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. 274. “(Tottenham/IFR and sub Ely, M/PB) A house of late C17 or early C18 appearance, but said to incorporate much older structure. …in C18, Tottenham Green was the seat of Charles Tottenham, known as “Tottenham in his boots: from having appeared in the Irish House of Commons in ridging boots after an historic ride from Co Wexford to vote in a crucial division (not to be confused with “Boots” Carew of Ballinamona Park). Sir Charles Tottenham, 2nd Bt, inherited the estates of the Loftus family and became 1st Marquess of Ely; Tottenham Green went to his younger son, Lord Robert Tottenham, Bishop of Clogher. It was sold ca 1873 to a Mr Bell; resold 1913 to James Cullen, sold once again 1945 and demolished ca 1950.”
Charles Tottenham in his Boots (1685-1758), 1731 by James Latham.
Dictionary of National Biography:
TOTTENHAM, CHARLES (1685–1758), Irish politician, son of Edward Tottenham of Tottenham Green, co. Wexford, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Hayman of Youghal, was born in 1685. He sat for New Ross in the Irish House of Commons from 1727 until shortly before his death, and was sheriff of co. Wexford in 1737, his local influence being great. In 1731 a great opposition was set on foot to a proposal that an Irish surplus of 60,000l. should be made over to the British government. Having heard that the question was likely to come on earlier than he expected, Tottenham, who was in the country, is said to have mounted his horse at Ballycarny, to have ridden sixty miles by night, and rushed into the parliament-house, Dublin, where the sergeant-at-arms endeavoured to bar his entrance on the ground that he was ‘undressed, in dirty boots, and splashed up to his shoulders.’ The speaker decided that he had no power to exclude him, and Tottenham strode into the house in jack boots ‘to vote for the country.’ The division was just about to be taken, and his casting vote gave a majority of one against the unpopular measure. Thenceforth he was known and toasted by Irish patriots as ‘Tottenham in his boots,’ although details of the story have been questioned. He died on 20 Sept. 1758. A character-portrait by Pope Stevens, dated 1749, was engraved in mezzotint by Andrew Miller, and bore the legend, ‘Tottenham in his Boots.’
By his first wife, Ellinor (d. 1745), daughter of John Cliffe of Mulrancan, co. Wexford, he had, with other issue, John, M.P. for New Ross in 1758, and for Fethard, co. Wexford, in 1761 and 1769, and sheriff for his county in 1749, who was created Sir John Tottenham, bart., of Tottenham Green, on 2 Dec. 1780, and died 29 Dec. 1786; and Charles, the ancestor of the Tottenhams of Ballycurry, co. Wicklow.
By his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas, and sister and coheir of Henry Loftus, earl of Ely, Sir John, the first baronet, had issue Charles Tottenham (afterwards Loftus) (1738–1806), who in connection with the negotiations preceding the Act of Union was on 29 Dec. 1800 created Marquis of Ely, having previously been made Baron (1785) and Viscount (1789) Loftus and Earl of Ely (1794). He assumed the name of Loftus in 1783, and on 19 Jan. 1801 he was created Baron Loftus of Long Loftus in the United Kingdom, having thus obtained no fewer than five separate peerage creations within fifteen years. ‘Prends-moi tel que je suis’ was the marquis’s motto (G. E. C[okayne], Peerage, iii. 263 n.).
[Lodge’s Peerage, 1789, vii. 269; Burke’s Landed Gentry, 1894, p. 2022; Members of Parliament, Official Returns; Webb’s Compendium of Irish Biography; Barrington’s Personal Sketches, i. 105–6; Smith’s British Mezzotinto Portraits, p. 937; Notes and Queries, 7th ser. vi. 41; Hardy’s Memoirs of the Earl of Charlemont, i. 76; Warburton’s Dublin.]
***********
Charles Tottenham (1685-1758) married Eleanor Cliffe and they had a son, John Tottenham (1714-1786) who was created 1st Baronet. He married Elizabeth Loftus (1720-1747) of Loftus Hall in Wexford, daughter of Nicholas Loftus 1st Viscount Ely. They had a son Charles Tottenham Loftus (1737-1806) who was created 1st Marquess Ely.
Charles Tottenham Loftus (1737-1806) , 1st Marquess of Ely by Hugh Douglas Hamilton.
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. 151. “An important single storey late 17C or early 18C pedimented and gable-ended house. Built for the Tottenhams. Very fine pedimented Roman Ionic doorcase and steep roof with dormer windows. The pediment had a Venetian window. A wing was added to the left hand side later in the 18C. Demolished c. 1950.
Courtown House, County Wexford, photograph by Robert French, 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. 93. “(Stopford, Courtown, E/PB) A C18 house overlooking the sea at Courtown Harbour, much altered and enlarged C19 after being sacked during 1798 Rebellion. The front of the house consisted of a “U” shaped block of two storeys and a dormered attic in the high-pitched, chateau-style roof; the dormers being pedimented. Five bay centre and one bay in the end of each of the projecting wings; the space between the latter being filled, at ground floor level, by a large open porch, fronted by a porte-cochere carried on four piers. The side of the house was of three bays, interrupted by a massive chimney-stack, beyond which was a three storey three sided bow. The side elevation was further prolonged by a two storey block with an ordinary eaved roof on a plain cornice; of three bays in its upper storey, and with a single large three light window, fronted by pilasters and an entablature, below. Large hall with double staircase. Sold post WWII, subsequently demolished.”
