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. “(Moore, Bt, of Moore Lodge/PB) A two storey house probably built 1759 by Samson Moore. Three bay, shallow bows with tripartite windows; gables wing at side.”
MOORE LODGE, County Antrim (AP CAUSEWAY COAST AND GLENS 05) An-055 REGISTERED GRADE B This small 18th century demesne (70 acres/27.9ha) encloses a beautifully positioned house, set high above the River Bann, lying 2m (3.2km) north-east-north of Kilrea in the townlands of Moore Lodge and Carney Hill; a narrow 10 acre (4ha) strip on the opposite west bank of the Bann also forms part of the designed landscape of this property. This well preserved good quality parkland, surrounded by mature, mostly deciduous trees, has long been admired; it was described in 1814 as ‘certainly one of the prettiest and most retired spots in this county’. The original 17th century house (the ‘Vow’), sold to by the Galland family to William Moore in 1717 for £500, was burnt in 1729 and replaced post 1759 by the present east-facing two-storey Georgian building, which was improved in the 1840s and had an extension added in 1901 (Listed HB 04/11/003a); it is noted for its frontage dominated by a large symmetrical pair of full-height bowed bays. There was a notable garden here in the early part of the 20th century, which is now only remembered by an unpublished account written in 1951, The Gardens of Moore Lodge 1902-1939. South-east of the house in the wooded bank of the river lies an octagonal pigeon house or dovecote with pyramidal slated roof (Listed HB 04/11/004) dating sometime pre-1832, probably c.1800, while north of the house lie substantial ranges of outbuildings (Listed HB 04/11/003b). Behind the yards and lying north-west of the house lay the productive, partly walled, garden; formerly 1.6 acres (0.65), this was slightly altered in size in the early 20th century to its present rectangular form (1.4 acres/0.55ha); it contained a large glass-house when described in the 1951 account of the gardens. The designed landscapes survives intact, save only for a modern house and outbuilding that has been built at the extreme south end of the park. The property, which remained almost continuously in the hands of the Moore family since the early 18th century, was sold in 1982 but then bought back by another member of the family four years later. SMR: ANT 22:29 souterrain. Private. Site upgraded to the Register on March 14th 2005.
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. (Moore/LGI1912) A gable-ended house of two storeys with an attic lit by windows in the gable ends, and with a five bay front; built 1833, but from its appearance could be C18. Porch in the form of a pilastered single-storey three sided bow, with fanlighted doorway in the angle wall. Inner door with Gothic astragals.”
MOORE FORT, County Antrim (AP CAUSEWAY COAST AND GLENS 05AP) An-054 REGISTERED GRADE B Early Victorian parkland (65 acres/26.6ha) located on an elevated site over the River Bann, 2.5 miles (4.1km) west of Ballymoney in the townland of Drumaheglis. The focal point is a typical late Georgian gable-ended two-storey five–bay stuccoed house (Listed HB 04/01/009), built in 1833, together with associated yards for James Moore, a distiller with premises on the north-west of the demesne. It replaced an earlier residence of the Moore family who were first recorded living here in 1729. However, the present landscape dates to the 1830s and its mature trees still frame fine parkland views across lawns, notably to the south. There are two flower gardens to the west of the house, one of which is centred on an ice house; to the north are two ranges of early Victorian outbuildings either side of the large rectangular yard with an early 20th century barn on the south-west. The productive garden, partly walled, lies to the east of the house and is mentioned in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1837; this was originally of long rectangular form (1.03 acres/0.4ha), later it was subdivided with the walled inner section (0.4 acres/0.16ha) being used as a garden; a slip garden on one side contained the glasshouse. The avenue is planted up as
Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest (NI) – November 2020 mixed woodlands, some of which are contemporary with the house. An inner shelter belt to the south west of the house was replanted in the early 1950s, largely with larch and firs. The property formerly had two gate lodges of c.1850; one stood on the opposite side of the road from the front drive and the other at the head of the back entrance. After the death of William Moore c.1895 the house remained largely unoccupied for three decades until it was sold c.1927 to Thomas Henry, whose family remained here until 1995. The house has been subsequently renovated and extended. SMR: ANT 16:4 rath, in a wooded area near the house. Private.
