Loughgall Manor

THE COPES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ARMAGH, WITH 9,367 ACRES

ANTHONY COPE, of Portadown, County Armagh, younger brother of Walter Cope, of Drumilly, and grandson of Sir Anthony Cope, 1st Baronet, of Hanwell, wedded Jane, daughter of the Rt Rev Thomas Moigne, Lord Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh, by whom he had an only son,

THE VERY REV ANTHONY COPE (1639-1705), Dean of Elphin, who wedded his second cousin, Elizabeth, daughter and eventual heiress of Henry Cope, of Loughgall, and granddaughter of Anthony Cope, of Armagh, who was second son of Sir Anthony Cope, 1st Baronet, of Bramshill.

The Dean left, with other issue, a son and heir,

ROBERT COPE (1679-1753), of Loughgall, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1736, MP for Armagh County, 1713-14 and 1727-53, who espoused firstly, in 1701, Letitia, daughter of Arthur Brownlow, of Lurgan, who dsp; and secondly, in 1707, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Fownes Bt, of Woodstock, by whom he had, with other issue,

Anthony (Very Rev), Dean of Armagh;

ARTHUR, of whom hereafter.

Mr Cope's younger son,

ARTHUR COPE, of Loughgall, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1766, wedded, in 1761, Ellen Osborne, and had issue,

ROBERT CAMDEN, his heir;

Kenrick, lt-colonel, died unmarried 1827; High Sheriff of Co Armagh, 1798;

Emma; Elizabeth;

Mary, m Col R Doolan, and had 2 sons: RWC Doolan (cope); KH Doolan.

The elder son,

ROBERT CAMDEN COPE (c1771-1818), of Loughgall, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1799, MP for County Armagh, 1801-2, Lieutenant-Colonel, Armagh Militia, married Mary, daughter of Samuel Elliott, Governor of Antigua, and had an only son,

ARTHUR COPE (1814-44), of Loughgall; who dsp, and bequeathed his estates to his cousin,

ROBERT WRIGHT (DOOLAN) COPE JP DL (1810-58), of Loughgall Manor, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1846, who assumed the surname and additional arms of COPE in 1844.

The armorial bearings of Doolan-Cope are shown atop.

He espoused, in 1848, Cecilia Philippa, daughter of Captain Shawe Taylor, of County Galway, and had issue,

FRANCIS ROBERT, DL (1853-) his heir;
Albinia Elizabeth; Emma Sophia; Helen Gertrude.

*****

In 1610, the Plantation of Ulster came into effect under the auspices of JAMES I.

The manors of Loughgall and Carrowbrack in County Armagh were granted to Lord Saye and Sele.

In 1611 he sold these lands to Sir Anthony Cope Bt, of which 3,000 acres were represented by the manor of Loughgall.

The manor of Loughgall was divided between two branches of the Cope family, being known as The Manor House and Drummilly.

THE MANOR HOUSE, Loughgall, County Armagh, is a two-storey, mildly Tudor-Revival mansion of ca 1840 with numerous gables, some of which have barge-boards.

The windows have simple wooden mullions; and there are also hood-mouldings over ground-floor windows of the main block.

A lower service wing is at one side, gabled, with pointed windows in the upper storey.

The gabled entrance porch, in Gothic-Revival style, looks like a work of the 1850-70s and may be a later addition.

While the tree-lined avenue leading from the main street of the village was indicated on a map of 1834, the gateway and lodges, and the main house were not; nor was the house referred to by Lewis in 1837.

The main gates were manufactured in 1842, according to their inscription, which accords with that of the manor-house, although there is no architectural similarity between the gateway and lodges and the main house.

The Yew Walk, to the north of the Manor House, also seems to be indicated on a map of 1835.

One branch of the family subsequently lived in Drumilly House, situated to the east of the lough, which was demolished in 1965, while the other lived in the Manor House.

The manor-house was purchased from Field-Marshal Sir Gerald Templer, a relation of the original owners, by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1947.

The Ministry began general farming operations in 1949, and in 1951 established a horticultural centre on the estate.

In 1952, the Northern Ireland Plant Breeding Station, which had been founded by the Northern Ireland Government in 1922, was transferred to Loughgall.

