(644) Blackburne of Tankardstown House and Rathfarnham Castle

According to Edward Blackburne's memoir of his father, the Blackburnes were established as gentleman farmers or minor gentry in Co. Meath for several generations in the 18th century until in the 1790s the unsettled state of the Irish countryside and the risk of violent insurrection forced Richard Blackburne (c.1745-98), with whom the genealogy below begins, to abandon his house at Great Footstown and move into Dublin for greater security. It was thus at Dublin that his only surviving son, Francis Blackburne (1782-1867), grew up and completed his education. After studying at Trinity College, Dublin and Kings Inns he went to Lincoln's Inn in London and was called to the Irish bar in 1805. He then entered upon a brilliantly successful legal career which culminated in his serving for two brief periods as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In the 1860s he was offered, but declined, a baronetcy. With the wealth generated by his legal offices, he purchased first, around 1815, the modest Tankardstown estate in County Meath, where he was probably responsible for rebuilding the house, and later, in 1847, Rathfarnham Castle. His main homes, however, were probably always his town houses in Dublin and the suburban villas he owned successively before buying the castle. He was married for fifty-eight years to Jane Martley (d. 1872), and together they had fourteen children, although only five of them survived their long-lived father. These included William Martley Blackburne (1821-68), who inherited Tankardstown, and  Edward Blackburne QC (1823-1902), who inherited Rathfarnham. William, who survived his father by only a few months, bequeathed Tankardstown to his own elder son, Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921), who was educated in England and married the daughter of a Scottish gentry family but settled at Tankardstown, where he was High Sheriff of Co. Meath in 1898-99. He and his wife had one son and three daughters (one of whom died young). The son, William John Anstruther Blackburne (1904-42), was generally known as Jack. He studied agriculture at Cambridge, where the start of his studies seems to have been delayed by his father's death and perhaps also by the Irish civil war, and his obituary commented on his use of modern farming and horticultural methods. He died of cancer in his 30s, and since he was unmarried the Tankardstown estate passed to his two sisters, Elena Townshend (1898-1996) and Amabel Blackburne (1910-96). Elena and her husband Charles Townshend seem to have farmed the estate until 1966, when he died, after which the two sisters carried on until the 1970s when they sold Tankardstown and retired to a smaller house on the estate.

Edward Blackburne (1823-1902), who inherited Rathfarnham Castle from his father, the Lord Chancellor, pursued a legal career like his father and was made a QC in 1868, although he never achieved judicial office. He married the daughter of a Dublin physician, and they produced one son and one daughter. The son was Francis Blackburne (b. 1859), but though he was the heir apparent to Rathfarnham, he seems either to have fallen out with his father or to have had no interest in occupying the position of privilege in society to which he had been born. He was remarkably difficult to trace in contemporary records, but he went first to London, where he was married in 1881 to a woman called Minnie Mulholland, who has proved even more elusive. They then emigrated to the United States, where they had a son in San Francisco in 1883 and a daughter in Springfield, Ohio in 1887 before moving on to Toronto (Canada). At a young age their son, Edward Blackburne (1883-1948), was returned to Ireland, where he was apparently brought up by his grandfather and educated as a gentleman, no doubt with a view to his being the heir to Rathfarnham. The elder Edward died in 1902 and left his widow a life interest in Rathfarnham, which expired on her death in 1911. By then the younger Edward had taken holy orders and was a curate in the east end of London, where his sister kept house for him. Within months of coming into his Irish inheritance he had married, sold the Rathfarnham estate and been instituted as rector of Bolnhurst, a small and remote village in the claylands of north Bedfordshire. He remained there until 1919, but then resigned the living and moved to Sussex. Although he was a licensed preacher in the diocese of Chichester in the 1920s and 1930s he seems never to have held another benefice. He and his wife had three daughters but no sons, and he died in very modest circumstances at Totnes in south Devon in 1948.

Tankardstown House, Co. Meath

The house began as a rectangular house of two storeys, with a three bay front and slightly shorter three-bay sides, built of limestone rubble. It was constructed about 1815, and therefore probably for Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) who bought the heavily mortgaged estate around that time, rather than for the previous owner, Brabazon Morris, although this cannot be certain. The use of rubble stone rather than ashlar gives the house a curiously rustic look, and it seems likely that the exterior was originally stuccoed to give a smoother, more neo-classical impression. The house has a very wide central hall and two staircases at the rear, and the principal reception rooms to either side.

Tankardstown House: the entrance front and side elevation of the original block.

Tankardstown House: the side elevation showing the late 19th century addition and the new entrance then built.

In 1883-86, Francis William Blackburne enlarged the house to the rear to the designs of Sir Thomas Drew. The extension, which consists of an additional block built onto the back of the earlier house and a long wing projecting to its east, included a new front entrance and a large Jacobethan staircase hall. Alterations were made to the layout of the house, so that the original front door became a window, and the Regency interiors were changed by the introduction of coarser and more elaborate classical details. It is said that the original intention was to build a larger extension, but that the plans were simplified during the build. A pair of metalwork gates on the avenue approach are stamped 'Paris 1890'. 

Descent: Brabazon Morris; sold c.1815 to Francis Blackburne (1782-1867); to son, William Martley Blackburne (1821-68); to son, Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921); to son, Jack Blackburne (1904-42); to sisters, Elena Frances (1898-1996), wife of Charles Maurice Waddington Loftus Townshend (1899-1966), and Amabel Blackburne (1910-96), who sold 1970s... sold 2002 to Brian and Patricia Conroy, who since 2008 have operated it as a wedding and events venue.

Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin

An important Elizabethan house in a strategic position close to the bridge by which the main road south from Dublin to the Wicklow mountains crosses the River Dodder. There was a medieval castle here, an outbuilding of which survived and was incorporated into the ground floor of a 20th century residential block, now known as Cromwell's Court. Rathfarnham's significance lies in the fact that it was designed not as a tower house, but as a semi-fortified mansion, demonstrating new (and ill-founded) optimism about the stability of the Elizabethan settlement in Ireland and the security of the countryside. While defencibility was still a significant consideration, for the first time in Ireland, equal or greater weight was given to making the house a pleasant and comfortable place of residence. 

Rathfarnham Castle: a late 19th century view of the house from the south-east.

Rathfarnham was built in 1582-85 for the Most Rev. Adam Loftus (c.1533-1605), a Yorkshireman who became archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1581-1605.

Rathfarnham Castle: ground floor plan, as altered in the 18th century.

The house takes the form of a rectangular double pile central block with a tower at each corner, a form familiar in England in houses such as Mount Edgcumbe (Cornwall); but whereas at Mount Edgcumbe the towers are square, at Rathfarnham they are bastion-shaped, and the towers are battered at the base and offset at each storey, allowing greater visibility for defenders of any attacking force. Later alterations to the fenestration and interiors make it difficult to know what Adam Loftus's Rathfarnham would have been like to live in, but the floor levels and materials tell us quite a lot. The basement is vaulted throughout, and the main entrance (now an 18th century doorway but thought to be in the original position) is to the ground floor above, and is approached by an external stair. This floor was 12 feet high internally, but the first floor was much taller, so we can assume that this was where the principal 16th century rooms were; the top floor is treated as an attic and no doubt housed servants' accommodation. The spine wall down the centre of the main block is a massive structure, some twelve feet thick.

The castle changed hands several times during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641-53), but seems to have remained habitable throughout. In the 1690s it passed by marriage from the Loftus family to the Whartons, and in 1723 was sold by the 1st Duke of Wharton (who had incurred massive losses in the South Sea Bubble) to William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish Parliament and the builder of Castletown House (Co. Kildare). Conolly spent £62,000 on his purchase but seems to have been more interested in the land than the house, of which he granted a long lease to Edward Worth (1672-1741). Worth was said in 1733 to be 'prodigious fond of the place and is continually improving it", although his activities are surely too early for the rich Rococo ceilings in the house. After Worth died, the lease was sold in 1742 to Archbishop John Hoadly, who was translated from Dublin to Armagh in the year he acquired Rathfarnham. In the four years he owned the house, his obituarist recorded him making 'repairs' to Rathfarnham, but could he have accomplished the extensive works that seem to form the first phase of internal remodelling in such a short period? Hoadly died in 1746 and the lease passed to his son-in-law, Bellingham Boyle MP (1709-71), an MP who suffered repeatedly from financial troubles. Nonetheless, he seems the most likely person to have commissioned the first phase of internal remodelling of the house. 

