(457) Batt of Purdysburn House and Rathmullan House

Batt of Purdysburn and Rathmullan 

This family traced its origins back to Samuel Batt (d. c.1702), who is said to have moved from Cornwall to New Ross (Co. Wexford) in about 1650, and to have established himself there as a merchant. He and his son, another Samuel Batt (d. c.1716), also acquired lands in County Wexford including a farm called Ozier Hill, which remained in the family until the 19th century. The younger Samuel's son Thomas (d. 1741) had two recorded sons, of whom the elder, Samuel (d. 1765), inherited Ozier Hill, while the younger, Robert Batt (c.1728-83), entered the army. Samuel's son and heir, Major Thomas Batt (c.1742-79), was an officer in the 18th Foot who went to America with his regiment. In 1773 he seems to have retired from the army and settled in Nova Scotia, but two years later he joined the Royal Fencible American Regiment and led a decisive action at the Battle of Fort Cumberland in 1776. Soon afterwards he had a very public disagreement with the Colonel of the regiment about the terms of an amnesty granted to a group of rebels, and he may have resigned soon afterwards. Family sources say he was killed in a military engagement in 1779, but I have been unable to confirm this. He died in or before 1779, however, for his property at Ozier Hill passed at that time to his uncle, Robert Batt.

Robert Batt (c.1728-83), with whom the genealogy below begins, was also an officer in the 18th Foot, but retired on his marriage in 1765 before his regiment went to America. He applied the proceeds from the sale of his commission to establishing himself as a merchant in Belfast, where he seems to have prospered and raised a family of five sons. The eldest son, Narcissus Batt (c.1766-1840) joined him in the business at an early age and continued it after his father's death in 1783, later taking his younger brother Robert (1773-1811) into partnership. In 1808 he moved into banking, becoming one of the four partners in David Gordon & Co.'s Belfast Bank, which quickly gained a solid reputation, based on the good reputations of its partners. In 1827 the firm (by then sometimes referred to as Batt's Bank) merged with the Belfast Commercial Bank to form the Belfast Banking Company. Narcissus was also active in the broader commercial affairs of Belfast. In 1783 he became the youngest member of the newly-founded Chamber of Commerce, and later he was one of the Harbour Improvement Commissioners, whose work turned the city into a major port and shipbuilding centre. 

The profits of banking and mercantile activity enabled Narcissus to buy firstly, in 1807, a long lease of Donegall House in Donegall Place, Belfast, the former town house of the Marquess of Donegall, and then in 1811 to purchase the Purdysburn estate south of the city, which he remodelled very extensively to the designs of Thomas Hopper in the 1820s. In his declining years he retired from business and lived at Purdysburn, where he died in 1840.

Stranmillis House, as built for Thomas Batt (c.1806-61).

His sons, Robert (1795-1864), who inherited Purdysburn, and Thomas (c.1806-61) were both involved in the banking business. Thomas retired in 1857 when his health began to fail and bought an estate at Stranmillis, where he built a new house to the designs of Sir Charles Lanyon, which was unfinished at the time of his death and which was sold soon afterwards. Robert was succeeded at Purdysburn by his only son, Robert Narcissus Batt (1844-91), who was apparently not involved in the family bank, and became well-known as a racehorse owner. In 1883 he owned just over 12,000 acres in Co. Down. He married and had two daughters, who are said to have declined the opportunity to inherit the house at Purdysburn. He therefore left it to Belfast General Hospital, and it was sold in 1895 to Belfast Corporation, which made the house part of an extensive mental hospital and also built a fever hospital in the grounds. The house survived until 1965 but was then demolished and replaced by undistinguished office blocks.

The youngest son of Robert Batt (1728-73) was Thomas Batt (c.1775-1857), who was apparently a timber merchant in Belfast until c.1829. In 1837 he bought the 6,000 acre Rathmullen estate in Co. Donegal, where there was a moderately-sized new house and splendid views over Lough Swilly. He was succeeded at Rathmullan House (the village is Rathmullen but the house is now called Rathmullan House) by his only son, Robert Batt (1816-97), who enlarged and modernised the house about 1870 to accommodate his large family. In 1883 he owned 4,337 acres in Co. Donegal, but under the impact of the agricultural depression and the cost of long-running litigation this shrank further before his death. His eldest son, Col. Thomas Edmond Batt (1854-1908), inherited what was left but also many debts, and in 1904 he sold off everything except the house and its gardens. Four of his surviving younger brothers emigrated to Australia and a fifth became a commercial clerk in London. When he died in 1908, Col. Batt left the house to his two surviving unmarried sisters and their brother Charles Lyons Batt (1860-1932). They occupied the house until the last of them died in 1938, and in 1944 it was sold to the Holiday Fellowship as a walkers' hostel.

Purdysburn House, Co. Down

The earliest reference to the house is in a document dated 1712, indicating that a residence had been built here by James Willson (1680-1741), a successful merchant who had been building up an estate in the area since at least 1708. His son, Hill Willson (1707-73), embarked upon a major remodelling of house and gardens in the late 1730s, as indicated by a date stone of 1740 in the summerhouse in the walled garden. In 1744, Walter Harris was able to refer to ‘a house and pretty improvements... at Purdysburn'. At the same time as the house was remodelled, new formal gardens were created, which apparently remained unchanged when the first Ordnance Survey map was surveyed in 1834. 

Purdysburn House: the demesne as shown on the Ordnance Survey 1st edn. map of 1834.

After Hill Willson's death, the house and gardens at Purdysburn passed not to his eldest son, who was disinherited, but to his second son, also Hill Willson, who showed little interest in the house and demesne. The contents were sold in 1785 and the property was then let to the Bishop of Down & Connor until 1799. The house then stood empty until it was bought in 1811 by Narcissus Batt (1761-1840), a successful Belfast merchant and banker. A further decade then elapsed before Batt commissioned Thomas Hopper (1776-1856) to remodel and enlarge the old house. He was working at Gosford Castle in County Armagh at the time, but was based in London, and it is doubtful how much personal attention he can have given the job, which lacks the confidence and sophistication of his other commissions, although it is among the very earliest examples of the neo-Tudor style in Ireland. Work was apparently complete by 1825, when Batt was able to move in. 

Purdysburn House: the west and north fronts in about 1900.

The building that resulted from Hopper's alterations was a rather awkward stucco-faced gable-ended double pile house comprising a six bay three-storey block with arrays of transomed and mullioned windows, label mouldings, string coursing, plain parapets and an array of tall decorative chimney stacks. Octagonal turrets with decorative parapets and slender onion-shaped pinnacles flanked the main entrance on the west front, and similar turrets surround a canted bay on the north front. The east front facing the gardens was broken by a two bay two-storey recessed centre with an unusual gothic parapet. Whist working on his new house, Narcissus Batt was also engaged upon both the gardens and demesne. New gates and lodges were added and a neo-Tudor cottages were built in the estate village. In the garden he built a summer house in the form of a sham medieval tower house, and he probably laid out the park planting shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map, including three miniature lakes. 