Magheramorne, County Antrim, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
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. 198. (Hogg, Bt/PB; McGarel-Groves, sub Groves/G1969) A gabled Victorian house with a pillared porch.”
Magheramorne, County Antrim, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
MAGHERAMORNE (BALLYLIG), Co. Antrim (AP MID AND EAST ANTRIM 09) AN/109 REGISTERED GRADE A Small Victorian demesne parkland (81.3 acres/32.9ha), partly walled, with house of 1881 (Listed HB 06/05/017) on a coastal site, 3 miles (4.9km) south-east of Larne and 5 miles (8km) north-west of Whitehead. The present house was preceded by an earlier house of 1817 located on the east side of the demesne, just west of the 1881 stable block (Listed HB 06/05/023). It was called Ballylig House, after the townland, and was built by Agnew Farrell, who leased the land from Arthur Hill-Trevor, second Viscount Dungannnon (1763-1837). There was some planting associated with this house, mainly along the stream in a very attractive deep, narrow glen that bisects the demesne from south-west to north-east. The OS Memoirs of 1835 mentioned that the demesne then contained 55 acres under ‘planting or shrubberies and ornamental grounds’ with ‘every variety of forest tree, but chiefly fir, larch and beech’, which were ‘tastefully laid out and in its diversity and disposition constitutes the greatest ornament of Larne Lough…There are numerous well contrived and pretty walks throughout the grounds, the extreme diversity in the formation of which admit of much variety’. Also associated with this period was the building of an ice house into the side of a hill close to the shore on the north-east (Listed HB 06/05/033). This is of rectangular and circular form, constructed mainly of brick, and consists of a vaulted passage (facing west) leading to a domical end chamber. In 1824 these lands were sold to John Irving ‘of London,’ proprietor of the adjacent limestone quarries, whose agent occupied the house. It was during this time that the present shore road was built, considerably improving the Larne- Carrickfergus road. In 1842 property was acquired by Charles McGarel (d.1876) of Belgrave Square, London, who remodelled and considerably enlarged Ballylig, renaming it ‘Magheramorne House’ and built a wall along the coast road. The planting was extended with new wood blocks on the south-west side of the demesne, on the west side of the Ballylig-road with parkland to the north and north-west of the house. After the death of Charles McGarel in 1876 the demesne passed to his brother-in-law James MacNaghten Hogg (1823-90) on condition that he assumed the additional name of McGarel. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet Hogg in 1876 and for many years had been chairperson of the London Metropolitan Board of Works for which he received a KCB. In 1878 he was created 1st Baron Magheramorne of Magheramorne, and in the same year commissioned architect Samuel P. Close of Belfast to build the present Maghermorne House in the ‘Elizabethan Style’ on a de novo site 180m north-west of the old house on the opposite side of the glen and on much lower ground. Built in 1878-80 with James Henry as the contractor, this is a large two and a half-storey rectangular Tudor-style mansion with squared rubble walls, red sandstone quoins and dressings, a steeply-pitched roof with multiple gables and dormers. Samuel Close also built an attractive stable yard (listed HB06.05.023) beside the old house, which remained standing and served for years as a Masonic hall (now demolished). The grounds were substantially refashioned around the new building, forming the basis of much of the landscaping we see today. On the rere or seaward side of the new mansion a series of three large terraces were constructed. A central path, at right angles to the façade of the house, bisects the top two. The upper terrace, which is rectangular, is paved and has seats with steps down to a lower one which is rectangular with a semicircular extension. This is grassed with symmetrically- placed urns, clipped shrubs, and parterres with colourful flowering plants. The focus of this area is a stone fountain in a circular pool. These terraced are enclosed by high clipped yew hedging which follows the line of the semi-circle. Leading down from this terrace is another flight of steps, broken halfway, down to a lower rectilinear area with a central classical-style figure sculpture. The high steep slope between the two terraces appears to have been a rockery. On the lowest level are palms and, an enclosing belt of rhododendron and other shrubs. Beyond this mature exotics, including evergreens provide a backdrop on all three sides, with a view of the sea between the trees from north round to north-east. South-west of the dwelling house are views to grass