(334) Baker of Lismacue

Baker of Lismacue

The Baker family of Lismacue are one of the few landed families in Co. Tipperary to still occupy their historic home. They trace their origin to Thomas Baker (1577-1642), who probably went to Ireland in the retinue of the Earl of Essex, who was appointed Lord Lieutenant in 1599 (not, as is often stated, the earlier Earl of Sussex, whose term of office ended when Baker was only six years old). What does not seem to be in doubt is that by the end of the 1630s he had built up a substantial leasehold estate of some 3,730 acres, rented from Catholic Irish landlords, in the adjoining townlands of Ballygleragh, Lattin and Knockordan, south-west of Tipperary.  At the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1641, he was besieged at his stronghold of Knockordan Castle, and after holding out for about three months, he died - history does not seem to record whether his death was due to, or hastened by, the privations of the siege. Two days later, his widow surrendered the castle, and was turned out without any of her possessions; we know something about the circumstances because her claim for damages survived among the papers of the Commissioners sent down to enquire into the losses caused by the rebels.

More serious for the family was that their landlords were implicated (whether justly or not) in the rebellion, and the lands they rented were therefore forfeit to the Crown, causing the Bakers' rights as tenants to lapse. Fortunately, Thomas Baker had lent money to his landlords on the security of some of the lands, and this gave him a legal estate in part of his property which the law continued to recognise. His son, Walter Baker (1623-69) was thus able to salvage some of the estate, although it took a long time: he obtained a first recognition of his rights from the Commonwealth government in 1654 and was finally able to purchase the freehold in 1667. Walter was succeeded at his death in 1669 by his son Thomas (d. 1692), who was married but childless. In 1692, therefore, the estate devolved on Walter's second son, Richard, who had three sons. The eldest of these, William Baker (1676?-1733), had succeeded to the property by 1704, when he began the process of buying Lismacue, an estate about 12 miles east of his existing lands at Bansha (Co. Tipperary).

William Baker (d. 1733) had seven sons, the eldest of whom was Hugh Baker (d. 1772). A series of transactions affecting the family estates have suggested to previous writers that Hugh may not have been on good terms with the rest of his family, but this is far from clear. Indeed, William's first action, in 1718 (when Hugh was certainly a minor and possibly only about sixteen) was to make over most of his lands, excluding Lismacue, to Hugh, which does not quite fit such a pattern. It is true that in 1728 William leased Lismacue to his brother-in-law, the Rev. Charles Massy, for three lives, but with his eldest son established on his properties at Lizardconnell, this may have been more a matter of providing his younger children with a home than of excluding Hugh, who must later have been a party to the sale of Lattinmore and some other lands to raise portions for his younger siblings. It is not clear that Hugh ever lived at Lismacue, but it did come into the possession of his son and heir, Col. William Baker (1731-1808), whose rank came from a commission in the Tipperary Volunteers, formed in 1776. 

When Col. Baker died in 1808 he was succeeded by his eldest son, William Baker (c.1767-1815), who had not only attended Trinity College, Dublin, but taken a degree there and gone on to the Kings Inns to study law. Although there seems to be no record of his being called to bar, he did become an active JP in Tipperary, and in 1815 he was tragically murdered on his way home from a special meeting of the justices for the county under the Insurrection Act, apparently by the associates of a man who had been jailed there.  Although two men were eventually arrested for the act and one of them was executed on the evidence of the other, there seems little doubt that others who were involved escaped undetected. It was William Baker who built the present house at Lismacue. Work probably began soon after he inherited and is thought to have been completed by 1813, but William can have had very little time to enjoy his new house. After his death, as he had no children, the estate and house passed to his nephew, Hugh Baker (1798-1868), but the furniture and personal effects all passed to William's widow. Perhaps understandably, she did not wish to remain at Lismacue and moved to the fashionable watering place of Cheltenham, taking all the family furniture with her. Lismacue was probably let until Hugh Baker came of age in 1819 and perhaps for some years afterwards, as he seems to be first recorded as 'of Lismacue' in 1825. He probably carried out a thorough redecoration and refurnishing of the house at that time, since it preserves wallpapers of the 1830s.

