Landed families of Britain and Ireland

This site, which was short-listed for the Society of Architectural Historians (GB) Colvin Prize in 2019, presents my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.

Saturday, 26 September 2026

(645) Blacker of Carrickblacker and Woodbrook

Blacker of Castleblacker

The Blacker family were established as minor gentry in the West Riding of Yorkshire before Valentine Blacker (1597-1677) went to Ireland in the mid 17th century, probably as a soldier rather than a settler. His two known sons, Ferdinando and George, were also soldiers in the Royalist army in Ireland in the 1640s. In 1660, Valentine bought the manor of Carrowbrack (later known as Carrickblacker) in Co. Armagh, and this was inherited on Valentine's death by his surviving son, Lt-Col. George Blacker (d. c.1690). In the Williamite war of 1688-91, George was part of the Jacobite forces of King James II until he was ordered to go to Londonderry to demand the surrender of the city in 1689, whereupon he changed sides. His three sons, William, Legard and Robert Blacker, were all soldiers. Legard had been killed in 1686, Robert was killed in 1689, and George's wife died at the beginning of 1690. George himself also died in 1690, although whether this was due to the fighting or grief or other causes seems not to be known. William Blacker (c.1647-1732), the only surviving son, inherited Carrickblacker (and also Ballytroan in Co. Tyrone, from his mother's family) and soon afterwards built a new house on the estate. He married three times and had three sons, all of whom were the ancestors of prominent families. His eldest son, Stewart Blacker (1671-1751) probably lived at Ballytroan or at his wife's property at Brookend (Co. Tyrone) until his father's death, for he was High Sheriff of Co. Tyrone in 1706-07. He and his wife had five sons and one daughter. The daughter married young and was widowed in her 30s; she afterwards lived in Dublin with her brother, the Rev. Henry Blacker, who took orders but seems never to have been a beneficed clergyman, preferring instead to be chaplain to the 18th Light Dragoons.

The heir to Carrickblacker was William Blacker (1709-85), who served as High Sheriff of both Co. Armagh and Co. Tyrone. He married Letitia (d. 1778), the daughter of Henry Cary MP, and together they are said to have had an astonishing 21 children, although a third of them seem to have died in infancy as only thirteen can be traced in the records. Through the 18th century, the family seem slowly to have risen in social status, and William's daughters' marriage partners included a knight, a baronet, and the younger son of an earl. William's eldest son, Stewart Blacker (1740-1826), entered the church and rose to become archdeacon of Dromore and dean of Leighlin. He married the daughter of a prominent MP and baronet. William's second son, another William Blacker (c.1750-1811) was an army officer and married the daughter and heiress of another Archdeacon, from whom he and his wife inherited the Woodbrook estate in Co. Wexford. The Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) had four sons and five daughters, and was succeeded at Carrickblacker by his eldest son, William Blacker (1777-1855), who was probably the most prominent member of the family, as one of the founders of the Orange Order and one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury in Ireland, and also as the author of a number of published poems, songs and essays, and of fascinating 'diaries' - really memoranda books - which remained unpublished until recently. William was married but had no issue, so on his death the Carrickblacker estate passed to his nephew, Stewart Blacker (c.1808-81), a barrister who became deputy Grand Master of the Orange Order, and in that capacity made a triumphal tour of Canada in 1870, where he is said to have been received by large crowds, almost like royalty. Stewart was unmarried, and on his death a life interest in Carrickblacker passed to his widowed sister, the Baroness von Stieglitz, who occupied the house until 1899. It then passed to the Woodbrook branch of the family.

Capt. William Blacker (c.1750-1811), who had inherited Woodbrook in right of his wife Susan (d. 1807), was dispossessed of it during the Irish rebellion of 1798, when it was captured and briefly occupied by the United Irishman, John Henry Colclough, who was later executed at Wexford for his part in the insurrection. Woodbrook apparently suffered extensive damage at this time, and may have stood unoccupied for a decade or more, for there is some evidence that the Blackers were living in England in the 1800s. A radical restoration was begun in the early 19th century, probably after William's son, also William Blacker (1790-1831), had inherited the estate, which may have been in 1807 or 1811. The younger William died relatively young and was survived by his widow for nearly fifty years, outliving their eldest son and heir, William Jacob Blacker (1823-69), who died without issue. The estate passed on his death to his younger brother, the Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913), a clergyman in the Church of England, who gave up his preferments in the diocese of Peterborough in 1877 to return to Ireland and manage the estate. In 1899 he also inherited the Carrickblacker estate in Co. Armagh. His eldest son having died shortly before coming of age, both properties passed on his death to his second son, Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932), who had perhaps been intended for a career in the church until he became the heir apparent. He was never ordained but became a prominent lay member of the Church of Ireland. He remained unmarried and was succeeded at his death by his nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44), a career soldier who made his home in Dorset. He sold Carrickblacker in 1937 but retained Woodbrook for use as an occasional summer retreat. During the Second World War the house was occupied by the Irish Army, and before it was handed back, Col. Blacker had been killed in France, shortly after the Normandy landings. It was in due course returned to his younger brother, Cdr. Robert Stewart Blacker (1909-83), an officer in the Royal Navy. He and his wife, also a naval officer, returned to live at Woodbrook, and were succeeded by their adopted son, William Richard Stewart Blacker (b. 1953), who sold it in 1994, reputedly after incurring severe losses as a Lloyds 'name'.

Carrickblacker, Co. Armagh

A three-storey house, reputedly built in 1692 for William Blacker (d. 1732), on lands acquired by his grandfather, Valentine Blacker (1597-1677). The house was constructed of red brick and had a five bay front with a single bay breaking forward in the centre under a Dutch gable. The whole house was given an over-elaborate decorative trim in the mid 19th century, perhaps for Stewart Blacker (d. 1881), who inherited in 1855.

Carrickblacker House, Portadown: the entrance front in the late 19th century. Image: National Library of Ireland.

This included a battlemented single-storey addition to the right-hand side elevation, a heavy cornice and balustraded parapet, the architraves of the windows, the rather Mannerist doorcase and the balustrading above it, and the vertically-set oval window in the gable with cobweb glazing. It was probably at this time that the side elevations were also given Dutch gables incorporating chimneystacks. At the rear was an 18th century wing

Carrickblacker House: side and rear elevations.

terminating in a full-height bow, but even here the windows were given similarly ornate architraves to those on the entrance front. Regrettably, nothing seems to be recorded of the interior, but it was probably given a rigorous Victorian makeover at the same time as the exterior. The house was sold in 1937 to the Portadown Golf Club and is said to have functioned as its club house for a number of years before being requisitioned by the Government in 1942. It was sold in 1948 to a Dublin firm which planned to establish a 'garden factory' and demolished it in 1956. It was one of the most architecturally striking houses to be lost in Northern Ireland in the 20th century.

Descent: Anthony Cope of Loughgall sold 1660 to Valentine Blacker (1597-1677); to son, Lt-Col. George Blacker (d. c.1690); to son, William Blacker (c.1647-1732); to son, Stewart Blacker (1671-1751); to son, William Blacker (1709-85); to son, Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826); to son, William Blacker (1777-1855); to nephew, Stewart Blacker (c.1808-81); to sister, Hester Anne (c.1811-99), Baroness von Stieglitz, for life, and then to kinsman, Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913); to son, Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932); to nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44), who sold 1937 to Portadown Golf Club, which sold the house in 1948 to R. Atkinson & Co., who demolished the house in 1956.

Woodbrook, Killann, Co. Wexford

One of several Irish houses called Woodbrook, this building was first erected in the 1770s by Dr. Arthur Jacob (d. 1786), archdeacon of Armagh, who acquired the lands about 1750. He is said to have begun building soon afterwards, but the house was damaged by fire before it was completed, and there was then a hiatus before work resumed in the 1770s. The plantations of the demesne are said to have been established in 1752. Dr. Jacob bequeathed the estate to his daughter Susan and her husband, William Blacker, who married in 1784. During the Irish rebellion of 1798 it was captured and briefly occupied by the rebel John Henry Colclough (c.1769-98), and suffered extensive damage as a result. The house was evidently left unfit for occupation, and when restoration began in about 1810 it almost amounted to a reconstruction, for the datable features are all of the Regency time; the stonework is of high quality and executed in grey Mount Leinster granite.

Woodbrook, Co. Wexford: the entrance front and service wing.

