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. “(Bonham/IFR) A gabled late C19 house rather like a Scotch lodge, added 1893-4 to a plain early C19 house with a Wyatt window by Col John Bonham, whose architect is said to have been Richard Orpen, brother of Sir William Orpen, the painter. Of limestone random ashlar; high gable at one side, small dormer-gables near it; some window mullions of stone, others of wood’ porch with pointed gables and finial.”
Sale of the Week Property man Paul Newman has paid top money for a country house in Kildare, writes Frances O’Rourke
Property guru Paul Newman has bought Ballintaggart House and stud farm, a large period house on 165 acres at Colbinstown, Co Kildare, for around €13 million. He finalised the deal a few days after the property was withdrawn at auction last week by agent Pat O’Hagan of HOK.
Mr Newman – chairman of estate agency Douglas Newman Good and a director of property development companies in Ireland and the UK – will move into Ballintaggart House from his home in Ballymore Eustace, Co Wicklow.
The flamboyant property man is the biggest shareholder in MyHome.ie, the successful property search engine which is likely to be sold shortly.
The boss of Douglas Newman Good moved into property development about 10 years ago when Chesterbridge Developments, a consortium owned by Newman, Michael Whelan and Paul Hanby, bought Sherriff Street flats and redeveloped the area as Custom House Quay.
Currently, Newman and Hanby’s Tenbury Developments is to build 743 homes in Newcastle, Co Wicklow: the major residential scheme was recently given the go-ahead by South Dublin County Council.
And Tenbury’s eco-friendly development in Northampton, England, won Newman plaudits from Prince Charles earlier this year: the new homes scheme was built in co-operation with Prince Charles’s Prince’s Trust charity. His company Paul Newman New Homes has recently built a commercial/residential developments in Milton Keynes in the UK. In Ireland, Newman and Paul Hanby also own 50 per cent of McDonagh Junction shopping centre being built in Kilkenny.
Ballintaggart House is an 18th century Gothic revival property on 165 acres: the family motto, carved in stone above the entrance to the 652sq m (7,000sq ft) main house, can roughly be translated as “Live A Good Life”. And there is every chance to do that in this property, which includes nine large bedrooms, a stately drawingroom and a diningroom that seats 14.
Outside, there is a walled Victorian garden with a gardener’s apartment, a tennis court, cut-stone steward’s house and a restored gamekeeper’s cottage as well as outhouses and 28 looseboxes. Richard and Annie O’Toole, the owners of Ballintaggart, have retained almost 100 acres which form part of the estate.
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. 18. “A two storey 3 bay mid-18C house with a venetian window above a pedimented doorway. In 1814, the residence of Thomas Tyrrell.”
Detached three-bay two-storey over part-raised basement mid-Georgian house, c.1760, on a symmetrical plan with round-headed door opening to centre ground floor approached by flight of steps, Venetian-style window over, and two-bay two-storey side elevations to east and to west. Refenestrated, c.1880. Undergoing renovation, 2002. Hipped roof behind parapet wall with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Replacement roughcast, 2002, to chimney stacks. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered walls. Unpainted. Cut-stone stringcourse to basement. Cut-stone quoins to corners. Cut-stone coping to parapet wall. Square-headed window openings (Venetian window to centre first floor). Stone sills. Rendered surrounds to window openings to front (south) elevation. Replacement 1/1 timber sash windows, c.1880. Replacement 6/6 timber sash windows, 2002, to front (south) elevation (with fanlight to Venetian window). Round-headed door opening approached by flight of five cut-stone steps having wrought iron railings. Cut-stone Doric doorcase with open-bed pediment over. Timber panelled door. Sidelights. Spoked fanlight. Set back from road in own grounds. Landscaped grounds to site. Detached three-bay single- and two-storey rubble stone outbuilding, c.1760, to north retaining original aspect comprising two-bay single-storey wing with elliptical-headed integral carriageways and single-bay single-storey gabled advanced end bay with half-attic to left. Gable-ended roofs with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Rendered coping to gables. Traces of cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves course. Squared rubble stone walls with traces of lime render over. Square-headed window openings (slit-style). Fittings not visible. Pair of elliptical-headed integral carriageways. Rendered voussoirs (probably over red brick construction). Replacement iron gates, c.1880. Detached four-bay single-storey outbuilding, c.1760, to north with elliptical-headed integral carriageways. Reroofed, c.1930. Gable-ended roof. Replacement corrugated-iron, c.1930. Iron ridge tiles. Remains of cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves course. Square rubble stone walls with traces of lime render over. Series of elliptical-headed integral carriageways. Red brick dressings. Fittings not discerned.
Appraisal
Ballinderry House is a fine, mid eighteenth-century mid-Georgian substantial house that has been well maintained to retain much of its original character. Although refenestrated in the late nineteenth century with plate glass windows that have achieved their own historical merit, recent re-instatement of small-pane timber sash windows has restored a more accurate representation of the original appearance. The front (south) elevation of the house is a highly attractive feature in the landscape and combines graceful Georgian proportions with features such as a striking flight of steps to the entrance, a decorative cut-stone doorcase and the Venetian window to the first floor. The retention of an early external aspect suggests that the interior may retain early or original features and fittings of significance. The house, set in mature landscaped grounds, forms an attractive and compact group with the attendant outbuildings to north and represents an almost intact mid eighteenth-century farm holding that may have provided employment to locals in the past and which is therefore of social and historic interest. Furthermore, the estate is one of a number of middle size farm holdings in the area, all the houses of which are distinct in their varying styles.
Ballinderry House was built circa 1743 for Mary Pearson, wife of Garret Tyrell. However, the interior rococo plasterwork dates to the 1760s. During the 1798 rebellion the home was damaged by rebels with much of its contents burned. A series of alterations and additions took place in the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, such as the addition of accommodation to the rear of the house and the replacement of many Georgian window subdivisions with larger Victorian panes of glass.