Hugh Baker seems to have been a considerate and generous landlord, but that did not stop him receiving unwelcome attention from violent elements in the local population in the 1830s on account of the fact that he employed a Protestant steward. At one point he was obliged to leave the estate for the greater safety of Dublin, although he soon returned and was resident throughout the famine years of the 1840s. He had a large family of four sons and five daughters. The three younger sons all became lawyers, although one of them underwent a religious conversion in his thirties and subsequently devoted his life to Dr. Barnardo's Homes, where he succeeded the founder as Chairman and honorary Director. The heir to the estate was Hugh Baker (1845-87), who was noted more for his sporting than his intellectual prowess. He died young, leaving a widow and two small children. The estate passed to his young son, but it was heavily indebted and in an era of falling agricultural prices one of the creditors called in his loan, leading to the estate being vested in trustees for sale. Hugh Baker's widow, Frances, had meanwhile married again, to Maj. Ralph Hall Bunbury (d. 1898), who bought the house (but not the estate) so that the family could continue to live there. However when he died, rather than leaving the house as might have been expected to his step-son, Hugh Baker (1880-1952), it passed to his unmarried sisters.  Hugh, who became a naval officer and a leading figure in the world of fly-fishing, later moved to County Antrim, and died there without issue. The Misses Bunbury sold their unexpected legacy at a generously low valuation to Charles Conyers Massy Baker (1847-1905), the second son of Hugh Baker (1798-1868), who was perhaps looking to retire from his practice as a barrister. He was succeeded a few years later by his son, Allen Baker (1881-1959), who had the distinction of being the first person to qualify (in 1900) as a veterinary surgeon at the Royal Veterinary College of Ireland. He made his home at Lismacue, where he established a stud farm and acted as the local vet. His son and heir, William Baker (1913-77) followed in his father's footsteps and maintained both the stud and the veterinary practice. When he died suddenly in 1977 he had no son to succeed him, but his only daughter, Kate (b. 1952), and her husband, Jim Nicholson, took the house on. No inheritance planning had taken place and there were large death duties to pay which took many years to pay off, but from around 2000 they found the funds to embark on a systematic restoration of the house. They continue to operate the family stud farm, now with the assistance of a manager, and to offer accommodation at the house on a serviced let and bed-and-breakfast basis. It is to be hoped that one of their three children will in due course be willing to take on the revitalised house for a further generation.

Lismacue House, Bansha, Co. Tipperary

The first house on the site of which anything is recorded was taxed on five hearths in 1665, and was thus a fairly modest affair, although large by contemporary Irish standards. The present late Georgian house with battlements and other restrained Gothic touches was built in 1813 to the designs of William Robertson (1770-1850) for William Baker (d. 1815), who was murdered shortly afterwards. 

Lismacue House: the entrance front and side elevation c.1900. Image: Limerick Museum LM 1987.0803

It is a square stuccoed block of two storeys with an entrance front of three broad bays and a side elevation of five bays. The entrance front has a Gothic porch and is continued to the right by a longer wing (once also stuccoed but now of exposed rubble walling) ending in a battlemented gable with a large traceried window below. The side elevation has a battlemented pediment with pinnacles, and there is a further pediment on the rear elevation. Inside, the decoration is a good deal lighter and more elegant than the exterior might lead one to expect, the entrance hall in particular having a delicate if simple Gothick scheme. The house has several rooms with wallpaper dating from the early 1830s, which was installed for Hugh Baker (1798-1868). The house has been well restored since 2000, and is approached by a long and impressive lime avenue, said to have been planted in 1760. The fine open parkland has wonderful views of the Galtee Mountains and the Glen of Aherlow.

