Courtown House, Courtown, 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. 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.”
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.”
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/02/courtown-house.html
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),
WILLIAM, his heir, father of JAMES;
James;
Joseph, father of the Rt Rev James Stopford.
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,
JAMES GEORGE, his successor;
Edward (Sir), GCB;
Robert (Sir), GCB, GCMG;
Richard Bruce (Rev).
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
JAMES GEORGE, 3rd Earl (1765-1835), KP, who married, in 1791, Mary, eldest daughter of Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, by whom he had issue,
JAMES THOMAS, his successor;
Edward;
Henry Scott;
Montagu (Sir), KCB;
Robert;
Mary Frances; Jane; Charlotte; Caroline.
- James Thomas Stopford, 4th Earl (1794–1858);
- James George Henry Stopford, 5th Earl (1823–1914);
- James Walter Milles Stopford, 6th Earl (1853–1933);
- James Richard Neville Stopford, 7th Earl (1877–1957);
- James Montagu Burgoyne Stopford, 8th Earl (1908–75);
- James Patrick Montagu Burgoyne Winthrop Stopford, 9th Earl (b 1954).
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.
https://archiseek.com/2012/courtown-house-near-gorey-in-county-wexford
1867 – Courtown House, Gorey, Co. Wexford
Architect: William Burn
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).
Irish Historic Houses 