Rathfarnham Castle: Rococo ceiling of the library (later drawing room) behind the bow on the east front.

This produced a series of rich Rococo plasterwork ceilings with contrastingly plain classical doorcases and window frames. His work may also have involved taking the kitchens out of the basement and relocating them in a new wing to the south-west, building a new staircase in the north-west tower, and the construction of the bowed projection on the east front, which disturbs the symmetry of the house but provdes a particularly handsome bow-ended library on the ground floor. Other surviving Rococo ceilings from this phase of work include that of the passage through the central spine wall from the entrance hall to the long gallery, and a room on the first floor of the south front.

Rathfarnham Castle: ceiling attributed to Athenian Stuart in the first-floor Breakfast Room.

Rathfarnham Castle: the saloon/gallery in the late 19th century.

In 1763, Boyle sold his lease to Sir Lawrence Dundas, and it seems likely that he continued the remodelling of the house, turning to James 'Athenian' Stuart as his architect. In 1769, Lady Shelburne mentioned that some of the interiors were being decorated after designs by Mr. Stuart, and on stylistic grounds these have been identified as the ground-floor Gallery (formerly with inset paintings by Angelica Kauffman) and the Breakfast Room and Gilt Room on the first floor of the south front. The date of Lady Shelburne's comment implies that the work was still in progress when the lease of Rathfarnham was sold in 1767 to Nicholas Home-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely, who was a descendant of the original builder, Archbishop Loftus. He died at the age of 31 two years later, and the house passed to his uncle, Henry Loftus (1709-83), 7th Viscount and later 1st Earl of Ely of a new creation. Henry seems at once to have put in hand further alterations to the house, on which he consulted Sir William Chambers, but the main interiors seem to have pre-dated his involvement and his hand is only identifiable in the picture gallery and some more minor spaces. 

Rathfarnham Castle: picture gallery, decorated by Sir William Chambers. Image: David Davison

Rathfarnham Castle: the architect of the entrance hall is unknown, but is unlikely to be Chambers, who was well known for opposing the use of baseless Doric columns, and who is unlikely to have designed such a top-heavy doorcase!

Rathfarnham Castle: the house from the south-east, drawn by Gabriel Beringer in 1774.

Rathfarnham Castle: view of the park in 1794 by George Holmes
[Glin Castle Collection]

Rathfarnham Castle: entrance front and park in 1794
from a view by George Holmes. [Glin Castle Collection]

The woodland of the demesne was praised in a letter of 1699 and the grounds had evidently been laid out - presumably for Edward Worth - by 1734, when Lady Anne Conolly described Rathfarnham as having the best garden she had seen in Ireland, with a 'pritty garden' and 'a vastly well-wooded park with a racing water going thro' it, besides a great many fine fishponds' and the largest carp she had ever seen. By 1774, when the house was depicted by Beringer, the surroundings had been landscaped in the Brownian manner, and over the next quarter of a century the grounds were ornamented by Lord Ely and his nephew, later the 1st Marquess of Ely, with a temple consisting of a circular tower surrounded by a Doric colonnade (demolished in 1979), a rather plain Gothick gate of 1790 at the village entrance to the park (demolished in the 20th century), a greenhouse, aviary and serpentine streams. The one surviving structure is a fine triumphal arch entrance gate to the demesne, now known as Ely's Arch. This has been plausibly attributed by Dean to Francis Johnston and dated to c.1802, but there is said to be map evidence for its existence by 1779; perhaps there was an earlier structure on the same site. 

Rathfarnham Castle: the Ely Gate, attributed to Francis Johnston and said to have been built c.1802.

In the early 19th century the Loftus family moved to Loftus Hall (Co. Wicklow) and Rathfarnham was leased to a dairy farmer and fell into disrepair. By 1837 it was threatened with demolition, and there were plans to divide the demesne into small plots for the building of suburban villas. This was averted when the estate was purchased by Francis Blackburne, who like Adam Loftus was Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He and his son occupied the house, but in 1912 the estate was sold to a firm of property developers who divided the estate up, selling the eastern part for development as a golf course, developing the north-west section for housing, and selling the castle and south-west part of the grounds to the Society of Jesus, which also bought some of the house contents at auction. In 1913, the Jesuits carried out some additions and alterations, including creating a chapel within the house, to the designs of Charles B. Powell, but seem to have made few other significant alterations to the fabric in the seventy years they occupied the house. In 1986 they sold the estate to another development company, and the house was once again threatened with demolition. A vociferous public campaign led to the purchase of the house and its immediate environs by the Irish Government, which declared it to be a National Monument and vested it in the Office of Public Works, which has undertaken a major restoration work on the building, although there is still more to be done.

Descent: built for Most Rev. Adam Loftus (c.1533-1605); to son, Sir Dudley Loftus (1561-1616), kt.; to son, Sir Adam Loftus (d. c.1659), kt.; to younger son, Dr Dudley Loftus (1619-95); to great-niece, Lucy, wife of Thomas Wharton (1648-1715), 1st Marquess of Wharton; to son, Philip Wharton (1698-1731), 1st Duke of Wharton, who sold 1723 to William Conolly (1662-1729). After the granting of a long lease to Edward Worth (1672-1741) the only interest of subsequent landlords was in a small ground rent, and it was the leaseholders who were the active owners. The lease passed from Edward Worth to the Most Rev. John Hoadly (1678-1746), archbishop of Dublin and later of Armagh, and then to his son-in-law, Bellingham Boyle (1709-71); sold 1767 to Nicholas Home-Loftus (1738-69), 2nd Earl of Ely; to uncle, Hon. Henry Loftus (1709-83), 7th Viscount and later 1st Earl of Ely; to nephew, Charles Tottenham (later Loftus) (1738-1806), 1st Marquess of Ely; to son, John Loftus (1770-1845), 2nd Marquess of Ely, who sub-let the house from 1812; sold 1847 to Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867); to son, Edward Blackburne (1823-1902); to widow (d. 1911) for life and then to grandson, Rev. Edward Blackburne (1883-1948), who sold 1912 to Bailey & Gibson; sold 1913 to Society of Jesus; sold 1985 to Delaware Properties; sold 1987 to Irish Government and declared a National Monument. 

Blackburne family of Rathfarnham Castle and Tankardstown House

Blackburne, Richard (c.1745-98). Eldest son of George Blackburne (d. 1769) and his wife Mary, born about 1745. Farmer and landowner. He married, 1774 (licence 10 June), Elizabeth (d. 1826), daughter of Francis Hopkins of Darvistown (Co. Meath), and had issue:

(1) Jane Blackburne (c.1775-1860), born about 1775; married, 1803 (licence 30 March), William Webb (c.1771-1845), deputy Commissary General and author of a travel book about a journey down the River Rhine and a stay in Switzerland and Italy (1827); died 25 April 1860;

(2) Elizabeth Blackburne (c.1777-1863), born about 1777; died unmarried 29 August 1863 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery;

(3) George Blackburne; died in infancy;

(4) Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) (q.v.);

(5) Anna Maria Blackburne (c.1792-1865), born about 1792; died unmarried, 10 September 1865 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery; administration of goods granted 14 October 1865 (effects under £450).

He lived at Great Footstown (Co. Meath) until the 1790s, when he was forced by popular unrest in the countryside to flee to Dublin; the house at Footstown being abandoned thereafter.

He died in 1798. His widow died at Dundrum in September 1826.

Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) 

Blackburne, Rt. Hon. Francis (1782-1867). Only son of Richard Blackburne (c.1745-98) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Hopkins of Darvistown (Co. Meath), born 11 November 1782. Educated at private schools in Dunshaughlin and Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1798; BA 1803; LLB and LLD, 1852), King's Inns (admitted 1801; called 1805) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1803). In 1803 he inherited the law library of his uncle, Anthony Blackburne. He was a barrister-at-law (KC, 1822); Serjeant-at-Law, 1826-31; Attorney General of Ireland, 1831-35, 1841-42; Master of the Rolls in Ireland, 1842-46; Lord Chief Justice, 1846-52; Lord High Chancellor, 1851-52, 1866-67; Lord Justice of Appeal, 1856-66; Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, 1851-67 and a Commissioner of National Education in Ireland, 1852-53, resigning from the latter post because of the watering down of Protestant religious content in the national syllabus. He was a Tory in politics, but this did not prevent his career from progressing when the Whigs were in power, and it was the Whigs who appointed him Attorney General and made him a member of the Irish Privy Council in 1821. He was a member of the Royal Dublin Society and a supporter of the Antient Concert Rooms, Dublin. He was short and stout and had an inexpressive face but was noted for his melodious singing voice. In 1867 he was offered a baronetcy by Lord Derby, but declined the honour. He married, between 31 August (licence) and 5 September (newspaper report) 1809, Jane (d. 1872), daughter of William Martley of Ballyfallen (Co. Meath), and had issue fourteen children, including:

(1) Elizabeth Frances Blackburne (d. 1825), eldest daughter; died at Roebuck Hall, 21 August 1825;

(2) Richard Francis Blackburne (d. 1821); died at Willowmount, Rathfarnham, November 1821;

(3) Alice Catherine Blackburne (c.1819-85); married, 23 June 1842 at St Peter, Dublin, Capt. George Daniell RN (1797-1856), and had issue one son; died at Kingstown (Co. Dublin), 3 March 1885;

(4) Jane Isabella Blackburne (c.1820-1902), born about 1820; married, 25 October 1845 at Taney (Co. Dublin), Thomas Rice Henn QC (1814-1901) of Paradise Hill (Co. Clare), and had issue seven sons and two daughters; died 29 April 1902 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery;

(5) William Martley Blackburne (1821-68) (q.v.);

(6) Francis Blackburne (1822-63), baptised at St Peter, Dublin, 30 July 1822; died unmarried, 14 February 1863;

(7) Edward Blackburne (1823-1902) (q.v.);

(8) A son (b. & d. 1825), born January 1825 but died in infancy;

(9) Elizabeth Mary Blackburne (1826-63), born at Roebuck Hall, 4 August, and baptised at Taney, 7 September 1826; married, 13 October 1853 at Rathfarnham, Edward Perceval Westby (c.1828-93) of Roebuck Castle (Co. Dublin) (who m2, 16 June 1864 at Taney, Susan Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Davis Garde of Mount Dillon), only son of Nicholas Westby, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Roebuck Castle, 2 May 1863;

(10) Frederick John Blackburne (1827-63), born 1827; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1844; BA 1848); JP for Co. Cork?; lived at Renny House (Co. Cork) and Keymer (Sussex); married, 3 July 1856 at Hove (Sussex), Annette (1836-1921), daughter of Eardley Hall of Wilmington (Sussex), and had issue one son; died 4 October 1863; will proved 6 November 1863 (effects under £1,500);

(11) John Henry Blackburne (1830-91), born 9 November 1830; an officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1850; Lt., 1853; Capt., 1856; retired 1859); married, 20 August 1857 at St Lawrence-in-Thanet (Kent), Elizabeth Susanna (1833-1931), second daughter of Anthony Crofton of Lincoln's Inn, barrister-at-law; died at Wells (Som.), 15 May 1891; will proved 9 September 1891 (effects £15,382);

(12) Adelaide Frances Blackburne (b. 1833), born in Dublin, 26 June 1833 and baptised at Taney, 28 July 1833; probably died young;

(13) Arthur Blackburne (1835-67), born 22 February 1835; educated at St Columba's College; died unmarried at Corderry (Co. Louth), 31 May 1867 and was buried at Rathfarnham, although his remains were later removed to Mount Jerome Cemetery; administration of goods granted 13 July 1867 (effects under £800).

He purchased Tankardstown House in about 1815 and Rathfarnham Castle in 1847. He lived at a house called Willow Mount in Rathfarnham (sold 1825) and later at Roebuck Hall, Clonskeagh (Co. Dublin) until he acquired Rathfarnham Castle. He also had town houses in Leinster Sq. and later in Merrion Sq., Dublin.

He died 17 September 1867 and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; his will was proved 11 October 1867 (effects under £80,000). His widow died in Monkstown (Co. Dublin), 27 September 1872, and was also buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery; her will was proved 8 November 1872 (effects under £8,000).

Blackburne, William Martley (1821-68). Eldest surviving son of Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) and his wife Jane, daughter of James Martley MD, born 1821. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1838; BA 1842). He married, 12 January 1847 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Mary (1823-89), daughter of Rev. Dr. William Thorpe DD, and had issue:

(1) Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921) (q.v.);

(2) Eva Amabel Blackburne (1857-1909), baptised at St Peter, Dublin, 21 December 1857; married, 14 July 1890 at St John, Notting Hill, Charles Currell Eyre (1862-1943), transport agent at Florence (Italy), son of Mahlon Dickenson Eyre, an American banker of Florence (Italy), but had no issue; died 15 June 1909 and was buried at Slane (Co. Meath);

(3) Augustus Edward William Blackburne (1860-93); merchant; married, 24 June 1891 at St John, Notting Hill (Middx), Isabella Olive (1863-1944), daughter of Mahlon Dickenson Eyre (1821-82) of Florence (Italy), and had issue one son; died in Naples (Italy), February 1893.

He inherited Tankardstown House from his father in 1867.

He died 8 May 1868 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; his will was proved 8 July 1868 (effects under £3,000). His widow married 2nd, 10 December 1869 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), George Thompson Lefroy (d. 1890) of Carriglas Manor (Co. Longford), son of Rt. Hon. Thomas Lefroy, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and died at Farvis (Austria), 5 September 1889; her will was proved in Dublin, 13 January 1890 (effects £2,044?).

Blackburne, Francis William (1851-1921). Elder son of William Martley Blackburne (1821-68) and his wife Mary, daughter of Rev. Dr. William Thorpe DD, born 7 March 1851. Educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford (matriculated 1870; BA 1874). JP for Co. Meath; High Sheriff of Co. Meath, 1898-99. He married, 9 December 1895 at Edinburgh Cathedral, Olive Beatrice Louisa (1870-1941), third and youngest daughter of John Anstruther-Thomson of Charleton (Fife), and had issue:

(1) Mary Elizabeth Rosia St. Clair Blackburne (1897-1904), born 18 March 1897; died young, 20 January 1904 and was buried at Slane (Co. Meath);

(2) Elena Frances Margaret Anne Blackburne (1898-1996), born 29 August 1898; married, 22 March 1928 at St Paul, Onslow Sq., Kensington (Middx), Charles Maurice Waddington Loftus Townshend (1899-1966) of Slane, third son of Charles Loftus Uniacke Townshend of Hill House, Reigate (Surrey), and had issue two sons; died aged 97 on 10 April 1996 and was buried at Slane;

(3) William John Anstruther (k/a Jack) Blackburne (1904-42) (q.v.);

(4) Amabel Clementina Olive Georgina Blackburne (1910-96), born 3 May 1910; teacher; died unmarried, 1996.

He inherited Tankardstown House from his father in 1868 and came of age in 1872.

He died 11 July 1921 and was buried at Slane (Co. Meath). His widow died 17 November 1941 and was buried with her husband at Slane; her will was proved 21 April 1942 (estate in England £1,079).

Blackburne, William John Anstruther (k/a Jack) (1904-42). Only son of Francis William Blackburne (1851-1921) and his wife Olive Beatrice Louisa, youngest daughter of John Anstruther Thomson of Charleston (Fife), born 30 November 1904. Educated at Castle Park School and Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1923; BA 1926), where he studied agriculture and horticulture. Farmer and horticulturalist at Tankardstown, where he was noted for his advanced methods. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Tankardstown House from his father in 1921. At his death it passed to his two surviving sisters, who sold it in the 1970s.

He died of cancer, 1 June 1942; administration of his goods was granted to his younger sister, 16 July 1942 (estate £15,402).

Blackburne, Edward (1823-1902). Fourth son of Rt. Hon. Francis Blackburne (1782-1867) and his wife Jane, daughter of James Martley MD, born 13 November 1823. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1840; BA 1845; LLB and LLD, 1875) and King's Inns, Dublin (admitted 1842; called 1845). Barrister-at-law (QC 1868); JP for Co. Dublin. He wrote a biography of his father, published as The Life of the Right Hon. Francis Blackburne (1874). He married, 25 August 1857 at Monkstown (Co. Dublin), Georgiana Arabella (1837-1911), eldest daughter of Robert James Graves MD of Dublin and Cloghan Castle (Co. Offaly), and had issue:

(1) Francis Blackburne (b. 1859) (q.v.); 

(2) Georgiana Beatrice Blackburne (1861-1936), baptised at St Stephen, Dublin, 17 May 1861; married, 5 June 1890 at Rathfarnham, Rev. Henry Richard William Farrer (1860-1933), vicar of Bridport (Dorset) and canon of Salisbury Cathedral, only son of Capt. R.H. Farrer, and had issue three sons; died 26 August 1936 and was buried at Bridport (Dorset).