Purdysburn House: aerial view of the east front and formal garden c.1930. Image: National Museums of Northern Ireland.

The last member of the Batt family to occupy Purdysburn was Robert Narcissus Batt (1844-91), whose two daughters declined the offer of inheriting the property. He therefore bequeathed it to Belfast General Hospital ‘for whatever use they saw fit', and in 1894 it was sold to Belfast Corporation with 295 acres. The corporation established a mental hospital on one side of the demesne and an infectious diseases hospital on the other, and the original house became part of the mental hospital. It was the construction of the fever hospital (later known as Belvoir Park Hospital), in close proximity to the policies of Belvoir House, which induced the 3rd Lord Deramore to abandon Belvoir in 1904 and move to Yorkshire. The gardens at Purdysburn were maintained by, and for the benefit of, the patients of the mental hospital until 1965, when the house was demolished and replaced by dull government office blocks and a prison, although some elements of the gardens, including the Gothick tower, remain. Belvoir Park Hospital remained in use until 2006, but has now also closed.

Descent: built for James Willson (1680-1741); to son, Hill Willson (1707-73); to son, Hill Willson, who leased it to Rt. Rev. William Dickson, Bishop of Down and Connor, c.1785-99; unoccupied until sold 1811 to Narcissus Batt (1761-1840); to son, Robert Batt (1795-1864); to son, Robert Narcissus Batt (1844-91); bequeathed to Belfast General Hospital; sold 1894 to Belfast Corporation.

Rathmullan House, Co. Donegal

The house, originally simply called 'The Lodge' was built about 1820 on a fine site overlooking Lough Swilly for Lt-Col. George or Andrew Knox, the third son of the Rt. Rev. and Hon. William Knox, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. After Thomas Batt junior inherited the house in 1857 he enlarged it considerably and added the three not-quite-evenly spaced canted bays with wide overhanging eaves on the main front. 

Rathmullan House: the entrance front as altered by Thomas Batt, c.1870. Image: Rathmullan House Hotel.

When the house became a hostel after the Second World War, the original bedrooms were knocked together to create suitably spartan dormitories, a change that was happily reversed when the house became an hotel in 1962. However, the constant drive to make the hotel larger and more financially viable has seen it greatly enlarged, although the main rooms of the original building retain a country house feel. A pavilion dining room designed by Liam McCormick was built in 1969, a swimming pool and a new bedroom wing were added in the 1990s, and a further bedroom wing and function room in 2004.

Descent: built for Lt-Col. George Knox (1799-1881); sold c.1837 to Thomas Batt (d. 1857); to son, Thomas Batt (1816-97); to son, Col. Thomas Edmond Batt (1854-1908); to brother, Charles Lyons Batt (b. 1860; fl. 1931) and sisters, Alice Elizabeth (fl. 1912) and Mabel Mackenzie Batt (d. 1914)...sold 1944 to Holiday Fellowship; sold 1961 to Bob and Robin Wheeler, who converted it to an hotel; to Mark and Mary Wheeler.

Batt family of Purdysburn

Batt, Robert (c.1728-83). Younger son of Thomas Batt (d. 1741) of Ozier Hill (Co. Wexford) and his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Devereux, born about 1728. An officer in the 18th Foot (Lt., 1752; Capt., 1756; retired 1765), who sold his commission at the time of his marriage and set up in business as a merchant in Belfast. He married, 1765, Hannah (c.1737-1816), daughter of Samuel Hyde of Belfast, and had issue:

(1) Narcissus Batt (c.1766-1840) (q.v.);

(2) Rev. William Batt (c.1768-1855), born about 1768; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1785; BA 1789); possibly at one time minister at Mallusk, Newtownabbey (Co. Antrim), but retired and for many years lived in Donegall Place, Belfast; married Arminella Turnley (c.1771-1840), and had issue; died 14 June 1855; will proved in Dublin, 1855;

(3) Samuel Hyde Batt (c.1770-1837), born about 1770; cotton spinner and calico printer; married 1st, 7 September 1807 at Lisburn (Co. Antrim), Margaret Mortimer (c.1786-1822), and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 25 June 1823 at Newtownbarry (Co. Wexford), Mary Croker (1786-1871) and had issue a further two sons and one daughter; died 27 January 1837; will proved in Dublin, 1838;

(4) Robert Batt (c.1773-1811), born about 1773; merchant in Belfast in partnership with his eldest brother; died unmarried, 8 May 1811 and was buried at Clifton St. Cemetery, Belfast; 

(5) Thomas Batt (c.1775-1857) [for whom see below, under Batt of Rathmullan].

He settled in Belfast in 1765 but inherited Ozier Hill from his nephew in about 1779. 

He died 26 October 1783 and was buried at Drumbo (Co. Down), where he is commemorated by a monument in the churchyard. His widow died 24 April 1816 and was buried at Clifton St. Cemetery, Belfast.

Batt, Narcissus (c.1766-1840). Eldest son of Robert Batt (c.1728-83) and his wife Hannah, daughter of Samuel Hyde of Belfast, born about 1766. A merchant in partnership with his father and later his brother Robert, and one of the founders of the Belfast Bank (now part of Danske Bank) in 1808. He was the youngest founder member of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce in 1783, and was later a member of the Belfast harbour improvement commission. High Sheriff of Co. Down, 1835. He married, 1793, Margaret (d. 1843), daughter of Thomas Greg, and had issue, possibly among others who died young:

(1) Robert Batt (1795-1864) (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Greg Batt (c.1801-54); died unmarried in Edinburgh, 27 March 1854; her will was proved in Dublin, 1855;

(3) Mary Batt (c.1805-90), born about 1805; married, 16 May 1838 at Ballylesson (Co. Down), Thomas Richard Greg (1805-84) of Ballymenoch House, Holywood (Co. Down), and had issue one son and one daughter; died at Tunbridge Wells (Kent), 8 January 1890; will proved 10 May 1890 (estate £7,920);

(4) Thomas Greg Batt (c.1806-61), born about 1806; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1822; BA 1827); a director of the Belfast Bank (retired about 1858); he bought the Stranmillis House estate in 1857 and commissioned a new house from Sir Charles Lanyon, but did not live to see it completed; he died without issue at Langan Schalbach (Germany), 3 July 1861; will proved 8 August 1861 (effects under £30,000).

