Achmuty, Samuel (1700-1766)

Brianstown, Cloondara, Co Longford 

by jenjunebug

Brianstown, Cloondara, Co Longford 

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. 47. “(Achmuty/LG1850-53) A cut-stone house of two storeys over basement, with a dormered attic in a high-pitched roof; built 1731 for Samuel Achmuty, whose arms are incorporated in the modified Venetian doorway, above which there used to be a niche between two windows. Gibbsian window surrounds. After a fire in the present century, the house was reconstructed without the upper storey.” 

Family tree, see Thomas Gordon Achmuty. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/13401305/brianstown-house-brianstown-county-longford

Detached double-pile five-bay single-storey over half-basement country house, dated 1731, with three-bay single-storey ballroom addition built c. 1880 to southeast end having bowed end, with recent greenhouse extension to rear (southwest) elevation of ballroom. Two flat-roofed single-bay two-storey extensions to northwest side elevation. Hipped natural slate roof to main block with painted two rendered chimneystacks and cast-iron rainwater goods; natural slate roof to ballroom extension having curved roof profile to southeast end and red brick chimneystack with moulded cut limestone dressings and terracotta chimney pots. Painted roughcast rendered walls to ground floor, painted smooth rendered walls to half basement level. Cut limestone quoins to corners of main block and ballroom extension; cut limestone eaves course to main block; and sting course (separating basement and ground floor level) to main block and ballroom. Square-headed window openings having two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows and cut limestone sills. Cut limestone Gibbsian window surrounds to front elevation of main block, and carved limestone window surrounds to ballroom block. Square-headed window openings at half-basement level with cut limestone surrounds, cut limestone sills and replacement windows. Central round-headed door opening to main block with cut limestone Gibbsian surround, cut limestone tympanum over with carved coat-of-arms, and square-headed doorway with replacement timber panelled door. Flight of limestone steps to main entrance. Steps flanked to either side by cut limestone parapet walls with moulded limestone coping over and terminated by cut limestone piers (on square-plan) with recessed rectangular panels and moulded limestone coping. Square-headed door opening to southeast end of ballroom block with carved limestone surround, replacement door and mature grounds to the northwest of Longford Town. Yard to the northwest of house (13401106). Main entrance gates to the southwest (13401107). Main approach avenue to house flanked by wrought-iron railings. 

Appraisal 

This interesting early eighteenth-century house retains much of its early character and form despite a rather chequered history. Originally a two-storey house over a basement with an attic storey and high-pitched roof with two dormer windows (Bence-Jones 1978, 47; Casey and Rowan 1993, 437), its lowered elevation is the result of rebuilding in the 1930’s after being partially burnt in 1922. The late nineteenth-century ballroom to the southeast survived the fire. Typical of many country houses in Ireland, cut limestone is used to emphasise the architectural form of the house, providing window surrounds, quoins and string courses. This house is so elaborately decorated that even the basement windows have cut limestone surrounds, and unusual feature for houses of its size. The entrance is emphasised by using a combination of two motifs popular in Palladianism, the Palladian window and the Gibbsian surround. The carved tympanum in place of a fanlight is a notable and unusual feature, and features the coat of arms of the original owner of the house, Samuel Achmuty (high sheriff of Longford in 1720/21), and the inscription reads ‘Dum Spiro Spero’, the Achmuty (or Auchmuty) family motto. There was formerly a niche above the doorcase, flanked to either side by window openings. Craig (1976) describes this building as standing Janus-like between the seventeenth-century (now thought to date from the early eighteenth-century) Dutch-inspired Beaulieu (County Louth NIAH 13902509) and the eighteenth-century Palladian classicism then becoming current through the influence of James Gibbs and William Kent. The present house replaced an earlier residence (associated with the Achmuty family at Brianstown (possibly built c. 1640 or 1654? – grant of fee farm at Brianstown from the Forbes family of Castle Forbes). The Achmuty family (from Fifeshire, Scotland) originally came to Ireland during the early seventeenth-century (c. 1625), and a Capt. A(u)chmuty was later involved in the defence of Castle Forbes during the war of 1641. The Achmuty family were an important family with a number of notable military connections (indeed the family were originally granted lands in Ireland as reward for military service); including Thomas Achmuty (d. 1766), a captain of the 27th Foot Regiment; Samuel Achmuty, a lieutenant-colonel in the Longford militia during the late-eighteenth and high sheriff of the county in 1789; and Samuel-Benjamin, an assistant-adjunct-general to a division in the British Army during the Peninsular Wars (1808 – 1814). The house was the residence of a Thomas Gordon Auchmuty, Esq., in 1837 (Lewis); a Capt. Henry Musters in 1846 (Slater’s Directory), a H. Aughmuty Musters in 1881 (Slater’s Directory), and a John G. Musters, J.P. in 1894 (Slater’s Directory). This distinctive and impressive building is an important element of the built heritage of County Longford, and forms the centrepiece of a group of related structures along with the outbuildings to the northwest (13401306), and the gateway (13401307)to the southeast. Set in mature grounds, this fine building is enhanced and contextualised by its surroundings. 

https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/2013/03/achmuty-alias-auchmuty-of-brianstown.html

Achmuty alias Auchmuty of Brianstown and Kilmore House  

This family traces its descent from Capt. Arthur Auchmuty (1600-98), a descendant of an ancient Scottish family of that name from Fife, who settled at Brianstown (Co. Longford) in the reign of Charles I.  The family name is spelled in a remarkable variety of forms, including Ahmuty, Achmuty, Auchmuty and Aghmooty. Brianstown was rebuilt as a two-storey Georgian house in 1731, by Samuel Achmuty (d. 1766).  The estate passed from father to son until the mid 19th century, when on the death of Thomas Gordon Achmuty without male issue, it passed to his daughter Bridget Domvile Achmuty, who married Capt. Henry Musters (of the Chaworth-Musters of Annesley and Colwick family).  The Musters seem to have sold up in the early 20th century, probably soon after the death of J.G. Musters in 1917. 
 
