Bective House, Bective, Co Meath
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. 35. “(Bolton/LG1863; Wachman, sub Daly/IFR) A plain two storey house of ca 1790. 7 bay front, enclosed porch with fluted Doric columns; five bay side. Good staircase hall. The childhood home of James Stern, the writer; sold to William Bird 1922. Recently the home of Norman Wachman, who sold it to the Tower Cement Mines Co.”
Not in national inventory
Record of Protected Structures:
Bective House, townland: Balgill, town” Bective C1790 incl arched yard, stables, NE lodge, West Lodge, 19thC.
The Landed Gentry and Aristocracy: County Meath. Volume 1. Art Kavanagh, 2005.
Bolton of Bective Abbey p. 43.
p. 43. Richard Bolton …first emerges as a recorder of the city [of Dublin] in about 1606/7…p. 44…in 1618 the year in which he was made solicitor-general.
It was while serving in this port that he published, in 1621, a selection of The Statutes of Ireland….made Chief Baron of the Exchequer and within a year, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, replacing Sir Adam Loftus (later Viscount Ely)…
The Chancellorship was a position of some considerable importance. As head of Chancery he served as keeper of the Irish Great Seal which was applied to letters issued in the king’s name. The Lord Chancelor was entitled to a moiety (half share) of the income derived from such writes and an annual salary of £500. Significantly his acquisition of Bective coincides wiht his appointment to the position, and based on his predecessors, holding the position of Chancellor seems to have been a prerequisite to obtaining the abbey property.
Located within the Pale, the 12C foundation at Bective was one of the first great Irish monastic houses to fall under the seemingly rancorous dissolution policy of Henry VIII. The Abbey and its 4,440 acres in Meath were seized and the secularisation of the religious buildings commenced under Thomas Agard, known as “Agard of the mint” because of his position as vice-treasurer of the Mint in the Tudor administration.
Agard’s possession of the monastery seems to have been short, perhaps reflecting financial difficulties, and in 1544 it passed, again for a brief period, to Sir John Alen, the Lord Chancellor and head of the commission for the dissolution of the monasteries. …
p. 45. Bective next passed to the Treasurer of Ireland, Anthony Wyse…following his death in 1567, Bective passed to his son in law, Sir Alexander Fitton, and afterwards to his son-in-law Sir Bartholomew Dillon, a Chief Justice who resided across the Boyne at Riverstown Castle and who in 1595 had married Catherine Litton. Bective seems to have declined after this period and in 1619 the abbey was described as deserted.
Sir Richard Bolton restored some stability to the ownership of the property and his descendants established a possession of the property that endured until the end of the 19C. However from the late 17th century, the Bolton family was chiefly resident in Brazeel, an important 17th century house in north County Dublin while Bective Abbey was leased to others including Thomas Taylour, whose descendants, in recognition of this, became Earls of Bective. A smaller residence on the site, now incorporated into the present Bective House, appears to have been provided for the Bolton family’s occasional presence on their Meath estate.
p. 46. Sir Richard had barely taken up office amid the gathering tensions of the mid seventeenth century that spectacularly flared with the Catholic rising of 1641. Barely had he acquainted himself with the duties of office when he was subjected, wiht others, to impeachment proceedings for high treason. These had been initiated, it has been claimed, by Catholic members of the commons – an intrigue that has to be placed in the context of the circumstances surrounding teh abiding crises of the mid 17c. … he managed to have the proceedings against him dropped and was immediately reinstated to the chancellorship.
p. 47. The high point of his career came when he was central to the negotiations in 1643 conducted by the Earl of Ormonde, between the King and the Confederate Catholics which led to a temporary truce and military support for Chalres I, in his conflict with parliament. Bolton’s name also heads the signatories of the proclamation issued in 1646 announcing the terms of so-called first Ormonde Peace.