with woodland rising above. The kitchen garden that serviced these gardens and the produced household fruit and vegetables reeds was located 350m east of the house close to the Shore Road, where it had its own road entrance. It was a small rectangular walled area (0.8 acres/0.33ha), on the north side of the existing brick walled kitchen garden (1.2 acres/0.52ha), which contained a glasshouse and potting sheds; both were abandoned in the 1960s and what survives is now covered with woodland. The extensive tree planting that accompanied the 1880s house saw the putting down good shelterbelts along the road and around the property, extending the woodlands to the north-west and enhancing the plantations along the glen, which today is densely wooded with mixed trees, mainly beech. South of the dwelling house there is bamboo, escallonia, holly, rhododendron and other shrubs. Paths through the woodland lead off the original main carriage drive to north-east and south-west. The woodland paths are well-kept and the woods are full of wild flowers. The more westerly glen is particularly picturesque today with the north-easterly path running adjacent to the stream for some length. The main area of parkland meadow, north of the dwelling house and east of the main avenue has mature specimen trees including a weeping ash and conifers. Elsewhere in the demesne are more mature specimen trees including two champions—a Summit Cedar (Athrotaxis laxifolia) which, at 20.5m, is the Irish Height Champion of its kind, and a Grand Fir (Abies grandis). The old demesne entrance off the ‘high’ or Ballylig Road was superseded in the 1880s by two off the Shore Road. The main entrance, to the north-west, has a carriage drive that curves from north-west to south-east and today is a lime avenue with bulbs around the base of each tree. This drive is on a scarp with parkland falling to the north-east and a wooded slope to the south-west. The second new carriage drive, east of the original was also constructed and ran down over the stream and curved westwards to join the main drive just north-west of the dwelling house. There were gate lodges associated with both 1880s entrances, that on the north-west (Listed HB 06/05/016) is by S.P. Close and is an attractive one and half-storey dwelling which like the house has steeply pitched gables, basalt walls with sandstone quoins and dressings. In 1890 Magheramorne passed to James’s son, James Douglas McGarel Hogg (1861-1903) 2nd Baron Magheramorne, after whose death it was sold to Colonel James Martin McCalmont (1847-1913), MP for East Antrim (1885-1913). For some years after Col. McCalmont’s death it appears to have lain vacant and left in the hands of a caretaker. In 1932 it was purchased by Major Harold Robinson, who is said introduced new planting and generally improved the demesne. At some point in the 1950s a plot at the northern edge of the demesne (facing the roadside and immediately north of the house) was given up for a small housing development (‘New Park’), and before 1965 the Magheramorne House itself had become an old peoples home. It was later converted to a hotel and the grounds adapted to a low maintenance regime whilst retaining the bare bones of a late Victorian layout. In the 1990s the hotel made a new wider entrance off the shore road, a short distance down from the old main entrance. The hotel closed in the later 1990s and in 2000 the property was sold to Mr. Rex Maughan and became the headquarters of Forever Living Products Ireland Ltd. Mound SMR: ANT 41:41. Private.
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. 185. “(Allen/IFR) A house built probably in 2nd half of C18, on the site of a C17 house. Originally two storey and four bay, with a single storey three bay wing prolonging its front, which was given an upper storey to make the front symmetrical 1886; so that it now has a two storey front of seven bays. The work of 1886 was so well done that the house appears to have been built all of a piece in C18. A single storey porch, again very much in keeping, was added ca 1900, above it is a central Venetian window. Georgian doorcases in hall; well-detailed coved ceiling in upper hall.”
Lisconnan, County Antrim, courtesy Mark Bence-Jones.
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. 25. “Moore, Bt, of Moore Lodge/PB) An earlier house of two storeys and five bays, remodelled in Victorian Italianate style 1861 to the design of Fitzgibbon Louch; faced in red brick with sandstone dressings. Segmental pediments on console brackets over ground floor windows; single-storey Ionic portico, the windows over it being set in a recess; eaved roof on bracket cornice. Hall with Tower of the Winds columns; double staircase with iron balusters; richly moulded circles of acanthus on ceilings of two principal reception rooms, with cornices to match.”