Dr. Arthur Auchmuty (d. 1749), the brother of the builder of Brianstown, married Mary, the daughter and eventual sole heiress of James Lawler of Kilmore House (Roscommon). Either he or his son, Thomas Auchmuty (d. 1775) inherited Kilmore through this connection, and like Brianstown it descended through the generations, passing to James Auchmuty (d. 1809) and then to his brother, another Dr. Arthur Auchmuty (1769-1845), who as a naval surgeon amputated Lord Nelson’s right arm in 1797. Dr. Auchmuty had no sons, and the estate passed to his younger daughter, Judith (d. c.1864), who married Horatio Nelson Lawder (d. 1877) and thus carried the estate back to the family from which it had come more than a century before. Their son, Arthur Auchmuty Lawder (d. 1882), was the last member of the family to own the estate, which was sold after his death, apparently to John Jones (d. 1906) who had been the family’s agent at Kilmore and resident in the house after Horatio Nelson Lawder built a more modern residence at Aghamore (Leitrim). 

Brianstown (Longford) 

A house with a grass field Description automatically generated 
Brianstown House today, following early 20th century rebuilding. © National Inventory of Architectural Heritage 

The original house on the site (possibly built c.1640 or c.1654) was rebuilt in 1731 as a two-storey five bay house on a basement for Samuel Achmuty, whose arms and motto are in the tympanum above the door.  It was gutted by fire in 1922 and rebuilt in the 1930s as a single storey above the basement, with a narrow entrance set between two small windows and held together by a border of raised quoins.  Similar quoins frame the windows of the outer bays, and the top storey had them too.  A high hipped roof was pierced by two dormer windows.  The house looked very much like Barretstown (Kilkenny), and was on the cusp between the Dutch-inspired Beaulieu tradition and the 18th century Palladian classicism  that was reaching Ireland in the 1730s. 

Previous owners: Arthur Auchmuty (1600-98); to grandson, Thomas Achmuty (d. 1712); to son, Samuel Achmuty (d. 1766); to son, Thomas Achmuty (d. 1772?); to son, Samuel Achmuty, lieutenant-colonel of the Longford militia (d. 1829); to son Thomas Gordon Achmuty (d. after 1850); to daughter, Margaret Domvile Achmuty (d. 1883), first wife of Capt. Henry Musters (1812-96); to son John George Musters (1844-1917)… Andrew McHugh (fl. 2011).  

Auchmuty of Brianstown 

Achmuty, Capt. Arthur (c.1600-98) of Brianstown. Possibly the son of John Achmuty; born c.1600.  Assisted the defence of Castle Forbes against the Irish rebels, 1641.  Married Martha (parentage unknown) and had issue: 

(1) Arthur Achmuty (d. 1696) (q.v.)  

(2) Capt. John Achmuty MP (?1649-1722) of Newtown Flood (Longford), m. Isabella, daughter of Rev. James Stirling, rector of Temple Michael, and had issue five sons and two daughters;  

(3) Catherine Achmuty, m. William Lawder esq. (d. 1715) of Bunnybeg (Leitrim) 

He died in 1698 at an advanced age. 
 

Achmuty, Arthur (d. 1696) of Brianstown.  Son of Capt. Arthur Achmuty (c.1600-98) and his wife Martha.  Married Elizabeth, daughter of David Rhynd of Enniskillen, merchant and had issue: 

(1) Thomas Achmuty (1679-1712) (q.v.);  

(2) Margaret Achmuty, m. Anthony Jessop esq. of Doory Hall, Ballymahon (Longford);  

(3) Martha Achmuty m. Capt. Deane;  

(4) Isabella Achmuty, m. Morgan Galbraith esq.;  

(5) Jane Achmuty, m. Francis Fetherston esq.;  

(6) Elizabeth Achmuty, m. Lt. Carruthers. 

He died in 1696. 

Achmuty, Thomas (1679-1712) of Brianstown.  Son of Arthur Achmuty (d. 1696) and his wife Elizabeth, dau of David Rhynd of Enniskillen, merchant.  Married Dorcas, daughter of Samuel Towneley of Moygne Hall (Cavan) by his wife Dorcas, daughter and co-heir of Roger Moygne, and had issue: 

(1) Samuel Achmuty (d. 1766) (q.v.);  

(2) John Achmuty, died at sea;  

(3) Thomas Achmuty (d. 1758); married 9 February 1732, Ann King and had issue two daughters (one of whom married John Daniel (1734-90) and was ancestor of the Tyssen-Amherst family, Barons Amherst of Hackney); died 7 February 1758; 

(4) Towneley Achmuty of Dublin (d. 1758), who married 1st Margaret French and had issue three sons and one daughter, and married 2nd Letitia Wetherall and had issue two sons and one daughter;  

(5) Arthur Achmuty MD (d. 1749) of Shervogne [for whom see below, under Auchmuty of Kilmore House]. 