He inherited Ozier Hill from his father in 1783. He bought Donegall House in Belfast in 1807 and the Purdysburn estate in 1811. He remodelled Purdysburn House to the designs of Thomas Hopper c.1820-25.

He died 27 January 1840; his will was proved in Dublin in 1840. His widow died 29 September 1843.

Batt, Robert (1795-1864). Elder son of Narcissus Ball (c.1766-1840) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Thomas Greg, born 23 June 1795. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1812; BA 1816). A partner in the Belfast Bank. JP and DL for Co. Down; High Sheriff of Co. Down, 1846. He married 1st, 30 November 1830 at Rothesay (Bute), Jean Bogle (1810-33), daughter of Rev. Daniel Wilkie of Greyfriars, Edinburgh, and 2nd, 18 March 1841 at Leamington Priors (Warks), Charlotte Sarah (1815-57), daughter of Samuel Wood of Upton (Ches.), and had issue:

(2.1) Margaret Violetta Batt (1842-44), born 16 July and baptised at Leamington Priors (Warks), 19 August 1842; died in infancy and was buried at Leamington Spa, 8 May 1844;

(2.2) Robert Narcissus Batt (1844-91) (q.v.);

(2.3) Emily Charlotte Batt (1846-1906), born 24 April 1846; married, 23 November 1876 at Drumbo (Co. Down), Capt. John Lewis Way RN (1840-1904), son of Rev. Charles John Way; died 10 August 1906, was cremated and her ashes were buried at Great Yeldham (Essex); administration of goods granted 27 October 1906 (estate £6,359);

(2.4) Mary Jane Batt (1848-1919), born at Purdysburn, 6 September 1848; died unmarried, 17 December 1919; administration of goods granted at Belfast, 22 March 1920 (estate £192);

(2.5) Margaret Sarah Batt (1849-1932), born at Purdysburn, 12 September 1849; married, 5 September 1878 at Knockbreda (Co. Down), Col. Thomas Thompson Simpson (1836-1916) of Birks Hall, Halifax (Yorks WR), son of John Simpson, but had no issue; died 30 August and was buried at North Ockendon (Essex), 2 September 1932; will proved 14 November 1932 (estate £9,225);

(2.6) Geraldine Elizabeth Batt (1851-1931), born at Purdysburn, 16 April 1851; died unmarried, 9 January and was buried at North Ockendon, 14 January 1931; will proved 23 February 1931 (estate £7,692).

He inherited Osier Hill and Purdysburn from his father in 1840.

He died 27 July 1864; his will was proved in Belfast, 16 August 1864 (effects under £35,000). His first wife died at Madeira (Portugal), 14 June 1833. His second wife died at Pau (France), 15 February 1857.

Batt, Robert Narcissus (1844-91). Only son of Robert Batt (1795-1864) and his wife Charlotte, daughter of Samuel Wood of Upton (Ches.), born 10 November 1844. JP and DL (from 1877) for Co. Down; High Sheriff of Co. Down, 1870. He was a racehorse owner, and keen follower of the Turf. He married, 6 March 1866 at Mansfield (Notts), Marion Emily (d. 1892), eldest daughter of Sir Edward Samuel Walker of Berry Hill, Mansfield, and had issue:

(1) Eveleen May Batt (1867-97), born 1867; married, 19 May 1892 at Manby (Lincs), Capt. Charles Arthur Staniland (1856-1931), fourth son of Meaburn Staniland MP, solicitor, and had issue one son and three daughters; died 30 October 1897;

(2) Nella Lilian Batt (1872-1921), born 8 December 1872; married, 18 December 1894 at St Mary Abbots, Kensington (Middx), Col. Frederick Knight Essell (1864-1951), of Bevere Knoll, Claines (Worcs), son of George Essell of Rochester, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 14 November 1921; will proved 27 January 1922 (estate £5,222).

He inherited Purdysburn from his father in 1864.

He died from the effects of falling downstairs at Purdysburn, 20 November and was buried at Ballylesson, 24 November 1891; his will was proved in Belfast, 11 March 1892 (effects £21,152). His widow died 7 February 1892.

Batt of Rathmullan

Batt, Thomas (c.1775-1857). Youngest son of Robert Batt (c.1728-83) and his wife Hannah, daughter of Samuel Hyde of Belfast, born about 1775. Probably the man of this name who was a timber merchant in Belfast until about 1829, when he sold the business as a going concern. He married 1st, 20 December 1813 at Dromore (Co. Down), Elizabeth (1787-1820), daughter of Robert Waddell of Islandderry, Dromore, and 2nd, 2 July 1827 at Upper Cumber (Co. Londonderry), Sarah (1796-1878), second daughter of Samuel Lyle of The Oaks (Co. Londonderry), and had issue:

(1.1) Thomas Batt (1816-97) (q.v.);

(1.2) Elizabeth Hannah Batt (c.1818-78), born about 1818; amateur watercolourist; married, 6 June 1846 at St Anne, Belfast (Co. Down), Caesar George Otway (1809-67), Assistant Poor Law Commissioner, son of Rev. Caesar Otway; died 24 December 1878.

He purchased Rathmullen House (Co. Donegal) with 6,000 acres in 1837.

He died at Rathmullen, 12 October 1857; his will was proved in Dublin in 1857. His first wife died in 1820. His widow died 27 March 1878.

Batt, Thomas (1816-97). Only son of Thomas Batt (c.1775-1857) and his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Waddell of Islandderry (Co. Down), born 1816. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1834; BA 1838; MA 1841). JP and DL (from 1868) for Co. Donegal; High Sheriff of Co. Donegal, 1844-45. A member of the council of the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, 1847-52. He married, 6 July 1852 at Hollywood (Co. Down), Charlotte (1825-1905), daughter of Ven. Edmund Dalrymple Hesketh Knox, archdeacon of Killaloe, and had issue:

(1) Agnes Charlotte Batt (1853-1938), born in Derry City, 10 June 1853; married, 23 August 1877 at Rathmullen, Lt. Archibald Hamilton Duthie RN (c.1843-83), third son of Rev. Archibald Hamilton Duthie, but had no issue; died 23 November 1938; 

(2) Col. Thomas Edmond Batt (1854-1908) (q.v.);

(3) Alfred Acheson Batt (1856-1916), born 15 May 1856; naval cadet, 1869; emigrated to Croydon, Queensland (Australia); died 12 November 1916 and was buried at South Brisbane Cemetery;

(4) Edmond Hesketh Batt (1857-82?), born 6 December 1857 and baptised at Rathmullen, 17 July 1858; joined civil service, 1875; said to have died unmarried, 1882;

(5) Arthur Robert Batt (1859-91), born 27 April 1859; miner in Queensland (Australia); died there, unmarried, 13 April 1891;