The house consists of a rectangular three-storey south-facing main block with a lower recessed three-bay two storey service wing to its east, continued by a long range of outhouses. The entrance front has three widely-spaced tripartite windows, graduated in height, and the side elevations have more closely-spaced regular sash windows; those on the left-hand side are grouped rather oddly, 1-2-1. The elevation is dominated by a central Ionic tetrastyle portico, behind which is a tripartite doorcase with glazing either side of the door itself and an elegant fanlight above. The portico supports a balcony accessed through the floor-length central window on the first floor. The front door leads into a groin-vaulted entrance hall; a large drawing room lies on the west side of the house; a dining room on the east; and the staircase hall in the north-east corner.

Woodbrook: the wonderful flying spiral staircase

The staircase is by far the most spectacular feature of the house, for it takes the form of an unsupported spiral, rising from the centre of a two-storey hall to a first-floor landing, from which opens an axial corridor leading to the main bedrooms. Throughout the house, however, there is good preservation of the early 19th century plasterwork and joinery, with very few later alterations, although the loss of the Blacker portraits and other pictures lessens the impact of the main rooms. The present owners live in the house but offer bed-and-breakfast accommodation in three of the principal bedrooms.

Descent: built for Ven. Dr. Arthur Jacob (d. 1786); to daughter Susan (d. 1807), wife of William Blacker (c.1750-1811); to son, William Blacker (1790-1831); to son, William Jacob Blacker (1823-69); to brother, Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913); to son, Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932); to nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44); to brother, Cdr. Robert Stewart Blacker (1909-83); to adopted son, William Richard Stewart Blacker (b. 1953), who sold 1994 to Mr & Mrs Gwynne; sold 1998 to Giles Fitzherbert (b. 1935) and his wife Alexandra; handed on to their son Billy Fitzherbert and his wife Holly. During the Second World War, the house was occupied by the Irish army.

Blacker family of Carrickblacker

Blacker, Valentine (1597-1677). Said to have been the son of Ralph Blacker (d. 1624) of Durkar (Yorks WR) and Nether Poppleton (Yorks WR), born in 1597. He was an officer in the Royalist army in Ireland. After acquiring the Carrickblacker estate, he was the principal funder of the Church of Ireland church at Seagoe. He married Judith (d. 1664), daughter of Michael Harrison of Ballydargan (Co. Down), and had issue, possibly among others:

(1) Ferdinando Blacker (c.1623-52); an officer in Sir John Savile's troop of horse (Capt-Lt.), who was in service with the Royalist army in Ireland in the 1640s; will proved in the PCC, 25 February 1651/2;
(2) Lt-Col. George Blacker (c.1625-90) (q.v.);
(3) Violetta Blacker (fl. 1677); married Alexander Gill (1608-75), and had issue; living in 1677;
(4) Frances Blacker; married [forename unknown] Peters;
(5) Rose Blacker.

He purchased the manor of Carrowbrack (later known as Carrickblacker) in Co. Armagh from Sir Anthony Cope of Loughgall in 1660.

He died 17 August 1677. His wife died 27 March 1664.

Blacker, Lt-Col. George (c.1625-90). Second son of Valentine Blacker (1597-1677) and his wife Judith, daughter of Michael Harrison of Ballydargan (Co. Down), born about 1625. An officer in the army (Lt-Col.), he served in the Royalist army in the 1640s and was a supporter of King James II until he was ordered to go to Londonderry in 1690 and demand the surrender of the city, whereupon he changed sides. High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1684-85. He married Rose (d. 1690), daughter and heiress of William Latham of Ballytroan (Co. Tyrone), and had issue:

(1) William Blacker (c.1647-1732) (q.v.);
(2) Legard Blacker (d. 1686); died 29 August 1686 and was buried at Shankill;
(3) Robert Blacker (d. 1689); an officer in the army (Capt.); died in the service of William of Orange, 31 August 1689 and was buried at Seagoe (Co. Armagh);
(4) Frances Blacker (fl. 1699); married John Tipping (d. 1689) of Dromore, who was a supporter of William of Orange and was killed in the Williamite war, and had issue four children; living in 1699, when she petitioned the king for relief from the poverty and distress to which her family's support of his cause had brought her.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1677.

He died in about 1690, probably soon after his wife, and was buried at Seagoe. His wife died 4 February 1689/90 and was buried at Seagoe.

Blacker, William (c.1647-1732). Only recorded son of Lt-Col. George Blacker (d. c.1690) and his wife Rose, daughter and heiress of William Latham of Ballytroan (Co. Tyrone), born c.1647. He was a staunch supporter of King William III and fought at the Battle of the Boyne, 1690. He married 1st, 1666 (settlement 10 April), Elizabeth (d. 1678), daughter of Col. the Hon. Robert Stewart of Irry and Stewart Hall (Co. Tyrone); 2nd, Hannah Lawrence; and 3rd, by 1713, Theodosia, daughter of Oliver St. John of Tanderagee Castle (Co. Armagh), and had issue:

(1.1) Stewart Blacker (1671-1751) (q.v.);
(1.2) Robert Blacker; ancestor of the Blackers of Drogheda (Co. Louth) and Co. Meath;
(3.1) Samuel Blacker (b. 1714?), of Tanderagee, said to have been born in 1714; married, 29 April 1734, Mary (d. 1771), daughter of Isaiah Corry of Rock Corry (Co. Monaghan), and had issue one son (the Rev. St. John Blacker (b. 1743)).

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father c.1690 and Ballytroan from his mother's family.

He died in 1732. His first wife died 11 January 1678 and was buried at Ballyclog (Co. Tyrone). His second wife's date of death is unknown. His third wife's date of death is unknown.

Blacker, Stewart (1671-1751). Elder son of William Blacker (c.1647-1732) and his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Col. the Hon. Robert Stewart of Irry and Stewart Hall (Co. Tyrone), born 1671. High Sheriff of Co. Tyrone, 1706-07. He married, 1704, Barbara (d. c.1743), daughter of Rev. Henry Young and niece and heiress of William Latham of Brookend (Co. Tyrone), and had issue:

(1) Barbara Blacker (1706-84), born 23 October 1706; married, 1730 (licence 15 July), James Twigg (1685-1742) of Bettystown (Co. Meath) and had issue four sons and four daughters; as a widow lived in Suffolk St., Dublin; died in Dublin, 1784; will was proved in Dublin, 5 October 1784;
(2) Stewart Blacker; eldest son; died in infancy;
(3) William Blacker (1709-85) (q.v.);
(4) Latham Blacker (1711-75), of Applefield (alias Rathesker) (Co. Louth), born 30 September 1711; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1730; BA 1734); married, 1738 (licence 20 November), Martha (c.1718-1802), daughter of Peter Beaver of Drogheda (Co. Louth) and Donnybrook (Co. Dublin), and had issue seven sons and nine daughters; will proved 1775;
(5) Rev. Henry Blacker (1713-93), born 10 July 1713; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1731; BA 1735; MA 1738); he lived in Dublin with his widowed sister and seems never to have been a beneficed clergyman, but was chaplain to 18th regiment of dragoons, 1759-84; married, 28 March 1773 at St Mary Woolnoth, London, Sarah Martin (b. c.1740), and had issue one daughter; will proved 1793;
(6) George Blacker (1718-1801), of Drogheda (Co. Louth) and Hallsmill (Co. Down), born 26 September 1718; married 1st, 1745 (settlement 2 January 1744/5), Mary (d. c.1746), daughter of Joseph Nicholson LLD, and 2nd, 1747 (licence 13 February 1746/7), Alicia, only child of Edward Dowdall of Mountown (Co. Meath), and had issue at least one son; died at Drogheda, about January 1801.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1732.

He died in 1751. His wife died in about 1743, when her will was proved.