In 1987, the Horticultural Centre and Plant Breeding Station were amalgamated to form the Northern Ireland Horticultural and Plant Breeding Station; and in 1995 the station became part of the NI Department of Agriculture's Applied Plant Science Division.

*****

THE VILLAGE of Loughgall developed slowly under the benign guidance of the Cope family, assuming a distinctly English appearance.

During the 18th and early part of the 19th century, a number of houses were built in the elegant Georgian style of architecture.

The two Cope families, of Loughgall Manor and Drumilly respectively, did not take a very active part in politics; however, as residential landlords, they pursued a policy of agricultural development on their own estates and greatly encouraged the improvement and fertility of their tenants' farms.

Apple-growing over the past two centuries has become a major factor in the economic development of County Armagh, with Loughgall at the heart of this important industry.

To this day there is no public house in Loughgall.

The Copes, at some stage in the past, actively discouraged the sale and consumption of alcohol by buying several public houses in the village and closing them down.

In their place they established a coffee-house and reading-room.

The Cope Baronets are now extinct in the male line.

The last generation of both the Loughgall Manor and Drumilly families had daughters only.

Of the Manor House family, a Miss Cope married a clergyman, the Rev Canon Sowter; while Ralph Cope, of Drumilly, had two daughters, one of whom, Diana, married Robin Cowdy of the local Greenhall linen bleaching family at Summer Island.

Both the Manor House and Drumilly estates were purchased by the Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture and now play a prominent part in testing and development in the horticultural field.

Both estates remain intact and have not been developed for housing or industry; they form part of Loughgall Country Park.

With considerable areas of mature woodland interspersed with orchards and cultivated fields, this area must surely be one of the most pleasant stretches of countryside in County Armagh.

First published in August, 2010.

Ballynegall House

THE SMYTHS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WESTMEATH, WITH 9,778 ACRES

This is a branch of SMYTH of Gaybrook, springing more immediately from SMYTH of Drumcree. 

THOMAS HUTCHINSON SMYTH (1765-1830), only son of Thomas Smyth, of Drumcree, by his third wife, Martha (daughter of the Ven Francis Hutchinson, Archdeacon of Down and Connor), served as High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1792, being then described as of "Smythboro" or Coole.

He married, in 1796, Abigail, daughter of John Hamilton, of Belfast, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
Francis, Captain RN;
John Stewart;
Edward, d 1857;
Arthur (Dr);
Hamilton, barrister (1813-59);
Anna; Emily.

Mr Smyth was succeeded by his eldest son, 

THE REV THOMAS SMYTH (1796-1874), who wedded, in 1832, Mary Anne, daughter of Adam Tate Gibbons, East India Company, and niece of James Gibbons, of Ballynegall, and had issue,

THOMAS JAMES, his heir;
James Gibbons, major in the army;
William Adam, major in the army;
Albert Edward, major in the army;
Elizabeth Abigail Mary Amelia; Mary Anne; Louisa Anna.

The Rev Thomas Smyth was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS JAMES SMYTH JP DL (1833-1912), of Ballynegall, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1858, Captain, Westmeath Rifles, who married, in 1864, Bessie, fourth daughter of Edward Anketell Jones, of Adelaide Crescent, Brighton, and had issue,

THOMAS GIBBONS HAWKESWORTH, his heir;
Ellinor Marion Hawkesworth; Maud Emily Abigail Hawkesworth.

Mr Smyth was succeeded by his only son,

THOMAS GIBBONS HAWKESWORTH SMYTH (1865-1953) of Ballynegall, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1917, who wedded, in 1895, Constance, younger daughter of Harry Corbyn Levinge, of Knockdrin Castle, Mullingar, and had issue,

THOMAS REGINALD HAWKESWORTH, b 1897;
Marjorie.

BALLYNEGALL HOUSE, near Mullingar, is said to have been one of the greatest architectural losses in the county of Westmeath.

The designs for this elegant and refined Regency house have been traditionally attributed to Francis Johnston, one of the foremost architects of his day and a man with an international reputation.

The quality of the original design is still apparent, despite its derelict and overgrown appearance.

The house was originally constructed for James Gibbons at the enormous cost of £30,000, and was reputedly built using the fabric of an existing castle on site, known as Castle Reynell after the previous owners of the estate.