Descent: Charles Blount sold 1704-05 to William Baker (1676?-1733); to son, Hugh Baker (d. 1772); to son, Col. William Baker (1731-1808); to son, William Baker (c.1767-1815), who rebuilt the house; to nephew, Hugh Baker (1798-1868); to son, Hugh Baker (1845-87), whose widow married Maj. Ralph Bunbury; to son, Hugh Baker (b. 1880); sold by receivers to Maj. Ralph Bunbury (d. 1898); to sisters, who sold to Charles Conyers Massy Baker (1847-1905); to son, Allen Baker (1881-1969); to son, William Baker (1913-77); to daughter, Katherine Rachel (b. 1952), wife of Capt. James Nicholson.

Baker family of Lismacue House

Baker, Thomas (1577-1642). Probably the Thomas Baker who was the younger son of John Baker (c.1531-1606) [see the Bakers of Sissinghurst, baronets] and his first wife, Katharine, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Scott's Hall (Kent), baptised at St Stephen, Coleman St., London, 3 April 1577. He is often said to have gone to Ireland in the retinue of  Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland 1557-83, but that cannot be correct, and it would seem more probable that he accompanied Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, when he was appointed to that office in 1599. With the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1641 he was besieged at Knockordan Castle from October 1641, but after he died during the siege and when the defenders' ammunition was exhausted, his widow capitulated on 2 February 1642. The rebels took everything - even the clothes from their backs - and turned them out of the house. Anne's account of the siege was recorded by a commission sent to enquire into the losses of the loyal population. Because Baker's landlords were all Irish Catholics who were implicated in the rebellion, their lands were seized by the Crown and Baker's tenant rights were extinguished at the same time. Fortunately, Baker had lent money to some of his landlords on the security of their freehold, giving him a legal estate in the land which was not extinguished, as he himself was a loyal Protestant, and his son was able to recover these lands from those to whom the Crown had granted them. He married Anne [surname unknown] (fl. 1642) and had issue six children including:
(1) Walter Baker (1623-69) (q.v.);
(2) Richard Baker (fl. 1665-73); leased a farm at Solohead and brought an action for possession of it in 1673.
He settled at Knockordan Castle (Co. Tipperary) where he leased substantial lands from Irish landlords in the adjoining townlands of Ballygleragh, Lattin and Knockordan, amounting to some 3,730 statute acres. The castle at Knockordan was evidently destroyed after the 1641 siege.
He died during the siege at Knockordan, 31 January 1641/2. His widow surrendered the castle, 2 February 1641/2 and submitted a claim for damages, 8 July 1642; her date of death is unknown.

Baker, Walter (1623-69). Second son of Thomas Baker (1577-1642) and his wife Anne, born at Ballygleragh, 1623. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1640). He married Martha Osborne, and had issue:
(1) Thomas Baker (d. 1692); married but had no issue; died intestate, 1692; administration of his goods granted to his widow;
(2) Richard Baker (fl. 1692) (q.v.);
(3) Walter Baker (d. 1740) of Ballywire; provided a home for his widowed sister Mary after 1722; will proved 3 November 1740;
(4) Martha Baker (fl. 1669); mentioned in her father's will; apparently dead by 1686;
(5) Mary Baker (d. c.1730); mentioned in her father's will; married, 1686 (settlement 21 October) Richard Chadwick (d. 1722) of Ballynamaght, but had no issue, and lived subsequently with her brother Walter; will proved 3 January 1729/30.
He lived at Cullen and later at Lattin, and secured from the Commonwealth government a recognition of his rights in some of his father's lands in Co. Tipperary. He subsequently obtained a grant of the freehold by letters patent from King Charles II in 1667. After his death his property passed in turn to his two elder sons.
He died in 1669; his will was proved at Cashel, 23 December 1669. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baker, Richard (fl. 1692). Second son of Walter Baker (1623-69) and his wife Martha Osborne. He married and had issue:
(1) William Baker (1676?-1733) (q.v.);
(2) Baraby Baker; married and had issue a daughter;
(3) Walter Baker (fl. 1724), settled at Ballydavid in 1724; married and had issue one son and one daughter.
He inherited the Lattinmore estate from his elder brother in 1692.
He died before 1704.

