(183) Armstrong and Wright-Armstrong of Armagh and Killylea

Arnstrong of Armagh and Killylea

When John Maxwell of Fellows Hall, Killylea (Armagh) died unmarried in 1820, his property was divided among the surviving descendants of his sister Margaret and her husband John Tew, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1759-60. By the mid 19th century, their grandson, Sir James Matthew Stronge (1786-1864), 2nd bt., had inherited Fellows Hall and about 2,200 acres at Killylea, which marched comfortably with his own family property of Tynan Abbey, and a further 1,900 acres at Killylea had passed to Tew's daughter Margaret (c.1758-1860), and her husband, the Rev. William Jones Armstrong (1764-1835), who was rector of Termonfeckin (Louth), where he had built a fine new three-bay rectory house in 1814. In the mid-1820s Armstrong got into obscure financial difficulties and in 1827 he was obliged to give up the rectory and move to England, where he died in 1835 after apparently being supported in his final years by the family of his elder son's wife. His widow then moved to Belfast where she died in 1860, at the extraordinary age of 101 (some accounts say 103).

The Armstrongs seem to have preserved their property at Killylea despite their financial eclipse, and it was probably managed by their youngest son, Thomas Knox Armstrong (1797-1840), who rented Fellows Hall from his Stronge cousins in the 1830s and later Elm Park, also at Killylea. In 1840, however, he died while convalescing from illness in Rome, and his unexpected death led to a legal dispute between his widow and his elder brother, William Jones Armstrong (1794-1872), who inherited the Killylea estate. William had recently returned from a (no doubt profitable) fifteen year stint as an attorney and colonial administrator in the sugar colonies of Berbice, Demerera and Essequibo (which were joined together as British Guiana while he was there) and he was able to set himself up as a landed proprietor on his return to Ireland. For the first time, the lack of a house on the Armstrong lands at Killylea was now an inconvenience, and William seems to have lived at various rented properties for the rest of his life. In 1868 he took the additional name Wright as a condition of his mother-in-law's will, but this was not adopted with any enthusiasm by his descendants, and seems to have been quietly dropped after his death.

When William died in 1872 his heir was his only surviving child, Henry Bruce (Wright-) Armstrong (1844-1943), with whom the family first incontestably joined the ranks of the landed gentry. Like his forbears, Henry was trained as a barrister but he also went into the local politics of Northern Ireland as a Unionist, and sat briefly as an MP at Westminster before the division of Ireland in 1922, after which he became a Senator in the Northern Ireland parliament. He was also Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh and a Senator of Queen's University, Belfast. He inherited the longevity of his maternal grandmother and remained active in his official posts well into his nineties. In about 1880 he purchased the former Deanery at Armagh and this belatedly gave the family a centre from which to administer their nearby Killylea estate. His eldest son, William Fortescue Armstrong (1885-1928) having been killed in a riding accident some years earlier, he was succeeded at his death by his grandson, Maj. Michael Henry Armstrong (1924-82), whose son Edward James Maxwell Armstrong (b. 1958) is the current owner of Dean's Hill.

The fourth son of Senator Henry Bruce Armstrong was James Robert Bargrave Armstrong (1893-1980), who made a peacetime career was as a barrister, chiefly in east Africa. In the early 1950s he retired and returned to Northern Ireland, where he bought Fellows Hall, Killylea. At his death, the house passed to his elder twin son, Henry Napier Armstrong (1936-2014), who followed a rather similar career path, working as a barrister in Kenya and Tanzania from 1963 until his father's death.

Fellows Hall, Killylea, Armagh
The house is now a grey stone, slightly Italianate five bay house of two storeys above a basement, with a tall hipped roof and chimneystacks in the side walls, but this appearance masks a complex development, much of which is still reflected in the existing structure. The estate was granted by the Crown to Trinity College, Dublin in 1610 and was leased from the college later in the 17th century by Robert Maxwell, Bishop of Kilmore, one of the fellows. His son James built a new house here after the Restoration which was in existence by 1664, the date given by two heraldic plaques on the house, and he named the house in honour of the College. The 17th century house was destroyed by fire in 1752, although some of the fabric seems to have been retained as what became the spine wall of the house is exceptionally thick by later standards. The tall end-stacks may also be a legacy of this house.