He inherited Rathfarnham Castle from his father in 1867. At his death it passed to his widow for life.

He died 7 December 1902 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; his will was proved 16 February 1903 (estate £52,457). His widow died 18 January 1911 and was also buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery; her will was proved 5 May 1911 (estate £58,092).

Blackburne, Francis (b. 1859). Only son of Edward Blackburne (1823-1902) and his wife Georgiana Arabella, eldest daughter of Robert James Graves MD of Dublin and Cloghan Castle (Co. Offaly), born 9 February 1859. He emigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalised citizen in 1888, and later lived in Toronto (Canada); his occupation is given in one census return as 'machinist' and in another source as 'commercial traveller'; from about 1890-1902 he was the representative of Thomas McKenzie & Co. of London in north America, and later worked for the firm in London and Paris (France). He was a freemason. He married, Jul-Sept 1881 in Fulham (Middx), Marian Georgina (k/a Minnie) Mulholland, and had issue:

(1) Rev. Edward Blackburne (1883-1948), born in San Francisco, California (USA), 28 May 1883; educated at St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1908), and Wells Theological College (admitted 1908); ordained deacon, 1909, and priest, 1910; inherited Rathfarnham Castle on his grandmother's death in 1911 but sold it in 1912; rector of Bolnhurst (Beds), 1913-19, after which he appears to have retired from active ministry, although he was licensed to preach in the diocese of Chichester; married, 14 February 1912 at Carrignavar (Cork), Geraldine Fitzgerald (1885-1964), daughter of Lt-Col. F.F. MacCartie of Carrignavar, and had issue three daughters; died at Totnes (Devon), 27 July 1948; will proved 18 July 1949 (estate £524);

(2) Frances Evelyn Blackburne (1887-1958), born at Springfield, Ohio (USA), 11 July 1887; acted for a time as housekeeper to her brother before his marriage; probably the woman of this name who died unmarried at Hove (Sussex), 28 February 1958; will proved 9 June 1958 (estate £8,125).

His date of death is unknown. His widow died in Hove (Sussex), 25 October 1938; her will was proved 12 December 1938 (estate £2,935).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1898, vol. 2, supplement p. 28; Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1958, pp. 701-02; J. Harris, Sir William Chambers, 1970, pp. 241-42; E. McParland, 'Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin', Country Life, 9 September 1982, pp. 734-37; K. Bristol, 'Rathfarnham Castle in the architectural oeuvre of James 'Athenian' Stuart: a question of patronage', in M.J. McCarthy, Lord Charlemont and his circle, 2001, pp. 113-22; Sir H.M. Colvin, A biographical dictionary of British architects, 4th edn., 2008, pp. 243-44, 1002; J.A.K. Dean, The gate lodges of Leinster, 2016, pp. 143-45;

https://www.youwho.ie/blackburne.html.

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Blackburne of Tankardstown: deeds, legal and estate papers and correspondence, c.1821-1908 [National Library of Ireland]

Coat of arms

None recorded

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide additional information about the ownership of Tankardstown between the 1970s and 2002?
• Can anyone supply information about the later years and death of Francis Blackburne (b. 1859) or his wife Minnie?
• 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 13 September 2026, and was revised 15 September 2026.

(571) Beresford of Abbeville, Termon House and Woodhouse

Beresford of Abbeville and Woodhouse 

The family considered here are a cadet branch of the Beresfords of Curraghmore, Earls of Tyrone and Marquesses of Waterford, who will be the subject of a future post. This branch descends from the Hon. and Rt. Hon. John de la Poer Beresford (1738-1805), with whom the genealogy below begins. He was the second surviving son of the 1st Earl of Tyrone. John was called to the Irish bar in 1761 and entered the Irish Parliament in the same year, serving as MP for Co. Waterford, where the interest of his father and later his elder brother, guaranteed his election. Although his brother (from 1789, Marquess of Waterford) was the head of the family, it was John who exercised the greater political power through his management of the rapidly expanding Beresford patronage network, and through his position as First Commissioner for the Revenue of Ireland. Such was his influence that he was spoken of as 'the king' of Ireland, and he demonstrated the effectiveness of his connections in 1795 when he secured the rapid dismissal of Lord Fitzwilliam as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland after the latter had presumed to dismiss him from the Custom House. After the Union of Britain and Ireland, he played a major part in defining the new financial relationship between the two nations. Nor was his influence confined to the political and economic spheres: his invitation to James Gandon to design a new Custom House in Dublin in the 1780s changed the landscape of Dublin and established neo-classical design as the style of its time in Ireland to an extent that it never quite achieved in the other nations of these islands. Gandon provided him with a sumptuous private apartment in the Custom House, and also remodelled Abbey Well House, the small country house at Kinsealy north of Dublin which Beresford bought and renamed Abbeville after his first wife's birthplace.

By his two wives, John Beresford produced a total of nineteen children between 1761 and 1793: four sons and four daughters by his French first wife, and four sons and seven daughters by his second wife, several of whom died young or in early adulthood. His eldest son, Marcus Beresford (1764-97) was brought up to succeed his father, becoming a barrister and MP, and making a good marriage with the daughter of Joseph Leeson, Earl of Milltown, whose home at Russborough House was one of the grandest in Ireland. Sadly, Marcus predeceased his father, and in 1802 John gave Abbeville to one of his younger sons, John Claudius Beresford (1766-1846), who also succeeded him as MP for Co. Waterford, although his politics were not always aligned with those of his father. J.C. Beresford had made an unsavoury name for himself during the Irish rebellion of the 1790s, when the militia unit for which he was responsible administered extra-judicial beatings to suspected rebels. He held a series of profitable positions within the Customs House during his father's long tenure there, but after his father's death he ran into financial difficulties and from 1811 largely withdrew from public life. He was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1814-15, but sold Abbeville at that time.

The Bishop's Palace, Kilmore

The second surviving son of John Beresford was the Rt. Rev. George de la Poer Beresford (1765-1841), for whom family influence secured the bishopric of Kilmore in 1802. He held this position until his death (the diocese being united with Ardagh from 1839), and in 1835-37 built a new bishop's palace there to the designs of William Farrell. He and his wife Frances - a niece of Henry Grattan - had six children. Their eldest son, John Beresford (1796-1856) was secretary of the colony of St Vincent from about 1825 until his death, but the second, Marcus Gervais Beresford (1801-85) followed in his father's footsteps and entered the church. He was Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, 1854-62, during which time he rebuilt the cathedral at Kilmore, and was then appointed Archbishop of Armagh and Lord Primate of Ireland. Whatever the role his family connections played in securing his steady advancement to the episcopate, he was an able ecclesiastical administrator, who guided the Church of Ireland through the process of disestablishment and set up sound structures for its future governance. He had two sons and two daughters by his first wife, all of whom eventually left Ireland.

The youngest son of John Beresford and his first wife, Charles Cobbe Beresford (1770-1850), also entered the church, and quickly secured appointment as both a prebendary of St Patrick's Cathedral and Chancellor of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. After his father's death, however, he gave up these posts in favour of benefices in Ulster, and from 1809 he was the resident clergyman at Termonmaguirke (Co. Tyrone), where he became an active church and school builder. He also built himself the generously proportioned Termon House in 1815, the scale of which was perhaps necessitated by the size of his family, since he married the daughter of a Scottish baronet and produced four sons and five daughters.

Macbie Hill House, Peeblesshire: a 16th century house
remodelled by William Burn c.1835 and demolished in the 1950s.

His daughters married unusually well, with husbands including the 3rd Earl Erne and the Rev. Lord John Thynne. When he died, Termon House passed to his daughter, Charlotte and her husband the Rev. Samuel Alexander. His eldest son, the Rev. John Isaac Beresford (1796-1847) died before his father, leaving one son and two daughters. The son, George Robert Beresford (1830-71) eventually inherited his great-grandfather's seat, Macbie Hill, Peebles, but died unmarried, and it passed on his death to his sister Emily Sarah Massy-Beresford (c.1827-93) [for whom see my forthcoming post on that family].