Ballynagall remained in the Gibbons Family until 1846, when ownership passed on to Mr James W M Berry.

In 1855, ownership later passed on to the Smyth family through marriage.

There is an interesting article here, written by one of the last of the Smyths to live at Ballynegall.

The house was abandoned in the early 1960s and all remaining internal fittings and fixtures were removed at this time.

The original Ionic portico was also removed in the 1960s and now stands at Straffan House, County Kildare.

The remains of a very fine iron conservatory, which has been attributed to Richard Turner (1798-1881), is itself a great loss to the heritage of the county.

Ballynagall House stands in picturesque, mature parkland.

The remains of the house form the centrepiece of one of the best collections of demesne-related structures in County Westmeath, along with the stable block to the north-west and the gate lodge and St Mary's church to the south-east.

First published in February, 2013.

Boyd of Ballycastle

THE BOYDS OWNED 5,304 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

THE REV WILLIAM BOYD (1650-1720), Vicar of Ramoan, 1679-81, married Rose, great-granddaughter of Hugh McNeil, and had issue,

HUGH;

William (Rev);

Charles (Rev);

Alexander.

Hugh McNeil, who was appointed First Constable of Dunynie by Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, was granted lands which formed the basis of the Ballycastle Estate.

The Vicar's eldest son,

HUGH BOYD (1690-1765), born at Drumawillan House, Glentaise, inherited his father's estate in 1711; Lieutenant-Colonel, County Antrim Militia, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1734, who married Anne, daughter of Randal McAllister, of Kinbane Castle, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;

Hugh;
Margaret; Leonora; Anne.

His eldest son,

COLONEL WILLIAM BOYD, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1740, espoused Mary, daughter of Ezekiel Davys Wilson, and issue,

Alexander;

Hugh;

EZEKIEL DAVYS;

Daniel

William;
Adam;
James (Rev);
Mary; Margaret.

Colonel Boyd's younger son,

EZEKIEL DAVYS BOYD (1740-1801), High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1776, married Ann, daughter of John Frisby, and had issue,

HUGH;

William;

Francis;

Ezekiel Davys;

Sarah Catherine.

The eldest son,

HUGH BOYD (1765-95), of Ballycastle, County Antrim, MP for County Antrim, 1792, married twice, and by his second wife, Rosetta, and issue,

ALEXANDER;

Hugh;

Amy; Harriet, m, 1818, Sir John Boyd Bt; Anna Maria.

His second son,

ALEXANDER BOYD (1791-1868), Lord of the Manor of Ballycastle, was father of

HUGH BOYD, of Ballycastle (1826-91), who married Marianne, elder daughter of James McKinley, of Carneatly.

The eldest son,

ALEXANDER BOYD JP (1865-1952), of Ballycastle, married, in 1903, Letitia, fifth daughter of John Nicholl, of The Orchard, Ballycastle.

His eldest son,

HUGH ALEXANDER BOYD, of Islandview, Ballycastle, married and had issue, his eldest son,

ALEXANDER JOHN BOYD, born in 1940.

THE MANSION, Ballycastle, County Antrim, is a mid-18th century building.

The Manor House, Ballycastle (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

It had an archway above which was set a statue of an Indian river god, presumably supplied by Major-General Hugh Boyd, of the Bengal Army, at the time of the mutiny,

Boyd - Major-General Hugh - Bengal Army - died 24th December 1876. Ensign Hugh Boyd, 62nd Native Infantry) served at Bhurtpore 1826 (medal and bar).

Memorial at Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland - In memory of Major General Hugh Boyd. Who died 24th December 1876 aged 76 years. General Boyd (of the Late Bengal Army) served with his regiment and on the General Staff throughout India for a uninterrupted term of 32 years from January 1824, a period of India's history as eventful in military successes and glory as any preceding it, returning to India after a short furlough in 1856.

He closed his military career commanding a brigade throughout the memorable Sepoy Mutiny of 1857-58.

There is a stable block with cut-stone window surrounds.

The Manor House became a Barnardo boys' home.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

Little remains of the original house.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2021)

First published in April, 2013.

Chapel of Ease, Belfast

The Corporation Church, High Street, Belfast (sketch by Thomas Phillips, 1685)

There has been a place of worship on the site of the present St George's parish church, High Street, Belfast, since at least 1306, when a church was mentioned in the taxation roll of POPE NICHOLAS IV.

