Mote Park, Ballymurray, Co Roscommon
Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 211. “(Crofton, B/PB) A three storey house by Sir Richard Morrison incorporating an earlier C18 house. Nine bay entrance front… Sold by 5th Lord Crofton 1950s, demolished 1958.”
Listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland by The Knight of Glin, David J. Griffin and Nicholas K. Robinson, published by The Irish Architectural Archive and The Irish Georgian Society, 1988.
https://theirishaesthete.com/2018/12/12/the-lion-in-winter/
The Lion in Winter
The Lion Gate at Mote Park, County Roscommon. This was once one of the entrances to an estate owned by the Crofton family who settled here in the second half of the 16th century; in 1798 they became Barons Crofton of Mot . In the 1620s their forebear George Crofton built Mote Castle, but it was replaced by a new house at some date between 1777-87. This property was in turn rebuilt after being gutted by fire in 1865 but only survived another century: the last of the Croftons left Mote in the 1940s after which the contents were auctioned: the house itself was demolished in the 1960s. In February 2015 its former portico, rescued at the time of the demolition, was sold at auction for €12,000.
According to a history of Mote Park compiled in 1897 by Captain the Hon Francis Crofton, the Lion Gate was erected in 1787 and its design has sometimes been attributed to James Gandon, although this is disputed. Whatever the case, it takes the form of a Doric triumphal arch with screen walls linking it to what were once a pair of identical lodges (but are now used for housing livestock). A plinth on top of the arch features a Coade Stone lion, one foot resting on a ball. Over time this had become much weathered (not helped by bees nesting inside the animal) and when taken down a few years ago three of its feet fell off. Following restoration work at the Coade workshop in Wiltshire, the lion was reinstated in September 2016 and now once more surveys what is left of the Mote parkland: this restoration was funded by a number of sources, predominantly American supporters of the Irish Georgian Society.
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/07/mote-park.html
THE BARONS CROFTON WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ROSCOMMON, WITH 11,053 ACRES
The family of CROFTON is descended maternally from the Croftons of Crofton Hall, Cumberland, but paternally descend from a common ancestor of the Lowthers, Earls of Lonsdale.
The founder of the family in Ireland was
JOHN CROFTON (1540-1610), of Mote, County Roscommon, Auditor-General in the reign of ELIZABETH I, who accompanied the Earl of Essex into Ireland and obtained large grants of land in the counties of Roscommon and Leitrim.
Mr Crofton wedded Jane, sister of Sir Henry Duke, of Castle Jordan, County Meath, and had issue,
EDWARD, his heir;
John;
William;
HENRY, ancestor of Sir M G Crofton Bt, of Mohill House;
Sarah; Joan; Anne.
The eldest son,
EDWARD CROFTON, of Mote, County Roscommon, wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Robert Mostyn, and had issue,
GEORGE, his heir;
Thomas, ancestor of Crofton of Longford House, County Sligo;
John;
William.
The eldest son,
GEORGE CROFTON, MP for Askeaton, 1639, married Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir Francis Berkeley, MP for County Limerick, and had issue,
John;
Thomas;
EDWARD, of whom we treat;
Mary; Sarah.
Mr Crofton, who erected the castle of Mote, 1639, was succeeded by his youngest son,
EDWARD CROFTON (1624-75), of Mote, who espoused firstly, in 1647, Mary, daughter of Sir James Ware; and secondly, Susanna Clifford, by whom he had issue, an only child, EDWARD.
Mr Crofton was created a baronet in 1661, denominated of The Mote, County Roscommon.
He was succeeded by his only son and heir,
THE RT HON SIR EDWARD CROFTON, 2nd Baronet (c1662-1729), MP for Boyle, 1695-9, County Roscommon, 1703-27, who married, in 1684, Katherine, daughter of Sir Oliver St George Bt, and had issue,
Oliver, father of the 5th Baronet;
EDWARD, of whom hereafter
Sir Edward’s younger son,
SIR EDWARD CROFTON, 3rd Baronet (1687-1739), MP for Roscommon Borough, 1713-39, wedded, in 1711, Mary, daughter of Anthony Nixon, and had issue,
EDWARD, his successor;
CATHERINE, m Marcus Lowther.
