(623) Biggs of Bellevue and Ashley Park

The origins of this family are unusually obscure. The genealogy below begins with Thomas Biggs (d. 1795), but the name Biggs occurs on a list of settlers in Ireland in 1642-46, and a John Briggs (sic) is said to have had a grant of Castle Biggs, an estate a few miles north of Bellevue at Terryglass (Co. Tipperary), in 1666.

Castle Biggs alias Drominagh House, Terryglass.

A more certain reference to the family is provided by a brief description of the title to Castle Biggs (alias Drominagh House) when it was sold in the Encumbered Estates Court in 1853, where it is stated that William Biggs of Cloughjordan (Co. Tipperary) was granted a lease of the estate, renewable in perpetuity, in 1711, and that it had passed by descent to the then owner, Edward Biggs (1807-76). It is possible to discover that Edward Biggs' father was William Ledger Biggs (b. 1780), and a William Biggs (1709-79) was buried at Terryglass, but any other holders of the property have eluded me. Castle Biggs is a substantial and quite handsome house of c.1770, with a seven bay front and three storeys, given some tension by the crowding of the three central windows. Like Bellevue, it stands close to Lough Derg, and the estate was of a similar size in the 19th century; around 1,000 acres. William Ledger Biggs was evidently related to Thomas Biggs' eldest son, George Washington Biggs (1783-1844) of Bellevue, since they were both parties to a marriage settlement in 1821, but the nature of the relationship is unclear.

Thomas Biggs (d. 1795) may be identifiable with the man of that name who went up to Trinity College, Dublin in 1772, in which case he was probably only in his early forties when he died. He is said by Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland (1912) to have been the son of George Biggs of Santa Cruz (Co. Tipperary) and later of Bellevue. I can find no reference to a house called 'Santa Cruz' in the county (or, indeed, anywhere in Ireland), but a George Biggs was the owner of a plantation called the Great Pond estate on the island of St Croix alias Santa Cruz in the Caribbean, which was then part of the Danish West Indies but is now the largest of the US Virgin Islands. He was mentioned (as George Biggs of St Croix in W[est] I[ndies]) in the will of Thomas Biggs (d. 1795) of Bellevue, written in 1788, and although the abstract by Sir William Betham which is the only record of the will that survives does not specify the relationship, he was perhaps the testator's father or uncle. Benjamin Biggs of Mota (Co. Tipperary), also mentioned in the will, was probably a brother or uncle. George Biggs owned the Great Pond estate from 1762-93, and although the fragmentary surviving parish registers of St Croix show that he had children, their names are lost, so we do not know if one of them was Thomas. A list of persons on the estate in 1787 includes only a white manager and 87 enslaved people, so George may have returned to Ireland by then. The estate changed hands frequently after George Biggs died or sold the estate in the 1790s, and by the early 19th century the property became burdened with a large debt, which in 1818 was owed partly to the Biggs family and partly to the Danish Crown, which took over full ownership of it in 1823.

It is thus not at all clear what the relationship of Thomas Biggs (d. 1795) was to the Biggses of Castle Biggs, but it seems probable that he was closely connected to them. His son, George Washington Biggs (1783-1844), married Anne Dickson in 1807 and they had ten children over a period of about 22 years, several of whom were notably long-lived. This was not true, however, of their eldest son and heir, Thomas Biggs (1814-44), who survived his father by only a few weeks. A newspaper report records rather affectingly how he returned home from market, went to bed in a room he shared with his brother, and was found dead the following morning. Since he was unmarried, Bellevue passed to his brother, Samuel Dickson Biggs (1818-1904), who did not marry until he was over fifty, and then produced four sons and two daughters in short order. His eldest son, George Washington Biggs (1872-1957) inherited Bellevue, while his youngest son, Thomas Bateman Biggs (later Biggs-Atkinson) (1878-1945) married the heiress of James Netterville Atkinson of Ashley Park, Nenagh (Co. Tipperary), and inherited that estate on her death in 1919. He then married again and left his second wife, Bessie Dyson, a life interest in Ashley Park at his own death.