The second son of the Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford was George John Beresford (1807-64), who pursued a career in the Royal Artillery, retiring in 1854 with the rank of Colonel. He married twice, and in 1853 his second wife, Frances Constantia Uniacke (1822-67) inherited her family home, Woodhouse, at Stradbally on the south coast of Co. Waterford. This attractive 18th and early 19th century house remained the home of members of the Beresford family until 1971, although its descent was far from straightforward. It passed first to George's eldest surviving son, Robert Henry Beresford (1845-1903), who after a brief military career was employed as a temporary resident magistrate, a peripatetic role which probably left him little time to enjoy the estate. When he died, ownership passed to his younger brother, John George Beresford (1847-1925), who had, however, emigrated to the USA in 1869 and become an American citizen in 1883. In the circumstances of early 20th century Ireland, there was little incentive for him to return to take up the personal management of his property, and he seems to have been a classic absentee landlord, operating through agents. J.G. Beresford married twice but had no children, and on his death the estate passed briefly to his youngest brother, the Rev. Richard Uniacke Beresford (1858-1925), a canon and precentor of St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny. He too died before the year was out and the estate devolved on his sister, Emily Frances Louisa (1861-1933), the widow of Sir Robert Adair Hodson (1853-1921), 4th bt. Lady Hodson, like her brothers, was childless, and when she died in 1933 she was the last descendant of the Uniacke family. Lacking close relatives, she bequeathed the Woodhouse estate to her distant kinsman, Lord Hugh Tristram de la Poer Beresford (1908-41), the third son of the 6th Marquess of Waterford, who was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was killed in action in 1941 and the estate passed to his elder brother, Lord William Mostyn de la Poer Beresford (1905-73), who sold it in 1971 and moved to a smaller house called Dangan Cottage at Thomastown (Co. Kilkenny). A further account of Lord Hugh and Lord William will be given in my forthcoming post on the Beresfords of Curraghmore.

Abbeville, Kinsealy, Co. Dublin

In origin, Abbeville is a south-facing late 17th or early 18th century house (originally called Abbey Well) which became the wing of a north-facing five-bay villa as the result of additions of c.1720-40, in the style of leading Irish architect, Richard Castle (c.1690-1751). 

Abbeville House: the early 18th century entrance front and Gandon porch in 1976. Image: South Dublin Libraries.

Abbeville House: phased plan 

Nothing is known of the ownership of the house until 1760, when a Kildare landowner, Edward Beaver, sold it to the John Beresford, who bought it as a base near Dublin from which to pursue his parliamentary and administrative career. In 1781, Beresford brought to Ireland a young English architect called James Gandon, who came to design the neo-classical Custom House on the north bank of the Liffey and stayed to become Ireland's greatest neo-classical architect. Not surprisingly, Beresford employed Gandon to alter and enlarge his own house, probably in the late 1780s, but Gandon had limited experience in the design of domestic buildings and the result lacks the grandeur of his public architecture. 

Abbeville House: the garden front created by James Gandon to unify the existing buildings.

Gandon added the porch to the entrance side and created a new 13 bay garden front uniting and concealing the previous buildings. This has two storeys over a basement and consists of a seven bay centre, flanked by two wide curved bows prolonged by single-storey one-bay units. He also added a stable and farmyard complex to the rear. In 1837 it was noted that the gardens contained a greenhouse more than 400 feet long, of which no trace remains. Inside the house, Gandon created a series of elegant neo-classical rooms, although the complex history of the house resulted in these being disposed on an unorthodox plan. 

Abbeville House: the dining room in use as a drawing room in 1912.

In c.1950 the house was restored and modernised by Michael John Scott for Percy Reynolds, but after 1963 the house slipped into decay while in the possession of an absentee German owner. It was rescued in 1969, when it was bought by Charles Haughey, a Government minister who was Taoiseach (Prime Minister) in 1979-81, 1982 and 1987-92. He lived here until his death in 2006, restored the house well, and filled it with on the whole appropriate contents. Haughey was eventually forced out of politics by a phone-tapping scandal, and after his retirement further revelations of corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion and a 27-year extra-marital affair tarnished his reputation. In 2003, he was obliged to sell Abbeville to meet his outstanding tax liabilities. It was bought by a development company, although a clause in the agreement allowed Haughey to remain in occupation until his death, and his widow did not finally move out until 2008. Planning permission was given for conversion of the house into a hotel and golf club, with housing in the grounds, but work did not start and eventually the developers went bust when the Irish property market collapsed after 2008. Abbeville was sold on in 2013 to the Japanese hotel chain, Toyoko Ltd., one of whose executives currently occupies the house, pending the realisation of similar development plans.

Descent: Edward Beaver; sold 1760 to the Hon. John Beresford (1738-1805); gave house 1802 to his son John Claudius Beresford (1766-1846); sold 1814 to Austin Cooper (d. 1830), antiquarian; sold 1830 to Sir James William Cusack, surgeon, for his son, Henry Thomas Cusack; to son, Athanasius Francis William Geoffrey de Geneville Cusack (1855-87); to brother, Major James William Henry Claud Cusack; to son, Major Ralph Smith Oliver Cusack who sold 1948 to (Albert) Percy Reynolds; sold 1963 to Franz Zielkowski, a German industrialist; sold 1969 to Charles Haughey (1925-2006); sold 2003 to Manor Park Homes; sold 2013 to Toyoko Ltd.

Termon House, Carrickmore, Co. Tyrone

An account of this house has been given in a previous post.

Woodhouse, Stradbally, Co. Waterford

A house is said to have been built on this estate close to the coast in the early 17th century by James Wallis, who rented the property from Richard Beacon, one of the undertakers of the Munster plantation, who had been granted the forfeited lands of the FitzGeralds in Limerick and Waterford. Wallis was dispossessed by the Fitzgeralds during the 1641 rebellion, and despite obtaining a legal judgement in his favour in 1653, he never recovered the estate. Civil War damage may have meant that the house was not occupied in the later 17th century. In 1724, debts forced the sale of the 2,500 acre estate, and the house was probably rebuilt soon afterwards. Landscaping evidently followed, for Maurice Uniacke was awarded a premium for planting over 150,000 trees on the estate in 1742, and it remains well-wooded today. 

Woodhouse, Stradbally: watercolour of the house by Louisa Uniacke, 1840 [National Library of Ireland, PD 4554 TX 5]

The Georgian house is a modest T-shaped two-storey building with an entrance front of six bays facing east. The detailing of the entrance front, with lowered sills to the ground-floor windows and an elliptical-headed doorway with a spoked fanlight, seems now to date from the early 19th century, when the house was probably further remodelled. The outbuildings were extended in the mid 19th century after the estate passed by marriage to the Beresfords. After a period of decline and neglect in the late 20th century, the house was restored and modernised at a cost of some €4m by the present owners after 2012.

Woodhouse, Stradbally: the house in 2012. (Image: The Woodhouse estate)

Descent: built for James Wallis (fl. 1641); seized by Thomas Fitzgerald... Maj. Richard MacThomas Fitzgerald, who sold 1724 to Thomas Uniacke; to son, Maurice Uniacke (d. 1743); to son, Bor Uniacke (1710-77); to son, Col. Robert Uniacke (1756-1802); to son, Robert John Uniacke (1795-1851); to son, Col. Robert Bor Uniacke (1823-53); to sister, Frances Constantia (1822-67), wife of Col. George John Beresford (1807-64); to son, Robert Henry Beresford (1845-1903); to brother, John George Beresford (1847-1925); to brother, Rev. Richard Uniacke Beresford (1858-1925); to sister, Emily Frances Louisa (1861-1933), widow of Sir Robert Adair Hodson (1853-1921), 4th bt.; to kinsman, Lord Hugh Tristram de la Poer Beresford (1908-41); to brother, Lord William Mostyn de la Poer Beresford (1905-73), who sold 1971 to John McCoubray, who sold 1972 to John Rohan; sold 1982 to Pinmere Ltd; sold 2006 to Defigo Ltd.; sold 2012 to Jim & Sally Thompson.

