Loughry Manor

THE LINDESAYS OWNED 2,821 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE 

The first of the family of LINDESAY who settled in Ulster, upon the confiscation of the O'Neills in that province, were two brothers, BERNARD LINDESAY, of Lough Hill, Haddington, Gentleman of the Bedchamber to JAMES VI, King of Scotland, and ROBERT LINDESAY, Chief Harbinger to that monarch, sons of THOMAS LINDESAY, of Kingswark, in Leith, which Thomas held several offices of high honour and trust, as well as emolument, under MARY, Queen of Scotland, and her son, JAMES VI, such as Searcher-General of Leith, in 1562, which he resigned in favour of his son, Bernard, in 1594. 

The King provided, not only for him, but his family, by pensions, to his daughters, Agnes and Elizabeth, out of the rents and tithes of the abbey of North Berwick; also to his sons, Bernard, Thomas, and Robert, from other lands belonging to the friars of Linlithgow. Sir David Lyndsay was Lyon King of Arms, 1542-54.

Thomas Lindesay, the Snawdoun Herald, and Searcher-General of Leith, was living in 1594.

His son, 

ROBERT LINDESAY, of Leith, Chief Harbinger and Comptroller of the Artillery to JAMES I in Scotland, obtained from that monarch a grant of the manor and lands of Tullyhogue, Loughry, etc, County Tyrone, by patent dated 1611.

He married Janet Acheson, and by her (who survived him, and was living in 1619) he had a son and successor,

ROBERT LINDESAY (c1604-74), of Loughry and Tullyhogue, who obtained a second patent of the said manor and lands of Loughry and Tullyhogue, described therein as Manor Lindesay, in the 14th year of the reign of CHARLES I, and who built the mansion house of Loughry in 1632, which was burnt by the rebels in 1641, and rebuilt by him in 1671.

Mr Lindesay, an officer in the royal army at the battle of Worcester, married Margaret, daughter of James Richardson, of Castle Hill, County Tyrone, and had issue (with three daughters),

ROBERT, of whom presently;
Alexander, of Cahoo;
William.

The elder son, 

ROBERT LINDESAY, of Loughry and Tullyhogue, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1677, a refugee and defender in Londonderry during the celebrated siege, wedded Anne, daughter of John Morris, of Bellville, County Tyrone.

He died in 1691, leaving issue,

ROBERT, his heir;
JOHN, of whose line we treat.

The elder son,

ROBERT LINDESAY (1679-1742), of Loughry and Tullyhogue, MP for County Tyrone, 1729-33, Judge of the Common Pleas, 1733, married, in 1707, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Singleton, of Drogheda (and sister of Henry Singleton, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland, and afterwards Master of the Rolls, in that kingdom), and had issue one son and one daughter: Robert, died an infant; Anne, died unmarried.

Judge Lindesay, a close friend of the VERY REV DR JONATHAN SWIFT, the celebrated Dean of St Patrick’s, was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN LINDESAY (1686-1761), of Loughry and Tullyhogue, who married, in 1744, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev Bellingham Mauleverer, Rector of Maghera, County Londonderry, and granddaughter of the Most Rev William Nicolson, Lord Archbishop of Cashel.

He died in 1761, leaving a son and successor,

ROBERT LINDESAY (1747-1832), of Loughry and Tullyhogue, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1788, MP for Dundalk, 1781-3, a Deputy Governor of Tyrone, Assistant Barrister, County Tyrone, who married, in 1775, his second cousin, Jane, eldest daughter and co-heir of Thomas Mauleverer, of Arncliffe Hall, Yorkshire, and had issue,

John, father of JOHN LINDESAY;
Robert, died in infancy;
FREDERICK, of whom hereafter.

Mr Lindesay was succeeded by his eldest son,  

JOHN LINDESAY (1780-1826), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Tyrone Militia, Mayor of Cashel, who wedded Mary Anne, daughter of Richard Pennefather, of New Park, County Tipperary, MP for Cashel, and had an only son,

JOHN LINDESAY DL (1808-48), Lieutenant, 7th Royal Fusiliers, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1840, who succeeded to the family estate on the death of his grandfather, 1832.

Mr Lindesay married Harriott Hester, daughter of the Rt Hon Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn MP, of Llangedwin, brother to Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Bt, MP, of Wynnstay, Denbighshire, though died without an heir, and was succeeded by his uncle, 

FREDERICK LINDESAY JP DL (1792-), of Loughry, Barrister, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1859, who married firstly, in 1823, Agnes Cornish Bayntun, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir Edwin Bayntun Sandys Bt, of Miserden Park, Gloucestershire, and Hadlington Hall, Oxfordshire (who died in 1842), and had issue,

Robert Sandys, Capt. Royal Tyrone Fusilier Militia; d 1870;
Frederick John Sandys (1830-77), of Loughry, military officer;
Thomas Edward, 22nd Native Infantry, killed in 1857;
JOSHUA EDWARD CHARLES COOPER, of whom we treat;
Jane; Philippa Allen; Agnes Sarah.

The fourth son, 

JOSHUA EDWARD CHARLES COOPER LINDESAY JP DL (1843-93), of Loughry, Lieutenant-Colonel, 3rd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, late 50th Regiment, died unmarried, and was succeeded by his cousin,

HENRY RICHARD PONSONBY LINDESAY (1843-1903), of Loughry, and Donore, Ivybridge, Devon, Lieutenant-Colonel, Reserve of Officers, 60th Rifles and 20th Regiment, who wedded, in 1898, Frances Mary, daughter of the Rev J Irwin, Rector of Hurworth-on-Tees.

