(645) Blacker of Carrickblacker and Woodbrook

Blacker of Castleblacker

The Blacker family were established as minor gentry in the West Riding of Yorkshire before Valentine Blacker (1597-1677) went to Ireland in the mid 17th century, probably as a soldier rather than a settler. His two known sons, Ferdinando and George, were also soldiers in the Royalist army in Ireland in the 1640s. In 1660, Valentine bought the manor of Carrowbrack (later known as Carrickblacker) in Co. Armagh, and this was inherited on Valentine's death by his surviving son, Lt-Col. George Blacker (d. c.1690). In the Williamite war of 1688-91, George was part of the Jacobite forces of King James II until he was ordered to go to Londonderry to demand the surrender of the city in 1689, whereupon he changed sides. His three sons, William, Legard and Robert Blacker, were all soldiers. Legard had been killed in 1686, Robert was killed in 1689, and George's wife died at the beginning of 1690. George himself also died in 1690, although whether this was due to the fighting or grief or other causes seems not to be known.  William Blacker (c.1647-1732), the only surviving son, inherited Carrickblacker (and also Ballytroan in Co. Tyrone, from his mother's family) and soon afterwards built a new house on the estate. He married three times and had three sons, all of whom were the ancestors of prominent families. His eldest son, Stewart Blacker (1671-1751) probably lived at Ballytroan or at his wife's property at Brookend (Co. Tyrone) until his father's death, for he was High Sheriff of Co. Tyrone in 1706-07. He and his wife had five sons and one daughter. The daughter married young and was widowed in her 30s; she afterwards lived in Dublin with her brother, the Rev. Henry Blacker, who took orders but seems never to have been a beneficed clergyman, preferring instead to be chaplain to the 18th Light Dragoons.

The heir to Carrickblacker was William Blacker (1709-85), who served as High Sheriff of both Co. Armagh and Co. Tyrone. He married Letitia (d. 1778), the daughter of Henry Cary MP, and together they are said to have had an astonishing 21 children, although a third of them seem to have died in infancy as only thirteen can be traced in the records. Through the 18th century, the family seem slowly to have risen in social status, and William's daughters' marriage partners included a knight, a baronet, and the younger son of an earl. William's eldest son, Stewart Blacker (1740-1826), entered the church and rose to become archdeacon of Dromore and dean of Leighlin. He married the daughter of a prominent MP and baronet. William's second son, another William Blacker (c.1750-1811) was an army officer and married the daughter and heiress of another Archdeacon, from whom he and his wife inherited the Woodbrook estate in Co. Wexford. The Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) had four sons and five daughters, and was succeeded at Carrickblacker by his eldest son, William Blacker (1777-1855), who was probably the most prominent member of the family, as one of the founders of the Orange Order and one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury in Ireland, and also as the author of a number of published poems, songs and essays, and of fascinating 'diaries' - really memoranda books - which remained unpublished until recently. William was married but had no issue, so on his death the Carrickblacker estate passed to his nephew, Stewart Blacker (c.1808-81), a barrister who became deputy Grand Master of the Orange Order, and in that capacity made a triumphal tour of Canada in 1870, where he is said to have been received by large crowds, almost like royalty. Stewart was unmarried, and on his death a life interest in Carrickblacker passed to his widowed sister, the Baroness von Stieglitz, who occupied the house until 1899. It then passed to the Woodbrook branch of the family.

Capt. William Blacker (c.1750-1811), who had inherited Woodbrook in right of his wife Susan (d. 1807), was dispossessed of it during the Irish rebellion of 1798, when it was captured and briefly occupied by the United Irishman, John Henry Colclough, who was later executed at Wexford for his part in the insurrection. Woodbrook apparently suffered extensive damage at this time, and may have stood unoccupied for a decade or more, for there is some evidence that the Blackers were living in England in the 1800s. A radical restoration was begun in the early 19th century, probably after William's son, also William Blacker (1790-1831), had inherited the estate, which may have been in 1807 or 1811. The younger William died relatively young and was survived by his widow for nearly fifty years, outliving their eldest son and heir, William Jacob Blacker (1823-69), who died without issue. The estate passed on his death to his younger brother, the Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913), a clergyman in the Church of England, who gave up his preferments in the diocese of Peterborough in 1877 to return to Ireland and manage the estate. In 1899 he also inherited the Carrickblacker estate in Co. Armagh. His eldest son having died shortly before coming of age, both properties passed on his death to his second son, Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932), who had perhaps been intended for a career in the church until he became the heir apparent. He was never ordained but became a prominent lay member of the Church of Ireland. He remained unmarried and was succeeded at his death by his nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44), a career soldier who made his home in Dorset. He sold Carrickblacker in 1937 but retained Woodbrook for use as an occasional summer retreat. During the Second World War the house was occupied by the Irish Army, and before it was handed back, Col. Blacker had been killed in France, shortly after the Normandy landings. It was in due course returned to his younger brother, Cdr. Robert Stewart Blacker (1909-83), an officer in the Royal Navy. He and his wife, also a naval officer, returned to live at Woodbrook, and were succeeded by their adopted son, William Richard Stewart Blacker (b. 1953), who sold it in 1994, reputedly after incurring severe losses as a Lloyds 'name'.

Carrickblacker, Co. Armagh

A three-storey house, reputedly built in 1692 for William Blacker (d. 1732), on lands acquired by his grandfather, Valentine Blacker (1597-1677). The house was constructed of red brick and had a five bay front with a single bay breaking forward in the centre under a Dutch gable. The whole house was given an over-elaborate decorative trim in the mid 19th century, perhaps for Stewart Blacker (d. 1881), who inherited in 1855. 

Carrickblacker House, Portadown: the entrance front in the late 19th century. Image: National Library of Ireland.

This included a battlemented single-storey addition to the right-hand side elevation, a heavy cornice and balustraded parapet, the architraves of the windows, the rather Mannerist doorcase and the balustrading above it, and the vertically-set oval window in the gable with cobweb glazing. It was probably at this time that the side elevations were also given Dutch gables incorporating chimneystacks. At the rear was an 18th century wing

Carrickblacker House: side and rear elevations.

terminating in a full-height bow, but even here the windows were given similarly ornate architraves to those on the entrance front. Regrettably, nothing seems to be recorded of the interior, but it was probably given a rigorous Victorian makeover at the same time as the exterior. The house was sold in 1937 to the Portadown Golf Club and is said to have functioned as its club house for a number of years before being requisitioned by the Government in 1942. It was sold in 1948 to a Dublin firm which planned to establish a 'garden factory' and demolished it in 1956. It was one of the most architecturally striking houses to be lost in Northern Ireland in the 20th century.