Baker, William (1676?-1733). Son of Richard Baker (fl. 1692) and his wife, perhaps born at Doonass (Co. Clare), 1676. High Sheriff of Co. Tipperary, 1726. He married, 17 July 1700, Margaret, eldest daughter of Hugh Massy of Duntryleague (Co. Limerick), and had issue:
(1) Hugh Baker (d. 1772) (q.v.);
(2) Charles Baker;
(3) Thomas Baker;
(4) Richard Baker;
(5) William Baker (d. 1735); known as 'Never Fear-Em Billy Baker', perhaps because of his bravery as a duellist or horseman; died at Castletown (Co. Limerick), November 1735;
(6) Walter Baker (fl. 1730); received a legacy from his aunt, Mary Chadwick, in 1730;
(7) Godfrey Baker, merchant at Cork; married, 1744, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Cossart of Cork and had issue four sons and two daughters;
(8) Elizabeth Baker; married Nicholas Wrixon;
(9) Katherine Baker; married Thomas Pope.
He inherited the Lattinmore estate from his father and purchased lands at Killenalliffe in 1703 and (for £1,300) the Lismacue estate (Co. Tipperary) from Charles Blount in 1704-05. In 1718 he made his eldest son tenant for life in much of his estate but reserved Lismacue, and in 1728 he leased Lismacue to Rev. Charles Massy for three lives. Lattinmore and other properties were sold in 1740 to provide portions for his younger children.
He died in 1733; his will was proved 28 September 1733. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Baker, Hugh (d. 1772). Eldest son of William Baker (1676-1733) and his wife Margaret, eldest daughter of Hugh Massy of Duntryleague (Co. Limerick). He married, by 1728, Catherine, daughter of Robert Ryves of Ryves Castle, Ballyskiddane (Co. Limerick) and had issue:
(1) Col. William Baker (1731-1808) (q.v.);
(2) Capt. Thomas Baker; an officer in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Lt. Fireworker, 1754) and perhaps later in 5th Foot (Capt., 1775); married, 12 April 1771 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Rose Elizabeth (d. 1777), daughter of Sir Neville Hickman, 4th bt., of Thonock Hall (Lincs), and had issue two sons (who died young); 
(3) Hugh Baker (d. 1801?); married Sydney Coates, and had issue two sons and three daughters; said to have died in 1801 (but this may be a confusion with his nephew of the same name);
(4) Walter Baker (d. 1778); lived at Ballydavid (Tipperary); died unmarried, about July 1778;
(5) Kilner Baker (d. 1804); wine merchant in Dublin; an officer in the Royal Anglesea Volunteers (Capt.) and later Secretary of the Independent Dublin Volunteers; married 1st, 1783 (licence 9 September), Elizabeth, second daughter and co-heiress of Rev. Robert Nettles, rector of Ballinamona (Co. Cork) and had issue one son and two daughters, and 2nd, a daughter of Kilner Brasier, who died without issue; died March 1804;
(6) Elizabeth Baker (c.1735-1821), born about 1735; married, May 1759, her cousin, the Hon. John Massy (d. 1815), third son of 1st Baron Massy of Duntrileague, but had no issue; died in Dublin aged 86, 31 December 1821;
(7) Margaret Baker; said to have married Kilner Brasier;
(8) Catherine Baker (d. 1782); died unmarried at Mallow (Co. Cork), about September 1782.