Blacker, William (1709-85). Eldest son of Stewart Blacker (1671-1751) and his wife Barbara, daughter of Rev. Henry Young and niece and heiress of William Latham of Brookend (Co. Tyrone), born 12 September 1709. High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1734-35, and of Co. Tyrone, 1749-50. He married, 8 August 1738, Letitia (d. 1778), eldest daughter of Henry Cary (1695-1756), of Dungiven Castle (Co. Derry), MP for Coleraine, and is said to have had issue twenty-one children, including:

(1) Eliza Blacker (1739-1822), born 1739; married, 4 August 1764 in Dublin, Sir William Dunkin (d. 1807), kt., judge of Supreme Court of Bengal (India), eldest son of John Dunkin of Bushfoot (Co. Antrim), and had issue three sons and four daughters; died in London, 16 March, and was buried at St Marylebone (Middx), 22 March 1822;
(2) Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) (q.v.);
(3) Barbara Blacker (1742-1835), born in 1742; married, 22 April 1783 at St James, Bath (Som.), as his second wife, Richard Olphert (d. 1789) of Armagh, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died aged 93 about November 1835;
(4) Martha Blacker (1743-1840), born in 1743; died unmarried aged 97 in London, 6 September, and was buried at St Marylebone, 12 September 1840;
(5) Capt. William Blacker (c.1750-1811) [for whom see below, Blacker of Woodbrook];
(6) Alicia Blacker (1752-1840), born February 1752; married, 30 September 1772, Gen. Sir James Steuart (later Steuart Denham) GCH (1744-1839), 3rd bt., but had no issue; died at Cheltenham (Glos), 28 October 1840;
(7) Jane Blacker (c.1753-1845), born about 1753; married James Fleming (c.1728-1805) of Belleville (Co. Cavan), and had issue two sons and four daughters; died aged 92 and was buried at Holy Trinity, Cheltenham, 9 October 1845;
(8) Henry Blacker (c.1756-1827), born about 1756; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1775; Lt., 1777; Capt., 1786), who served in the American War of Independence (wounded at Battle of Freeman's Farm and taken prisoner at Battle of Saratoga, New York, 1777); inherited Millburn (Co. Derry) from his maternal uncle, Rt. Hon. Edward Cary; died unmarried, 1 September 1827, and was buried at Coleraine; will proved 1827, leaving his estate to his nephew, Rev. Richard Olphert (d. 1849);
(9) Susan Blacker (c.1758-1822), born about 1758; married, December 1789, her cousin, Beaver Blacker (1754-1808) of Drogheda (Co. Louth), and had issue one son and three daughters; will proved 1822;
(10) Letitia Blacker (1760-1841), born in 1760; married, 1 October 1783, Lt-Gen. the Hon. Edward Stopford (1732-94), second son of James Stopford, 1st Earl of Courtown, and had issue five sons and two daughters; died at Lincoln, 5 February, and was buried at St Marylebone, 12 February 1841;
(11) Lucinda Blacker (1762-1843), born in 1762; died unmarried at her home in Dublin, 6 October 1843;
(12) Mary Blacker (d. 1784); died unmarried and was buried at St James, Bath, 19 July 1784;
(13) Rev. George Blacker (1764-1810), youngest child, born in 1764; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1780; BA 1785); ordained deacon, 1785, and priest, 1786; rector of Banagher and Dungiven (Co. Derry), 1791-1810; vicar of Seagoe (Co. Armagh), 1796-1810; died unmarried, 1 May 1810; will proved 1810.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1751 and Brookend (Co. Tyrone) from his mother's family, but lived latterly at Bath (Som.).

He was buried with his wife at St James, Bath, 16 September 1785. His wife was buried at St James, Bath, 17 July 1778.

Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826)
Blacker, Very Rev. Stewart (1740-1826). Eldest son of William Blacker (1709-85) and his wife Letitia, eldest daughter of Henry Cary MP of Dungiven Castle (Co. Derry), born 1740. Educated at Royal School, Armagh and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1759; BA 1764). Curate of Annahilt, 1768-70; Chaplain to 2nd Regiment of Horse in Ireland, 1770-77; rector of Seagoe (Co. Armagh) and archdeacon of Dromore (Co. Down), 1777-1810; dean of Leighlin (Co. Carlow), 1778-1804; rector of Drumcree (Co. Armagh), 1804-26; vicar of Seagoe, 1810-26. He is recorded as being small of stature, quick in his movements, and active and decisive in public affairs. He married, 19 November 1774 at Magheralin (Co. Down), Elizabeth (d. 1797), daughter of Sir Hugh Hill MP (1728-95), 1st bt., of Brook Hall, and had issue:

(1) William Blacker (1777-1855) (q.v.);
(2) George Blacker (1784-1815) (q.v.);
(3) Stewart Blacker (1785-1826), an officer in the Royal Navy (Midshipman, 1804; Lt., 1808; Commander, 1812; Capt., 1821); died unmarried at Carrickblacker, 25 April 1826;
(4) Letitia Blacker (c.1790-1831), born about 1790; married George Studdert JP (1783-1854), of Dublin, third son of Thomas Studdert (1748-1825) of Bunratty Castle (Co. Clare), and had issue four sons and two daughters; died in Dublin, 8 April 1831;
(5) Sophia Blacker (c.1791-1829), born about 1791; married 1st, 24 August 1811 at Seagoe, as his second wife, Mathew Forde (1753-1812), of Seaforde (Co. Down) and Coolgreany (Co. Wexford), and 2nd, 24 January 1816 at Lympstone (Devon), as his second wife, William Stewart Hamilton (1775-1836) of Brownhall (Co. Donegal) and Dublin, but had no issue; died at Drumcondra House (Co. Dublin), 27 June 1829;
(6) Eliza Blacker (1792-1834), born 19 February 1792; married 1st, 27 January 1812 at Seagoe, Hugh Lyons-Montgomery (d. 1826) of Belhavel (Co. Leitrim) and Lawrencetown (Co. Down), and had issue three sons and four daughters; married 2nd, at Tours (France), 29 September 1830, Maj. Dominique Maurice Chompré (1789-1866) (who m2, 7 November 1837, Marie Josephine Sophie (1804-64), daughter of Georges Neunreuther), but had no further issue; died at Versailles (France), 23 January 1834;
(7) Louisa Blacker (1793-1815), born 1793; married, 1811, John Rea (1780-1832) of Chatham Lodge, later St Columbs Park (Co. Derry), and had issue two daughters; died in Dublin, 11 May 1815, and was buried at St Ann, Dublin, where she is commemorated by a monument;
(8) Rev. James Stewart Blacker (1795?-1835), born 16 February 1795*; educated at Royal School, Armagh, and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1814; BA 1818; MA 1831); curate of Killyman (Co. Armagh), 1822-26; rector of Keady (Co. Armagh), 1826-35; JP for Co. Armagh; married, 30 November 1824 at Holywood (Co. Down), Eliza (d. 1837), eldest daughter of Conyngham Greg of Ballymenoch (Co. Down), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died suddenly at Keady, 2 August 1835; will proved 1836;
(9) Caroline Blacker (c.1797-1828), born about 1797; died unmarried, 30 April 1828.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1783.

He died 1 December 1826 and was buried at Seagoe; his will was proved in 1827. His wife died, probably following childbirth, 27 February 1797.

* Some sources give the same day and month but the year 1797. Either year is possible as he was said to be 18 at the time of his matriculation at TCD.

Blacker, William (1777-1855). Eldest son of Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh Hill MP, 1st bt., of Brook Hall, born 1 September 1777. As a young man, he was a participant in the Battle of the Diamond in 1795 and was subsequently one of the founders of the Orange Order later that year. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1795; BA 1799; MA 1803). He was briefly an officer in the army (Ensign, 1801) and later in the Armagh Miltia (Maj., 1806; Lt-Col., 1812) and Seagoe Corps of Yeomanry. JP and DL for Co. Armagh; High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1811-12. He was appointed one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury in Ireland, 1817-29. He was the author of a number of essays, poems and songs, some of which were published pseudonymously (as "Fitz-Stewart"), in the Dublin University Magazine, and of a series of 'diaries' - really memoranda books - which have been printed more recently. He married, November 1810, Anne (d. 1861), eldest daughter of Sir Andrew Ferguson MP, 1st bt. of Londonderry, but had no issue.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1826. At his death the estate passed to his nephew, Stewart Blacker (1808?-81).

He died 25 November 1855. His widow died 3 January 1861.

Blacker, George (1784-1815). Second son of Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh Hill MP, 1st bt., of Brook Hall, born 27 December 1784. An officer in the Bengal army (Cadet, 1799; Ensign, 1800; Lt., 1800; Capt-Lt., 1813; Capt., 1814). He married. 1 December 1806 at Cuttack, now Kataka (India), Anne (c.1788-1870), daughter of Capt. William Sloane of Royal Bengal Artillery, and had issue:

(1) Stewart Blacker (1808?-81) (q.v.);
(2) George Blacker (c.1809-11), born about 1809; died in infancy and was buried at Meerut, Bengal (India), 29 July 1811;
(3) Eliza Hill Blacker (c.1810-62), born about 1810; married, 29 February 1844, Lt. Thomas Eyre Moore Hodder RN (d. 1863), third son of William Henry Moore-Hodder of Hoddersfield (Co. Cork); died 16 May 1862;
(4) Hester Anne Blacker (c.1811-98) (q.v.);
(5) Sophia Mary Blacker (1812-38), born 3 August and baptised at Meerut, 29 September 1812; died unmarried of consumption (tuberculosis), 30 April 1838.

