(78) The Alexander families of Ireland, and the Alexanders of Caw, Enagh and Termon House

There are five main branches of the Alexander family based in Ireland.  They all trace their descent from John Alexander (?1587-1662), who came over from Scotland c.1613 to rent lands at Eridy (Donegal) from Sir James Cunninghame of Glengarnock (Ayrshire), who acquired them in 1610 as part of the settlement of Ulster.  It is generally assumed that John Alexander was distantly related to the Alexanders of Menstrie, Earls of Stirling, although no connection has been shown.

John Alexander had five sons, the eldest of whom, Capt. John Alexander (d. c.1690), bought the lands of Enagh and Caw on the east bank of the River Foyle, just north of Londonderry, in 1686, and they remained in his family until the 20th century.  The youngest son, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Alexander, inherited Eridy, and was the ancestor of the Alexanders of Ahilly and Milford, the Cable-Alexander baronets, and the Earls of Caledon.  This blog will include posts on four of these families, indicated by green labels in the diagram below; to the best of my knowledge, the Alexanders of Ahilly never owned anything I would recognise as a country house, and are therefore omitted.

The relationship of the various branches of the Alexander family in Ireland

Alexander of Caw and Enagh

The Alexanders of Caw therefore represent the senior branch of the family in Ireland.  Capt. Alexander’s son by his second marriage, William Alexander (d. c.1740), inherited Enagh and Caw, and passed this estate to his two elder sons, John Alexander (1717-1801) and Samuel Alexander (1725-1814), in turn.  John acquired additional land at Kilfennan and Gransagh, and when he died unmarried these lands as well as the core estates of Caw and Enagh passed to Samuel’s son, John Alexander (1770-1852).

John had three sons.  The eldest, the Rev. Samuel Alexander (1808-89), married the daughter and heiress of Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford of Termon House, Carrickmore (Tyrone), and succeeded his father-in-law as rector of Termon in 1851.  Beresford had built Termon House as the rectory, but it was bought as the family’s private property in the late 19th century.

John’s second son, Adam Murray Alexander (1810-74) became a barrister in Dublin and served as Judge of the Supreme Court of British Guiana.  He inherited the Enagh estate, and built the present house there about 1855-60.  He died unmarried and left this estate to his elder brother’s second son, Charles Murray Alexander (1845/6-1902).

John’s daughter Hannah Alexander (1806-83) received a life interest in Caw House.  She married James Murray of Clooney and they lived at Caw House until her death, when it passed under her father’s will to her niece, Kathleen Hannah Murray Alexander (d. 1887), the wife of Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey (1848-1922), rector of Marske (Yorks).  When she died it passed not to her children but to her cousin, John Adam Alexander (1843-1907), after whose death it was apparently sold.

The Rev. Samuel Alexander also had three sons.  John Adam Alexander was settled at Caw House from 1887; Col. Charles Murray Alexander inherited Termon House from his father in 1889 and Enagh from his uncle in 1874; and the youngest, Lt-Col. Henry George Samuel Alexander (1848-1931) leased Carrickmore House from the Stewart family after his retirement from the army.

In the 20th century the family has gradually sold its property.  Caw House was sold after 1907; Termon passed to Col. Alexander’s widow and on her death at the age of 93 in 1951 to their son, Maj. Charles Adam Murray Alexander (1889-1958), who had also inherited Pomeroy House (Tyrone) from his mother’s brother in 1947.  Pomeroy House was sold in 1959 and Termon House by his daughter in the 1980s. Enagh passed in 1951 to Mrs. Alexander’s grandson, Terence Lowry Rowland Hill (1920-82), and remains the home of his widow and daughter.

Caw House, Derry

Caw House, depicted on an early 20th century Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland map

A minor gentry house between the main road from Derry to Limavady and the River Foyle, which was demolished after 1975.  The site is now within the suburbs of the city.  It was an early 19th century classical house which must have replaced the earlier house of the family. A mid 20th century watercolour of the house can be found here.

Descent: sold 1686 to Capt. John Alexander (d. c.1690); to younger son, William Alexander; to sons, John Alexander (1717-1801) and Samuel Alexander (1725-1814); to latter’s son, John Alexander (1770-1852); to latter’s daughter, Hannah Alexander (1806-83), wife of James Murray of Clooney, and then to her brother, Dr. John Alexander MD (b.1812); to his daughter, Kathleen Hannah Murray Alexander (d. 1887), wife of Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey (1848-1922), rector of Marske (Yorks); to cousin, John Adam Alexander (1843-1907); to widow, Edith Margaret Alexander (née Reeves), who sold to Thomas Fitzpatrick Cooke (1860-1926); to son, Capt. Thomas Fitzpatrick Cooke (1911-94), who sold 1975.

Enagh House, Derry

Enagh, Co. Derry.

Rebuilt c.1855-60 as a modest square two-storey house with a service wing to the north, still latest Georgian in style.  The house stands in a romantic situation, in woods between the two parts of Lough Enagh.  The house now contains a self-contained holiday apartment.

Descent: Capt. John Alexander (d. c.1690); to younger son, William Alexander (fl. c.1690-1717); to son, John Alexander (1717-1801); to nephew, John Alexander (1770-1852); to younger son, Adam Murray Alexander (1810-74); to nephew, Col. Charles Murray Alexander (1845/6-1902); to widow, Mary Anna Catherine Alexander (née Lowry) (c.1858-1951); to grandson, Terence Lowry Rowland Hill (1920-82); to widow, Susan Hill (fl. 2021).

Termon House, Carrickmore, Co. Tyrone

Termon House: the three-bay entrance front and side elevation. Image: Ulster Architetural Heritage Society. Some rights reserved.

Termon House, in a derelict condition. Image: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. Some rights reserved.

A large plain three-storey late Georgian house built, perhaps by Francis Johnston who certainly made designs, at a cost of £3,293 in 1815 for Rev. C.C. Beresford as the rectory of Termonmaguirke parish.  His crest appears in the dining room ceiling.  The house has a three-bay front with a projecting porch and a four-bay rear elevation, where large windows have been introduced on the ground floor.  There is a shallow hipped roof with a huge range of eighteen chimneys grouped in the centre of the house.  After disestablishment of the Irish church the house passed into private ownership, and there are a series of later extensions to the north of the original building.  The Alexander family sold the house in 1985 and it has since become derelict; in 2012 it was on the buildings at risk register.  The house is set in its own small well-wooded park, now rather overgrown.

Descent:  built for Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford (1770-1850), rector of Termonmaguirke 1809-50; to daughter, Charlotte Frances Beresford (d. 1890), wife of Rev. Samuel Alexander (1808-89), rector of Termonmaguirke 1851-80; to second son, Col. Charles Murray Alexander (1845/6-1902); to widow, Mary Anna Catherine Alexander (née Lowry) (c.1858-1951); to son, Maj. Charles Adam Murray Alexander (1889-1958); to widow, (Gladys) Sylvia Macgregor Alexander (née Greer) (b. 1896, fl. 1976); to daughter, (Evelyn) Ruth Dorinda Mary Alexander (b. 1921), wife of Lt-Col. Peter Ferns; who sold 1985.

