Crom Castle

THE EARLS OF ERNE WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY FERMANAGH, WITH 31,389 ACRES

This family is said to descend from a branch of the Creightons or Crichtons, Viscounts Frendraught, in Scotland, which title ceased with Lewis, the 5th Viscount, about 1690.

JOHN CREIGHTON, of Crum [sic] Castle, County Fermanagh, settled in County Fermanagh during the 17th century.

This John married Mary, daughter of Sir Gerald Irvine, of Castle Irvine.

He died before 1631, leaving an only son, who acquired the leasehold of Crum, or Crom, by his marriage with Miss Spottiswood.

“Crom does not appear to have ever been the residence of SIR STEPHEN BUTLER, for we find that about the year 1624 the lands of Drumbrochas, Crum, and Innisfendra were leased to Dr James Spottiswood, who was consecrated Bishop of Clogher in 1621.”

“There was not at that time an episcopal residence provided for this see, as the Bishop, during his tenure of it, resided either at Crom or at the Castle of Portora, near Enniskillen.”

“The Bishop's third daughter, Mary, was married to Colonel Abraham Creighton about 1655, and this marriage brought Crom into the Crichton family.”

John Creighton's son and heir,

ABRAHAM CREIGHTON (c1626-1705), of Drumboory, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1673, MP for County Fermanagh, 1692-3, Enniskillen, 1695-9, who commanded a regiment of foot at Aughrim, 1692.

Colonel Creighton married, in 1655, Mary, daughter of the RT REV DR JAMES SPOTTISWOOD, Lord Bishop of Clogher, and had issue,

DAVID, his heir;
James;
Abraham;
Jane; Marianna.

Crom Castle was  acquired by the Crichtons in 1655.

He was succeeded by his only son,

DAVID CREIGHTON (1671-1728), celebrated for his gallant defence, in 1689, of the family seat of Crom Castle, against a large body of the royal army (JAMES II's).

Having repulsed the assailants, young Creighton made a sally, at the instant that a corps of Enniskilleners was approaching to the relief of the castle, which movement placed the besiegers between two fires, and caused dreadful slaughter.

The enemy attempting to accomplish his retreat across an arm of Lough Erne, near Crom Castle, that spot became the scene of such carnage, that it bore the name of the "Bloody Pass".

This gentleman represented Enniskillen in parliament, and attaining the rank of major-general in the army, was appointed governor of the royal hospital of Kilmainham.

He wedded, in 1700, Catherine, second daughter of Richard Southwell, of Castle Mattress, County Limerick, and sister of 1st Lord Southwell.

General Creighton, MP for Augher, 1695-9, Lifford, 1703-28, died in 1728, he was succeeded by his only son,

ABRAHAM CREIGHTON (c1700-72), who espoused firstly, in 1729, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Rt Hon John Rogerson, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and had issue,

Abraham (died 1810);
JOHN, his successor;
Charlotte.

He married secondly, in 1763, Jane, daughter of John King, without further issue.

Mr Creighton was elevated to the peerage, in 1768, in the dignity of Baron Erne, of Crom Castle.

His lordship was succeeded by his surviving son,

JOHN, 2nd Baron (1731-1828), MP for Lifford, 1761-72, who was created Viscount Erne, in 1781; and advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1789, as EARL OF ERNE.

His lordship wedded firstly, in 1761, Catherine, second daughter of the Rt Rev Dr Robert Howard, Lord Bishop of Elphin, and sister of the Viscount Wicklow, and had issue,

ABRAHAM, his successor;
John;
Elizabeth; three other daughters.

His lordship espoused secondly, in 1776, the Lady Mary Hervey, eldest daughter of the Rt Hon and Rt Rev Frederick Augustus [Hervey], Earl of Bristol and Lord Bishop of Derry, and had an only daughter, Lady Elizabeth Caroline Mary Crichton, who wedded James Archibald, Lord Wharncliffe.

Abraham Creighton, 2nd Earl (1765–1842);
John Crichton, 3rd Earl (1802–85);
John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl (1839–1914);
Henry William Crichton, Viscount Crichton (1872–1914;)
Hon George David Hugh Crichton (1904–1904);
John Henry George Crichton, 5th Earl (1907–40);
Henry George Victor John Crichton, 6th Earl (1937-2015). 

JOHN HENRY NINIAN, 7th and present Earl (1971-), DL, married, in 2019, Harriet, daughter of Alan Patterson, of Berwickshire.

CROM CASTLE, near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, is one of the the finest estates in County Fermanagh and Northern Ireland.

The Castle stands in a commanding position, with the entrance front to the east, the south front looks out towards the deer-park and Old Castle; while the west front (above) has the prospect of the boat-house and Inisherk Island.

Crom is one of my favourite places.

Books have been written about Crom.

It used to be a thriving community, virtually self-contained, complete with its own post-office; stable-yard; school-house; church; riding school; turf-house and saw-mill; petrol pump; court-yard; and staff accommodation.