Courtown House, County Wexford, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland
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. 149. “…Altered and enlarged 1865-1867 to the design of William Burn for the 5th Earl of Courtown. Demolished after the second world war.”
THE EARLS OF COURTOWN WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WEXFORD, WITH 14,426 ACRES
This family is said to derive its descent from Nicholas de Stockport, Baron of Stockport, one of the eight barons of the county palatine of Chester, created by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, in the reign of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.
It is probable the family had been settled in that county before the Conquest, and certainly the estate of Salterstown, near Macclesfield, in Cheshire, belonged to the Stopfords from time immemorial.
WILLIAM STOPFORD, of Bispham and Wrightington, Lancashire, was MP for Liverpool, 1558.
WILLIAM STOPFORD, of Ulnes Walton, Lancashire, the representative of a family long settled in the north of that county, married Mary, daughter and eventual co-heir of Henry Farrington, second son of William Farrington, of Worden, and had issue,
JAMES, his heir;
William.
Mr Stopford died in 1647, and was succeeded by his elder son,
JAMES STOPFORD (1620-85), of Saltersford, Cheshire, Captain in the Parliamentary Army which served in Ireland; and upon the restoration of the royal family acquired considerable estates in that kingdom, partly by purchase and partly by grants under the Act of Settlement and the adjudication in favour of the ’49 officers, and took up his abode at New Hall, Meath.
Mr Stopford married firstly, Ellinor, fourth daughter of John Morewood, of The Oaks, Yorkshire, and had issue (with a daughter),
He wedded secondly, Mary, daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Robert Forth, Knight, and had further issue, two daughters.
Mr Stopford was succeeded by his grandson,
JAMES STOPFORD (1668-1721), MP for Wexford Borough, 1703-13, County Wexford, 1713-21, who wedded Frances, only daughter and heir of Roger Jones, and granddaughter and heiress of Thomas Jones, of Courtown, County Wexford.
He was succeeded at his decease by his eldest surviving son,
JAMES STOPFORD (1700-70), MP for County Wexford, 1721-7, Fethard, 1727-58, High Sheriff of County Wexford, 1756, who was elevated to the peerage, in 1758, in the dignity of Baron Courtown, of Wexford; and, in 1762, advanced to the dignities of Viscount Stopford and EARL OF COURTOWN.
His lordship married Elizabeth, only daughter of the Rt Rev Edward Smyth, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor, and had issue,
JAMES, his successor; Edward, lieutenant-general in the army; Thomas(Rt Rev), Lord Bishop of Cork and Ross; Joseph; Philip; Frances; Mary; Anne; Catherine; Charlotte.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
JAMES, 2nd Earl (1731-1810), KP, PC, who was created a peer of Great Britain, in 1794, as Baron Saltersford.
His lordship espoused, in 1762, Mary, daughter and co-heir of Richard Powys, of Hintlesham Hall, Suffolk, by whom he had issue,
The heir apparent is the present holder’s son James Richard Ian Montagu Stopford, styled Viscount Stopford (b 1988).
*****
THE COURTOWNS were a “Patrick Family”, the 2nd and 3rd Earls having been installed as Knights of St Patrick.
The 6th Earl was the last Lord-Lieutenant of County Wexford, from 1901 until 1922.
James Patrick Montagu Burgoyne Winthrop, 9th and present Earl, was a Lord in Waiting (Government Whip), 1995-97; representative peer to the House of Lords, 1999-.
COURTOWN HOUSE, near Gorey, County Wexford, was the 18th century seat of the Earls of Courtown, overlooking the sea at Courtown Harbour.
It was significantly altered and enlarged during the 19th century, following the 1798 rebellion.
The front consisted of a U-shaped block of two storeys and a dormer attic within the high-pitched, château-style roof.
The five-bay centre had a large open porch, with a porte-cochère carried on four piers.
Courtown House was demolished in 1962, having been sold to the Irish Tourist Board in 1948.
After the 2nd World War, the income from the amount of land left in the estate was not enough to keep Courtown House going and it had to be sold.
Marlfield House, once a Dower House on the Courtown estate, dates back to the 1840s.
The Courtown family also had a seat in Cheshire, Beale Hall.
Courtown Woodland was planted with oak and ash back in 1870.
At this time it was part of a typical Victorian estate woodland where exotic conifers and redwoods from California were planted within viewing distance of Courtown House.
Oak plantations were established at some distance.
They were under-planted with shrubs to provide food for pheasants for shooting parties.
The woodland was regularly cleared and used as firewood by local tenants.
During the 1860s and 1870s the 5th Earl established a pinetum, or conifer collection, in the grounds around Courtown House.
A small number of these trees remain today in the Woodland and in property across the river.
First published in January, 2012.
James Stopford (1794-1858) 4th Earl of Courtown, attributed to Joseph Slater, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.Charlotte Albina Montague Scott, married to James Thomas Stopford 4th Earl of Courtown, by Joseph Slater, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.George Dawkings, Courtown House, Wexford, by Charles Hayter, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.