The Alexanders of Caw, Enagh and Termon

Alexander, John (?1587-1662), of Eridy (Donegal).  Born in Scotland and relocated to Donegal c.1613. He married and had issue:
(1) Capt. John Alexander (d. c.1690) (q.v.);
(2) Archibald Alexander (b. c.1611; fl. 1665), of Ballybiglimore;
(3) William Alexander;
(4) Robert Alexander (fl. 1663-90), of Dunvanaddy; took part in the Siege of Derry and for his services there was granted lands at Drumquin, Ardstraw (Tyrone); married and had issue two sons;
(5) Rev. Dr. Andrew Alexander (d. 1641); ancestor of the Alexanders of Ahilly, Milford, Caledon and Dublin [see subsequent posts].
He rented the lands of Eridy (Donegal) from Sir James Cunninghame of Glengarnock (Ayrshire), who had acquired them in 1610 on condition that he did not 'alienate the premises to no mere Irishman or any other person unless he or they first take the Oath of Supremacy'.  At his death the lands of Eridy passed to his youngest son.
He is said to have died in 1662.

Alexander, Capt. John (d. c.1690), of Caw and Enagh.  Eldest son of John Alexander (?1587-1662).  He married 1st, [name unknown] and 2nd, Susanna [surname unknown], and had issue:
(1.1) Alexander Alexander, of Girlaw, Aughentaine, near Clogher (Tyrone); married Jean Stewart of Killymoon (Tyrone) and had issue four sons and two daughters;
(2.1) William Alexander (d. c.1740) (q.v.).
He purchased the lands of Caw and Enagh in 1686.
He died about 1690.

Alexander, William (d. c.1740), of Caw and Enagh.  Only son of Capt. John Alexander (d. c.1690) and his second wife, Susanna.  He married and had issue:
(1) John Alexander (1717-1801), of Caw and Enagh; extended the estate through the purchase of lands at Kilfinnan and Gransagh; died unmarried, 1801;
(2) Samuel Alexander (1725-1814) (q.v.);
(3) Robert Alexander (b. c.1727); emigrated to USA; married there [forename unknown] Wilmot and had issue two sons (both later judges); died at sea on a second voyage to America;
(4) George Alexander (1730-94).
He inherited Caw and Enagh from his  father in about 1690; at his death they passed to his two elder sons in turn.
He died about 1740.

Alexander, Samuel (1725-1814), of Caw and Enagh.  Second son of William Alexander (d. c.1740), born 1725.  He married Sarah Ross and had issue:
(1) Jane Alexander (1765-1842);
(2) William Alexander (1767-1852), died unmarried;
(3) Samuel Alexander (1768-1844) of Caw; died unmarried;
(4) John Alexander (1770-1852) (q.v.);
(5) Margaret Alexander (1777-86); died young;
(6) Sarah Alexander (1778-1814).
He inherited the Caw and Enagh estates from his elder brother in 1801.
He died in 1814.

Alexander, John (1770-1852), of Caw and Enagh.  Youngest son of Samuel Alexander (1725-1814) and his wife Sarah Ross; born 1770.  He married Hannah Richardson, daughter of Richardson Murray (a descendant of that Col. Adam Murray, who was prominent in the siege of Derry) and had issue:
(1) Hannah Alexander (1806-83), life tenant of Caw House; married 1839 James Murray of Clooney and had issue one son; died 1883;
(2) Rev. Samuel Alexander (1808-89) (q.v.);
(3) Adam Murray Alexander (1810-74) of Enagh; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1830, MA 1834) and Kings Inn, Dublin (admitted 1832; barrister-at-law); Judge of the Supreme Court of British Guiana; inherited Enagh from his father in 1852 and rebuilt it c.1855-60; died unmarried, 2 February 1874, when Enagh passed to his elder brother's second son;
(4) Dr. John Alexander (b. 1812), MD of Caw; married Katherine Atkins and had issue a daughter, who inherited Caw House from her aunt;
(5) Sarah Jane Alexander (d. 1877); died unmarried.
He inherited the Enagh estate from his father in 1814 and the Caw estate from his elder brother in 1844; at his death they were divided among his children.
He died in 1852.

Alexander, Rev. Samuel (1808-89), of Termon House.  Eldest son of John Alexander (1770-1852) and his wife Hannah Richardson, daughter of Richardson Murray, born 12 April 1808.  Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1830, MA 1834); curate of Termonmaguirke and rector of Termonmaguirke, 1851-56.  He married, 4 November 1839, Charlotte Frances (c.1812-90), daughter and heiress of Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford, rector of Termonmaguirke and builder of Termon House, and had issue:
(1) Amelia Henrietta Alexander (c.1841-1906); married, 2 May 1860, Col. George Perry McClintock (d. 1887) DL JP of Seskinore (Tyrone) and had issue; died 23 June 1906;
(2) John Adam Alexander (1843-1907) of Caw House; married 15 December 1875 Edith Margaret, daughter of Edward S.S. Reeves of Dublin, but died without issue; inherited Caw House from his cousin in 1887; it was sold after his death;
(3) Col. Charles Murray Alexander (1845-1902) (q.v.);
(4) Lt-Col. Henry George Samuel Alexander (1848-1931) of Carrickmore House (Tyrone), born 12 April 1848; JP; Lt-Col. of 4th Inniskilling Fusiliers; married, 16 February 1878, Elizabeth Collie Phoebe (d. 1913), daughter of Edward B. Webb of London, and had issue one son and four daughters; died 22 November 1931;
(5) Charlotte Frances Selina Alexander (1849-1923), born 23 November 1849; died unmarried, 9 January 1923;
(6) Frances Sophia Alexander (1851-1920); died unmarried, 20 July 1920.
He inherited Termon House in right of his wife in 1850; at his death it passed to his second son.
He died 3 June 1889.

Alexander, Col. Charles Murray (1845-1902), of Termon House and Enagh. Second son of Rev. Samuel Alexander (1808-89) and his wife Hannah Richardson, daughter of Richardson Murray, born 29 September 1845.  Educated at Royal School, Dungannon; JP; served in 4th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Colonel).  He married, 25 April 1888, Mary Anna Catherine (c.1858-1951), elder daughter of Robert William Lowry of Pomeroy House (Tyrone), and had issue:
(1) Maj. Charles Adam Murray Alexander (1889-1958) (q.v.);
(2) Charlotte Frances Alexander (1892-1901), born 23 March 1892; died young, 30 April 1901;
(3) Mary Anna Catherine Letitia Alexander (1893-1979) (q.v.);
(4) Emily Geale Hester Lowry Alexander (1895-1970), born 28 September 1895; married September 1920, S/Ldr Cecil George Mathew (d. 1947) RAF, son of Arthur Charles Mathew of Church Crookham (Hants) and had issue one son and one daughter; died 5 August 1970.
He inherited Enagh from his uncle, Adam Murray Alexander, in 1874, and Termon House from his mother in 1890.  At his death Termon House passed to his son and Enagh to his widow.
He died suddenly at Termon House, 30 July 1902.  His widow died 28 December 1951, aged 93.