The old farm-yard has been transformed into visitor accommodation with a visitor centre, exhibition, tea-room, jetty and more besides.

There is the Crichton Tower, too, a stone folly built as a Famine relief project ca 1847 to serve as an observatory.

The demesne is situated in a heavily wooded lough shore and island setting, the nearest village being Newtownbutler.

The estate was established in the 17th century and the ruins of the original Plantation castle - built about 1611 and destroyed by fire in 1764 - are still accessible on the shores of Upper Lough Erne, surrounded by vestiges of a formal garden; and near to a pair of venerable old yew trees.

The formal garden resembles a garden that would have graced the old castle; but is, in fact, a later garden, made when a plan was laid out in the early 19th century for the present mansion of 1831, by Edward Blore.

It was what I have termed one of the Big Five in the county; though the total income from all the Erne estates, reaching far beyond County Fermanagh, generated £23,850 per annum by 1883 with an overall acreage of 40,365.

In today's terms, that would equate to an annual income of £1.1 million.

The mansion is on an elevated site and is surrounded by mature trees; with vistas cut through the planting to the lough,  buildings used as "eye-catchers" in the distance, including the old Castle.

The Castle combines Baronial and Tudor-Revival elements.

The entrance front has a gabled projection with a corbelled oriel at each end, though they're not totally similar; while the tall, battlemented entrance tower, incorporating a porte-cochére, is not central but to one side, against the left-hand gable.

There are stone-carvings on the south and east fronts of the Castle.

Inside there is a series of heraldic stained-glass panels in the bay window at the foot of the staircase, one of which commemorates the marriage of the 1st Earl to Lady Mary Hervey, daughter of the Earl Bishop of Derry and a sister of Lady Elizabeth Hervey (Duchess of Devonshire).

The hall and staircase at Crom Castle are among Edward Blore's finest surviving interiors: Classical in form, the staircase was given a late-Perpendicular veneer by the arcades at top and bottom - the latter rather in the feeling of a chantry chapel - while the cathedral atmosphere was enhanced by the encapsulation tiles of the floor and the armorial stained glass windows.

Although the other rooms have been greatly altered since Blore's day, Crom remains one of the most impressive Victorian houses in Northern Ireland.

The adjoining garden front is symmetrical, dominated by a very tall central tower with slender octagonal turrets.

On either side of it is a gable and oriel.

The landscaping scheme was planned by the eminent landscaper, W Gilpin, in 1838 and is one of the very few sites designed by a named English employee, at a time when English landscape design was pre-eminent.

Crom survives as an outstanding landscape park in the Picturesque style.

The natural features of lough and islands are embellished with trees, bridges and buildings.

The formal garden, with its parterre, is long gone.

The parterre was at the west front and has since, I believe, been turned to lawn.

Parterres were a common feature of large country houses: Florence Court used to have one immediately to its rear; while Castle Ward had what was known as the Windsor Garden, a parterre in the sunken garden within its walled garden.

These features were relatively easy to maintain, since a small army of gardeners was employed for the purpose!

The house is set in wonderful surroundings, affording fine views.

There are some very fine trees, including a number of a great age both in the woodland and in the parkland, which includes a small Deer Park.

Victorian bedding schemes at the house, known from contemporary photographs, have been grassed over, but the conservatory of 1851 remains.

THE WALLED GARDEN survives, with glasshouses and bothies.

It is not planted up and the buildings are presently disused.

The many attractive demesne buildings are in good repair and are listed.

The stables are used as offices and the farm is a Visitors Centre, with holiday accommodation.

I visited the Castle about 1977 with my mother.

There used to be an indoor swimming-pool, though this has been taken away and, it is thought, turned into accommodation in the west wing.

The Erne Papers are held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

The 4th Earl's time at Crom coincided with the Land Acts and the Land Courts.

The latter appreciably reduced the rents payable to the landlord in most of the land cases which were brought judicially before it, with the result that land purchase, when it came, was calculated on the basis of these new and lower 'judicial' rents.

Terence Reeves-Smyth writes:

... The large bulk of the Erne estates were sold by the 4th Earl between 1904 and 1909 under the ... Land Act of 1903. ... By April 1908 ..., [most] of the Fermanagh estates had been sold to their tenants for £240,440. Only 49 holdings remained unsold, valued at £12,770. ...

When the amounts already received for the Sligo and Donegal estates are added - £25,000 and £83,427 respectively, both sold in October 1905 - the grand total comes to £348,867, or £20 million at 2010 values.

Mr Reeves-Smyth does not mention Mayo, part of which was still unsold in 1912.

It also looks as if a further ca £70,000 remained to be realised, post-1908, out of the Donegal estate, and a further £26,000 out of the Sligo.

The Dublin estate, being entirely urban, was unaffected by the Land Acts.

The 5th Earl, for a time, served as lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, his father's old regiment.