Courtown House, near Gorey, was the seat of the Earls of Courtown. It was significantly altered and enlarged during the 19th century, including work by William Burn. The front consisted of a U-shaped block of two storeys and a dormered attic within the high-pitched, château-style roof. The five-bay centre had a large open porch, with a porte-cochere carried on four piers.
This house, one of several on the Courtown estate, was pulled down in 1962, having been sold to the Irish Tourist Board in 1948. After World War II, the income from the amount of land left in the estate was not enough to keep Courtown House going and it had to be sold.
Featured in The Wexford Gentry by Art Kavanagh and Rory Murphy. Published by Irish Family Names, Bunclody, Co Wexford, Ireland, 1994.
p. 200. Stopford of Courtown
p. 201. The first Stopford to come to Wexford waas James Stopford, the grandson of James a Cromwellian officer who got lands in Meath. Young James married an heiress called Frances Jones. She was the only daughter of Roger Jones and the heiress of Thomas Jones of Courtown.
Thomas Jones was a Captain in the army of the Commonwealth and he bought the lands from Edward Chichester, the grandson of Sir Edward Fisher who had been given them in the Wexford Plantation of 1611 (Fisher was one of the main architects of the Plantation)… [The terms of his title to Courtown specified]: “No Irish Papists are to be employed. Such Protestants as live there are to be within the protection of the garrison of Gorey, and are to bring in their cattle into some place of security, before the Sun goes down and not to drive them out before the Sun be up.”
The early Stopfords for the most part were absentee landlords….Despite beign absentees they were politically inclined and James was an MP for all his adult life. Of course tehre were no elections in those days and the family with the largest resources and therefore the better contacts with the British establishment was an automatic choice for MP. James had a half sister Dorothy, an acquaintance of Dean Swift, who nicknamed her “Countess Doll.”
James had a son, also named James who in the mid 1760s was elevated to the Peerage. He was given the titles Baron of Courtown, Viscount Stopford and Earl of Courtown. It was James the 1st Earl who built Courtown House. He died in 1770.
p. 202. His son James the 2nd Earl was the man on whom honours were heaped by the British Royalty. He was Treasurer of the Household in addition to his post as Lord of the Bedchamber [of the Prince of Wales in the mid 1700s]. He was given grants of land in England and elevated to the British peerage as Baron Saltersford of Saltersford, Co Cheshire in 1796. His brother was made a General of the Army as was his son Edward, while his younger sons Robert and Monague were made Admirals. The 2nd Earl commuted regularly to his Courtown home. He set up a barter system in the area by which he paid all his bills with fish. During his lifetime there was an abundance of fish caught in the area. Lord Courtown obtained his supplied of fish by the “castle mease” system, whereby the fishermen paid in fish for the use of the burrows for drying their nets.
p. 203. It was the 4th Earl who was responsible for building the Harbour at Courtown, “in an era when crushing poverty and hardship were the lot of the Irish people.” Mr and Mrs Hall, noted travellers of their time wrote that he was “Oneof the good landlords of the County, who had successfully laboured to introduce improvements among the people.” Notwithstanding those accolades, the Earl opposed the Catholic claim for emancipation.
The 5th Earl: p. 204. In 1883 his estates comprised more than 23,000 acres. He had the bulk of his land in Courtown, over 7000 acres in Carlow and almost 2000 in Cheshire. He vigorously opposed Home Rule and refused to sell his lands to the tenants when the land acts came into force. He died in 1914 at the age of 91 with his estate intact.
p. 205. The sixth Earl was the last to reside in Courtown House. The lands were sold and in 1947 Courtown House was taken over by the Irish Tourist Board. It was later demolished.
Detached three-bay single-storey pedimented gate house, extant 1840, on a symmetrical plan centred on single-bay full-height pedimented breakfront. Refenestrated, —-. Now disused. Pitched (gable-fronted) slate roof extending into lean-to slate roofs with clay ridge tiles, lichen-spotted cut-granite monolithic pediments to gables, and no rainwater goods surviving on cut-granite eaves. Part creeper- or ivy-covered coursed rubble stone walls originally rendered, ruled and lined on cut-granite chamfered plinth with red brick flush quoins to corners; rendered, ruled and lined surface finish (east). Round-headed central carriageway between red brick Flemish bond piers with red brick voussoirs. Square-headed flanking window openings with lichen-spotted cut-granite sills, and red brick block-and-start surrounds framing replacement timber casement windows. Lane fronted at entrance to grounds of Courtown House.
A gate house surviving as an interesting relic of the Courtown House estate following the sale (1947) and subsequent demolition (1948-9) of the eponymous country house (see 15701216) with the architectural value of the composition, one colloquially known as “The Arch”, confirmed by such attributes as the compact symmetrical plan form centred on a shallow breakfront; and the pedimented roofline. A prolonged period of unoccupancy notwithstanding, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric: the introduction of replacement fittings to the openings, however, has not had a beneficial impact on the external expression or integrity of a gate house forming part of a neat self-contained group alongside an adjacent “cottage orné” (see 15701222) and church (see 15701220) with the resulting ensemble making a pleasing visual statement in a sylvan setting. NOTE: A drawing signed (1844) in an illegible hand outlines an unexecuted proposal to transform the gate house with Georgian Gothic embellishments mirroring the adjacent church (IAA).