He dsp 1903.

Loughry (Image: Ebay)

LOUGHRY DEMESNE, near Cookstown, County Tyrone, dates from the early 17th century.

The origins of the demesne can be traced to 1611, when land in the area was granted by JAMES I to his Chief Harbinger, Robert Lindesay, who is thought to have built himself a timber residence on the southern side of the river Killymoon, close to the village of Tullahogue, "surrounded by a ditch with a high bank of Clay and a quick-thorn hedge".

Robert died ca 1629 and his lands passed to his son Robert, who built a new residence on the present site in 1632.

This house was destroyed in the 1641 rebellion and the site was abandoned until 1671, when a new dwelling was commenced.

This second house was finished in 1674, shortly after Robert's death, and survived until about 1750, when it, too, was destroyed by fire, although it is thought to have been accidental.

Although there appears to be no extant documentary evidence to prove it, the relatively steeply-pitched roof and simple symmetrical lines of the present building suggest that it is that built ca 1754 to replace the 17th century residence.

Loughry (Image: Ebay)

On this, the main two-storey, five openings-wide, gabled block to the south is shown, along with a rear return and the long wing to the north, an arrangement which is by and large repeated on the revised map of 1857, but with somewhat more extensive rear returns.

It is said that Frederick Lindesay added a "saw mill, steward's house offices and lodge" to the demesne in 1863, and that in the house itself was "improved" by his son, Frederick Lindesay, upon his coming into the estate in 1871-72.

Part of the latter improvements probably involved the addition of the section to the north end of the north wing, which is believed to have originally contained "a banqueting hall and musicians' gallery", as well as the porch, and the decorative mouldings around the window openings.

Frederick Lindesay led an extravagant lifestyle, and by the time of his death in 1877, he had amassed debts said to have been in excess of £42,000.

His younger brother and successor, Joshua Lindesay, attempted to rectify this by leading a frugal existence.

Consequently he appears to have vacated Loughry during the 1880s, living within the much more modest Rock Lodge, to the south of the estate.

Joshua died in 1893, leaving the family's financial problems unresolved, and shortly afterwards the house and estate were sold to Cookstown businessman, John Wilson Fleming.

According to a family historian, Ernest Godfrey, either before or just after the sale, a fire "destroyed the top storey of the mansion".

The extent of the damage caused by the fire, and the amount of rebuilding - if any- is uncertain.

In 1908, Mr Fleming sold the house and its demesne to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Ireland, which, in 1908, opened the Ulster Dairy School on the site.

Shortly afterwards, the school built a new front wing and, within the original building, converted the library to an office; the dining-room to a sewing-room; the small drawing room to a superintendent's room; the large drawing room to a school room; the blue bedroom to a staff sitting room; another bedroom to a small dormitory; the yellow room to a superintendent's room; Bachelor's Walk to a teachers' wing; and the banqueting hall and musicians' gallery to another dormitory.

In 1922, following the establishment of Northern Ireland, the school was handed over to the Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1949 it became Loughry Agricultural College.

Loughry Manor-house (Image: CAFRE)

THE VERY REV DR JONATHAN SWIFT, Dean of St Patrick's, a close friend of Judge Lindesay, is thought to have written part of Gulliver’s Travels whilst staying at Loughry.

Dean Swift's Summer House, as it became known, perches precariously above the river Killymoon.

Both the summer house and Loughry Manor are listed.

The house has "1632" inscribed on a wall.

Modern planting and landscaping enhances the college buildings and the prospect to the planted top of Rockhead Hill has not been obscured.

There are mature trees in the parkland, in clumps and individual trees.

The river bank is heavily wooded throughout the demesne and old walk-ways survive.

Offices and stables for the manor house have been adapted for college use.

The walled garden contains a small collection of fruit trees, but is not otherwise cultivated.

First published in April, 2013.

Fintona

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY GAZETTEER OF IRELAND, PUBLISHED IN 1846

FINTONA, a market and post town in the parish of Donacavey, barony of Clogher, County Tyrone.

It stands on the road from Omagh to Enniskillen, and west road from Omagh to Clogher, 6¼ miles south of Omagh, 7 north-west of Clogher.

Its site is a warm and comparatively bosky hollow, traversed by a pleasant rivulet, in the midst of a bleak district of low uplands.

The town, though very irregularly built, and containing few good houses, makes no such unfavourable impression upon a stranger as the great majority of small squalid towns of Ireland.

Its public buildings are the parish church, a Presbyterian meeting-house, a Methodist meeting-house, and a Roman Catholic chapel.

Weekly markets and monthly fairs are held, and are well attended.

The weaving of linen employs a large proportion of the inhabitants both of the town itself and of its vicinity.

Ecclesville, the seat of C Eccles, adjoins the town; Derrabard, the seat of S Vesey, stands about a mile to the east; and Lakemount, the seat of J Hamilton, stands about two miles to the south.

Area of the town, 44 acres; population in 1831, 1,714; in 1841, 1,327; houses, 248.

First published in March, 2021.

Leslie of Leslie Hill

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

This family springs from

THE REV PETER LESLIE (1686-1773), born at Westminster, Rector of Ahoghill, County Antrim, who married, in 1718, Jane, daughter of the Most Rev Anthony Dopping*, Lord Bishop of Meath, and had issue,

HENRY (Rev),1719-1803;
EDMUND, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

THE VEN EDMUND LESLIE (1735-90), Archdeacon of Down, 1782, and also a prebendary of Connor, wedded firstly, Jane, daughter of John Macnaghten, of Benvarden, County Antrim, and had issue,

Peter, died in London;
Bartholomew, died in India;
JAMES, of whom we treat;
Edmund, died in India;
Mary.