Beresford of Abbeville, Termon House and Woodhouse 

Hon. John Beresford (1738-1805) 

Beresford, Hon. and Rt. Hon. John de la Poer (1738-1805). Fifth, but second surviving, son of Sir Marcus Beresford (1694-1763), 4th bt. and 1st Earl of Tyrone, and his wife Lady Katherine (d. 1769), from 1767 Baroness La Poer in her own right, daughter and heiress of James Power (d. 1704), 3rd Earl of Tyrone, born 14 March 1737/8. Educated at Kilkenny College, Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1755; BA 1758), Lincolns Inn (admitted 1756), Middle Temple (admitted 1760) and Kings Inns, Dublin (called to Irish bar, 1761). Barrister-at-law. MP for Co. Waterford in the Irish Parliament, 1761-1801 and in the UK Parliament, 1801-05. He was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland, 1768 and that of Great Britain, 1786, and was made a Commissioner for the Revenue of Ireland, 1770 (First Commissioner, 1780-95, 1795-1802); he was also joint Taster of Wines (with his eldest son) at the Port of Dublin, from 1773. His position as First Commissioner and his extensive personal patronage through his kinship networks gave him such immense power in Ireland that he was spoken of as 'the king of Ireland', and when Lord Fitzwilliam was appointed as Lord Lieutenant in 1795 and dismissed him for corruption, he was able to secure Fitzwilliam's dismissal and his own reinstatement. He also challenged Fitzwilliam to a duel but the combatants were interrupted and Fitzwilliam afterwards apologised for his allegations of malversation. As First Commissioner he introduced some useful reforms in the collection of taxation, but his policy was generally conservative and repressive; he was opposed to Catholic emancipation and although initially cool about the proposed union of Britain and Ireland eventually strongly supported the policy. After the Union had taken place, he played a major part in settling the financial relationship between the two countries. A by-product of Beresford's role as Commissioner was his role in the development of neo-classical architecture in Ireland, since he brought James Gandon to Ireland to design a new Custom House. He was a Governor of St Patrick's Hospital, Dublin, 1763-88 and Deputy Governor of Co. Waterford, 1763. He married 1st, 12/15 November 1760, Annette Constantia* (d. 1770), daughter of Gen. the Count de Ligondes, of Ligondes, Auvergne (France), and 2nd, 4 June 1774, Barbara (d. 1795), second daughter of Sir William Montgomery, 1st bt., a celebrated beauty who was one of the three Montgomery sisters depicted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in his painting 'The Three Graces' (1773), and had issue:

(1.1) Catherine Beresford (1761-1836), born 28 September 1761; married, 7 August 1778, as his second wife, Lt-Col. the Rt. Hon. Henry Theophilus Clements (1734-95) of Ashfield Lodge (Co. Cavan) and Woodville (Co. Leix), MP for Cavan Borough, 1769-76, 1783-90, and for Co. Leitrim, 1776-83 and 1790-95, son of Rt. Hon. Nathaniel Clements (1705-77), and had issue five sons and three daughters; died 7 January and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery (Middx), 14 January 1836; her brief will was proved 23 January 1836;

(1.2) Elizabeth Beresford (1762-83), born 24 November 1762; died unmarried, 15 August 1783;

(1.3) Marcus Beresford (1764-97), born 14 February 1764; educated at Westminster, Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1779), Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1781; BA 1784), and Kings Inns, Dublin (called to Irish Bar, 1786); barrister-at-law (KC); MP for Dungannon in the Irish Parliament, 1783-97; joint taster of wines (with his father) in the Port of Dublin, 1773-97; married, 25 February 1791, Lady Frances Arabella (1771-1840), daughter of Rt. Hon. Joseph Leeson (1711-83), 1st Earl of Milltown, of Russborough House (Co. Wicklow), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 16 November 1797; will proved in Dublin, 1798;

(1.4) Rt. Rev. George de la Poer Beresford (1765-1841) (q.v.);

(1.5) John Claudius Beresford (1766-1846), born 23 October 1766; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1783; BA 1787; MA 1832); banker, in partnership with Mr Wood-Mason; an officer in the County of Dublin Cavalry (Capt., 1796), who was particularly unpopular during the 1798 rebellion for the extra-judicial floggings administered by his corps; alderman of Dublin, 1808-15 (Lord Mayor 1814-15); MP for Swords, 1790-97 and Dublin City, 1797-1800 in the Irish parliament, and for Dublin city, 1801-04 and Co. Waterford, 1806-11 in the UK parliament; unlike his father he opposed the Union of Britain and Ireland, although he accepted it when it happened; registrar general of tobacco, 1784-99; inspector-general of exports and imports for the Port of Dublin 1796-99, and also storekeeper, 1783-1802 and taster of wines, 1798-1802;  General Agent of the Irish Society, 1789-1837; inherited Abbeville from his father, but from 1811 was in financial difficulties and sold it in 1814, thereafter withdrawing from public life; married, 3 March 1795, Elizabeth McKenzie, only child of Archibald Menzies of Culdares (Perths), and had issue one son and four daughters; died 3 July 1846;

(1.6) Anne Constantia Beresford (1768-1836), born 16 April 1768; married 1st, 1790, Robert Uniacke (d. 1802), of Woodhouse (Co. Waterford) and had issue at least one son and one daughter; married 2nd, 2 July 1805 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Robert Doyne of Wells (Co. Wexford), and had further issue one son; died at Tullow, 8 August 1836;

(1.7) Jane Beresford (1769-1836), born 13 June 1769; married, 10 September 1788, Rt. Hon. Sir George Fitzgerald Hill (1763-1839), 2nd bt., of Brook Hall (Co. Derry), Governor of St Vincent, 1830-33 and Trinidad, 1833-39, but had no issue; died 2 November 1836 and was buried in the Governor's Cemetery, Port of Spain (Trinidad); she is commemorated by a monument in the cathedral at Port of Spain;

(1.8) Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford (1770-1850) (q.v.);

(2.1) Hannah Beresford (b. 1775), born 16 May 1775; probably died in infancy;

(2.2) Barbara Beresford (1776-86), born 8 July 1776; died young, 8 May 1786;

(2.3) Frances Honoria Beresford (1777-1860), born 3 September 1777; married, 9 July 1805 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, James Whyte (1774-1852) of Pilton House (Devon), banker, and had issue at least two sons; died 6 February 1860;

(2.4) Anna Marie Beresford (1778-79), born 30 October 1778; died in infancy, 11 October 1779.

(2.5) William Barré Beresford (1780-82), born 12 May 1780; died in infancy, 29 May 1782;

(2.6) James Hamilton Beresford (1782-1806), born 18 February 1782; a midshipman in the Royal Navy, who accidentally drowned while serving in HMS Phoenix; died unmarried, 7 December 1806;

(2.7) Henry Barré Beresford (1784-1837) [for whom see my forthcoming post on the Beresfords of Learmount]; 

(2.8) Elizabeth Beresford (1786-1860), born 27 January 1786; died unmarried, 17 January 1860;

(2.9) Anna Beresford (1787-1862), married 1st, c.1812, Maj. Charles Gardiner (c.1780-1818) of 90th Foot, only son of Gen. the Hon. William Gardiner; married 2nd, 9 October 1822 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Charles Manning Allen (1802-80) (also known as Charles Stuart Hay Allen and Charles Edward Stuart, Count d'Albanie, who claimed, with his elder brother, legitimate descent from the Jacobite royal family), and had issue one son and three daughters; died at Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia), 13 November 1862;

(2.10) William Hamilton Beresford (1788-1865), born 11 October 1788; died 16 September 1865 and was buried at Carlingford (Co. Louth), where he is commemorated by a monument;

(2.11) Clara Barbara Beresford (c.1792-1862); married, 10 September 1813 at Derry Cathedral, Rev. James Spencer Knox (1789-1862), rector of Maghera (Co. Derry), and had issue four sons and five daughters; died 4 April and was buried at Bristol General Cemetery, 10 April 1862.

He bought the Abbey Well estate at Kinsealy (Co. Dublin) in 1760 and had James Gandon remodel it while working on the Custom House in the 1780s. He renamed it Abbeville after the town from which his first wife came. He also owned an estate at Walworth (Co. Londonderry), and a sumptuous private apartment in the Custom House.

He died 5 November 1805. His first wife died 26 October 1770. His second wife died 29 May 1795.

* She was born a Roman Catholic, but converted to Protestantism in 1764.

