Barry, Barons Barry of Santry |
When the 1st Lord Santry died in 1673 he was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard Barry (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry, who had been educated largely in England, where he attended Oxford University and Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1666. He may thereafter have assisted his father but he seems not to have been called to the Irish bar and so probably never practised on his own account. He had a large family but of his four sons only the youngest survived him. This was Henry Barry (1680-1734), 3rd Lord Santry, who came of age in 1701 and pursued a military career about which almost nothing is known until 1710, when he became Lieutenant Colonel in the Earl of Wharton's Dragoons. This unit was disbanded in 1713, apparently for disciplinary reasons, although Lord Santry himself does not seem to have been tarnished by his association with it, for he was later appointed to the important and sensitive post of Governor of Derry City. The 3rd Baron's chief importance for this story, however, is that between his marriage in 1702 and about 1709 he pulled down the old house at Santry Court and built a much larger and more fashionable new one, and laid out elaborate formal gardens around it. His marriage produced a single son, Henry Barry (1710-51), who succeeded him as 4th Lord Santry in 1735 and over the next few years probably made major additions to the house.
The young 4th Baron was, however, a notorious rake. He pursued a hard-drinking lifestyle and was a leading member of the Irish Hell-Fire Club, which - if the highly-coloured accounts of its activities are to be believed - got up to some very nasty things indeed. In August 1738, after a heavy day's drinking, he ran a man through with his sword. After lingering for some seven weeks, the poor fellow inconveniently died, and Lord Santry found himself facing a murder charge. He invoked his right to a trial by his peers, but they had no choice but to find him guilty, and he was sentenced to death. Since in Ireland murder was regarded as treason, the sentence also mean that he forfeited his estates and his peerage, and only the energetic activity of his friends and relations in persuading King George II to exercise his prerogative of mercy saved his neck. His creditors having been alarmed by the loss of his estates - and thus his income - they began pressing for payment, and even though his estate was eventually returned to him in 1741, his maternal uncle (and eventual heir) oversaw the passing of an Act of Parliament which vested his estate in trustees for the payment of his creditors. The Hon. Henry Barry, as he was subsequently known, lived in exile in Nottingham, in greatly reduced circumstances. He married again shortly before his death, but his widow, who died only in 1816, did not inherit his property, which passed to his uncle, Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd bt.
Santry Court, Co. Dublin
The Santry estate was acquired by Richard Barry (d. c.1648), a Dublin merchant and alderman, in the early 17th century. There was already a substantial house here by 1664, when it was taxed on eleven hearths, but nothing more is known about it before it was rebuilt in 1703-09 for the 3rd Lord Santry. The very grand building he constructed would not have looked out of place in the English home counties, but its designer - whether English or Irish - seems to be unrecorded. The house as it was built at this time consisted of a rectangular nine-by-three bay block of two storeys over an unusually high basement, and also had a dormered attic storey lurking behind the partly balustraded parapet. Both main fronts had a three-bay pedimented breakfront in the centre, with the pediment set against the parapet. On the entrance side there was grand doorcase with a segmental pediment carried on Corinthian columns, which was originally located at the basement level, though the doorcase was later moved up to the ground floor and an immense flight of steps was built to provide an external approach to it. The garden front was always plainer, and at least after 19th century alterations, had no doorcase at all, although the grand doorcase which later provided an entrance to the walled garden was probably originally on the garden front of the house. The house was probably from the first accompanied by a formal landscape, the outlines of which are shown on John Rocque's map of County Dublin in 1760.Santry Court: entrance front in about 1900. |
In the mid 18th century, the original rectangular block was enlarged by the addition of quadrant links and five-bay wings on the entrance front, giving the house a more Palladian layout. This was most probably done for the 4th Lord Santry between 1734, when he inherited the estate, and 1739, when he forfeited it on his conviction for murder (the estate was restored to him in 1741 after he was pardoned, but he lived the rest of his life in exile in England in reduced circumstances). It is also possible that the enlargement of the house only took place after 1751, when it passed to Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd bt., but it was certainly complete by 1760, when the plan, with the quadrant links and wings, is clearly shown on John Rocque's plan of County Dublin.