Archdeacon Leslie espoused secondly, Eleanor, daughter of George Portis, of London, and had issue,

George;
Henry (Very Rev), Dean of Connor;
Samuel, Rear-Admiral, of Donaghadee;
Ellen.

The Archdeacon's eldest surviving son, 

JAMES LESLIE JP DL (1768-1847), of Leslie House, County Antrim, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1799, succeeded to the estates on the demise of his uncle, James Leslie, in 1796.

He wedded, in 1795, Mary, daughter of Adam Cuppage, of Donaghcloney, County Down, by whom he had issue,

JAMES EDMUND;
Henry, JP, of Seaport Lodge, Portballintrae;
Frances Seymour, of the Home Office;
JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM (Rev);
Bartholdus George Albert (1812-15).

The eldest son,

JAMES EDMUND LESLIE JP DL (1800-81), of Leslie Hill and Seaport Lodge, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1854, wedded, in 1823, Sarah, youngest daughter of the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Sandford, Bishop of Edinburgh, and by her had issue,

James Sandford, 1824-29;
Henry Erskine, 1825-29;
EDMUND DOUGLAS, of whom hereafter;
Daniel Sandford, died in infancy;
Seymour Montague, b 1835; father of JAMES GRAHAM;
Francis Macnaghten, b 1837; in the army;
Erskine Douglas, died in infancy;
Frances Mary; Mary Wilhelmina; Sarah Agnes; Jane Elizabeth.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL EDMUND DOUGLAS LESLIE was granted the honorary rank of Colonel in 1877. 

He was succeeded by his third son,

EDMUND DOUGLAS LESLIE JP DL (1828-1904), of Leslie Hill and Seaport Lodge, Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Colonel, 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his nephew,

JAMES GRAHAM LESLIE JP DL (1868-1949), of Leslie Hill and Seaport Lodge, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1907, Barrister, some time head of a department in the Office of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, who espoused, in 1901, Grace, only daughter of J Lamont Brodie, of Wimbledon, and had issue,

SEYMOUR ARGENT SANDFORD, his heir;
Grace Margaret Hester, b 1905;
Mary Etheldritha (Audrey), b 1908.

Mr Leslie was succeeded by his son and heir,

SEYMOUR ARGENT SANDFORD LESLIE CMG (1902-53), of Leslie Hill, Financial Secretary, Tanganyika, who married, in 1930, Eleanor Mary Stuart, and had issue,

JAMES FRANCIS LESLIE TD JP DL (1933-2021), Honorary Colonel, D (North Irish Horse) Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry, 1991, (in succession to Colonel the Lord O'Neill) married Patricia Jane Elizabeth (née Swales) (d 2023), and had issue,

JAMES SEYMOUR LESLIE (1958-2009), High Sheriff of Co Antrim, 2006;

JOHN GRAHAM EDMUND, successor to his brother;

Jane Elizabeth Rose.

John Leslie apprises me that he inherited the estate on the death of his mother in 2023.

John and Katy, his partner, reside at Leslie Hill (as they have done for the past 15 years).

The estate continues to be run as a farm breeding sheep and working extensively with timber.

John and Katy make films themselves in Ireland, North and South, Europe and America; and the estate is often used as a filming location by many well known production companies including Universal, HBO, and the BBC. It has become a most useful diversification. The open farm has been closed since 2013.

Mrs Judena Leslie was Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland, 2015- 21.

*Bishops of Meath are traditionally styled Most Reverend, ranking next after Archbishops of the Church of Ireland.

*****

THE CREST of this family has traditionally been an angel, though a gryphon is sometimes used by some portions of the family. 

The motto, Grip Fast, has remained unchanged since the time of QUEEN MARGARET of Scotland, by whom it was given to Bartolf (Bartholomew), under the following circumstances:

In crossing a river swollen by floods, the Queen was thrown from her horse, and in danger of being drowned, when the knight, plunging into the stream, seized hold of Her Majesty's girdle; and as he brought her with difficulty towards the bank, she frequently exclaimed grip fast, and afterwards desired that he should retain the words as his motto, in remembrance of the occurrence.

LESLIE HILL, near Ballymoney, County Antrim, was built by James Leslie ca 1750, on the site of an older castle.

The house originally consisted of a gable-ended main block of three storeys over a high basement, joined to two-storey office wings by single-storey links.

The principal block has a seven-bay front with a three-bay pedimented breakfront; doorway, with two Doric columns and a fanlight under a baseless pediment.

There is a lunette window in the pediment which lights the attic. The former wings were of three bays and the links of two.

There is a flagged hall with screen; principal rooms have modillion cornices and doors with shouldered architraves.

The attic room has a convex-coved ceiling and central roundel containing a portrait which may be of the James Leslie who built the House. 

Alas, the wings and connecting links were demolished in 1955.

The present owner is directly descended from the Rt Rev Henry Leslie (chaplain to CHARLES I, Bishop of Down & Connor, 1635) and the 4th Earl of Rothes, by his marriage to Agnes Somerville. 

Leslie Hill has been occupied continuously by the Leslie family for more than 350 years.

In 1778, while the United States was trying to retain the independence it had declared in 1776, the American frigate "Ranger," under John Paul Jones, opened fire on Carrickfergus Castle and attacked HMS Drake, putting it out of action.

This attack, and the fact that the French had allied themselves to the colonists in the American revolution, caused alarm in Ireland which, at that time, was practically bereft of Crown forces.