He became tenant for life of much of the family estate excluding Lismacue in 1718 and inherited the freehold from his father in 1733. He lived at Lizardconnell (near Ballywire) in 1730 and later at Castlesaffron, Doneraile (Co. Cork).
He died 25 January 1772. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baker, Col. William (1731-1808). Eldest son of Hugh Baker (d. 1772) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Robert Ryves of Ryves Castle, Ballyskiddane (Co. Limerick), born 1731. An officer in the Tipperary Volunteers (Lt-Col. by 1782). He married Elizabeth, second daughter of Very Rev. Charles Massy of Doonass, Dean of Limerick, and had issue:
(1) William Baker (c.1767-1815) (q.v.);
(2) Hugh Baker (c.1769-1801) (q.v.);
(3) Lt-Col. Charles Massy Baker (1770-1840), born 1770; lived at Killenaliffe (Co. Tipperary); an officer in the 22nd and from 1804 the 14th Light Dragoons (Capt., 1795; Maj., 1808; Lt-Col., 1819; retired 1829), serving in Flanders, 1793-94, Ireland, 1798, Egypt, 1801 and Peninsular War, 1808-11; noted for his generosity to the poor and kindness to his tenants; died unmarried, 18 December 1840 and was buried at Luton (Beds); will proved in the PCC, 2 July 1841;
(4) Robert Baker (d. 1844); lived at Belmont (Offaly); a member of the Protestant Conservative Society; married [forename unknown] Collins; died 16 March 1844;
(5) Elizabeth Baker (c.1765-1844); married, 24 September 1784 at St Andrew, Dublin, Henry Fry (1757-1847) of Frybrook (Co. Roscommon) and had issue nine sons and four daughters; died 2 May 1844;
(6) Catherine Baker (fl. 1840); married, 1790, James Johnston Stoney (1759-1824) of Oakley Park (Co. Offaly), third son of George Stoney of Greyfort and Portland, and had issue four sons and four daughters;
(7) Grace Baker (d. 1827); married 1st, Richard Taylor and had issue one son, and 2nd, 18 March 1806 at St John, Limerick, Maj-Gen. Henry Phillott CB (1773-1839) of the Royal Artillery, and had further issue one son; buried at Portsmouth (Hants), 9 December 1827;
(8) Margaret Baker (fl. 1840); died unmarried after 1840.
He inherited the Lismacue estate.
He died 24 May 1808, and was buried at Lattin, being the last of the family interred there; his will was proved at Dublin in 1808. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baker, William (c.1767-1815). Elder son of Col. William Baker (d. 1808) and his wife Elizabeth, second daughter of Very Rev. Charles Massy, Dean of Limerick, born about 1767. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1783; BA 1788) and Kings' Inns, Dublin (admitted 1788). JP for Co. Tipperary. He married, 21 August 1805, Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir Thomas Roberts, 1st bt., of Brightfieldstown (Co. Cork), but had no issue.
He inherited the Lismacue estate from his father in 1808 and rebuilt the house in 1813 to the designs of William Robertson. After his death, the house and estate passed to his nephew, Hugh Baker (1798-1868), but the contents went to his widow who removed them from the house.
He was murdered by a gang of men on his way home from attending a special session of Quarter Sessions, held at Cashel under the Insurrection Act, 27 November 1815. His widow died in Cheltenham (Glos), 12 May 1829.