Soon after the outbreak of war in 1939, he raised the North Irish Horse, which was based in Enniskillen between November 1939 and February 1940.

In 1940, Lord Erne was killed near Dunkirk, and the castle and the demesne passed into the control of trustees whose most immediate problem was to protect the castle and demesne from the depredations of, firstly, British and then American forces, for whose use it was requisitioned at the beginning of the 2nd World War.

Terence Reeves-Smyth comments:

... From 1940 ... to 1958, the castle and demesne were controlled by a board of trustees. During the war the demesne actually made a profit, but the trustees throughout this period were considering leasing or selling the property to the Ministry of Agriculture. During the war and later in the 1950s the trustees undertook a number of tree fellings in the demesne woods to raise capital for the estate.

When the 6th Earl inherited in 1958, he attempted to create a dairy farm out of the farm lands, and later a toy factory in the farm yard, but neither enterprise was totally successful. Eventually part of the demesne was sold to the Department of the Environment in 1980 and subsequently, in 1987, the National Trust acquired the rest of the demesne, in part as a gift, while the castle itself has been retained by Lord Erne...

The Crom Estate is now held inalienably by the National Trust, including crucial rights to islands in, and parts of, Upper Lough Erne.

If its sale or lease to the Ministry of Agriculture had gone ahead, its "... great wealth of wildlife would have completely vanished under a monoculture of spruce" (Reeves-Smyth), and Crom Castle "may have been turned into a hotel or perhaps even demolished."

Under the 6th Earl, many changes were made and continued to be made to render the castle suitable for present-day living.

The 6th Earl's aunt, the Dowager Duchess of Abercorn, GCVO, was Mistress of the Robes to HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The 5th Earl was a Page of Honour to HM King George V 1921-4, and a Lord-in-Waiting to HM King George VI 1936-9.

The 6th Earl served as HM Lord-Lieutenant of County Fermanagh, 1986-2012.

The West Wing at Crom Castle is available to rent.

The opening of the West Wing as holiday accommodation marks a new departure for Crom Castle which, as the family home, remains closed to the general public.

Erne arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  Photo credits: 6th Earl of Erne and Mr Noel Johnston.   First published in January, 2010.

Franklin Maxims: VI

TELL ME MY FAULTS, AND MEND YOUR OWN.

First published in May, 2020.

1st Viscount Bangor

THE VISCOUNTS BANGOR WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY DOWN, WITH 9,861 ACRES 

The family of WARD is of Norman origin, and was seated at Capesthorne, in Cheshire, which Daniel King, in his book Vale Royal, calls "a great lordship and demesne, giving name to the ancient seat of the Wards."

WE FIND in the roll of Battle Abbey, that the family of WARD attended WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR into England, where, after some centuries, it appeared in three respectable branches; of which the Wards of Capesthorne, Cheshire.

For several centuries, having possessed many extensive lordships, descended the family of WARD, of Bangor, in the person of

BERNARD WARD, who married a daughter of the ancient family of Leigh, of High Leigh, Cheshire, and settled in Ulster about 1570.

Mr Ward acquired the lands known as Carrickshannagh from the Earl of Kildare, and renamed it CASTLE WARD.

His son and heir,

NICHOLAS WARD, born ca 1580, High Sheriff of County Down, 1620 and 1624, married Joan, daughter of Ralph Leycester, of Toft Hall, Cheshire, and had issue (with several daughters, one of whom, Eleanor, wedded Thomas Russell, of Lecale),

BERNARD, his heir;
Robert (Sir), created a Baronet, designated of Killough;
Thomas, colonel in the army, died at the battle of Worcester, 1651;
Nicholas.

The eldest son,

BERNARD WARD, born in 1606, High Sheriff of County Down, 1656, who married Anne, daughter of Richard West, and had issue,

NICHOLAS WARD, born in 1630, High Sheriff of County Down, 1662, MP for Downpatrick, 1661-66, who married Sarah, daughter of the Rt Rev Theophilius Buckworth, and had issue,

Charles (Rev);
BERNARD, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

BERNARD WARD (1654-90), wedded Mary, sister of Michael Ward, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and afterwards Lord Bishop of Derry, by whom he had four sons and three daughters.

Mr Ward was killed in a duel, 1690, whilst Sheriff of Down, by Jocelyn Hamilton, of the Clanbrassil family (who was mortally wounded at the same time), and was succeeded by his second, but eldest surviving son,

MICHAEL WARD (1683-1759), MP for County Down, 1713-27, who espoused, in 1709, Anne Catherine, daughter and co-heir of James Hamilton, of Bangor, County Down, and had issue,

BERNARD, his heir;
Anne; Sophia.

Judge Ward, Photo Credit: The National Trust

Judge Ward was succeeded by his only son,

BERNARD WARD (1719-81), MP for County Down, 1745-70, who married, in 1747, Anne, daughter of John, 1st Earl of Darnley, and relict of Robert Hawkins Magill, of Gill Hall, County Down, and had issue,

NICHOLAS, his successor;
John, died young;
Edward, father of EDWARD SOUTHWELL WARD;
Robert (Rt Hon);
Anne Catharine; Sophia; Amelia; Harriet.