George de la Poer Beresford (1765-1841) 

Beresford, Rt. Rev. George de la Poer (1765-1841). Second son of Hon. and Rt. Hon. John de la Poer Beresford (1738-1805) and his first wife, Annette Constantia, daughter of Gen. the Count de Ligondes, of Ligondes, Auvergne (France), born 19 July 1765. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1782; BA 1786; DD 1802). A prebendary of Waterford Cathedral, 1789-1801; vicar of Donoughmore, 1790-97 and Treasurer of the diocese of Ossory, 1792-97; Precentor of Waterford, 1793-1801; Dean of Kilmore and vicar of Kilmore and Ballintemple, 1796-1801; Bishop of Clonfert, 1801-02; Bishop of Kilmore, 1802-39 and of Kilmore & Ardagh, 1839-41. He married, 1794 (licence 26 March), Frances (c.1775-1843), daughter of Gervais Parker Bushe of Kilfane, MP for Kilkenny, and niece of Henry Grattan, and had issue:

(1) Charlotte Mary Beresford (1795-1851), born 12 June 1795; married 1st, 2 May 1812, Frederick Lumley (later Lumley-Savile) (1788-1837) of Tickhill Castle (Yorks), and had issue one son and three daughters; married 2nd, 20 July 1839 at Kilmore (Co. Cavan), Robert Henry Southwell (1789-1863); died at Wiesbaden (Germany), 2 November 1851; will proved in the PCC, 18 December 1851 and again 5 July 1859;

(2) John Beresford (1796-1856), born April 1796; educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1815); Colonial Secretary of the island of St. Vincent, c.1825-56; married, 6 May 1822, Harriet Eliza (c.1798-1857), eldest daughter of Hon. William Wylly, Chief Justice of St. Vincent, and had issue four sons and one daughter; died at Shirley (Hants), 16 September 1856;

(3) Anastasia Beresford (c.1798-1803); died young 'of a convulsive fit', April 1803;

(4) Most Rev. Marcus Gervais Beresford (1801-85) (q.v.);

(5) George de la Poer Beresford (c.1802-26), born about 1802; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1821; BA 1825); died unmarried, 6 June 1826;

(6) Frances Beresford (c.1804-33), born about 1804; married, 19 June 1824 at Belmore, the Hon. & Rev. Francis Howard (1797-1857), vicar of Swords (Co. Dublin), 1826-57 (who m2, 20 June 1836, Sarah, eldest daughter of Charles Hamilton, of Hamwood (Co. Meath), and had further issue two sons), son of William Howard, 3rd Earl of Wicklow, and had issue one son; died 17 November 1833.

He lived at the old bishop's palace in Kilmore until it was replaced by a new See House built in c.1835-37 to the design of William Farrell.

He died 16 October 1841. His widow died at Ballyhaise rectory, 19 May 1843.

Archbishop Beresford (1801-85) 

Beresford, Most Rev. & Rt. Hon. Marcus Gervais (1801-85). Second son of Rt. Rev. George de la Poer Beresford (1765-1841) and his wife Frances, daughter of Gervais Parker Bushe MP of Kilfane, born at the Custom House, Dublin, 14 February 1801. Educated at Richmond (Yorks) and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1819; BA 1824; MA 1828; DD 1840). Ordained deacon, 1824 and priest, 1825. Rector of Kildallon (Co. Cavan), 1825-28; vicar of Drung and Lara, and vicar-general of Kilmore, 1828-54; Archdeacon of Armagh, 1839-54; Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, 1854-62, during which time he built a new cathedral at Kilmore to the designs of William Slater; Archbishop of Armagh and Lord Primate of Ireland, 1862-85; Prelate of the Order of St Patrick and Lord Almoner to Queen Victoria. An ecclesiastical statesman, who guided the Church of Ireland through the process of disestablishment and set up sound structures for its future governance; he was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland, 1862. He was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University (DCL, 1864). He married 1st, 25 October 1824, Mary (d. 1845), daughter of Col. Henry Peisley L'Estrange of Moystown (Co. Offaly) and widow of Richard E. Digby of Geashill (Co. Offaly), and 2nd, 5 June 1850 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Elizabeth (d. 1870), only daughter of James Trail Kennedy of Annadale (Co. Down) and widow of Robert George Bomford of Rahenstown (Co. Meath), and had issue:

(1.1) Charlotte Henrietta Beresford (1828-84), born 17 May 1828; married, 16 August 1853 at Drung (Co. Cavan), Henry Beilby William Milner (1823-76) of West Retford House (Notts) and Kirkstall Grange (Yorks WR), son of Sir William Milner, 4th bt., and had issue three sons and three daughters; died in Armagh, 15 September and was buried at Acaster Selby (Yorks WR), 20 September 1884; will proved 1 November 1884 (effects £3,387);

(1.2) Mary Emily Beresford (c.1829-58), born about 1829; married, 16 August 1853 at Drung (Co. Cavan), Col. Thomas Heywood (1826-1915) (who m2, 10 April 1862 at St Mark, Torquay (Devon), Sophie Grace (c.1840-1918), only daughter of Stepney St George (1791-1847) of Headford (Co. Galway)), of Oak Hall alias Hatley St. George (Worcs), son of Thomas Heywood of Hope End (Herefs), antiquary, and had issue one son and two daughters; died at Doveleys (Derbys), 12 August 1858;

(1.3) George de la Poer Beresford (1831-1906) of Auburn (Co. Cavan), born 22 April 1831; educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1849); JP and DL for Co. Cavan; High Sheriff of Co. Cavan, 1865-66 and Co. Armagh, 1887-88; Conservative MP for Armagh City, 1875-85; lived latterly at Ovendon House, Sundridge (Kent); married, 24 April 1860 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), Mary Annabella (1835-1917), daughter of Rev. William Vernon Harcourt (1789-1871) of Nuneham Courtenay (Oxon), scientist and clergyman, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died at Danbury Park (Essex), 3 August 1906; will proved 18 October 1906 (estate £31,109);

(1.4) Henry Marcus Beresford (1835-95), born 2 March 1835; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1853; Lt., 1854; Capt., 1858; Maj., 1873); lived at Drumlease (Co. Leitrim) and later at Villa Catterina, San Remo (Italy); married, 10 April 1861 at St Peter, Dublin, Julia Ellen (c.1841-1923), daughter of Rev. Francis Richard Maunsell, rector of Castleisland (Co. Kerry), and had issue four sons and one daughter; died at San Remo, 5 February 1895; will proved 28 March 1895 (effects £900).

He lived latterly at the Archbishop's Palace in Armagh.

He died at the Bishop's Palace in Armagh, 26 December 1885, and was buried in St Patrick's Cathedral there, 31 December 1885; his will was proved 10 February 1886 (effects £91,022). His first wife died 31 December 1845. His second wife died 1 July 1870 and was buried in Armagh Cathedral, where she is commemorated by a monument.

Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford (1770-1850) 

Beresford, Rev. Charles Cobbe (1770-1850). Fourth son of Hon. and Rt. Hon. John de la Poer Beresford (1738-1805) and his first wife, Annette Constantia, daughter of Gen. the Count de Ligondes, of Ligondes, Auvergne (France), born 2 October 1770. Educated privately and at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1787; BA 1790; MA 1807). Prebendary of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, 1798-1805; Chancellor of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 1802-09; rector of Carrigallen (Co. Leitrim), 1804-09, Killesher (Co. Fermanagh), 1805-50, and Termonmaguirke (Co. Tyrone), 1809-50, where he resided and was responsible for building two churches and nine schools. JP for Co. Tyrone. He married, 22 November 1795, Amelia (c.1770-1839), daughter of Sir William Montgomery (1717-88), 1st bt., of Macbie Hill (Peebles), and had issue:

(1) Rev. John Isaac Beresford (1796-1847) [for whom see my forthcoming post on the Massy-Beresfords of Macbiehill and St Hubert's];

(2) Harriet Louisa Beresford (c.1801-71), born about 1801; married, 15 February 1825 at Termonmaguirke, Rev. John James Fox (1792-1870), rector of Kinawley (Co. Fermanagh & Co. Cavan), 1822-70, fourth son of Richard Fox of Fox Hall (Co. Longford), and had issue six sons and three daughters; died at Farm Hill (Co. Sligo), 24 September 1871;

(3) Selina Griselda Beresford (1804-84), born December 1804; married, 6 July 1837, John Crichton (1802-85), 3rd Earl Erne, of Crom Castle (Co. Fermanagh), Lord Lieutenant of Co. Fermanagh and a representative Irish peer, and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 4 September 1884;

(4) Emilia Catherine Beresford (c.1805-69), born about 1805; married, 16 December 1831 at Termonmaguirke, Arthur Willoughby Cole-Hamilton (1806-91) of Beltrim Castle (Co. Tyrone), and had issue five sons and three daughters; died 19 November, and was buried at Lower Badony (Co. Tyrone), 22 November 1869;

(5) Anne Constantia Beresford  (c.1806-66), born about 1806; a pioneering marine biologist who constructed the first marine aquarium in Britain; married, 2 March 1824 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Rev. Lord John Thynne (1798-1881) of Ashburnham House, Westminster and Haynes Park (Beds), deputy Dean of Westminster, third son of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath, and had issue eight sons and two daughters; died 22 April 1866;

(6) George John Beresford (1807-64) (q.v.);

(7) Rev. Charles Claudius Beresford (1810-48), born 14 December 1810; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1828; BA 1832); ordained deacon, 1834 and priest, 1835; vicar of Drumlane (Co. Cavan), 1835-37; rector of Bailieborough and Moybologue (Co. Cavan), 1837-48; married, 8 August 1838 at Shercock (Co. Cavan), Anna Maria (c.1820-97), only daughter of Rev. Frederick Fitzpatrick (1790-1870) of Loch Scillan Glebe (Co. Cavan) and had issue two sons and two daughters; died of a fever caught from one of his parishioners, 29 August 1848 and was buried at Bailieborough;

(8) Henry Robert Beresford (c.1811-42), born about 1811; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1835; Lt., 1841); a freemason from 1840; died in Jamaica, 16 November 1842;

(9) Charlotte Frances Beresford (c.1812-90), born about 1812; married, 4 November 1839 at Termonmaguirke, Rev. Samuel Alexander (1808-89), rector of Termonmaguirke, 1851-80, eldest son of John Alexander of Caw, and had issue three sons and three daughters; died 27 January 1890.