In 2004 Alan and Eleanor Cox, descendants of the original owners, applied to the Irish Georgian Society for funding to offset the cost of their large programme of repairs and restorations. As the front, stone steps were in poor condition and suffering from the decay of their supporting arch, the Society donated €5,000 toward their restoration which covered over twenty-five percent of the project costs.
The house is a three-bay, two-storey structure over a basement. Timber sash casement windows with square headed openings are to the piano nobile and first floor, with a Venetian window in the central bay of the first floor. Stone steps lead to the main entrance doorway which is flanked by Doric columns and surmounted by a fanlight and broken pediment. Two-over-two sash sidelights flank the entrance. Corner quoins bookend rendered stone walls beneath a hipped, slate roof with clay ridge tiles. The basement level possesses a cut-stone string course. The classical, country house is a very attractive feature in the manicured landscape and it retains much of its original features. As a substantial mid-Georgian home it works in conjunction with its outbuildings to form an intact mid-eighteenth century farm of regional significance.
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. 254. “(Cramer-Roberts/LCI 1958; Close/LG1937 supp) A Georgian block of three storeys over basement, six bays long and five bays deep, with a parapeted roof and a strong-course under the top storey windows giving htem the effect of an attic. In the Victorian period, two single-storey three sided pilastered bows were added on one front, with a pilastered rectangular projection between them; and single-storey pilastered rectangular projections were added on the adjoining fronts, one of them having a pierced parapet and running the full depth of the house. Stylistically, these additions seem likely to have been to the design of George Ashlin. On the death of M.W.C. Cramer-Roberts 1939, Sallymount passed to his daughter, Mrs Maxwell Close, by whom it was sold. Now demolished.”
Family tree see Rev John (ne Cramer) Roberts.
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.
p. 86. A large plain late 18C house with Victorian additions, built by the Cramer Roberts family. Demolished.
Sherlockstown, Sallins, Co Kildare
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.
Stacumny House, Celbridge, Co Kildare
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.
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.
Yeomanstown, Naas, Co Kildare
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.
Yeomanstown Lodge, Naas, Co Kildare
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.
St. Wolstan’s, Celbridge, County Kildare, 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. 253. “(Alen/LG1833-37; Cane/LG1937 supp) A house originally belonging to the Alen family and said to have been built early C17 by John Allen, the architect of Strafford’s great palace at Naas. Subsequently much altered and now of C18 aspect. Three storey five bay gable-ended centre block with two storey overlapping wings of the same height as the centre block and with the same solid roof parapet. The wings, which extend back to form side-elevations, are of one bay towards the front; the ground floor windows being set in recessed arches. The centre block has a pilastered doorcase with a baseless pediment. Interior remodelled 1830s.”
The buildings of St. Wolstan’s priory were probably converted into a house for Sir John Alen before his death in 1561. The present house is said to have been first built in the early 17th century. In 1792 the house was depicted as a five storey three-bay early 18th century block with lower and later one bay wings. The five bay centre was probably built for Francis Alen who died in 1741. The neo-classical wings added after the house left the Alens possession, perhaps when it was leased to the Conollys. The wings have now been raised to two storeys, which are as tall as the three storeys of the centre and continue the same solid roof parapet. The wings, which extend back to form side elevations, have their ground-floor windows set in recessed arches. The centre block has a pilastered doorcase with a baseless pediment. The interior was remodelled in the 1830s. https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/search/label/Kildare?updated-max=2017-05-06T17:53:00%2B01:00&max-results=20&start=2&by-date=false
Early editions of Burke’s Landed Gentry trace this family back to the Conquest through an almost certainly entirely spurious pedigree, and the relationships of the earlier generations remain uncertain and in part obscure, perhaps partly because the two successful 16th century statesmen the family produced sought to obscure relatively humble origins, perhaps in Norfolk: Sir John Alen (d. 1561) was described as ‘of Coltishall’ when granted the St Wolstans Priory estate in 1539. The family securely enters the historical record only at the end of the 15th century with John Alen (1476-1534), who was a protegé of Cardinal Wolsey and rose to become Archbishop of Dublin before being murdered during the ‘Silken Thomas’ rebellion. His nephew (or cousin), Sir John Alen (c.1500-61), was first sent to Ireland by Wolsey as the Archbishop’s secretary, but pursued an independently successful judicial and political career, becoming Master of the Rolls in Ireland in 1533 and Lord Chancellor there in 1539.
In 1539 Sir John was appointed head of the commission for the suppression of the monasteries in Ireland, and rewarded with a grant of the site and lands of St. Wolstan’s Priory near Donaghcomper in Kildare. It seems likely that he was responsible for the conversion of the priory buildings into a house, known thereafter alternately as Alenscourt, but nothing now remains of them except a series of isolated gateways and towers scattered around a large field west of the present house. Sir John was no doubt also responsible for arranging for his brother Thomas to have a grant of the dissolved preceptory of the Hospitallers at Kilteel, where there was a robust tower house, which the family appear to have used as a secondary seat until it was ruined in the Civil War.
Kilteel Castle: the ruins of the 15th-century tower house still stand today. Image: Bogman via Wikimedia Commons
Sir John died without issue and St. Wolstan’s passed to a nephew, another John Alen (d. 1616), whose son, Sir Thomas Alen (d.1627), inherited the St Wolstan’s estate and was created a baronet in 1622 in belated recognition of the services of his long-dead great-great-uncle, Archbishop Alen.
Thomas Cooper’s drawings of the ruins of St Wolstan’s Priory, 1781-82. Image: National Library of Ireland.