Colonel Ward was elevated to the peerage, in 1770, in the dignity of Baron Bangor, of Castle Ward, County Down.

His lordship was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1781, as VISCOUNT BANGOR, of Castle Ward, County Down.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

NICHOLAS, 2nd Viscount (1750-1827), who died unmarried, in 1827, when the family honours reverted to his nephew,

EDWARD SOUTHWELL, 3rd Viscount (1790-1837), who wedded, in 1826, Harriet Margaret, daughter of Henry, 6th Baron Farnham, and had issue,

EDWARD, his successor;
Henry William Crosbie;
William John;
Bernard Matthew, Lieutenant-General;
Somerset;
Crosbie Richard Maxwell.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDWARD, 4th Viscount (1827-81), who died unmarried, when the family honours devolved upon his brother,

HENRY WILLIAM, 5th Viscount (1828-1911), JP DL, who espoused firstly, in 1854, Mary, daughter of the Rev Henry King, and had issue,

Henry Somerset Andrew (1857-60);
Edward William Henry (1863-87);
MAXWELL RICHARD CROSBIE, of whom hereafter;
Harriette Mary; Kathleen Annette Norah; Bertha Jane; Henrietta; Emily Georgiana.

Following his first wife's untimely death in 1869, his lordship married secondly, in 1874, Elizabeth, only daughter of Major Hugh Eccles, of Cronroe, County Wicklow.

He was succeeded by his youngest and only surviving son,

MAXWELL RICHARD CROSBIE, 6th Viscount (1868-1950), OBE PC, who married, in 1905, Agnes Elizabeth, daughter of Dacre Mervyn Archdale Hamilton, and had issue,

EDWARD HENRY HAROLD, his successor;
Mary Helen Kathleen; Helen Elizabeth; Margaret Bertha.

• Edward Ward, 4th Viscount (1827–81);
• Henry William Crosbie Ward, 5th Viscount (1828–1911);
• Maxwell Richard Crosbie Ward, 6th Viscount (1868–1950);
• Edward Henry Harold Ward, 7th Viscount (1905–93);
• William Maxwell David Ward, 8th Viscount (b 1948).

The heir presumptive is the present holder's half-brother, the Hon Edward Nicholas Ward.

The 8th and present Viscount lives in London with his wife, the celebrated royal biographer Sarah Bradford, the Viscountess Bangor.

Lord Bangor is thought to be an antiquarian book-seller.

His family's ancestral seat is CASTLE WARD, near Downpatrick, County Down.

When the 6th Viscount died in 1950, Castle Ward was accepted by the Northern Ireland Government in part payment of death duties, and presented by the Government with an endowment to the National Trust.



There is an apartment at Castle Ward House for the use of Lord and Lady Bangor which, it is thought, is used by them mostly during the summer.

About twenty years ago, when we stayed on the Estate, we were in the local butcher's shop in Strangford for some fillet steak. Young Duffy grimaced and told us that he was sold out; not surprising since the previous customers who had been right in front of us and had literally just left the shop, the then Hon William and Mrs Ward, who had collected a whole fillet of beef!

A former estate worker who is now, sadly, deceased, Ernest Swail, once told us that he was the last boatman to Lord Bangor. 

First published October, 2009. 

Tubberdaly House

THE BEAUMONT-NESBITTS OWNED 4,063 ACRES OF LAND IN THE KING'S COUNTY

JOHN DOWNING, of Bellaghy and Rowesgift, County Londonderry, born in 1700, married Anne, daughter of the Rev Dr J Rowe, and had issue,

ALEXANDER CLOTWORTHY, his heir;
Dawson, ancestor of FULLERTON OF BALLINTOY;
Sarah, m to Charles Dawson.

The eldest son,

THE REV ALEXANDER CLOTWORTHY DOWNING, of Bellaghy and Rowesgift, Rector of Leckpatrick, County Londonderry, wedded Tamison, daughter of James Nesbitt, of Tubberdaly, King's County, and had, with other issue, a daughter, Medicis, who married her first cousin, ancestress of EDWARD BEAUMONT-NESBITT, of Tubberdaly, and a son,

JOHN DOWNING-NESBITT, of Tubberdaly, who assumed the additional surname of NESBITT on inheriting the Nesbitt estates in the King's County, and counties Roscommon and Galway.

He married, in 1800, Jane, daughter of General Brady, of Leixlip House, County Kildare, and had, with other issue,

Alexander, died unmarried;
WILLIAM GEORGE, his heir;
CATHERINE TAMISON, succeeded her brother;
Jane, m to Francis, Count de Lusi;
Mary Anne, died unmarried, 1873.