He lived at Termon House, which he built in 1815 at a cost of £3,293.

He died 13 December 1850 and was buried at Termonmaguirke; his will was proved in 1851. His wife died 14 March 1839 and was buried at Termonmaguirke.

Col. George John Beresford (1807-64) 

Beresford, George John (1807-64). Second son of Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford (1770-1850) and his wife Amelia, daughter of Sir William Montgomery, 1st bt., born 21 July 1807. An officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1826; Lt., 1828; Capt. 1841; Lt-Col., 1854; retired as Col., 1854). JP for County Waterford (by 1857). He married 1st, 12 December 1839 at Rathronan (Co. Tipperary), Jane Charlotte (c.1819-42), youngest daughter of Charles Riall of Heywood (Co. Tipperary), and 2nd, 15 November 1844 at Stradbally (Co. Waterford), Frances Constantia (1822-67), eldest daughter of Robert Uniacke of Woodhouse (Co. Waterford), and had issue: 

(1.1) Charles John Beresford (1841-42), born about January 1841; died in infancy, 1 July 1842 and was buried on Ireland island, Sandys (Bermuda);

(1.2) Jane Selina Beresford (1842-1930), born 26 March and baptised on Ireland island, Sandys (Bermuda), 7 April 1842; married, 18 February 1868 at Stradbally, Rev. William Power Cobbe (1827-89), rector of Clonegan (Co. Waterford), 1867-75 and chaplain of St Aubyn (Jersey), 1875-89, son of Capt. William Power RN, and had issue one son; lived latterly with her son at Dover (Kent); died 10 November 1930; will proved 24 January 1931 (estate £23,631);

(2.1) twin, Mildred Anne Beresford (1845-1922), born 8 September 1845; married, 18 October 1866 at Stradbally, Rev. William Carleton* (c.1828-91), rector of Callan, 1870-91 and canon of Ossory, 1882-91, but had no issue; died at Blackrock (Co. Dublin), 17 November 1921, and was buried with her husband at Kilkenny;

(2.2) twin, Robert Henry Beresford (1845-1903), born 8 September 1845; JP and DL for Co. Waterford; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1866; Lt., 1870; retired 1879); employed as a temporary resident magistrate in several counties of Ireland, 1882-1903, and for the last ten years of his life in Co. Louth; married, 24 May 1880 at Cappoquin (Co. Waterford), Laura Ellen Flora (d. 1920), youngest daughter of Sir John Henry Keane (1816-81), 3rd bt., of Cappoquin House, and widow of Capt. Bernard Henry Entwistle (d. 1877), but had no issue; died from injuries sustained in a carriage accident, 30 January 1903; will proved 28 April 1903 (estate £9,809);

(2.3) John George Beresford (1847-1925) (q.v.); 

(2.4) Charles Richard Gordon Beresford (1849-69), born 22 February and was baptised at Hougham (Kent), 22 March 1849; an officer in the merchant navy (third officer of the Lady Melville); died of dropsy in a Calcutta hospital, 24 September 1869;

(2.5) George Alexander Beresford (1850-75), born 21 November 1850 and baptised at St Thomas, Woolwich (Kent), 12 January 1851; an officer in the army (Lt., 1871); died unmarried, 8 June 1875 and was buried at Deesa, Bombay (India); administration of goods granted 6 March 1876 (estate under £2,000);

(2.6) Henry Robert Uniacke Beresford (1853-54), baptised at St Thomas, Woolwich, 27 December 1853; died in infancy and was buried at Charlton (Kent), 29 August 1854;

(2.7) Rev. Richard Uniacke Beresford (1858-1925), born 4 September and baptised at Stradbally, 31 October 1858; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1882; MA 1900); ordained deacon, 1883 and priest, 1884; curate of Pulborough (Sussex), 1883-92; rector of Inistioge (Co. Kilkenny), 1892-1925, canon of Ossory, 1893-1925 and of Leighlin, 1923-25; precentor of Ossory, 1900-25; died unmarried, 30 January and was buried at Stradbally, 3 February 1925;

(2.8) Emily Frances Louisa Beresford (1861-1933) (q.v.).

He lived at Woodhouse (Co. Waterford) in right of his second wife in 1853.

He died 11 February 1864 and was buried at Stradbally (Co. Waterford); will proved 26 May 1864 (effects under £5,000). His first wife died 6 April 1842 and was buried in the Royal Naval Cemetery, Ireland Island, Sandys (Bermuda), where she and her son are commemorated by a monument. His widow died 29 October 1867; her will was proved 26 February 1868 (effects under £3,000).

* He died suddenly while preaching in the pulpit of St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, 16 August 1891, and was buried in the churchyard there.

Beresford, John George (1847-1925). Second son of Col. George John Beresford (1807-64) and his second wife, Frances Constantia, eldest daughter of Robert Uniacke of Woodhouse (Co. Waterford), born 10 June and baptised at Hougham (Kent), 14 July 1847. He emigrated to the USA, 1869, and was naturalised as an American citizen in Wyoming, 1883. He married 1st, 21 February 1898 at Manhattan, New York (USA), Emilie Eleanora (1860-1916), daughter of Adrian Iselin of New York (USA), and 2nd, 14 February 1922 at Washington DC (USA), Helen (1876-1945), daughter of Alphonso Mason (1844-1921) of Philadelphia (USA), but had no issue.

He inherited Woodhouse from his brother Robert in 1903, but did not return to Ireland. At his death it passed briefly to his brother Richard and then to his sister Emily.

He died at Washington DC, 8 May 1925, and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York. His first wife died 24 May 1916 and was buried at New Rochelle, Westchester, New York. His widow married 2nd, 19 July 1927, John Rutherfoord (1861-1942), son of John Coles Rutherfoord; she died 2 March and was buried at Philadelphia, 5 March 1945.

Beresford, Emily Frances Louisa (1861-1933). Second daughter of Col. George John Beresford (1807-64) and his second wife, Frances Constantia, eldest daughter of Robert Uniacke of Woodhouse (Co. Waterford), born 15 February 1861. She married, 20 April 1913, Col. Sir Robert Adair Hodson (1853-1921), 4th bt., but had no issue.

She inherited Woodhouse from her brother Richard in 1925. At her death she bequeathed it to her kinsman, Lord Hugh Tristram de la Poer Beresford (1908-41), third son of the 6th Marquess of Waterford (for whom see my forthcoming post on the Beresfords of Curraghmore).

She died 14 February 1933. Her husband died 3 January 1921.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 1061-63, 4084-92; E. McParland, James Gandon: Vitruvius Hibernicus, 1985, pp. 63-66, 123-27; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd ed., 1988, pp. 1, 286; M.R. Doorly, Abbeville, 1996; E.M. Johnston-Liik, History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800, 2002, vol. 3, pp. 156-71;

https://woodhouseestate.com/history/the-house/; 

https://woodhouseestate.com/history/the-people-2/

Location of archives

Beresford, Most Rev. Marcus Gervais (1801-85), Archbishop of Armagh: correspondence and papers, c.1856-82 [Cambridge University Library, Add. 9407]

Coat of arms

Quarterly, 1st and 4th, argent semée of cross crosslets fitchée three fleurs-de-lis within a bordure engrailed all sable (for Beresford); 2nd and 3rd, argent a chief indented sable (for de la Poer).

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 30 March 2024 and was updated 10 May 2024.