He died in 1712. 

Achmuty, Samuel (1700-66) of Brianstown.  Eldest son of Thomas Achmuty (d. 1712) and his wife Dorcas, dau of Samuel Towneley of Moygne Hall (Cavan); born 1700.  He married 1st, Mary (d. 1761), eldest daughter of John King of Charlestown (Roscommon), grandson of Rt. Rev. Edward King, bishop of Elphin, and 2nd, 15 October 1763, Sarah Handcock (d. 1787), and had issue: 

(1.1) Thomas Achmuty (d. 1762) (q.v.);  

(1.2) Elizabeth Achmuty, m. as his first wife Sir Ralph Fetherston, 1st bt. (d. 1780) but had no issue;  

(1.3) Frances Achmuty, m1, 1761, Robert Hanley and m2, Capt. Francis Piers. 

(1.4) Dorcas Achmuty, m. 1766, John Bomford/Bombard esq. of Dublin;  

(1.5) Col. Arthur Achmuty (1729-93), governor of Dynapore, m. 1766 at Calcutta, Ursula de Cruz and had issue 6s and 3d;  

(1.6) Judith Achmuty (d. 1829), married her cousin, Thomas Achmuty (d. 1757) [for whom see below, under Auchmuty of Kilmore House];  

(1.7) Rev. Samuel Achmuty (1740-1800), vicar of Ballymahon, married 1st, his cousin, Susannah Maria (1742-90), daughter of Francis Savage and had issue two sons and four daughters; married 2nd, Sarah King (d. 1799); died 9 May 1800. 

He inherited Brianstown in 1712 and rebuilt the house. 

He died 18 January 1766 in Jervis St., Dublin. His wife died 2 September 1761. 

Achmuty, Thomas (d. 1762) of Brianstown.  Son of Samuel Achmuty (d. 1766) and his first wife Mary, daughter of John King of Charlestown (Roscommon).  Captain, 27th Regiment of Foot.  He married Isabella (d. 1777), daughter and heir of Col. Archibald Gordon (who was a scion of the Earls of Huntly and was killed at the taking of Havanna in 1762) and had issue: 

(1) Samuel Achmuty (1755-1829) (q.v.). 
He died in August 1762, in the lifetime of his father.  

Achmuty, Samuel (1755-1829) of Brianstown. Son of Thomas Achmuty (d. 1762) and his wife Isabella, dau of Col. Archibald Gordon, born 1755.  Lt-Col of the Longford militia; JP; High Sheriff of Co. Longford, 1789.  He married February 1777, Elizabeth Domvile Savage (b. 1758), only daughter of Francis Savage esq. of Ballygawly, Co. Sligo by his second wife Bridget, daughter of Rear-Adm. Christopher Pocklington, and had issue: 

(1) Thomas Gordon Achmuty (1778-1850) (q.v.);  

(2) Gen. Sir Samuel Benjamin Achmuty (1781-1868); married Mary Buchanan (d. 1869) 

(3) Francis Achmuty (d. 1788);  
(4) Archibald Gordon Achmuty (b. & d. 1785); 

(4) Lt. Charles Achmuty (d. 1810), 7th Royal Fusiliers; died at Coimbra (Portugal) 

(5) Anna Maria Auchmuty;  

(6) Isabella Gordon Achmuty;  

(7) Elizabeth Domvile Achmuty. 

He died 16 February 1829. 

Achmuty, Thomas Gordon (1778-1850) of Brianstown.  Eldest son of Lt-Col. Samuel Achmuty (d. 1829) and his wife Elizabeth Domvile, dau of Francis Savage esq. of Ballygawly (Sligo), born 1778.  Major, 3rd Dragoons; JP, DL; High Sheriff of Co. Longford 1824.  He married, 2 Sept. 1811 in Worcester, Bridget Domvile Pocklington (d. 1873), seventh daughter of Charles Pocklington esq (who assumed the name of Domvile under the will of the Rt. Hon Sir Compton Domvile, bt), and had issue: 

(1) Margaret Domvile Achmuty (c.1813-83), m. 28 May 1839 Col. Henry Musters (1813-96) of Colwick Hall (Notts) (q.v.) and had issue; died Jan-Mar 1883. 
He died after 1850. 

Musters (né Chaworth), Col. Henry Musters (1813-96) of Brianstown (Longford).  Son of  John Musters (1777-1849) and his wife Mary Ann (1786-1832), dau of George Chaworth (d. 1791) of Annesley Hall (Notts).  He married 1st, Margaret Domville (c.1813-83), daughter and heir of Thomas Gordon Achmuty of Brianstown, and 2nd, 2 August 1883, Maria Eliza Plunket (d 1892), daughter of John Atkinson of Dublin and widow of Patrick Plunket (d. 1859) and had issue: 

(1.1) Auchmuty Henry Musters (1843-83) 

(1.2) John George Musters (b. 1844), m. Edith Elizabeth Manders and had issue 

(1.3) Charles Ralph Auchmuty Musters (1846-71); Lieutenant in Royal Marines; 

(1.4) Caroline Alicia Victoria Musters (1849-98); married 1st, 1874, Capt. the Hon. Thomas Oliver Westenra Plunkett (d. 1889) and 2nd, 1892, her cousin Annesley Horace Packe. 