Sir Thomas married twice but died without issue and St Wolstan’s passed in turn to his brothers Robert (d. 1641), formerly of Kilteel, and William, and then to William’s son John (d. 1662). It then passed to James Alen (c.1625-c.1675), a cousin and the son of Nicholas Alen, who died before the Civil War. These frequent changes amid the confusion of the Civil War and Commonwealth nearly cost the family possession. At the Restoration, King Charles II was persuaded to make a grant of St Wolstans to the 1st Earl of Mount Alexander (d. 1663) on the pretext that James and his uncles had forfeited the estate for disloyalty during the Civil War. James protested, and was eventually able to prove the family’s innocence and the grant was withdrawn, although Lord Mount Alexander was compensated for his disappointment.
The family remained loyal to the Stuart cause and James’ son, Major-General Patrick Alen (d. 1724) raised a body of troops at his own expense for King James II and was at the siege of Limerick in 1691. He managed to retain his estate under the Treaty of Limerick later that year and reputedly went on to have no less than forty-two children by two wives, although only fifteen of them are known to have survived to adulthood. When he died in 1724 St Wolstans passed to his eldest son Francis Alen (c.1682-1741), who had conformed to the Protestant religion in 1709 and was thus entitled to inherit under the punitive and repressive anti-Catholic legislation of 1704; he also served as MP for Co. Kildare in 1725-27.
At his death in 1741 St Wolstans apparently passed to his son John, who died a few weeks later, and then to the latter’s son, William (d. c.1752), who must have been a minor and who died unmarried. At his death, the next heir male was Francis Alen’s half-brother, Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87), who was not only a Catholic but a General in the French army, fighting against the British in India. General Alen had entered the service of France in 1735 as an officer of the Irish Brigade, served at the Battle of Fontenoy, and afterwards became Adjutant-General of the French army in India. After the storming of Fort Sacramalous, he was promoted to be Commander-in-Chief of French forces in India during the siege of Pondicherry, where he was wounded. After the fall of Pondicherry he returned to France with his regiment. St. Wolstans was sold under an Exchequer decree in 1752 to Robert Clayton, Bishop of Clogher. The sale terminated the Alen family’s connection with St Wolstan’s, although the descendants of William Alen’s heirs-at-law (perhaps his sisters) attempted unsuccessfully to reclaim it in the 1820s and 1840s.
Luke Alen’s elder brother Anthony (d. 1754) inherited Pollardstown (Carlow) in right of his wife Mary, daughter of Ulick Wall. Pollardstown itself was heavily mortgaged and the creditors foreclosed shortly after Anthony’s death, but his son, Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829) evidently inherited other property. In 1821 his cousin, the French general’s son, Lt-Col. Luke John Patrick Alen (1775-1841), returned to Ireland and claimed a half-share of Ulick Wall Alen’s property, on what grounds is not clear. After an inconclusive lawsuit a compromise was agreed in 1827 by which Lt-Col. Alen obtained possession of the whole of the estate but also took over responsibility for Ulick’s debts. Col. Alen’s son, Capt. Luke John Henry Alen succeeded him, but when he died in 1879 there were no male heirs to continue the name.
St Wolstan’s, Celbridge, Kildare
The buildings of St. Wolstan’s priory were probably converted into a house for Sir John Alen before his death in 1561. The present house is said to have been first built in the early 17th century, presumably for Sir Thomas Alen (d. 1627), by John Allen (d. 1641) – no relation – the bricklayer responsible for the Earl of Strafford’s unfinished house at Jigginstown, but it has been much remodelled later.
St Wolstans in 1792, from an engraving by W. & J. Walker.
In 1792 the house was depicted as a five storey three-bay early 18th century block with lower and later one bay wings. The five bay centre was perhaps built for Francis Alen (d. 1741); the neo-classical wings must have been added after the house left the Alens possession, perhaps when it was leased to the Conollys. The wings have now been raised to two storeys, which are as tall as the three storeys of the centre and continue the same solid roof parapet. The wings, which extend back to form side elevations, have their ground-floor windows set in recessed arches. The centre block has a pilastered doorcase with a baseless pediment. The interior was remodelled in the 1830s and the wings were perhaps raised at the same time.
St. Wolstans in the late 19th century. Image: National Library of Ireland
The house was a school from c.1790-1809 and again 1957-99. In the 1770s the house was let to the sister of Thomas Conolly of Castletown House, whose wife, Louisa, carried out landscaping works encompassing both estates and also the adjoining Donaghcomper House, at this time. The view of St Wolstans in 1792 also depicts Castletown, stressing the relationship between the two.
Descent: Crown granted 1539 to Sir John Alen (c.1500-61); to nephew, John Alen (d. 1616); to son, Sir Thomas Alen, 1st bt. (d. 1627); to brother, Robert Alen (d. 1641); to brother, William Alen (d. 1643); to son, John Alen (d. 1662); to cousin, James Alen (c.1625-c.1675); to son, Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (c.1660-1724); to son, Francis Alen MP (c.1682-1741); to son, John Alen (d. 1741); to son, William Alen (d. c.1752); sold under an Exchequer decree, 1752 to Rt. Rev. Robert Clayton, bishop of Clogher (1695-1758); to niece, Anne, wife of Rt. Rev. Thomas Barnard, bishop of Killaloe and later of Limerick (1726-1806), who leased c.1776 to Caroline, sister of Thomas Conolly, 1777-80 to John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire (1722-93), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and c.1788-90 to George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753-1813), also Lord Lieutenant and then as a school; sold 1809 to Richard Cane (d. 1853); to son, Edward Cane (1813-77); to brother, Richard Cane (fl. 1886); to nephew, Capt. Richard Claude Cane (b. 1889); to grandson, Donall Cane (b. 1913), who sold 1955 to Holy Faith Sisters.