Fellows Hall, Killylea: the east front. Image: Michael O'Connell.

Ten years' later, Fellows Hall was rebuilt as a two-storey single-pile house for Robert and Grace Maxwell 'under the inspection of their son, John'. The 18th century plan remains largely intact on the west front, with two small Georgian rooms flanking a handsome dog-leg staircase that is pushed off-centre by a closet. The stair has thick newels, sweeping handrails and three balusters to each tread, a characteristically early-to-mid Georgian arrangement. 

Fellows Hall, Killylea: west front. Image: Michael O'Connell.

In 1802 the house was modernised and enlarged for John Maxwell, who was a bachelor and the last of his name to occupy the house. In effect the old ground floor became a basement (although it still appears as a full storey at the rear because of the fall of the land) and an extra storey was added to the whole house. A new, wider entrance front was created on the east side, and the windows on the west side were widened to make the tripartite sashes so typical of the time. Inside, behind the new front there were larger reception rooms on either side of a deep entrance hall that reaches back to the retained old staircase. The new rooms have simple moulded cornices and chimneypieces of a mildly neo-classical flavour.

Fellows Hall, Killylea: the east front as remodelled in c.1860. Image: Queens University Belfast

The lease from Trinity College Dublin was made perpetual in 1856 (although their residual title was not finally bought out until 1954) and probably shortly afterwards the main front was remodelled yet again, and the roof was raised.  The author of these works is not known, although it could have been Frederick A. Butler, who altered Killylea church in 1874.

On the main entrance drive there is a pleasing Regency-style lodge, built in 2007 to the designs of Brian Esmond. It is a tall cubic block of two storeys with a shallowed canted porch, casement windows, and a low pyramidal roof with a tall central stack. The walls are rendered, with minimal decoration, but the overall effect is elegant and it is delightful to find a new lodge being built in the 21st century.

Descent: Robert Maxwell, bishop of Kilmore; to son, James Maxwell (fl. 1664)... Robert Maxwell (fl. 1762); to son, John Maxwell (d. 1820); to niece, Helen (née Tew), wife of Rev. Sir James Stronge, 1st bt. (1750-1804); to son, Sir James Matthew Stronge, 2nd bt. (1786-1864), who leased to Thomas Knox Armstrong (1797-1840) and later to Lt-Col. George McClintock, whose wife (fl. 1907) was Stronge's daughter; to son, Sir James Matthew Stronge, 3rd bt. (1811-85); to brother, Sir John Calvert Stronge, 4th bt. (1813-99); to son, Sir James Henry Stronge, 5th bt. (1849-1928), who sold to the Misses McClintock, daughters of the previous tenant; sold after death of Miss Isa McClintock MFH (d. 1954) to James Robert Bargrave Armstrong (1893-1980); to son, Henry Napier Armstrong (1936-2014).

Dean's Hill, Armagh, Co. Armagh

Dean's Hill, Armagh

A tall, cement-rendered Georgian house, built as the Deanery of Armagh Cathedral in 1772 for Dean Hugh Hamilton, who was a scientist as well as a theologian. According to family tradition, the house lay abandoned for some years, except for a piggery in the basement, before it was sold by the church in 1880. It consists of three storeys above a semi-basement, with gabled end-walls, and was altered in 1887 by J.H. Fullerton and extended to one side in 1896 by H.C. Parkinson. The front has four bays with Georgian windows and a large central doorcase in an aedicule, squashed between narrow ten-pane sashes. The large pedimented doorcase has Tuscan pilasters and is reached across the area by a sweeping flight of steps. Inside, the house has a double-pile plan with a large central hallway and the staircase to one side. The main rooms have enriched cornices and lugged doorways.  The Armstrongs now offer bed-and-breakfast accommodation in the house.

Descent: sold c.1880 by Representative Church Body of Ireland to Rt. Hon. Henry Bruce Armstrong (1844-1943); to grandson, Maj. Michael Henry Armstrong (1924-82); to son, Edward James Maxwell Armstrong (b. 1958).