This led to a demand for the local volunteers, a citizen's militia, recruited mainly from the protestant middle class and led by the nobility, at their own expense, to defend the Irish coast and guard life and property.

Leslie Hill was used as a bivouac and for drilling purposes.

The estate was of considerable acreage, comprising 7,428 acres, with a progressive farm, but much of the land was sold to the tenants under the Land Act of 1903.

Not all the Leslies in Ulster remained there: in 1718 a James Leslie of the Coleraine area came to New England, USA, to settle with the Scots Presbyterians in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Later in 1729, another James Leslie and his wife Margaret Sheerar, left Coleraine to settle in Topsfield, Massachusetts, he also is a lineal descendant of the 4th Earl of Rothes and his wife Agnes Somerville. 

There is a book published by the Essex Institute about the members of this family.

It is of significance that another James Leslie and his family left Ballymoney for the long voyage to America.

They left the linen mills of Balnamore, near Leslie Hill to join forces with the large working world of the great Amoskeag Cotton Mills of Manchester, New Hampshire.

James Seymour Leslie (1958-2009) was a Northern Ireland politician, a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

His father owns Leslie Hill estate at Ballymoney. He was married with a daughter.

The Castle Leslie demesne, adjacent to Ballymoney, lies in a ridge above the Bann Valley. Continuous ownership of the Leslie family adds interest in the property.

The house of ca 1760 – now minus two wings – has landscaped parkland to the north, with fine trees and a small, artificial, late 19th century lake complete with island and boat-house.

A ha-ha separates the south front lawns from parkland and exposes the fine distant views.

There are stands of mature trees and mixed woodland. A late 19th century, ‘Robinsonian’ garden is no longer distinguishable.

A small enclosed garden to the east of the house has two lily ponds constructed ca 1891 of unusual shape.

These are listed, together with the enclosing walls and a nearby ice house.

Ornamental shrubs and trees, with under-planting of wild flowers, decorate the access route to the walled gardens.

The walled garden has a rectangular western part, which is partially cultivated and under restoration to be attractive and productive for modern usage.

The Melon House has been restored. Remnants of other glasshouses are exposed.

The garden is divided into two by a brick wall and the smaller eastern part is uncultivated.

The outbuildings are notable, fully restored and open to view.

A disused gate lodge at the main entrance is of ca 1911 and replaced a pair removed when the road was realigned in the 1850s.

The house is private and grounds are private.

The family formerly had a marine residence, Seaport Lodge, at Portballintrae.

First published in January, 2012.

Ardnalea House

ARDNALEA HOUSE, Craigavad, County Down, is a two-storey Victorian house of ca 1845 with basement, now divided into four separate dwellings.

The original subdivision took place in the mid-20th century and Number 69 has been a single dwelling since then, comprising the east side of the original house.

Two gate lodges are also marked, as are a "landing place" and "flag staff."

Griffith’s Valuation of the same period describes it as a ‘house, offices and land’ occupied by LADY BATESON and leased from William S Mitchell, a linen merchant and minor landowner who lived at "Olinda" nearby.

The Crawfords, of CRAWFORDSBURN, who lived there subsequently, remarked that the interior decoration was executed by Italian artists in the 1840s, at the time the house was first built.

It would appear that this was a bathing lodge or dower house for Lady Bateson, the widow of Sir Robert Bateson, a conservative politician and significant landowner, who was to die in 1863 at his home in Belvoir Park, Newtownbreda, County Down.

By 1875 the house was occupied by William Crawford, a director of the Belfast Bank in Waring Street, the Bank having been founded by Hugh Crawford in 1808.

Crawford’s alterations to the house give it much of the external appearance it assumes today.

He raised the house by a storey and built additional outbuildings by 1877, shortly after taking over the house.

In 1891, ‘labourers’ houses’ were added to the site.

Crawford died in 1907 leaving a considerable fortune, and the property passed to his son, Robert J Crawford.

The house was supplied with water from a well, with a gas engine pump and lighting from Holywood gas.

There was a 1½ horsepower gas engine for driving the water pump.

At this period Ardnalea had "painted walls."

The accommodation comprised, on the ground floor, a dining-room, reading room, inner hall, two drawing-rooms, an outer hall, cloakroom, WC, WB, pantry, study and lavatory.

On the first floor there were five principal bedrooms, two dressing rooms, bathroom, a sewing-room, four maids’ bedrooms and a lavatory.

In the basement there was a larder, scullery, kitchen, maid’s bathroom, three store rooms, three lumber rooms, boiler house, cellar, dairy and disused kitchen.

Various outbuildings included a boat house, fowl houses, byres and hay barns.

In 1940 the mansion house and three acres of curtilage were requisitioned by the armed forces, Crawford retaining 6½ acres.

Family notes indicate that the house was sold in 1948 and converted into apartments, the conversion possibly being carried out by Henry Lynn, architect, who was working in Belfast between 1930 and 1972 and whose drawings of the outbuildings survive.

The house had been converted into "a house and two flats" by 1949.

In November, 1949, the main house was occupied by Colonel Vinycomb, Flat 3 was let to Air Commodore Allan Robert Churchman CB DFC DL, and Flat 2 was let to Mrs V Grainger.

First published in April, 2019.

Mayoral Robe

Belfast is one of the few cities in the United Kingdom where its Lord Mayor is styled Right Honourable.

This rank and style was conferred upon the Lord Mayor of Belfast by GEORGE V in March, 1923.

The prefix usually indicates that a person is a privy counsellor; though in the case of lord mayors of London, Belfast, Cardiff, York etc it indicates the status of a baron.