Alexander, Maj. Charles Adam Murray (1889-1958), of Termon House and Pomeroy House.  Only son of Col. Charles Murray Alexander (1845-1902) and his wife Mary Anna Catherine, daughter of Robert William Lowry of Pomeroy House (Tyrone), born 11 July 1889.  Educated at Wellington College.  Served in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1910-30 (wounded and mentioned in despatches in WW1; Brevet Major, 1919); MC 1917; DL (1938) and JP (1940) for Co. Tyrone; High Sheriff of Tyrone, 1936; company director and member of Electricity Board of Northern Ireland.  He married, 31 December 1918, (Gladys) Sylvia Macgregor (b. 1896), daughter of Thomas Macgregor Greer and had issue:
(1) (Evelyn) Ruth Dorinda Mary Alexander (b. 1921), born 25 April 1921; married, 4 April 1944, Lt-Col. Peter Ferns. son of John Astley Ferns of Wilmslow (Cheshire) and had issue one son and one daughter; inherited Termon House from her mother after 1976 but sold it in 1980s;
(2) (Margaret Sylvia) Daphne Alexander (b. 1925), born 4 September 1925; married 1st, 23 July 1947, Lt-Cmdr Robert Irwin Maddin Scott OBE (d. 1968), solicitor, and had issue three sons; married 2nd, 27 October 1972, (Clifford) Anthony Weston, son of Clifford Douglas Weston of Bradgate (Leics).
He inherited Pomeroy House from his maternal uncle, Lt-Col. R.T.G. Lowry in 1947 and Termon House from his father in 1951.  Pomeroy House was sold in 1959.  At his death Termon House passed to his widow and then his elder daughter, who sold it in the 1980s.
He died 8 September 1958; his will was proved in 1959 (estate in England, £12,881).

Hill (née Alexander), Mary Anna Catherine Letitia (1893-1979).  Second, but oldest surviving, daughter of Col. Charles Murray Alexander (1845-1902) and his wife Mary Anna Catherine, daughter of Robert William Lowry of Pomeroy House, born 30 October 1893.  She married, 10 October 1918, Prof. Geoffrey Terence Roland Hill MC (1895-1955), aeronautical engineer, son of Prof. Micaiah John Muller Hill, vice-chancellor of London University, and had issue:
(1) Terence Lowry Rowland Hill (1920-82), of Enagh (q.v.);
(2) Hester Mary Edain Hill (1923-2003), born 7 February 1923; married 20 September 1945, George Philip Anthony (known as Pat) Thompson (1915-2003) of Dunval Hall, Bridgnorth (Shropshire), son of Col. Stephen John Thompson of Stanley Hall, Bridgnorth, and had issue one son and one daughter; died January 2003;
(3) Desmond Beresford Rowland Hill (b. 1926), born 10 March 1926; educated at Winchester College; served in RAF 1946-50; Personnel Officer with GEC Ltd; married, 2 December 1954, Belinda Violet Fisher, eldest daughter of G/Capt. Edward Fisher Turner AFC of Bells Hill, Limavady (Derry) and had issue one son and two daughters.
She died April-June 1979, aged 85.

Hill, Terence Lowry Reginald (1920-82), of Enagh. Elder son of Prof. Geoffrey Terence Roland Hill MC (d. 1955) and his wife Mary Anna Catherine Letitia, daughter of Col. Charles Murray Alexander of Termon House and Enagh, born 20 July 1920; educated at Lancing College and Trinity College, Cambridge; married, 2 October 1954, Susan, younger daughter of Arthur Parry Richards of Putney, London SW15, and had issue:
(1) Ewen Murray Rowland Hill (b. 1956), born 5 June 1956; educated at Marlborough; married, 1986, Colette O.M. Drummond (b. 1961) and has issue two sons;
(2) Sarah Caroline Georgiana Hill (b. 1957), born 16 December 1957;
(3) Karen Jane Amanda Hill (b. 1960), born 7 May 1960;
(4) Gavin Alexander Rowland Hill (b. 1965), born 7 April 1965.
He inherited Enagh from his maternal grandmother in 1951.
He died 31 July 1982.

Sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976; W.R.E. Alexander, Memorials of the Earls of Stirling and of the House of Alexander, vol. 2, 1877, pp. 135-37; Alistair Rowan, The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster, 1979, p. 168; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn., 1988, p. 272; http://www.dia.ie/works/view/9011.

Location of archives

Alexander family of Termon: papers of the Alexander, Greer and Lowry families relating to estates in County Tyrone and County Londonderry, 1592-1979 [Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D1132, D4121].

Coat of arms

Per pale argent and sable a chevron, and in base a crescent counterchanged, on a canton azure a harp or, stringed of the first.

Revision & Acknowledgements

This account was first published on 29 September 2013 and was updated 20 November 2014, 13 May 2021, 11 July 2023 and 30 March 2024. I am grateful to Robert Bigger, Stephen Scarth, Charles MacGregor Scott and David Huddleston for additional information and corrections.

(77) Alexander of Boydstone and Carlung

Archibald Alexander (d. 1771), who owned property in Lanarkshire, bought lands at Boydston alias Boydstone on the Ayrshire coast, between Ardrossan and West Kilbride, in 1759.  Either he or his son Archibald (c.1736-1820) was presumably responsible for building a modest three bay house with sea views on the estate, which became known as Ann’s Lodge.  The son also purchased the Carlung estate at West Kilbride in 1799.  His property appears to have been divided between his two sons, with the elder, Archibald (fl. 1823) receiving Carlung and the younger, Major Alexander Alexander (d. 1843), Ann’s Lodge and Boydstone.  Archibald died without issue and so Carlung also passed to Alexander, who advertised the Boydstone and Ann’s Lodge estate for sale in 1836 but in fact retained this and sold Carlung.  Ann’s Lodge passed to his son, Dr. Archibald Alexander (1812-83), Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals for Scotland, and to then to his two sons in turn, Surgeon-Maj. Archibald Charles Alexander (1854-1900) being succeeded by William Edward Robert Alexander (1856-1927).  The latter’s son, Reginald Crawfurd Alexander (c.1891-1963) seems to have sold the estate and lived at Bewerley Old Hall, Pateley Bridge (Yorks) at the time of his death.

Ann's Lodge, Boydstone, Ayrshire

Ann's Lodge c.1910.  Image: North Ayrshire Heritage Centre via Flickr

The house began as a plain three-bay Georgian house with a shallow pediment containing an oculus, built before 1814 on the coast between Ardrossan and West Kilbride.  In the late 19th century it was extended in almost every direction, most notably by the addition of three very different bay windows on the west, sea-facing elevation, which made it remarkably ugly. There are strong indications that the house was not occupied by the Alexander family in the late 19th century, but W.E.R. Alexander was resident in 1921. The house was later demolished. 