(6) Charles Lyons Batt (1860-1932) (q.v.);

(7) Gerard Otway Batt (1862-1944), born 28 February 1862; commercial clerk in London; married Anne Elizabeth [surname unknown] (b. 1860); died 23 February 1944; administration of goods granted 28 June 1944 (estate £5,447);

(8) Robert Devereux Batt (1863-1924), born 6 November 1863; emigrated to Australia; died unmarried at Croydon, Queensland (Australia), 31 March 1924;

(9) Octavius Batt (1865-1937), born 16 April 1865; emigrated to Australia before 1904; married, 1910, Violet Myra (1890-1949), daughter of William Thomas Robson, but had no issue; died 1 June 1937 at Wodonga, Victoria (Australia);

(10) Alice Elizabeth Batt (1866-1938), born 4 December 1866; co-heir to Rathmullan House on her brother's death in 1908; died unmarried, 2 October 1938; will proved at Dublin, 8 March 1939 (estate £554);

(11) Frederick Shelley Batt (1869-76), born 8 September 1869; died young, 16 January 1876;

(12) Mabel Mackenzie Batt (1871-1914), born 24 November and baptised at Bathwick (Som.), 27 December 1871; co-heir to Ruthmullan House on her brother's death in 1908; died unmarried, 10 September 1914; administration of her goods was granted 6 November 1914 (effects £5,629).

He inherited Rathmullen House from his father in 1857.

He died 19 July 1897. His widow died 31 January 1905.

Batt, Col. Thomas Edmond (1854-1908). Eldest son of Thomas Batt (1816-97) and his wife Charlotte, daughter of Ven. Edmund Hesketh Dalrymple Knox, archdeacon of Killaloe, born 14 October 1854. JP for Donegal. An officer in the Donegal Artillery (Capt., 1876; Maj.  1889; Lt-Col., 1895-1901; Hon. Col., 1897). He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Rathmullen House from his father in 1897, but sold the estate apart from the house and its immediate demesne in 1904.

He died 27 December 1908; administration of his goods was granted to his brother, 25 January 1909 (effects £166).

Batt, Charles Lyons (1860-1932). Fifth son of Thomas Batt (1816-97) and his wife Charlotte, daughter of Ven. Edmund Hesketh Dalrymple Knox, archdeacon of Killaloe, born 24 October 1860. Clerk of Rathmullen Petty Sessions; Secretary of the Killygarvan parochial council for more than 20 years; Treasurer and Secretary of Rathmullen races. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Rathmullen House jointly with his sisters Alice and Mabel on the death of his elder brother in 1908.

He died of a heart attack, 19 January 1932; a reredos in Killygarvan parish church, Rathmullen, was dedicated to his memory in 1936.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, p. 33; T. Reeves-Smyth & P. Smith, 'An Early Eighteenth Century Garden Bosquet at Purdysburn, Co. Down', Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust Occasional Paper, No 5, 2015; https://www.rathmullanhouse.com/history-of-the-house.html. 

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Argent, on a cross between four bats sable three escallops in pale or.

Can you help?

• I am always interested to see additional images of the houses depicted in posts, especially early drawings, watercolours or photographs, if anyone has these. I would be particularly interest to see any view of Purdysburn before it was rebuilt by Hopper; or any view of Rathmullan before the alterations of c.1870.
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above.
• Any additions or corrections to the text above will be gratefully received and incorporated. I am always particularly pleased to hear from descendants of the family who can supply information from their own research for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 16 May 2021.

(236) Atkinson of Cavangarden

The Atkinson family owned an estate in Co. Donegal from 1613, when William Atkinson (c.1580-c.1660) was granted several townlands to the north-east of Ballyshannon. They made their main residence at Creevy, but their house there was burned down in 1690 by supporters of King James II when Thomas Atkinson (c.1624-1702) and his son Thomas (1655-1738) were attainted by the Irish parliament for their support of William of Orange. The majority of their property was restored to the family in 1698, with the notable exception of Creevy, and they built a new house at Cavangarden, which remained the family's seat until the 20th century.

As so often with Irish gentry families, the genealogy of the earlier generations is fairly obscure due to the lack of surviving parish records or estate archives. The descent of the property is, however, fairly clear: it passed from Thomas Atkinson (d. 1738) to his elder son, John Atkinson (1682-1748), and then to John's son, Thomas Atkinson (1713-83). Thomas's son, John Atkinson (1754-1833) seems to have been the first of the family to be a JP, and was probably responsible for building the present house at Cavangarden, even though the date traditionally given for it is a couple of years earlier than the date of his inheritance. 

The next owner was the exceptionally long-lived Thomas John Atkinson (1781-1881), who died just a few months short of his 100th birthday. He was the first of the family to receive a University education, and was also the first to serve office as High Sheriff. Although he was normally resident on his estate, he shared in the opprobrium heaped on absentee landlords because he rack-rented his tenanted farms and was robust in his dealings with tenants who defaulted. He outlived his son and heir and so in 1881 the estate passed to his grandson, Thomas John Atkinson (1845-1921), who was High Sheriff in 1893. Perhaps because his grandfather had made the family so unpopular locally that he was concerned for his personal safety, he chose to live near Dublin, and only visited Co. Donegal occasionally. His son, Thomas John Day Atkinson (1882-1949), who was a barrister, was seriously wounded in the First World War and thereafter undertook legal work for the general staff, including the representation of prisoners at courts martial. After the war he worked for the Irish Charity Commission until 1922, when he was attacked and shot in his home by republican paramilitaries. He then prudently moved to England where he took up a post in London for the rest of his working life. His three spinster sisters lived at Cavangarden until the last of them died in 1966, after which the family sold the estate, ending the family's 350-year association with Co. Donegal.

Cavangarden House, Ballyshannon, Donegal

Cavangarden House

Across the more remote parts of Ireland, a three bay house like this, of two storeys above a basement, could be the centre of a substantial estate and the residence of a country gentleman when in the home counties it would be a modest vicarage or village house. Cavangarden was largely rebuilt about 1781, probably for John Atkinson (1754-1833), and originally had a full-height canted bay in the centre to provide central emphasis; a form that was common in nearby County Fermanagh. The current square porch with its unusual paired oversized primitive order columns and balustraded parapet, which stands in front of the canted bay, would seem to be an early 19th century addition. 

At the rear are two and three-storey return wings and later extensions. The walls are pebble-dashed except for the pilaster strips at the angles, the central canted bay, and the basement, which are smooth rendered. The square-headed window openings have smooth rendered reveals and painted sills. Unfortunately the slate roof has been replaced with artificial slates and there are horrid stained timber replacement windows. The house is set well back from the road in extensive mature grounds and there is a long avenue to the south with a bridge across the Two Mile Water river near the road. The gable end of some farm buildings near the house has been decorated to look like a Gothic chapel.