Richard Bolton was first married to Frances Walter who came from his home county of Staffordshire…with whom he had several children and at least one son, Edward. Notwithstanding the circumstances of his election to parliament in 1613 and later accusations that he was “much opposed to concessions to Roman Catholics in Ireland” he formed an alliance with one of the most important old Catholic families of the Pale when he took Margaret Barnewall of Turvey , widow of Luke Netterville, as his second wife. Her father, Sir Patrick Barnewall… the eldest of the 11 children of Sir Christopher Barneweall, high sheriff of Co. Dublin, he was already prominent as the leading opponent of Sir Arthur Chichester , p. 48] when as Lord Deputy Chichester attempted to compel Catholic attendance at services of the established church, applying the rigours of the Castle Chamber to those who refused. Pehaps not as threatening as the Westminster court it sought to emulate, its penalties to deviants varied from pillory to whipping to the barbarity of removing the ears of the accused. Barnewall was successful in having this regime suspended. In 1646 Patrick Barnewall’s eldest son Nicholas, in recognition of services during the English civil war was created Viscount Kingsland and Baron of Turvey by Charles I.
Bolton’s eldest son, Sir Edward Bolton, who had been knighted in 1635, followed his father’s career when as solicitor-general he was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1640, but it is stated that he was later “removed by the usurping powers. Notwithstanding this he inherited the Bective estates on his father’s death in 1648 and in 1651 under the parliamentary government obtained another official post as Commissioner for the administration of justice in Ireland.
p. 49. After Sir Edward, who died in 1705, the Bolton family’s political importance appears to have diminished considerably and at Brazeel he was succeeded by a succession of Richards, Edwards and Roberts who remain largely obscure. Early in the 18C Edward Bolton of Brazeel married Letitia Molesworth, younger sister of the famous incarcerate Lady Belvedere. He served as MP for Swords…
By the late 18C when Taylour Earl of Bective had moved to his newly built neoClassical mansion Headfort, near Kells, Bective Abbey ceased to function as a residence and once abandoned eventually became ruinous.
The property then belonged to another Edward Bolton, an officer of the royal horse guards and it was his eldest son by his first marriage, Robert Compton Bolton, who appears to have been the last of the family to have been associated with Brazeel before its destruction by fire in about 1810. Perhaps it was because of the destruction of the house that his eldest son, Richard, renewed the family’s interest in the Bective estate when shortly before 1836 he commenced preparations to shape the present demesne.
.p. 51. ..Richard became JP and married Frances Bomfort of nearby Rahinston…Frances along with her sisters inherited the estate of her brother Robert-George Bomford when he died in 1846. …Rahinston was sold in 1852 through the Encumbered Estates Court under the direction of dame Annette Hesketh, Frances Bolton’s older sister.
It appears that the ruins of Bective Abbey and surrounding farm had, by 1862, come into the possession of Rev. George H. Martin, Rector of Agher, who was related to the Bolton family, his father Rev Charles Rudinge Martin (d. 1847), 4th son of John Martin of Blackrock, Cork, having eloped with Frances Bolton’s younger sister, Susan Bomfort, in 1826. Martin transferred the Abbey, now a National Monument, to the Commissioners for Public Works in 1894. Richard Bolton’s death does not seem to have taken place until 1868 (according to a monument at Bective Church) in in 1876 his widow still appears in possession of the estate.
p. 52. Robert the brother of Richard of Bective Abbey was married to Maria Arthur of Seafield, Co Dublin, and hey had a son whoul was probably the last of the Boltons of Bective. He was John Marshall Botlon, and he went off to South Africa.
Watson of Bective, p. 213.
John Watson (1852-1908)
The Watsons were a Quaker family; members of the petty gentry who had been established in Carlow by the early 17th century after John Watson from Cumberland obtained a lease of lands at Ardristan from the Earl of Ormond. It is claimed that they were descended from the Rutland based Wtson family who were raised to the peerage in the early eighteenth century to the Marquisate of Rockingham [see Jimmy O’Toole the Carlow Gentry]. The family’s principal seats were in Carlow, at Kilconnor and Ballydarton.