He died at Sarahanpur (India) of wounds received at Battle of Kolunga, 31 August 1815; his will was proved in the PCC, 15 August 1817. His widow died at Carrickblacker, 27 November 1870.

Blacker, Stewart (1808?-81). Only son of George Blacker (1784-1815) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. William Sloane of the Royal Bengal Artillery, born 1 January 1808?*. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1825; BA 1830; MA 1832), Grays Inn (admitted 1831) and Kings Inns (called 1832). Barrister-at-law. A Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, in which capacity he made an official visit to Canada in 1870. JP and DL for Co. Armagh; High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1859-60. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his uncle in 1855 and was probably responsible for major alterations to the house. In 1878 he owned 1,466 acres in Co. Armagh. At his death the estate passed to his surviving sister for life, and then to his distant kinsman, the Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) of Woodbrook [for whom see below].

He died 16 December 1881 and was buried at Seagoe (Co. Armagh) with his mother and siblings; his will was proved 3 March 1882 (effects £16,250).

* The admission register for Kings Inns says 1809.

Blacker, Hester Anne (c.1811-98). Second daughter of George Blacker (1784-1815) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. William Sloane of the Royal Bengal Artillery, born about 1811, probably in India. She married, 14 April 1859 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), as his second wife, Frederick Lewis Ludwig (1803-66), Baron von Stieglitz, of The Glen (Co. Armagh), but had no issue.

After she was widowed, she lived Carrickblacker with her brother, who left her a life interest in the property at his death in 1881.

She died 23 January 1898 and was buried at Seagoe (Co. Armagh) with her mother and siblings; her will was proved 20 May 1899 (estate £7,906). Her husband died 14 May 1866 and was buried at Derryloran Old Cemetery, Cookstown (Co. Tyrone); his will was proved 22 June 1866 (effects under £30,000).

Blacker of Woodbrook

Blacker, Capt. William (c.1750-1811). Second son of William Blacker (1709-85) and his wife Letitia, eldest daughter of Henry Cary MP of Dungiven Castle (Co. Derry), born about 1750. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1771; Lt., 1775; Capt., 1782; retired 1784), who served in the War of American Independence. He married, about September 1784 (but licence granted 29 June), Susan (d. 1807), daughter and heiress of the Ven. Dr. Arthur Jacob of Woodbrook (Co. Wexford), archdeacon of Armagh and rector of Killann (Co. Wexford), and had issue:

(1) Letitia Blacker (c.1787-1861), born about 1787; died unmarried at Woodbrook, 29 June 1861; administration of goods granted to her niece Jane Blacker, 19 January 1876 (effects under £800);
(2) William Blacker (1790-1831) (q.v.);
(3) Jane Antemissa [recte Artemisia?] Blacker (c.1791-1848), born about 1791; died unmarried at Cheltenham (Glos) and was buried at Swindon Village (Glos), 28 January 1848; administration of goods granted to her niece Jane Blacker, 19 January 1876 (effects under £1,500);
(4) Hannah Blacker (c.1794-1854), born about 1794; died unmarried at Cheltenham and was buried at Swindon Village, 25 February 1854*; administration of goods granted to her niece Jane Blacker, 19 January 1876 (effects under £1,500);
(5) Edward Blacker (c.1795-1863?), younger son; died unmarried; possibly the man of this name whose will was proved in 1863.

His wife inherited Woodbrook from her father in 1786.

He died 14 January 1811. His wife died at Hereford (Herefs), 8 April 1807.

* Her age at death is given as 80 in the parish register, but this seems to be an error, as other evidence makes the identification of the burial fairly clear.

Blacker, William (1790-1831). Elder son of Capt. William Blacker (c.1750-1811) and his wife Susan, daughter and heiress of Ven. Dr. Arthur Jacob of Woodbrook (Co. Wexford), born 1790. He married, 27 September 1814 at Kill St Nicholas (Co. Waterford), Elizabeth Anne (d. 1877), second daughter of Robert Shapland Carew (1752-1829) of Castleboro (Co. Wexford), and had issue:

(1) twin, Anne Blacker (1820-58), born 19 September 1820; married, 16 November 1848 at St George, Dublin, Sir Robert Joshua Paul (1820-98), 3rd bt., of Paulville (Co. Carlow), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died following childbirth, 22 May 1858;
(2) twin, Susan Blacker (1820-1908), born 20 September 1820; married, 8 January 1840, Very Rev. Anthony La Touche Kirwan (1803-68), dean of Limerick, orator and raconteur, son of Very Rev. Walter Blake Kirwan, dean of Killala, and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and two daughters; died 17 May 1908 and was buried at Kilculliheen (Co. Waterford);
(3) William Jacob Blacker (1823-69) (q.v.);
(4) Ellen Letitia Blacker (c.1824-1908), born about 1823; died unmarried, 10 February 1908; will proved 8 May 1908 (estate £3,569);
(5) Hannah Dorothea (k/a Dora) Blacker (c.1825-1910), born about 1825; married, 1 October 1857 at Killea (Co. Waterford, John Yeoman (1825-77), of Milton (Northants) and Marske Hall (Yorks NR), land agent, son of Henry Walker Yeoman; died 17 February 1910; will proved 5 April 1910 (estate £15,648);
(6) Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) (q.v.);
(7) Jane Mary Blacker (c.1830-1917), born about 1830; died unmarried at Woodbrook, 10 August 1917; will proved in Dublin, 14 September 1917 (estate £946).

He inherited Woodbrook from his parents, either in 1807 or 1811.

He died 23 May 1831; his will was proved in the PCD, 1832 (effects under £4,600). His widow died 19 March 1877; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted 4 September 1885 (estate £1,803).

Blacker, William Jacob (1823-69). Elder son of William Blacker (1790-1831) and his wife Elizabeth Anne, second daughter of Robert Shapland Carew of Castleboro (Co. Wexford), born 1823. Educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1841). JP and DL (from 1844) for Co. Wexford; High Sheriff of Co. Wexford, 1852-53; an officer in the Co. Wexford Militia (Maj., 1845). He married, 26 May 1849 at St Peter, Dublin, Elizabeth (1814-96), fourth daughter of Maj. Hervey Randall Saville Pratt de Montmorency (1782-1859), of Castle Morres (Co. Kilkenny), but had no issue.

He inherited Woodbrook from his father in 1831 and came of age in 1844.

He died at Woodbrook, 27 December 1869. His widow died in Dublin, 6 November 1896.

Blacker, Rev. Robert Shapland Carew (1826-1913), Second son of William Blacker (1790-1831) and his wife Elizabeth Anne, second daughter of Robert Shapland Carew of Castleboro (Co. Wexford), born 29 January 1826. Educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1844; BA 1849; MA 1869). Ordained deacon, 1850, and priest, 1851. Perpetual curate of Longthorpe (Northants), 1855-60; Rector of Marholm (Northants), 1860-77 and hon. Canon of Peterborough Cathedral, 1869-77. JP for Co. Wexford (from 1879) and Co. Armagh. He married, 9 September 1858 at Ballynakill (Co. Waterford), Theodosia Charlotte Sophia (1830-90), daughter of George Meara of May Park (Co. Waterford), and had issue:

(1) William Robert George Blacker (1860-80), born 29 February 1860; educated at Winchester; an officer in the Wexford Militia (2nd Lt., 1879); died unmarried, following an attack of erisypelas, 13 March 1880;
(2) Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932) (q.v.);
(3) Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William Blacker (1865-1935) (q.v.).

He inherited Woodbrook from his father in 1869, and Carrickblacker from his kinswoman, the Baroness von Steiglitz [for whom see above] in 1899.

He died 15 January 1913; his will was proved 20 February 1913 (estate £28,738). His wife died 29 June 1890; administration of her goods was granted 20 September 1890 (effects £132).