Descent: Crown granted 1613 to William Atkinson (c.1580-c.1660); to son, Thomas Atkinson (c.1624-1702); to son, Thomas Atkinson (1655-1738); to son, Thomas Atkinson (1713-83); to son, John Atkinson (1754-1833); to son, Thomas John Atkinson (1781-1881); to grandson, Thomas John Atkinson (1845-1921); to son, Thomas John Day Atkinson (1882-1949); to widow Cicely Helen Burrington Atkinson (1898-1981), who sold 1967... to the McCaffrey family.

Atkinson family of Creevy and Cavangarden

Atkinson, Capt. Charles (fl. c.1600). Reputedly the son of Sir Thomas Atkinson, kt., of Yorkshire, born c.1550. He was a Captain in the Army and settled in Ireland c.1575. He married and had issue:
(1) William Atkinson (d. c.1660) (q.v.);
(2) Andrew Atkinson; married Jean, daughter of Ambrose Crean of Sligo and had issue, from whom descended the Atkinsons of Rehins (Co. Mayo).
His date of death is unknown.

Atkinson, William (c.1580-c.1660), of Creevy. Elder son of Capt. Charles Atkinson (fl. c.1600) and his wife, born c.1580. Named as a burgess in the charter creating the borough of Ballyshannon, 1613. He married a Miss O'Cleary and had issue:
(1) Thomas Atkinson (c.1624-1702) (q.v.);
(2) John Atkinson;
(3) Robert Atkinson;
(4) William Atkinson.
He received a grant of land in Kilbarron in 1613 comprising the townlands of Creevy, Tullyhurk, The Cloghan, Ardpatten, Ardgillow, Cavangarden and Laheen.
He died about 1660.

Atkinson, Thomas (c.1624-1702), of Creevy. Eldest son of William Atkinson (d. c.1660) and his wife, born about 1624. Attainted by the Irish Parliament, 1689. He married and had issue:
(1) Thomas Atkinson (1655-1738) (q.v.).
He inherited the Creevy estate from his father in c.1660. In consequence of his attainder he was obliged to leave his estates and his house at Creevy was burnt in 1690; most of the estates except Creevy were restored to him in 1698, and he or his son made a new home at Cavangarden.
He died in 1702.

Atkinson, Thomas (1655-1738), of Cavangarden. Only recorded son of Thomas Atkinson (c.1624-c.1702) and his wife, born 1655. Attainted by the Irish Parliament, 1689 along with his father. He married Eleanor [surname unknown] and had issue:
(1) John Atkinson (1682-1748) (q.v.);
(2) A daughter; married Col. Francis Reynolds (fl. 1753) of The Mullins;
(3) Thomas Atkinson (1698?-1768); married, 1727 in Dublin, Elizabeth Howard and had issue; died 11 May 1768 and was buried at Ballyshannon.
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his father in 1702.
He died in 1738. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Atkinson, John (1682-1748). Elder son of Thomas Atkinson (1655-1738) and his wife, born 1682. He married, 1710/11, Rebecca, daughter of William Wray of Ards (Donegal) and had issue:
(1) Thomas Atkinson (1713-83) (q.v.);
(2) William Atkinson (fl. 1753); mentioned in leases of land at Ardgillon, Ballyshannon, 1748-53;
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his father in 1738.
He died in 1748. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Atkinson, Thomas (1713-83). Elder son of John Atkinson (1682-1748) and his wife Rebecca, daughter of William Wray of Ards (Donegal), born 1713. He married, 16 November 1752, Letitia (d. 1812?), daughter of George Knox of Rathmullen and Moneymore (Donegal), and had issue:
(1) John Atkinson (1754-1833) (q.v.);
(2) Rebecca Atkinson (1755-68); died 17 January 1768 and was buried at Ballyshannon;
(3) George Atkinson; married Anne Greenfield;
(4) James Atkinson; married [forename unknown], daughter of William Wray of Ards;
(5) Andrew Atkinson (1762-1825), born 22 January 1762; an officer of 33rd Foot, c.1780; eloped with and married, 4 July 1780 at Edinburgh, Jean (1764-1836), daughter of Sir Archibald Murray, 7th bt., and had issue three sons and four daughters; emigrated to America, 1785, where he established an indigo plantation that he called Prehen in the Spanish colony of East Florida; when East Florida was invaded by American 'Patriot' soldiers in 1813 he was made a captain in the Spanish army and placed in charge of the defence of the colony's frontier, but was overrun, and his plantation was destroyed and one of his sons killed; he later moved to Philadelphia where he died 8 November 1825 and was buried in the Trinity Churchyard; in 1911 it was proposed to remove his remains to the Washington D.C. Cemetery;
(6) Angel Atkinson (d. 1806); married, c.1783, as his second wife, Rev. Andrew Greenfield (1749-88), rector of Moira (Down) and poet, son of Capt. John Greenfield of Dalkeith (Midlothian), and had issue two daughters; died at Hillsborough (Down), February 1806; her will was proved in 1807.
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his father in 1748.
He died 11 May 1783 and his will was proved the same year. His widow may be Letitia Atkinson who died in Aungier St., Dublin and whose will was proved in 1812.

Atkinson, John (1754-1833). Eldest son of Thomas Atkinson (1713-83) and his wife Letitia, daughter of George Knox of Rathmullen and Moneymore (Donegal), born 1754. JP for Co. Donegal. He married, 20 March 1776 in Dublin, Elizabeth (c.1749-1807), daughter of Andrew Hamilton of Ballymadonnell (Donegal), and had issue:
(1) Thomas John Atkinson (1781-1881) (q.v.);
(2) Mary Atkinson (b. c.1784?); married [forename unknown] Young;
(3) Rebecca Atkinson (b. 1787), born 14 January and baptised at Ballyshannon, 17 February 1787; married Andrew McIntyre (c.1767-1846); buried at Ballyshannon;
(4) Anne Atkinson (b. 1788), born 29 July and baptised at Ballyshannon, September 1788; married, 19 January 1822 at Ballyshannon, Thomas Jones (fl. 1835) of Ardnaree (Mayo) and had issue one son and three daughters;
(5) George Atkinson (1791-1857), born 16 October and baptised at Ballyshannon, 13 November 1791; married his cousin, Charlotte, daughter of Rev. Andrew Greenfield and Angel Atkinson, and widow of William Herdman; died 5 February 1857.
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his father in  1783, and was probably responsible for building a new house there, reputedly a few years earlier, in 1781.
He died, 'after a long and painful illness', 19 May 1833 and was buried at Ballyshannon. His wife died 16 November 1807 and was buried at Ballyshannon.