John the first of the family died in 1675 so it is unlikely that he came to Ireland any sooner than 1650. He would certainly not have been welcomne during the Great War of 1641-9 when Protestants of any persuasion were, to say the least, not encouraged to live in the rural south east. It is more liekly that he settled at Kilconnor in the aftermath of the Cromwellian clearance. He may have come to Ireland after the Restoration when the Duke of Ormonde regained much of his estates and some more in recognition of his loyalty tot he king, Carles II. The Duke was the titular owner of the lands in the Fenagh area where Watson settled. The family managed to acquire a number of properties in the area including Ballydarton and later Lumclone which became the main family seat.
John Watson the founding father was not a Quaker, but his grandson became one. Watson had an only daughter who married Robert Lecky, another post Cromwellian and neighbouring landlord.
It was John Watson III who became a member of the Society of Friends and built the meeting house at Kilconnor in 1678. The Watsons remained Quakers for the next five generations. As dissenters they would have been porhibited from holding any official posts. Despite this obvious handicap to advancement the family prospered and in due course they acquired two further properites at Lumclone and Ballydarton (Fenagh). This lead to three distinct branches of the family, all descended from Samuel of Kilconnor who was born in 1682, the eldest son of John Watson III.
Samuel of Kilconnor had two sons John of Kilconnor and Samuel of Ballydarton. John continued on the Kilconnor line down to John Lecky Watson.
Bective House
Bective House
Bective House is located on the banks of the river Boyne, just downstream from Bective Abbey. One of the entrance gates is on the Trim-Navan road. In the 1820s Richard Bolton erected a new house in Grange townland downstream from the abbey, making the most of the local scenery. Described as ‘a cottage’ in 1836 and ‘a handsome modern residence’ in 1837 the house is linked to the river and also to the abbey. Named ‘Bective House’ to emphasise the continuity of the estate it was also occasionally recorded as ‘Bective Abbey’ or ‘Bective Lodge’. The house is in an understated architectural style in the spirit of Francis Johnston. The front is seven bay with a side elevation of five bays. Indoors the plan was simple. The main house is two rooms deep on a tripartite plan with a large and restrained central stair hall.
Bective house was surrounded by a wide expanse of parkland, dotted with clumps of trees and secluded from the outside world by perimeter belts of trees. The plantation of these trees and creation of parkland led to the walling in of the demesne and the re-routing of the Trim-Navan road. Impressive ashlar gateways were erected at each entrance to estate with gate lodges at each and an additional number of houses to cater for workers on the estate. The gate lodge at the Trim entrance was erected in 1852 and is adorned by the Bolton crest. A walled garden was constructed near the house which provided produce for the family and household. Later the garden produced roses and vegetables for sale.
Following the dissolution of Bective monastery the estate passed though the hands of various civil servants, none of whom had the time to pay any great attention to its development but the abbey was converted into a mansion.
The Bolton family acquired Bective in 1630. The transfer of the manor of Bective from Bartholomew Dillon to Edward Bolton took place on 10 August 1630. Sir Richard Bolton was Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1639 and established himself at Brazeel in north County Dublin.
Richard Bolton was born about 1802 and inherited the manor of Bective after the death of his father. The family home at Brazeel was destroyed by fire in 1810. Bolton did not live at Bective until the late 1820s.
In the 1820s Bolton established himself at Bective. Bolton married Frances Georgina Bomford of Rahinstown. Richard Bolton was High Sheriff of County Meath in 1828. Richard Bolton provided the site for a new national school at Robinstown, Balbradagh townland, in 1840 and became patron of the new school. His father, Robert, had provided a site for a chapel and school in 1800. In the mid 1850s a dispute arose between Mr. Bolton and the local priest as to the right to visitation and the appointment of teachers. This became a bitter dispute which was finally resolved in 1861 when Bective School at Robinstown became a non vested school and Bolton’s influence ceased.