Blacker, Edward Carew (1863-1932). Second son of Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) and his wife Theodosia Charlotte Sophia, daughter of George Meara of May Park (Co. Waterford), born 13 July 1863. Educated at Winchester and Magdalene College, Cambridge (matriculated 1883). JP and DL for Co. Wexford; High Sheriff of Co. Wexford, 1908-09. He was an active participant in Church of Ireland affairs and a regular attender at the church's annual synods. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Woodbrook and Carrickblacker from his father in 1913; at his death his estates passed to his nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44).

He died on the 'Irish Mail' train while travelling from Dublin to London, 10 September 1932; his will was proved 14 November 1932 (estate in Ireland, £35,759 and in England & Wales, £44,023).

Lt-Col. S.W.W. Blacker (1865-1935)
Blacker, Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William (1865-1935). Third and youngest son of Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) and his wife Theodosia Charlotte Sophia, daughter of George Meara of May Park (Co. Waterford), born 4 July and baptised at Marholm (Northants), 20 August 1865. Educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the army (Lt., 1885; Capt., 1895; Maj., 1900; retired 1905; returned to colours, 1914; Lt-Col., 1918), who served on the North-West Frontier of India, 1897 (severely wounded; mentioned in despatches), in the Boer War, and in the First World War (DSO, 1916; awarded Legion d'honneur and Croix de guerre; mentioned in despatches three times). He was a leading opponent of Irish home rule, an early signatory of the Ulster Covenant, 1912, and a founder member of the Armagh regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force, 1912. He married, 6 January 1903 at Hale (Surrey), Eva Mary Lucy St. John (1875-1952), only child of Col. Edward Albert FitzRoy of Hale Place, Farnham (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44) (q.v.);
(2) Betty Mary Blacker (1905-83), born 20 December 1905; JP and County Councillor for Somerset; married, 17 July 1929 at Walditch (Dorset), Rear-Adm. George Arthur Thring CB DSO (1903-2001), of Alford House, Castle Cary (Som.), son of Sir Arthur Thring, kt., and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 26 November 1983; will proved 25 June 1984 (estate £147,866);
(3) Joan Lucy Blacker (1908-98), born 28 July 1908; married, 23 October 1967 at Alford (Som.), Dr. Jim C. McMaster of Court Ash, Nether Compton (Dorset), but had no issue; died 29 June 1998;
(4) Cdr. Robert Stewart Blacker (1909-83) (q.v.);
(5) Terence FitzRoy Blacker (1910-32), born 15 October 1910; educated at Winchester; died unmarried when a tree which he and his mother were felling collapsed on him, 6 February, and was buried at Chideock, 10 February 1932.

He lived at Chideock Manor (Dorset). His widow moved to The Hyde, Bridport (Dorset) before 1939 and later to Netherbury Court, Beaminster (Dorset).

He died from a heart attack after bathing in the sea at Seatown, Bridport, 6 September 1935; a funeral was held at Chideock and his cremated remains were interred at Killanne (Co. Wicklow); his will was proved 9 December 1935 (estate £47,192). His widow died 8 July 1952; her will was proved 17 October 1952 (estate £348).

Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker
(1903-44)
Blacker, Lt-Col. William Desmond (1903-44). Eldest son of Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William Blacker (1865-1935) and his wife Eva Mary Lucy St. John, only child of Col. Edward Albert FitzRoy of Hale Place, Farnham (Surrey), born 20 September 1903. Educated at Eton and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1924; Lt., 1926; Capt., 1937; Maj., 1939; Lt-Col., 1944?), who fought in the Second World War and was awarded the DSO, 1941. He was unmarried and without issue.

He lived at Chideock Manor and later at East Hill House, Charminster (Dorset). He inherited Woodbrook and Carrickblacker from his uncle in 1932, but sold the latter in 1937. Woodbrook was mostly unoccupied and used only as a summer retreat. It was occupied by the Irish army during the Second World War.

He was killed in action in Normandy (France), 11 July 1944, and buried at St. Manvieu War Cemetery, Cheux, Calvados (France); his will was proved 28 October 1944 (effects in England & Wales, £22,695) and 29 November 1944 (effects in Ireland, £1,432).

Blacker, Cdr. Robert Stewart (1909-83). Second son of Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William Blacker (1865-1935) and his wife Eva Mary Lucy St. John, only child of Col. Edward Albert FitzRoy of Hale Place, Farnham (Surrey), born 21 September 1909. Educated at Winchester and Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. An officer in the Royal Navy (Sub-Lt., 1932; Lt., 1933; Lt-Cdr., 1941; retired as Cdr.), who served in the Second World War. He married, 12 June 1948, Rosemary MBE (1914-2010), who served in the Second World War in the Women's Royal Navy Service (First Officer; appointed MBE, 1947), only daughter of William Ernest Sheepshanks of Arthington Hall (Yorks WR), but had no issue. He and his wife adopted two children:

(A1) William Richard Stewart Blacker (b. 1953), born 12 October 1953;
(A2) Eva Meriel Blacker (b. 1954), born 4 May 1954; nurse and midwife.

He inherited Woodbrook from his elder brother in 1944. At his death the estate passed to his adopted son, who sold it in 1994, reputedly after losses as a Lloyds name; he subsequently moved to the Isle of Man.

He died 17 January 1983; his will was proved 25 July 1983 (estate in England & Wales, £47,093). His widow died aged 96 in Dublin, 17 September 2010.

Principal sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 113-15; D. Rowe & E. Scallan, Houses of Wexford, 2016, no. 1027; J.A.K. Dean, The plight of the big house in northern Ireland, 2020, p. 50.

Location of archives

Blacker of Carrickblacker: deeds, estate and legal papers, 1630-1927 [Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D959, D1252/11]

Coat of arms

Argent, on a mount vert, a warrior in complete armour in the act of advancing towards the right and brandishing in his dexter hand a battle-axe proper, from his shoulder a mantle flowing gules. Also described as Argent, goutte de sang, a Danish warrior armed with a battle-axe in the dexter, and a sword in the sinister hand, all proper.

Can you help?

Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 26 September 2026.

Sunday, 13 September 2026

(644) Blackburne of Tankardstown House and Rathfarnham Castle

According to Edward Blackburne's memoir of his father, the Blackburnes were established as gentleman farmers or minor gentry in Co. Meath for several generations in the 18th century until in the 1790s the unsettled state of the Irish countryside and the risk of violent insurrection forced Richard Blackburne (c.1745-98), with whom the genealogy below begins, to abandon his house at Great Footstown and move into Dublin for greater security. It was thus at Dublin that his only surviving son, Francis Blackburne (1782-1867), grew up and completed his education. After studying at Trinity College, Dublin and Kings Inns he went to Lincoln's Inn in London and was called to the Irish bar in 1805. He then entered upon a brilliantly successful legal career which culminated in his serving for two brief periods as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In the 1860s he was offered, but declined, a baronetcy. With the wealth generated by his legal offices, he purchased first, around 1815, the modest Tankardstown estate in County Meath, where he was probably responsible for rebuilding the house, and later, in 1847, Rathfarnham Castle. His main homes, however, were probably always his town houses in Dublin and the suburban villas he owned successively before buying the castle. He was married for fifty-eight years to Jane Martley (d. 1872), and together they had fourteen children, although only five of them survived their long-lived father. These included William Martley Blackburne (1821-68), who inherited Tankardstown, and Edward Blackburne QC (1823-1902), who inherited Rathfarnham. William, who survived his father by only a few months, bequeathed Tankardstown to his own elder son, Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921), who was educated in England and married the daughter of a Scottish gentry family but settled at Tankardstown, where he was High Sheriff of Co. Meath in 1898-99. He and his wife had one son and three daughters (one of whom died young). The son, William John Anstruther Blackburne (1904-42), was generally known as Jack. He studied agriculture at Cambridge, where the start of his studies seems to have been delayed by his father's death and perhaps also by the Irish civil war, and his obituary commented on his use of modern farming and horticultural methods. He died of cancer in his 30s, and since he was unmarried the Tankardstown estate passed to his two sisters, Elena Townshend (1898-1996) and Amabel Blackburne (1910-96). Elena and her husband Charles Townshend seem to have farmed the estate until 1966, when he died, after which the two sisters carried on until the 1970s when they sold Tankardstown and retired to a smaller house on the estate.