Alderman Jim Rodgers OBE (Image: Belfast City Hall)

Alderman Jim Rodgers OBE, 52nd Lord Mayor of Belfast, held office in 2001-2 and 2007-8.

The mayoral robe is probably made of black silk damask, trimmed with gold lace.

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Lord Chancellor, 2015-16

The Lord Chancellor wears similar attire on ceremonial and state occasions.

A white lace jabot and white lace cuffs can also be worn.

Pictured above is the Rt Hon Sir William George Turner (a privy counsellor), Lord Mayor of Belfast, 1924-28, accompanying HRH Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood.

First published in July, 2016.

Kilclief

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY GAZETTEER OF IRELAND, PUBLISHED IN 1846

KILCLIEF, a parish, containing a village of the same name, on the east border of the barony of Lecale, County Down.

The surface lies along the west side of the entrance, or lower part of the channel, of Strangford Lough; and almost everywhere consists of good arable land.

The village stands on the shore, 1½ miles north-west of Killard Point, and two miles south of Strangford.

Adjoining the village stands Kilclief Castle, an Anglo-Irish military keep of the early part of the 14th century, in a state of fine preservation, and of a considerable size and height.

Its general form is nearly a square, with the addition of two quadrangular wings in front, in the one of which is a staircase, and in the other a stack of closets: the first floor is vaulted, and the second has a stone chimneypiece, on which is carved the figure of a bird resembling a hawk.

This castle, and a fine circumjacent demesne of some of the richest land in the barony, were an ancient see house and manor of the Bishops of Down.

Kilclief Castle (Image: Robert John Welch)

John Sely, the last Bishop of Down, previous to the annexation of that see to Connor, lived here in open and infamous sin with a married woman, and seems to have plotted here various "treasons, transgressions, and other crimes," for which he was indicted, outlawed, and pardoned; but he was eventually, though not without difficulty, un-mitred and un-frocked.

The original church of Kilclief is alleged by monastic dreamers to have been the chapel of an abbey of regular canons, founded by St Patrick, and presided over by two of his disciples, who were brothers, and named Eugenius and Neill.

Old writers say also that, in a subsequent age, a hospital was founded here for lepers.

This parish was formerly a perpetual curacy, and part of the corps of the Archdeaconry of Down, but, since 1834, has been a rectory, and a separate benefice, in the diocese of Down.

The Glebe House was built in 1816 by the Board of First Fruits at a cost of £500; and was burnt by IRA in 1916. The rector in 1830 was the Rev Henry Leslie. Electricity was installed in 1954, a gift of Mrs A Johnston, of Tully, in memory of her father, Alfred.

First published in March, 2021.

The Crown Bar

THE CROWN LIQUOR SALOON stands at the end of a terrace on the east side of Great Victoria Street, Belfast.

It is located at 46, Great Victoria Street, on a corner site, with its gabled south side elevation fronting onto Amelia Street.

The Crown comprises three storeys, though the southern elevation extends as a two-storey attic return.

It is directly opposite the Europa Hotel (which is on the site of the former Great Northern railway terminus).

This stucco-fronted building was built ca 1840, and remodelled ca 1898, including a decorative, tiled pub shopfront.

The interior was remodelled about 1885.

The pitched, natural slate roof was reconstructed ca 2005.

A painted fascia reads 'THE CROWN BAR', each corner surmounted by urns.

The elaborately tiled pub shopfront has tiled panels divided into five bays by Corinthian tiled pilasters.

Three central bays are recessed to provide a porch, with a pair of pink and white marble Corinthian columns to full-span gilded glass fascia proclaiming "LIQUOR {THE CROWN} SALOON" and tiled panels to either end, stating "SPIRIT" and "VAULTS".

All are surmounted by a series of scrolls, finials and tiled scallops to either end.

The porch contains a mosaic tiled floor proclaiming "CROWN BAR", with etched and painted fixed-pane windows to three sides and tiled panels below.

THE CROWN BAR was recorded in the 1852 Belfast street directory as the Ulster Railway Hotel and Tavern, the proprietor being Terence O’Hanlon.

In 1859 it was recorded that the Ulster Railway Hotel was let to Mr O’Hanlon by Henry Joy.

The hotel was described as a three-storey, A-class building that measured 19½ by 12 yards.

Mr O’Hanlon continued to occupy the hotel until 1880, when it was taken over by Patrick Flanigan (who later purchased the building in 1885).

Mr Flanigan thereafter purchased numbers 19 and 21 Amelia Street to its rear, and converted the entire premises into a public house.

By 1901, the premises were known as the Crown Bar, comprising ten rooms and a storeroom.

Patrick Flanigan was 45 years of age and lived at the address with his wife and their seven children.

He employed a number of staff including barmaids, shop assistants and domestic servants.

(Image: Richard Gibson)

Mr Flanigan occupied the property until his death in 1902, when his widow, Ellen, came into sole possession.

Mrs Flanigan ran the bar until 1927, when Patrick McGreeny took possession.

He also owned 2, Keyland’s Place, a cul-de-sac at the rear of the pub (now part of Blackstaff Square).

The exterior mosaic facade and stained glazing of the bar was considerably damaged through general wear, but also through numerous attacks during the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

Nevertheless, in 1980-81 Robert McKinstry undertook a restoration of the bar's interior and restored the mosaic facade using a plan of the original pattern design which was found at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire.

Further changes to the Crown Bar took place after McKinstry’s restoration, when £250,000 was spent on the eradication of dry rot in the walls during the 1980s.

A restaurant was constructed on the first floor in 1988 by Gifford & Cairns costing £450,000.