George Washington Biggs (1872-1957) was a career officer in the British army, retiring as a Major. He married the daughter of a senior army surgeon, and they had three sons and one daughter. Although Bellevue survived the early 20th century Troubles, the family suffered in other ways: Bellevue was looted in 1922, and George's sister-in-law suffered a gang rape which left permanent physical and mental effects. He bequeathed Bellevue to his daughter, Zelie Biggs (1902-83), who also inherited Ashley Park on the death of Thomas Bateman Biggs' widow in 1963. She sold Bellevue in 1968 and the contents of Ashley Park in 1981; the house itself was sold shortly after her death by her executors and the sale may have been in train in her lifetime.

Bellevue, Co. Tipperary

A house on this site was described as 'newly built' when it was advertised to let in 1766, but the present building must date from about 1790, and perhaps incorporates the earlier dwelling. It stands in a prominent position close to Bellevue Point on the shores of Lough Derg, with a wide front elevation to take advantage of the views over the lake to the north. 

Bellevue: the north (entrance) front and west side elevation.

The main front, of good quality ashlar stone, is of seven bays and two storeys above a basement, with the central three bays stepped slightly forward, but no pediment. The side elevations are of three bays, although on the east side a single-storey bay window was added in the 19th century. Comparison of the footprint of the house shown on the 6" maps of 1840 and 1901 suggests that there was originally a porch on the south side of the house, where the house faced onto a stable court, but the formal entrance was probably always on the north side, where there is a cut stone doorcase with pilasters approached by steps over the basement area. In the second half of the 19th century the buildings around the stable court were greatly extended. The house has timber sliding sash windows, with stone sills, and a hipped stone roof. The house was ransacked and looted during the Irish Civil War in 1922, but fortunately not burned.

Bellevue: entrance hall.

Bellevue: drawing room

Inside, the main doorcase opens into a pine-panelled entrance hall with a stone chimneypiece. The north-west corner of the house is occupied by the dining room with a delicate neo-classical decorative panel on the ceiling; the north-east corner contains the drawing room, with a Pietro Bossi-style chimneypiece and another delicate ceiling decoration. The house had fallen into a state of severe delapidation by the late 20th century, and was very thoroughly restored for James King between 1997 and 2003.

The house has a derelict single-storey gate lodge to the southeast, with a pitched slate roof, rendered walls with stucco quoins and surrounds to the window and door openings. The main gateway has cast-iron vehicular and pedestrian gates with cut-stone piers and quadrant walls. The grounds extend to some 250 acres and include a harbour on Lough Derg with a boathouse.

Descent: Thomas Biggs (d. 1795); to son, George Washington Biggs (1783-1844); to son, Thomas Biggs (1814-44); to brother, Samuel Dickson Biggs (1817-1904); to son, George Biggs (1872-1957); to daughter, Zelie Doris Grace Biggs (1902-83), who sold 1968 to Mr & Mrs Harold Williams; sold 1997 to James King, who sold 2022.

Ashley Park, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary

An account of this house was given in a previous post on the Atkinson family.

Biggs family of Bellevue and Ashley Park

Biggs, Thomas (d. 1795). Said to have been the son of George Biggs of Santa Cruz (Co. Tipperary) and later of Bellevue, but more probably the son of George Biggs of St Croix (Virgin Islands).  Possibly the man of this name educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1772). JP for Co. Tipperary. He married, 1781 (licence), Elizabeth Biggs, who is said to have been his cousin, and had issue:

(1) George Washington Biggs (1783-1844) (q.v.);

(2) Benjamin Biggs;

(3) Thomas Biggs;

(4) Mary Biggs.

He inherited Bellevue from his father and built the present house c.1790.

He died in 1795 and his will was proved in 1796. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Biggs, George Washington (1783-1844). Eldest son of Thomas Biggs (d. 1795) and his wife Elizabeth, born 1783. He married, about June 1807, Anne (d. 1860), daughter of Samuel Dickson of Ballinguile (Co. Limerick), and had issue:

(1) Maria Biggs (c. 1809-93), born about 1809; married, 1836 (licence), Howard Nethercoat Egan (1803-70) of Sharragh (Co. Tipperary) , who was imprisoned for debt in 1833 and 1841 and whose estates were sold in the Landed Estates Court, 1853, and had issue one daughter; died in Notting Hill, London, 18 August 1893; will proved 22 February 1894 (effects £1,056);

(2) Elizabeth Biggs (b. c.1811), second daughter, born about 1811; probably died young or unmarried;

(3) Catherine Biggs (c.1813-1900), born about 1813; married, 12 July 1847, John Davis Vanston (c.1822-83), solicitor, of Hildon Park (Co. Dublin) and Hacketstown (Co. Carlow), and had issue three sons; died 28 August 1900 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery (Co. Dublin);