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. 55. “(Annesley, Valentia, V/PB; Caulfield, sub Charlemount V/PB) A square block of superior quality, dating from first half of C18. Good doorcase with segmental pediment. The seat of the Annesleys, Earls of Mountnorris and Viscounts Valentia, sold by them 1858. A ruin for many years, demolished ca 1974.”
No longer exists.
Featured in The Wexford Gentry by Art Kavanagh and Rory Murphy. Published by Irish Family Names, Bunclody, Co Wexford, Ireland, 1994.
p. 11. Probably the most astounding and shameful crime ever committed against a juvenile heir, was perpetrated against the young James Annesley by his greedy and covetous uncle Richard Annesley, the 5th Lord Altham, 7th Lord Valentia and 6th Earl of Anglesey, who had him sold as a slave in America.
The Wexford/Annesley connection began with the Plantation of Wexford in the early part of the 17C when Sir Francis Annesley, the Clerk of the Pells of the Exchequer received his first grant of 1000 acres (1612). According to Loeber, writing on the Plantations in Wexford History & Society, Annesley was a shrewd and somewhat sinister figure. Loeber says “he was a peculiar man who had gained much power in Dublin, and had skilfully used his influence to amass a large estate in the Ulster plantation, as well as holdings in other parts of Ireland. Very little is known about how he financed these acquisitions. One thing is clear though; he surpassed all Wexford planters in carving out a large personal territory by acquiring four plantation estates in County Wexford, which in 1641 amounted to over 11,000 profitable acres, not to mention the unprofitable land. His fortune did not wane until the rebellion of 1641, when he and his son claimed a loss of £4,000 in yearly income and £10,000 [p. 12] in personal estate. To put these sums into perspective, 10,000 acres of land were bought for £2,000 in the 1650s in Wexford.
p. 12. Their North Wexford properties stretched from the coast near Morriscastle, where Francis built Castle Annesley, right across the county as far as Carnew and Clonegal. Camolin was another favourite seat of the family. Sir Francis was created a baronet of Ireland by patent in 1620, and Viscount Valentia in 1621. He was created Baron Mountnorris in 1628 and sat in the House of Lords. He died in 1650.
…He had seven sons and two daughters by his second wife (Jane Stanhope). At that time they lived at Mountnorris Castle at Monasoothagh, near Camolin. John, his thrid son by his first marriage was the ancestor of the Annesleys of Ballysonan, Co Kildare, one of whom married Robert Doyne of Wells, in the early 1700s. The children of the second marriage lived mainly in England and were associated with the church.
Not everything in the Annesley agenda went according to plan, however, Mountnorris incurred the displeasure of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, in the mid 1630s and was imprisoned. He was ordered to leave all his possessions and to be shot or lose his head, at the Deputy’s pleasure. Charles I, however, intervened and ordered a reexamination fo the case in the presence of four Privy Counsellors. Lord Mountnorris was eventually released.
The Annesley connection with the Bunclody area began when the vast Kavanagh estates comprising over 10,000 acres in the Bunclody area sprawled across the Blackstairs in the two counties of Carlow and Wexford were granted to Lord Mountnorris’s son and heir, Sir Arthur Annesley, the Earl of Anglesey (along with other vast estates in Wexford and elsewhere) after the Cromwellian Confiscations in the 1650s. He was treasurer of the Navy in 1667 and lord privy seal in 1673.
p. 13. The Annesleys were unable to take actual possession of the Kavanagh estates until after the defeat of King James in 1690, when Cahir Kavanagh the last Gaelic occupant of Carrigduff Castle fled to France (Carrigduff was called after the founder of the castle, Carragh Duff Kavanagh, who built the castle in the mid 16C).
The Earl died in 1686 and the estates passed to his sons. The bulk of his wealth passed to James Annesley who died in 1690 and the Bunclody lands were granted to another son the 1st Lord Altham. This man’s name was Altham Annesley and he inherited his title from his maternal grandmother Elizabeth, daughter and co heir of Sir James Altham. When Sir James Altham died, the title passed to the Annesleys.
p. 14. When the first Lord Altham died in 1699 his title passed to his son James who became teh 2ndLord Altham, but as he died in infancy, he was succeeded by his uncle Rev Richard Annesley who became the third Lord Altham. Rev Richard died in 1701 and was succeeded by his son, Arthur the 4thLord Altham.
Arthur was the father of the young heir James Annesley who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Arthur was married to Mary the daughter of the Duke of Buckinghamshire, but after her death he dissipated his wealth by drinking to excess and consorting with immoral women.
The 4th Lord Altham resided at Carrigduff Castle with his son James during the years 1721-2. In the course of the famous trial which ensued it was established that James had a tutor called James Dempsey whom Lord Altham had hired for £8 per annum.
It would appear that Lord Altham moved to Dublin, where he wasted his fortune. Young James was neglected and left to fend for himself on the streets of Dublin. His father, Lord Altham, an alcoholic, died a pauper in Inchicore in 1727, and was buried in Christ Church at public expense. Young James was about fourteen years old at the time, and a street urchin. Shortly afterwards he was shanghaied in Dublin and shipped to America, at the instigation of his uncle Richard. [Richard claimed that James was illegitimate, the son of Joan Landy]
James Annesley, (1715-1760), Claimant to the Annesley Peerage Date. after 1744 by Engraver John Brooks, after artist Justin Pope-Stevens, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Richard was a conniving schemer who wanted to get his hands on the Annesley estates.