The Alens of St. Wolstans
Although a good deal is known about the careers of Archbishop Alen and Sir John Alen (d. 1561), their genealogy and even their relationship is uncertain. The version presented here is my best interpretation of the available evidence; alternative readings will be found in Burke’s Landed Gentry, 1837 and H.L. Lyster Denny’s ‘An account of the family of Alen’, Proceedings of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, 1903. Any further evidence contributed by readers will be particularly welcome! Alen, Most Rev. John (1476-1534), Archbishop of Dublin. Reputedly the youngest son of Edward Alen, but according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, of unknown parentage; born 1476; he may have been related to the Rev. Thomas Alen who was secretary to the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1516. Educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge (BA 1495, MA 1498); Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1496-1504; ordained priest, 1499; began career as a canon lawyer with appointment as commissary to bishop of Rochester, c.1500-03; transferred to service of William Warham as a proctor at the papal curia, 1503-14; graduated as DCL from ‘a foreign university’; admitted to confraternity of the English Hospice in Rome (chaplain, warden, chamberlain and auditor between 1502-12) but expelled for defiance of the English resident; collated to the prebend of Asgarby in Lincolnshire, 1503-28 and rectories of Sundridge (Kent), 1503-28 and Aldington (Kent), 1511-12; transferred 1519 to the service of Cardinal Wolsey and worked for the practical realisation of the cardinal’s legateship; rewarded with further benefices: Gaulby (Leics), 1523 and canonries of Southwell (1526-28), St Paul’s (1527-28) and Exeter (1528) and the precentorship of St Mary’s, Southampton (1527-28); Archbishop of Dublin, 1528-34 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1529-32; he was damaged by the fall of Wolsey in 1529-30 and had to pay a large fine in 1531 for recognizing the authority of Wolsey as papal legate; his attempts to extract money from his diocese to recoup his finances, and to eliminate competing jurisdictions, led him into conflict with the powerful Geraldine interests of the 9th Earl of Kildare; when the Fitzgeralds rose in revolt in 1534 he attempted to flee Ireland but his ship ran aground near Clontarf (Dublin) and the following morning he and forty of his men were murdered by order of Lord Offaly, the Earl’s son; it is said that he was ‘brained like an ox and hacked in gobbets’. Sir James Ware said of Alen that “he was of a turbulent spirit, but a man of hospitality and learning, and a diligent inquirer into antiquities”. As a Catholic priest he was unmarried. As Archbishop, he lived at St. Sepulchre’s Palace (now Kevin Street Garda Station) in Dublin, which he restored in 1529, but which has been much altered and rebuilt since. He died 27 July 1534, and as a final ignominy was buried in a pauper’s grave.
Alen, Sir John (c.1500-61), kt., of Coltishall (Norfolk) and St. Wolstans. Eldest son of Thomas or Warin Alen, born c.1500, and a first cousin or nephew of the Archbishop. Educated at Grays Inn; entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey, who sent him to Ireland as secretary to Archbishop Alen, with whom he may have quarrelled; after the fall of Wolsey he was closely associated with Thomas Cromwell, and became clerk of the Irish Parliament and Master of the Rolls in Ireland, 1533-39; he played a part in suppressing the ‘Silken Thomas’ rebellion of 1534 in which the Archbishop was murdered; appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, 1538 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1539; in 1539 he was appointed to lead the commission for the suppression of monasteries in Ireland; he was prominent in the establishment of the Kings Inns in Dublin, 1541-42; knighted in 1542 or 1548; in 1546 he was accused of corruption and removed from office as Lord Chancellor, but regained the office in 1548 and held it until resigning in 1550; in 1553 Queen Mary appointed him to her Irish Council, although during her reign he is said to have lived mainly in England; he was elected MP for Kinsale in the Irish Parliament in 1559. Described as honest and honourable, but quarrelsome and undiplomatic; despite this he succeeded in retaining a degree of favour under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth. He married a lady from Cheshire but died without issue. In 1539 (when he was described as ‘of Coltishall’), he received a Crown grant of the site and lands of St. Wolstan’s Priory near Celbridge, and he probably converted the priory buildings into a house before his death. He also received a lease of Leixlip Castle at the same time. At his death he left all his estates to his nephew, John Alen (d. 1616). He died in 1561; his will was proved in 1562. There was until c.1800 a monument to him in Donaghcomper church, of which nothing now remains.
Alen, Thomas (b. c.1505), of Kilteel Castle. Second son of Thomas or Warin Alen, and brother of Sir John Alen, born about 1505. Clerk of the Hanaper in Ireland and Chamberlain of the Exchequer, 1536; Constable of Wicklow Castle for life, 1550; obtained a grant of the site of Kilteel Preceptory, 1539, where there was a handsome tower house. He married Mary Rawson, daughter or more probably niece of Sir John Rawson (d. 1547), last Prior of Kilmainham Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller, and later Viscount Clontarf for life, and had issue, with two other sons: (1) John Alen (d. 1616) (q.v.); (2) Edward Alen of Kilteel; married 1577 Alice, daughter of Giles Alen of Dublin and had issue three sons and two daughters; (3) Eleanor Alen, m. Sir Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath). His date of death is unknown but was perhaps before 1561, as he was not mentioned in his brother’s will.
Alen, John (d. 1616), of St. Wolstans. Only known son of Thomas Alen (b. c.1505), born about 1540. He is said to have married Anne (b. 1554), daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath) and had issue: (1) Sir Thomas Alen (d. 1627), 1st bt. (q.v.); (2) Robert Alen (d. 1641) (q.v.); (3) William Alen(d. 1643) (q.v.); (4) Nicholas Alen (d. c.1639) (q.v.); (5) Gerald Alen. He inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his uncle, Sir John Alen (c.1500-61), kt., in 1561. He died 29 September 1616 and was buried at Donaghcomper (Kildare). His widow died 1 March 1617.
