Monday 6 May 2013

(36) Goold-Adams of Kilbree House and Jamesbrook


Edward Adams (b. 1630) received a grant of over 2,000 acres in Co. Cork and settled his family in the county.  His son, Roger (d. 1740) and grandson Roger (b. 1684) lived at Shandrum, but his great-grandson Samuel (b. 1715) built Kilbree House near the coast in c.1740-50.  Samuel’s son Wallis Adams (1749-1818) married in 1775 Frances Goold, the heiress of Jamesbrook, whose ancestor Michael Goold had been agent to the Earl of Inchiquin from whom he had acquired the property in a complex series of legal transactions in the late 17th century.  Jamesbrook was rebuilt soon after their marriage and was apparently given to their eldest son, Michael Goold-Adams (1778-1817) on his marriage in 1800 to Martha White, sister of the 1st Earl of Bantry; Wallis and Frances living instead at Kilbree.  When Michael predeceased his father, Jamesbrook passed to his eldest son, Richard Wallis Goold-Adams (1802-73), and then to his eldest son, Major William Richard Goold-Adams (1853-1931).  He died unmarried and the estate was sold soon afterwards.  Two of his brothers pursued successful military and diplomatic careers and were knighted: Major Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams (1858-1920) became Governor of Queensland, 1914-20, and Col. Sir Henry Edward Fane Goold-Adams (1860-1935) was a member of the Board of Ordnance.

Kilbree House, Co. Cork

Kilbree House.  Image Anne-Marie Foley

A five bay two-storey house, now a farmhouse and apparently abandoned, but built as the seat of Samuel Adams (b. 1715) around 1740.

Descent: Samuel Adams (b. 1715); to son, Wallis Adams (1749-1818); descent thereafter not traced.

Jamesbrook, Co. Cork

Jamesbrook Hall
The Jamesbrook estate began as a property rented and then bought by Michael Goold from the Earl of Inchiquin in the late 17th and early 18th centuries; his house is perhaps represented by the low two-storey rear wing.  

Jamesbrook Hall: staircase hall
The main block is now a five bay, three storey house with a full-height bow on the north end elevation, built in the 1780s or 1790s for Wallis Adams (1749-1818), whose wife Frances brought him the estate.  Richard Goold-Adams probably added the severe astylar early 19th century porch after he inherited in 1817.  The interiors are plain but decently proportioned, with a little ornamental plasterwork in the hall.  The house is currently for sale but in need of substantial renovation.

Descent: Michael Goold (d. 1722); to son, Walter Goold (fl. c1730); to son Michael Goold (d. 1787); to daughter Frances, wife of Wallis Adams (1749-1818); to son Michael Goold-Adams (1778-1817); to son Richard Wallis Goold-Adams (1802-73); to son Major William Richard Goold-Adams (1853-1931), who sold the estate to his tenants in 1906; sold after his death to John Hartnett (d. 1938); to son, Timothy Hartnett (d. 1950); to widow, and then to son, John Hartnett, who sold in 1970s; for sale, 2013. The house was rented for some years by Frances Bagwell (1886-1977).




The Adams family of Kilbree House and Jamesbrook Hall


Adams, Samuel (b. 1715), of Kilbree House.  Son of Roger Adams (1684-1740) of Shandrum (Cork); born 1715.  He is reputed to have planted 40,700 trees on the Kilbree estate.  He married and had issue including:
(1) Wallis Adams (1749-1818) (q.v.).
He purchased land at Kilbree and built Kilbree House c.1740.
His date of death is unknown.

Adams, Wallis (1749-1818), of Kilbree House and Jamesbrook Hall.  Son of Samuel Adams (b. 1715) of Kilbree House.  He married, 1775, Frances Goold of Jamesbrook and had issue:
(1) Michael Goold-Adams (1778-1817) (q.v.).
He inherited Kilbree House from his father and Jamesbrook Hall in right of his wife.  He rebuilt Jamesbrook c.1780-90.
He died in 1818.

Goold-Adams, Michael (1778-1817), of Jamesbrook Hall.  Only son of Wallis Adams (1749-1818) and his wife Frances Goold, born 1778. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted, 1793). He is reputed to have planted 27,620 trees on the Jamesbrook estate between 1807 and 1811.  He married, 1800, Martha (d. 1841), daughter of Simon White of Bantry House (Cork), and had issue:
(1) Richard Wallis Goold-Adams (1802-73) (q.v.);
(2) Lt-Col. Michael Goold-Adams (b. 1804), served in Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) from 1825 (Lieutenant, 1829; Captain, 1838; Major, 1851; Lt-Col., 1858); died unmarried;
(3) Robert Hedges Goold-Adams (c.1809-75), educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1825); died unmarried;
(4) Samuel Hamilton Goold-Adams (c.1814-84), of Salisbury (Tipperary), JP; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted, 1831); m.1, 1846, Frances Mary (d. 1850), daughter of Col. Richard Wellesley Bernard of Castle Bernard and had issue a daughter, and m.2, 1852, Frances Louisa (d. 1905), daughter of Very Rev. Thomas John de Burgh and had issue; died December 1884;
(5) Frances Jane Goold-Adams (c.1808-84), of Chilworth Towers (Hants); died unmarried, 17 October 1884; will proved 18 June 1885.
He was given Jamesbrook Hall on his marriage in 1800, but predeceased his father.
He died in 1817.