Baker, Hugh (c.1769-1801). Second son of Col. William Baker (d. 1808) and his wife Elizabeth, second daughter of Very Rev. Charles Massy, Dean of Limerick, born about 1769. Merchant in Tipperary. An officer in the Tipperary Volunteers. He married Anne, daughter of James Reardon of Tipperary, and had issue:
(1) Hugh Baker (1798-1868) (q.v.);
(2) Rev. William Benjamin Baker (1801-74), born 4 June 1801; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1820); ordained deacon, 1827 and priest, 1828; curate of Killermogh, 1829 and Durrow, c.1833; vicar of Toem, 1835-37; curate of Thurles, 1837-50 and rector of Shronell (Co. Tipperary), 1848-74; married, 22 October 1829, his cousin Sydney Sybell (d. 1830), daughter of John Scott Baker of Dublin, and had issue one son and one daughter (who married the novelist, Charles Lever); died 6 December 1874 and was buried at Bansha;
(3) Elizabeth Baker (d. 1867); died unmarried, 1867.
He died in 1801. His widow died 2 November 1847.

Baker, Hugh (1798-1868). Eldest son of Hugh Baker (d. 1801) and his wife Anne, daughter of James Reardon of Tipperary, born 1 August 1798. A member of the Grand Jury for Co. Tipperary by 1828. Guardian of the Tipperary Poor Law Union. He had the reputation of a kind and generous landlord, who reduced rents in hard times, but in the 1830s he suffered several unprovoked attacks (in which a hayrick was burned and two horses shot) because he chose to employ a Protestant steward, and he was obliged to leave his estate for a time for the greater safety of Dublin. He was blind in one eye as a result of an unsuccessful smallpox inoculation in childhood. He married, 21 February 1839 at Kilmeedy (Co. Limerick), Marion (1815-54), only child of Charles Conyers of Castle Conyers (Co. Limerick) and had issue:
(1) Marion Elizabeth Baker (1840-1916), born 6 June 1840; married 1st, 16 February 1865 at Templeneiry (Co. Tipperary), George Cole-Baker (murdered 1868) of Ballydavid (Co. Tipperary), son of the Rev. George Cole-Baker, and had issue one son and one daughter; married 2nd, 3 August 1876 at Lisnaskea (Co. Fermanagh), Frederick Browne (d. 1910), advocate, of Douglas (Isle of Man); died in Dublin, 4 April 1916; will proved 15 June 1916 (effects £96);
(2) Anne Baker (1841-1900), born 24 October 1841; married, 9 May 1866, Lt-Col. Morley Stratford Tynte Dennis JP (1811-1902) of Barraderry House (Co. Wicklow), second son of Thomas Stratford Dennis JP of Fort Granite (Co. Wicklow), but had no issue; died 31 January 1900;
(3) Mary Rachel Baker (1842-49), born about November 1842; died young of water on the brain, 7 December 1849;
(4) Elizabeth Henrietta Baker (1844-1919), born February 1844; emigrated to Canada with her husband, 1890; married, 10 August 1865 at Templeree (Co. Tipperary), Robert Bell Gordon (1840-1915), barrister-at-law and later Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian North-West Territories, son of John Bagwell Gordon, and had issue one son and two daughters; died at Indian Head, Saskatchewan (Canada), 24 January 1919;
(5) Hugh Baker (1845-87) (q.v.);
(6) Charles Conyers Massy Baker (1847-1905) (q.v.);
(7) William Baker (1848-1920); educated at Tipperary Grammar School, Trinity College, Dublin (admitted about 1868; LLB; MA 1875; Secretary of University Cricket Club) and Inner Temple (admitted 1871; called to bar, 1875); barrister at law; in youth he was devoted to sport and excelled at rowing, football, cricket and as a horseman; in his early 30s he underwent a religious conversion and became an evangelical; a director of Dr Barnardo's Homes, 1886-1920 (Vice-Chairman, 1890-1905; Chairman & Hon. Director, 1905-20); died 17 November 1920;
(8) Sir Augustine Fitzgerald Baker (1851-1922), born 21 April 1851; educated at Tipperary Grammar School, Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1870; MA); admitted a solicitor, 1878; President of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, 1903; knighted 1903; the historian of the family, whose notes on its history were published shortly before his death; lived at 56 Merrion Sq., Dublin; died unmarried, 7 October 1922;
(9) Mary Rachel Baker (1854-1919), born about July 1854; married, 25 September 1878 at Bansha, John Twynam (1855-1918) of Soberton House (Hants), and had issue five sons (four of whom died in the First World War) and two daughters; died 19 October 1919; will proved 17 December 1919 (estate £692).
He inherited the Lismacue estate from his uncle in 1815 and came of age in 1819.
He died 5 November 1868 and was buried at Bansha; his will was proved 21 December 1868 (effects under £14,000). His wife died 3 July 1854 and was also buried at Bansha.