After spending 13 years in captivity, James eventually escaped to Jamaica and from there made his way back to England, where he initiated court proceedings for the return of his lands and title. However, the court proceedings dragged on for years and James died or was poisoned before any definite ruling was made by the judges, and his uncle Richard, now the 5th Earl of Anglesey, retained his titles and estates. [The Peerage: In 1728 he opposed his father’s raising money to fund a spendthrift way of life, hence apparently he was removed to an obscure school, and then his death announced. He was sold to an American planter as a slave by his uncle, Richard (who went on to assume his title of Baron Altham). He subsequently escaped to Jamaica. In 1737 he was de jure 5th Baron Altham, 7th Viscount of Valentia and 6th Earl of Anglesey (as which would normally have succeeded his father’s 1st cousin on latter’s death.) In September 1740 he made his way back to England under the care of Admiral Vernon. On 11 November 1743 he took action against his uncle, Richard, to eject him as Baron Altham. His uncle’s defence was that James was not the legitimate son of Mary, but actually the illegitimate son of Joan Landy. The verdict was in James’ favour, and his estates were returned to him, although he never took up his titles. On 26 November 1743 the jury disagreed and found for the plaintiff, who got back the family estates. On 3 August 1744 his uncle was in addition found guilty of assault on his nephew (i.e., presumably the selling into slavery.) He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.]
p. 15. Of course the plot sketched above, was much thicker than stated. During the litigation about the estates James accidentally shot a man standing near him with a faulty fowling gun. At the urging of his uncle he was tried for murder and Uncle Richard actually sat on the bench with the magistrates and browbeat the witnesses who appeared for the defence. However, James was acquitted and Richard had to resort to other means. He had him attacked at a race meeting by a gang of hired thugs, but James managed to escape while several of his companions were seriously injured. In another incident a clerk carrying important legal papers which would prove James to be the heir, was murdered and he and the papers disappeared. Witnesses in the case were bribed and perjured themselves but all to no avail. The court found in favour of James. The wily uncle now got a ‘writ of error’ which had the effect of setting aside the verdict and before a new trial could be brought, James died.
p. 15. Arthur [the 1st Earl of Anglesey, created in 1661] was an energetic and able man, who increased the family holdings by his astute dealings. He went to England and joined the Parliamentarians in opposition to Charles I. He returned to Ireland in the service of the Parliamentarians. After the Confiscations he acquired much of the Kavanagh forfeited lands in North Wexford and a considerable amount of the Masterson lands also, in addition to the O’Morchoe lands in Kilmuckridge and the Waddock or Maddock lands north of Gorey. In 1667 he tried to have the Kavanagh lands of Ferns granted to himself and as an inducement he mentioned in his letter to the Lord Deputy that he would be able to invite his Lordship to some of the best hunting grounds in the kingdom if he were given the lands about Ferns. He seems to have [p. 16] maintained a private army and in 1662 twentyfive of its cavalry were stationed at Enniscorthy, twenty in Gorey and six at Camolin. He owned more than 30,000 acres in Co Wexford. Sir Arthur died in 1686.
Arthur Annesley (1614-1686) 1st Earl of Anglesey, after John Michael Wright based on a work of 1676, NPG 3805.
p. 16. Sir James, the eldest son and heir, the 3rd Viscount Valentia and the 2nd Earl of Anglesey married Elizabeth the daughter of the Earl of Rutland.
P. 17. Sir Richard (6th Earl)’s extravagant lifestyle and probably his alcoholism forced him to sell off large tracts of his lands including the Kilmuckridge lands, the first estate to be acquired by his great grandfather. He was an MP for New Ross in 1718 and it would appear he lived at Dunmain, which was rented from the Colcloughs, for a number of years. He died in 1761.
p. 18. [1st Baron MOuntnorris]’s daugther Hester married Major Gen. Norman Macleod and it was her son Arthur Lyttleton who inherited the Annesley estates and titles and changed his name to Annesley.
P. 18. The Earl of Mountnorris was the man who devised and encouraged the surrendering of arms by the Catholics in 1798, in return for letters of protection. This was done in an attempt to calm the countryside on the eve of the rebellion. He was also the commander of the Camolin Cavalry, which sparked the rebellion, by the rash actions of the members in Boolavogue. However Mountnorris himself was absent in Dublin at the time, and could not be blamed for the incident. His house in Camolin was one of the first to be attacked, because of the large store of weapons, which, when collected, were deposited there for safe keeping. Ironincally, he was one of the “Virtuous and Independent Forty Five” who voted against the establishment in 1793. He favoured granting emancipation to the Catholics.
Only one of his sons produced an heir, George Annesley his second son who married Anne the 6th daughter of Lord Courteney and had a son George Arthur, Lord Valentia.
p. 19. The family seat, Camolin Park, with its 700 acres in demesne, was sold off in 1852 and twenty years later the rest of hte family’s Wexford lands were disposed of, in the Landed Estates Court.
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.
Gateway, extant 1903, on a symmetrical plan comprising pair of cut-granite monolithic piers on stepped plinths having shallow pyramidal capping supporting finial-topped wrought iron double gates with benchmark-inscribed cut-granite monolithic outer piers having rounded capping supporting wrought iron railings. Street fronted at entrance to grounds of Camolin House.