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. 208. “(Hamilton-Jones/LGI1912) A handsome mid-C19 Italianate house of two storeys over a basement. Very much in the manner of Sir Charles Lanyon, and with a particular resemblance to Lanyon’s rebuilding of Stradbally Hall, Co Leix, even to having round-headed windows on either side of the entrance porch in the recessed centre of the front, and rectangular or camber-headed windows elsewhere in the façade. The centre of the front is of five bays, with two bays projecting boldly on either side. Porch in the form of a three arched Italianate loggia, with Tuscan columns; surmounted by latticed balustrading, again very characteristic of Lanyon, and a heraldic achievement. Rock faced rustication on the end piers of the porch, around the windows on either side of it and elsewhere. Roof parapet on bracket cornice; surprisingly, for a house of this style, the roof was low-pitched, and almost concealed. Now demolished, except for the porch.”
THE HAMILTON-JONESES OWNED 3,690 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM
The family of JONES, of Moneyglass, County Antrim, claim descent from the ancient Welsh family of JONES, of Ystrad, Carmarthenshire, of the line of the ancient princes of the Cambrai.
WILLIAM MORRES JONES (grandson of Morres Jones, of Ystrad, in the reign of CHARLES II), married Anne, daughter of Captain William Dobbin, of Duneane House, Toome, by Sarah his wife, sister of John O’Neill (French John), of Shane’s Castle, and first cousin of Jane, wife of Arthur Dawson, of Castledawson, to whom Mr O’Neill granted, as a portion with his niece, a lease in perpetuity of the lands of Moneyglass.
Mr Jones died in 1735, leaving issue (with two daughters, Mary and Anne), an only son,
THOMAS MORRES JONES (“Bumper Squire Jones” of Carolan’s Muse), who wedded, in 1740, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Cope MP, of Loughgall, County Armagh.
Mr Jones died in 1769, and was succeeded by his elder son,
ROBERT MORRES JONES, who died unmarried in 1775, and was succeeded by his brother,
THOMAS MORRES JONES (1746-1818), of Ivybrook, who wedded, in 1770, Letitia Hamilton, of Glerawly, County Fermanagh, and had issue,
William Morres, dsp; Thomas Morres Hamilton, dsp; KENDRICK MORRES, his heir; Robert Morres; Elizabeth; Mary; Ann; Britannia; Emma; Letitia; Harriet; Helen.
Mr Jones was succeeded by his third son,
KENDRICK MORRES JONES (1785-1830), who assumed his maternal name of HAMILTON, and espoused, in 1818, Mabella, daughter of Major Charles Hill, of Bellaghy Castle, County Londonderry, by whom he had issue,
THOMAS MORRES, his heir; John Charles Hill; Mabella.
Mr Hamilton-Jones was succeeded by his eldest son,
THOMAS MORRES HAMILTON-JONES JP DL (1821-81), of Moneyglass House, County Antrim, and Jonesborough, County Armagh, and The Cottage, Belcoo, County Fermanagh, High Sheriff of County Armagh, 1845, Antrim, 1846, Down, 1847, and Fermanagh, 1850.
Mr Hamilton-Jones married, in 1859, Sara Ellen, only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Day, East India Company, and had issue,
KENDRICK JOHN CHARLES, his heir; ARTHUR HENRY MORRES, of Belcoo; Major, Reserve of Officers. Mary Lizzie Mabella; Emmeline Hawtry Sara; Adeline Ida Sara (twin).
He was succeeded by his eldest son,
KENDRICK JOHN CHARLES HAMILTON-JONES JP (1860-87), of Moneyglass House, Jonesborough House, Flurrybridge, and The Cottage, Belcoo, County Fermanagh, Captain, 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, who married, in 1882, Hannah, daughter of P McErlain, of Toome, and had issue, two daughters,
MARY SARA LOUISA (1883-99); EMMELINE ANNIE MABELLA.
Mr Hamilton-Jones was succeeded by his younger daughter,
EMMELINE ANNIE MABELLA, MRS TOBIAS (1885-), of Moneyglass House, County Antrim, Jonesborough House, Flurrybridge, County Armagh, and 91, Via Vinti Settembre, Rome, who wedded, in 1910, Dr Arturo Tobias, Captain, 13th Regiment of Artillery, and Cavalieri of the Crown of Italy, third son of Diament Tobias, of Pinnico, Italy.
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. 228. “(O’Hara/LGI1912; Cramsie/IFR) A two storey four bay mid C18 block, possibly built as a coaching inn, with two storey four bay wings added later, set a little back. Continuous parapet with ball finials running along roofline of both centre block and wings. Drawing room ceiling with unusual ovolo mouldings, clearly part of the original decoration.”