Baker, Hugh (1845-87). Eldest son of Hugh Baker (1798-1868) and his wife Marion, only child of Charles Conyers of Castle Conyers (Co. Limerick), born 12 September 1845. An officer in the South Tipperary Regiment of Artillery (Lt., 1868), he was a noted horseman and cricketer. He married, 1 March 1879 at Tipperary, Frances Elizabeth, youngest daughter of John Massy of Kingswell (Co. Tipperary), and had issue:
(1) Hugh Baker (1880-1952), born 1 March 1880; served in First World War as an officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (Cmdr.); President of Irish Trout Fishing Association and Ballycastle Angling Association; a member of the Irish Lights Commission; lived at Ballycastle (Co. Antrim); married, 1925, Anne (1890-1955), son of John O'Sullivan of Gurrane, Killarney (Kerry), but had no issue; died 10 June 1952 and was buried at Bansha; will proved in Belfast, 29 January 1953, and sealed in London (estate in Northern Ireland, £2,844; estate in England, £8,358);
(2) Alice Maud Massy Baker (1883-1935), born 21 August 1883; married, 2 November 1912,  Douglas Fenwick Murray RN (1874-1925) and had issue one daughter; died at Folkestone (Kent), 20 July 1935; will proved 14 September 1935 (estate £262).
He inherited the Lismacue estate from his father in 1868. At his death the estate passed to his son, but when debts secured on the property were called in, it was vested in trustees and sold except for one farm. The house was bought by his widow's second husband.
He died 9 July 1887 and was buried at Bansha; his will was proved 28 October 1887 (effects £2,815). His widow married 2nd, 13 September 1888, Maj. Ralph Hall Bunbury (d. 1898) of Noremount (Co. Kilkenny) and died in London, 10 April 1917; administration of her goods was granted 29 September 1917 (effects £68).

Baker, Charles Conyers Massy (1847-1905). Second son of Hugh Baker (1798-1868) and his wife Marion, only child of Charles Conyers of Castle Conyers (Co. Limerick), born 8 March 1847. Educated at Worcester College, Oxford (matriculated 1865; BA 1869) and Inner Temple (called to bar 1871). Barrister-at-law; JP for Co. Tipperary. He married, 10 June 1880 at St Matthew, Bayswater, London, Harriet Booth (k/a Ettie) (1853-1922), daughter of George Allen of Oakdale, Ockley (Surrey), and had issue:
(1) Allen Baker (1881-1969) (q.v.);
(2) Conyers Baker (1884-1922), born 30 January 1884; solicitor (admitted 1908) and later a missionary in Rangoon (Burma) and secretary of Bombay (India) YMCA; married, 2 February 1911 at Cahir (Co. Tipperary), Susan Dorothea Geraldine (1881-1969), second daughter of Ven. Robert Jones Sylvester Devenish, rector of Cahir (Co. Tipperary) and Archdeacon of Waterford, but had no issue; died suddenly in London, 24 December 1922; will proved 21 April 1923 (effects £187);
(3) Massy Baker (1888-1972), born 9 October 1888; emigrated to Canada in 1905; civil engineer; married 1st, 15 January 1920 at Carleton, Ontario (Canada), Mildred Schreiber (1893-1933), daughter of Lawrence Lambe of Ottawa (Canada) and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 2 February 1935, also at Carleton, Ontario, Kathleen (1892-1981), daughter of Ven. Johnston McLelland Snowdon, Archdeacon of Ottawa, but had no further issue; died 12 January 1972 and was buried at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa;
(4) Dennis Baker (1893-1923), born 15 October 1893; served in First World War as an officer (Lt.) in Royal Engineers (Imperial), and died in Ontario (Canada) of tuberculosis contracted while on active service, 12 July 1923; will proved 25 November 1924 (effects in England £929);
(5) Irene Baker (1895-1981), born 19 December 1895; married, 12 February 1925 at Avey (Limerick), Herbert Constable Evans (d. 1926), son of Thomas Evans of Rathkeale (Co. Limerick), and had issue one son; died 28 April 1981 and was buried at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa (Canada).
He purchased Lismacue House from the heirs of his sister-in-law's second husband after 1898.
He died 12 January 1905 and was buried at Bansha; his will was proved 27 September 1905 (effects £1,045). His widow died at Sidcup (Kent), 13 December 1922; administration of her goods was granted to her eldest son, 20 April 1923 (effects in England, £46).