On the death of his father-in-law in the 1850s he succeeded to the Brianstown estate in Co. Longford. 

He died in Jersey, 11 May 1896. 

Musters, John George (1844-1917) of Brianstown (Longford).  Second son of Col. Henry Musters (1813-96) and his first wife, Margaret Domville (d. 1856), dau and heir of Thomas Gordon Achmuty of Brianstown; born 26 October 1844.  He married 1st, 1888, Edith Elizabeth Manders, and 2nd, Mary Kennedy, and had issue: 
(1.1) John Domvile Auchmuty Musters (1892-1978), m. 1915 Olga Gertrude Helena (1894-1987), daughter of Cmdr. Benjamin Barnes RN and had issue. 
He inherited Brianstown from his father in 1896. 

He died 16 November 1917 at Brianstown. 
 

Auchmuty of Kilmore House 

Auchmuty, Dr. Arthur (d. 1749). Youngest son of Thomas Achmuty (1679-1712) of Brianstown [for whom, see above] and his wife Dorcas, daughter of Samuel Towneley of Moygne Hall (Cavan). Doctor of Medicine. He married Mary, daughter and eventually sole heir of James Lawler of Kilmore (Roscommon), and had issue: 

(1) Thomas Auchmuty (d. 1775) (q.v.); 

(2) Deborah Auchmuty; 

(3) Elizabeth Auchmuty. 

He lived at Shervoge (Longford). Either he or his son inherited Kilmore House from his wife’s family. 

His will was proved in 1749. His wife’s date of death is unknown. 

Auchmuty, Thomas (d. 1775). Only son of Dr. Arthur Auchmuty (fl. 1712) and his wife Mary, daughter of James Lawder of Kilmore (Roscommon). He married, 17 November 1757, his cousin Judith (d. 1829), daughter of Samuel Achmuty of Brianstown, and had issue: 

(1) James Auchmuty (d. 1809); married Marcella (who m2, November 1811, Richard Chaplin of Woodburn, Carrickfergus (Down)), daughter of James Lawder Kelly esq. of Churchborough (Roscommon) but had no issue; died 6 February 1809; will proved in the Prerogative Court of Ireland, 1810; 
(2) Sidney Eliza Auchmuty; married, 1797, John Kirkwood and had issue; 
(3) Letitia Forbes Auchmuty; married, 1794, Mark Anthony Tisdall of Dublin, barrister-at-law; 

(4) Dr. Arthur Auchmuty (1769-1845) (q.v.). 

Either he or his father inherited Kilmore House from his mother’s family, but he lived chiefly in Dublin. After his death, the estate passed to his two sons in turn. 

He died 5 June 1775. His widow died in 1829. 

Auchmuty, Dr. Arthur (1769-1845). Younger son of Thomas Auchmuty (d. 1775) and his wife Judith, daughter of Samuel Achmuty of Brianstown, born 29 September 1769. There is some suggestion that he was trained as a surgeon at Edinburgh, but his name does not appear on the official list of medical graduates of that university. He was a surgeon in the Royal Navy for fifteen years from 1796 and in 1797 he amputated Lord Nelson’s arm after he had been wounded; a sword given to him by the Admiral to commemorate this event was treasured in the family for several generations; the saw with which the deed was performed is now in the National Maritime Museum. JP for Roscommon and Leitrim. He married 1st, 26 June 1801, Emily, daughter of James Lawder Kelly esq. of Churchborough (Roscommon), and 2nd, 6 February 1812 at St Anne, Dublin, Harriet Bourne, and had issue: 

(1.1) Alicia Jane Auchmuty (c.1807-73); married, 27 August 1822, Lt. Robert Ross Auchmuty RN (1789-1844) and had issue three sons and three daughters; died 10 January 1873; will proved 12 September 1873 (effects under £100) 

(2.1) Judith Marcella Auchmuty (d. c.1864) (q.v.). 

He inherited Kilmore House from his elder brother c.1806.  
He died at Kilmore House, 30 January 1845. His first wife died between 1809 and 1812. His second wife’s date of death is unknown. 

Auchmuty, Judith Marcella (d. c.1864). Daughter of Dr. Arthur Auchmuty (1769-1845) and his second wife, Harriet Bourne. She married, 21 September 1842 at Kilmore, Horatio Nelson Lawder JP DL, and had issue: 

(1) Arthur Auchmuty Lawder (d. 1882) (q.v.); 

(2) Christopher Richard Lawder (d. 1891); died 9 January 1891; administration granted to his sister, 27 July 1891 (effects £438); 
(3) Harriet Alice Lawder (fl. 1891); married, March 1866, Thomas Whelan, sub-inspector of constabulary. 

Her husband inherited Kilmore House in her right on the death of her father in 1845. He may have abandoned the house for a new one at Aghamore (Leitrim), on which it was said in 1884 that he had spent £2,500. 