Previous owners: sold 1759 to Archibald Alexander (d. 1771); to son, Archibald Alexander (d. 1820); to son, Archibald Alexander (fl. 1823); to brother, Alexander Alexander (d. 1843); to son, Dr. Archibald Alexander (1812-83); to son, Surgeon-Maj. Archibald Charles Alexander (1854-1900); to brother, William Edward Robert Alexander (1856-1927); to son, Reginald Crawfurd Alexander (c.1891-1963), who sold...

Carlung House, West Kilbride, Ayrshire

Carlung House in 1900.  Image: North Ayrshire Heritage Centre via Flickr

A house reputedly of c.1560 was replaced after 1770 by a new house on a new site nearer the village built for the Boyd family.  This was described in 1823 as a ‘modern house of moderate size, set down in a fine commanding situation’, but was itself rebuilt or remodelled c.1845-53 as a compact two-storey gabled house with a gabled porch, dormer windows and thin Tudor hoodmoulds around otherwise classical windows, and deep eaves suggesting Italianate influence.  The staircase hall and billiard room were redecorated by A. & J. Scott in 1880, but this house in turn was destroyed by fire in 1902.  Proposals by Leadbetter & Fairley for rebuilding the house in 1905 were not executed, and a completely new and much larger two-storey stone house was built in 1930-32 by James Austen Laird for his uncle Robert Barr, a whisky and shipping magnate.  This present house is in a rather English neo-Elizabethan style, with an E-plan on both main fronts and a lower service wing to the north.  Over the entrance door is a carved Viking ship, and to the left a quatrefoil panel with a dolphin flanked by narrow windows.  Inside, the stair and gallery and some of the main rooms of the flats have surviving panelling and beamed ceilings.

Carlung House as rebuilt in 1932.  Image: s1homes

This is of simplified Elizabethan design, with mullioned and transomed windows, and an H-plan.  The garden front has canted bay windows and the interior Austrian oak panelling and beamed ceilings.  It was converted into five apartments in 1979.

Previous owners: sold 1799 by Jean (d. 1825) and Marion Boyd to Archibald Alexander of Boydstone (d. 1820); to son, Archibald Alexander (fl. 1823); to brother, Alexander Alexander of Boydstone (d. 1843), who sold after 1837...James Arthur (1819-85); to widow, Mrs. Arthur (fl. 1902); ? to son, Sir Matthew Arthur, 1st bt. and 1st Baron Glenarthur (1852-1928)...sold to Robert Barr (fl. 1928-32)...sold 1976 and divided into five apartments, 1979.

The Alexanders of Boydstone and Carlung

Alexander, Archibald (d. 1771).  Landowner in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.  He married Mary Brownlee of Strathaven and had issue: 
(1) Mary Alexander, m. 1742 John King of Micklegovan; 
(2) Archibald Alexander (c.1736-1820) (q.v.).
He purchased the lands of Boydstone, West Kilbride (Ayrshire).
He died in 1771.

Alexander, Archibald (c.1736-1820).  Only recorded son of Archibald Alexander (d. 1771) and his wife Mary Brownlee of Strathaven, born c.1735-36.  He married Jane/Jean (d. 1812), daughter of Duncan Crawford esq and had, probably among other issue: 
(1) Archibald Alexander (c.1770-c.1830) (q.v.); 
(2) Maj. Alexander Alexander (d. 1843) (q.v.). 
He inherited the Boydstone estate from his father in 1771 and purchased the Carlung estate at West Kilbride (Ayrshire) in 1799.  He was probably responsible for building the house called Ann's Lodge at Boydstone.
He died 19 March 1820, aged 84.

Alexander, Archibald (c.1770-c.1825).  Elder son of Archibald Alexander (c.1736-1820) and his wife Jane, daughter of Duncan Crawford esq., born about 1770.  He was unmarried.
He inherited the Carlung estate from his father in 1820.
He died after 1823, and was probably the man of that name described as 'of Edinburgh', who was buried at Lasswade (Midlothian), 4 August 1825.

Alexander, Maj. Alexander (d. 1843).  Younger son of Archibald Alexander (c.1736-1820) and his wife Jane, daughter of Duncan Crawford esq.  Major in the Army.  He married, 29 October 1800, Grace, second daughter of Angus McAlester of the Loup, chief of the Clan Allaster of Kintire and had issue: 
(1) Jane Alexander (c.1804-68), of Greenbank Cottage, Helensburgh (Dumbartons); died unmarried 13 April 1868;
(2) Amelia Alexander (c.1810-86) of Ardrossan (Ayrs); died unmarried, 21 July 1886;
(3) Archibald Alexander (1812-83) (q.v.).
He inherited the Boydstone/Ann's Lodge estate from his father in 1820 and the Carlung estate from his brother after 1823, which he sold after 1837.
He died 21 October 1843, and was buried in the West Church cemetery, Edinburgh.

Alexander, Archibald (1812-83).  Only son of Maj. Alexander Alexander (d. 1843) and his wife Grace, daughter of Angus McAlester of the Loup, born 18 August 1812.  Served in 7th (later 4th) Hussars; deputy Inspector General of Hospitals in Scotland; JP for Ayrshire. He married, 15 April 1853, Agnes MacKnight (d. 1891), fourth daughter of William Crawford Esq. of Cartsburn (Renfrews) and had issue: 
(1) Alexander Charles Archibald Alexander (1854-1900) (q.v.); 
(2) William Edward Robert Alexander (1856-1927) (q.v.).
He inherited the Ann's Lodge estate, West Kilbride from his father in 1843.
He died at Cheltenham, 10 April 1883, aged 70; his will was registered in Ayr Sheriff Court, 17 June 1883.

Alexander, Alexander Charles Archibald (1854-1900).  Elder son of Dr. Archibald Alexander (1812-83) and his wife Agnes McKnight, daughter of William Crawford of Cartsburn (Renfrews), born 10 June 1854.  Educated at Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1877), St George's Hospital Medical School, London (MRCS 1881, LSA 1881); surgeon in Army Medical Dept from 1882; surgeon-major, 1889; served in the Expedition to the Sudan, with 1st Batt., Coldstream Guards, 1885.  He was unmarried.
He inherited the Ann's Lodge estate, West Kilbride, from his father in 1883, but was living at Loup, which belonged to his mother's family, at the time of his death.
He died at Loup, near Ardrossan (Ayrshire), 23 January 1900; his will was registered in the Ayr Sheriff Court, 1900.

Alexander, William Robert Edward (1856-1927).  Younger son of Dr. Archibald Alexander (1812-83) and his wife Agnes McKnight, daughter of William Crawford of Cartsburn (Renfrews), born 7 August 1856.  Deputy Surgeon General.  He married 1st, 1 December 1887 at Byfleet (Surrey), Mary Louise (d. 1909), daughter of Stephen Wright Hawks of Redheugh Hall (Northbld) and 2nd, 1910, Katherine Melicent, second daughter of John Richard Cromwell Taunton of Ashmead, Leckhampton (Glos) and had issue including: 
(1.1) Archibald Charles Edward Alexander (1888-1915); served in 3rd Battn, Royal Scots Fusiliers, 1910-15 (Lieutenant); killed in action; 
(1.2) Reginald Crawfurd Alexander (c.1891-1963) (q.v.).
He inherited the Ann's Lodge estate, West Kilbride, from his elder brother in 1900, when he was living in London, but was resident at Ann's Lodge in 1921.
He died in Brighton, 20 March 1927; his will was proved 5 August 1927.