Wright-Armstrong family of Dean's Hill and Killylea

Tew, John (c.1722-71). Son of David Tew (d. 1744), Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1743-44, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Smith of Violetstown, born about 1722. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1738; BA 1742). Succeeded his father as merchant of Ussher's Quay, Dublin; Sheriff of Dublin, 1751; Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1759-60. He married, 28 May 1753, Margaret, daughter of Capt. Robert Maxwell of Fellows Hall, Tynan (Armagh) and had issue:
(1) Robert Tew (c.1754*-94); an officer in 49th foot (Ensign 1786; Lt.); died unmarried in the West Indies, 1794;
(2) Grace Tew (c.1755-1840); died unmarried at Fulham, November 1840;
(3) Elizabeth Tew (b. c.1756); married, 1780, Gerald Fortescue (1751-87), Ulster King of Arms, 1787, third son of Chichester Fortescue of Dromisken (Louth), and had issue one son and one daughter;
(4) Margaret Tew (c.1758-1860); married Rev. William Jones Armstrong (1764-1835) (q.v.);
(5) Helen Tew (c.1760-1852); married 1st, 21 May 1785, Rev. Sir James Stronge (1750-1804), 1st bt. of Tynan Abbey (Armagh) and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 24 October 1807, William Holmes MP (1779-1851), Treasurer for HM Ordnance, 1818-30 and agent for Demerara, 1820-33; died 16 December 1852 at Chelsea (Middx);
(6) William Tew (b. 1770); educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1785; BA 1790); probably died young.
He died in 1771.
* See note in the 'Can you help' paragraph below.

Armstrong, Rev. William Jones (1764-1835). Eldest son of Edward Armstrong (d. 1814) of Dublin and his wife Grace, daughter of James Jones of Drumana (Leitrim), born 1764. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1781; BA 1786; MA 1812). Curate of Drumglass (Tyrone), 1793-1805; rector of Termonfeckin (Louth), 1805-27, from which he was absent 'because of pecuniary difficulties' in 1824 and which he resigned in 1827. He married, July 1786 at Killester (Dublin), Margaret (c.1758-1860), daughter of John Tew of Ussher's Quay, Dublin, sometime Lord Mayor of Dublin, by his wife Margaret, daughter of Capt. Robert Maxwell of Fellows Hall, Tynan (Armagh), and had issue:
(1) Helen Armstrong (b. 1786), born 25 December 1786; married Rev. John Kerr (d. 1862?), rector of Termonfeckin 1827-44 and later of Kilkerrin (Galway), 1844-62, son of Patrick Kerr, and had issue three sons and six daughters; date of death not traced but probably after 1844;
(2) William Jones Armstrong (later Wright-Armstrong) (1794-1872) (q.v.);
(3) John Tew Armstrong (1796-1876), born 13 January 1796; solicitor of Dominick St., Dublin; Clerk of the Pipe in Ireland; involved in litigation on several occasions with his elder brother; married, 1839, Anne (d. 1881), daughter of Ralph Tew of Roddinstown (Meath) and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 13 January 1876;
(4) Thomas Knox Armstrong (1797-1840) (q.v.);
(5) Anne Armstrong (b. 1800), born 22 March 1800; married c.1820 Walter Newton (1788-1869) of 21st Light Dragoons, of Womersley Grove, Pontefract (Yorks) and had issue three sons and four daughters; date of death not traced;
(6) Diana Jane Armstrong (b. 1801), born 16 December 1801; died unmarried.
He built a new rectory at Termonfeckin in 1814.
He died in Little Chelsea, Kensington (Middx), 4 September. and was buried at St Mary Abbots, Kensington, 10 September 1835. His widow died in Belfast, June 1860, aged 101.