She died in about 1864. Her husband married 2nd, 9 May 1866, Barbara Mary, daughter of John Whelan of Rath (Wicklow) and 3rd, Katherine Louisa (d. 1900), fourth daughter of Dr. David Brereton MD of Dublin (who m2, Thomas Ievers of Dingle (Kerry)) and died 1 August 1877; administration of his goods was granted 24 August 1877 and again 12 June 1882. 

Lawder, Arthur Auchmuty (d. 1882). Elder son of Horatio Nelson Lawder of Kilmore House and his wife Judith Marcella, younger daughter of Dr. Arthur Auchmuty (1769-1845) of Kilmore House, born after 1842. An officer in the Leitrim Rifle Regiment of Militia (Lt., 1865). He married, 10 May 1877 at St Stephen, Dublin, Martha Maria (b. 1858), youngest daughter of John Whelan of Rath (Wicklow), and had issue: 

(1) Esther Lawder (b. 1878), born 27 June 1878. 

He inherited Aghamore and Kilmore House from his parents; both were apparently sold in 1884 after his death. 

He died at Maryborough (Co. Leix), 9 April 1882. 

Sources 

Burke’s Landed Gentry, 1850, p.2; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1988, p. 47; Casey & Rowan, The buildings of Ireland: North Leinster, 1993, p. 437; http://www.bomford.net/IrishBomfords/Chapters/Chapter14/Chapter14.htm#14.10.4 _The_Achmuty_Family_; http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=LF&regno=13401305; 

Location of archives 

 
Achmuty of Brianstown: miscellaneous deeds and family papers, 1696-1920 (Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, 1040/100-102). 
 

Coat of arms 

Auchmuty of Brianstown and Kilmore House: Argent, a broken spear bendwise between two spur rowels of six points, azure, pierced of the field. 

Casey, Christine and Alistair Rowan. The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster. Penguin Books, London, 1993. 

p. 437. Brianstown House. Built in 1731 for Samuel Achmuty, whose arms and motto are in the tympanum over the door. Formerly a two storey house, Brianstown was gutted by fire in the early C20 and became a single-storey house on a basement, with a shallow hipped roof. Five-bay front, with a narrow entrance set between two small windows and held together by a border of raised limestone quoins. Similar quoins frame the windows of the outer bays. Before its demolition the first floor continued this window pattern, with a niche between the two central windows. A high hipped roof was pierced by two dormer windows. A strong resemblance to Barretstown in Co Kilkenny has been remarked by Maurice Craig; both these early C18 Georgian houses stand Janus-like between the C17 Dutch inspired Beaulieau tradition and the C18 Palladian classicism then becoming current through the influence of James Gibbs and William Kemp. 

Ardagh House, Ardagh, Co. Longford – Sisters of Mercy convent

by jenjunebug

Ardagh House, Ardagh, Co. Longford – Sisters of Mercy convent 

Ardagh House, County Longford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.

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. 7. “[Fetherston, Bt/PB1923] An irregular 2 storey house of predominantly early to mid C19 appearance. Eaved roof on bracket cornice; porch and corridor with pilasters. Now a domestic science college.” 

Ardagh House, County Longford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/13312039/ardagh-house-ardagh-demesne-ardagh-co-longford

 Attached eight-bay two-storey (originally three-storey) over-basement former country house, originally built c. 1730 and altered c. 1826 and c. 1863. Three-bay two-storey block (formerly a ballroom) attached to the southeast end, having hipped slate roof with overhanging bracketed eaves. Single-bay porch with tetrastyle porch to the centre of the front façade (south), adjoined to the east by a four-bay single-storey addition/conservatory with pilasters and lean-to roof. Now in use as training college by the Sisters of Mercy (from c. 1927) with multiple extensions to the east and the northeast. Hipped slate roof with overhanging bracketed eaves and cast-iron rainwater goods. Flat roof to porch. Painted rendered walls. Square-headed window openings with painted sills and a mixture of replacement, six-over-six, and three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows. Moulded cornices, square profile piers, and pilasters to porch. Wrought-iron cross finial over porch. Square-headed window openings to single-storey addition/conservatory having eight-over-eight pane timber sliding sash windows with moulded sills. Segmental-headed with moulded surround to west elevation of porch having one-over-one pane timber sliding sash window with moulded bracketed sill. Square-headed entrance opening to porch (recessed) with moulded surround, decorative console brackets, and timber panelled double leaf door. Accessed via stone steps. Painted rendered boundary wall with piers and wrought-iron railings to basement area of front elevation. Set in landscaped surroundings to the north of Ardagh. Gates and gate lodges to the west and the southeast, complex of outbuildings and stable block to the rear (north) and to the northeast.