Descent: Anthony Cope of Loughgall sold 1660 to Valentine Blacker (1597-1677); to son, Lt-Col. George Blacker (d. c.1690); to son, William Blacker (c.1647-1732); to son, Stewart Blacker (1671-1751); to son, William Blacker (1709-85); to son, Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826); to son, William Blacker (1777-1855); to nephew, Stewart Blacker (c.1808-81); to sister, Hester Anne (c.1811-99), Baroness von Stieglitz, for life, and then to kinsman, Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913); to son, Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932); to nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44), who sold 1937 to Portadown Golf Club, which sold the house in 1948 to R. Atkinson & Co., who demolished the house in 1956.

Woodbrook, Killann, Co. Wexford

One of several Irish houses called Woodbrook, this building was first erected in the 1770s by Dr. Arthur Jacob (d. 1786), archdeacon of Armagh, who acquired the lands about 1750. He is said to have begun building soon afterwards, but the house was damaged by fire before it was completed, and there was then a hiatus before work resumed in the 1770s. The plantations of the demesne are said to have been established in 1752. Dr. Jacob bequeathed the estate to his daughter Susan and her husband, William Blacker, who married in 1784. During the Irish rebellion of 1798 it was captured and briefly occupied by the rebel John Henry Colclough (c.1769-98), and suffered extensive damage as a result. The house was evidently left unfit for occupation, and when restoration began in about 1810 it almost amounted to a reconstruction, for the datable features are all of the Regency time; the stonework is of high quality and executed in grey Mount Leinster granite. 

Woodbrook, Co. Wexford: the entrance front and service wing.

The house consists of a rectangular three-storey south-facing main block with a lower recessed three-bay two storey service wing to its east, continued by a long range of outhouses. The entrance front has three widely-spaced tripartite windows, graduated in height, and the side elevations have more closely-spaced regular sash windows; those on the left-hand side are grouped rather oddly, 1-2-1. The elevation is dominated by a central Ionic tetrastyle portico, behind which is a tripartite doorcase with glazing either side of the door itself and an elegant fanlight above. The portico supports a balcony accessed through the floor-length central window on the first floor. The front door leads into a groin-vaulted entrance hall; a large drawing room lies on the west side of the house; a dining room on the east; and the staircase hall in the north-east corner.

Woodbrook: the wonderful flying spiral staircase

The staircase is by far the most spectacular feature of the house, for it takes the form of an unsupported spiral, rising from the centre of a two-storey hall to a first-floor landing, from which opens an axial corridor leading to the main bedrooms. Throughout the house, however, there is good preservation of the early 19th century plasterwork and joinery, with very few later alterations, although the loss of the Blacker portraits and other pictures lessens the impact of the main rooms. The present owners live in the house but offer bed-and-breakfast accommodation in three of the principal bedrooms.

Descent: built for Ven. Dr. Arthur Jacob (d. 1786); to daughter Susan (d. 1807), wife of William Blacker (c.1750-1811); to son, William Blacker (1790-1831); to son, William Jacob Blacker (1823-69); to brother, Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913); to son, Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932); to nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44); to brother, Cdr. Robert Stewart Blacker (1909-83); to adopted son, William Richard Stewart Blacker (b. 1953), who sold 1994 to Mr & Mrs Gwynne; sold 1998 to Giles Fitzherbert (b. 1935) and his wife Alexandra; handed on to their son Billy Fitzherbert and his wife Holly. During the Second World War, the house was occupied by the Irish army.

Blacker family of Carrickblacker 

Blacker, Valentine (1597-1677). Said to have been the son of Ralph Blacker (d. 1624) of Durkar (Yorks WR) and Nether Poppleton (Yorks WR), born in 1597. He was an officer in the Royalist army in Ireland. After acquiring the Carrickblacker estate, he was the principal funder of the Church of Ireland church at Seagoe. He married Judith (d. 1664), daughter of Michael Harrison of Ballydargan (Co. Down), and had issue, possibly among others:

(1) Ferdinando Blacker (c.1623-52); an officer in Sir John Savile's troop of horse (Capt-Lt.), who was in service with the Royalist army in Ireland in the 1640s; will proved in the PCC, 25 February 1651/2;

(2) Lt-Col. George Blacker (c.1625-90) (q.v.);

(3) Violetta Blacker (fl. 1677); married Alexander Gill (1608-75), and had issue; living in 1677;

(4) Frances Blacker; married [forename unknown] Peters;

(5) Rose Blacker.

He purchased the manor of Carrowbrack (later known as Carrickblacker) in Co. Armagh from Sir Anthony Cope of Loughgall in 1660.

He died 17 August 1677. His wife died 27 March 1664.

Blacker, Lt-Col. George (c.1625-90). Second son of Valentine Blacker (1597-1677) and his wife Judith, daughter of Michael Harrison of Ballydargan (Co. Down), born about 1625. An officer in the army (Lt-Col.), he served in the Royalist army in the 1640s and was a supporter of King James II until he was ordered to go to Londonderry in 1690 and demand the surrender of the city, whereupon he changed sides. High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1684-85. He married Rose (d. 1690), daughter and heiress of William Latham of Ballytroan (Co. Tyrone), and had issue:

(1) William Blacker (c.1647-1732) (q.v.);

(2) Legard Blacker (d. 1686); died 29 August 1686 and was buried at Shankill;

(3) Robert Blacker (d. 1689); an officer in the army (Capt.); died in the service of William of Orange, 31 August 1689 and was buried at Seagoe (Co. Armagh);

(4) Frances Blacker (fl. 1699); married John Tipping (d. 1689) of Dromore, who was a supporter of William of Orange and was killed in the Williamite war, and had issue four children; living in 1699, when she petitioned the king for relief from the poverty and distress to which her family's support of his cause had brought her.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1677.

He died in about 1690, probably soon after his wife, and was buried at Seagoe. His wife died 4 February 1689/90 and was buried at Seagoe.

Blacker, William (c.1647-1732). Eldest son of Lt-Col. George Blacker (d. c.1690) and his wife Rose, daughter and heiress of William Latham of Ballytroan (Co. Tyrone), born c.1647. He was a staunch supporter of King William III and fought at the Battle of the Boyne, 1690. He married 1st, 1666 (settlement 10 April), Elizabeth (d. 1678), daughter of Col. the Hon. Robert Stewart of Irry and Stewart Hall (Co. Tyrone); 2nd, Hannah Lawrence; and 3rd, by 1713, Theodosia, daughter of Oliver St. John of Tanderagee Castle (Co. Armagh), and had issue:

(1.1) Stewart Blacker (1671-1751) (q.v.);

(1.2) Robert Blacker; ancestor of the Blackers of Drogheda (Co. Louth) and Co. Meath;

(3.1) Samuel Blacker (b. 1714?), of Tanderagee, said to have been born in 1714; married, 29 April 1734, Mary (d. 1771), daughter of Isaiah Corry of Rock Corry (Co. Monaghan), and had issue one son (the Rev. St. John Blacker (b. 1743)).