Alexander, Reginald Crawfurd (c.1891-1963).  Second but eldest surviving son of William Edward Robert Alexander (1856-1927) and his first wife Mary Louise, daughter of Stephen Hawks of Redheugh Hall (Northbld).  He apparently emigrated to Australia before the First World War, returning to England in 1927 after his divorce from his first wife. He married 1st, 19 April 1919 in Queensland (Australia) (div. 1927), Mary Alice Donovan, and 2nd, 1929, Mary (d. 1961), daughter of James N. Ripley of Harrogate, solicitor, and had issue:
(1.1) William Robert Edward Alexander (1920-43); born in Australia, 6 April 1920; served in Royal Australian Air Force; married and had issue a daughter; killed in action at Port Moresby (New Guinea), 16 June 1943; buried in Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby. 
He inherited the Ann's Lodge estate, West Kilbride, from his father in 1927, but subsequently sold it.  At the time of his death he lived at Bewerley Old Hall, Pateley Bridge (Yorks).
He died 8 May 1963, aged 72; his will was proved 23 October 1963 (estate £23,955).

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1871; Walford's County Families, 1919; G. Robertson, A genealogical account of the principal families of Ayrshire, vol. 1, 1823; M.C. Davis, The castles and mansions of Ayrshire, 1991, pp. 198-99; R. Close & A. Riches, The buildings of Scotland: Ayrshire & Arran, 2012, p. 211.

Location of archives

No significant archive is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Quarterly, 1st, argent, a lion rampant gules, holding a battle axe, or; 2nd, or, a hand sustaining a pair of balances of equal scales; 3rd, argent, a lymphad, sales furled, sable; 4th, per pale, argent and sable, a chevron, and in base a crescent, counter-charged.

Revision & Acknowledgements

This account was first published 28 September 2013 and was revised 3 April 2015, 21 May and 29 May 2015 and 10 January 2023. I am grateful to Jean Milne, Megan Daniel and Andrew Fraser for corrections and additional information.

(76) Alen of St. Wolstans alias Alenscourt, baronets

Alen of St. Wolstans

Early editions of Burke’s Landed Gentry trace this family back to the Conquest through an almost certainly entirely spurious pedigree, and the relationships of the earlier generations remain uncertain and in part obscure, perhaps partly because the two successful 16th century statesmen the family produced sought to obscure relatively humble origins, perhaps in Norfolk: Sir John Alen (d. 1561) was described as 'of Coltishall' when granted the St Wolstans Priory estate in 1539.  The family securely enters the historical record only at the end of the 15th century with John Alen (1476-1534), who was a protegé of Cardinal Wolsey and rose to become Archbishop of Dublin before being murdered during the ‘Silken Thomas’ rebellion.  His nephew (or cousin), Sir John Alen (c.1500-61), was first sent to Ireland by Wolsey as the Archbishop’s secretary, but pursued an independently successful judicial and political career, becoming Master of the Rolls in Ireland in 1533 and Lord Chancellor there in 1539.  

In 1539 Sir John was appointed head of the commission for the suppression of the monasteries in Ireland, and rewarded with a grant of the site and lands of St. Wolstan’s Priory near Donaghcomper in Kildare.  It seems likely that he was responsible for the conversion of the priory buildings into a house, known thereafter alternately as Alenscourt, but nothing now remains of them except a series of isolated gateways and towers scattered around a large field west of the present house.  Sir John was no doubt also responsible for arranging for his brother Thomas to have a grant of the dissolved preceptory of the Hospitallers at Kilteel, where there was a robust tower house, which the family appear to have used as a secondary seat until it was ruined in the Civil War.

Kilteel Castle: the ruins of the 15th-century tower house still stand today.  Image: Bogman via Wikimedia Commons

Sir John died without issue and St. Wolstan’s passed to a nephew, another John Alen (d. 1616), whose son, Sir Thomas Alen (d.1627), inherited the St Wolstan’s estate and was created a baronet in 1622 in belated recognition of the services of his long-dead great-great-uncle,  Archbishop Alen.  

Thomas Cooper's drawings of the ruins of St Wolstan's Priory, 1781-82.  Image: National Library of Ireland.

Sir Thomas married twice but died without issue and St Wolstan’s passed in turn to his brothers Robert (d. 1641), formerly of Kilteel, and William, and then to William’s son John (d. 1662).  It then passed to James Alen (c.1625-c.1675), a cousin and the son of Nicholas Alen, who died before the Civil War.  These frequent changes amid the confusion of the Civil War and Commonwealth nearly cost the family possession.  At the Restoration, King Charles II was persuaded to make a grant of St Wolstans to the 1st Earl of Mount Alexander (d. 1663) on the pretext that James and his uncles had forfeited the estate for disloyalty during the Civil War.  James protested, and was eventually able to prove the family’s innocence and the grant was withdrawn, although Lord Mount Alexander was compensated for his disappointment.   

The family remained loyal to the Stuart cause and James’ son, Major-General Patrick Alen (d. 1724) raised a body of troops at his own expense for King James II and was at the siege of Limerick in 1691.  He managed to retain his estate under the Treaty of Limerick later that year and reputedly went on to have no less than forty-two children by two wives, although only fifteen of them are known to have survived to adulthood.  When he died in 1724 St Wolstans passed to his eldest son Francis Alen (c.1682-1741), who had conformed to the Protestant religion in 1709 and was thus entitled to inherit under the punitive and repressive anti-Catholic legislation of 1704; he also served as MP for Co. Kildare in 1725-27.  

At his death in 1741 St Wolstans apparently passed to his son John, who died a few weeks later, and then to the latter's son, William (d. c.1752), who must have been a minor and who died unmarried.  At his death, the next heir male was Francis Alen's half-brother, Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87), who was not only a Catholic but a General in the French army, fighting against the British in India.  General Alen had entered the service of France in 1735 as an officer of the Irish Brigade, served at the Battle of Fontenoy, and afterwards became Adjutant-General of the French army in India. After the storming of Fort Sacramalous, he was promoted to be Commander-in-Chief of French forces in India during the siege of Pondicherry, where he was wounded.  After the fall of Pondicherry he returned to France with his regiment.  St. Wolstans was sold under an Exchequer decree in 1752 to Robert Clayton, Bishop of Clogher.  The sale terminated the Alen family’s connection with St Wolstan’s, although the descendants of William Alen's heirs-at-law (perhaps his sisters) attempted unsuccessfully to reclaim it in the 1820s and 1840s.  