THE CRAMSIES OWNED 4,036 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM
ROGER CRAMSIE settled at Ballymoney, County Antrim, about 1709.
He left two sons,
John; PATRICK, of whom presently.
The younger son,
PATRICK CRAMSIE, of Ballymoney, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1833, married a daughter of John Moore, and had issue,
JAMES, his heir; William; John, went to Jamaica; Rose.
The eldest son,
JAMES CRAMSIE (1752-1808), of Ballymoney, espoused the daughter of ______ Todd, and had issue,
John, of Cross; JAMES, of whom presently; William.
The second son,
JAMES CRAMSIE (1786-1855), of Ballymoney, married, in 1814, Jane, daughter of Adam Thomson, and had issue,
Adam, died in India, 1843; JAMES, of whom presently; John; William.
The second son,
JAMES CRAMSIE (1817-73), of Ballymoney, Solicitor, wedded, in 1847, Eliza, daughter of Lieutenant Alexander Murray RN, of Drumadoon, Cloughmills, County Antrim, and had issue,
Alexander Murray (1850-81); Robert; Richard Lyle; JAMES SINCLAIR, of whom hereafter; Jane Thomson.
The youngest son,
JAMES SINCLAIR CRAMSIE JP (1858-1903), of O’Harabrook, County Antrim, Captain, Northumberland Fusiliers, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1889, wedded, in 1882, Laura Mary, daughter of Captain Antoine Sloet Butler CB, 7th Dragoon Guards, granddaughter of Sir Thomas Butler Bt, and had issue,
James Antoine (1884-91); ROBERT ALEXANDER, of whom hereafter; James Randal Beresford; Arthur Butler; Charles Murray; John Moore; Netta Elizabeth Laura.
The eldest surviving son,
CAPTAIN ROBERT ALEXANDER CRAMSIE JP (1888-), of O’Harabrook, married, in 1910, Florence Eugenia, youngest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Jackson Hezlet, Royal Artillery, of Bovagh House, Aghadowey, County Londonderry, and had issue,
ALEXANDER JAMES HENRY, his heir; Richard Desmond; Arthur Vacquerie.
The eldest son,
ALEXANDER JAMES HENRY CRAMSIE OBE JP DL (1911-87), of O’Harabrook, Lieutenant-Colonel, North Irish Horse, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1950, married, in 1939, Gabrielle Patricia, daughter of Major Charles Beck Hornby, and had issue,
ALEXANDER JAMES, his heir; Virginia Gay, b 1944; Lavinia Dorothy, b 1944; Florence Rose, b 1954.
The only son,
ALEXANDER JAMES (Sandy) CRAMSIE (1941-2008), Lieutenant-Colonel, QRI Hussars, wedded, in 1965, Bridget, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Derek Henry Duke, and had issue,
Rupert James, b 1966; High Sheriff of County Antrim, 2020; Alexander Toby, b 1969.
O’HARABROOK, near Ballymoney, County Antrim, is an 18th century, two-storey, four-bay block, possibly once a coaching-inn.
Two, two-storey, four-bay wings were added later and are set back.
There is a continuous parapet roof with ball finials.
The ceiling of the drawing-room has unusual ovolomouldings, obviously part of the original decoration.
In 1889, the estate was sold for £6,300 (£743,000 in today’s money) to Captain James Sinclair Cramsie.
*****
THE DEMESNE lies beside the river Ballymoney.
Atkinson described it as a ‘…splendid demesne…’ in 1833.
There is a fine avenue approach, with mature trees and rhododendrons.
Several fine trees adorn the parkland to the south of the house.
Mixed woodland lies to the east of the house.
The productive garden has no conventional walls but is protected on the north-east side by the tall trees of the avenue, to the south by the old orchard and to the west by a line of trees.
This area is maintained, with herbaceous borders, vegetable plots, commercial soft fruit plantations and Victorian ornamental stone-edged beds.
There is a pond, with associated planting being introduced, to the north of the house.
Two interesting features lie in the demesne: the Old School House, which appears as a ruined wall and was possibly intended as a Gothic folly or was possibly a functional building; and Lamb’s Fold, an enclosed Quaker burial ground, of which the North Lodge of ca 1840 survives.