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father c.1690 and Ballytroan from his mother's family.

He died in 1732. His first wife died 11 January 1678 and was buried at Ballyclog (Co. Tyrone). His second wife's date of death is unknown. His third wife's date of death is unknown.

Blacker, Stewart (1671-1751). Elder son of William Blacker (c.1647-1732) and his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Col. the Hon. Robert Stewart of Irry and Stewart Hall (Co. Tyrone), born 1671. High Sheriff of Co. Tyrone, 1706-07. He married, 1704, Barbara (d. c.1743), daughter of Rev. Henry Young and niece and heiress of William Latham of Brookend (Co. Tyrone), and had issue:

(1) Barbara Blacker (1706-84), born 23 October 1706; married, 1730 (licence 15 July), James Twigg (1685-1742) of Bettystown (Co. Meath) and had issue four sons and four daughters; as a widow lived in Suffolk St., Dublin; died in Dublin, 1784; will was proved in Dublin, 5 October 1784;

(2) Stewart Blacker; eldest son; died in infancy;

(3) William Blacker (1709-85) (q.v.);

(4) Latham Blacker (1711-75), of Applefield (alias Rathesker) (Co. Louth), born 30 September 1711; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1730; BA 1734); married, 1738 (licence 20 November), Martha (c.1718-1802), daughter of Peter Beaver of Drogheda (Co. Louth) and Donnybrook (Co. Dublin), and had issue seven sons and nine daughters; will proved 1775;

(5) Rev. Henry Blacker (1713-93), born 10 July 1713; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1731; BA 1735; MA 1738); he lived in Dublin with his widowed sister and seems never to have been a beneficed clergyman, but was chaplain to 18th regiment of dragoons, 1759-84; married, 28 March 1773 at St Mary Woolnoth, London, Sarah Martin (b. c.1740), and had issue one daughter; will proved 1793;

(6) George Blacker (1718-1801), of Drogheda (Co. Louth) and Hallsmill (Co. Down), born 26 September 1718; married 1st, 1745 (settlement 2 January 1744/5), Mary (d. c.1746), daughter of Joseph Nicholson LLD, and 2nd, 1747 (licence 13 February 1746/7), Alicia, only child of Edward Dowdall of Mountown (Co. Meath), and had issue at least one son; died at Drogheda, about January 1801.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1732.

He died in 1751. His wife died in about 1743, when her will was proved.

Blacker, William (1709-85). Eldest son of Stewart Blacker (1671-1751) and his wife Barbara, daughter of Rev. Henry Young and niece and heiress of William Latham of Brookend (Co. Tyrone), born 12 September 1709. High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1734-35, and of Co. Tyrone, 1749-50. He married, 8 August 1738, Letitia (d. 1778), eldest daughter of Henry Cary (1695-1756), of Dungiven Castle (Co. Derry), MP for Coleraine, and is said to have had issue twenty-one children, including:

(1) Eliza Blacker (1739-1822), born 1739; married, 4 August 1764 in Dublin, Sir William Dunkin (d. 1807), kt., judge of Supreme Court of Bengal (India), eldest son of John Dunkin of Bushfoot (Co. Antrim), and had issue three sons and four daughters; died in London, 16 March, and was buried at St Marylebone (Middx), 22 March 1822;

(2) Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) (q.v.);

(3) Barbara Blacker (1742-1835), born in 1742; married, 22 April 1783 at St James, Bath (Som.), as his second wife, Richard Olphert (d. 1789) of Armagh, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died aged 93 about November 1835;

(4) Martha Blacker (1743-1840), born in 1743; died unmarried aged 97 in London, 6 September, and was buried at St Marylebone, 12 September 1840;

(5) Capt. William Blacker (c.1750-1811) [for whom see below, Blacker of Woodbrook];

(6) Alicia Blacker (1752-1840), born February 1752; married, 30 September 1772, Gen. Sir James Steuart (later Steuart Denham) GCH (1744-1839), 3rd bt., but had no issue; died at Cheltenham (Glos), 28 October 1840;

(7) Jane Blacker (c.1753-1845), born about 1753; married James Fleming (c.1728-1805) of Belleville (Co. Cavan), and had issue two sons and four daughters; died aged 92 and was buried at Holy Trinity, Cheltenham, 9 October 1845;

(8) Henry Blacker (c.1756-1827), born about 1756; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1775; Lt., 1777; Capt., 1786), who served in the American War of Independence (wounded at Battle of Freeman's Farm and taken prisoner at Battle of Saratoga, New York, 1777); inherited Millburn (Co. Derry) from his maternal uncle, Rt. Hon. Edward Cary; died unmarried, 1 September 1827, and was buried at Coleraine; will proved 1827, leaving his estate to his nephew, Rev. Richard Olphert (d. 1849);

(9) Susan Blacker (c.1758-1822), born about 1758; married, December 1789, her cousin, Beaver Blacker (1754-1808) of Drogheda (Co. Louth), and had issue one son and three daughters; will proved 1822; 

(10) Letitia Blacker (1760-1841), born in 1760; married, 1 October 1783, Lt-Gen. the Hon. Edward Stopford (1732-94), second son of James Stopford, 1st Earl of Courtown, and had issue five sons and two daughters; died at Lincoln, 5 February, and was buried at St Marylebone, 12 February 1841;

(11) Lucinda Blacker (1762-1843), born in 1762; died unmarried at her home in Dublin, 6 October 1843;

(12) Mary Blacker (d. 1784); died unmarried and was buried at St James, Bath, 19 July 1784;

(13) Rev. George Blacker (1764-1810), youngest child, born in 1764; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1780; BA 1785); ordained deacon, 1785, and priest, 1786; rector of Banagher and Dungiven (Co. Derry), 1791-1810; vicar of Seagoe (Co. Armagh), 1796-1810; died unmarried, 1 May 1810; will proved 1810.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1751 and Brookend (Co. Tyrone) from his mother's family, but lived latterly at Bath (Som.).

He was buried with his wife at St James, Bath, 16 September 1785. His wife was buried at St James, Bath, 17 July 1778.

Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) 

Blacker, Very Rev. Stewart (1740-1826). Eldest son of William Blacker (1709-85) and his wife Letitia, eldest daughter of Henry Cary MP of Dungiven Castle (Co. Derry), born 1740. Educated at Royal School, Armagh and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1759; BA 1764). Curate of Annahilt, 1768-70; Chaplain to 2nd Regiment of Horse in Ireland, 1770-77; rector of Seagoe (Co. Armagh) and archdeacon of Dromore (Co. Down), 1777-1810; dean of Leighlin (Co. Carlow), 1778-1804; rector of Drumcree (Co. Armagh), 1804-26; vicar of Seagoe, 1810-26. He is recorded as being small of stature, quick in his movements, and active and decisive in public affairs. He married, 19 November 1774 at Magheralin (Co. Down), Elizabeth (d. 1797), daughter of Sir Hugh Hill MP (1728-95), 1st bt., of Brook Hall, and had issue:

(1) William Blacker (1777-1855) (q.v.);

(2) George Blacker (1784-1815) (q.v.); 

(3) Stewart Blacker (1785-1826), an officer in the Royal Navy (Midshipman, 1804; Lt., 1808; Commander, 1812; Capt., 1821); died unmarried at Carrickblacker, 25 April 1826;

(4) Letitia Blacker (c.1790-1831), born about 1790; married George Studdert JP (1783-1854), of Dublin, third son of Thomas Studdert (1748-1825) of Bunratty Castle (Co. Clare), and had issue four sons and two daughters; died in Dublin, 8 April 1831;

(5) Sophia Blacker (c.1791-1829), born about 1791; married 1st, 24 August 1811 at Seagoe, as his second wife, Mathew Forde (1753-1812), of Seaforde (Co. Down) and Coolgreany (Co. Wexford), and 2nd, 24 January 1816 at Lympstone (Devon), as his second wife, William Stewart Hamilton (1775-1836) of Brownhall (Co. Donegal) and Dublin, but had no issue; died at Drumcondra House (Co. Dublin), 27 June 1829;

(6) Eliza Blacker (1792-1834), born 19 February 1792; married 1st, 27 January 1812 at Seagoe, Hugh Lyons-Montgomery (d. 1826) of Belhavel (Co. Leitrim) and Lawrencetown (Co. Down), and had issue three sons and four daughters; married 2nd, at Tours (France), 29 September 1830, Maj. Dominique Maurice Chompré (1789-1866) (who m2, 7 November 1837, Marie Josephine Sophie (1804-64), daughter of Georges Neunreuther), but had no further issue; died at Versailles (France), 23 January 1834;

(7) Louisa Blacker (1793-1815), born 1793; married, 1811, John Rea (1780-1832) of Chatham Lodge, later St Columbs Park (Co. Derry), and had issue two daughters; died in Dublin, 11 May 1815, and was buried at St Ann, Dublin, where she is commemorated by a monument;

(8) Rev. James Stewart Blacker (1795?-1835), born 16 February 1795*; educated at Royal School, Armagh, and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1814; BA 1818; MA 1831); curate of Killyman (Co. Armagh), 1822-26; rector of Keady (Co. Armagh), 1826-35; JP for Co. Armagh; married, 30 November 1824 at Holywood (Co. Down), Eliza (d. 1837), eldest daughter of Conyngham Greg of Ballymenoch (Co. Down), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died suddenly at Keady, 2 August 1835; will proved 1836;

(9) Caroline Blacker (c.1797-1828), born about 1797; died unmarried, 30 April 1828.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1783.

He died 1 December 1826 and was buried at Seagoe; his will was proved in 1827. His wife died, probably following childbirth, 27 February 1797.

* Some sources give the same day and month but the year 1797. Either year is possible as he was said to be 18 at the time of his matriculation at TCD.

Blacker, William (1777-1855). Eldest son of Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh Hill MP, 1st bt., of Brook Hall, born 1 September 1777. As a young man, he was a participant in the Battle of the Diamond in 1795 and was subsequently one of the founders of the Orange Order later that year. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1795; BA 1799; MA 1803). He was briefly an officer in the army (Ensign, 1801) and later in the Armagh Miltia (Maj., 1806; Lt-Col., 1812) and Seagoe Corps of Yeomanry.  JP and DL for Co. Armagh; High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1811-12. He was appointed one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury in Ireland, 1817-29. He was the author of a number of essays, poems and songs, some of which were published pseudonymously (as "Fitz-Stewart"), in the Dublin University Magazine, and of a series of 'diaries' - really memoranda books - which have been printed more recently. He married, November 1810, Anne (d. 1861), eldest daughter of Sir Andrew Ferguson MP, 1st bt. of Londonderry, but had no issue.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his father in 1826. At his death the estate passed to his nephew, Stewart Blacker (1808?-81).

He died 25 November 1855. His widow died 3 January 1861.

Blacker, George (1784-1815). Second son of Very Rev. Stewart Blacker (1740-1826) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh Hill MP, 1st bt., of Brook Hall, born 27 December 1784. An officer in the Bengal army (Cadet, 1799; Ensign, 1800; Lt., 1800; Capt-Lt., 1813; Capt., 1814). He married. 1 December 1806 at Cuttack, now Kataka (India), Anne (c.1788-1870), daughter of Capt. William Sloane of Royal Bengal Artillery, and had issue:

(1) Stewart Blacker (1808?-81) (q.v.);

(2) George Blacker (c.1809-11), born about 1809; died in infancy and was buried at Meerut, Bengal (India), 29 July 1811;

(3) Eliza Hill Blacker (c.1810-62), born about 1810; married, 29 February 1844, Lt. Thomas Eyre Moore Hodder RN (d. 1863), third son of William Henry Moore-Hodder of Hoddersfield (Co. Cork); died 16 May 1862;

(4) Hester Anne Blacker (c.1811-98) (q.v.);

(5) Sophia Mary Blacker (1812-38), born 3 August and baptised at Meerut, 29 September 1812; died unmarried of consumption (tuberculosis), 30 April 1838.

He died at Sarahanpur (India) of wounds received at Battle of Kolunga, 31 August 1815; his will was proved in the PCC, 15 August 1817. His widow died at Carrickblacker, 27 November 1870.

Blacker, Stewart (1808?-81). Only surviving son of George Blacker (1784-1815) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. William Sloane of the Royal Bengal Artillery, born 1 January 1808?*. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1825; BA 1830; MA 1832), Grays Inn (admitted 1831) and Kings Inns (called 1832). Barrister-at-law. A Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, in which capacity he made an official visit to Canada in 1870. JP and DL for Co. Armagh; High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1859-60. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Carrickblacker from his uncle in 1855 and was probably responsible for major alterations to the house. In 1878 he owned 1,466 acres in Co. Armagh. At his death the estate passed to his surviving sister for life, and then to his distant kinsman, the Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) of Woodbrook [for whom see below].

He died 16 December 1881 and was buried at Seagoe (Co. Armagh) with his mother and siblings; his will was proved 3 March 1882 (effects £16,250).

* The admission register for Kings Inns says 1809.

Blacker, Hester Anne (c.1811-98). Second daughter of George Blacker (1784-1815) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. William Sloane of the Royal Bengal Artillery, born about 1811, probably in India. She married, 14 April 1859 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), as his second wife, Frederick Lewis Ludwig (1803-66), Baron von Stieglitz, of The Glen (Co. Armagh), but had no issue.

After she was widowed, she lived Carrickblacker with her brother, who left her a life interest in the property at his death in 1881.