Santry Court: detail of John Rocque's plan of Co. Dublin, showing the footprint of the house and the formal avenues and canal surrounding it. |
The main doorcase was moved to the piano nobile at the same time as the wings were added, in further pursuit of a Palladian appearance. The vast staircase which appears in photographs as leading up to it was almost certainly a later alteration, for John Rocque's plan seems to show a two-armed staircase in its place, but it was in place by the 1830s when it was recorded on an engraving of the house. A slight inelegance in the proportion of window to wall in the design of the facades also suggests that the fenestration was altered after the house was first built, and this probably resulted from the replacement of the original windows by sashes with architraves at the time of the other mid 18th century changes.
Although the house underwent some changes in the later 18th century, when several rooms were evidently redecorated and the formal landscaping was swept away in favour of a more naturalistic layout, further major changes to the house did not take place until Sir C.C.W. Domvile inherited the estate in 1857. His works to the house and garden began in 1858 and continued until 1872, although shortage of funds may have made progress sporadic. The works to the house were probably designed by Sandham Symes, who is known to have supplied several sets of designs and who was seeking tenders for works to the estate buildings in 1871. They evidently included the building of two new five-bay wings on the garden front, the removal of the central doorcase on the garden side to form a the gateway into a new walled garden, and the redecoration of some of the interiors.
Santry Court: head of the early 18th century staircase. Image: South Dublin Libraries |
Alongside the remodelling of the house in the 1860s, there was a major redesign of the surrounding landscape by Ninian Niven, begun in 1857. Niven laid out a formal cour d'entrée in front of the house, a parterre with raised walks leading to an oval terrace with a jet d'eau in an oval basin, from which the older park, with its formal vistas and follies could be seen. A domed temple of about 1740 (now at Luggala in Co. Wicklow) was brought from the Domvile's original seat at Templeogue, and a bridge with balustrades and lions was built over the late 18th century lake.
Santry Court: engraving of the 1830s by Louis Haghe, showing the wide stone steps already in place.
Santry Court: the ruin of the house after the fire of 1947 and before demolition. Image: South Dublin Libraries |
Barry of Santry, Barons Barry of Santry
Barry, Richard (c.1575-1648). Second son of James Barry (d. 1598), merchant and alderman of Dublin, born about 1575. Merchant in Dublin. Alderman of Dublin from 1607 (Sheriff, 1604; Mayor 1610); MP for Dublin, 1613-15, 1634 and 1639. He married, about 1600, Anne (d. 1663), daughter and heiress of James Cusack of Rathgar (Co. Dublin), and had issue:
(1) Sir James Barry (1603-73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.);
(2) Edward Barry (d. 1672), of Tubberbunny, Cloghran (Co. Dublin); married 1st, Susanna, daughter of Charles Foster, alderman of Dublin, and had issue four sons and one daughter; married 2nd, Eleanor Dowdall, and had further issue six sons and two daughters; died intestate, 1672;
(3) Rev. William Barry (c.1608-95); educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1626); rector and vicar of Killucan (Co. Meath), 1642-95 and vicar of Termonfeckin (Armagh), 1647-93, but lived in Dublin and no doubt served both cures with curates; married 1st, 1 January 1634, Margaret (d. 1645), daughter of Rev. Edmund Donellan, and had issue four sons and five daughters; married 2nd, 23 November 1648, Elizabeth, daughter of Kedagh Kelly, and had issue one son and nine daughters; died 30 August 1695;
(4) Thomas Barry (d. 1632); died unmarried, 31 October 1632;
(5) Humphrey Barry; married and had issue two sons and one daughter;
(6) Richard Barry (d. 1675), of Fyan's Castle, Dublin; died 7 December and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 8 December 1675;
(7) Mary Anne Barry (d. 1635); married, as his first wife, Sir James Donelan (d. 1665), Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland and third son of Most Rev. Nehemiah Donelan, Archbishop of Tuam, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 5 April 1635 and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin;
(8) Frances Barry (d. 1668); married Henry Kenney (d. 1650) of Kenney's Hall and Edermine (Co. Wexford) and had issue three sons and three daughters; died July 1668 and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin;
(9) Lettice Barry (d. 1637); married Alderman John Gibson of Dublin, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 22 August 1637 and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
He acquired Santry Court (soon after 1608) and Tubberbunny (Co. Dublin) and Ardrossan (Co. Kildare), but lived chiefly in Dublin.
He died in or after 1648. His widow died 21 September 1663.