The house is private but the gardens are open to the public on special days.
O’HARABROOK, County Antrim (AP CAUSEWAY COAST AND GLENS 05) An-056 REGISTERED GRADE A Small late 18th century demesne parkland (102 acres/41.5ha) bordering the Ballymoney River, 1.5 miles (2.5km) south-west of Ballymoney in the townlands of Enagh Lower and Ballynacree Beg. Described by Atkinson in 1833 as a ‘splendid demesne’, it survives remarkably intact from when first laid out for the O’Hara family in the 1770s. While the earliest occurrence of the placename ‘O’Harabrook’ first appears in 1749, the long low two-storey house, which stands above the south bank of the river, appears to largely date from the 1770s or 80s; it has a late Victorian extension and an Edwardian conservatory (Listed HB 04/04/001). The demesne planting remains today as it was described by the OS Memoirs in 1835, being ‘varied and extensive’ with ‘many beautiful old trees’. Beech is the dominant tree in both woodland and park screens; some noble trees grace the parkland to the south of the house, while mixed woodland, which contains a number of rides and paths, surrounds the house and extends to the east. Other trees here include oak, lime, elm, ash and sweet chestnut; yews populates the area outside the enclosed Quaker graveyard (‘Lamb’s Fold’) near the river, north-east of the house. One of the park’s ash trees (Fraxinus exselsior) is a champion (30.5m high x 5.77m girth). The approach to the house from the south has varied mature avenue trees, mostly later 19th century in date, while the main south entrance avenue,
Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest (NI) – November 2020 now redundant, contains beech, yew, ash, elm, horse chestnut and lime together with rhododendron. The productive garden, which lies 170m south-east of the house, originally occupied a short rectangular area (3 acres/1.2ha) with north-west south-east axis, but in the 19th century was divided into two portions with a kitchen garden on the north side (1.4 acres/0.55ha) and an orchard on the south. The kitchen garden has no conventional walls but is protected on the north-east side by the tall trees of the south-eastern avenue; to the south by the orchard and to the west by a line of trees. Half of this area is maintained, with herbaceous borders, vegetable plots, commercial soft fruit plantations and Victorian ornamental stone-edged beds. The present owners, the Cramsie family, who acquired the property from the O’Hara’s in 1889, added a pond in 1989, with associated planting, to the area north of the house. Older ornamental planting around the house includes an impressive Wellingtonia; a monkey puzzle to the east, and a sycamore with a bell hanging from it. The present main entrance, which enters from the south, was laid down in the 1890s to replace the earlier sweeping avenue to its north, whose entrance had a gate lodge, long demolished. There were two other gate lodges; the south-east lodge which lay opposite the gate (now replaced) and the North Lodge of c.1840, the latter of which survives. Outside the park boundary, close to the south-east entrance a small portion of land was given to the Reformed Presbyterian Church for a manse. A features in the demesne worthy of notice is the ‘Old School House’, which lies at the folk on the south-east avenue; it appears as a ruined wall and may have been intended as a gothic folly or possibly a functional building SMR: ANT 17:28 enclosure/tree ring, 17:29 Graveyard, ‘Lamb’s Fold’ and 17:30 enclosure/tree ring. The house is private but the gardens occasionally open to the public on special days.
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. 19. “(Boyd/LGI1958) A mid-C18 house. Archway above which was set a statue of an Indian river god, brought home by Major Gen Hugh Boyd of the Bengal Army at the time of the mutiny. Stable block with cut-stone window surrounds. Now a Barnardo home, little remains of the original house.”
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 1st 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.
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. 284. “(White/LGI1912) A gable-ended Georgian house of three storeys over basement. Three bay front with Wyatt windows in both storeys, as well as in the basement; fanlighted doorway. Steps with good ironwork railings up to entrance door; an eagle at each end of the roofline. The house of Field Marshal Sir George White, VC, the defender of Ladysmith.”
THE WHITES OWNED 2,897 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM
The family of WHITE, though long settled in Ulster, was of English extraction.
In the reign of CHARLES I, the family owned considerable property in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and they were seated at Hudson Hall.