Armstrong (later Wright-Armstrong), William Jones (1794-1872). Eldest son of Rev. William Jones Armstrong (1764-1835) and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Tew of Dublin, born 22 May 1794. Educated at Dungannon Royal School, Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1811; BA 1817; MA 1820), Inner Temple (admitted 1817; called to bar 1830; retired 1870) and King's Inn, Dublin (called to Irish Bar 1824). Barrister-at-law; King's Advocate and Deputy Colonial Secretary in British Guiana (Berbice, Demerera and Essequibo), 1820-34. DL and JP for Armagh; High Sheriff of Armagh, 1840. In 1868 he obtained royal licence to take the additional name and arms of Wright under the will of Lady Frances E. Wright-Wilson. He married, 3 February 1842, Frances Elizabeth (1808-94), only daughter of Capt. Christopher Wilson of 22nd Foot and widow of Col. Sir Michael McCreagh CB KCH, and had issue:
(1) William Fortescue Armstrong (1843-71), born 28 January and baptised at Sholden (Kent), 19 April 1843; educated at Armagh Royal School and RMC Sandhurst; an officer in 7th Hussars (Cornet, 1861; retired 1864); died unmarried, 2 May 1871;
(2) Rt. Hon. Henry Bruce (Wright) Armstrong (1844-1943) (q.v.).
In 1841 he leased Elm Park (Armagh) and in 1862 he was living at Glenaule House (Louth). He owned about 1,900 acres around Killylea, but owned no house there.
He died 17 November 1872. His widow lived at Walmer (Kent) and died 21 September 1894; her will was proved 16 October 1894 (effects £14,124).

Senator Henry Bruce Armstrong

Armstrong, Rt. Hon. Henry Bruce (Wright) (1844-1943). Younger but only surviving son of William Jones Armstrong (1794-1872) of Fellows Hall and his wife Frances Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Christopher Wilson and widow of Col. Sir Michael McCreagh CB KCH, born at Hull House, Sholden (Kent), 27 July 1844. Educated at Armagh Royal School, Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1863; BA 1867; MA 1870) and Inner Temple (admitted 1866; called to bar 1868). Barrister-at-law on south-eastern circuit and later in Ulster. Member of the Irish Convention, 1917-18; Unionist MP for Mid-Armagh, 1921-22; member of the Northern Ireland Senate, 1921-37; Privy Councillor for Northern Ireland, 1932. High Sheriff of Longford, 1874 and Armagh, 1875; County Councillor for Co. Armagh, 1899-1924; JP and DL for Armagh; Vice-Lord Lieutenant, 1920-24 and Lord Lieutenant of Co. Armagh, 1924-38. Senator of Queen's University, Belfast, 1920-36 (hon. LL.D, 1937). In 1868, when his father took the additional name of Wright, he seems at first to have followed suit, but he later reverted to plain Armstrong, occasionally using Wright as an additional forename. He married, 14 November 1883, Margaret (1850-1936) JP, daughter of William Leader of Rosnalee, Kanturk (Cork) and had issue:
(1) William Fortescue Armstrong (1885-1928) (q.v.);
(2) Frances Margaret Alice Armstrong (1887-1981), born 6 May 1887; married, 4 March 1924, her cousin Thomas Henry Mowbray Leader (1885-1951) of Hockley Lodge, Armagh, formerly of Dromagh and Rosnalee (Cork) and had issue one son; died 23 November 1981, aged 94 and was buried with her husband at Christ Church Cemetery, Coachford (Cork);
(3) Dorothea Gertrude Armstrong (1888-1960), born 11 August 1888; married, 23 September 1914, Maj. John Charters Boyle (1869-1950) of Desart (Armagh) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 7 December 1960;
(4) Michael Richard Leader Armstrong (1889-1916), born 27 November 1889; educated at Cheltenham and Trinity College, Cambridge (MA); served as 2nd Lt. in Royal Engineers in WW1 and was killed in action at Thiepval Wood, 22 April 1916; buried at Authuile Military Cemetery, Somme (France);
(5) Henry Maxwell Armstrong (1891-1972) of The Anchorage, Bursledon (Hants), born 12 February 1891; educated at Charterhouse and Magdalene College, Cambridge; served in WW1 with Canadian Field Artillery; married, 8 April 1923, Frances Maud (1888-1962), sixth daughter of Capt. Gilbert Joshua Spencer-Smith of Maidenstone Heath, Bursledon (Hants), but had no issue; died 13 August 1972; will proved 20 November 1972 (estate £163,771);
(6) James Robert Bargrave Armstrong (1893-1980) (q.v.);
(7) Margaret Helen Elizabeth Armstrong (b. 1895), born 22 May 1895; educated at St Hilda's Hall, Oxford (MA 1922); lived latterly with her brother at Bursledon (Hants); living in 1976;
(8) Christopher Wyborn(e) Armstrong (1899-1986) OBE, born 9 May 1899; educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge (MA); served in WW1 and WW2 with Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery; employed by Burmah Oil Co., 1922-39 and 1940-42; member of the House of Representatives of Burma, 1940-42; Controller of Petroleum Industry, Burma, 1942; Asst Quartermaster General, MEF, Egypt, 1942-43; Commissioner, Moghe Div of Burma, 1945-46; MP for Co. Armagh, 1954-59; lived latterly at Kwetu Farm, Gilgil (Kenya); married, 4 April 1956, Hilda Ingeburg, youngest daughter of Hans Heinrich Martin Kolz of Lubeck (Germany) and had issue one son and one daughter; died 8 July 1986, aged 87;
He purchased Dean's Hill, Armagh, in about 1880. In the 1870s he owned over 4,000 acres in Armagh and Longford.
He died 4 December 1943, aged 99; his will was proved in Belfast and sealed in England, 8 August 1944 (estate in England £44,947). His wife died 2 May 1936.