Alen, Sir Thomas (d.1627), 1st bt., of St. Wolstans. Eldest son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath). Created a baronet in recognition of the service of his great-great-uncle, Archbishop Alen, 7 June 1622 and knighted the following day; the baronetcy became extinct on his death. He married 1st, after 1616, Mary (d. 1622), daughter of William Fleming, 11th Lord Slane; and 2nd, after 1623, Mary (d. 1627), daughter of Jenico Preston, 5th Viscount Gormanston, but had no issue. He inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his father in 1616, and was probably responsible for building a new house there. He died 7 March 1627 and was buried at Donaghcomper (Kildare) where there is a monument to his memory; his will was proved 18 April 1627. His first wife died 18 November 1622 and was buried at Donaghcomper (Kildare). His widow married 2nd, Simon Luttrell of Luttrellstown (Dublin), to whom she carried a major part of her Sir Thomas’ estates, including the town of Leixlip; her will was proved 18 April 1627.
Alen, Robert (d. 1641). Second son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath). He married Jane, daughter of Robert Sarsfield esq. of Lucan, but had no male issue. He lived at Kilteel Castle until he inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his elder brother in 1627. He died 25 October 1641.
Alen, William (d. 1643). Third son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath). He married Joan Wogan of Rathcoffey, and had issue, with three other sons who died (presumably in his lifetime) without issue : (1) John Alen (d. 1662) (q.v.); (2) Anne Alen, who married a Mr. Gibbon. He inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his elder brother in 1641. He died in 1643.
Alen, John (d. 1662). Only surviving son of William Alen (d. 1643) and his wife Joan Wogan of Rathcoffey. He was unmarried. He inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his father in 1643. At his death it passed to his cousin, James Alen (c.1625-c.1675). He died in 1662.
Alen, Nicholas (d. c.1639). Youngest son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath)). He married Aminet, daughter of Patrick Barnewall esq. of Crickstown (Meath) and had issue: (1) James Alen (c.1625-c.1675) (q.v.) He died ‘before the Civil War’.
Alen, James (c.1625-c.1675), of St. Wolstans. Only son of Nicholas Alen (d. c.1639) and his wife Aminet, daughter of Patrick Barnewall of Crickstown (Meath), born about 1625. He was one of the signatories of the ‘Faithful and Humble Remonstance of the Roman Catholic Nobility and Gentry of Ireland’ to King Charles II, 1662. He married Anne, daughter of Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of Roscommon and had issue including: (1) Maj-General Patrick Alen (d. 1723/4) (q.v.). He inherited the St Wolstan’s estate at Celbridge (Kildare) from his cousin in 1662; fought legal actions to prevent its unjust forfeiture to the Crown and granting to the Earl of Mount Alexander, 1661-63. He died about 1675.
Alen, Maj-Gen. Patrick (d. 1723/4), of St. Wolstans. Only known son of James Alen (c.1625-c.1675) and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of Roscommon, born c.1660. He raised troops for King James II in 1691 and was a Major-General in the King’s army; participated in the siege of Limerick; allowed to retain his estates following the Treaty of Limerick. He married 1st, Mary, daughter of John Browne of Castle Browne (Kildare) and 2nd, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir Luke Dowdall, bt. of Athlumney, and is said to have sired 42 children, but only fifteen are recorded as surviving to adulthood, viz.: (1.1) Francis Alen (c.1682-1741) (q.v.); (1.2) James Alen; (1.3) Richard Alen; (1.4) Teresa Alen, m.1 James Donellan (d. 1718) of Johnstown (Meath) and had issue three sons and one daughter; m.2 Standish O’Grady of Elton (Limerick), second son of Darby O’Grady of Killballyowen; (1.5) Honora Alen, m. as his second wife, John O’Grady of Killballyowen and had issue three sons and three daughters; (1.6) Dorothy Alen, married May 1682 as his second wife, Adam Loftus (1647-91), 1st Viscount Lisburne, who was killed at the siege of Limerick; died without issue in 1689; (1.7) A daughter, m. Christopher Horish; (1.8) Anne Alen; (2.1) Matthew Alen, died unmarried, 1727; (2.2) Anthony Alen (d. 1754) (q.v.); (2.3) Michael Alen, died unmarried in France before 1787; (2.4) Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87) (q.v.) (2.5) Lucy Alen, m. Hugh O’Reilly of Milltown (Meath); (2.6) Catherine Alen; (2.7) Aminet Alen, m. Stafford Hussey of Rathkenny (Meath). He inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his father in c.1675. He died in 1723/4. His will was proved 20 January 1723/4.
Alen, Francis (c.1682-1741), of St. Wolstans. Eldest son of Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (d. 1724) and his first wife, Mary, daughter of John Browne of Castle Browne (Kildare), born about 1682. He converted to the Protestant faith in 1709 and was elected MP for Co. Kildare in the Irish Parliament, 1725-27. He married, about 4 September 1703, Frances (d, 1767), daughter of Charles Whyte of Leixlip (Kildare) and had issue, among other children who died young: (1) John Alen (d. 1741) (q.v.); (2) Mary Alen, m. 1734 Edward, 12th Lord Dunsany and had issue one son and three daughters; (3) William Alen (b. c.1709), educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1725/6); later became a Carthusian friar in France, and died there. He inherited the St. Wolstan’s estate from his father in 1724, and was probably responsible for remodelling or rebuilding the house as a five-bay Georgian block. At his death it passed to his half-brother, Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87). He died 9 July 1741. His widow died in September 1767.