Marcus Patton, OBE, remarks that this restaurant was named the Britannic Lounge and incorporated panelling from the Harland & Wolff shipyards originally intended for RMS Britannic (sister ship of the Titanic), which was sunk during the 1st World War in 1916.

The Crown Bar continues to operate as a public house and is a popular tourist destination attracting people visiting Belfast with its beautifully preserved Victorian character.

It was listed in 1977 and is said to be the only bar owned by the National Trust, which acquired the building in 1978.

The bar is today administered on behalf of the National Trust by Nicholson Bars.

First published in February, 2017.

1st Duke of Montrose

THE DUKES OF MONTROSE WERE THE GREATEST LANDOWNERS IN STIRLINGSHIRE, WITH 68,565 ACRES

According to the Scottish historians, this ducal family is as ancient as the restoration of the monarchy of Scotland, by FERGUS II; and by the same authority, it derives its origin from the renowned GRÆME, who governed that kingdom during the minority of FERGUS's grandson, EUGENE II, which monarch's reign commenced in the early part of the 5th century. It is certain, however, that no family of Scotland can boast of greater antiquity.

SIR DAVID GRAHAM, Knight, of Old Montrose, Forfarshire, a personage remarkable for patriotism and valour, was one of the Scottish barons employed to negotiate the ransom of DAVID II, King of Scotland, made prisoner at the battle of Durham in 1346; and Sir David's son,

SIR PATRICK GRAHAM, Lord of Dundaff and Kincardine, became one of the hostages by which the release of the Scottish king was eventually accomplished.

His eldest son,

SIR WILLIAM GRAHAM, of Kincardine, married and was succeeded by his grandson,

PATRICK GRAHAM, of Kincardine, who having been appointed one of the lords of the Regency during the minority of JAMES II of Scotland, was made a lord of parliament about 1445, by the title of Lord Graham.

His lordship died in 1465, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM, 2nd Lord; who had a safe conduct to go into England, or to pass through it into foreign parts, in 1466.

His lordship wedded the Lady Anne Douglas, daughter of George, 4th Earl of Angus, and was succeeded at his decease, in 1472, by his elder son,

WILLIAM, 3rd Lord (1464-1513), who was raised to the dignity of Earl of Montrose, 1504-5, in consideration of the gallantry he had displayed at the battle of Saunchyburn, in 1488, wherein his royal master, JAMES III, lost his life.

His lordship fell, with JAMES IV, at Flodden Field, in 1513, and was succeeded by his only son by his first wife, Annabella, daughter of John, Lord Drummond,

WILLIAM, 2nd Earl (1492-1571); one of the peers to whom John, Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland in the minority of JAMES V, committed the tuition of the young prince during his own absence in France, in 1523.

His lordship was succeeded at his decease by his grandson,

JOHN, 3rd Earl (1548-1608), who, on the fall of the Earl of Gowrie, the Lord Treasurer, in 1582, obtained the White Staff, which he soon after surrendered to Sir Thomas Lyon, of Auldbar.

He was appointed Chancellor in 1598-9, and held the seals until 1604, when it was required that the Chancellor should be a lawyer.

His lordship was then constituted viceroy of Scotland, by virtue of which high office he presided in the parliament of Perth, in 1606, when the episcopal government was restored to the Church.

His eldest son,

JOHN, 4th Earl (1573-1626), was appointed President of the Council in Scotland, 1626; and dying in the same year, was succeeded by his only son by his wife, the Lady Margaret Ruthven, eldest daughter of William, 1st Earl of Gowrie,

JAMES, 5th Earl (1612-50), took a distinguished part, in the first instance, on the side of the covenanters, and afterwards, during the civil wars, on that of his ill-fated sovereign, CHARLES I, and became one of the most illustrious heroes of the age.

1st Marquess of Montrose (Image: National Galleries of Scotland)

He was created Marquess of Montrose in 1644, and constituted Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of all the forces to be raised in Scotland for His Majesty's service.

In 1650, however, during a military attack, he was made prisoner at the house of MacLeod, by whom he was betrayed; whence he was led captive to Edinburgh, and there executed upon a gallows, thirty feet high, in 1650.

His only surviving son,

JAMES, 2nd Marquess (c1631-69), called "The Good", was restored to his estates and honours at the return of CHARLES II.

He married the Lady Isabella Douglas, fifth daughter of William, 7th Earl of Morton, and was succeeded by his son and heir,

JAMES, 3rd Marquess, whose only son,

1st Duke of Montrose KG (Image: Government Art Collection)

JAMES, 4th Marquess (1682-1742), KG,  was installed a Knight of the Garter in 1705; and created, in 1707, DUKE OF MONTROSE.

• James Graham, 1st Duke (1682–1742), only son of 3rd Marquess

Other titles (Lord Graham & 2nd Duke onwards): Earl Graham and Baron Graham (1722)

• • David Graham, Marquess of Graham (1705–1731), 2nd son of 1st Duke, predeceased his father without issue
• William Graham, 2nd Duke (1712-90), 7th son of 1st Duke
• James Graham, 3rd Duke (1755–1836), only son of 2nd Duke
  • James Graham, Earl of Kincardine (1786-87), eldest son of 3rd Duke, died in infancy
• James Graham, 4th Duke (1799–1874), 2nd son of 3rd Duke
  • James Graham, Marquess of Graham (1845-46), eldest son of 4th Duke, died in infancy
  • James Graham, Marquess of Graham (1847-72), 2nd son of 4th Duke, died without issue
• Douglas Graham, 5th Duke (1852–1925), 3rd and youngest son of 4th Duke
• James Graham, 6th Duke (1878–1954);
• James Graham, 7th Duke (1907-92);
• James Graham, 8th Duke (b 1935).