Armstrong, William Fortescue (1885-1928). Eldest son of Rt. Hon. Henry Bruce Armstrong (1844-1943) and his wife Margaret, daughter of William Leader of Rosnalee, Kanturk (Cork), born 13 August 1885. Educated at Charterhouse and RMA Woolwich. An officer in the Royal Artillery who served in WW1 (mentioned in despatches four times; MC 1915 and bar, 1917; DSO 1918). He married, 25 October 1920 at St James, Norlands (London), Madeleine Marthe Émilie Marie (1879-1924), daughter of (Marie Joseph Georges) Fernand Toucas-Massillon of Paris, advocate and sous-préfet, and widow of Maj. Henry Austin Hamilton, and had issue:
(1) Michael Henry Armstrong (1924-82) (q.v.).
He died in a riding accident during a point-to-point race at Morpeth (Northbld), 13 April 1928; his will was proved 6 June 1929 (estate £20,254). His wife died following childbirth, 30 May 1924.

Armstrong, Maj. Michael Henry (1924-82). Only child of William Fortescue Armstrong (1885-1928) and his wife Madeleine, daughter of Fernand Toucas Massillon of Paris, and widow of Maj. Henry Austin Hamilton, born at Fontainebleau (France), 6 May 1924. Educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge (MA 1948), Inner Temple (called to bar 1948) and Queen's University, Belfast. An officer in the Life Guards and later the Irish Guards, he served with Legal Division of the Control Commission for Germany and War Crimes Group, 1945-47. Barrister-at-law in Northern Ireland from 1948. Member of the Ulster Special Constabulary, 1957-70 (District Commandant, Armagh, 1961-70; MBE 1970), and Ulster Defence Regiment, 1970-76? DL for Armagh, 1952; High Sheriff of Armagh, 1965. County Councillor for Armagh, 1955-73 (Vice-Chairman); Trustee of Ulster Folk Museum, 1958-73 and of Ulster Museum, 1962-onwards; Vice-Chairman of Craigavon Development Commission, 1965-73. Chairman of Ulster Young Unionist Council, 1950 and Hon. Sec. of Ulster Unionist Council, 1970-71, 1974. He married, 7 January 1954, his cousin Kathleen Mary Perceval, second daughter of James Robert Bargrave Armstrong of Fellows Hall, Killylea (Armagh) and had issue:
(1) Anne Helen Madeleine Armstrong (b. 1954), born 29 October 1954; married, 29 December 1983, Hon. Michael John Alexander Cooke (b. 1955), son of Victor Alexander Cooke, Baron Cooke of Islandreagh and had issue one son and three daughters;
(2) Florence Kathleen Margaret Armstrong (b. 1956), born 12 March 1956; educated at St. Andrews Univ.; married, 12 September 1981, James Hume Walter Mieville Stone MSP (b. 1954), son of Edward Reginald Stone and had issue one son and two daughters;
(3) Edward James Maxwell Armstrong (b. 1958) (q.v.);
(4) Robert William Fortescue Armstrong (b. 1960), born 12 March 1960; educated at Glenalmond and Aberdeen University; an officer in the Guards (2nd Lt, 1979);
(5) Jane Elizabeth Alice Armstrong (b. 1967), born 5 January 1967; educated at Aberdeen University.
He inherited Dean's Hill from his grandfather in 1943.
He died in Belfast, 26 January 1982.

