(25) Adair of Loughanmore

Adair of Loughanmore
coat of arms

Captain James Adair (d. 1686) of Donegore, who is believed to have been descended from the Adairs of Kinhilt married in 1640 Annabella, daughter and heiress of Alexander Blair of Loughanmore, and brought the estate to the Adair family.  His son, Benjamin (1655-1730) and grandson, Thomas Benjamin (1705-65) both married members of the Crymble family of Ballygillock (aka Ballygallagh), and in 1797 that estate also came to them on the expiry of the Crymble line.  Charles Adair (d. 1810) rebuilt Loughanmore House in 1785 or after 1798, and his grandson, Henry Adair (b. 1810), who fought the last duel in Ireland in 1840, again remodelled it c.1880, probably to the designs of John Boyd of Belfast.  On Henry’s death it passed to his surviving sisters in turn and on the death in 1909 of Eleanor Margaret, wife of Rev. James Hunt of Thaseragh, to a distant kinsman, General Sir William Thompson Adair (b. 1850), who was a great-great-grandson of Thomas Benjamin Adair (1705-65).  He was obliged by the terms of the settlement under which he received the property to live at Loughanmore for at least six months of every year, but secured a court judgement to release him from this condition in 1909.  The papers relating to the case show that he was already finding it difficult to maintain the property, and he sold it in 1920 to C.L. MacKean, after which it was remodelled and simplified in 1936 and 1961 before final demolition in 1988.  The demesne is still identifiable, with two surviving gate lodges, one by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie, 1929.

Loughanmore alias Loughermore House, Dunadry (Antrim)

A two storey five bay house with a basement, built either in 1785 or after 1798 for Charles Adair (d. 1810), which was enlarged and castellated, probably to the designs of John Boyd of Belfast c.1880 for Henry Adair (b. 1810).  The entrance was dominated by a remarkable five-storey porch-tower with a spire, rising high above the rest of the house.  A lower tower, also with a spire, stood at the other end of the house.  The Victorian additions included a chapel, and the stables and outbuildings were also remodelled by Boyd.  Gen. Sir William Adair sold the house to C.L. MacKean in 1920 and it was subsequently remodelled to the designs of Guy Elwes who demolished the front tower and built a new dining room in 1936.  Further changes were made in 1961 when the top storey and battlements were removed by Arthur Jury of Belfast.  The front part of the house was finally demolished in 1988, but the rear part remains and the demesne is still identifiable, with two gate lodges, one built in the Arts & Crafts style by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie in 1929 and the other 19th century.  For an image of the house in 1900, see here.

Loughanmore: the surviving part of the house.

Descent: Alexander Blair (fl. mid 17th cent); to daughter, Annabella, wife of James Adair (d. 1686); to son, Benjamin Adair (1655-1730); to son, Thomas Benjamin Adair (1705-65); to son Charles Adair (d. 1810); to son, Thomas Benjamin Adair (1776-1855); to son Charles Adair (1807-60); to brother, Henry Adair (1810-88); to sister, Amelia Sophia Adair (d. 1896); to sister, Eleanor Margaret (d. 1909), wife of Rev. James Hunt of Thaseragh; to distant kinsman, General Sir William Thompson Adair (1850-1931), who sold in 1920 to Charles Louis MacKean (1877-1943); to son, William Muir MacKean (1917-44); to brother, Maj. George Burrell MacKean (1920-83); demolished after his death.

The Adairs of Loughanmore alias Loughermore

Capt. James Adair (d. 1686) of Donegore (Antrim).  A ship's captain from Belfast; in 1655 he entered into an agreement to support the minister of Donegore church.  He married first, 1640, Annabella, daughter and eventual heiress of Alexander Blair of Loughanmore and second, a daughter of Mr Chalmers, and had issue:
(1.1) Alexander Adair;
(1.2) William Adair;
(1.3) Thomas Adair; 
(1.4) Benjamin Adair (1655-1730) (q.v.).
At his death he owned the contiguous townlands of Tobergill, Drumagorgan, Rathmore and Rathbeg, which comprised over 1,650 acres, which were in the hands of his three eldest sons; there is no record of what happened to them or their lands.  
He died in 1686, leaving a will dated 9 March 1685.

Benjamin Adair (1655-1730) of Loughanmore.  Youngest son of Capt. James Adair and his first wife, Annabella, daughter of Alexander Blair of Loughanmore, born 1 January 1655; he married 1687 Anne (d. 1713?), daughter of Waterhouse Crymble esq. of Ballygallagh alias Ballygillock (Antrim) and had, among other issue who died in infancy:
(1) Elizabeth Adair (b. 1690), m. 1710, John Agnew of Derra
(2) Arthur Adair (d. 1707) of Parkgate, m. Mary (surname unknown) and had issue;
(3) Henry Adair, for many years a member of Carrickfergus corporation;
(4) Charles Adair, a member of the Donegore Yeomanry & Infantry;
(5) Thomas Benjamin Adair (1705-68) (q.v.)
He inherited around 140 acres at Loughanmore either from his father or his grandfather, Alexander Blair.
He died in 1730.