The heir apparent is James Graham, styled Marquess of Graham (b 1973), elder son of the 8th Duke.

BUCHANAN CASTLE, near Drymen, Stirlingshire, was the seat of the Dukes of Montrose.

The estate was in the possession of the Buchanan family from at least 1231, but the family line failed in 1682.

Buchanan was bought by James, 3rd Marquess of Montrose, whose son became the 1st Duke of Montrose in 1707.

The architect William Adam prepared designs for the house and parklands in 1745.

In 1790, William Henry Playfair was commissioned by the 3rd Duke to design alterations to the house.

The 4th Duke and Duchess raised and trained racehorses on the estate in the 19th century.

The old house was destroyed in a fire of 1850, and the 4th Duke commissioned William Burn to replace it.

Burn designed an extravagant manor in the Scottish baronial style, enclosing an L-plan tower in a clutch of turrets, bartizans and stepped gables.

The Dukes of Montrose remained at Buchanan until 1925, when it was sold.

In the 1930s the house opened as a hotel, and the golf course was established in the grounds.

Plans for residential development on the estate were delayed by the outbreak of the 2nd World War, during which period the house was requisitioned.

It was used as a hospital during the war, with patients including Rudolf Hess, who was brought here after his flight to Scotland in 1941.

After the war, the building served briefly as the Army School of Education.

The roof was removed in 1954 and outlying parts of the building were demolished.

A number of residential buildings were subsequently built in the castle gardens and grounds.

Proposals were put forward for redevelopment of the house as flats in 2002 and 2004, though both applications were refused planning permission.

The walls of the house remain intact to their full height and are considered to be in good condition.

The ruins are progressively engulfed by trees and plants, and surrounded by a perimeter fence.

First published in January, 2014.

The Ferguson Baronetcy

This family formerly resided in Scotland, but settled in the late 17th century at Burt, a parish in the barony of Inishowen, County Donegal (Burt is six miles from Derry).

THE REV ANDREW FERGUSON (1655-1725), of Burt House, a Presbyterian minister, established himself in Ulster, and left issue by his wife Sarah,

John, his heir;
Victor (Rev);
ANDREW (Rev), of Burt;
Thomas;
Dorcas; Ann; a daughter.

The third son, 

THE REV ANDREW FERGUSON (c1699-1787), married and had issue,

JOHN FERGUSON (1730-95), of Londonderry, who wedded Sarah Harvey and had issue,

Robert;
ANDREW, of whom presently;
Harvey;
David;
Mary; Anne.

It is said that Mr Ferguson was

"a poor Londonderry surgeon or apothecary who, according to a later election squib, "had the shop in the whole of the wal [hole in the wall?] with three shillings worth of medicine."

The second son,

ANDREW FERGUSON (1761-1808), banker, of The Farm, Derry, Mayor of Londonderry, 1796-98, MP for Londonderry City (in the Caledon interest), 1798-1800.

Mr Ferguson was created a baronet in 1801, designated of The Farm, County Londonderry.

The hereditary baronetcy was perhaps in compensation for the loss of his seat (which went briefly to his brother-in-law Henry Alexander) following the Act of Union.

He married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Alexander, of Boom Hall (niece of the 1st Earl of Caledon), and had issue,

John, died young;
ROBERT ALEXANDER, his heir;
Harvey, dsp;
Anne, m Lt-Col Wm Blacker;
Jane, m  John Montgomery, of Benvarden;
Sarah, m Rev W Knox (son of Bishop Knox);
Eliza, m J G Smyly.

Sir Andrew died in an accident caused by his driving ‘with incautious rapidity over a bridge wanting some repairs’ in 1808, when his younger son Harvey (d 1824) survived unharmed.

He was succeeded by his only surviving son,

SIR ROBERT ALEXANDER FERGUSON, 2nd Baronet (1796-1860), of The Farm, and Castlederg, County Tyrone, High Sheriff of County Donegal, 1818, County Tyrone, 1825, MP for Londonderry City, 1831-60, Lord-Lieutenant of County Londonderry, 1840-60.

Sir Robert died unmarried, in 1860, when the title expired.

Statue of 2nd Baronet in Brooke Park, Derry

There is a stained glass window in St Columb's Cathedral in memory of Sir Robert.

The Farm (Image: Boomhall Trust)

THE FARM was located at Culmore Road in Derry, adjacent to Boom Hall.

It was subsequently acquired by the McFarlands prior to demolition for a housing development.

Prospect of The Farm from the Foyle (Image: Boomhall Trust)

J A K Dean, in his indispensable Gate Lodges of Ulster gazetteer, describes it thus: 

For many years the residence of Sir Robert Ferguson, long-standing MP for the city. His large, square Georgian house with noble Grecian portico, and "adjacent Pleasure ground, tout ensemble of the home view" have all been overrun by city sprawl.

The Farm, adjacent to Boom Hall, features in J A K Dean's 2020 publication The Plight of the Big House in Northern Ireland. 

I am particularly grateful to Bart of the Boomhall Trust for the receipt of images of The Farm.

First published in 2013.

Greenmount Manor

THE THOMPSONS OWNED 2,853 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

JOHN THOMPSON (d 1705), of Muckamore, County Antrim, left issue, with three daughters, as many sons,

William, of Muckamore (d 1754);
SAMUEL, of whom presently;
John.