(4) Thomas Biggs (1814-44), born August 1814; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated, 1833) inherited Bellevue from his father in March 1844 but died unmarried, 18 June 1844;

(5) Anne Biggs (1816-1914), born August 1816; died unmarried, aged 97, on 5 February 1914; will proved in Dublin (estate £899);

(6) Samuel Dickson Biggs (1818-1904) (q.v.);

(7) Georgina Biggs (c.1821-1918), born about 1821; married, 24 April 1850 at St Mary, Donnybrook (Co. Dublin), Charles Ewer Young (1817-98), son of R.S. Young of Clonsingle House (Co. Tipperary), but had no issue; died aged 97 on 16 September 1918; will proved 26 March 1920;

(8) Stephen Dickson Biggs (c.1824-1910), born about 1824; died unmarried, 8 April 1910; will proved in Dublin, 13 May 1910 (estate £18,065);

(9) Helena Biggs (c.1828-1924), born about 1828; married, 30 April 1862 at St Mary, Donnybrook, John Parker (c.1801-87) of Brookfield (Co. Tipperary), son of Anthony Parker and had issue one son and one daughter; died aged 96 on 25 June 1924; administration of her goods granted 30 January 1925 (estate £3,362);

(10) Rev. George Washington Biggs (c.1829-1908), born about 1829; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1845; BA 1849; MA 1861); ordained priest, 1854; curate of Lorrha (Co. Tipperary), c.1854-58, Dromod (Co. Kerry), c.1858, and Killorglin (Co. Kerry), 1863, but there seems to be no later record of his holding a living and he probably remained unbeneficed; died unmarried, 17 April 1908; will proved in Dublin, 10 June 1908 (estate £18,030).

He inherited Bellevue from his father in 1795. His widow and unmarried children lived latterly at 140 Pembroke Rd, Dublin.

He died 25 March 1844, and was buried at Modreeny (Co. Tipperary). His widow died between 18 and 22 February 1860; administration of her goods with will annexed was granted 27 May 1860 (effects £296).

Biggs, Samuel Dickson (1818-1904). Second son of George Washington Biggs (1783-1844) and his wife Anne, daughter of Samuel Dickson of Ballinguile (Co. Limerick), born September 1818. Farmer and landowner. He married, 2 June 1870 at Monkstown (Co. Dublin), Elizabeth Geraldine Goodwin (1847-1921), step-daughter of William Johnston, and had issue:

(1) Anne Kathleen Biggs (1871-1958), born 8 March 1871; café proprietor in Llandudno (Caernarvons.); died 22 June 1958; will proved 25 September 1958 (estate £10,599);

(2) George Washington Biggs (1872-1957) (q.v.);

(3) Samuel Dickson Biggs (1874-1937), born 16 February and baptised at St Peter, Dublin, 27 February 1874; married, 10 January 1918  Eileen Mary Warburton* (1879-1950), daughter of Surgeon-Lt-Col. Robert Henry Robinson (1843-1916), but had no issue; lived at Dromineer (Co. Tipperary), where their lives were permanently blighted by an incident during the Irish Civil War when his wife was gang-raped by armed men in IRA uniform and he was given a running commentary on her ill-treatment; this had permanent effects on their mental health and after living subsequently at Monkstown (Co. Dublin), they both died in psychiatric hospitals; he died 12 February 1937; will proved 30 April 1937 (estate in England, £9,891) and 2 June 1937 (estate in Ireland, £133);

(4) William Johnston Biggs (1876-1923), born 19 February 1876; emigrated to Rhodesia, 1914; married, 10 November 1914, Violet Elizabeth (1887-1954) (who m2, 8 December 1926 in Salisbury Cathedral, Rhodesia), Francis Swinford Willmot (1891-1932), and had further issue two sons), daughter of William Richard John, and had issue three daughters; died at Bellevue Farm, Concession, Mazoe district, Mashonaland, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), 17 September 1923;

(5) Thomas Bateman Biggs (later Biggs-Atkinson) (1878-1945) (q.v.);

(6) Avereena Maud Biggs (c.1880-1968), born in Dublin, 25 May 1880; emigrated to Southern Africa, 1904, but returned with her husband, 1910; married, 13 June 1904 at Salisbury (Rhodesia), Thomas Hardman Brereton (1866-1952), eldest son of Col. Thomas Sadleir Brereton (1834-1912) of Rathurles (Co. Tipp.), and had issue one son and two daughters; died 30 October 1968; will proved 25 March 1969 (estate in England, £738).