Thomas Benjamin Adair (1705-68) of Loughanmore.  Younger son of Benjamin Adair (1655-1730) and his wife Anne, daughter of Waterhouse Crymble of Ballygallagh; born 1705.  He married 1736 Mary, eldest daughter of Charles Crymble esq. of Ballygallagh alias Ballygillock (Antrim) and had issue:
(1) Charles Adair (1737-1810) (q.v.);
(2) Lt-Col. Benjamin Adair, Royal Marines, m. Susannah, daughter of Admiral Prouse and had issue seven children;
(3) Lt. William Robert Adair RN (d. 1806)
(4) Anne Adair;
(5) Elizabeth Adair.
He inherited the Loughanmore estate from his father in 1730.
He died in 1768.

Charles Adair (1737-1810) of Loughanmore.  Eldest son of Thomas Benjamin Adair (1705-68) and his wife Mary, daughter of Charles Crymble of Ballygallagh; born 1737. He married 1776 Millicent (1740-1826), daughter of Henry Ellis esq. of Prospect, Carrickfergus, and had issue:
(1) Thomas Benjamin Adair (1776-1855) (q.v.)
He inherited the Loughanmore estate from his father in 1768 and rebuilt the house there either c.1785 or after his inherited the Ballygallagh estate from his mother's family in 1797.
He handed over the Loughanmore estate to his son in 1799.
He died in 1810.

Thomas Benjamin Adair (1776-1855) of Loughanmore.  Only son of Charles Adair (d. 1810) and his wife Millicent, daughter of Henry Ellis of Prospect, Carrickfergus; born 1776.  He was a JP for Co. Antrim and High Sheriff of the county in 1801.  He married 1806 Amelia, second daughter of Lt-Col. Benjamin Adair of the Royal Marines, and had issue:
(1) Charles Adair (1807-60);
(2) Henry Adair (b. 1810, fl. 1871) (q.v.);
(3) Capt. Benjamin Clements Adair (d. 1874); served in Royal Antrim Artillery Militia
(4) Rev. Thomas Benjamin Adair (d. 1885);
(5) Lt. William Robert Adair (d. 1863?), m. Roseanna Thompson of Muckamore Abbey and had issue eight children;
(6) Millicent Adair;
(7) Amelia Sophia Adair (d. 1896) of Loughanmore, died unmarried and without issue;
(8) Susannah Adair;
(9) Eleanor Margaret Adair (d. 1909) of Loughanmore, m. Rev. James Hunt of Thasacragh; died without issue.
He was given the Loughanmore estate by his father in 1799.
He died in 1855.

Charles Adair (1807-60) of Loughanmore.  Eldest son of Thomas Benjamin Adair (1776-1855) and his wife Amelia, daughter of Lt-Col. Benjamin Adair; born 1807.  He died unmarried and without issue.
He inherited the Loughanmore estate from his father in 1855.
He died in 1860, when the estate passed to his next brother, Henry Adair (b. 1810).

Henry Adair (1810-88) of Loughanmore.  Second son of Thomas Benjamin Adair (1776-1855) and his wife Amelia, daughter of Lt-Col. Benjamin Adair; born 1810.  He is reputed in the family to have fought the last duel in Ireland in 1840 (but no independent confirmation of this engagement has been found and the name of the other party is not known), and was High Sheriff of Co. Antrim in 1871.  He died unmarried and without issue.
He inherited the Loughanmore estate from his father in 1855 and remodelled the house.  He also restored Donegore church, long a ruin.
He died 6 April 1888 aged 80, when his property passed first to his elder surviving sister, Amelia Sophia Adair (d. 1896) for life and then to his youngest sister, Mrs. Hunt, for life and then to his distant kinsman, General Sir William Thompson Adair (1850-1931).  His will was proved 28 May 1888 (effects £4,010).

Major-General Sir William Thompson Adair KCB (1850-1931) of Loughanmore.  Son of Maj-Gen. Sir Charles William Adair KCB (d. 1897) and his wife Isabella (d. 1900), daughter of General Thompson Aslett, and a great-grandson of of Lt-Col. Benjamin Adair, the son of Thomas Benjamin Adair (1705-68); born in Hampshire, July-September 1850.  Educated at Cheltenham College; served in Royal Marines, seeing service in Boer War in 1900; Col. Commanding Royal Marines Light Infantry 1905-07; Deputy Adjutant-General, 1907-11; Major-General 1906; knighted, 1909; JP and DL for Co. Antrim and served as High Sheriff of the county, 1916.  He married first, 1880, Rose (d. 1903), daughter of John Edward Naylor esq. and second, 1905, Angela Eliza, daughter of Frederick Plowes esq., but died without issue.
He inherited the Loughanmore estate from his kinswoman Mrs Hunt in 1909, but sold it in 1920 and lived thereafter in London.
He died 29 December 1931, aged 81.  His will was proved 23 February 1932 (effects £13,456 in England and £1,008 in Northern Ireland)

Sources

M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1988, p. 191; PRONI, Introduction to Adair of Loughanmore papers (D3860), 2007.

Where are their papers?

Adair family of Loughanmore: family and estate papers, 1606-1928 (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D3860).