A gateway forming part of a neat self-contained group alongside an adjacent gate lodge (see 15609012) with the resulting ensemble not only making a pleasing visual statement in a rural village street scene, but also surviving as an interesting relic of the Camolin House estate following the demolition (1967) of the eponymous country house rebuilt (1864-5) for Arthur William Grattan Guinness (1827-69) to a design by Sir Thomas Newenham Deane (1827-99) of Upper Merrion Street, Dublin (O’Dwyer 1997, 389).
A seven bay two-storey early 18th century house with a steep central pediment over the central three bays, and a good central doorcase with a segmental pediment. It was presumably built for Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey, who is known to have spent much of his time in Ireland at this property. Sir John Soane made proposals for the addition of wings and a large portico in 1814-15, but they do not appear to have been executed, perhaps because of the death of the 1st Earl of Mountnorris the following year. The house was burnt in 1913 and thereafter fell into ruins and was demolished altogether in about 1974.
The only substantial survival is the large U-shaped stable block of the 1770s, which was remodelled in 1904 and restored in 2003, although proposals for residential conversion since 2009 would, if executed, compromise its historic value.
Descent: sold 1662 to Arthur Annesley (1614-86), 1st Earl of Anglesey; to son, James Annesley (c.1645-90), 2nd Earl of Anglesey; to son, James Annesley (1674-1702), 3rd Earl of Anglesey; to brother, John Annesley (1676-1710), 4th Earl of Anglesey; to brother, Arthur Annesley (1677-1737), 5th Earl of Anglesey; to cousin, Richard Annesley (1693-1761), 6th Earl of Anglesey; to son, Arthur Annesley (1744-1816), 8th Viscount Valentia and 1st Earl of Mountnorris; to son, George Annesley (1770-1844), 2nd Earl of Mountnorris; to nephew, Capt. Arthur Lyttelton Macleod (later Annesley) (1802-82), who sold 1852 to James Foster (d. 1853); to nephew, William Orme Foster (1814-99); to son, William Henry Foster (b. 1846), who let the house as a College of Forestry and sold it in the early 20th century; burnt 1913 and demolished 1974.
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. “(Tyndall/LGI1912) A house with fine late C18 interiors. Staircase with alternate wood and iron balusters; plasterwork panels on walls. Ballroom, afterwards dining room, with coved ceiling. Drawing room with transitional plasterwork in low relief. Library with Adamesque ceiling. In 1814 the residence of Gen. Ambrose. Now totally destroyed.”
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.
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. 262. “(Tuite). a C18 house consisting of a plain three storey seven bay centre block joined to a three bay single-storey wings by one bay links. Centre block with segmental pedimented doorcase and wall carried up to be roof parapet. One a February night 1783, Sir George Tuite 7th Bt was found murdered in his study here, his brains having been beaten out. His King Charles spaniel, which was with him, had likewise been battered to death. There was no robbery, nor had any papers been disturbed; the murderer was never discovered. Now demolished.”
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. 144. Three storey 18C house with flanking single storey wings. Seat of the Tuites. Demolished.
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. 183. “(Lyons/LGI1912) A late-Georgian house of 1823; two storeys over high basement, five bay bow-ended front. Single-storey portico at head of broad flight of steps with iron railings; wide window above. Entrance hall and staircase hall in middle of house; bifurcating staircase. There was a printing press here in late C19. Now demolished.”
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. 144. A two storey house dated 1823 incorporating an earlier 18C house and a tower house. Very fine well detailed Doric portico. Good interior including a very fine imperial staircase with a screen of fluted Doric columns on the first floor landing. Former seat of the Lyons family. Derelict for many years. Demolished.”
Baronston House (or Baronstown), Ballinacargy, Co Westmeath
Baronstown , County Westmeath entrance front, collection: Geoffrey Brooke, 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. 33. “(Malone, Sunderlin, B/DEP; Malone/LGI1912) A late C18 house consisting of a three storey centre block joined to two storey wings by curved sweeps; largely built by Richard Malone, 1st and last Lord Sunderlin, who is immortalised in Sir John Betjeman’s poem, Sir John Piers:
“And from the North, lest you, Malone, should spy me
You, Sunderlin of Baronstown, the peer,
I’ll fill your eye with all the stone that’s by me
And live four-square protected in my fear.”
The centre block had a seven bay front with a pedimented breakfront; oeil de boeuf window in pediment; three bay projecting porch. The wings were of five bays. After suffering two successive fires, the centre block was replaced 1903 by a large gabled Edwardian villa to the design of James Franklin Fuller; The original eighteenth century curved sweeps and wings remaining on either side, to produce an effect of grotesque incongruity. Sold ca 1929, afterwards demolished.”
And from the Nonrth, lest you, Malone, should spy me,
You, Sunderlin of Baronstown, the peer,
I’ll fill your eye with all the stone that’s by me
And live four-square protected in my fear.
The centre block had a seven bay front with a pedimented breakfront, oeil de boeuf window in pediment; three bay projecting porch. The wings were of five bays. After suffering two successive fires, the centre block was replaced 1903 by a large gabled Edwardian villa to the design of James Franklin Fuller; the original C18 curved sweeps and wings remaining on either side, to produce an effect of grotesque incongruity. Sold ca 1929, afterwards demolished.”