Alen, John (d. 1741), of St. Wolstans. Eldest surviving son of Francis Alen (c.1682-1741) and his wife Frances, daughter of Charles Whyte of Leixlip Castle (Kildare), born about 1705. He married and had issue: (1) William Alen (d. c.1752) of St. Wolstans; (2) Catherine Alen (d. 1750); died unmarried; (3) Tipper Alen; probably dead by 1752; (4) Margaret Alen; probably dead by 1752. In addition there may have been two further daughters, Charlotte (who married James Lang) and Mary (who married Henry Lyster of Rocksavage (Roscommon), whose descendants made attempts in the 19th century to claim the St. Wolstan’s estate. He inherited the St. Wolstans estate from his father in July 1741 but died a few weeks later. On the death of his son, c.1752, and in default of any Protestant relatives entitled to succeed to the estate it was sold under an Exchequer decree in 1752.
Alen, Anthony (d. 1754), of Pollardstown (Carlow). Second surviving son of Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (d. 1724) and his second wife. He married Mary, eldest daughter and heir of Ulick Wall of Pollardstown (Carlow) and had issue: (1) Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829); married Anne, daughter of George McNamara of Cong (Mayo); inherited some family property from his father in 1754 but it became encumbered and in 1827 he assigned it to his cousin, Luke John Patrick Alen along with his debts; died without issue, 29 March 1829; will proved 1834 (2) Patrick Alen; died without issue; (3) Anne Alen, m. [forename unknown] Gilfoyle; (4) Mary Alen; died without issue; (5) Margaret Alen; died without issue; (6) Jane Alen; died without issue. He inherited the Pollardstown (Carlow) estate in right of his wife, but it was sold when his creditors foreclosed immediately after his death. Some other property passed to his son. He died in 1754.
Alen, Maj-Gen. Luke (1722-87), of St. Wolstans. Youngest son of Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (d. 1724) and his second wife, born 1722. He would appear to have been sent abroad to be educated, perhaps after his father’s death, and joined the French army in 1735; he obtained a lieutenancy in Dillon’s regiment and passed from that corps, soon after the Battle of Fontenoy, 1745, into Lally’s; awarded Order of St. Louis, 1756; appointed major-general of the army in India; fought at Pondicherry, 1760; returned to France after fall of Pondicherry. He married, 5 October 1762, Mlle Marie Charlotte Adelaide de Behague (1734-1809), sister of Gen. Count de Behague, Governor of the French West Indies and had issue: (1) Eleanor Antoinette Alen (b. 1765), born 19 June 1765; (2) Lucie Julie Alen (b. 1766), born 13 December 1766; m. Jean Henri de Vaillant of Lignerolle, Normandy; (3) Aimée Polyeucte Alen (b. 1768), born 14 March 1768; (4) Charlotte Adelaide Alen (b. 1769), born 8 May 1769; (5) Isabelle Jeanne Alen (1771-1850), born 5 September 1771; married, 8 August 1803, Pierre Louis de Person(1769-1839), Chevalier of the Order of St. Louis, Colonel of the Marine Artillery, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 20 October 1850; (6) Lt-Col. Luke John Patrick Alen (1775-1841) (q.v.). He died in France in 1787.
Alen, Lt-Col. Luke John Patrick (1775-1841). Only known son of Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87) and his wife, Marie Charlotte Adelaide de Behague, born 26 August 1775. Served in the 55th Regiment of Foot (Lt-Col. by 1811); published A plan for the better organisation of West India troops, in Antigua, 1806; mentioned in despatches for actions during capture of French West Indies, 1809-10; appointed CB, 1815; court-martialled for offences relating to military discipline and the quartering of troops, 1817, was found guilty but allowed to retire from the service and sell his commission; he published a defence of his actions in 1822; returned to Ireland in 1821 to claim a share of the family estates and fought legal actions with his cousin, Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829), eventually reaching a compromise by which he took over the remaining family lands in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare but also took responsibility for the debts secured on these estates. He married c.1799 Hannah Marguerite, daughter of John Creaghe of St. Eustatia, West Indies and sister of Richard Creaghe of Castle Park (Tipperary), and had issue: (1) Randal Heyliger Ulick Alen (1800-33); born 3 October 1800; died unmarried, 1833; (2) Capt. Luke John Henry Alen (c.1805-79); educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1823); served in the 74th Highlanders (Lieutenant, 1827; Captain, 1835); married at St Nicholas Catholic Church, Liverpool, 26 May 1839, Lucy Isabella, fifth daughter of Osborne Tylden of Torry Hill, Milstead (Kent) and had issue two daughters, one of whom married and had issue; died 1 January 1879; (3) Anna Maria Alen (c.1815-76), born about 1815; married, 22 June 1829, Thomas John Wybault Swettenham (1804-61) of Swettenham Hall (Cheshire) but died without issue, 9 March 1876; (4) Augusta Georgiana Alen. In 1827 he received the remaining family property in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare from his cousin, Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829) in return for settling the latter’s debts. He lived in retirement in Dublin. He died 18 March 1841.
Sources
Burke’s Landed Gentry, 1835, which however contains many errors; W.T. Kirkpatrick, ‘St Wolstans’, Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society, vol. 2, 1896-99, pp. 283-88; F. Elrington Ball, The judges in Ireland, 1221-1921, 1926; R. Loeber, A biographical dictionary of architects in Ireland, 1981, p. 13; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1988, p. 253; P. Harbison, Cooper’s Ireland: drawings and notes from an Eighteenth-Century gentleman, 2000, pp. 78-79; F. O’Kane, Landscape design in Eighteenth-Century Ireland, 2004, pp. 119-21; Oxford DNB biography of Archbishop Alen; http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen05.php#link2; H.L. Lyster Denny’s ‘An account of the family of Alen’, Proceedings of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, 1903, of which a copy can be found here: http://archive.org/stream/journalcountyki02socigoog#page/n14/mode/2up.