This Chapel of the Ford, as it was known, was a chapel of ease, one of six chapelries subordinate to the ancient mother church at Shankill outside the town.

Thomas Phillips's chart has a likeness of this church in 1685, adjacent to a ford which crossed the river Lagan, greatly extended with a lofty tower, chancel, and transepts.

Most of the buildings across the river Farset (marked Belfast River), to the north of the church (at the bottom of the image), were on the site of the present Merchant Hotel. 

Skipper Street at that time, incidentally, appeared to have a long row or terrace of single-storey dwellings along one side, and the other side (where the hotel’s main entrance now is) comprised two or three gardens.

The crossing at this ford in ancient times could be hazardous at high tides or in poor weather, and many travellers worshipped at the chapel of ease prior to that ordeal.

The dimensions of this church in the 18th century were approximately 160 feet in length and 100 feet in breadth at the central section of the transepts.

We can only imagine the height of the great tower, which must have dominated the skyline of the town in the late 17th and 18th centuries.

By comparison today, St Peter's Catholic cathedral in Belfast measures 180 feet in length and 70 feet in width.

The frontage of the church was 250 feet along High Street, and it was bounded by High Street, Church Lane, Ann Street, and the ground where Victoria Street now exists.

There were originally no buildings between the church and the river Lagan.

It didn't lie parallel to High Street, unlike the present St George's Church: the east end faced the river Lagan, and the west end overlooked Ann Street.

The entrance to the church was from Ann Street.

The smaller river Farset flowed along the present High Street, directly past the church (it is said that choir-boys used to fish from the front of the church).

The church or chapel was surrounded by an extensive graveyard, which extended back to Ann Street; so the buildings on the site today - for instance, the Bullitt Hotel - stand on what was once hallowed ground.

This old graveyard was an attraction for citizens in its time: many, if not most of Belfast's prominent merchants having been buried there.

I gather that prior to re-development the graves were removed to Clifton Street cemetery.

In 1613, by charter of JAMES I, the Belfast Corporation was established.

The chapel was subsequently used by the sovereign (or mayor) and burgesses for worship and ceremonial occasions.

As a consequence of this, the Chapel of the Ford came gradually to be known as the Corporation Church.

Twelve burgesses, wearing their official black robes, processed with the sovereign, distinguished from them by his red robe, to church.

Thomas Waring was sovereign in 1652, 1656, and 1664; George Macartney, 1662, 1667, 1672, and 1675. The sovereign in 1685 was Thomas Knox.

The Corporation Church was desecrated and utilized for military purposes between 1649 and 1656 by Cromwell's troops.

Due to the parlous state which Cromwell's soldiers had left the church in, it was either demolished or rebuilt in 1656-7, or restored to such an extent as to be, to all intents and purposes, a new building.

The old communion vessels were, however, transferred to the new St Anne's parish church in Donegall Street.

The years passed and, by 1771-2, the old Corporation Church had become unfit for purpose and dilapidated.

It was therefore decided that the church should be demolished and a new church erected at a site in Donegall Street instead.

An advertisement was displayed in the local press: The principal inhabitants of the town of Belfast who desire to offer their opinion relative to the situation of a new church in the town, are requested to meet the Rev William Bristow at the market-house on Saturday next...

The last services were held in the Corporation Church, High Street, Belfast, on Sunday, May 1st, 1774, with the Rev William Bristow, Vicar of Belfast, in the pulpit.

Within a week of the final sermon the old church was pulled down, and almost immediately after this the foundation stone of the new church, St Anne's, was laid in Donegall Street.

St George's Church, High Street, Belfast, ca 1900

The present St George's Church was built in 1816 on the site of the old Corporation Church in High Street.

The Old Church Yard in High Street

The old churchyard, High Street, Belfast, was bounded by the said street, Church Lane (or Schoolhouse Lane), Ann Street, and Forest Lane or Cow Lane (now Victoria Street).

It was used by prominent Belfast families for burials.

This graveyard was closed to burials, by an act of Parliament, on August 1, 1800.

Thirteen years later, in 1813, when the Rev Edward May was Vicar, an advertisement appeared: Old Churchyard to be sold by public auction on the Premises, at two o'clock in the afternoon, on Friday the 7th of May next, that piece of ground at the extremity of the church yard, in the rear of Ann Street ...