Edward Blackburne (1823-1902), who inherited Rathfarnham Castle from his father, the Lord Chancellor, pursued a legal career like his father and was made a QC in 1868, although he never achieved judicial office. He married the daughter of a Dublin physician, and they produced one son and one daughter. The son was Francis Blackburne (b. 1859), but though he was the heir apparent to Rathfarnham, he seems either to have fallen out with his father or to have had no interest in occupying the position of privilege in society to which he had been born. He was remarkably difficult to trace in contemporary records, but he went first to London, where he was married in 1881 to a woman called Minnie Mulholland, who has proved even more elusive. They then emigrated to the United States, where they had a son in San Francisco in 1883 and a daughter in Springfield, Ohio in 1887 before moving on to Toronto (Canada). At a young age their son, Edward Blackburne (1883-1948), was returned to Ireland, where he was apparently brought up by his grandfather and educated as a gentleman, no doubt with a view to his being the heir to Rathfarnham. The elder Edward died in 1902 and left his widow a life interest in Rathfarnham, which expired on her death in 1911. By then the younger Edward had taken holy orders and was a curate in the east end of London, where his sister kept house for him. Within months of coming into his Irish inheritance he had married, sold the Rathfarnham estate and been instituted as rector of Bolnhurst, a small and remote village in the claylands of north Bedfordshire. He remained there until 1919, but then resigned the living and moved to Sussex. Although he was a licensed preacher in the diocese of Chichester in the 1920s and 1930s he seems never to have held another benefice. He and his wife had three daughters but no sons, and he died in very modest circumstances at Totnes in south Devon in 1948.

Tankardstown House, Co. Meath

The house began as a rectangular house of two storeys, with a three bay front and slightly shorter three-bay sides, built of limestone rubble. It was constructed about 1815, and therefore probably for Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) who bought the heavily mortgaged estate around that time, rather than for the previous owner, Brabazon Morris, although this cannot be certain. The use of rubble stone rather than ashlar gives the house a curiously rustic look, and it seems likely that the exterior was originally stuccoed to give a smoother, more neo-classical impression. The house has a very wide central hall and two staircases at the rear, and the principal reception rooms to either side.

Tankardstown House: the entrance front and side elevation of the original block.

Tankardstown House: the side elevation showing the late 19th century addition and the new entrance then built.

In 1883-86, Francis William Blackburne enlarged the house to the rear to the designs of Sir Thomas Drew. The extension, which consists of an additional block built onto the back of the earlier house and a long wing projecting to its east, included a new front entrance and a large Jacobethan staircase hall. Alterations were made to the layout of the house, so that the original front door became a window, and the Regency interiors were changed by the introduction of coarser and more elaborate classical details. It is said that the original intention was to build a larger extension, but that the plans were simplified during the build. A pair of metalwork gates on the avenue approach are stamped 'Paris 1890'.

Descent: Brabazon Morris; sold c.1815 to Francis Blackburne (1782-1867); to son, William Martley Blackburne (1821-68); to son, Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921); to son, Jack Blackburne (1904-42); to sisters, Elena Frances (1898-1996), wife of Charles Maurice Waddington Loftus Townshend (1899-1966), and Amabel Blackburne (1910-96), who sold 1970s... sold 2002 to Brian and Patricia Conroy, who since 2008 have operated it as a wedding and events venue.

Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin

An important Elizabethan house in a strategic position close to the bridge by which the main road south from Dublin to the Wicklow mountains crosses the River Dodder. There was a medieval castle here, an outbuilding of which survived and was incorporated into the ground floor of a 20th century residential block, now known as Cromwell's Court. Rathfarnham's significance lies in the fact that it was designed not as a tower house, but as a semi-fortified mansion, demonstrating new (and ill-founded) optimism about the stability of the Elizabethan settlement in Ireland and the security of the countryside. While defencibility was still a significant consideration, for the first time in Ireland, equal or greater weight was given to making the house a pleasant and comfortable place of residence.

Rathfarnham Castle: a late 19th century view of the house from the south-east.

Rathfarnham was built in 1582-85 for the Most Rev. Adam Loftus (c.1533-1605), a Yorkshireman who became archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1581-1605.

Rathfarnham Castle: ground floor plan, as altered in the 18th century.

The house takes the form of a rectangular double pile central block with a tower at each corner, a form familiar in England in houses such as Mount Edgcumbe (Cornwall); but whereas at Mount Edgcumbe the towers are square, at Rathfarnham they are bastion-shaped, and the towers are battered at the base and offset at each storey, allowing greater visibility for defenders of any attacking force. Later alterations to the fenestration and interiors make it difficult to know what Adam Loftus's Rathfarnham would have been like to live in, but the floor levels and materials tell us quite a lot. The basement is vaulted throughout, and the main entrance (now an 18th century doorway but thought to be in the original position) is to the ground floor above, and is approached by an external stair. This floor was 12 feet high internally, but the first floor was much taller, so we can assume that this was where the principal 16th century rooms were; the top floor is treated as an attic and no doubt housed servants' accommodation. The spine wall down the centre of the main block is a massive structure, some twelve feet thick.

The castle changed hands several times during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641-53), but seems to have remained habitable throughout. In the 1690s it passed by marriage from the Loftus family to the Whartons, and in 1723 was sold by the 1st Duke of Wharton (who had incurred massive losses in the South Sea Bubble) to William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish Parliament and the builder of Castletown House (Co. Kildare). Conolly spent £62,000 on his purchase but seems to have been more interested in the land than the house, of which he granted a long lease to Edward Worth (1672-1741). Worth was said in 1733 to be 'prodigious fond of the place and is continually improving it", although his activities are surely too early for the rich Rococo ceilings in the house. After Worth died, the lease was sold in 1742 to Archbishop John Hoadly, who was translated from Dublin to Armagh in the year he acquired Rathfarnham. In the four years he owned the house, his obituarist recorded him making 'repairs' to Rathfarnham, but could he have accomplished the extensive works that seem to form the first phase of internal remodelling in such a short period? Hoadly died in 1746 and the lease passed to his son-in-law, Bellingham Boyle MP (1709-71), an MP who suffered repeatedly from financial troubles. Nonetheless, he seems the most likely person to have commissioned the first phase of internal remodelling of the house.

Rathfarnham Castle: Rococo ceiling of the library (later drawing room) behind the bow on the east front.

This produced a series of rich Rococo plasterwork ceilings with contrastingly plain classical doorcases and window frames. His work may also have involved taking the kitchens out of the basement and relocating them in a new wing to the south-west, building a new staircase in the north-west tower, and the construction of the bowed projection on the east front, which disturbs the symmetry of the house but provdes a particularly handsome bow-ended library on the ground floor. Other surviving Rococo ceilings from this phase of work include that of the passage through the central spine wall from the entrance hall to the long gallery, and a room on the first floor of the south front.

Rathfarnham Castle: ceiling attributed to Athenian Stuart in the first-floor Breakfast Room.

Rathfarnham Castle: the saloon/gallery in the late 19th century.

In 1763, Boyle sold his lease to Sir Lawrence Dundas, and it seems likely that he continued the remodelling of the house, turning to James 'Athenian' Stuart as his architect. In 1769, Lady Shelburne mentioned that some of the interiors were being decorated after designs by Mr. Stuart, and on stylistic grounds these have been identified as the ground-floor Gallery (formerly with inset paintings by Angelica Kauffman) and the Breakfast Room and Gilt Room on the first floor of the south front. The date of Lady Shelburne's comment implies that the work was still in progress when the lease of Rathfarnham was sold in 1767 to Nicholas Home-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely, who was a descendant of the original builder, Archbishop Loftus. He died at the age of 31 two years later, and the house passed to his uncle, Henry Loftus (1709-83), 7th Viscount and later 1st Earl of Ely of a new creation. Henry seems at once to have put in hand further alterations to the house, on which he consulted Sir William Chambers, but the main interiors seem to have pre-dated his involvement and his hand is only identifiable in the picture gallery and some more minor spaces.

Rathfarnham Castle: picture gallery, decorated by Sir William Chambers. Image: David Davison

Rathfarnham Castle: the architect of the entrance hall is unknown, but is unlikely to be Chambers, who was well known for opposing the use of baseless Doric columns, and who is unlikely to have designed such a top-heavy doorcase!

Rathfarnham Castle: the house from the south-east, drawn by Gabriel Beringer in 1774.