During the English Civil War, they threw in their lot with the King, on whose behalf they raised and maintained, at their own expense, a troop of dragoons.
When the King’s cause was lost, they were involved in its ruin; and one of the family, Fulke White, or Whyte, for so he spelt his name, took refuge in Ulster.
This Fulke settled, it would appear, in the town of Antrim, where he maintained himself for many years by “teaching a classical school”; but in 1687, being then a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, he was invited by the Presbyterians of Broughshane, a village in the valley of the Braid, to become their minister.
THE REV FULKE WHITE, of White Hall, County Antrim, Minister of Broughshane, 1687, father of
THE REV JAMES WHITE (-1761), of White Hall, father of
JOHN WHITE (-1770), of White Hall, father of
JAMES WHITE, of White Hall, Deputy Governor of County Antrim, 1793, who had issue, two sons,
JOHN, his heir; JAMES ROBERT, succeeded his brother.
Mr White died in 1804, and was succeeded by his elder son,
JOHN WHITE, of White Hall, High Sheriff of Antrim, 1845, who died in 1857, and was succeeded by his brother,
JAMES ROBERT WHITE, of White Hall, Barrister, who wedded Frances, daughter of George Stuart, of Donaghey, County Tyrone, Surgeon-General of the Army in Ireland, and had issue,
GEORGE STUART, his heir; John, CB (1902), of Innispollen, County Antrim; Frances Avone; Jane.
The website tells us: “Galgorm Castle is an historic estate dating back to Jacobean times but has evolved into one of Northern Ireland’s most vibrant destinations with diverse business, golf and recreational activities housed there. The focal point is the 17th century Jacobean castle dating back to 1607, which has been restored and along with the immaculate walled gardens is part of the Ivory Pavilion wedding and events company. The castle is also a historical reminder of the important role the Galgorm Estate played as part of Northern Ireland’s history. Away from the championship golf course there is plenty of opportunity to try the game for the first time at the Fun Golf Area with a six-hole short course and Himalayas Putting Green. The Galgorm Fairy Trail is another family option which runs out of Arthur’s Cottage at the Fun Golf Area.And if looking for great food and drink, a meal at the Castle Kitchen + Bar at the Galgorm Castle clubhouse is a must. Members and non-members are welcome.”
The website contains a history of the Castle:
“Galgorm Castle is one of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture in Ireland. In May 1607, King James I granted the Ballymena Estate to Rory Og MacQuillan, a mighty warrior, famous for stating “No Captain of this race ever died in his bed,” (which thankfully means Galgorm Castle has one less ghost.). His Castle overlooks and dominates the 10th green and a network of souterrains at the fifth and eighth greens.
“Sir Faithful Fortescue (b. 1585) was the nephew Arthur Chichester. This name may have come from his habit of being particularly sharp in his dealings as he tricked Rory Og McQuillan out of estates and started to build Galgorm Castle in 1618. He might better have been known as Sir Faithless Fortescue as during the Civil War, in the heat of the battle of Edghhill, he changed sides from the Parliamentarians to the Cavaliers, but forgot to instruct his men to remove the orange sashes of the Parliamentarians so seventeen of them were slain by the Cavaliers as the enemy.
“Always known for turning a quick buck Sir Faithless sold the estate to the infamous Dr Alexander Colville [(c.1597-c.1679. He was a clergyman who became a wealthy landlord so it may have been malicious gossip that led to rumours)] who, as legend has it was an alchemist, reputed to have sold his soul to the devil for gold and knowledge. The stories of the good doctor are well documented and his portrait is not allowed to ever leave the castle or disaster will fall. His footsteps beat out a steady tattoo through the night as he does his rounds. Other nights, a ghostly light flickers around the park as he searches for his treasure, lost for over 300 years.
“The Youngs – rich linen merchants, bought the Estate in 1850 and their cousin Sir Roger Casement lived here for six years while he was at Ballymena Academy.
“The Duke of Wurtenburg made his headquarters at Galgorm following the Battle of the Boyne. The renowned Irish scholar Rose Young was born at Galgorm in 1865.
“During the 1980s, Christopher Brooke and his family inherited Galgorm Castle Estate and began developing his vision to turn Galgorm Castle into the one of Northern Ireland’s premier destinations, securing the Estate’s long-term future.”
Irish Historic Houses 