Mr Downing-Nesbitt died in 1847, and was succeeded by his son,

WILLIAM GEORGE DOWNING-NESBITT, of Tubberdaly, who died a bachelor in 1857, and was succeeded by his sister,

CATHERINE TAMISON DOWNING-NESBITT, who died unmarried in 1886, and was succeeded by her cousin,

EDWARD BEAUMONT, who adopted the additional surnames of DOWNING and NESBITT.

FAMILY OF BEAUMONT

GEORGE BEAUMONT wedded, in 1815, Alice, daughter of James Akroyd, of Brook House, near Halifax, and died in 1858, leaving a son,

THE REV THOMAS GEORGE BEAUMONT JP, Rector of Chelmondiston, Suffolk, who espoused Tamazine, daughter of the Rev John Bradshaw, Incumbent of Lambeg, County Antrim.

He died in 1908, having had issue,

EDWARD JOHN, of Tubberdaly;
George;
Henry;
Alice Mary; Mabel.

The Rev T G Beaumont was succeeded by his eldest son,

EDWARD JOHN DOWNING BEAUMONT-NESBITT OBE JP (1859-1944), of Tubberdaly, High Sheriff of King's County, 1892, who wedded, in 1890, Helen, daughter of Frederick Freeman Thomas, of Ratton, Sussex, by his wife, Mabel, third daughter of Viscount Hampden, and had issue,

FREDERICK GEORGE, major-general;
Wilfred Henry, b 1894;
Violet Catherine, b 1891;
Eileen Mabel, b 1898.

Edward John Downing Beaumont-Nesbitt was the last Lord-Lieutenant of King's County (Offaly), from 1918 until 1922.

*****

TUBBERDALY HOUSE, near Edenderry, County Offaly, was a Georgian mansion built near the site of the ruinous Tubberdaly Castle.

It was one of the last big houses to be burnt by the IRA, on the night of the 15th April, 1923.

First published in March, 2018.

General Cornwallis

William Harvey, Clarenceux King-of-Arms, in his heraldic visitation of the county of Suffolk, made in 1561, states that THOMAS CORNWALLEYS, of London, merchant, the first of the family mentioned in the visitation, was a younger brother, and born in Ireland, and that he bore the same arms which the house, at the time of the visitation, used. This Thomas was High Sheriff of London in 1378.

Thomas  Cornwalleys died in 1384, and was succeeded by his son,

JOHN CORNWALLIS, who added to his patrimony the lordships of Brome and Oakley, with other lands in Suffolk, by intermarrying with Philippa, daughter and one of the heirs of Robert Bucton.

This John represented Suffolk in Parliament in the reign of RICHARD II.

He died in 1446, and was succeeded by his son,

THOMAS CORNWALLIS, MP for Suffolk in the reign of HENRY VI.

The three elder sons of this Thomas having successfully inherited the estate of Brome, and all dying without issue, the youngest son eventually succeeded as

SIR WILLIAM CORNWALLIS KB, of Brome, who married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Stanford.

He died in 1519, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR JOHN CORNWALLIS (c1491-1544), Steward of the Household to the Prince Edward, son of HENRY VIII.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON SIR THOMAS CORNWALLIS MP (1519-1604), a gentleman who displayed great personal courage against the Norfolk rebels under Kett, the tanner, in 1549, and he subsequently served the office of High Sheriff for Norfolk and Suffolk.

He was also instrumental in the suppression of Wyatt's insurrection, and was commissioned, with the Earl of Sussex and Sir Edward Hastings, for the trial of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger in 1554.

At this time he was sworn of the Privy Council, and constituted Treasurer of Calais.

Sir Thomas Cornwallis (The National Trust/ Canons Ashby)

Sir Thomas represented Suffolk in Parliament between 1547 and 1558.

Upon the accession of ELIZABETH I, being a Roman Catholic, he was left out of the Privy Council, and removed from the comptrollership of the Household, which he held under QUEEN MARY.

He then retired into the country, and built BROME HALL.

Sir Thomas Cornwallis wedded Anne, daughter of Sir John Jerningham, and had issue,

WILLIAM, his heir;
Charles (Sir);
Mary; Elizabeth.

He was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR WILLIAM CORNWALLIS (c1549-1611), of Brome Hall, who espoused firstly, Lucy, eldest daughter and co-heir of John Neville, 4th Baron Latymer, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
Frances; Elizabeth; Cornelia; Anne.

He married secondly, Jane, daughter of Hercules Meautys, and by that lady had an only son,

FREDERICK, who succeeded his brother.

Sir William was succeeded by his elder son,

THOMAS CORNWALLIS, MP for Suffolk during the reign of CHARLES I; who dying unmarried was succeeded by his brother,

FREDERICK CORNWALLIS (c1610-62), who was created a Baronet in 1627; and for the active part he had taken in the civil wars, and his faithful adherence to CHARLES II, through all fortunes, was elevated to the peerage, in 1661, in the dignity of BARON CORNWALLIS, of Eye, Suffolk.