She died 23 January 1898 and was buried at Seagoe (Co. Armagh) with her mother and siblings; her will was proved 20 May 1899 (estate £7,906). Her husband died 14 May 1866 and was buried at Derryloran Old Cemetery, Cookstown (Co. Tyrone); his will was proved 22 June 1866 (effects under £30,000).

Blacker of Woodbrook

Blacker, Capt. William (c.1750-1811). Second son of William Blacker (1709-85) and his wife Letitia, eldest daughter of Henry Cary MP of Dungiven Castle (Co. Derry), born about 1750. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1771; Lt., 1775; Capt., 1782; retired 1784), who served in the War of American Independence. He married, about September 1784 (but licence granted 29 June), Susan (d. 1807), daughter and heiress of the Ven. Dr. Arthur Jacob of Woodbrook (Co. Wexford), archdeacon of Armagh and rector of Killann (Co. Wexford), and had issue:

(1) Letitia Blacker (c.1787-1861), born about 1787; died unmarried at Woodbrook, 29 June 1861; administration of goods granted to her niece Jane Blacker, 19 January 1876 (effects under £800);

(2) William Blacker (1790-1831) (q.v.);

(3) Jane Antemissa [recte Artemisia?] Blacker (c.1791-1848), born about 1791; died unmarried at Cheltenham (Glos) and was buried at Swindon Village (Glos), 28 January 1848; administration of goods granted to her niece Jane Blacker, 19 January 1876 (effects under £1,500);

(4) Hannah Blacker (c.1794-1854), born about 1794; died unmarried at Cheltenham and was buried at Swindon Village, 25 February 1854*; administration of goods granted to her niece Jane Blacker, 19 January 1876 (effects under £1,500);

(5) Edward Blacker (c.1795-1863?), younger son; died unmarried; possibly the man of this name whose will was proved in 1863.

His wife inherited Woodbrook from her father in 1786.

He died 14 January 1811. His wife died at Hereford (Herefs), 8 April 1807.

* Her age at death is given as 80 in the parish register, but this seems to be an error, as other evidence makes the identification of the burial fairly clear.

Blacker, William (1790-1831). Elder son of Capt. William Blacker (c.1750-1811) and his wife Susan, daughter and heiress of Ven. Dr. Arthur Jacob of Woodbrook (Co. Wexford), born 1790. He married, 27 September 1814 at Kill St Nicholas (Co. Waterford), Elizabeth Anne (d. 1877), second daughter of Robert Shapland Carew (1752-1829) of Castleboro (Co. Wexford), and had issue:

(1) twin, Anne Blacker (1820-58), born 19 September 1820; married, 16 November 1848 at St George, Dublin, Sir Robert Joshua Paul (1820-98), 3rd bt., of Paulville (Co. Carlow), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died following childbirth, 22 May 1858;

(2) twin, Susan Blacker (1820-1908), born 20 September 1820; married, 8 January 1840, Very Rev. Anthony La Touche Kirwan (1803-68), dean of Limerick, orator and raconteur, son of Very Rev. Walter Blake Kirwan, dean of Killala, and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and two daughters; died 17 May 1908 and was buried at Kilculliheen (Co. Waterford);

(3) William Jacob Blacker (1823-69) (q.v.);

(4) Ellen Letitia Blacker (c.1824-1908), born about 1824; died unmarried, 10 February 1908; will proved 8 May 1908 (estate £3,569);

(5) Hannah Dorothea (k/a Dora) Blacker (c.1825-1910), born about 1825; married, 1 October 1857 at Killea (Co. Waterford, John Yeoman (1825-77), of Milton (Northants) and Marske Hall (Yorks NR), land agent, son of Henry Walker Yeoman; died 17 February 1910; will proved 5 April 1910 (estate £15,648);

(6) Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) (q.v.);

(7) Jane Mary Blacker (c.1830-1917), born about 1830; died unmarried at Woodbrook, 10 August 1917; will proved in Dublin, 14 September 1917 (estate £946).

He inherited Woodbrook from his parents, either in 1807 or 1811.

He died 23 May 1831; his will was proved in the PCD, 1832 (effects under £4,600). His widow died 19 March 1877; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted 4 September 1885 (estate £1,803).

Blacker, William Jacob (1823-69). Elder son of William Blacker (1790-1831) and his wife Elizabeth Anne, second daughter of Robert Shapland Carew of Castleboro (Co. Wexford), born 1823. Educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1841). JP and DL (from 1844) for Co. Wexford; High Sheriff of Co. Wexford, 1852-53; an officer in the Co. Wexford Militia (Maj., 1845). He married, 26 May 1849 at St Peter, Dublin, Elizabeth (1814-96), fourth daughter of Maj. Hervey Randall Saville Pratt de Montmorency (1782-1859), of Castle Morres (Co. Kilkenny), but had no issue.

He inherited Woodbrook from his father in 1831 and came of age in 1844.

He died at Woodbrook, 27 December 1869. His widow died in Dublin, 6 November 1896.

Blacker, Rev. Robert Shapland Carew (1826-1913), Second son of William Blacker (1790-1831) and his wife Elizabeth Anne, second daughter of Robert Shapland Carew of Castleboro (Co. Wexford), born 29 January 1826. Educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1844; BA 1849; MA 1869). Ordained deacon, 1850, and priest, 1851. Perpetual curate of Longthorpe (Northants), 1855-60; Rector of Marholm (Northants), 1860-77 and hon. Canon of Peterborough Cathedral, 1869-77. JP for Co. Wexford (from 1879) and Co. Armagh. He married, 9 September 1858 at Ballynakill (Co. Waterford), Theodosia Charlotte Sophia (1830-90), daughter of George Meara of May Park (Co. Waterford), and had issue:

(1) William Robert George Blacker (1860-80), born 29 February 1860; educated at Winchester; an officer in the Wexford Militia (2nd Lt., 1879); died unmarried, following an attack of erisypelas, 13 March 1880;

(2) Edward Carew Blacker (1863-1932) (q.v.);

(3) Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William Blacker (1865-1935) (q.v.).

He inherited Woodbrook from his father in 1869, and Carrickblacker from his kinswoman, the Baroness von Steiglitz [for whom see above] in 1899.

He died 15 January 1913; his will was proved 20 February 1913  (estate £28,738). His wife died 29 June 1890; administration of her goods was granted 20 September 1890 (effects £132).

Blacker, Edward Carew (1863-1932). Second son of Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) and his wife Theodosia Charlotte Sophia, daughter of George Meara of May Park (Co. Waterford), born 13 July 1863. Educated at Winchester and Magdalene College, Cambridge (matriculated 1883). JP and DL for Co. Wexford; High Sheriff of Co. Wexford, 1908-09. He was an active participant in Church of Ireland affairs and a regular attender at the church's annual synods. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Woodbrook and Carrickblacker from his father in 1913; at his death his estates passed to his nephew, Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44).