Baker, Allen (1881-1959). Eldest son of Charles Conyers Massy Baker (1847-1905) and his wife Harriet Booth, daughter of George Allen of Oakdale, Ockley (Surrey), born 24 July 1881. Educated at Royal Veterinary College of Ireland and was their first graduate. Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Established the Lismacue Stud Farm. He married 1st, 10 July 1910, Frances Violet (1887-1922), eldest daughter of Lt-Col. William Cooper-Chadwick of Ballinard (Co. Tipperary), and 2nd, 15 May 1935, Julia Dorothy (1889-1963), daughter of William Parry Evans of Wallasey (Ches.), and had issue:
(1.1) Mary Rachel Baker (1911-71), born 31 December 1911; married, 4 April 1933, Col. Kenneth Edgar Holmes MA MIEE, son of Col. John Dalrymple Edgar Holmes of Tipperary, and had issue two daughters; died 21 January 1971;
(1.2) William Baker (1913-77) (q.v.);
(1.3) Elizabeth Anne Baker (b. 1917), born 27 October 1917; married, 14 September 1941, (Jacob Harold) Barrett Best (b. 1902) of Gilltown Lodge, Kilcullen (Co. Kildare), son of Edwin Best of Armagh (Co. Armagh), and had issue two sons.
He inherited Lismacue House from his father in 1905.
He died 20 December 1959 and was buried at Bansha; his will was proved 21 May 1960 (estate £77,765).  His first wife died 10 June 1922 and was buried at Bansha; administration of her goods was granted 19 January 1923 (estate £16,577). His widow died 5 July 1963 and was buried at Bansha; her will was proved 14 July 1964 (estate £365).

Baker, William (1913-77). Only son of Allen Baker (1881-1969) and his first wife Frances Violet, eldest daughter of Lt-Col. William Cooper-Chadwick of Ballinard (Co. Tipperary), born 2 August 1913. Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Owner and manager of Lismacue Stud Farm. He married, 15 July 1950, Brenda Katherine (c.1915-2013), daughter of John Gillespie Aitken of Methergrove, High Bickington (Devon), and formerly wife of Alexander George Smith, and had issue:
(1) Katherine Rachel Baker (b. 1952) (q.v.).
He inherited Lismacue House from his father in 1969.
He died 15 November 1977 and was buried at Bansha. His widow died aged 98, 13 March 2013, and was also buried at Bansha.

Baker, Katherine Rachel (b. 1952). Only child of William Baker (1913-77) and his wife Brenda Katherine, daughter of John Gillespie Aitken of Methergrove, High Bickington (Devon), and formerly wife of Alexander George Smith, born 29 September 1952. Cordon Bleu chef; owner of Lismacue Stud Farm; operates Lismacue House as serviced holiday rental accommodation. She married, March 1976, Capt. James Nicholson, barrister-at-law, and had issue:
(1) Rachel Nicholson; Cordon Blue chef in France;
(2) Sarah Nicholson; educated at Alexandra College, Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology; confectioner; emigrated to USA in 2009; director of Bang Candy Co., Nashville, Tennessee (USA); married, 2004, J.D. Souther (div. 2010) and had issue one daughter;
(3) A son; works in information technology in Dublin.
She inherited Lismacue House from her father in 1977, and carried out a major restoration after 2000.
Now living.

Sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 52-54; Sir A.F. Baker, 'The Bakers of Lismacue: a family chronicle', Tipperary Historical Journal, 1994, pp. 115-28; video interviews by Christina Abt with Jim and Kate Nicholson at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0QUukyBcU;  http://web88.extendcp.co.uk/goldings.org/page300.html.

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known, but they may remain with the family at Lismacue.

Coat of arms

Azure, on a chevron or between three swans' necks erased proper ducally gorged of the second, as many cinquefoils gules.

Can you help?

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• Can anyone provide additional information about the earlier generations of this family, or portraits or photographs of any of the people whose names appear above in bold type?

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 14 June 2018 and was updated 14 & 18 July 2018.