Armstrong, Edward James Maxwell (b. 1958) of Dean's Hill. Elder son of Michael Henry Armstrong (1924-82) and his wife Kathleen Mary Perceval, daughter of James Robert Bargrave Armstrong of Fellows Hall, Killylea, born 1 February 1958. Educated at Glenalmond. He married, 3 August 1991, Jill J., daughter of Brian B. O'Dowd of Jordanstown (Armagh), and had issue:
(1) William Edward O'Dowd Armstrong (b. 1993), born 9 September 1993;
(2) Madeleine Margaret O'Dowd Armstrong (b. 1995), born 1 September 1995;
(3) Henry Cornelius O'Dowd Armstrong (b. 1998), born 30 July 1998.
He inherited Dean's Hill from his father in 1982.
Now living.

Armstrong, Thomas Knox (1797-1840). Third son of Rev. William Jones Armstrong (1764-1825) of Termonfeckin and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Tew of Dublin, born 13 July 1797 at Drumglass (Tyrone). Educated at Dungannon School and Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1822). JP for Co. Armagh. He married, 17 September 1833 at Termonfeckin (Louth), Catherine Frances (1800-71), second daughter of Wallop Brabazon of Rath House (Louth) and had issue:
(1) Jane Rebecca Armstrong (1835-1917), born 29 April 1835; married, 28 November 1890, Acheson St. George (d. 1902) of Wood Park, Tynan (Armagh), but had no issue; died 3 May 1917;
(2) Catherine Diana Lucinda Armstrong (1839-72), born 25 January 1839; died unmarried at Arcachon (France), 29 April 1872.
He rented Fellows Hall, Killylea from the Stronges c.1835-38. By 1839 he was described at his death as 'of Elm Park', Killylea, which he must have rented from the Blacker-Douglases.
In 1839 he went to Italy for the benefit of his health but died in Rome, 13 January 1840, and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery there, where he is commemorated by a monument. His will led to litigation in Chancery between his brother and widow which was not resolved until a decree in 1850. His widow died at Oban (Argylls), 31 August 1871.

Armstrong, James Robert Bargrave (1893-1980). Fourth son of Rt. Hon. Henry Bruce Armstrong (1844-1943) and his wife Margaret, daughter of William Leader of Rosnalee, Kanturk (Cork), born 6 April 1893. Educated at Winchester, Trinity College, Cambridge (MA) and Inner Temple (called to bar 1920). An officer in Northern Irish Horse and 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt., 1915, Capt., 1918) who served in WW1 and in Africa in WW2. Barrister-at-law. Civil Affairs Officer in Somalia, 1943-45; Magistrate in Nairobi and Kiambu districts, Kenya, 1946. High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1960. He married, 22 February 1930, Hon. Kathleen Marion Napier (d. 1986), eldest daughter of Edward Herbert Scott Napier, 4th Baron Napier of Magdala and had issue:
(1) Frances Evelyn Armstrong (1930-69), born 27 December 1930; educated at Girton College, Cambridge (BA); married, 5 January 1957, Reginald West of Pine Grove House, Teffont (Wilts), son of William Albert West and had issue one son and one daughter; died 3 January 1969; administration of goods granted 27 June 1969 (estate £12,798);
(2) Kathleen Mary Perceval Armstrong (b. 1932), born 15 November 1932; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; married, 7 January 1954, her cousin, Michael Henry Armstrong (1924-82) (q.v.) and had issue two sons and three daughters;
(3) Florence Margaret Armstrong (1934-81), born 26 May 1934; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (Dip. Soc.Sci) and Bible Training Institute, Glasgow; missionary with African Inland Mission, Eldoret (Kenya); died at Bursledon, 23 August 1981;
(4) twin, Henry Napier Armstrong (1936-2014) (q.v.);
(5) twin, John Fortescue Armstrong (b. 1936) of Cawthorpe Hall (Lincs), born 28 February 1936; educated at Eton, University College, Oxford and University of British Columbia (BSc); civil engineer; married, 4 March 1967, Chantal, daughter of Claude de Chazal of Lower Kabete, Nairobi (Kenya) and had issue two sons and one daughter.
He purchased Fellows Hall in about 1954.
He died 3 July 1980. His widow died 14 September 1986.