Location of archives
No significant archive is known to survive.
Coat of arms
Argent, a chevron gules between three torteaux each charged with a talbot passant, or, on a chief azure a lion passant between two crescents ermine.
St. David’s, County Kildare by Robert French, Lawrence Collection NLI L_ROY)07832.
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. 253. “An old castle with Goergian sash windows and quatrefoil openings and C19 battlements. Formerly the Glebe House of St. David’s Church, Naas.”
St. David’s, Naas, County Kildare, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
Detached three-bay two- and three-storey house, c.1730, on an irregular plan retaining early aspect incorporating fabric of tower house, c.1600, comprising three-bay two-storey range with single-bay two-storey projecting bay to front (south-east) on an L-shaped plan having two-bay single-storey bay with half-dormer attic at angles to north-east, single-bay two-storey side elevation to north-east continuing into single-bay three-stage/storey medieval tower house to north-west on a square plan with single-bay two-storey flanking bay to rear elevation to west having single-bay single-storey projecting bay to north-west. Hipped and gable-ended roofs with slate (behind battlemented parapet to tower). Clay ridge tiles. Rendered and roughcast chimney stacks. Square rooflights. Rendered coping to gables. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast walls over rubble stone construction. Painted. Part slate-hung to tower. Roughcast battlemented parapet wall to tower with cut-stone coping. Square-headed openings (some pointed-arch openings to tower with quatrefoil opening to top floor to tower to north-west). Stone sills. 3/6, 6/6 and 8/8 timber sash windows with 2/2 sidelights to one tripartite window opening. Replacement glazed timber panelled door, c.1980. Interior with timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set back from road in grounds shared with Saint John’s Church with part of south-west elevation forming boundary wall fronting on to lane to south-west. Detached two-bay double-height outbuilding, c.1730, to south-east with elliptical-headed integral carriageway. Reroofed, c.1940. Gable-ended roof. Replacement corrugated-iron, c.1940. Iron ridge tiles. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast walls. Painted. Square-headed door opening. Timber panelled door. Elliptical-headed integral carriageway. Timber double doors with timber overpanel. Section of stone cobbling, c.1730, to site.
Appraisal
Saint David’s Castle is an attractive house that is a little-known feature of the architectural heritage of Naas, being set well back from the line of Main Street and screened from view from Church Lane. The house is of considerable social and historical interest as one of the earliest and longest-standing private residences in the locality – the tower house dates to a period pre-1700 and is therefore of archaeological significance. Renovated and extended in the early eighteenth century to present the appearance of a gentleman’s residence, the house retains many of the features and materials dating from this phase of work. The house retains multi-pane timber sash fenestration of various dimensions, with some openings of other profiles, while the interior retains features such as timber panelled shutters to the window openings. A slate roof remains intact, having cast-iron rainwater goods, and the early aspect of the house is marred only by the insertion of an unsympathetic replacement door. The house is attractively set in grounds shared with Saint David’s Church (11814125/KD-19-14-125) as is accompanied by an outbuilding of much character, while being fronted by a section of stone cobbling that is evidence of a now almost-lost traditional practise.
Also known as King John’s Castle, and is the last surviving example of the many fortified houses in the town of Naas. Converted into a dwelling in the 18th century. It is a large building of three stories, it comprises a tower, with a winding stone staircase, a dungeon. In 1409 Henry IV granted to Naas its first charter as a Corporation and a few years later it was given power to collect tolls at all the entrances to the town, the moneys to go towards fortifying the town with walls and gates. King John’s Castle was rebuilt and incorporated into the town wall structure at this time.
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. 253. “(Stafford-King-Harman, Bt/PB) A house in the Palladian style, consisting of a small centre block with pavilions joined to it by curved sweeps. Bought by Sir Cecil Stafford-King-Harman, 2nd Bt, after the destruction by fire of his family seat, Rockingham, Co Roscommon, 1957. Sold 1987.”
The house that stood before the current Manor House was taller and was tenanted by the Earl of Lanesborough. Then in 1792, it was occupied by David La Touche, of the Huguenot banking family. It shortly thereafter burned to the ground and in around 1798 a new house, also called St Catherine’s Park, was built in the same townland to the design of Francis Johnston; it is now Leixlip Manor Hotel & Gardens.