Luke Alen’s elder brother Anthony (d. 1754) inherited Pollardstown (Carlow) in right of his wife Mary, daughter of Ulick Wall.  Pollardstown itself was heavily mortgaged and the creditors foreclosed shortly after Anthony’s death, but his son, Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829) evidently inherited other property.  In 1821 his cousin, the French general’s son, Lt-Col. Luke John Patrick Alen (1775-1841), returned to Ireland and claimed a half-share of Ulick Wall Alen’s property, on what grounds is not clear.  After an inconclusive lawsuit a compromise was agreed in 1827 by which Lt-Col. Alen obtained  possession of the whole of the estate but also took over responsibility for Ulick's debts.  Col. Alen's son, Capt. Luke John Henry Alen succeeded him, but when he died in 1879 there were no male heirs to continue the name.

St Wolstan's, Celbridge, Kildare

The buildings of St. Wolstan’s priory were probably converted into a house for Sir John Alen before his death in 1561.  The present house is said to have been first built in the early 17th century, presumably for Sir Thomas Alen (d. 1627), by John Allen (d. 1641) -  no relation - the bricklayer responsible for the Earl of Strafford’s unfinished house at Jigginstown, but it has been much remodelled later.  

St Wolstans in 1792, from an engraving by W. & J. Walker.

In 1792 the house was depicted as a five storey three-bay early 18th century block with lower and later one bay wings.   The five bay centre was perhaps built for Francis Alen (d. 1741); the neo-classical wings must have been added after the house left the Alens possession, perhaps when it was leased to the Conollys.  The wings have now been raised to two storeys, which are as tall as the three storeys of the centre and continue the same solid roof parapet.  The wings, which extend back to form side elevations, have their ground-floor windows set in recessed arches.  The centre block has a pilastered doorcase with a baseless pediment.  The interior was remodelled in the 1830s and the wings were perhaps raised at the same time.  

St. Wolstans in the late 19th century.  Image: National Library of Ireland

The house was a school from c.1790-1809 and again 1957-99.  In the 1770s the house was let to the sister of Thomas Conolly of Castletown House, whose wife, Louisa, carried out landscaping works encompassing both estates and also the adjoining Donaghcomper House, at this time.  The view of St Wolstans in 1792 also depicts Castletown, stressing the relationship between the two.

Descent: Crown granted 1539 to Sir John Alen (c.1500-61); to nephew, John Alen (d. 1616); to son, Sir Thomas Alen, 1st bt. (d. 1627); to brother, Robert Alen (d. 1641); to brother, William Alen (d. 1643); to son, John Alen (d. 1662); to cousin, James Alen (c.1625-c.1675); to son, Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (c.1660-1724); to son, Francis Alen MP (c.1682-1741); to son, John Alen (d. 1741); to son, William Alen (d. c.1752); sold under an Exchequer decree, 1752 to Rt. Rev. Robert Clayton, bishop of Clogher (1695-1758); to niece, Anne, wife of  Rt. Rev. Thomas Barnard, bishop of Killaloe and later of Limerick (1726-1806), who leased c.1776 to Caroline, sister of Thomas Conolly, 1777-80 to John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire (1722-93), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and c.1788-90 to George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753-1813), also Lord Lieutenant and then as a school; sold 1809 to Richard Cane (d. 1853); to son, Edward Cane (1813-77); to brother, Richard Cane (fl. 1886); to nephew, Capt. Richard Claude Cane (b. 1889); to grandson, Donall Cane (b. 1913), who sold 1955 to Holy Faith Sisters. 

The Alens of St. Wolstans

Although a good deal is known about the careers of Archbishop Alen and Sir John Alen (d. 1561), their genealogy and even their relationship is uncertain.  The version presented here is my best interpretation of the available evidence; alternative readings will be found in Burke's Landed Gentry, 1837 and H.L. Lyster Denny's 'An account of the family of Alen', Proceedings of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, 1903.  Any further evidence contributed by readers will be particularly welcome!

Alen, Most Rev. John (1476-1534), Archbishop of Dublin.  Reputedly the youngest son of Edward Alen, but according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, of unknown parentage; born 1476; he may have been related to the Rev. Thomas Alen who was secretary to the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1516.  Educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge (BA 1495, MA 1498); Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1496-1504; ordained priest, 1499; began career as a canon lawyer with appointment as commissary to bishop of Rochester, c.1500-03; transferred to service of William Warham as a proctor at the papal curia, 1503-14; graduated as DCL from 'a foreign university'; admitted to confraternity of the English Hospice in Rome (chaplain, warden, chamberlain and auditor between 1502-12) but expelled for defiance of the English resident; collated to the prebend of Asgarby in Lincolnshire, 1503-28 and rectories of Sundridge (Kent), 1503-28 and Aldington (Kent), 1511-12; transferred 1519 to the service of Cardinal Wolsey and worked for the practical realisation of the cardinal's legateship; rewarded with further benefices: Gaulby (Leics), 1523 and canonries of Southwell (1526-28), St Paul's (1527-28) and Exeter (1528) and the precentorship of St Mary's, Southampton (1527-28); Archbishop of Dublin, 1528-34 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1529-32; he was damaged by the fall of Wolsey in 1529-30 and had to pay a large fine in 1531 for recognizing the authority of Wolsey as papal legate; his attempts to extract money from his diocese to recoup his finances, and to eliminate competing jurisdictions, led him into conflict with the powerful Geraldine interests of the 9th Earl of Kildare; when the Fitzgeralds rose in revolt in 1534 he attempted to flee Ireland but his ship ran aground near Clontarf (Dublin) and the following morning he and forty of his men were murdered by order of Lord Offaly, the Earl's son; it is said that he was  ‘brained like an ox and hacked in gobbets’.   Sir James Ware said of Alen that "he was of a turbulent spirit, but a man of hospitality and learning, and a diligent inquirer into antiquities".  As a Catholic priest he was unmarried.
As Archbishop, he lived at St. Sepulchre's Palace (now Kevin Street Garda Station) in Dublin, which he restored in 1529, but which has been much altered and rebuilt since.
He died 27 July 1534, and as a final ignominy was buried in a pauper's grave.

Alen, Sir John (c.1500-61), kt., of Coltishall (Norfolk) and St. Wolstans.  Eldest son of Thomas or Warin Alen, born c.1500, and a first cousin or nephew of the Archbishop. Educated at Grays Inn; entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey, who sent him to Ireland as secretary to Archbishop Alen, with whom he may have quarrelled; after the fall of Wolsey he was closely associated with Thomas Cromwell, and became clerk of the Irish Parliament and Master of the Rolls in Ireland, 1533-39; he played a part in suppressing the 'Silken Thomas' rebellion of 1534 in which the Archbishop was murdered; appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, 1538 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1539; in 1539 he was appointed to lead the commission for the suppression of monasteries in Ireland; he was prominent in the establishment of the Kings Inns in Dublin, 1541-42; knighted in 1542 or 1548; in 1546 he was accused of corruption and removed from office as Lord Chancellor, but regained the office in 1548 and held it until resigning in 1550; in 1553 Queen Mary appointed him to her Irish Council, although during her reign he is said to have lived mainly in England; he was elected MP for Kinsale in the Irish Parliament in 1559. Described as honest and honourable, but quarrelsome and undiplomatic; despite this he succeeded in retaining a degree of favour under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth.  He married a lady from Cheshire but died without issue.
In 1539 (when he was described as 'of Coltishall'), he received a Crown grant of the site and lands of St. Wolstan's Priory near Celbridge, and he probably converted the priory buildings into a house before his death.  He also received a lease of Leixlip Castle at the same time.  At his death he left all his estates to his nephew, John Alen (d. 1616).
He died in 1561; his will was proved in 1562.  There was until c.1800 a monument to him in Donaghcomper church, of which nothing now remains.