EARLY VICARS OF BELFAST

1. Robert Morley
2. Simon Chichester
3. Ludovicus Downes
4. Roger Jones
5. Claudius Gilbert
6. James Echlin
7. William Tisdall
8. Richard Stewart
9. James Saurin
10. William Bristow

First published in February, 2021.

Sir Charles Brett KBE (1928-2005)

I happened to be in town (viz. Belfast) several years ago and, cognisant of the sale at the Linen Hall library's charity bookshop, located in College Street at that time, I walked in for a browse.

Damian, as usual, was behind the counter, chatting to a colleague, so I bid them Good Morning and proceeded to browse.

While I was browsing I joined in their conversation now and again: about the imminent closure of their premises in College Street to another - as yet undisclosed - location in the city.

A book by the late Sir Charles Brett KBE caught my eye, an autobiography and also a chronicle of his family's adventures and fortunes over three centuries.

I perused the first page or two, and instinctively knew that I'd find it fascinating.

Sir Charles Brett KBE
(Image: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography)

Sir Charles was a solicitor, and had his office in the family's practice, L'Estrange & Brett, in a fine Georgian terrace of houses in Chichester Street.

I've written a bit about one of the houses.

Charlie Brett was quite a remarkable gentleman of many talents, including his passion for our built heritage (he was a founder member of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society), journalist, author, and solicitor.

In 1956, Lord Antrim invited him to join the Northern Ireland Committee of the National Trust. 

He was also chairman of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for five years.

(Timothy Ferres, 2023). Click to enlarge.

His Buildings of Belfast, 1700-1914, was published in 1967; followed by books about the buildings of County Antrim, County Armagh, and north County Down.

Sir Charles Brett's command of the pen and literary prowess were (to my mind) extraordinary.

Villa Tabaiba

I know the town of Corralejo fairly well. It’s one of the main tourist resorts on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

On the outskirts of Corralejo, at the beginning of the largest beach, there’s a pretty house where, beyond its whitewashed walls, exotic flora flourish; with surrealist sculptures created by the owner and his vivid imagination.

This is Villa Tabaiba, Avenida Corralejo Grandes Playas, 139.

The owner of this intriguing house, I have discovered, is Carlos Calderón Yruegas, an architect born in Seville. 

He also happens to be a painter, photographer, sculptor, and author.

Senõr Yruegas has lived in this house for more than thirty years.

His surrealistic art uses mannequins, which he paints with bikinis, faces; and even dolls.

It’s a joy to pass his home, pausing to admire his humorous works of art.

Slaghtfreedan Lodge

MRS LOUISA ELIZABETH DE BILLE (née DOMVILE) WAS A MAJOR LANDOWNER IN COUNTY TYRONE, WITH 12,680 ACRES

The pedigree of the family of DOMVILE was placed on record in Ulster King of Arms' office, during the reign of GEORGE III. There were two branches in Cheshire, the elder seated at Oxton from the period of the Conquest to its termination in females, who carried the estate through the families of Troutbeck and Hulse into that of the Earls of Shrewsbury.

The younger, of Lymm Hall, of which

GILBERT DOMVILE (1583-1637), second son of William Domvile, of Lymm Hall, who removed into Ireland in the beginning of the reign of JAMES I and was Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper there, and MP for County Kildare, 1613-15, having for his colleague the ancestor of the Wellesley family.

He was buried in the Choir of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.


Mr Domvile wedded Margaret, daughter of the Most Rev Thomas Jones, Lord Archbishop of Dublin, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, and was father of 

THE RT HON SIR WILLIAM DOMVILE (1609-89), Attorney-General for Ireland, 1660-86, MP for Dublin City, 1661, Privy Counsellor, Speaker of the General Convention of Ireland at the Restoration.

Sir William espoused Bridget, daughter of Sir Thomas Lake, of Cannons, Middlesex, secretary of state to JAMES I, and had issue, William (Sir), MP for Dublin; and

THOMAS DOMVILE (c1655-1721), of Templeogue, Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, MP for Mullingar, 1692-3, who was created a baronet in 1686, designated of Templeogue, County Dublin.