Richard Malone (d. 1816) had no children. He had a brother, Edmond Malone (1741-1812) who was a barrister and Shakespearean scholar.
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. 141. A large three storey pedimented house built in 1755 for Richard Malone 1st Lord Sunderlin, with flanking pavilions joined to the main block by quadrants. The house was rebuilt in 1889, following a fire. Following another fire in 1903 the main block was completely rebuit to the design of James Franklin Fuller in the Tudor manor house style. Demolished.
Baronston also known as Baronstown, was a three-storey centre block joined to two-storey wings by curved sweeps. In 1903, a large, gabled, Edwardian villa was constructed on the site of the central block, with the sweeps and wings remaining on either side. This replacement was built twice by James Franklin Fuller, rebuilt first ‘for the late Col Malone’ and second on a smaller scale for ‘the present Col. Malone’ after successive fires. Baronston was sold in 1929.
THE MALONES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY WESTMEATH, WITH 13,715 ACRES
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, married, in 1569, Margaret, daughter of Richard Dalton, of Milltown, by whom he had issue, one son,
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, who wedded firstly, in 1599, Rose, daughter of John Coghlan (The Maw); and secondly, Catherine Pettyt.
By the latter he had a son, John, who was settled at Cartrons, County Westmeath, in the neighbourhood of his father, and a daughter, Mary; and by the former he was father of a son and heir,
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, who espoused, in 1617, a daughter of Garrett Byrne, and left a son and successor,
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, who married, in 1644, Mary, daughter of Brazel Fox, of Kilcoursy, and had two sons,
ANTHONY MALONE, of Baronston, married, in 1673, Mary, daughter of John Reilly, of Lismore, County Cavan, and granddaughter of the Earl of Roscommon, and was father of
RICHARD MALONE (1674-), of Baronston, the celebrated lawyer and orator, who wedded, in 1698, Marcella, daughter of Richard Molady, by Mary his wife, daughter of John Malone, of Cartrons, and had issue,
ANTHONY(Rt Hon), MP; Edmond, MP; father of RICHARD, 1st BARON SUNDERLIN; Richard, MP; Anne Jane Frances; Mary; Margaret; Marcella.
The elder son of Edmond Malone and Mary Fox his wife,
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1756-7, wedded, in 1674, Anne, daughter of Henry L’Estrange, of Moystown, King’s County, and had (with a daughter) three sons,
RICHARD MALONE (1706-59), of Ballynahown, espoused, in 1717, Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Crosbie, of Ballyheigue, County Kerry, and had issue,
Edmond, MP for Ardfert; dsp 1759; HENRY, his heir; Anthony (Rev); Elizabeth.
The second son,
HENRY MALONE, of Ballynahown, married Anne, daughter of Henry Morres Jones, of Moneyglass, County Antrim, and had a son,
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, who wedded, in 1774, his cousin Mary, eldest daughter of John O’Connor, of Mount Pleasant, King’s County, and had issue,
EDMOND, of whom presently; John; Henry; Maria; Anne.
His eldest son,
EDMOND MALONE, of Ballynahown, Captain, Black Horse Regiment, espoused, in 1813, Henrietta, daughter of John Chomley, of Belcamp, County Dublin.
He died in 1818, and left issue,
Edmond, died unmarried, 1836; JOHN RICHARD, of whom hereafter; Harriette.
The only surviving son,
JOHN RICHARD MALONE JP DL (1817-94), of Baronston, High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1852, married firstly, in 1844, Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Henry Peisley L’Estrange, of Moystown, King’s County, and by her had issue,
JOHN RICHARD, his successor; Henry L’Estrange.
He wedded secondly, in 1868, Anna Jane, youngest daughter of Robert William Lowry DL, of Pomeroy, County Tyrone, and Belmore, County Westmeath.
His eldest son,
JOHN RICHARD MALONE JP DL (1846-), High Sheriff of County Westmeath, 1896, Colonel Commanding 6th Battalion, Rifle Brigade, espoused firstly, in 1872, Charlotte Mildred, daughter of the Hon John Yarde Buller, and sister of John, 2nd Baron Churston, and had issue,
JOHN RICHARD MORDRED HENRY L’ESTRANGE; Roderick O’Connor Vivian Henry Vere; Victor Mildred Charles.
Colonel Malone wedded secondly, in 1893, Catherine Cecil, daughter of Major J W Percy, and had further issue,
Henry Anthony Percy; Richard Maurice Fitzgerald; Barbara Grace Maria Patricia.
BARONSTON HOUSE, Ballynacargy, County Westmeath, was a late 18th century house consisting of a three-storey centre block joined to two-storey wings by curved sweeps.
The centre block had a seven-bay front with a pedimented breakfront; a three-bay projecting porch; wings of five bays.
Having suffered a series of fires, the centre block was replaced, in 1903, by a large, gabled, Edwardian villa, with the sweeps and wings remaining on either side.
Baronston was sold in 1929 and subsequently demolished.
Sunderlin arms courtesy of European Heraldry. First published in January, 2012.