Barry, Sir James (1603-73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry. Eldest son of Alderman Richard Barry (c.1575-1637) of Dublin and his wife Anne, daughter and heiress of James Cusack of Rathgar (Co. Dublin), born 1603. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1621; MA 1624), Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1621; called 1628) and King's Inns, Dublin (called 1630; Treasurer, 1635-36. 1661-64); degrees incorporated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in 1627. Barrister-at-law in England and Ireland; Recorder of Dublin and King's Serjeant-at-Laws in Ireland, 1629-34; MP for Lismore, 1634; Second Baron of the Exchequer, 1634-41, acting as an assize judge on the Connaught circuit; was superseded during the interregnum and was apparently in England for most of the period 1642-50; allowed to return to practice in Dublin, 1653 and acted as an assize judge in Ulster in 1655; Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 1660-73. He was chosen Chairman of the Dublin convention which met in defiance of the Commonwealth authorities and voted for the unconditional restoration of King Charles II, 1660. He was knighted in 1640, and for his service at the Restoration, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Barry of Santry (commonly abbreviated to Lord Santry), 18 February 1661. He married, about 1632, Catherine, daughter of Sir William Parsons, 1st bt., of Bellamont (Co. Dublin), Lord Deputy of Ireland, and had issue:
(1) Hon. Anne Barry (c.1634-81), born about 1634; married 1st, 29 May 1660 at St Michan, Dublin, Stephen Butler (d. 1662) of Belturbet (Co. Cavan), but had no surviving issue; married 2nd, Hon. Raymond FitzMaurice (d. 1713), younger son of Patrick Fitzmaurice, 19th Lord of Kerry, and had issue two sons; died March 1681;
(2) Richard Barry (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.);
(3) Hon. Elizabeth Barry (b. 1638), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 16 February 1637/8; married, 4 October 1683, Thomas Anderton, but had no issue;
(4) Hon. Catherine Barry (1639-70), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 7 May 1639; died unmarried, 22 September and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 4 October 1670;
(5) Hon. James Barry* (1640-74) of Santry, baptised 10 June 1640; died unmarried, 17 November and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, 22 November 1674; will proved 25 April 1675;
(6) Hon. William Barry (b. 1642), baptised at St Peter, Chester, 9 March 1641/2; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1660) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1662); barrister-at-law; died without issue;
(7) Hon. Thomas Barry; died without issue;
(8) Hon. Mary Barry (d. 1669); died unmarried and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 2 April 1669.
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1648.
He died 9 February and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 14 February 1672/3. His wife's date of death is unknown.
* Burke's Irish Family Records states that he was a knight but I have found no evidence to support this: he does not appear in the lists of knights and the probate of his will described him as 'esquire'.
Barry, Richard (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry. Eldest son of Sir James Barry (1603-73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir William Parsons, 1st bt. of Bellamont (Co. Dublin), Lord Justice of Ireland, born about 1635. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford (matriculated 1651) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1660; called 1666). Barrister-at-law. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Barry of Santry, 9 February 1672/3. He was threatened with attainder by King James II in 1689 for absenting himself from the Irish Parliament, but sat in the Irish House of Lords from 1692. He married, 1660 (licence 11 September, Elizabeth (c.1644-82), daughter of Henry Jenery, a judge of the English Court of King's Bench, and had issue:
(1) Hon. James Barry (b. 1662), born 15 January 1661/2; died young;
(2) Hon. Catherine Barry (1663-1737), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 9 May 1663; married 1st, 1682/3 (settlement 24 February), Lawrence Barry (c.1657-99), 3rd Earl of Barrymore; married 2nd, 1699, Francis Gash, collector of HM Revenue; married 3rd, 8 December 1729, as his second wife, Sir Henry Piers (d. 1733), 3rd bt., of Tristernagh, but had no issue by any of her husbands; she died 8 June and was buried at St Mary, Dublin, 10 June 1737; her will was proved 1744;
(3) Hon. Richard Barry (b. 1664); baptised at St Michan, Dublin 1 October 1664; died young;
(4) Hon. Anne Barry (b. c.1665?); apparently married, 12 February 1679/80 at St Bride, Dublin, John Keating (d. 1717); probably died before 1695, when her husband married her younger sister;
(5) Hon. Jane Barry; died young;
(6) Hon. Rose Barry (b. 1666), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 10 October 1666;
(7) Hon. Mary Barry; died young;
(8) Hon. Elizabeth Barry (d. by 1711), born about 1670; married, 11 July 1695 at St Michan, Dublin, as his second wife, Brig. James Naper alias Napper (c.1662-1719) of Loughcrew (Co. Meath), MP for Athboy 1695-99, Trim 1703-13 and Co. Meath, 1715-18, second son of James Napper, but had no issue; died before 1711;
(9) Hon. William Barry (b. 1672); baptised 27 July 1672; died young;
(10) Hon. Dorothea Barry (b. c.1675), born about 1675; married, 1703 (licence 29 April), as his second wife, Sir John Fielding (1673-1715), Governor of Jamaica, and had issue one daughter;
(11) Hon. Frances Barry; married, 23 November 1695, John Keating (d. 1717), MP for Trim, 1715-17, and had issue at least one son;
(12) Henry Barry (1680-1735), 3rd Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.).