Rt. Hon. David La Touche of Marlay (1729-1817) Date c.1800 by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Irish, 1740-1808, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Detached three-bay two-storey over basement house, c.1765, on a symmetrical plan retaining early fenestration with single-bay two-storey breakfront, three-bay two-storey side elevations to north-east and to south-west having single-bay two-storey bowed bay windows and five-bay two-storey rear elevation to south-east. Renovated and extended, c.1800, comprising single-bay two-storey curved linking wings to left (east) and to right (west) having single-bay two-storey lower pavilion blocks with single-bay single-storey flat-roofed projecting porch added to centre. Now in use as hotel. Hipped roofs behind parapet walls with slate (on a quadrangular plan to main block). Clay ridge tiles. Rendered chimney stacks. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Flat-roofed to porch behind parapet wall. Materials not visible. Roughcast walls. Painted. Rendered dressings including recessed panels over openings to first floor and parapet walls having moulded stringcourses. Rendered walls to porch. Painted. Engaged Ionic columns with frieze over having moulded cornice to parapet wall with blocking course to centre. Square-headed window openings (in round-headed recessed panels to ground floor front (north-west) elevation; in tripartite arrangement to bowed bay windows). Stone sills. 6/6 timber sash windows (2/2 sidelights to tripartite openings). Square-headed door opening. Glazed timber panelled double doors (possibly replacement). Interior with carved timber staircase and timber panelled shutters to window openings. Set back from road in own extensive grounds. Tarmacadam forecourt/carpark to front. Detached seven-bay two-storey outbuilding, c.1765, to north-west flanking courtyard with square-headed integral carriageway to left ground floor. Renovated and refenestrated, c.1990. Hipped roof with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Rendered chimney stack. Cast-iron rainwater goods on eaves course. Roughcast walls. Painted. Rendered buttresses along front (south-west) elevation. Square-headed openings (some possibly remodelled). Rendered sills. Replacement uPVC casement windows, c.1990. Square-headed door openings. Glazed timber panelled doors (probably replacement). Square-headed integral carriageway to left ground floor. No fittings. Detached two-bay single-storey rubble stone outbuilding with half-attic, c.1765, to north-east framing courtyard with square-headed integral carriageway. Gable-ended roof with slate. Red clay ridge tiles. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Random rubble stone walls. Square-headed window openings. Stone sills. Timber casement windows (probably replacement). Square-headed integral carriageway. Timber boarded doors. Detached multiple-bay two-storey outbuilding, c.1765, to north-east flanking courtyard retaining some original fenestration. Renovated and part refenestrated, c.1990. Hipped roof with slate. Clay ridge tiles. Rendered chimney stack. Cast-iron rainwater goods on eaves course. Roughcast walls. Painted. Shallow segmental-headed window openings to left ground floor (one in tripartite arrangement). Rendered sills. 1/1 timber sash window to tripartite arrangement with 1/1 sidelights having lattice glazing. Fixed-pane timber windows to remainder with lattice glazing. Square-headed window openings to remainder (some possibly remodelled, c.1990). Rendered sills. Replacement uPVC casement windows, c.1990. Square-headed door openings. Glazed timber panelled doors (probably replacement, c.1990). Subterranean tunnel, c.1765, leading to house to south-east approached by flight of stone steps having iron railings. Rubble stone boundary wall, c.1765, to courtyard (to north-west and to south-east) with pair of shallow segmental-headed integral carriageways with cut-stone piers, cut-stone voussoirs having stringcourses over and parapet walls. Rubble stone boundary wall, c.1765, to walled garden to north-east approached through farmyard courtyard.
Appraisal
Saint Catherine’s Park, now operating as a hotel under the name Liffey Valley House Hotel, is a fine and imposing Classical-style country house of two periods that has been very well-maintained, despite the subsequent change of use, to present an early aspect. Originally a compact symmetrically-planned block of graceful Georgian proportions, the house was considerably enlarged in the nineteenth century to accommodate wings in a Palladian arrangement that was, by then, going out of fashion. The house is of considerable social and historical significance, representing the dwellings of the prosperous class in Leixlip in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The house retains most of its original form, with early or original salient features and materials intact including multi-pane timber sash fenestration and slate roofs having cast-iron rainwater goods. The retention of an early external aspect suggests that the house may also retain features and fittings of significance in the interior – a carved timber staircase and timber panelled internal shutters are visible from outside. The house is attractively set in its own landscaped grounds, which remain substantially undeveloped – any future development on site ought to preserve the original context of the house. The house is accompanied by an attractive range of outbuildings to the north-west, formally arranged about an enclosed farmyard courtyard and of significance for their contribution to an almost intact country house estate. The outbuildings have undergone some renovation works, yet retain some of their original from and character – the survival of the original lattice-glazed fenestration to the openings to one range is important. A further feature of importance in the grounds is the subterranean tunnel that links the house with the service buildings, which is of some technical or engineering merit. The grounds also include an attractive walled garden that, similar to the boundary wall to the farmyard complex, is constructed of rubble stone with graceful carriageways that have retained their original shape.
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. 251. “(Otway, sub Otway-Ruthven/IFR; Dalgety/LG1972) A C18 house in Palladian style consisting of two storey three bay pedimented centre block with a pedimented and fanlighted doorway, joined to pavilions with Venetian windows by three sided links with pyramidal roofs. In 1814 the residence of Rev Caesar Otway…”
Rathcoffey, County Kildare entrance front c. 1975, photograph: William Garner, 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.
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. 239. “(Wogan, sub Wogan-Browne/LGI1912; Talbot, Talbot de Malahide, B/PB; Rowan-Hamilton/IFR) Only the gatehouse tower remains of the castle of that most important Irish Jacobite family, the Wogans, which passed by inheritance to the Talbots of Malahide and was sold ca 1785 by Richard Talbot, afterwards 2nd Lord Talbot de Malahide, to Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the future United Irish leader; who pulled down the castle and built what was described as “a less austere residence,” on its site, close to the gatehouse tower. It is of three storeys and has a front consisting of three bays recessed between two bay projections, which are joined at ground floor level by an arcade. As at Ballyhaise House, Co Cavan and King’s Fort, co Meath, the ground floor is vaulted over. Now a ruin.”
Rose O’Neill, later Mrs Nicholas Wogan (c.1695) by Garrett Morphy. She was daughter of Neil O’Neil and married Col Nicholas Wogan of Rathcoffey, Co Meath. Her daughter married John Talbot of Malahide.
supplement: the gatehouse is not the only part of the old castle to have survived; the C18 house is in fact a remodelling of a C13 hall house.”
Not in national inventory
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.
p. 86. “An interesting early to mid 18C three storey house incorporating an earlier building. Sold in the 1780s …Now.a ruin.”
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. 246. “(Bateman/LGI1912) A three storey house with irregular fenestration and a pedimented doorway not centrally placed. Long irregularly fenestrated two storey wing. Room with plasterwork frieze. In 1814, the residence of John Bateman.”
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. 303. “A two storey five bay house of late-Georgian appearance with a pillared porch. Quoins framing centre bay and at sides.”
Irish Historic Houses 