Goold-Adams, Richard Wallis (1802-73), of Jamesbrook Hall.  Eldest son of Michael Goold-Adams (1778-1817) and his wife Martha, daughter of Simon White; born 27 March 1802.  Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted, 1819; BA, 1823) and Grays Inn (admitted 1826);  JP for County Cork from 1825 and High Sheriff of that county, 1868.  He married, 4 November 1852, Mary Sarah (d. 1899), daughter of Sir William Wrixon-Becher, 1st bt., of Ballygiblin (Cork) and had issue:
(1) Major William Richard Goold-Adams (1853-1931) (q.v.);
(2) Capt. Francis Michael Goold-Adams (1854-85), served in Royal Artillery; Asst. Superintendent of School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness; m. 1881 Evelyn Lucy, daughter of Rev. Edward Bristow Philips-Wynne and had issue three daughters; killed 26 February 1885 in an explosion at Shoeburyness;
(3) Major Richard Eyre Goold-Adams (1856-1910), born 22 July 1856; served in Highland Light Infantry; m. 8 January 1891 Zoe, daughter of Charles Douglas Burnett but died without issue, 31 October 1910;
(4) Major Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams (1858-1920), born 27 June 1858; served in Royal Scots Regiment, 1878-1910 (Captain, 1885; Major, 1895), chiefly in South Africa; commanded Town Guard during Siege of Mafeking; Commissioner in Bechuanaland; Lt-Governor of Orange River Colony, 1901-07; CMG 1902; GCMG 1907; High Commissioner in Cyprus, 1911-14; Governor of Queensland, 1914-20; m. 4 July 1911 Elsie, daughter of Charles Riordan of Montreal (Canada) and had issue; died at Cape Town, 12 April 1920, aged 61;
(5) Col. Sir Henry Edward Fane Goold-Adams (1860-1935), CMG 1901; born 16 May 1860; served in Royal Artillery (Lt-Col, 1906), and with Territorial Army from 1908; died unmarried, 15 April 1935; will proved 4 June 1935 (estate £9,542).
(6) Rev. Edward Eyre Goold-Adams (1862-1900), born 5 April 1862; educated at Jesus College, Cambridge (matriculated, 1881; BA 1884; MA 1889); ordained deacon, 1887 and priest, 1888; curate of Ellingham (Northbld), 1887-89 and of Preston (Lancs), 1889-97; rector of Beelsby (Lincs),1897-1900, died unmarried 23 April 1900; will proved 3 July 1900 (estate £1,640)
(7) Arthur Chaloner Goold-Adams (1864-1932) of Corbally, Glanmire (Cork), born 7 December 1864; m. 25 April 1893 Lillian Sarah, daughter of Charles Weldon of Morden Hill, Lewisham (Surrey) and had issue a daughter; died 14 November 1932; will proved 4 July 1933 (estate £3826; later resworn as £1189).
He inherited Jamesbrook Hall from his father in 1817.
He died 5 May 1873.

Goold-Adams, Major William Richard (1853-1931), of Jamesbrook Hall.  Eldest son of Richard Wallis Goold-Adams (1802-73) and his wife Mary Sarah, daughter of Sir William Wrixon-Becher, 1st bt.; born 30 August 1853.  Served in 1st Dragoon Guards (Major).  JP for Co. Cork.
He inherited Jamesbrook Hall from his father in 1873 and sold the estate to his tenants in 1906.  The house was sold after his death.
He died unmarried, 13 May 1931.  Will proved in London, 2 February 1932 (effects in England £3,796).

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1958; Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1988, p. 160; http://gatecottages.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/jamesbrook-hall/, accessed 8 September 2012

Where are their papers?

Adams family of Kilbree House and Jamesbrook: no significant archive is known to survive.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 6 May 2013, and was revised 4 January 2018 and 3 April 2023.

4 comments:

  1. What a wonderful account of Jamesbrook, I own the house and am carrying out the 'substantial renovations' you mentioned. Could you possibly let me know your interest in the house and sources for further research. Joanna

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    Replies
    1. Joanna, thanks for getting in touch. This post is part of a (probably insane) project to tell the stories of the country houses of Britain and Ireland in the context of the families that owned them, so I don't have a particular interest in Jamesbrook, although it is clearly a most attractive house. When I wrote this up in 2013, I found very few sources on either the Goold-Adams family or the house, but the piece by Annemarie Foley cited in my sources is still available and a good starting point. You may be interested in joining a Facebook group I run for country house enthusiasts (which has quite a few owners too), which is a good place to share any puzzles you encounter in your restoration with people who may be able to solve them. You can join at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/595015790578234/. Best wishes, Nick Kingsley.

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    2. My Grandfather - John Hartnett- bought the estate & house & lived in it for some years before his death in 1938.
      His son Timothy Hartnett inherited it on his father's death.
      The house was rented by a Miss Frances Bagnell for years until her death.
      On the death of Timothy Hartnett in 1950, the estate was administered
      by his widow -Mary E. Hartnett.
      It was taken over by her eldest son - John - probably in the 1970s.
      John sold it some time after that.
      I believe that the buyer intended to restore it

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    3. Thank you for the additional information about ownership. Can anyone fill in the gap between the 1970s and the present day?

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Please leave a comment if you have any additional information or corrections to offer, or if you are able to help with additional images of the people or buildings in this post.