Appraisal

This substantial former country house retains much of its early character; despite a fire in 1948 that resulted in it being reduced it to two storeys in height. Much interesting fabric remains, such as some timber sliding sash windows, and console brackets to the porch. Although probably early-to-mid eighteenth century in date, this structure now has a predominantly early-to-mid nineteenth-century appearance. The elegant porch and conservatory, and the former ballroom/block to the east, were also added at this time. It also retains some of its early fabric to the interior, despite the fire in 1948 (see below), including plasterwork and fireplaces. This building has important historical connections with the Fetherston family, who developed much the village of Ardagh, particularly in the 1860s. The first recorded mention of the Fetherston family at Ardagh is of a Thomas Fetherston (died c. 1749), who bought a house and 235 acres of land in 1703. The Fetherston estate was some 11,000 acres in size by c. 1900. It is thought that Thomas Fetherston built Ardagh House (or an earlier house) sometime during the first half of the eighteenth century, perhaps c. 1730. The house was in existence in 1744/5 when Oliver Goldsmith (c. 1728 – 1774) visited the house. Apparently, Goldsmith based his most famous play ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ on his experience at Ardagh House, when he mistook the house for an inn/hotel. However, Lewis (1837) states that the play in question is ‘Mistakes of a Night’. The Fetherston were later granted the rank of Baronet in 1780. There was an Ardagh House in existence c. 1780 (Taylor and Skinner maps 1777 – 1783). John Hargrave (1788 – 1833) carried out ‘trifling alterations for Sir George Fetherston’, c. 1826 (IAA). James Rawson Carroll (1830 – 1911) later carried out extensive ‘alterations, repairs and additions’ for Sir Thomas John Fetherston, between c. 1860 – 1864. Plasterwork was carried out in 1877 for the Fetherston Trustees (the fifth Baronet, Revd. Sir George Ralph Fetherston had moved to Wales). In 1903 Sir George sold the freehold of their farms to over 300 of his tenants under the Irish Land Act of 1903 but retained the house and the surrounding lands until his death in 1923. The house was partially destroyed by fire in 1922 during Irish Civil War (1922 – 1923). It was sold to the Sisters of Mercy in 1927, who then established a convent and domestic science school here. The house was again badly destroyed by fire in 1948 and the top floor had to be removed as a result. This building forms the centrepiece of a large group of related sites and is an important element of the social history of Ardagh and County Longford.

Ardagh House, County Longford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.
Ardagh House, County Longford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.
Ardagh House, County Longford, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.

 
In  Irish Castles and Historic Houses by Brendan O’Neill 

and Irish Castles and Historic Houses. ed. by Brendan O’Neill, intro. by James Stevens Curl. Caxton Editions, London. 2002: 

Lady Fetherstone’s ancestral home was Ardagh House, a manor house, situated to the north of the village and now a convent. It was here, it is fabled, that young Oliver Goldsmith swaggered and bragged in the mistaken belief that he had arrived at an inn. The landlord humoured him for the night, but Goldsmith’s dismay on realising his mistake the following morning can easily be imagined. However, he later turned his embarressment to his advantage, the incident being central to his comedy, ‘She Stoops to Conquer,’ which was first performed in 1773. 

http://visitlongford.ie/listings/ardagh-house/ 

When you stand in the centre of Ardagh Village and look south, you get an impressive view of the former Ardagh House with also was a Former Convent, also known as St Brigid’s Training Centre. Originally, it was Ardagh House, home of the Fetherston family. 

The house was built about 1730 by Thomas Fetherston and it remained the principal seat of his family until the early 1920s. It underwent alterations on a couple of occasions in the 1800s. 

A north of England family, the Fetherstons arrived in Ardagh around 1700, having acquired a small amount of land here. They expanded their estate in later years and it was they who built Ardagh Village as it stands today. 

Ardagh House was the scene of a famous episode in the youth of the writer Oliver Goldsmith (separate entry on Goldsmith). While travelling back to his home in Pallas from school in Edgeworthstown, he stopped in Ardagh to seek lodgings. 

A local directed him to the ‘big house’, saying it was the local inn. The Fetherstons recognised him and ‘played along’ with his misunderstanding to the extent that a daughter of the squire waited on him. The next morning, Goldsmith was told the truth, and he later wrote the play She Stoops To Conquer or The Mistakes Of A Night’, based on the episode. 

The last landlord, Rev. Sir George Fetherston was an Anglican clergyman who lived mainly in England. He died in 1923, but by then the estate had been broken-up, with most tenants buying their farms under the land acts. In 1922, the I.R.A. had attempted unsuccessfully to burn the house. 

In 1927, the Sisters of Mercy arrived and soon established a training centre for domestic science. The course was modernised later and the centre – St Brigid’s – remained open until 2008. There was a serious fire in the convent in 1949 resulting in renovations that included the removal of the top storey. 

Beside the house is a spacious coach yard, which was restored by the Sisters of Mercy 

Casey, Christine and Alistair Rowan. The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster. Penguin Books, London, 1993.  

p. 111-112. 

p. 112 “Now much altered, it clearly followed a double-pile plan, with a large entrance hall, the principal stair in the centre of the E flank and the reception rooms opening off the hall. The decoration is now C19 and neoclassical in character. All that survives from the early Georgian house is fielded panels to the shuttering and door jambs. In the C19, the house was extended by adding a ballroom at the SE corner, a projecting three-bay block with ample sash windows and a hipped roof with oversailing bracketed eaves. A classical porch and arcaded conservatory were added to the entrance front. Most of the C19 alterations were carried out either by Sir George Fetherston, who landscaped the demesne grounds, or by Sir Thomas, who built a large stable court and erected the picturesque estate buildings in Ardagh village. The stables of 1863 by J. Rawson Carroll are attractive redbrick ranges with slated half-hipped roofs in vaguely Scandinavian idiom. 

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/01/ardagh-house.html

THE FETHERSTON BARONETS, OF ARDAGH, WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY LONGFORD, WITH 8,711 ACRES. 