He died on the 'Irish Mail' train while travelling from Dublin to London, 10 September 1932; his will was proved 14 November 1932 (estate in Ireland, £35,759 and in England & Wales, £44,023).

Lt-Col. S.W.W. Blacker (1865-1935) 

Blacker, Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William (1865-1935). Third and youngest son of Rev. Robert Shapland Carew Blacker (1826-1913) and his wife Theodosia Charlotte Sophia, daughter of George Meara of May Park (Co. Waterford), born 4 July and baptised at Marholm (Northants), 20 August 1865. Educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the army (Lt., 1885; Capt., 1895; Maj., 1900; retired 1905; returned to colours, 1914; Lt-Col., 1918), who served on the North-West Frontier of India, 1897 (severely wounded; mentioned in despatches), in the Boer War, and in the First World War (DSO, 1916; awarded Legion d'honneur and Croix de guerre; mentioned in despatches three times). He was a leading opponent of Irish home rule, an early signatory of the Ulster Covenant, 1912, and a founder member of the Armagh regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force, 1912. He married, 6 January 1903 at Hale (Surrey), Eva Mary Lucy St. John (1875-1952), only child of Col. Edward Albert FitzRoy of Hale Place, Farnham (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker (1903-44) (q.v.);

(2) Betty Mary Blacker (1905-83), born 20 December 1905; JP and County Councillor for Somerset; married, 17 July 1929 at Walditch (Dorset), Rear-Adm. George Arthur Thring CB DSO (1903-2001), of Alford House, Castle Cary (Som.), son of Sir Arthur Thring, kt., and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 26 November 1983; will proved 25 June 1984 (estate £147,866);

(3) Joan Lucy Blacker (1908-98), born 28 July 1908; married, 23 October 1967 at Alford (Som.), Dr. Jim C. McMaster of Court Ash, Nether Compton (Dorset), but had no issue; died 29 June 1998;

(4) Cdr. Robert Stewart Blacker (1909-83) (q.v.);

(5) Terence FitzRoy Blacker (1910-32), born 15 October 1910; educated at Winchester; died unmarried when a tree which he and his mother were felling collapsed on him, 6 February, and was buried at Chideock, 10 February 1932.

He lived at Chideock Manor (Dorset). His widow moved to The Hyde, Bridport (Dorset) before 1939 and later to Netherbury Court, Beaminster (Dorset).

He died from a heart attack after bathing in the sea at Seatown, Bridport, 6 September 1935; a funeral was held at Chideock and his cremated remains were interred at Killanne (Co. Wicklow); his will was proved 9 December 1935 (estate £47,192). His widow died 8 July 1952; her will was proved 17 October 1952 (estate £348).

Lt-Col. William Desmond Blacker
(1903-44) 

Blacker, Lt-Col. William Desmond (1903-44). Eldest son of Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William Blacker (1865-1935) and his wife Eva Mary Lucy St. John, only child of Col. Edward Albert FitzRoy of Hale Place, Farnham (Surrey), born 20 September 1903. Educated at Eton and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1924; Lt., 1926; Capt., 1937; Maj., 1939; Lt-Col., 1944?), who fought in the Second World War and was awarded the DSO, 1941. He was unmarried and without issue.

He lived at Chideock Manor and later at East Hill House, Charminster (Dorset). He inherited Woodbrook and Carrickblacker from his uncle in 1932, but sold the latter in 1937. Woodbrook was mostly unoccupied and used only as a summer retreat. It was occupied by the Irish army during the Second World War.

He was killed in action in Normandy (France), 11 July 1944, and buried at St. Manvieu War Cemetery, Cheux, Calvados (France); his will was proved 28 October 1944 (effects in England & Wales, £22,695) and 29 November 1944 (effects in Ireland, £1,432).

Blacker, Cdr. Robert Stewart (1909-83). Second son of Lt-Col. Stewart Ward William Blacker (1865-1935) and his wife Eva Mary Lucy St. John, only child of Col. Edward Albert FitzRoy of Hale Place, Farnham (Surrey), born 21 September 1909. Educated at Winchester and Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. An officer in the Royal Navy (Sub-Lt., 1932; Lt., 1933; Lt-Cdr., 1941; retired as Cdr.), who served in the Second World War. He married, 12 June 1948, Rosemary MBE (1914-2010), who served in the Second World War in the Women's Royal Navy Service (First Officer; appointed MBE, 1947), only daughter of William Ernest Sheepshanks of Arthington Hall (Yorks WR), but had no issue. He and his wife adopted two children:

(A1) William Richard Stewart Blacker (b. 1953), born 12 October 1953;

(A2) Eva Meriel Blacker (b. 1954), born 4 May 1954; nurse and midwife.

He inherited Woodbrook from his elder brother in 1944. At his death the estate passed to his adopted son, who sold it in 1994, reputedly after losses as a Lloyds name; he subsequently moved to the Isle of Man.

He died 17 January 1983; his will was proved 25 July 1983 (estate in England & Wales, £47,093). His widow died aged 96 in Dublin, 17 September 2010.

Principal sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 113-15; D. Rowe & E. Scallan, Houses of Wexford, 2016, no. 1027; J.A.K. Dean, The plight of the big house in northern Ireland, 2020, p. 50.

Location of archives

Blacker of Carrickblacker: deeds, estate and legal papers, 1630-1927 [Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D959, D1252/11]

Coat of arms

Argent, on a mount vert, a warrior in complete armour in the act of advancing towards the right and brandishing in his dexter hand a battle-axe proper, from his shoulder a mantle flowing gules. Also described as Argent, goutte de sang, a Danish warrior armed with a battle-axe in the dexter, and a sword in the sinister hand, all proper.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs 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 26 September 2026.

(237) Atkinson of Crow Hill

Joseph Atkinson (1760-1836) was the fifth son of a linen draper in Co. Armagh, who in 1791 married Sarah Hoope, the heiress of the Crow Hill estate near Loughgall. Joseph became a magistrate for Co. Armagh and as a result played a leading role in the so-called 'Battle of the Diamond' in 1795. He and his wife lived in the old Hoope family house at Crow Hill until 1824, when it was pulled down and a new house was built to the design of an architect called Brownlee or Brownlees. It seems possible that the initiative came from their son and heir, Thomas Atkinson (1793-1842), who was recently married and also lived at Crow Hill, since a house of almost identical design was erected in 1825-30 for a relative of his wife at Glenaul Park (alias Mullyloughan), Eglish (Armagh), presumably by the same architect.