He married firstly, the daughter of his cousin, Sir Launcelot Lake, by whom he had a daughter, wedded to Barry, 3rd Lord Santry; and secondly, the Hon Miss Cole, daughter of Arthur, Lord Ranelagh, but had no issue.

Sir Thomas married thirdly, Anne, daughter of the Hon Sir Charles Compton, second son of Spencer, 2nd Earl of Northampton, and had issue,

COMPTON, his successor;
Elizabeth, mother of CHARLES POCKLINGTON.

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his son,

THE RT HON SIR COMPTON DOMVILE, 2nd Baronet (1696-1768), Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, Privy Counsellor, MP for County Dublin, 1727-68.

At the decease of this gentleman, the baronetcy expired, and his estates devolved upon his nephew,

CHARLES POCKLINGTON (1740-1810), MP for County Dublin, 1768, who assumed, pursuant to the will of his uncle, the surname and arms of DOMVILE only.

He wedded Margaret, daughter of ____ Sheppard, and had issue,

COMPTON, created a baronet;
Henry Barry, in holy orders;
William, in holy orders;
Christopher;
Elizabeth; Margaret; Anna Maria; Caroline; Louisa; Mary; Bridget.

The eldest son,

(SIR) COMPTON DOMVILE (c1775-1857), of Templeogue and Santry House, both in County Dublin, wedded firstly, in 1811, Elizabeth Frances, daughter of the Hon and Rt Rev Charles Lindsay, Lord Bishop of Kildare, and cousin of the Earl of Balcarres, and had issue,

COMPTON CHARLES, 1812-52.

Mr Domvile was created a baronet in 1815, designated of Templeogue and Santry House, County Dublin.

He married secondly, in 1815, Helena Sarah, daughter of Michael Frederick Trench, of Heywood, Queen's County, and had further issue,

Frederick Compton Henry, 1821-28;
CHARLES COMPTON WILLIAM, 2nd Baronet;
WILLIAM COMPTON, 3rd Baronet;
Anna Helena.  

Sir Compton's second son,

SIR CHARLES COMPTON WILLIAM DOMVILE, 2nd Baronet (1822-84), wedded, in 1861, the Lady Margaret Frances, daughter of Thomas, 3rd Earl of Howth.

He died without issue, when the baronetcy devolved upon his brother,

SIR WILLIAM COMPTON DOMVILE, 3rd Baronet (1825-84), JP DL, who espoused, in 1854, Caroline, daughter of General the Hon Robert Meade, and had issue,

COMPTON MEADE DOMVILE, his heir;
Mary Adelaide; Helena Maud; Evelyn Caroline.

Sir William's only son,

SIR COMPTON MEADE DOMVILE, 4th Baronet (1857-1935), died unmarried, when the baronetcy expired. 

His eldest sister,

MARY ADELAIDE POË (1855-1929), of Heywood, Queen's County, Slaghtfreedan, County Tyrone, and Ashburton House, Roehampton, married, in 1886, COLONEL WILLIAM HUTCHESON POË CB JP DL, Royal Marines, High Sheriff, 1891, third son of William Thomas Poë, of Curraghmore, County Tipperary, and had issue, HUGO COMPTON POE, born in 1889.

It is presumed that Slaghtfreedan Lodge was sold to the Sinton family thereafter.

Sir William Hutcheson Poë, 1st Baronet, of Heywood, Ballinakill, Queen's County, and Slaghtfreedan Lodge, County Tyrone, was the last Lord-Lieutenant of Queen's County (now Laois), from 1920 until 1922.

JOHN ALEXANDER SINTON VC OBE JP DL (see below) retired from military service in 1938 with the rank of brigadier and he settled in County Tyrone, where he occupied at various times the roles of Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant of the county, High Sheriff for Tyrone, Queen's University Pro-Chancellor and president of the Cookstown branch of the Royal British Legion.

Following his death in 1956, aged 72, Brigadier Sinton was buried with full military honours at Claggan Cemetery. 

The owner in 1872 was a Mrs Louisa Elizabeth de Bille (nee Domvile), widow of Torben de Bille, Danish Minister at the Court of St James.