Alen, Thomas (b. c.1505), of Kilteel Castle.  Second son of Thomas or Warin Alen, and brother of Sir John Alen, born about 1505.  Clerk of the Hanaper in Ireland and Chamberlain of the Exchequer, 1536; Constable of Wicklow Castle for life, 1550; obtained a grant of the site of Kilteel Preceptory, 1539, where there was a handsome tower house.  He married Mary Rawson, daughter or more probably niece of Sir John Rawson (d. 1547), last Prior of Kilmainham Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller, and later Viscount Clontarf for life, and had issue, with two other sons:
(1) John Alen (d. 1616) (q.v.);
(2) Edward Alen of Kilteel; married 1577 Alice, daughter of Giles Alen of Dublin and had issue three sons and two daughters;
(3) Eleanor Alen, m. Sir Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath).
His date of death is unknown but was perhaps before 1561, as he was not mentioned in his brother's will.

Alen, John (d. 1616), of St. Wolstans.  Only known son of Thomas Alen (b. c.1505), born about 1540.  He is said to have married Anne (b. 1554), daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath) and had issue: 
(1) Sir Thomas Alen (d. 1627), 1st bt. (q.v.); 
(2) Robert Alen (d. 1641) (q.v.); 
(3) William Alen (d. 1643) (q.v.);  
(4) Nicholas Alen (d. c.1639) (q.v.);
(5) Gerald Alen.
He inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his uncle, Sir John Alen (c.1500-61), kt., in 1561.
He died 29 September 1616 and was buried at Donaghcomper (Kildare).  His widow died 1 March 1617.

Alen, Sir Thomas (d.1627), 1st bt., of St. Wolstans.  Eldest son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath).  Created a baronet in recognition of the service of his great-great-uncle, Archbishop Alen, 7 June 1622 and knighted the following day; the baronetcy became extinct on his death.  He married 1st, after 1616, Mary (d. 1622), daughter of William Fleming, 11th Lord Slane; and 2nd, after 1623, Mary (d. 1627), daughter of Jenico Preston, 5th Viscount Gormanston, but had no issue.
He inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his father in 1616, and was probably responsible for building a new house there.
He died 7 March 1627 and was buried at Donaghcomper (Kildare) where there is a monument to his memory; his will was proved 18 April 1627.  His first wife died 18 November 1622 and was buried at Donaghcomper (Kildare).   His widow married 2nd, Simon Luttrell of Luttrellstown (Dublin), to whom she carried a major part of her Sir Thomas' estates, including the town of Leixlip; her will was proved 18 April 1627.

Alen, Robert (d. 1641).  Second son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath).  He married Jane, daughter of Robert Sarsfield esq. of Lucan, but had no male issue.
He lived at Kilteel Castle until he inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his elder brother in 1627.  
He died 25 October 1641.

Alen, William (d. 1643).  Third son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath).  He married Joan Wogan of Rathcoffey, and had issue, with three other sons who died (presumably in his lifetime) without issue : 
(1) John Alen (d. 1662) (q.v.);
(2) Anne Alen, who married a Mr. Gibbon.
He inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his elder brother in 1641.
He died in 1643.

Alen, John (d. 1662).  Only surviving son of William Alen (d. 1643) and his wife Joan Wogan of Rathcoffey. He was unmarried.
He inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his father in 1643.  At his death it passed to his cousin, James Alen (c.1625-c.1675).
He died in 1662.

Alen, Nicholas (d. c.1639).  Youngest son of John Alen (d. 1616) and his wife (perhaps Anne, daughter of Thomas Dillon of Riverstown (Meath)).  He married Aminet, daughter of Patrick Barnewall esq. of Crickstown (Meath) and had issue: 
(1) James Alen (c.1625-c.1675) (q.v.)
He died 'before the Civil War'.

Alen, James (c.1625-c.1675), of St. Wolstans.  Only son of Nicholas Alen (d. c.1639) and his wife Aminet, daughter of Patrick Barnewall of Crickstown (Meath), born about 1625. He was one of the signatories of the 'Faithful and Humble Remonstance of the Roman Catholic Nobility and Gentry of Ireland' to King Charles II, 1662.  He married Anne, daughter of Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of Roscommon and had issue including: 
(1) Maj-General Patrick Alen (d. 1723/4) (q.v.).
He inherited the St Wolstan's estate at Celbridge (Kildare) from his cousin in 1662; fought legal actions to prevent its unjust forfeiture to the Crown and granting to the Earl of Mount Alexander, 1661-63.
He died about 1675.

Alen, Maj-Gen. Patrick (d. 1723/4), of St. Wolstans. Only known son of James Alen (c.1625-c.1675) and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of Roscommon, born c.1660.  He raised troops for King James II in 1691 and was a Major-General in the King's army; participated in the siege of Limerick; allowed to retain his estates following the Treaty of Limerick.  He married 1st, Mary, daughter of John Browne of Castle Browne (Kildare) and 2nd, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir Luke Dowdall, bt. of Athlumney, and is said to have sired 42 children, but only fifteen are recorded as surviving to adulthood, viz.: 
(1.1) Francis Alen (c.1682-1741) (q.v.); 
(1.2) James Alen; 
(1.3) Richard Alen;
(1.4) Teresa Alen, m.1 James Donellan (d. 1718) of Johnstown (Meath) and had issue three sons and one daughter; m.2 Standish O'Grady of Elton (Limerick), second son of Darby O'Grady of Killballyowen; 
(1.5) Honora Alen, m. as his second wife, John O'Grady of Killballyowen and had issue three sons and three daughters; 
(1.6) Dorothy Alen, married May 1682 as his second wife, Adam Loftus (1647-91), 1st Viscount Lisburne, who was killed at the siege of Limerick; died without issue in 1689;
(1.7) A daughter, m. Christopher Horish;
(1.8) Anne Alen;
(2.1) Matthew Alen, died unmarried, 1727; 
(2.2) Anthony Alen (d. 1754) (q.v.); 
(2.3) Michael Alen, died unmarried in France before 1787; 
(2.4) Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87) (q.v.)
(2.5) Lucy Alen, m. Hugh O'Reilly of Milltown (Meath);
(2.6) Catherine Alen;
(2.7) Aminet Alen, m. Stafford Hussey of Rathkenny (Meath).
He inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his father in c.1675.
He died in 1723/4.  His will was proved 20 January 1723/4.