He inherited Bellevue from his elder brother in 1844. In 1876 he owned 1,075 acres in County Tipperary.

He died aged 86 on 2 November 1904; his will was proved 13 January 1905 (estate £9,145). His widow died 9 June 1921; her will was proved 30 August 1921 (estate in England, £1,680).

Biggs, George Washington (1872-1957). Eldest son of Samuel Dickson Biggs (1817-1904) and his wife Elizabeth Goodwin, born 20 March 1872. An officer in the Royal Irish Regiment (2nd Lt., 1891; Lt., 1892; Capt. 1896; Br. Maj.; retired as Maj., 1911 but returned to active service as Capt., 1914). He married, 1 August 1899 at St John, Sandymount (Co. Dublin), Grace Mary (c.1875-1943), daughter of Surgeon-Lt. Col. Robert Henry Robinson (1843-1916), and had issue:

(1) Samuel George Washington Biggs (1900-74), born 26 December 1900; served in Royal Flying Corps in First World War; land steward; married, 9 January 1935 at Holy Trinity, Rathmines (Co. Dublin), Ruby Margaretta, daughter of Robert Henry Jupe of Rathgar, Dublin, but had no issue; died as the result of being attacked by a bull on a neighbour's farm, 11 July 1974;

(2) Zelie Doris Grace Biggs (1902-83), born 26 January 1902; said to have lived partly in South Africa; inherited Bellevue from her father in 1957 and Ashley Park from her uncle's widow in 1963 but sold the former in 1968 and the contents of the latter in 1981; Ashley Park itself was sold after she died unmarried, 31 January 1983; will proved 19 October 1983;

(3) Cecil Raymond Biggs (1905-59), born 30 January 1905; died unmarried of lung cancer in Dublin, 23 November 1959 and was buried at Coolbawn (Co. Tipperary);

(4) Basil Benjamin St Clair Dixon Biggs (1908-40), born 12 April 1908; patient in Portrane Mental Hospital; died unmarried, 16/17 November 1940.

He inherited Bellevue from his father in 1904.

He died 9 June 1957; his will was proved  in February 1958 (estate in Ireland and England, £3,370). His wife died at Monkstown (Co. Dublin), 13 March 1943.

Biggs (later Biggs-Atkinson), Thomas Bateman (1878-1945). Fourth son of Samuel Dickson Biggs (1817-1904) and his wife Elizabeth Goodwin, born 1878. Admitted a solicitor in Dublin, 1900, but it is not clear that he practised as such after his marriage. During the First World War he served as an officer in Royal Irish Rifles (Capt., 1914). After the war, and a brief period of service in India, he settled down to a life of farming and dog- and cattle-breeding at Nenagh; JP for Co. Tipperary. He took the additional name of Atkinson by deed poll in November 1903. He married 1st, 9 September 1903 at Killodiernan (Co. Tipperary), Alice Margery (1882-1919), daughter and co-heir of James Netterville Atkinson (1843-93), and 2nd, 6 December 1923 at West Kirby (Cheshire), Bessie (1874-1963), youngest daughter of Alfred Dyson of Flint (Flints.), but had no issue.

His first wife inherited Ashley Park from her father in 1893 and bequeathed it to him at her death in 1919. He left it to his second wife for life, with remainder to his niece, Zelie Biggs (d. 1983).

He died suddenly, 5 August 1945, and was buried at Kilruane cemetery, Nenagh; his will was proved in Dublin, 28 January 1946 (estate in England and Ireland, £34,839). His first wife died 11 May 1919 and was buried at Kilruane Cemetery; administration of her goods was granted to her husband, 27 January 1920 (effects £522). His widow died 9 January 1963.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, pp. 17-18; L. Bendtsen 'Intern slavehandel på St. Croix 1750-1848',  MA thesis, University of Copenhagen, 2010.

Location of archives

No significant archive is known to survive.

Coat of arms

None recorded.

Can you help?

• Can anyone throw further light on the relationship between Thomas Biggs (d. 1795) and the Biggs family of Castle Biggs, or show that he was indeed the son of George Biggs of St. Croix?
• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 11 January 2026.