His lordship wedded firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Ashburnham, and had issue, with two other sons and one daughter, who all dspm),

CHARLES, his successor.

He espoused secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Crofts, and had a daughter, Jane.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES, 2nd Baron (1632-73), who married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Playsted, and was succeeded by his son,

CHARLES, 3rd Baron (1655-98), who wedded firstly, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir Stephen Fox, and had issue,

CHARLES, his successor.

He espoused secondly, Anne Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, widow of the unhappy James, Duke of Monmouth, and by Her Grace had one son, Lord George, who died in youth, and two daughters.

His lordship filled the office of First Commissioner of the Admiralty during the reign of WILLIAM III, and was Lord-Lieutenant of Suffolk.

He was succeeded by his only surviving son,

CHARLES, 4th Baron (1675-c1722), a military officer who served in several campaigns under WILLIAM III, who married the Lady Charlotte Butler, daughter and sole heir of Richard, 1st Earl of Arran, fourth son of James, 1st Duke of Ormonde, and had issue,

CHARLES, his successor;
Stephen, Major-General;
John;
Richard;
Edward, Lieutenant-General;
Frederick (Most Rev), Lord Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England;
Henry;
Charlotte; Elizabeth; Mary.

His lordship was appointed, in 1715, Joint Postmaster-General.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES, 5th Baron (1700-62); who was created, in 1753, Viscount Brome and Earl Cornwallis.

The 1st Earl's armorial bearings are illustrated at the top of this article.

His lordship wedded, in 1722, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Charles, 2nd Viscount Townshend, and had issue,

CHARLES, his successor;
Henry;
JAMES (Rt Rev), 4th Earl Cornwallis and Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry;
William (Admiral Sir);
Mary; Elizabeth; Charlotte.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

CHARLES, 2nd Earl (1738-1805), KG, who espoused, in 1768, Jemima, daughter of James Jones, and had issue,

CHARLES, his successor;
Mary.

His lordship, a General in the Army, played a prominent role in the American War of Independence, and his surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, ended significant hostilities in North America.

He was installed a knight of the Garter in 1786.

Cornwallis Monument, St Paul's Cathedral, London

General Cornwallis, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, India, was advanced to the dignity of a marquessate, in 1792, as MARQUESS CORNWALLIS.

He was constituted Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and commander of the forces there in 1799.

General the Most Hon the 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG

In 1804, his lordship had the honour of being appointed, a second time, Governor-General of India; and in that station he died, in 1805, and was succeeded by his son,

CHARLES, 2nd Marquess (1774-1823), Master of the Buckhounds, 1806, who married, in 1797, the Lady Louisa Gordon, daughter of Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, KT, and had issue, five daughters,

Jane; Louisa; Jemima; Mary; Elizabeth.

The 2nd Marquess died in 1823, when the marquessate expired; but the other honours reverted to his lordship's uncle,

THE RT REV JAMES CORNWALLIS (1743-1824), Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and Dean of Durham, as 4th Earl.

His lordship wedded, in 1771, Catherine, daughter of Galfridus Mann, of Egerton, and sister of Sir Horace Mann Bt, by whom he left an only surviving child,

JAMES, 5th Earl (1778-1852), who espoused firstly, in 1804, Maria Isabella, daughter of Francis Dickens, and had issue,

Charles, Viscount Brome (1813-35);
Jemima Isabella.

He married secondly, in 1829, Laura, daughter of William Hayes, of Wollaston Hall, which lady dsp 1840; and thirdly, in 1842, Julia, fourth daughter of Thomas Bacon, by which lady he had issue, a daughter, Julia.

His lordship's only son had died unmarried at the age of 22, and the titles consequently became extinct on his decease in 1852.

First published in March, 2020. 

Pomeroy

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND, 1837

POMEROY, a parish, in the barony of Dungannon, County Tyrone, 7¼ miles from Dungannon, on the road to Omagh.

The district was granted by JAMES I to Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and soon after was created a manor, under the name of Manor Chichester.

It was then altogether an extensive forest, some of the oaks of which, when cut down several years since, measured 29 feet in circumference.

During the unsettled period of 1641 it was nearly stripped of its timber, and for many years after remained in a neglected state, until 1770, when the Rev James Lowry undertook its management: he planted a great portion of the demesne, which now exhibits some very fine timber, and bequeathed a sum to erect the present mansion.

In the demesne, which consists of 556 acres, is a small lake, the borders of which resemble in shape the coast of Ireland, on a scale of about one foot to a mile.

Near it is a very abundant spring of water, strongly impregnated with carbonic acid gas.

Pomeroy from The Diamond  (Image: Donaghmore Historical Society)

The village, which is small and meanly built, on the summit of a hill, consists of a square and long street, the roadway of which having been cut down in order to diminish to ascent, has placed the houses on each side in an unsightly and even dangerous situation.