The founder of this family, 

CUTHBERT FETHERSTON, of the ancient stock of the Fetherstons of Heathery Cleugh, County Durham, settled in Ireland after the battle of Worcester, in which Sir Thomas Fetherstonhaugh was made prisoner, and afterwards beheaded at Chester. 

The eldest son of this Cuthbert,  

CUTHBERT FETHERSTON, had three sons, 

Cuthbert, ancestor of Fetherston of Bracklyn; 
THOMAS, of whom hereafter; 
Francis. 

The second son, 

 
THOMAS FETHERSTON, settled at Ardagh, County Longford and marrying Miss Sherlock, had four sons, 

John (Very Rev), Dean of Raphoe; 
William, of Carrick; 
Francis; 
RALPH, of whom we treat. 

The youngest son, 

 
RALPH FETHERSTON (c1731-80), of Ardagh, MP for Longford County, 1765-6, was created a baronet in 1776, denominated of Ardagh, County Longford. 

He wedded firstly, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Samuel Achmuty, of Brianstown, County Longford, by whom he had an only daughter, Elizabeth; and secondly, Sarah, daughter of Godfrey Wills, of Will’s Grove, County Roscommon, by whom he had four sons and four daughters, 

THOMAS, his heir; 
Godfrey, killed in the East Indies; 
John; 
Francis; 
Sarah; Maria; Letitia; Elizabeth. 

Sir Ralph was succeeded by his eldest son, 

 
SIR THOMAS FETHERSTON, 2nd Baronet (1759-1819), MP for County Longford, 1783-1800, for several years in parliament, who married Catherine, daughter of George Boleyn Whitney, of New Pass, County Westmeath, and had issue, 

GEORGE RALPH, his successor; 
John; 
THOMAS, succeeded his brother; 
Elizabeth; Catherine; Isabella; Sarah; Octavia. 

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son, 

SIR GEORGE RALPH FETHERSTON (1784-1853), 3rd Baronet, MP for County Longford, 1819-30, who espoused, in 1821, Frances Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Richard Solly, of York Place, Portman Square, London, though the marriage was without issue. 

Sir George and Lady Fetherston landscaped the demesne grounds and the village of Ardagh. The conversion of the old house into the mansion within its demesne may have been completed at this time, and involved the re-siting of the village street or road. The village clock-tower and surrounding buildings were erected in 1863 in remembrance of Sir George and of his life-long devotion to the moral and social improvement of his tenantry, and the site whereon they stand purchased by Frances Elizabeth, his widow. A memorial stone in the old church records his death on 12th July 1853, and that his wife died in London twelve years later and was buried in Walthamstow.  

Sir George was succeeded by his youngest brother, 

THE REV SIR THOMAS FRANCIS FETHERSTON (1800-53), 4th Baronet, who married firstly, in 1823, Adeline Godley; and secondly, Anne L’Estrange, of Moystown, County Offaly, and had issue, 

George Ralph, died in infancy; 
THOMAS JOHN, his successor; 
Edmund Whitney; 
John Henry; 
Albert William Boleyn; 
Boleyn Henry Francis; 
Henry Ernest Wiliam; 
Rosa Elizabeth; Catherine. 

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, 

SIR THOMAS JOHN FETHERSTON, 5th Baronet (1824-69), who espoused, in 1848, Sarah, daughter of Henry Alcock, and had issue, 

GEORGE RALPH, his successor; 
Adeline Margaret; Caroline Louisa. 

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his only son, 

THE REV SIR GEORGE RALPH FETHERSTON (1852-1923), 6th and last Baronet, who died unmarried, when the baronetcy expired. 

Sir George was born in Dublin and educated at Brighton College. 

 
In his mid-twenties he entered Salisbury Theological College to prepare for ordination into the ministry of the Church of England.   

 
He served as curate in Tenby and Worcester City, and for six years as Rector or Vicar of the Parish of Pydeltrenthide in Dorset. 

 
He served also as an honorary chaplain to Millbank Military Hospital, London, during the 1914-18 War. 

 
He was one of the first two men in Holy Orders to serve as Sheriff in their Counties until the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland clerics of the Anglican Communion were not permitted to hold such Office. 

Being Sheriff in 1897 he received the Diamond Jubilee Medal and preached his Jubilee Sermon in St. Patrick’s Church, Ardagh. 

 
Sir George was a man of many interests and hobbies — music, travel, cycling, fishing, photography, collecting ancient china and stamps, bird-watching and study of insects. 

 
He travelled widely in Europe, Africa, North and South America. 

This must have absorbed some of the Ardagh estate income. 

 
He was Fellow and Vice-President of the Guild of Church Musicians and of the Victoria College of Music London.  

 
Who’s Who credited him with the composition of 150 alternative tunes for Hymns Ancient & Modern, various chants, songs and other music, but none of these are to be found in current chant and Hymn books. 

 
His publications have been listed as The Malvern Hills, Through Corsica with a Pencil. The Mystery of Maple Street, A Poem: The Rose of England. An Incident in the Siege of Antwerp, A Legend of Corpus Christi College, and four books of Sermons and Addresses. 

 
These may have been published privately for limited sale or distribution. 

 
Sir George may not have had much interest in the ownership and management of the estate. 