Alen, Francis (c.1682-1741), of St. Wolstans.  Eldest son of Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (d. 1724) and his first wife, Mary, daughter of John Browne of Castle Browne (Kildare), born about 1682.  He converted to the Protestant faith in 1709 and was elected MP for Co. Kildare in the Irish Parliament, 1725-27.  He married, about 4 September 1703, Frances (d, 1767), daughter of Charles Whyte of Leixlip (Kildare) and had issue, among other children who died young: 
(1) John Alen (d. 1741) (q.v.);
(2) Mary Alen, m. 1734 Edward, 12th Lord Dunsany and had issue one son and three daughters; 
(3) William Alen (b. c.1709), educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1725/6); later became a Carthusian friar in France, and died there.
He inherited the St. Wolstan's estate from his father in 1724, and was probably responsible for remodelling or rebuilding the house as a five-bay Georgian block.  At his death it passed to his half-brother, Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87).
He died 9 July 1741.  His widow died in September 1767.

Alen, John (d. 1741), of St. Wolstans.  Eldest surviving son of Francis Alen (c.1682-1741) and his wife Frances, daughter of Charles Whyte of Leixlip Castle (Kildare), born about 1705.  He married and had issue:
(1) William Alen (d. c.1752) of St. Wolstans; 
(2) Catherine Alen (d. 1750); died unmarried;
(3) Tipper Alen; probably dead by 1752;
(4) Margaret Alen; probably dead by 1752.
In addition there may have been two further daughters, Charlotte (who married James Lang) and Mary (who married Henry Lyster of Rocksavage (Roscommon), whose descendants made attempts in the 19th century to claim the St. Wolstan's estate.
He inherited the St. Wolstans estate from his father in July 1741 but died a few weeks later.  On the death of his son, c.1752, and in default of any Protestant relatives entitled to succeed to the estate it was sold under an Exchequer decree in 1752.

Alen, Anthony (d. 1754), of Pollardstown (Carlow).  Second surviving son of Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (d. 1724) and his second wife.  He married Mary, eldest daughter and heir of Ulick Wall of Pollardstown (Carlow) and had issue: 
(1) Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829); married Anne, daughter of George McNamara of Cong (Mayo); inherited some family property from his father in 1754 but it became encumbered and in 1827 he assigned it to his cousin, Luke John Patrick Alen along with his debts; died without issue, 29 March 1829; will proved 1834
(2) Patrick Alen; died without issue;
(3) Anne Alen, m. [forename unknown] Gilfoyle;
(4) Mary Alen; died without issue;
(5) Margaret Alen; died without issue;
(6) Jane Alen; died without issue.
He inherited the Pollardstown (Carlow) estate in right of his wife, but it was sold when his creditors foreclosed immediately after his death.  Some other property passed to his son.
He died in 1754.

Alen, Maj-Gen. Luke (1722-87), of St. Wolstans.  Youngest son of Maj-Gen. Patrick Alen (d. 1724) and his second wife, born 1722.  He would appear to have been sent abroad to be educated, perhaps after his father's death, and joined the French army in 1735; he obtained a lieutenancy in Dillon's regiment and passed from that corps, soon after the Battle of Fontenoy, 1745, into Lally's; awarded Order of St. Louis, 1756; appointed major-general of the army in India; fought at Pondicherry, 1760; returned to France after fall of Pondicherry. He married, 5 October 1762, Mlle Marie Charlotte Adelaide de Behague (1734-1809), sister of Gen. Count de Behague, Governor of the French West Indies and had issue: 
(1) Eleanor Antoinette Alen (b. 1765), born 19 June 1765;
(2) Lucie Julie Alen (b. 1766), born 13 December 1766; m. Jean Henri de Vaillant of Lignerolle, Normandy;
(3) Aimée Polyeucte Alen (b. 1768), born 14 March 1768;
(4) Charlotte Adelaide Alen (b. 1769), born 8 May 1769;
(5) Isabelle Jeanne Alen (1771-1850), born 5 September 1771; married, 8 August 1803, Pierre Louis de Person (1769-1839), Chevalier of the Order of St. Louis, Colonel of the Marine Artillery, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 20 October 1850;
(6) Lt-Col. Luke John Patrick Alen (1775-1841) (q.v.).
He died in France in 1787.

Alen, Lt-Col. Luke John Patrick (1775-1841).  Only known son of Maj-Gen. Luke Alen (1722-87) and his wife, Marie Charlotte Adelaide de Behague, born 26 August 1775. Served in the 55th Regiment of Foot (Lt-Col. by 1811); published A plan for the better organisation of West India troops, in Antigua, 1806; mentioned in despatches for actions during capture of French West Indies, 1809-10; appointed CB, 1815; court-martialled for offences relating to military discipline and the quartering of troops, 1817, was found guilty but allowed to retire from the service and sell his commission; he published a defence of his actions in 1822; returned to Ireland in 1821 to claim a share of the family estates and fought legal actions with his cousin, Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829), eventually reaching a compromise by which he took over the remaining family lands in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare but also took responsibility for the debts secured on these estates.  He married c.1799 Hannah Marguerite, daughter of John Creaghe of St. Eustatia, West Indies and sister of Richard Creaghe of Castle Park (Tipperary), and had issue: 
(1) Randal Heyliger Ulick Alen (1800-33); born 3 October 1800; died unmarried, 1833;
(2) Capt. Luke John Henry Alen (c.1805-79); educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1823); served in the 74th Highlanders (Lieutenant, 1827; Captain, 1835); married at St Nicholas Catholic Church, Liverpool, 26 May 1839, Lucy Isabella, fifth daughter of Osborne Tylden of Torry Hill, Milstead (Kent) and had issue two daughters, one of whom married and had issue; died 1 January 1879;
(3) Anna Maria Alen (c.1815-76), born about 1815; married, 22 June 1829, Thomas John Wybault Swettenham (1804-61) of Swettenham Hall (Cheshire) but died without issue, 9 March 1876; 
(4) Augusta Georgiana Alen.
In 1827 he received the remaining family property in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare from his cousin, Ulick Wall Alen (d. 1829) in return for settling the latter's debts.  He lived in retirement in Dublin.
He died 18 March 1841.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1835, which however contains many errors; W.T. Kirkpatrick, ‘St Wolstans’, Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society, vol. 2, 1896-99, pp. 283-88; F. Elrington Ball, The judges in Ireland, 1221-1921, 1926; R. Loeber, A biographical dictionary of architects in Ireland, 1981, p. 13; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1988, p. 253; P. Harbison, Cooper's Ireland: drawings and notes from an Eighteenth-Century gentleman, 2000, pp. 78-79; F. O'Kane, Landscape design in Eighteenth-Century Ireland, 2004, pp. 119-21; Oxford DNB biography of Archbishop Alen; http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen05.php#link2; H.L. Lyster Denny's 'An account of the family of Alen', Proceedings of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, 1903, of which a copy can be found here: http://archive.org/stream/journalcountyki02socigoog#page/n14/mode/2up. 

Location of archives

No significant archive is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Argent, a chevron gules between three torteaux each charged with a talbot passant, or, on a chief azure a lion passant between two crescents ermine.