Sir Edward was succeeded by his son and successor,
SIR EDWARD CROFTON, 4th Baronet (1713-45), MP for County Roscommon, 1713-45, who espoused, in 1741, Martha, daughter of Joseph Damer; he was, however, killed in actionat Tournai, France, when the title reverted to his cousin,
SIR OLIVER CROFTON, 5th Baronet (1710-80), who married, in 1737, Abigail Jackson Buckley, though the marriage was without issue.
The baronetcy therefore expired, when his sister and heiress,
CATHERINE CROFTON, became representative of the family.
Miss Crofton married, in 1743, Marcus Lowther (second son of George Lowther MP, descended from a common ancestor with the Earls of Lonsdale), who assumed the name of CROFTON, and being created a baronet in 1758, denominated of The Mote, County Roscommon, became
SIR MARCUS LOWTHER-CROFTON, 1st Baronet, MP for Roscommon Borough, 1761-8, Ratoath, 1769-76, who had issue,
EDWARD, his successor;
John Frederick Lowther;
William Henry;
Catherine; Sophia Jane.
Sir Marcus died in 1784, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR EDWARD CROFTON, 2nd Baronet (1748-97), MP for Roscommon, 1775-97, Colonel, Roscommon Militia, who married, in 1767, Anne, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Croker, and had issue,
EDWARD, his successor;
Henry Thomas Marcus (Rev);
George Alfred, Captain RN;
William Gorges, Captain, Coldstream Guards; k/a 1814;
Caroline; Louisa; Frances; Harriet; Augusta.
Sir Edward died in 1797 and his widow,
ANNE, LADY CROFTON (1751-1817), was elevated to the peerage (an honour for Sir Edward, had he lived), in 1797, in the dignity of BARONESS CROFTON, of Mote, County Roscommon.
Her ladyship was succeeded by her grandson,
EDWARD, 2nd Baron (1806-69), who espoused, in 1833, the Lady Georgina Paget, daughter of Henry, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, and had issue,
EDWARD HENRY CHURCHILL, his successor;
Charles St George, father of 4th Baron;
Alfred Henry;
Francis George;
Augusta Caroline.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
EDWARD HENRY CHURCHILL, 3rd Baron (1834-1912), Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1867-68, State Steward to the Lord Lieutenant, 1880; Gentleman in Waiting to the Lord Lieutenant, 1886-92, who died unmarried, when the honours reverted to his nephew,
ARTHUR EDWARD LOWTHER, 4th Baron (1866-1942), who married, in 1893, Jessie Castle, daughter of James Hewitson, and had issue,
Edward Charles (1896-1936), father of 5th Baron;
Marcus Lowther;
Eileen Mabel Lowther.
His lordship was succeeded by his grandson,
EDWARD BLAISE, 5th Baron (1926-74).
GUY PATRICK GILBERT, 7th Baron (1951-2007), Lieutenant-Colonel, was Defence Attaché to the British Embassy in Angola.
MOTE PARK HOUSE, Ballymurray, County Roscommon, was built by the Crofton family in the later half of the 18th century, preceding the Castle of Mote erected by the family in 1620.
It was clearly an imposing house and reflected the influence of neo-classicism prevalent at the time.
This style emphasized for the first time a sense of permanence and security among the gentry and nobility in Ireland.
The house was the most impressive of its type built in County Roscommon, the others of this period being located at Runnamoat near Ballymoe, and Sandford House in Castlerea.
The house was originally an irregular two-storey-over-basement house, which the architect Richard Morrison more than doubled in size by adding six bays and an extra storey.
It had a deep hall with a screen of columns, beyond which a door flanked by niches led into an oval library in the bow on the garden front. These gardens contained many fine architectural features, some of which are still intact.