Rathfarnham Castle: view of the park in 1794 by George Holmes
[Glin Castle Collection]

Rathfarnham Castle: entrance front and park in 1794
from a view by George Holmes. [Glin Castle Collection]

The woodland of the demesne was praised in a letter of 1699 and the grounds had evidently been laid out - presumably for Edward Worth - by 1734, when Lady Anne Conolly described Rathfarnham as having the best garden she had seen in Ireland, with a 'pritty garden' and 'a vastly well-wooded park with a racing water going thro' it, besides a great many fine fishponds' and the largest carp she had ever seen. By 1774, when the house was depicted by Beringer, the surroundings had been landscaped in the Brownian manner, and over the next quarter of a century the grounds were ornamented by Lord Ely and his nephew, later the 1st Marquess of Ely, with a temple consisting of a circular tower surrounded by a Doric colonnade (demolished in 1979), a rather plain Gothick gate of 1790 at the village entrance to the park (demolished in the 20th century), a greenhouse, aviary and serpentine streams. The one surviving structure is a fine triumphal arch entrance gate to the demesne, now known as Ely's Arch. This has been plausibly attributed by Dean to Francis Johnston and dated to c.1802, but there is said to be map evidence for its existence by 1779; perhaps there was an earlier structure on the same site.

Rathfarnham Castle: the Ely Gate, attributed to Francis Johnston and said to have been built c.1802.

In the early 19th century the Loftus family moved to Loftus Hall (Co. Wicklow) and Rathfarnham was leased to a dairy farmer and fell into disrepair. By 1837 it was threatened with demolition, and there were plans to divide the demesne into small plots for the building of suburban villas. This was averted when the estate was purchased by Francis Blackburne, who like Adam Loftus was Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He and his son occupied the house, but in 1912 the estate was sold to a firm of property developers who divided the estate up, selling the eastern part for development as a golf course, developing the north-west section for housing, and selling the castle and south-west part of the grounds to the Society of Jesus, which also bought some of the house contents at auction. In 1913, the Jesuits carried out some additions and alterations, including creating a chapel within the house, to the designs of Charles B. Powell, but seem to have made few other significant alterations to the fabric in the seventy years they occupied the house. In 1986 they sold the estate to another development company, and the house was once again threatened with demolition. A vociferous public campaign led to the purchase of the house and its immediate environs by the Irish Government, which declared it to be a National Monument and vested it in the Office of Public Works, which has undertaken a major restoration work on the building, although there is still more to be done.

Descent: built for Most Rev. Adam Loftus (c.1533-1605); to son, Sir Dudley Loftus (1561-1616), kt.; to son, Sir Adam Loftus (d. c.1659), kt.; to younger son, Dr Dudley Loftus (1619-95); to great-niece, Lucy, wife of Thomas Wharton (1648-1715), 1st Marquess of Wharton; to son, Philip Wharton (1698-1731), 1st Duke of Wharton, who sold 1723 to William Conolly (1662-1729). After the granting of a long lease to Edward Worth (1672-1741) the only interest of subsequent landlords was in a small ground rent, and it was the leaseholders who were the active owners. The lease passed from Edward Worth to the Most Rev. John Hoadly (1678-1746), archbishop of Dublin and later of Armagh, and then to his son-in-law, Bellingham Boyle (1709-71); sold 1767 to Nicholas Home-Loftus (1738-69), 2nd Earl of Ely; to uncle, Hon. Henry Loftus (1709-83), 7th Viscount and later 1st Earl of Ely; to nephew, Charles Tottenham (later Loftus) (1738-1806), 1st Marquess of Ely; to son, John Loftus (1770-1845), 2nd Marquess of Ely, who sub-let the house from 1812; sold 1847 to Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867); to son, Edward Blackburne (1823-1902); to widow (d. 1911) for life and then to grandson, Rev. Edward Blackburne (1883-1948), who sold 1912 to Bailey & Gibson; sold 1913 to Society of Jesus; sold 1985 to Delaware Properties; sold 1987 to Irish Government and declared a National Monument.

Blackburne family of Rathfarnham Castle and Tankardstown House

Blackburne, Richard (c.1745-98). Eldest son of George Blackburne (d. 1769) and his wife Mary, born about 1745. Farmer and landowner. He married, 1774 (licence 10 June), Elizabeth (d. 1826), daughter of Francis Hopkins of Darvistown (Co. Meath), and had issue:

(1) Jane Blackburne (c.1775-1860), born about 1775; married, 1803 (licence 30 March), William Webb (c.1771-1845), deputy Commissary General and author of a travel book about a journey down the River Rhine and a stay in Switzerland and Italy (1827); died 25 April 1860;
(2) Elizabeth Blackburne (c.1777-1863), born about 1777; died unmarried 29 August 1863 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery;
(3) George Blackburne; died in infancy;
(4) Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) (q.v.);
(5) Anna Maria Blackburne (c.1792-1865), born about 1792; died unmarried, 10 September 1865 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery; administration of goods granted 14 October 1865 (effects under £450).

He lived at Great Footstown (Co. Meath) until the 1790s, when he was forced by popular unrest in the countryside to flee to Dublin; the house at Footstown being abandoned thereafter.

He died in 1798. His widow died at Dundrum in September 1826.

Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867)
Blackburne, Rt. Hon. Francis (1782-1867). Only son of Richard Blackburne (c.1745-98) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Hopkins of Darvistown (Co. Meath), born 11 November 1782. Educated at private schools in Dunshaughlin and Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1798; BA 1803; LLB and LLD, 1852), King's Inns (admitted 1801; called 1805) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1803). In 1803 he inherited the law library of his uncle, Anthony Blackburne. He was a barrister-at-law (KC, 1822); Serjeant-at-Law, 1826-31; Attorney General of Ireland, 1831-35, 1841-42; Master of the Rolls in Ireland, 1842-46; Lord Chief Justice, 1846-52; Lord High Chancellor, 1851-52, 1866-67; Lord Justice of Appeal, 1856-66; Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, 1851-67 and a Commissioner of National Education in Ireland, 1852-53, resigning from the latter post because of the watering down of Protestant religious content in the national syllabus. He was a Tory in politics, but this did not prevent his career from progressing when the Whigs were in power, and it was the Whigs who appointed him Attorney General and made him a member of the Irish Privy Council in 1821. He was a member of the Royal Dublin Society and a supporter of the Antient Concert Rooms, Dublin. He was short and stout and had an inexpressive face but was noted for his melodious singing voice. In 1867 he was offered a baronetcy by Lord Derby, but declined the honour. He married, between 31 August (licence) and 5 September (newspaper report) 1809, Jane (d. 1872), daughter of William Martley of Ballyfallen (Co. Meath), and had issue fourteen children, including:

(1) Elizabeth Frances Blackburne (d. 1825), eldest daughter; died at Roebuck Hall, 21 August 1825;
(2) Richard Francis Blackburne (d. 1821); died at Willowmount, Rathfarnham, November 1821;
(3) Alice Catherine Blackburne (c.1819-85); married, 23 June 1842 at St Peter, Dublin, Capt. George Daniell RN (1797-1856), and had issue one son; died at Kingstown (Co. Dublin), 3 March 1885;
(4) Jane Isabella Blackburne (c.1820-1902), born about 1820; married, 25 October 1845 at Taney (Co. Dublin), Thomas Rice Henn QC (1814-1901) of Paradise Hill (Co. Clare), and had issue seven sons and two daughters; died 29 April 1902 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery;
(5) William Martley Blackburne (1821-68) (q.v.);
(6) Francis Blackburne (1822-63), baptised at St Peter, Dublin, 30 July 1822; died unmarried, 14 February 1863;
(7) Edward Blackburne (1823-1902) (q.v.);
(8) A son (b. & d. 1825), born January 1825 but died in infancy;
(9) Elizabeth Mary Blackburne (1826-63), born at Roebuck Hall, 4 August, and baptised at Taney, 7 September 1826; married, 13 October 1853 at Rathfarnham, Edward Perceval Westby (c.1828-93) of Roebuck Castle (Co. Dublin) (who m2, 16 June 1864 at Taney, Susan Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Davis Garde of Mount Dillon), only son of Nicholas Westby, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Roebuck Castle, 2 May 1863;
(10) Frederick John Blackburne (1827-63), born 1827; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1844; BA 1848); JP for Co. Cork?; lived at Renny House (Co. Cork) and Keymer (Sussex); married, 3 July 1856 at Hove (Sussex), Annette (1836-1921), daughter of Eardley Hall of Wilmington (Sussex), and had issue one son; died 4 October 1863; will proved 6 November 1863 (effects under £1,500);
(11) John Henry Blackburne (1830-91), born 9 November 1830; an officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1850; Lt., 1853; Capt., 1856; retired 1859); married, 20 August 1857 at St Lawrence-in-Thanet (Kent), Elizabeth Susanna (1833-1931), second daughter of Anthony Crofton of Lincoln's Inn, barrister-at-law; died at Wells (Som.), 15 May 1891; will proved 9 September 1891 (effects £15,382);
(12) Adelaide Frances Blackburne (b. 1833), born in Dublin, 26 June 1833 and baptised at Taney, 28 July 1833; probably died young;
(13) Arthur Blackburne (1835-67), born 22 February 1835; educated at St Columba's College; died unmarried at Corderry (Co. Louth), 31 May 1867 and was buried at Rathfarnham, although his remains were later removed to Mount Jerome Cemetery; administration of goods granted 13 July 1867 (effects under £800).