Slaghtfreedan

Intriguingly, there is a plaque in All Saints Church, Ballinakill, County Laois, Ireland, which reads,

The origin and history of All Saints Church is spelt out in a plaque in the Church which reads; In affectionate remembrance of Louisa Elizabeth-de-Bille, daughter of Sir Compton Domville Bart, and widow of Torben de Bille, late Danish Minister at the Court of St. James, who died March 26, 1888 aged 91 years. Erected by her niece Mary Adelaide Poe. 

More recently, Brigadier John Alexander Sinton VC OBE JP DL, died at his home, Slaghtfreedan Lodge, in 1956.

Slaghtfreedan

The entry in the London Gazette reads as follows:

War Office, 21st June, 1916.

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officer and Man:-

Captain John Alexander Sinton MB, Indian Medical Service

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. Although shot through both arms and through the side, he refused to go to hospital, and remained as long as day-light lasted, attending to his duties under very heavy fire.

In three previous actions Captain Sinton displayed the utmost bravery.

(Image: © Army Medical Services Museum)

His Victoria Cross is located at the Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot, England. 

First published in December, 2009.

The Belmore Interview

THE 8TH AND PRESENT EARL OF BELMORE TALKED TO JENNY CATHCART IN 2011

LORD AND LADY BELMORE LIVE AT THE GARDEN HOUSE, CASTLE COOLE, COUNTY FERMANAGH

In May, 1949, Major Galbraith Lowry-Corry was serving with the Inniskilling Fusiliers in Malaya when his commanding officer handed him a telegram addressed ‘Lord Belmore.’

It signalled that he, a great-nephew of the 4th Earl, had become the 7th Earl of Belmore, for his bachelor cousin, Cecil Lowry-Corry, the 6th Earl, had just died.

He took emergency leave and returned home immediately.

When he and his family arrived home at Castle Coole, County Fermanagh, they had their photograph taken on the steps of the south-facing colonnade.

A tall man of aristocratic bearing, Lord Belmore stands protectively beside Lady Belmore and their daughters, Lady Anthea and Lady Wendy Lowry-Corry.

Their son and heir John [present 8th Earl] was born in 1951.

Because of death duties, sweeping changes were required to secure the future of Castle Coole.

The house and 70 acres of land were transferred to the National Trust and, by 1955, parts of the house were open to the public.

However, the family retained ownership of the contents and are able to use some of the private rooms in the castle.

In the same year, Lady Belmore commissioned Raymond Piper to make drawings of Castle Coole as a birthday present for her husband.

In 1960, Derek Hill was asked to paint the family in a conversation piece for which they sat in the saloon.

This painting was especially poignant, given that Lord Belmore died later in the year aged just 47.

John Corry became the 8th Earl of Belmore.

His earliest memories of Castle Coole are of the Christmas turkey belonging to the National Trust caretakers, Mr and Mrs Wright, which he freed from its pen in the basement.

This landed him in a lot of trouble with his parents.

He recalls an idyllic childhood with private lessons in the nursery in the east wing, fishing for pike and tours of the demesne with his father.

During the summer holidays he enjoyed the company of friends including Alan [the present Viscount Brookeborough] and Christopher Brooke from Colebrooke, and Gerald Grosvenor [6th Duke of Westminster] from Ely Lodge.

He attended the Portora preparatory school at Gloucester House, then continued his education as a boarder at Lancing College in Sussex, his father’s alma mater.

After two years at agricultural college he returned to Castle Coole in 1974.

These were grim times in Northern Ireland.

Lord Belmore made a key decision to renovate the gardener’s cottage in the walled garden where he and his family now live, although their eldest son [Viscount Corry] still uses the private rooms in Castle Coole.

Gradually and tastefully he refurbished and extended it in collaboration with architects Richard Pierce, John O’Connell and Mary Kerrigan, local builder, Terry McGovern and Robert Gormley of Precision Joinery.

Since there was not a single painting of Castle Coole in existence, he commissioned the Enniskillen-born artist, TP Flanagan, to produce a series of watercolours and oils.

Lord Belmore developed a good working relationship with the National Trust and over the last 25 years he has been adding to the family portraits and paintings with key pieces, which are in keeping with the style and period of the house.

He was pleased to take me [Jenny Cathcart] on a tour of the art works.

In the entrance hall, he drew my attention to the warmth of colour in the Cuban mahogany doors and the scagliola columns.