Atkinson, Thomas John (1781-1881). Elder son of John Atkinson (1754-1833) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Hamilton of Ballymadonnell (Donegal), born May 1781. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1797; BA 1802). JP for Co. Donegal; High Sheriff of Co. Donegal, 1817. He had the reputation of being a tyrannical and exploitative landlord, although he was resident on his estates (except for the years 1834-38, when he lived in Dublin). He married, 1808, Elizabeth (c.1787-1860), daughter of Joseph White of Cheltenham (Glos), and had issue:
(1) Catherine Atkinson (1812-34), born 22 June 1812 and baptised at Ballyshannon; died unmarried at Liverpool, 11 July 1834;
(2) twin, Elizabeth Atkinson (1815-35), born 22 February 1815 and baptised at Ballyshannon; second daughter; married, 30 July 1835 at St Mary, Dublin, George Young of Darien, Georgia (USA); died without issue at 'Nassau, Georgia' (probably Nassau, Florida (USA)), 4 December 1835;
(3) twin, Letitia Atkinson (1815-92), born 22 February 1815; died unmarried, 19 June 1892 and was buried at Ballyshannon, 21 June 1892;
(4) John Atkinson (1816-79) (q.v.);
(5) Thomas Joseph Atkinson (1818-86), baptised at Ballyshannon, 8 October 1818; educated at Kings Inn, Dublin (admitted 1835); solicitor in Ballyshannon in the 1840s; Paymaster of East Kent regiment of militia, 1855-59 and later of 21st Foot, 1859-68 and 27th Foot, 1868-73, with honorary rank of Capt.; retired 1873; married, 7 April 1859 at St Peter, Dublin, Hester Jane (1841-69), daughter of Henry Francis Cullen of Rockwood (Leitrim), and had issue; died at Streatham (Surrey), 7 May 1886; will proved 8 July 1886 (effects in Ireland £6,052) and 24 July 1886 (effects in England £1,661);
(6) Charlotte Anne Atkinson (1820-96), baptised 17 April 1820; youngest daughter, married, 30 June 1853 at Ballyshannon, John Hutchinson Keogh (c.1829-86), son of William Keogh of Rockfield (Co. Dublin); died 22 December 1896 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin;
(7) George Atkinson (b. 1822), baptised at Ballyshannon, 3 September 1822; perhaps the man of this name who married, 1843 at Magheralin (Down), Anne Jordan;
(8) Joseph Atkinson (b. 1824), baptised 4 August 1824; perhaps died young;
(9) Rev. James Atkinson (1829-54), baptised at Ballyshannon, 3 April 1829; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1845; BA 1850); ordained deacon, 1852 and priest, 1853; curate of Camus-juxta-Mourne (Derry), 1853-54; died of bronchitis, 2 March 1854 and was buried at Ballyshannon, 11 March 1854.
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his father in 1833.
He died 25 March 1881, aged 99, and was buried at Ballyshannon, 30 March 1881; his will was proved 21 May 1881 (effects under £1,500). His wife died 23 May and was buried at Ballyshannon, 26 May 1860.

Atkinson, John (1816-79). Eldest son of Thomas John Atkinson (1781-1881) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph White of Cheltenham (Glos), born 14 December 1816. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1834; BA 1838; MA 1841) and Kings Inn, Dublin (admitted 1837; called to bar, 1840). Barrister-at-law. JP for Co. Donegal from 1861. He married, 15 April 1842 at St George, Dublin, Ellen (1823-1900), daughter of Robert Dean Mecredy QC of Carnew House (Down), and had issue:
(1) Thomas John Atkinson (1845-1921) (q.v.);
(2) Elizabeth Charlotte Jane Atkinson (1848-1911), born in Dublin, 14 November 1848; married Thomas James Jamison (1846-97) and had issue three sons and two daughters; emigrated to America, c.1868; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA), 9 October 1911;
(3) John Robert Atkinson (1849-65); died unmarried, October 1865;
(4) Ellen Theodosia Adelaide Atkinson (b. 1853); married, 20 May 1874 at Ballintra, Robert Mecredy (c.1830-87), solicitor, son of Robert Mecredy of Dublin, solicitor, and had issue two sons and two daughters;
(5) George Andrew Atkinson (1854-1927) of Skea Hall, Enniskillen (Fermanagh), born 29 April 1854; solicitor; coroner for North Fermanagh; married 22 March 1880 at Ballyshannon, Anna Marion Elizabeth (b. 1853), only daughter of Henry Berkley Gerahty, barrister-at-law, and had issue five sons and six daughters; died March 1927;
(6) James Law Atkinson (1856-97), born 24 April and baptised at Ballyshannon, 29 June 1856; Doctor of Medicine; married, 16 September 1889 at Ballyshannon, Margaret Rosaline (k/a Madge) (c.1865-98), daughter of W.C. Rogers of Ballyshannon, but had no issue; died 17 March 1897 and was buried at Ballyshannon, 19 March 1897; will proved 14 June 1897 (effects £144);
(7) William White Atkinson (1863-1900), born 11 February and baptised at Ballyshannon, 28 June 1863; died unmarried, 12 November 1900; will proved 9 March 1901 (effects £153);
(8) Andrew Hamilton Atkinson (1865-99), born 23 April and baptised at Ballyshannon, 25 June 1865; seriously assaulted on the public highway in Co. Donegal, for which he sought £1,000 damages, 1893; died unmarried, 11 March 1899 and was buried at Ballyshannon, 14 March 1899; will proved 11 April 1899 (effects £689).
He died in the lifetime of his father, 26 May 1879 and was buried at Ballyshannon; administration of his goods was granted 9 September 1879 (effects under £800). His widow died 12 May 1900 and was buried at Ballyshannon.

