Fitzgerald - Penn - Boyle - Lumley - Abbot 1590+
Built by the Fitzgeralds of Imokilly. Confiscated by Cromwell; owned by William Penn (Pennsylvania); 1st Earl of Orrery; then Lt Col Edward Corker; sold to Hugh Lumley; ca. 1800 occupied by the Penn Gaskell family; 1814 William Abbot. M. Bence-Jones, A Guide to Irish Country Houses, London, 1988.
Cotton - Harman - Boyle - Villiers med
Came to the Earls of Jersey in 1724. Fire in 1753. Rebuilt ca. 1770. Owned by George Child Villiers, Earl of Jersey - J.P. Neale's Views, 2nd series vol. V, 1829. Country Life, 100, 1946, 28.
Charles II granted Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the lands around and including Blessington in 1667. The grant lists all the townlands that formed part of the estate and described it as being a reward for loyalty to his father during the war of 1649. Blessington was also given borough status around the same time by the king. Blessington House was built in 1673/4 and Michael lived there for nearly 30 years. Upon his death in 1702 the estate passed to his son Murrough Boyle, created Viscount Blessington in 1673, and subsequently his son Charles Boyle. When Charles died in 1732, having no living heir, the estate passed to his sister Ann Boyle (widow of Sir William Stewart, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy) and eventually to the Marquesses of Downshire. During the rebellion in May 1798 the house was burned to the ground.
Boyle - Alexander 1680+
Owned by 5th Earl of Orrery. Sold by the 7th Earl to James Alexandetr, 1st Earl Caledon. New house built 1779. The Earls of Caledon. F.O. Morris, Series of Picturesque Views, vol. IV, 1866+. Bence-Jones, Guide, 1988. T.U. Sadleir, Georgian Mansions in Ireland, 1915, 29.
The current house at Castlemartin was built by a Dublin banker, Francis Harrison MP, in 1720 using stone from the ancient castle located on the estate. The Eustace family have been seated here since the thirteenth century. In 1730 the house was sold to Capt. Henry Boyle Carter. In 1798 the house was commandeered during the rebellion and served as the headquarters of Sir Ralph Dundas and as a result the interior was badly damaged. The house was purchased by T S Blacker in 1854 and descended to Sheelagh the widow of Lt. Col. Frederick Blacker. In 1967 she left the house to her great nephew, the Earl of Gowrie. Four years later Lord Gowrie sold the estate to Dr A J F O'Reilly, then chairman of H J Heinz. As well as a family home it is now used to provide conference facilities.
A castle, originally called Imokilly Castle, existed on this site from before the English invasion. In 1196 Donald McCarthy destroyed the castle by fire and buried the garrison in the ruins. The castle was rebuilt, renamed Ballymartyr and in 1575 garrisoned by the Fitzgeralds. In 1645 the castle was besieged by Lord Inchiquin and given up on honourable terms. On the 28th July 1675 Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery and Lord President of Munster was granted a charter by Charles II conferring the lordship over the castle, town and lands of Ballymartyr to be known as Castlemartyr. A spacious mansion was built on the edge of the town by the Rt. Hon. Henry Boyle, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and became the seat of the Earls of Shannon. Now a Carmelite College.
The town of Charleville was founded by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery and Lord President of Munster in 1661 and named in honour of Charles II. Charleville House, a magnificent mansion, was built for Roger but was burnt by the Irish under the command of the Duke of Berwick in1690 after he dined in it.
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork was the architect of this Palladian style house built to house his library and art collection. Most of his original work has now been demolished or re-designed.
The father of Capt. Henry Boyle Carter, who owned Castlemartin, commissioned Sir Edward Lovett Pearce to build this house.
Seat of the Boyle family, Earls of Glasgow. The Boyles have lived at Kelburn since around 1200 and it is thought to be the oldest castle in Scotland which is still inhabited by the same family. The house was extended in 1580, 1700 and 1879. The current owners, Patrick and Isabel Boyle, the 10th Earl and Countess of Glasgow make the estate available for various functions (see http://www.kelburncastle.com/).