Thomas left two sons: his heir, Joseph Atkinson (1822-1903) and a second son, James Hope Atkinson (1825-65), who first joined the army and then married the daughter of an English merchant in Turkey, before joining the growing Irish diaspora who sought a new life overseas; in his case, in New Zealand. Thomas died at the early age of 49 and Joseph therefore had to take responsibility for the estate as a very young man. He seems to have grown quickly into the role, helping to promote railway building in northern Ireland in the 1840s, and taking on the public offices expected of a landowner at the time. He acted as Foreman of the Co. Armagh Grand Jury for nearly fifty years and when it was replaced by Armagh County Council in 1899 he was unanimously elected Chairman of the new body for its first year.

Joseph and his wife Judith produced four sons and one daughter. The eldest son and heir, Joseph Atkinson (1845-1916) spent four years in the army before marrying and settling down on the estate. His next brother, James Johnston Atkinson (1847-1905) went to Trinity College, Dublin and there was perhaps thought of him joining the church, but this never happened and he lived at home until he died, unmarried, in 1905. The third son, Robert Richard Atkinson (1855-1932) leased the neighbouring estate of Summer Island and farmed there for many years, before retiring to Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 1920s. The youngest boy, the imaginatively named Ynyr Henry Atkinson (1861-1943), emigrated to America in 1882, married an Irish-Canadian girl in Iowa four years later, and ended his days living with his son on a farm near Seattle in Washington (USA).

Joseph Atkinson (1845-1916) worked in harness with his father for many years, both on the estate and in public office, before he came into his inheritance in 1903. By his first wife he had three sons: two born in the 1870s and one in the 1890s; the youngest boy died in the First World War. The second son joined the merchant navy and had a career at sea before marrying the daughter of a local landowner and settling down to a farming life after 1913. After his first wife died in 1897 Joseph married again, and produced a further son - who emigrated to Southern Rhodesia - and a daughter. Joseph's heir was his eldest boy, Joseph Jervis Atkinson (1873-1951) who trained as an electrical engineer, fought with the Yeomanry in the Boer War, and then spent a decade working in India, where he married in 1907; he and his wife had two daughters after they returned to Britain in 1911. He managed the Crow Hill estate until his death in 1951, but by then his two daughters were married and living in England, and his widow sold the house to the father of the present owner and moved to Co. Down. 

Crow Hill, Loughgall, Co. Armagh

Crow Hill: the house of 1824-26.

A large and dignified L-shaped house of two storeys above a semi-basement, built in 1824-26 for Joseph Atkinson. The house has adjoining five and three-bay fronts of white-painted roughcast, with grey painted quoins to the angles and the pedimented one-bay breakfronts. The main entrance is approached by a broad flight of steps and has a wide tripartite doorcase. The original fanlight has sadly disappeared and its replacement is not worthy of the house, but there are photographs of the original design and it could be restored. Otherwise, the windows have their original Georgian sashes, which is nice to see in the land of uncontrolled uPVC. There is a hipped roof with slightly overhanging eaves but no cornice. 

Crow Hill, entrance front, with the original fanlight, from a photograph published in 1909.

Crow Hill: the side elevation from a photograph published in 1909.

According to a family account book 'April 10th 1824 the old house at Crow hill was commenced to be taken down and on May 10 the first stone was laid [of the new house]'. The same note identifies the architect as one 'Brownlee', who is probably to be identified with the H. Brownlees who worked at Ardress House nearby at much the same time; the clerk of works was Christy Nugent. Inside the main rooms are tall, airy and well-proportioned, with high quality mantelpieces, staircase, plasterwork and woodwork. There were originally two gate lodges contemporary with the house, but both have now been demolished.

Descent: Thomas Hoope (d. 1785); to daughter Sarah (d. 1819), later wife of Joseph Atkinson (1760-1836); to son, Capt. Thomas Atkinson (1793-1842); to son, Joseph Atkinson (1822-1903); to son, Joseph Atkinson (1845-1916); to son, Joseph Jervais Atkinson (1873-1951); sold in 1952 after his death to Leslie Greenaway (d. 1987); to son, Desmond Greenaway.

Atkinson family of Crow Hill

Atkinson, Joseph (1760-1836). Fifth son of Robert Atkinson (1726-1806) of Money (Co. Armagh), linen draper, and his wife Mary, daughter of William Delap of Grange (Co. Tyrone), born 23 January 1760. JP for Co. Armagh. "A gentleman remarkable for his personal strength and courage", he was involved in the affray between Protestants and Catholics at The Diamond (Co. Armagh) in the summer of 1795 which led the following year to the foundation of the Orange Order, of which he was a founder member. He married, 1791 (licence 21 June), Sarah (d. 1819), daughter of Thomas Hoope of Crowhill, and had issue, including:
(1) Thomas Atkinson (1793-1842) (q.v.);
(2) Louisa Atkinson (c.1799-1831); died unmarried, 9 March 1831;
(3) Frances Maria Atkinson (c.1802-73); married, 6 February 1837, Rev. Henry Stewart (c.1796-1872) of Moy and had issue two sons; died 30 August 1873.
He acquired Crow Hill through his marriage and rebuilt the house in 1824.
He died 6 May 1836. His wife died 18 January 1819.

Atkinson, Capt. Thomas (1793-1842). Son of Joseph Atkinson (1760-1836) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Thomas Hoope of Crowhill, born 18 February 1793. Captain in the Armagh militia; High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1825. Treasurer of the Orange Order in Co. Armagh, 1835. He married, 13 March 1819 at Knappagh (Armagh), Elizabeth (1798-1873), fourth daughter of James Johnston of Knappagh, and had issue:
(1) Martha Atkinson (1820-31), born 20 November 1820; died young, 19 November 1831;
(2) Joseph Atkinson (1822-1903) (q.v.);
(3) Capt. James Hope Atkinson (1825-65), born 1825; Capt. in 72nd Highlanders; married, 28 April 1856, Elfrida Abbott of Smyrna (Turkey) and reputedly had issue two sons and two daughters; died 3 April 1865 and was buried at Barbadoes St. Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury (New Zealand).
He inherited Crowhill from his father in 1836.
He died 11 December 1842. His widow died 13 March 1873; administration of her goods was granted in Dublin, 24 December 1873 (effects under £2,000).