Pomeroy from The Diamond (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

The eastern and southern parts of the parish are fertile and well cultivated; the western, which forms part of the Altmore mountain, and comprises nearly 3,000 acres, is uncultivated mountain and bog.

Granite, basalt, quartz, limestone, freestone, clay-slate, iron-stone and coal have been found within its limits.

The principal seats are Pomeroy House, the fine residence of R W Lowry; Mulnagore Lodge, of Mrs Stafford; Drummond Lodge, of J Suter; and the Glebe, of the Rev Thomas Twigg.

The parish was erected in 1775, by an Order of Council, at the application of Lord Primate Robinson, by severing 41 townlands from that of Donaghmore: it is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Lord Primate.

The Glebe House, built in 1786, at an expense of £414 [about £54,000 in 2024], supplied by Primate Robinson, and enlarged in 1793 at a cost of £322 by the then incumbent, has a glebe of 560 statute acres.

The church, built in 1775 on a site three miles from the village, is a handsome edifice, yet, though spacious, it does not afford sufficient accommodation for the congregation during the summer months.

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POMEROY is the highest village in County Tyrone.

Central Bar, Pomeroy (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

Facing Altadesert parish church, opposite The Diamond, the Central Bar is celebrated locally as an establishment where a ghost is said to have haunted an attic at the beginning of the 20th century until the parish priest exorcised it.

The parish priest is said to have persuaded the rowdy spirit to enter a bottle, which was hastily corked and bricked into a wall in the back yard.

Castle Upton

THE VISCOUNTS TEMPLETOWN WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ANTRIM, WITH 11,924 ACRES

The family of UPTON was seated at Upton, Cornwall, about the time of the Conquest.

ARTHUR UPTON, of Lupton, Devon, elder brother of the Chevalier John Upton, Knight of Malta, and grandson of John Upton, of Lupton, by Joan his wife, daughter and heir of Sir Wincomb Raleigh, Knight.

John Upton, of Lupton, was fourth in descent from John Upton (and Agnes his wife, sister and heir of John Peniles, of Lupton), younger son of John Upton, of Trelaske, Cornwall.

The aforesaid Arthur Upton married Gertrude, daughter of Hugh Fortescue, of Filleigh, and had, with other issue,

John, of Lupton, MP;
HENRY, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

HENRY UPTON (1592-1642), a Captain in the army of the Earl of Essex, fixed his abode in County Antrim, and was returned to parliament for Carrickfergus in 1634.

Captain Upton married, in 1628, Mary, daughter of Sir Hugh Clotworthy, Knight, and sister 1st Viscount Massereene, by whom he had four sons and three daughters, and was succeeded by the eldest son,

ARTHUR UPTON (1633-1706), of Castle Upton, MP for Carrickfergus for a series of forty years, who wedded Dorothy, daughter of Michael Beresford, of Coleraine, and was succeeded by his fourth, but eldest surviving son,

CLOTWORTHY UPTON (1660-1725), of Castle Upton, MP for Newtownards, 1695-1703, Antrim County, 1703-16, who, raising a party of men, joined the standard of WILLIAM III at the siege of Limerick, and was taken prisoner there, after entering the breach sword in hand, and almost alone, his followers, nearly to a man, being cut to pieces.

Mr Upton married firstly, Mary, only daughter of Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery, by whom he had no issue; and secondly, Margaret, daughter of William Stewart, of Killymoon, County Tyrone, who died also without issue; and thirdly, Jane, daughter of John Ormsby, of Athlacca (by whom he had an only daughter, ELZABETH, who wedded the Rt Hon Hercules Landford Rowley, and was created a peeress of the realm, as Baroness Langford).

Mr Upton was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN UPTON, of Castle Upton, MP for Antrim County, 1725-7, a military officer, who distinguished himself at the storming of the citadel of Liège, and at the battle of Almansa, under Lord Galway; where, for his spirited conduct, he obtained the command of a regiment, upon the fall of Colonel Killigrew.

Colonel Upton wedded, in 1711, Mary, only daughter of Dr Francis Upton, of London, by whom he had three sons and five daughters.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR UPTON, of Castle Upton, MP for Antrim Borough, 1692, Deputy Governor of County Antrim, who married firstly, Sophia, daughter of Michael Ward; and secondly, Sarah, daughter of Pole Cosby, of Stradbally; but dying without issue, in 1768, the estates devolved upon his brother,

FRANCIS UPTON, a naval officer; at whose decease, unmarried, they passed to a younger brother,

CLOTWORTHY UPTON (1721-85), who espoused, in 1769, Elizabeth, daughter of Shuckburgh Boughton, of Poston Court, Herefordshire, and had issue,

JOHN HENRY, his successor;
Fulke Greville;
Arthur Percy, CB, Lieutenant-General in the army;
Elizabeth Albinia, m 1st Marquess of Bristol.