The second son,

SAMUEL THOMPSON, of Muckamore, left issue,

John;
Samuel, b 1709;
THOMAS, of whom presently;
George, b 1718;
Mary, b 1705.

His third son,

THOMAS THOMPSON (1713-1802), of Greenmount, in the parish of Muckamore, married, in 1741, Eleanor Kinnear, of Cromore, County Londonderry, and had issue,

Samuel, of Belfast (d 1794);
John Kinnear, of Copenhagan, Denmark, died before 1799;
Skeffington (Rev), 1742-1810;
ROBERT STEWART, of whom hereafter;
Elizabeth; Margaret; Eleanor; Mary; Anne.

The fourth son,

ROBERT STEWART THOMPSON JP (1755-1822), of Greenmount, had issue by his wife, Anne,

Caroline Beckman; Margaret Beckman.

Mr Thompson's descendant,

SAMUEL THOMPSON (-1838), of Muckamore, County Antrim, had issue by his wife, Mary, daughter of John Olphert, a son, 

SAMUEL THOMPSON JP (1825-), of Muckamore, who married, in 1865, Maria Hannah, second daughter of Robert Smyth, of Gaybrook, County Westmeath, and had issue,

John, 1867-80;
ROBERT, 1869-1952;
Richard, b 1870;
Hugh, 1874-90;
Alexander, b 1879;
Henry, b 1881;
Mary Frances; Henrietta; Bessy; Eleanor.

MUCKAMORE, a grange, in the barony of Lower Massereene, is one mile from the town of Antrim.

This place, anciently Mach-airi-mor, or the "Great Field of Adoration," is situated on the river Sixmilewater.

The lands occupied by Greenmount once formed part of Muckamore Abbey, a monastery founded by St Colmán Elo.

The monastery or abbey flourished until the dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of HENRY VIII.

During the reign of JAMES I, the place was granted to Sir Roger Langford, from whom it descended to the Earls of Massereene.

The family of Thompson, of Scots-Presbyterian extraction, has been associated with Muckamore since about 1650.

Their descendants lived at Greenmount Manor from the mid-18th century.

The Thompsons were an influential family in the Antrim area, who prospered through their successful textile and bleaching businesses.

The manor house was built ca 1820 by Robert Thompson, to the design of Charles Robert Cockerell, with the balcony added by 1835.

It was described as “a sandstone house, presenting a portico and balcony supported by great Ionic columns”.

Greenmount was acquired in 1835 by the Venerable and Hon James Agar (1781-1866), Archdeacon of Kilmore, through his wife Louisa, youngest daughter of Samuel Thompson, of Greenmount.

On Louisa’s death in 1885, Greenmount passed to Richard Dyott MP, whose mother was a Thompson descendant.

In 1902, Greenmount was purchased by William Taylor Malcolm, a tenant farmer from Stirlingshire.

He delegated the management of the farm to his son John.

In 1910, Mr Malcolm sold Greenmount to the Government for £4,400 (£463,000 in today's money).

After some structural alterations to the house, the first term opened in 1912, with 11 students.

The current sandstone house consists of a portico and balcony supported by six great ionic columns.

The present house replaced a previous villa within the demesne.

Extensions were added after Greenmount changed from being a gentleman’s demesne to being an agricultural college in 1912.

The basalt part of the building was added along with the Principal's House (now the lodge) in 1925.

Another extension was added in the 1950s around the time the main student residences were being constructed.

The demesne records show that in 1809 Greenmount was a fine gentleman’s demesne.

There was a landscape in the style of Capability Brown.

A piece then written in 1838 sizes the Greenmount demesne as “about 160 acres, 39 of which were laid out in ornamental grounds and plantings.”

The following extract from Sketch of a Ramble to Antrim, which was published in the Belfast Monthly Magazine of July, 1809, paints a lovely picture of Greenmount in its heyday,

We crossed the fields to Greenmount, the elegant seat of Robert Thompson Esquire, about one mile from Antrim. This beautiful villa stands on rising ground and is completely furnished in the modern taste.

The demesne is planted with a great number of trees and shrubs laid out into some very pleasing walks. At the rear of the building are two small lakes, well stocked with fish. On them also some swans.

On the verge of one of the fore-mentioned lakes, in a shrubbery is a hermitage build with romantic simplicity and opposite is a small island joined to the mainland by a stonework arch.

Indeed I believe few places in this country surpass in beauty the charming villa at Greenmount.

The stone arch situated at the top end of the Arch Pond, which is about 200 years old, is cleverly constructed from selected stones that press together, holding the arch in place.

This unusual landscape feature once connected an island to the shore in what was then a pond the size of the adjacent car park.

The summer-house, now ruinous, was built about 200 years ago.

This summer-house would have looked out over Lough Neigh and the Antrim Town area and the meandering river Six Mile Water.

The Ice house (above) at Greenmount was built around 1820 by the Thompson family and the family crest can be seen above the entrance. 

The Walled Garden at Greenmount College was built in 1801 and has remained in horticultural use until the present day.

Changes in use over the years, and the presence of obsolete or inappropriate features, had by 1996 left a layout which did not do justice to the Walled Garden’s heritage or its potential.

At this stage proposals were put forward to redevelop the site as a resource which would make the best use of the garden’s unique history and aesthetic.

The dramatic formal garden you see today is a result of that vision.

The old farmyard appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1837.

It is built in basalt as a square building enclosing a square courtyard.

Today it houses the main farm office.

The surrounding farmyard has substantially outgrown the courtyard.

In the centre of the building on the roof is an old bell tower.

A branch of the Thompsons lived at Muckamore House. I'm interested in obtaining images.

First published in August, 2011.