Atkinson, Joseph (1822-1903). Elder son of Capt. Thomas Atkinson (1793-1842) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Johnston of Knappagh (Armagh), born 5 October 1822. JP (from 1847) and DL for Co. Armagh; High Sheriff of Co. Armagh, 1855; Foreman of the Grand Jury for almost fifty years; first Chairman of Armagh County Council, 1899-1900. As a young man in the 1840s he was involved in the promotion of railways in northern Ireland. He married, 11 April 1844, Judith Charlotte (1821-1906), daughter of Richard Barnsley, and had issue:
(1) Joseph Atkinson (1845-1916) (q.v.);
(2) James Johnston Atkinson (1847-1905), born August 1847; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA); died unmarried, 2 January 1905; will proved 24 February 1905 (estate £3,187);
(3) Annie Johnston Atkinson (1851-1923), born May 1851; married, 11 April 1872 at Lurgan (Armagh), Richard James Harden DL (1846-1918) of Harrybrook (Armagh) and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 31 July 1923;
(4) Robert Richard Atkinson (1855-1932), born 17 August 1855; JP;  leased Summer Island, Loughgall; married 1st, 31 July 1902, Mary Frances Josephine (1867-1928), only daughter of Henry J. Nicholson JP of Crannagael (Armagh) and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, Oct-Dec 1930, Florence Mabel (1889-1938), apparently the daughter of James A. Clift, commercial traveller (although she later claimed her father had been a clergyman and rector of Churchill (Worcs)), and widow of Rev. Ernest John Whittall (1870-1925); died in Tunbridge Wells (Kent), 2 January 1932; will proved 27 February 1932 (estate in England £11,648) and sealed in Belfast, 19 April 1932 (effects in Northern Ireland £99);
(5) Ynyr Henry Atkinson (1861-1943), born 4 April 1861; emigrated to USA, 1882; married, 1886 in Iowa (USA), Rose A. (1863-1929), daughter of Edward McGolderick and had issue one son and one daughter; died in Seattle, Washington (USA), 24 January 1943.
He inherited Crowhill from his father in 1842 and came of age the following year.
He died 10 October 1903; his will was proved at Dublin, 23 December 1903 (estate £14,414). His widow died 4 August 1906; her will was proved 8 January 1907 (estate £922).

Atkinson, Joseph (1845-1916). Eldest son of Joseph Atkinson (1822-1903) and his wife Judith Charlotte, daughter of Richard Barnsley, born 4 July 1845. An officer in the 67th Regiment, 1867-71 (Ensign, 1867; Lt., 1869); JP for Co. Armagh; Secretary to Armagh County Council, 1899-1903. He married 1st, 18 April 1871 at Christ Church, Kensington (Middx), Annie Edith (1851-97), daughter of John Jervis Broadwood of Buchan Hill (Sussex) and 2nd, 2 June 1898, Kathleen Mary (d. 1941), fourth daughter of Henry Blake Mahon of Belleville (Galway), and had issue:
(1.1) Joseph Jervis Atkinson (1873-1951) (q.v.);
(1.2) Walter Hope Johnston Atkinson (b. 1875) of Rush Hall, Limavady (Derry), born 17 March 1875; a seaman in the merchant navy (second mate, 1896; first mate, 1899); married, September 1913 at Christ Church, Limavady, Elizabeth Mary (d. 1964), daughter of B.H. Lane of Rush Hall; 
(1.3) John Broadwood Atkinson (1894-1915), born 1 October 1894; educated at Oundle; an officer in the 5th Battn, Royal Irish Fusiliers (2nd Lt., 1914; Capt., 1915); wounded at Gallipoli and died of enteric fever, 24 December 1915; buried at Chatby War Cemetery, Alexandria (Egypt);
(2.1) Judith Mary Atkinson (1900-69), born 6 February 1900; married, 16 April 1925, Surgeon-Capt. Arthur Campbell Vaughan Green (1889-1969), RN, and had issue two sons; died 6 August 1969; will proved 24 November 1969 (estate £46,971);
(2.2) Bryan St. John Mahon Atkinson (1903-62), born 24 June 1903; farmer and mine owner in Southern Rhodesia; married, 12 January 1939, Eleanor Margaret (1904-84), second daughter of William Henry Gregory Eyre, and had issue one son and two daughters; died in London, 31 August 1962; administration of goods with will annexed granted 15 February 1963 (effects in England, £520).
He inherited Crowhill from his father in 1903.
He died 17 September 1916; his will was proved in Armagh, 8 November 1916 (effects in Ireland, £18,825) and sealed in London, 28 November 1916 (estate in England, £13,675). His first wife died 27 May 1897; administration of her goods was granted in Dublin, 28 June 1898 (effects in Ireland, £661) and sealed in London, 30 August 1898 (effects in England, £397). His widow died 16 April 1941; her will was proved 1 September 1941 (effects in England, £3,565) and sealed in Belfast, 1 September 1946 (effects in Northern Ireland, £407).

Atkinson, Joseph Jervis (1873-1951). Eldest son of Joseph Atkinson (1845-1916) and his first wife, Annie Edith, daughter of John Jervis Broadwood of Buchan Hill (Sussex), born 25 April 1873. Educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School. He served in the South African War as a non-commissioned officer with the Imperial Yeomanry (Paget's Horse), 1899-1901 and worked in India and later in England as an electrical engineer, 1902-12. JP and DL for Co. Armagh. He married 1st, 5 November 1907 at Darjeeling, Bengal (India), Beatrix Pearl (1884-1927), only daughter of Edwin John Webb, and 2nd, 5 December 1928, Gladys Gwendoline (1886-1965), daughter of James Tucker of Whitchurch (Glam.), corn merchant, and widow of William Lewis Watkins Howard (1863-1920), and had issue:
(1.1) Nathalie Joan Atkinson (1911-2003), born 7 October 1911 and baptised at Pyrford (Surrey), 17 February 1912; married, 8 December 1943, Robert Gerald Darby (1914-2002) and had issue one son; died in Brighton, 12 November 2003 aged 92; will proved 2 January 2004;
(1.2) Cicely Edith Atkinson (1918-2016), born in Dublin, 20 February 1918; married, 22 March 1947, Geoffrey Ernest Spence (1921-2012), son of Ernest William Spence of Brighton (Sussex), and had issue one son; died in Brighton, 3 May 2016.
He inherited Crowhill from his father; it was sold in 1952 after his death. His widow lived subsequently at Roshnara, Annalong (Co. Down).
He died 12 May 1951; his will was proved in Belfast, 8 July 1952 (estate in Northern Ireland £7,654) and in London, 26 July 1952 (estate in England, £15,789). His first wife died 3 January 1927; her will was proved in Belfast, 3 May 1927 (effects £246). His widow died at Hayes (Kent), 5 June 1965; her will was proved 22 July 1965 (estate £13,512).

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1958, p. 38-39; C.E.B. Brett, Buildings of County Armagh, 1999, pp. 170-71; K.V. Mulligan, The buildings of Ireland: South Ulster, 2013, pp. 81, 326.

Location of archives

Atkinson family of Crowhill: deeds and estate papers, 1778-1920 [Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D1815]

Coat of arms

None recorded.

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.

• 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.
• Any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated. I am always particularly pleased to hear from members of the family who can supply recent personal information for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 31 October 2016 and was updated 17 and 24 March 2019, 1 and 12 September 2020. I am grateful to M. Greenaway and Muriel Rogers for additional information.

(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) of Westcombe Park, Greenwich (Kent), 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 and updated 26 November 2025.