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1672.
He died on or after 25 October 1694 and was buried at Santry; his will was proved in Dublin, 10 November 1694. His wife died 6 February, and was buried at Santry, 17 February 1682.
Barry, Henry (1680-1735), 3rd Baron Barry of Santry. Fourth, but only surviving, son of Richard Barry (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Jenery, born 1680. Said to have been educated at Eton, 1698, though he does not appear in the college lists, and at St. John's College, Oxford (matriculated 1700). He succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Barry of Santry, October 1694, and took his seat in the Irish House of Lords, 21 September 1703, serving on several committees and being appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland in 1714. He was a Whig in politics and a strong supporter of the Hanoverian succession and the Protestant religion. Immediately on coming of age and marrying, he pulled down the old house at Santry and built a replacement; in 1709 he also rebuilt the parish church. He was an officer in the Earl of Wharton's Dragoons (Lt-Col., 1710; disbanded, 1713) and was Governor of Charlemont, 1718, and of Derry city and Culmore Fort, 1719-35. He married, 9 February 1702 (with a dowry of £4,500), Bridget (d. 1750), elder daughter of Sir Thomas Domvile, 1st bt., of Templeogue (Co. Dublin), and had issue:
(1) Henry Barry (1710-51), 4th Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.).
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1694, and built a new house there following his marriage.
He died 27 January and was buried at Santry, 29 January 1734/5; his will was proved in Dublin in 1736. His widow died 21 August, and was buried at Santry, 8 September 1750.
Henry Barry, 4th Lord Santry from a group portrait of the Hellfire Club |
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1734. He forfeited his estates on being convicted of murder in 1739, but they were restored to him in 1741. At his death he bequeathed his estates to his maternal uncle, Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd bt., of Templeogue (Co. Dublin).
He died in Nottingham, 18 March 1750/1, when his peerage became extinct, and was buried at St Nicholas, Nottingham, 22 March 1750/1. His first wife died in March 1742. His widow died 28 December 1816 and was buried at St Mary, Nottingham, 6 January 1817; her will was proved in York, January 1817 (estate under £5,000).
* Although not before a new axe had been purchased for the planned execution: it is reputed to have been acquired and preserved by the Domvile family as an heirloom.
Principal sources
Burke's Dormant and Extinct Peerages, 1883, pp. 25-26; Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 69-71; B.W. Adams, History and description of Santry and Cloghran parishes, County Dublin, 1883; E. Malins & P. Bowe, Irish gardens and demesnes from 1830, 1980, pp. 41-42; N. Garnham, 'The Trials of James Cotter and Henry, Baron Barry of Santry: Two Case Studies in the Administration of Criminal Justice in Early Eighteenth-Century Ireland', Irish Historical Studies, May 1999, pp. 328-342; T. Reeves-Smith, 'The country houses and designed landscapes of Fingal', in S. Flanagan & K. Coghlan, The built heritage of Fingal, 2005; V. Costello, Irish demesne landscapes, 1660-1740, 2015, pp. 28, 132.Location of archives
Barry of Santry Court, Barons Barry of Santry: some records of this family are included among the papers of the Domvile family of Templeogue, baronets [National Library of Ireland, Domvile papers]Coat of arms
Argent, three bars gemelles, gules.Can you help?
- Can anyone provide further early views of Santry Court or photographs of the interior when it was still in private occupation?
- I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
- As always, any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.
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