Bolton was a resident landlord, residing on his estate and being close to his tenants and took an active interest in the development of his estate. Mr. Justice from Dublin was the agent in 1836 and Mr. Tisdall, who resided locally was agent in 1861. Bolton erected a house for the estate, walled in the demesne and erected a parish church. As the patron of the parish and the owner of the tithes Bolton decided to erect a church for his tenants and servants. Designed by Joseph Welland the church was erected on lands provided by Bolton and the cost of construction was also met by Bolton. The church was consecrated 15 June 1853 and enlarged in 1858. A glebe house was also erected in 1853. He was determined to stamp his footprint on his estate at Bective, becoming a landscape architect through the creation of a demesne. Bolton acquired his own coat of arms and crest. The motto he adopted was Deus providebit meaning ‘God will provide’. In Griffith’s Valuation of 1854 Bolton was the landlord of the entire parish of Bective and also held lands nearby at Shanbo, in the parish of Rataine. Richard Bolton died in 1868 and was buried in his church at Bective.
Francis Georgina Bolton died in 1884 and bequeathed Bective to her nephew, Rev. George Henry Martin. George Henry Martin died in 1896, aged 63. Bective was bequeathed to his fourth child, Mary Louisa, who lived there from perhaps as early as 1895. She farmed Bective for a period but later sold the house to John Watson and the majority of the estate to the Land Commission.
John Watson purchased Bective House and demesne after retiring from the army. He was master of the Meath Hunt from 1891 until 1908 when he died. Watson erected kennels for the Meath Hunt at Bective. Watson was highly regarded as a huntsman and well known for his temper. An active polo player he created a team at Bective and introduced the game to America. Watson died at Bective House in 1908 after which the estate was put up for sale.
Following Watson’s death Bective was acquired by Captain Henry Stern, late of the 13th Hussars. In 1912 Bective house was altered for Captain Stern. The Sterns were unsettled by the troubled times in the early 1920s.
An American paper manufacturer, Charles Bird, came to Meath to hunt in the early part of the twentieth century. In 1926 Bird with two friends put in a bid of £3,000 for Bective only to be amazed when a telegram arrived in the States saying “Congratulations, you own Bective”. The syndicate wished to become involved in hunting in Ireland. When the friends sold their shares, the Birds owned the place outright. The house and garden were rejuvenated. The estate’s most famous horses, Heartbreak Hill, came sixth in the 1932 Grand National at Aintree and won steeplechases all over Ireland. The steward at Bective was Tom Lavin whose daughter was Mary Lavin, the short story writer. George Briscoe, who had sold the neighbouring estate and house at Bellinter, took over the management of Bective in 1952. Briscoe and his wife moved into the wing at Bective. The Tara Harrier kennels and Briscoe’s horse were re-located to Bective. Bird became the joint master of the Meath Hunt so there were two hunts centred at Bective.
In 1960 the Birds and the Briscoes moved across the river to Assigh and Bective House became home to Norman Wachman until the mid 1970s. Wachman allowed the Tara Harriers to continue using the kennels at Bective and began to develop a stud farm.
Bective was purchased by Michael Wymes in 1975. Wymes, a major shareholder in Bula Mines, developed a pheasant shoot on the property. In July 2006 Wymes sold Bective House and demesne.
https://theirishaesthete.com/2022/09/17/bective-gate-lodge/
God will Provide
In a rather sorry state, this is the front lodge to Bective, County Meath. In the mid-19th century, the estate was laid out by then-owner Richard Bolton who added two lodges, one of them – seen here – in Tudoresque style, the front looking onto the avenue having two arched projections, one accommodating a large mullioned window, the other an entrance porch. Above the latter is a plaque featuring a hawk from the Bolton crest and the family motto ‘Deus Providebit’ (God will Provide). Smothered in cement render and dating from 1852, the building’s design has been tentatively attributed by J.A.K. Dean to Dublin architect William George Murray. Towards the end of the last century, the whole estate went into decline but it was bought a few years ago and the land is now a stud farm. The other lodge, classical with a Doric loggia, has been restored and is now used as a tea room. One must hope a similar revival awaits this building.
Irish Historic Houses 