Atkinson, Thomas John (1845-1921). Eldest son of John Atkinson (1816-79) and his wife Ellen, daughter of Robert Dean Mecredy QC of Carnew (Down), born 14 February 1845. JP and DL (from 1891) for Co. Donegal; High Sheriff of Co. Donegal, 1893. He married, 20 April 1880 at Rathfarnham (Dublin), Elizabeth (1856-1938), daughter of Arthur Magee Day of Rathgar (Dublin), and had issue:
(1) Thomas John Day Atkinson (1882-1949) (q.v.);
(2) Charlotte Elizabeth Atkinson (1884-1964); lived at Cavangarden; died unmarried, 27 February 1964; President of County Donegal Historical Society, 1955; will proved 10 January 1966 (estate in England, £4,235) and 11 July 1966 (estate in Ireland, £17,684);
(3) Elizabeth Arthurina Atkinson (1886-1967); lived at Cavangarden; died unmarried, 7 November 1967; will proved 2 October 1968 (estate in England £8,441) and 11 November 1968 (estate in Northern Ireland, £251);
(4) Mabel Angel Wray Atkinson (1888-1911), born Jan-Mar 1888; died unmarried, 15 April 1911; administration of her goods granted to her father, 10 June 1911 (effects £45);
(5) Arthurina Josephine Atkinson (1891-1949); lived at Cavangarden; died unmarried, 16 April 1949; administration (with will annexed) of her goods granted to her sisters, 22 November 1949 (effects in England £3,753) and 22 December 1950 (effects in Northern Ireland £1,795).
Before his marriage, he also had an illegitimate daughter by Eliza Robinson of Garvanagh, servant:
(X1) Eliza Ann Atkinson (b. 1874), born 13 September and baptised at Ballyshannon, 30 September 1874.
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his grandfather in 1881, but lived chiefly at Rathmines (Co. Dublin).
He died 5 August 1921 and was buried at Ballyshannon. His wife died 22 June 1938 and was buried in Mullinshea Cemetery; her will was proved 21 June 1939 (estate in Ireland, £1,848) and 1 September 1939 (estate in England, £628).

Atkinson, Thomas John Day (1882-1949). Only recorded son of Thomas John Atkinson (1845-1921) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Magee Day of Rathgar (Dublin), born at Rathgar, 4 March 1882. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA) and Kings Inns (admitted 1902; called to bar, 1904). Barrister-at-law (KC 1924); Secretary to the Irish Charity Commissioners, 1919-21; Registrar of the Railway Rates Tribunal, 1922-40 and engaged to conduct various inquiries on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health in the 1930s; co-author of The law of carriage by railway, 1928. Before the First World War he also acted as a land agent and was a keen amateur cyclist. He was an officer in the Dublin University contingent of the Officers Training Corps (2nd Lt., 1910) and served in the First World War with 5th Battn, Royal Irish Fusiliers (Lt.) and 31st Infantry Brigade (Capt.); he was wounded in action in the Dardenelles, 16 August 1915 and transferred to the general staff. He was awarded the OBE, 1919. In 1922, he and his wife claimed compensation from the Irish Grants Committee for a violent assault by paramilitaries in 1921 in which he was shot in the hand, and from 1923 onwards he lived at Caterham (Surrey) and later at Paignton. JP (from 1905) and DL (from 1921) for Co. Donegal. He married, Jul-Sept 1918, Cicely Helen Burrington Hawkshaw JP (1898-1981), daughter of Cdr. Hugh Burrington Hawkshaw, and had issue:
(1) Angela Cicely Atkinson (1919-38), born Oct-Dec. 1919; died aged 18 and was buried at Caterham, 15 September 1938;
(2) John Hawkshaw Atkinson (1928-31), born Oct-Dec. 1928; died aged 2 and was buried at Caterham, 19 June 1931;
(3) Elizabeth Gillian Hawkshaw Atkinson (1935-2014), born Jan-Mar 1935; married and had issue two children; died 3 November 2014.
He inherited the Cavangarden estate from his father in  1921 but lived at Caterham (Surrey) from 1923. His heirs sold the Cavangarden estate in 1967, after the death of his sisters who lived there.
He died at Paignton (Devon), 11 December 1949; his will was proved 9 March 1950 (estate £9,950). His widow died 10 November 1981.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, p. 18; A. Rowan, The buildings of Ireland: North-West Ulster, 1979, p. 130; M. Moulton, Ireland and the Irish in inter-war England, 2014, p. 212;
https://atkinsonofcavangarden.wordpress.com/atkinson-of-cavan-garden-base-family-tree/;

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

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.

• Can anyone provide additional or more accurate information from deeds or other sources about the earlier generations of the Atkinson family?
• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of members of the family whose names appear in bold above?

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 27 October 2016 and updated 15 December 2016.

(22) Adair of Bellegrove and Glenveagh Castle

Adair of Bellegrove

The Adairs of Rath claimed descent from Col. Sir Robert Adair (1659-1745), knighted by King William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, whose ancestors were the Adairs of Kinhilt (q.v.) in Wigtownshire.  Thomas Adair of Clonterry (Leix) died in 1758, and his grandson John (c1731-1809) was apparently the first to settle at Rath (also known as Rathdaire), near Ballybrittas (Leix).  His son George (b. 1784) built a new house on the estate about 1835, which became known as Bellegrove (occasionally Belgrove).  

George's only son, John George Adair (1823-85), originally intended for the Foreign Office, proved to have too fiery a temperament and to restless a spirit for the diplomatic service, and went to America where he made money in brokerage and land speculation.  In 1857-59 he bought up land in Co. Donegal to form the Glenveagh estate, from which over 200 tenants were ruthlessly cleared in 1861.  Here, between 1867 and 1873 he built Glenveagh Castle in a Scots Baronial style to the design of his cousin, J.T. Trench.  He also added a large winter garden to Bellegrove in 1869, to the design of Sir T.N. Deane.  In 1869 he married a wealthy widow, Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie (1838-1921), and they divided their time between Ireland and America, where they lived first in New York and later in Denver.  

In 1874, during a hunting trip, they met a Texas cattleman, Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), who persuaded them to purchase land for cattle ranching on the open range in the beautiful Palo Duro country southeast of Amarillo, Texas, where the cattle had sufficient water, excellent grass in summer and could winter comfortably in the protection afforded by the canyon walls. Adair and Goodnight entered into a partnership, by which Adair put up the money for building a massive ranch in the canyon, and Goodnight would became the manager of the ranch and supplied the initial herd of cattle. Adair financed two thirds of the cost, and Goodnight borrowed his one-third share at 10 percent interest from Adair. Goodnight would also draw a $2,500 annual salary. It was Goodnight’s suggestion that the ranch be named the “JA Ranch” from the initials of his partner.  Goodnight had a free hand in managing the ranch and rapidly increased the acreage through shrewd land purchases.  As a result the undertaking had made a profit of $510,000 by the end of the first five-year contract. Goodnight continued as manager until 1888, by which time Adair had died and been succeeded by his widow.  She was sole owner of the ranch until her death, and it remained in her family, passing to the descendants of her first marriage.  Her grandson, Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth “Montie” Ritchie (1910–1999), worked at the ranch and was the manager from 1935 until his retirement in 1993.  For the history of the ranch, see here.

