Camolin House (Park?), Camolin, Co Wexford
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]
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.
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).
https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/search/label/Wexford
Camolin Park, Co. Wexford
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.
Irish Historic Houses 