At this time of year, when the National Trust diligently puts the house to bed after the summer season, calico covers are draped on the furniture and lamps and chandeliers are muffled in muslin to preserve them from the dust.

We make our way to the breakfast-room to see Giovanni Battista Cipriani’s ‘Heavenly Twins’ Castor and Pollux, which Lord Belmore believes is now the best painting in the house.

Dated 1783, it was one of three paintings commissioned for Houghton Hall in Norfolk.

Lord Belmore purchased it in 1990 and it is so large that it had to be brought frameless through the breakfast room window.

He also bought ‘The Flight into Egypt’, by an unknown north Italian painter, which dates from the early 18th century.

It hangs harmoniously alongside Hugh Douglas Hamilton’s portrait of the adventurous, impetuous 2nd Earl who was Governor of Jamaica from 1828–32.

He took his family on a grand tour of the Mediterranean on the brig Osprey and then furnished Castle Coole in the regency style almost bankrupting the family in the process.

In the same room is ‘Miss Morgan’ by the Irish painter Garrett Morphey, which was singled out by the late Sir Oliver Millar, the Queen’s picture surveyor, as an excellent example of late 17th century Irish portraiture.

In the north-facing drawing-room hang original portraits of Armar Lowry-Corry, who built Castle Coole from 1788-95 and two of his three wives.

These are by the two most eminent Irish portrait painters of the day, Hugh Douglas-Hamilton and Robert Hunter.

The first wife, Lady Margaret Butler, was the eldest daughter of the Earl of Carrick.

The second, Lady Henrietta Hobart, daughter of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, chose Belmore, the name of the nearby mountain, when the peerage was offered to her husband.

The [1st] Earl’s third wife was Mary Anne Caldwell.

Near the main staircase is a charcoal drawing of doves by Mildred Ann Butler, a study for a watercolour.

Here too is a small oil painting by Hans Iten, a Swiss damask designer who lived in Belfast and a painting by Nathaniel Hone the Younger, a landscape at Cassis in the south of France.

We pause on the landing to look at Belfast-born Peter Turnerelli’s bust of the Duke of Wellington, champion of Home Rule for Ireland and friend of the 2nd Earl of Belmore.

In 1978, a gift to the National Trust from a private benefactor made it possible to refurbish the first floor Bow Room with a brand new set of chintz curtains and wallpaper copied from an original sample discovered behind a mirror.

In this room is another of Lord Belmore’s acquisitions, ‘Le Pont du Gard at Nimes,’ a painting of the Roman aqueduct by Nathaniel Hone the Younger.

When, in 1988, ‘The Leslie Conversation Piece,’ which had hung at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, came up for sale, Lord Belmore bought it from a picture dealer in London.

Painted in 1770, this work by Mortimer depicts some of the most colourful and prosperous landowners of the day.

Lord Mornington, who was ennobled by the king for his music making, entertains the company at the piano.

The painting now hangs in the state bedroom which was kitted out in regal red for a planned visit by King George IV, who never came but preferred to dally with his mistress at Slane Castle.

Lord Belmore has donated some paintings to the Castle Museum in Enniskillen of which he is a patron.

These include ‘Still Life with Garlic’, by William Scott, which he describes as 'one of the strongest and most important 20th century paintings in the North West of Ireland'.

‘Pears’ by Scott is also in the museum, as well as the above-mentioned ‘The Saloon at Castle Coole’ by TP Flanagan.

Published by the Ulster Historical Foundation in 2007, the fully illustrated book Belmore: The Lowry Corry’s of Castle Coole 1646 - 1913 has been one of Lord Belmore’s most important projects, for it traces the history of Castle Coole and the union of the Lowry-Corry families.

Peter Marson was commissioned to write it and it was 12 years in the making.

When Lord Belmore was introduced to Patrick Prendergast by the artist, Philip Flanagan, he invited him to photograph the forgotten spaces of the attic and the basement at Castle Coole where the last vestiges of his boyhood life in the 1950s still remained intact: the 7th Earl’s travel trunk; the schoolroom with bookshelves still lined with books.

The photographer continued on the same theme in other country houses throughout Ireland including Lisadell in County Sligo.

These photographs appear in Ancestral Interiors, published by the Irish Architectural Archive in 2010.

First published in April, 2011. The full interview can be read here.