Cornelia Adair (1837-1921)

Although Cornelia Adair became a British citizen and continued to divide her time between England, Ireland and the USA in her widowhood, her children and grandchildren were and remained American at heart and the Irish estates did not remain in the family long after she died in 1921.  Bellegrove had anyway been burnt out in 1887 and was not rebuilt; it remains a ruin.  Glenveagh was sold in 1929 to another American, Professor Arthur Kingsley Porter.  After he disappeared in mysterious circumstances from Inishbofin in 1933 (an episode which is now the subject of a book, soon to be made into a film), the castle was sold in 1937 to an Irish-American art collector and connoisseur, Henry Plumer McIlhenny (1910-86).  He sold the estate to the Office of Public Works as a National Park in 1975, and gave the castle and grounds to the Irish government in 1981.

Bellegrove, Rath, Leix

Bellegrove in 2006. The greenery has since been removed from the ruins.

A large Regency house of c.1835, built for George Adair round three sides of an entrance court, which was later filled in as a winter garden by J.G. and Cornelia Adair.  This immense conservatory, designed by Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, had Romanesque arcades supported by pairs of ornate terracotta columns, copied from those in St John Lateran in Rome.  Having been burned in 1887 the house was not restored as the Adairs had moved their principal home to Glenveagh Castle in Donegal.  The winter garden was demolished in 1970, but the ruins of the original building were still standing and free of ivy in 2011.  A gate lodge is known to have been designed by William Farrell, who may have been the architect of the house as well.

Descent: John Adair (c.1731-1809); to son, George Adair (1784-c.1850); to son, John George Adair (1823-85), to widow, Cornelia Wadsworth Adair (formerly Ritchie) (1837-1921); sold by her or her executors... in 1935 the estate was acquired and divided among the tenants by the Irish Land Commission.

Glenveagh Castle, Donegal

Glenveagh Castle

A Victorian Baronial castle of rough-hewn granite at the end of a wooded promontory jutting out into Lough Veagh, surrounded by the bare and desolate hills of a deer-forest.  It was built in 1870-73 by John George Adair of Bellegrove (Leix), whose wife was a rich American heiress, and was designed by his cousin, John Townsend Trench.  Construction was interrupted by a fire in 1872 when the house was approaching completion. The castle consists of a frowning keep with Irish battlements, flanked by a lower round tower and other buildings; the effect being one of feudal strength; the entrance lies through a walled courtyard.  

Glenveagh Castle from above.  © Jen Doyle

In the mid 20th century, Henry McIlhenny of Philadelphia, whose hospitality was legendary, decorated and furnished the interior of the castle with a mixture of Georgian and Victorian style and modern luxury, in a way that contrasted splendidly with the rugged medievalism of the exterior and the wildness of the surroundings.  

Glenveagh Castle: the library in 1973. 

He also made what is now one of the great gardens of the British Isles: there are terraces with busts and statues, a formal pool by the side of the lough, an Italian garden, and a walled garden containing a Gothic orangery designed by M. Philippe Julian, while the hillside above the castle is planted with a wonderful variety of rare and exotic trees and shrubs.

Glenveagh Castle gardens © Chris Gunns.  Licenced under a Creative Commons licence

Descent: John George Adair (1823-85), who built Glenveagh; to widow, Cornelia Wadsworth Adair (formerly Ritchie) (1837-1921); to son, Montgomery Ritchie (d. 1924); sold 1929 to Prof. Arthur Kingsley Porter (1883-?1933); sold to Henry McIlhenny (1910-86), who gave to the Irish government 1981.

The Adair family of Bellegrove and Glenveagh Castle

John Adair (c.1731-1809) of Rath.  Elder son of Archibald Adair and his wife Jane, daughter of Mark Anthony Chateneuf; born c.1731.  He married 26 February 1776, Rebecca, eldest child of George Maquay of Dublin, esquire and had issue:

(1) George Adair (1784-after 1850) (q.v.);

(2) John Adair (1792-1839), dsp; 

(3) Elizabeth Adair; 

(4) Jane Adair, m. F.W. Fortescue of Miltown Grange (Louth) esq.; 

(5) Mary Adair; 

(6) Sarah Adair; 

(7) Charlotte Adair.

He purchased an estate at Rath (Leix) on which Bellegrove was built by his son.

He died 14 July 1809.

George Adair (1784-1873), of Bellegrove.  Elder son of John Adair (c.1731-1809) and his wife Rebecca, daughter of George Maquay of Dublin; born 13 September 1784.  JP and DL for Co. Leix; High Sheriff of Leix in 1822.  In 1850 he created a model farm on the estate which won him prizes for modern agricultural methods but led to the eviction of some tenants.  He married 16 May 1822 Elizabeth (1794-1823), second daughter of the Very Rev. Thomas Trench, Dean of Kildare, and had issue:

(1) John George Adair (1823-85) (q.v.).

He inherited the estate at Rath from his father in 1809 and built Bellegrove House there in 1835.  He probably made over the estate to his son before his death.

He died on 2 August 1873 and was buried on 6 August at Coolbanagher church (Leix).  His wife died 21 March 1823, two weeks after the birth of their son, and is commemorated by a monument at Coolbanagher.

John George (known as Jack) Adair (1823-85), of Bellegrove and later of Glenveagh Castle.  Only child of George Adair (1784-1873) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Very Rev. Thomas Trench; born 3 March 1823.  Educated at Trinity College, Dublin.  High Sheriff of Co. Leix, 1867 and Co. Donegal, 1874.  He set up a brokerage business in the United States in the 1860s and later became a ranch owner and property speculator.  Although he did not inherited Bellegrove until 1873, he was probably in control of the estate for some years before his father's death.  He married, 30 May 1867 at the English episcopal church, Paris (France), Cornelia (1837-1921), daughter of Gen. James Samuel Wadsworth of New York and widow of Col. Montgomery Ritchie, but died without issue.

Bellegrove was apparently made over to him during his father's lifetime and he was listed as owning 9,655 acres in Co. Leix in 1872.  He was probably responsible for adding a winter garden designed by Sir T.N. Deane 1869.  In 1857-59 he purchased land in Co. Donegal to form a new estate at Glenveagh, where he built Glenveagh Castle to the designs of his cousin, J.T. Trench.  At his death his estates passed to his widow and the Irish properties were sold after her death.

He died 4 May 1885 in St. Louis (USA), and is buried in The Lea Church, Killenard, Leix; his will was proved in Dublin, 2 July 1885 (estate in England, £14).  His widow died 22 September 1921.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1863; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1988, pp. 139, 291; E. Malins & P. Bowe, Irish Gardens and Demesnes from 1830, 1980, pp. 56-57; http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/glenveagh-castle.html;

Where are their papers?

Adair family of Bellegrove and Glenveagh Castle: no significant archive is known.

Revision & Acknowledgements

This post was first published on 31 March 2013 and was revised 3 April 2015 and 17 February 2017. I am grateful for additional information supplied by Raymond Blair.