He purchased Tankardstown House in about 1815 and Rathfarnham Castle in 1847. He lived at a house called Willow Mount in Rathfarnham (sold 1825) and later at Roebuck Hall, Clonskeagh (Co. Dublin) until he acquired Rathfarnham Castle. He also had town houses in Leinster Sq. and later in Merrion Sq., Dublin.

He died 17 September 1867 and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; his will was proved 11 October 1867 (effects under £80,000). His widow died in Monkstown (Co. Dublin), 27 September 1872, and was also buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery; her will was proved 8 November 1872 (effects under £8,000).

Blackburne, William Martley (1821-68). Eldest surviving son of Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) and his wife Jane, daughter of James Martley MD, born 1821. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1838; BA 1842). He married, 12 January 1847 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Mary (1823-89), daughter of Rev. Dr. William Thorpe DD, and had issue:

(1) Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921) (q.v.);
(2) Eva Amabel Blackburne (1857-1909), baptised at St Peter, Dublin, 21 December 1857; married, 14 July 1890 at St John, Notting Hill, Charles Currell Eyre (1862-1943), transport agent at Florence (Italy), son of Mahlon Dickenson Eyre, an American banker of Florence (Italy), but had no issue; died 15 June 1909 and was buried at Slane (Co. Meath);
(3) Augustus Edward William Blackburne (1860-93); merchant; married, 24 June 1891 at St John, Notting Hill (Middx), Isabella Olive (1863-1944), daughter of Mahlon Dickenson Eyre (1821-82) of Florence (Italy), and had issue one son; died in Naples (Italy), February 1893.

He inherited Tankardstown House from his father in 1867.

He died 8 May 1868 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; his will was proved 8 July 1868 (effects under £3,000). His widow married 2nd, 10 December 1869 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), George Thompson Lefroy (d. 1890) of Carriglas Manor (Co. Longford), son of Rt. Hon. Thomas Lefroy, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and died at Farvis (Austria), 5 September 1889; her will was proved in Dublin, 13 January 1890 (effects £2,044?).

Blackburne, Francis William (1851-1921). Elder son of William Martley Blackburne (1821-68) and his wife Mary, daughter of Rev. Dr. William Thorpe DD, born 7 March 1851. Educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford (matriculated 1870; BA 1874). JP for Co. Meath; High Sheriff of Co. Meath, 1898-99. He married, 9 December 1895 at Edinburgh Cathedral, Olive Beatrice Louisa (1870-1941), third and youngest daughter of John Anstruther-Thomson of Charleton (Fife), and had issue:

(1) Mary Elizabeth Rosia St. Clair Blackburne (1897-1904), born 18 March 1897; died young, 20 January 1904 and was buried at Slane (Co. Meath);
(2) Elena Frances Margaret Anne Blackburne (1898-1996), born 29 August 1898; married, 22 March 1928 at St Paul, Onslow Sq., Kensington (Middx), Charles Maurice Waddington Loftus Townshend (1899-1966) of Slane, third son of Charles Loftus Uniacke Townshend of Hill House, Reigate (Surrey), and had issue two sons; died aged 97 on 10 April 1996 and was buried at Slane;
(3) William John Anstruther (k/a Jack) Blackburne (1904-42) (q.v.);
(4) Amabel Clementina Olive Georgina Blackburne (1910-96), born 3 May 1910; teacher; died unmarried, 1996.

He inherited Tankardstown House from his father in 1868 and came of age in 1872.

He died 11 July 1921 and was buried at Slane (Co. Meath). His widow died 17 November 1941 and was buried with her husband at Slane; her will was proved 21 April 1942 (estate in England £1,079).

Blackburne, William John Anstruther (k/a Jack) (1904-42). Only son of Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921) and his wife Olive Beatrice Louisa, youngest daughter of John Anstruther Thomson of Charleston (Fife), born 30 November 1904. Educated at Castle Park School and Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1923; BA 1926), where he studied agriculture and horticulture. Farmer and horticulturalist at Tankardstown, where he was noted for his advanced methods. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Tankardstown House from his father in 1921. At his death it passed to his two surviving sisters, who sold it in the 1970s.

He died of cancer, 1 June 1942; administration of his goods was granted to his younger sister, 16 July 1942 (estate £15,402).

Blackburne, Edward (1823-1902). Fourth son of Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) and his wife Jane, daughter of James Martley MD, born 13 November 1823. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1840; BA 1845; LLB and LLD, 1875) and King's Inns, Dublin (admitted 1842; called 1845). Barrister-at-law (QC 1868); JP for Co. Dublin. He wrote a biography of his father, published as The Life of the Right Hon. Francis Blackburne (1874). He married, 25 August 1857 at Monkstown (Co. Dublin), Georgiana Arabella (1837-1911), eldest daughter of Robert James Graves MD of Dublin and Cloghan Castle (Co. Offaly), and had issue:

(1) Francis Blackburne (b. 1859) (q.v.);
(2) Georgiana Beatrice Blackburne (1861-1936), baptised at St Stephen, Dublin, 17 May 1861; married, 5 June 1890 at Rathfarnham, Rev. Henry Richard William Farrer (1860-1933), vicar of Bridport (Dorset) and canon of Salisbury Cathedral, only son of Capt. R.H. Farrer, and had issue three sons; died 26 August 1936 and was buried at Bridport (Dorset).

He inherited Rathfarnham Castle from his father in 1867. At his death it passed to his widow for life.

He died 7 December 1902 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; his will was proved 16 February 1903 (estate £52,457). His widow died 18 January 1911 and was also buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery; her will was proved 5 May 1911 (estate £58,092).

Blackburne, Francis (b. 1859). Only son of Edward Blackburne (1823-1902) and his wife Georgiana Arabella, eldest daughter of Robert James Graves MD of Dublin and Cloghan Castle (Co. Offaly), born 9 February 1859. He emigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalised citizen in 1888, and later lived in Toronto (Canada); his occupation is given in one census return as 'machinist' and in another source as 'commercial traveller'; from about 1890-1902 he was the representative of Thomas McKenzie & Co. of London in north America, and later worked for the firm in London and Paris (France). He was a freemason. He married, Jul-Sept 1881 in Fulham (Middx), Marian Georgina (k/a Minnie) Mulholland, and had issue:

(1) Rev. Edward Blackburne (1883-1948), born in San Francisco, California (USA), 28 May 1883; educated at St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1908), and Wells Theological College (admitted 1908); ordained deacon, 1909, and priest, 1910; inherited Rathfarnham Castle on his grandmother's death in 1911 but sold it in 1912; rector of Bolnhurst (Beds), 1913-19, after which he appears to have retired from active ministry, although he was licensed to preach in the diocese of Chichester; married, 14 February 1912 at Carrignavar (Cork), Geraldine Fitzgerald (1885-1964), daughter of Lt-Col. F.F. MacCartie of Carrignavar, and had issue three daughters; died at Totnes (Devon), 27 July 1948; will proved 18 July 1949 (estate £524);
(2) Frances Evelyn Blackburne (1887-1958), born at Springfield, Ohio (USA), 11 July 1887; acted for a time as housekeeper to her brother before his marriage; probably the woman of this name who died unmarried at Hove (Sussex), 28 February 1958; will proved 9 June 1958 (estate £8,125).

His date of death is unknown. His widow died in Hove (Sussex), 25 October 1938; her will was proved 12 December 1938 (estate £2,935).