Armstrong, Henry Napier (1936-2014). Elder twin son of James Robert Bargrave Armstrong (b. 1893) and his wife Hon. Kathleen Marion Napier, daughter of 4th Baron Napier of Magdala, born 28 February 1936. Educated at Winchester, 1949-54, Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1959; MA), Inner Temple (called to bar 1961) and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester (certificate of merit). 2nd Lieutenant in Royal Engineers, 1955-57. Barrister-at-law, 1961; advocate of High Court of Kenya & Tanzania from 1963; editor of East Africa Law Reports, 1964-66. A keen yachtsman, he took part in the World 505 championships at Adelaide, 1966 and the All Africa 505 championships, 1971. Member of the Northern Ireland Dairy Quota Tribunal. DL for Co. Armagh, 1985, Vice-Lord Lieutenant, 1986 and High Sheriff, 1987. He married, 25 February 1967, Rosemarie Alice (fl. 2014), daughter of Harold Duckett White OBE of Sydney (Australia) and had issue:
(1) Bruce William Armstrong (b. 1970), born 18 April 1970; educated at Glenalmond and Edinburgh Univ. (B.MechE); employed by Clough Engineering at Perth (Australia);
(2) Antonia Kathleen Armstrong (b. 1974), born 7 January 1974; educated at St. Leonard's School, St. Andrews and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester (BSc);
(3) Mark Harold Napier Armstrong (b. 1978), born 1 June 1978; educated at Loretto School and Newcastle University.
He lived in Kenya, 1963-80, but inherited Fellows Hall from his father in 1980.
He died 14 February 2014 at Fellows Hall, Killylea. His widow is now living.

Sources
Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 35-36; C.E.B. Brett, The buildings of County Armagh, 1999, pp. 112-14, 124; K.V. Mulligan, The buildings of Ireland: South Ulster, 2013, pp. 137, 385-7

Location of archives
Armstrong of Killylea: misc estate papers, 1823-1960, personal correspondence, 1820-1940 and genealogical memoranda [Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D3727]

Coat of arms
Per pale gules and vert three dexter armed arms couped at the shoulders and embowed, hands clenched, proper.

Can you help?
Here are a few notes about information and images which would help to improve the account above. If you can help with any of these or with other additions or corrections, please use the contact form in the sidebar to get in touch.

• Much of the complexity of this story derives from the fact that the Armstrongs inherited land but no house at Killylea when John Maxwell's property was divided after 1820. If anyone can explain why the family divided the property as they did, I should be pleased to update this account accordingly.
• Does anyone know of any images of Fellows Hall before the final alterations were made to it c.1860?
• Is anyone able to provide evidence of the dates of John Tew's children? The tentative dates given here are based largely on the order in which the children are named in near-contemporary genealogies, but this may be misleading. In particular, it would be unusual for Robert Tew to have joined the army at 32, and it therefore seems possible he was born later than suggested here.
• Can anyone provide information about who has inherited Fellows Hall following the death of Henry Napier Armstrong in 2014?

Revision and acknowledgements
This post was first published 20th September 2015.