Perhaps the most splendid surviving feature is the original entrance gate consisting of a Doric triumphal arch surmounted by a lion with screen walls linking it to a pair of identical lodges. It has been suggested that this was designed by James Gandon, although others have pointed out that while this certainly is feasible, certain elements, most notably the head and keystone of the arch, appear to be of a later date and have a provincial character.
It is worth mentioning at this stage the work of Augusta Crofton: She was a renowned amateur photographer and appointed OBE in 1920.
From the mid-19th century, as with so many other estates, things started to go downhill for the fortunes of the Croftons and their home.
It should be noted at the outset that the Croftons, while not among the best examples of improving landlords, did keep their rents low and endeavoured to help their tenants as much as possible.
The fact that the estate was well managed is evident from many volumes of rentals of the estate dating from 1834-1893, along with family records held at Roscommon Library.
Rents received, expenditure on wages, bills, details of land improvements and summaries of yearly rental statistics for each denomination are clearly recorded.
The problem of absenteeism was largely irrelevant to the Crofton estate during this period as it was administered by competent land agents.
Despite the Land Acts, tenants made no effort to purchase their land.
Arrears of rent increased with arrears accounting for over 30% of total rent received by the 1890s.
Clearly the house itself was also falling into disrepair.
The 3rd Baron died in 1912 and was interred in the family vault at Killmaine.
In many respects he had become disillusioned with life on the estate long before his death, showing little interest in his Irish properties.
Instead he preferred, among other roles, that of representative peer at Westminister.
As he was a bachelor, his titles passed to his nephew Arthur Edward, 4th Baron.
Although the 4th Baron took a practical interest in his inheritance, the last of the Land Acts meant most of the estate was sold piecemeal in the early 20th century.
Ownership of what was left passed to his children and then to his grandson Edward Blaise, 5th Baron, to whom the title eventually passed.
The 5th Baron was the last of the Croftons to reside at Mote, but moved to England in the 1940s.
A sign that the final demise of the big house was forthcoming is evidenced by the public auction of October, 1947.
It occasioned quite a large public interest as evidenced by a photograph taken of the house on the morning of the auction.
The 1950s and early 1960s saw the final nail driven in the big house’s coffin with the Irish Land Commission demolishing the house completely.
Much of the beautiful woods surrounding the house were also felled, and replaced with newer mixed conifer species.
The remaining land was divided into several properties for families transferred from the nearby congested districts.
Now, instead of the big house, many smaller farm houses lay scattered over what was once the Crofton estate.
Mote Park still attracts many visitors however, marketed now as a heritage walkway, almost ten miles in length and taking in whatever original features still remaining intact.
The house was demolished in the 1960s.
Roscommon Golf Club occupies part of the original Mote Park demesne.
First published in July, 2012. Crofton arms courtesy of European Heraldry.
The Irish state and the Big House in independent Ireland, 1922–73
Emer Crooke, B.A., M.A.
Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D Jan 2014, Maynooth.
