER (1742-1815), Rector of Broughshane, Rector of Clonmany, who espoused firstly, Mary Anne, daughter of George Harvey, and had issue,

SIR ARTHUR CHICHESTER, 1st and last Baronet.

He married secondly, Mary Anne, daughter of the Rev William Hart, and had further issue,

EDWARD, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

THE REV EDWARD CHICHESTER, Rector of Kilmore, County Armagh, married, in 1812, Catherine, daughter of Robert Young, and had issue,

WILLIAM, of whom we treat;

Robert (Rev);

George Vaughan (Rev).

The eldest son,

THE REV WILLIAM CHICHESTER (1813-83), Prebendary of St Michael's, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 1848, succeeded, in 1855, to the estates of his second cousin twice removed, John, 3rd Viscount O'Neill.

In the same year he assumed (by royal licence) the surname of O'NEILL, as a condition of his inheritance.

He married firstly, in 1839, Henrietta, daughter of Robert Torrens, a Judge of the Common Pleas in Ireland, and had issue,

EDWARD, of whom hereafter;
Arthur;
Robert;
Anne.

The Rev William O'Neill wedded secondly, in 1858, Elizabeth Grace, daughter of the Ven Dr Robert John Torrens, Archdeacon of Dublin.

He was elevated to the peerage, in 1868, in the dignity of BARON O'NEILL (second creation), of Shane's Castle, County Antrim.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDWARD, 2nd Baron (1839-1928), JP DL, who espoused, in 1873, the Lady Louisa Katherine Emma Cochrane, daughter of the 11th Earl of Dundonald, and had issue,

William Thomas Cochrane (1874-82);
Arthur Edward Bruce (1876-1914), killed in action;
Robert William Hugh, created BARON RATHCAVAN;
Louisa Henrietta Valdivia; Rose Anne Mary; Alice Esmeralda.

His lordship was succeeded by his grandson (son of the Hon Arthur Edward Bruce O'Neill),

SHANE EDWARD ROBERT, 3rd Baron (1907-44), who married, in 1932, Anne Geraldine Mary, daughter of the Hon Guy Lawrence Charteris (second son of 9th Earl of Wemyss), and had issue,

RAYMOND ARTHUR CLANABOY, 4th Baron O'Neill;
Fionn Frances Bride.

The 3rd Baron was killed in action, 1944, during the 2nd World War, and was succeeded by his only son,

RAYMOND ARTHUR CLANABOY, 4th and present Baron, KCVO TD, of Shane's Castle, who wedded, in 1963, Georgina Mary, daughter of Lord George Francis John Montagu Scott, and has issue,

SHANE SEBASTIAN CLANABOY;
Tyrone Alexander, b 1966;
Rory St John, b 1968.

THE HON SHANE SEBASTIAN CLANABOY O'NEILL (1965-), married, in 1997, Celia Frances, daughter of Peter Hickman, and has issue,

CON, b 2000;
Hugo Peter Raymond, b 2002.

I have written about the house of O'Neill here.

Family of Chichester

JOHN CHICHESTER, Escheator-General of the Province of Ulster, and Custos Rotulorum of County Tyrone, 1689, second son of the Hon John Chichester, married, in 1680, Elizabeth, youngest daughter of 1st Viscount Charlemont, and died in 1689, having had issue with a daughter,

WILLIAM, his heir;

Elizabeth; Anne.

The only son,

THE REV WILLIAM CHICHESTER, wedded Lydia, daughter of Henry Arvse, of Drogheda, and had, with other issue, an elder son,

THE REV ARTHUR CHICHESTER, who espoused Mary, only child and heiress of Henry O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, and had, with other issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;

Catherine.

His son,

THE REV WILLIAM CHICHESTER, an erudite and accomplished scholar, held the livings of Broughshane, County Antrim, and Clonmany, County Donegal; and married firstly, Mary anne, daughter of George Harvey, of Malin Hall, and had a son,

ARTHUR (Sir), of Greencastle, MP, created a Baronet, 1821.

He wedded secondly, Mary Anne, daughter of the Rev Edward Hart, of Kilderry, and by her had issue, with a daughter,

EDWARD, of whom presently.

The Rev Dr William Chichester died in 1815; his second son,

THE REV EDWARD CHICHESTER, Rector of Kilmore, Diocese of Armagh, espoused, in 1812, Catherine, daughter of Robert Young, of Culdaff House, County Donegal, and died in 1840, having by her had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;

Robert (Rev);

George Vaughan (Rev).

The eldest son,

THE REV WILLIAM CHICHESTER, married firstly, in 1839, Henrietta, daughter of Robert Torrens, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, and had issue, with a daughter,

EDWARD, 2nd Baron O'Neill;

Arthur;

Robert Torrens, of Derrynoyd.

He wedded secondly, in 1858, Elizabeth Grace, daughter of the Ven John Torrens DD, Archdeacon of Dublin.

The Rev William Chichester succeeded, in 1855, to the estates of his kinsman, the 1st and last Earl O'Neill, and assumed, by Royal Licence, the surname and arms of O'NEILL.

He was created, 1868, a Peer of the United Kingdom, in the dignity of BARON O'NEILL (second creation), of Shane's Castle.

4th & present Lord O'Neill (Image: Randalstown Heritage Society)

The present Lord O'Neill's main interests include conservation, transport history and tourism.

He was chairman of the National Trust in NI for many years and a former chairman of the NI Tourist Board.

Lord O'Neill's passion is railways, particularly trains.

I recall the Shane's Castle railway, which ran through the demesne, and visited it as a child.

He was the stepson of Ian Fleming, the James Bond creator.

His uncle, the Rt Hon Terence O'Neill (afterwards the Lord O'Neill of the Maine), was a former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

The Shane's Castle estate is one of the largest private demesnes in Northern Ireland, comprising about 3,000 acres.

It lies in a particularly scenic, not to say strategic, position on the northeast shore of Lough Neagh, between Antrim and Randalstown.

Part of the Estate is a nature reserve.

The O'Neill family has had a hapless history with regard to the fate of their houses: the first Shane's Castle dated from the early 1600s and was utterly destroyed by an accidental fire in 1816.

The family moved to a small house adjoining the stables.

This house was replaced in 1865 by a larger, Gothic-Victorian castle which was burnt by the IRA in 1922 (as was the near by Antrim Castle).

Its ruin was subsequently cleared away, and for the next 40 or so years the family lived once again in the stables.


The present Neo-Georgian house (above) at Shane's Castle, County Antrim, was built in 1958 for the present Lord O'Neill to the designs of Arthur Jury, of Blackwood & Jury, architects.

The formal gardens to the south were laid out from the 1960s.

This house was built to replace a Victorian predecessor designed by architects Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, which was built in 1865 on a site immediately to the north, facing this house across the stable yard, but which was maliciously burnt in 1922.

The Victorian castle was itself a replacement for the original Shane's Castle, which was accidentally burnt in 1816.

A proposal to replace the Victorian castle with a Neo-Georgian house designed by the English architect Oliver Hill in 1938 was not carried out.

The present house is classical and well-proportioned, with a handsome fanlight doorway.

First published in July, 2008. O'Neill arms courtesy of European Heraldry.