He entered into voluntary agreements with over 300 tenants to sell to them the freehold of their farms, under the Irish Land Act 1903.  

 
The Ardagh estate was not acquired or purchased by the Irish Land Commission, which, however, advanced the money required by the tenants and others, and the holdings were vested in them by the Commission in 1922-23. 

An area of 427 acres of bog land was vested in trustees for the use of purchasing new freeholders. 

Sir George retained Ardagh House and demesne acres until his death in a Worcester City Nursing Home, and burial in Tenby, South Wales, in 1923.  

 
An attempt to destroy the house by fire in 1922 may have been a local expression of dissatisfaction with allocation of estate land or an effort to hasten sale of the last remnants of the estate. 

 
Manuscripts written in Irish were salvaged from the 1922 flames of Ardagh House. 

 
ARDAGH HOUSE is an eight-bay, two-storey (originally three-storey) over-basement house, originally built ca 1730 and altered ca 1826 and ca 1863.  

 
A Three-bay, two-storey block (formerly the ballroom) was attached to the south-east end, having hipped slate roof with overhanging bracketed eaves. 

 
A single-bay porch with tetra-style porch to the centre of the front façade (south), adjoined to the east by a four-bay single-storey additional conservatory with pilasters and lean-to roof.  

 
Ardagh House was acquired as training college by the Sisters of Mercy ca 1927, with multiple extensions to the east and the north-east. 

 
It retains much of its early character despite a fire in 1948 that resulted in it being reduced to two storeys in height. 

 
Much interesting fabric remains, such as some timber sliding sash windows, and console brackets to the porch.  

 
Although probably early-to-mid 18th century in date, this structure now has a predominantly early-to-mid 19th century appearance. 

 
The elegant porch and conservatory, and the former ballroom/block to the east, were also added at this time.  

 
It also retains some of its early fabric to the interior, despite the fire in 1948, including plasterwork and fireplaces. 

 
THE POET and novelist Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74), when a young man, once loitered on his way between Ballymahon and Edgeworthstown, strayed from the direct road, and found himself benighted on the street  of Ardagh. 

 
Wishing to find an inn, but inquiring “for the best house in the place”, he was wilfully misunderstood by a wag and directed to the large, old-fashioned residence of Sir Ralph Fetherston, 1st Baronet. 

 
Sir Ralph, whom the poet found seated by a good fire in the parlour, immediately perceived the young man’s mistake; and being humorous and well-acquainted with Goldsmith’s family, he for some time encouraged the deception. 

The incidents of the occasion form the groundwork of Goldsmith’s well-known comedy “Mistakes of a Night.” 

https://theirishaesthete.com/2020/12/14/ardagh/

Stooped but not yet Conquered 

  

Dec14by theirishaesthete 

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Originally from County Durham in England, by 1651 Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh was living in Philipstown (now Daingean), County Offaly, the first of this family to settle in Ireland. His grandson Thomas married Mary Sherlock from Kildare and the couple moved to Ardagh, County Longford where around 1703 he bought some 235 acres of land from the Farrell family. At some point between this acquisition and his death in 1749 he commissioned a new residence in Ardagh; this building is said to have provided part of the inspiration for Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 comedy She Stoops to Conquer since the playwright mistook the Fetherstonhaugh’s house for an inn. The couple’s eldest son Ralph sat in the House of Commons of the Irish Parliament for 12 years from 1768 onwards and in 1776 was created a baronet. He also simplified the family surname to Fetherston (other branches retained the name in full). His eldest son Thomas, the second baronet, likewise sat as an M.P., in the Irish Parliament until 1800 and thereafter at Westminster until his death in 1819. The third and fifth baronets, Sir George and Sir Thomas Fetherston respectively were responsible for giving the local village of Ardagh its present appearance, by commissioning new housing for the local population. In the early 1860s Sir Thomas employed Dublin-based architect James Rawson Carroll to design one- and two-storey cottages around a green featuring a clock tower erected to the memory of his uncle, Sir George (see Commemorating a Life-long Devotion « The Irish Aesthete) 

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Sir Thomas Fetherston had only one son, another George, who was only 13 when he inherited the estate. He later became an Anglican clergyman and travelled widely, meaning he did not spend as much time in Ardagh as had his father. Under the terms of the Wyndham Act, in 1903 Sir George sold most of the estate – by then running to some 11,000 acres – to his tenants, retaining only the house and demesne. When he died unmarried at the age of 70 in 1923 the baronetcy died out also. Within a few years, the former family home had been sold to an order of nuns, the Sisters of Mercy who moved into the building and then gradually added extensions to the east side, from which they ran a home economics college. As in the case of so many other such properties, at the start of the present century the nuns gradually wound down operations here and in 2007 the house and surrounding 227 acres was sold at auction for  €5.25 million. However, that sale fell through and it was back on the market for €5; by June 2009, as the effects of recession began to be felt, that price had dropped to €3.25 million. It was finally sold at auction in June 2012 for €1.36 million. Since then, the house has sat empty.  

As mentioned, the main house at Ardagh is thought to date from the first half of the 18th century when constructed for Thomas Fetherstonhaugh. But much of its present appearance is 19th century, when it was refurbished first by Sir George Fetherston (who laid out the surrounding grounds) and then by his nephew Sir Thomas. The latter was responsible for the present stable block which, like a considerable portion… [see blog entry]