Mr Upton was elevated to the peerage, in 1776, in the dignity of of Baron Templetown, of Templetown, County Antrim.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN HENRY, 2nd Baron (1771-1846), who married, in 1796, the Lady Mary Montagu, only daughter of John, 5th Earl of Sandwich, and had issue,

HENRY MONTAGU, his successor;
GEORGE FREDERICK, succeeded his brother;
Arthur;
Edward John, father of the 4th Viscount;
Mary Wilhelmina.

His lordship was created a viscount, in 1806, as VISCOUNT TEMPLETOWN, of County Antrim.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY MONTAGU, 2nd Viscount (1799-1863), who died unmarried, when the titles devolved upon his brother,

George, 3rd Viscount Templetown GCB (Defence Academy of the UK)

GEORGE FREDERICK, 3rd Viscount (1802-90), GCB, of Castle Upton, a General in the Army, MP for County Antrim, 1859-63, who married, in 1850, Susan, daughter of Field-Marshal Sir Alexander Woodford GCB; the marriage, however, was without issue, when the titles reverted to his lordship's nephew,

HENRY EDWARD MONTAGU DORINGTON CLOTWORTHY, 4th Viscount (1853-1939), GCB, who wedded, in 1883, the Lady Evelyn Georgina Finch-Hatton, daughter of George, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, and had issue,

Eric Edward Montagu, killed in action, 1915;

HENRY AUGUSTUS GEORGE MOUNTJOY HENEAGE, his successor;

Margaret Evelyn.

His lordship was succeeded by his surviving son,

HENRY AUGUSTUS GEORGE MOUNTJOY HENEAGE, 5th Viscount (1894-1981), who married firstly, in 1916, Alleyne, daughter of Captain Henry Lewes Conran RN, of Gordon Downs, Queensland, Australia, and had issue,

HENRY ERIC PATRICK MOUNJOY SPALDING (1917-57), dsp;
Alleyne Evelyn Maureen Louisa.

His lordship wedded secondly, in 1975, Margaret Violet Louisa, widow of Sir Lionel George Arthur Cust.

On the decease of the 5th Viscount the titles expired.

The ancestral seat of the Templetown family was Castle Upton, Templepatrick, County Antrim. 

CASTLE UPTON demesne, beside Templepatrick, County Antrim, is near the half-way point on the main road from Antrim to Belfast.

The demesne lies on the north side of the village; and the house contains numerous features which are of historical and architectural import.

The Anglo-Norman style flanker towers now form part of the main house of 1612; which, in turn, occupies the site of a 13th century priory of the Knights of St John (Hospitallers) - monks who joined the Last Crusade, sailing from Carrickfergus in County Antrim.

The said monks were expelled from Templepatrick during the Reformation; and the Knights' vaulted refectory was reconstructed, when the mansion was extended by Robert Adam in 1783 for the 1st Viscount Templetown.

Castle Upton House today is essentially a plantation castle built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries by Sir Robert and Sir Henry Norton Bt, who named it Castle Norton.

The castle was sold in 1625 to Captain Henry Upton, who promptly re-named it Castle Upton.

From 1783 Clotworthy Upton, 1st Baron Templetown, and his son (later 1st Viscount Templetown) employed Robert Adam to modernize the interior and give the exterior a "castle air".

Adam raised and machiolated the pair of round towers from the original castle and gave them high, conical roofs, adding a wing with another tower.

Adam also designed a Classical mausoleum in the church-yard and a splendid castellated stable range, in 1789.

In 1837 Edward Blore was employed by the 2nd Viscount to redesign the Castle, inserting mullioned windows and eradicating most of Adams' interiors; raising and panelling the hall; and refurbishing the main reception rooms in a restrained Elizabethan style, with fretted ceilings.

The Castle was sold by the Upton family early in the 20th century; and the subsequent owner re-roofed the main building, an act which ruined Adam's romantic skyline.

Adam's additional wing was allowed to fall into ruin.

In 1963, the 300-acre estate was purchased by Sir Robin Kinahan who, with Lady Kinahan, restored the Castle most sympathetically.

Their most notable achievement was the rebuilding of the ruined Adam wing, which now contains an elegant ballroom; and an Italian marble chimney-piece formerly at DOWNHILL CASTLE in County Londonderry.

The demesne itself is now diminished, with trees near the house, a small artificial lake and lawns where a 19th century formal garden was once laid out.

The walled garden is used as a field. Robert Adam’s stable block is approached via a contemporary gate lodge of 1820.

The impressive village entrance to the house is by Edward Blore (1837) and has a gate lodge hidden behind it.

Sir Robin and Lady Kinahan's son, Danny Kinahan, and his family, lived in the house until it was placed on the market in 2016.

I have met the late Sir Robin several times: When he was Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast at ceremonies in the Ulster Hall; and as chairman of the board of Belfast Cathedral. I recall him well. A true gentleman indeed.

Castle Upton was purchased in 2019 by Terry Hughes.

Other residence ~ The Holme, Balmaclennan, Castle Douglas.

First published in March, 2010.