p. 116- 119. In another case, on 16 March 1954 the Land Commission wrote to the O.P.W. to say that they had for sale, on a Land Commission owned estate in Roscommon, Mote Park House with ‘a suitable area of accommodation land if required’.31 They described the mansion as ‘an imposing structure, in an excellent state of repair and would appear to be suitable for use as a hospital, sanatorium, school, etc.’32 The commission enquired if the O.P.W. would be interested in the purchase of the property and declared that if they did not receive a reply in twenty-one days they would assume they did not require the property and ‘other arrangements for its disposal will be made’.33 Ten days later the O.P.W. replied briefly to say that the premises were not required by them, suggesting both in the actual reply and its brevity that no interest was shown by the O.P.W. in the property, despite the willingness of the Land Commission to let them know of it for their further information and the commission’s positive comments about its repair and possible use.34 Three years later the Land Commission contacted the O.P.W. again to inform them that efforts which had been made by the commission ‘to sell the building with certain accommodation lands as a residential holding’, their first preference, had failed and they then proposed to sell the building for demolition. This was only considered when they could not sell the house as a residence and the O.P.W. was not interested in maintaining it. Furthermore, it was not in the Land Commission’s remit or budget to have been able to decide to keep and preserve this house; the O.P.W. was the only department which could do so and, if it refused, the commission was in no position but to sell or, if that proved impossible, demolish. However, even after the O.P.W’.s previous brief response the Land Commission did not demolish without thought and its officer wrote again to the O.P.W. stating:
before any decision is taken in the matter the Land Commission will be glad to know whether the building is of any historical or architectural importance and if so whether you are interested in preserving the building, either as a complete structure or as a roofless shell and whether you would be prepared to take over the building and its site at a nominal sum.35
On 5 November a member of the O.P.W. requested a report from the Inspector of National Monuments on the matter.36 Having received no reply at all from a seemingly unconcerned O.P.W., on 30 November the Land Commission wrote again to them requesting an early reply and reminding them of their previous letters; they did so again in December.37 As a result the O.P.W. sent a reminder to the inspector on 5 December, 2 January and 28 January 1958 asking for his report.38 Nonetheless, the Land Commission was obliged to send a further letter to the O.P.W. on 27 January asking that they deal with the matter urgently.39 The O.P.W. finally replied on 10 February that their Inspector of National Monuments had not yet found it possible to inspect the property to assess if it would be eligible for preservation as a national monument under the 1930 act, but they hoped this would be arranged shortly and would write when it had been.40 Their inspector, Leask, was again behind the refusal to recognise Mote Park House as a national monument as when he finally carried out his report he described the house as a ‘large, but not very attractive stone mansion of mid nineteenth-century appearance’.41 It did not merit the effort of an interior inspection for him and he concluded: ‘there does not appear to be anything worthy of consideration for state care’.42 Subsequently the O.P.W. informed the Land Commission: ‘we do not consider that the house … is of sufficient interest to merit preservation by the state as a national monument’.43 Following this the Land Commission went ahead with arranging for the disposal of the property and on 6 September 1958 the Irish Independent ran an advertisement by the Land Commission announcing the sale by tender of Mote Park.44 Two options were listed: the first was ‘Mote Park house, steward’s house, out-offices and 112 acres of accommodation lands; the second was ‘alternatively, Mote Park House and some of the buildings for demolition (in lots)’.45 Mote Park House was sold under this second option and demolished in 1958, although it is clear from the evidence here that this was not the preference of the Land Commission who first enquired if the house could be saved.
27 H. G. L. and J. R. joint honorary secretaries of the N.M.A.C. to the secretary of the Department of Lands (forestry division), 15 June 1945 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/574/1).
28 J. Darby, Department of Lands, to the secretary of the N.M.A.C., 10 May 1945 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/574/1).
29 H. G. Leask handwritten note to division C, O.P.W., 17 May 1945 on letter from J. Darby, Department of Lands to the N.M.A.C., 10 May 1945 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/574/1).
30 Ibid.
31 The Land Commission to the O.P.W., 16 Mar. 1954 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
34 O.P.W. to the Land Commission, 26 Mar. 1954 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
35 The Land Commission to the O.P.W., 26 Oct. 1957 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
36 Handwritten note addressed to the Inspector of National Monuments, 5 Nov. 1957 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
37 The Land Commission to the O.P.W., 30 Nov. 1957; 31 Dec. 1957 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
38 Handwritten note addressed to the Inspector of National Monuments, 5 Dec. 1957; 2 Jan. 1958; 28 Jan. 1958 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
39 The Land Commission to the O.P.W., 27 Jan. 1958 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
40 O.P.W. to the Land Commission, 10 Feb. 1958 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
41 Handwritten note in O.P.W. files signed H. G., entitled: ‘Mote Park, county Roscommon’, 27 Feb. 1958 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
42 Ibid.
43 O.P.W. to the Land Commission, 8 Mar. 1958 (N.A.I., O.P.W. files, F94/1084/1/57).
44 Irish Independent, 6 Sept. 1958.
45 Ibid.
Irish Historic Houses 