The Malone Mausoleum in the graveyard of Kilbixy, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
The Malone Mausoleum in the graveyard of Kilbixy, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
The Malone Mausoleum in the graveyard of Kilbixy, County Westmeath was erected in the late 18th century, its design attributed to James Wyatt who is thought also to have been responsible for the adjacent St Bigseach’ church. The building was commissioned by Richard Malone, first (and last) Baron Sunderlin who lived nearby in the long-lost Baronston House. Faced with ashlar limestone, it takes the form of a weighty square block on a stepped base plinth above which rises a pyramidal roof. Comparisons have been made with the mausolea of Halicarnassus and Knidos, and, with regard to the north-east elevation, the fourth century BC Choragic Monument of Thrasyllos on the south face of Athens’ Acropolis. The building’s Greek cross interior contains three sarcophagi, one for Malone, one for his late uncle Anthony Malone (whose extensive estates he had inherited) and one for his brother Edmond, a well-known Shakespearean scholar of the period. Access to the interior is via double doors, above which is an inscription reading ‘Mors Janua Vitae’ (Death is the Door of Life) while on the south-west can be seen the Malone coat of arms with the inscription ‘Fidelis at Urnam’ (Faithful until Death). Thanks to the Follies Trust, the mausoleum underwent extensive restoration in 2023 but recently a tree in the graveyard came down beside it and while this does not appear to have damaged the main structure, the cast-iron railings may have suffered.
The Malone Mausoleum in the graveyard of Kilbixy, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
The Malone Mausoleum in the graveyard of Kilbixy, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
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. 91. “(Sanders/IFR) A three storey C18 block…Formerly the seat of a branch of the Wall family. It is said that one of the families who owned it in the past lived very extravagantly; and when, as a result, they went bankrupt, they committed mass suicide by driving their coach over the cliff at Tramore. In the present century, the main block became derelict; a house was made in the wing, which in recent years was the home of Mr C.C. Sanders. The house has now been demolished.”
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. 140.
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. “(Power/IFR; Gallwey/IFR) A C18 house built onto an old castle. Doorway with broken pediment and engaged Doric columns, not centrally placed. The seat of the Bolton family, before they built the nearby Faithlegg house; bought, together with Faithlegg, by the Power family 1819 and eventually inherited by Mrs H.W.D. Gallwey (nee Power). Afterwards demolished; the doorway is now at Georgetown House.”
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.
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. 272. “A house built ca mid-C18 by a Mr Leggat. Old castle in demesne. Sold by Capt R.S.Ryan 1951.”
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.
Built for the Leggatt family in the mid 18C. Demolished.
THE BENNETTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN THE KING’S COUNTY, WITH 5,480 ACRES
NICHOLAS BENNETT married Mabel O’Kelly, of County Roscommon, and had issue,
Nicholas, died unmarried; FRANCIS, his heir; Mabel, m to John Ball; Anne, died unmarried.
The eldest surviving son,
FRANCIS BENNETT, of Thomastown, wedded Elizabeth Laffin, of County Kilkenny, and had issue,
Thomas, diedunmarried; VALENTINE; Mary Catherine, m to Lt-Col L’Estrange; Elizabeth Emily, m to John Farrell.
The younger son,
VALENTINE BENNETT JP DL, of Thomastown, High Sheriff of King’s County (Offaly), 1830, married, in 1894, Elizabeth Helen, daughter of George Ryan, of Inch House, County Tipperary, and had issue,
FRANCIS VALENTINE, his heir; George Henry; Thomas Joseph; Henry Grey; Valentine; FREDERICK PHILIP, succeeded his brother; Albert; Elizabeth Marian.
Mr Bennett died in 1839, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
FRANCIS VALENTINE BENNETT JP DL (1826-90), of Thomastown Park, High Sheriff of King’s County, 1854, who died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother,
FREDERICK PHILIP BENNETT JP DL (1830-1905), High Sheriff of King’s County, 1895, who died at Monaco.
Mr Bennett left his estate to Mr Valentine Ryan, on condition that he adopt the name of BENNETT.
THOMASTOWN PARK HOUSE, Frankford, near Birr, County Offaly, was built in the mid-18th century.
There is said to be an old castle within the demesne.
The house, built during the mid-18th century for the Leggat family, and in the ownership of the Bennett family during the 19th century, was once a large and important demesne within County Offaly.
The house even had a private chapel.
Though the country house itself is no longer extant, the associated structures of the demesne remain.
(Image: Country Life/Nicholas Kingsley)
Notable elements include the large walls which surround what once was a deer park; the finely tooled limestone entrance gates; the walled garden; and the outbuilding with ashlar bellcote.
The walled garden, outbuilding, deer park and former entrance gates and lodge to former Thomastown Park House, built ca 1750.
Main entrance gates (above) with square-profile, ashlar limestone gate piers with frieze and capping stones with wrought-iron gates flanked by pedestrian entrances with tooled limestone surrounds flanked by quadrant walls; large, walled deer park to north of former demesne with random coursed stone walls.
Walled garden to west of former house site with random coursed stone walls and red brick internal wall to north.
Outbuilding to farmyard complex with rough-cast rendered walls, corrugated roof and ashlar limestone bell-cote to south-east elevation.
Segmental and square-headed carriage arch openings with corrugated doors.
The estate was sold by Group Captain Richard Stephen Ryan CBE RAF in 1951.
Irish Historic Houses 