Londesborough was originally an outlying portion of the archbishop of York's manor of Everingham. It passed from the Fitzherberts to the Broomfleet family in 1389. Henry Broomfleet who died in 1469 left no male heir and Londesborough passed from him to the heirs of his daughter, Margaret, who had married John de Clifford and was born in 1435. The Londesborough estates passed down through the Clifford family. Henry Clifford was friendly with Henry VIII and was made 1st Earl of Cumberland. Henry Clifford's sons all died in infancy and the title became extinct.
Upon Henry's death in 1643 the Londesborough estate passed to his daughter, Elizabeth, who had married Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork, 1st Earl of Burlington, Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky, Baron of Bandon Bridge was created Lord Clifford of Londesborough. It was Elizabeth and Richard Boyle who reconstructed the Elizabethan house. Their son Charles Boyle Viscount Dungarvan, Lord Clifford of Londesborough inherited the estates but only survived for a futher three years. Charles and his parents were buried in the Burlington vault which had been built under the chancel of the church at Londesborough. Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Cork, 3rd Earl of Burlington, Lord Clifford of Londesborough was the last of the Earls to own Londesborough. He was a patron of the arts and an architect and landscaper, who rebuilt his own houses (including Londesborough in the 1730s) and was responsible for building the assembly rooms at York.
When Richard died the estates were inherited by his daughter, Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle, Baroness Clifford. She was married to William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire. After his wife's premature death, Londesborough passed through the Cavendish line but was neglected by the family and the house was demolished in 1818. It was replaced with a 'Jacobethan' hunting lodge in 1839. The estates were briefly held by George Hudson, the railway entrepreneur, who built the York to Market Weighton railway line and then sold in 1850 to Lord Albert Denison who died in 1860. The estate has passed through the heirs of the Denison line to this day.
Built in 1740 for Field Marshal Richard Boyle, PC, 2nd Viscount Shannon. It subsequently passed to other well known families such as Lord Middlesex, the Marquess of Bath and the Earl of Sefton.
Lismore was originally an important monastery and seat of learning established in the seventh century. A castle was built on the site around 1185. The castle was acquired by Sir Walter Raleigh and he sold the property to Sir Richard Boyle in 1602. Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle, the daughter and heiress of the 4th Earl of Cork, married William Spencer Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and upon her death in 1754 the estate passed to the Cavendish family.
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork purchased the Manor of Marston Bigot, 5km from Frome, from Sir John Hippisley. The Manor included a house, orchards and gardens. Upon Richard's death Marston passed to Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery. Roger was involved in Irish affairs and neglected Marston. In 1715 Maj-Gen Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery inherited the house and about 1720 rebuilt it. He was created the 1st Baron Marston on 5 September 1711. John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork & Orrery enhanced the gardens around 1733, but he had to leave Marston in 1754. Edmund Boyle, 7th Earl of Cork & Orrery improved the house and gardens in the 1770s and 80s. The house was sold by Lt-Col Charles Spencer Canning Boyle 10th Earl of Cork and Orrery in 1905 to the Bonham-Christie family. The house was used by the US millitary during the Second World War. In 1984 the house had almost become derelict but was purchased by John and Angela Yeoman. The house was restored and became the company headquarters of Foster Yeoman Ltd
The castle at Monkstown was originally built around the 12th or 13th century by the monks of the Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary, near Dublin. In 1640, upon the death of his father, Monkstown passed to Walter Cheevers. Walter was not favoured by the government and his lands being of such strategic importance was ordered to vacate his home. The castle was acquired by Lt-Gen Edmund Ludlow, Commander of the Horse in Ireland. The castle and grounds were greatly improved by William but he preferred London and tried to sell his stock. Before it was sold however it was seized by the Army for the Crown. Walter Cheevers was restored to his estates at Monkstown in November 1660.
In the latter part of the 17th century the Castle and lands came into the possession of the Most Rev Michael Boyle, who held, in addition to the See of Armagh, the Chancellorship of Ireland, a combination of ecclesiastical and legal offices common in earlier times, but last permitted in his case, and the ownership of the soil still remains in possession of his descendants, now represented by Lords Longford and De Vesci.
A description of the Castle 100 years later shows that it must have been modernised and enlarged after Ludlow's time. These improvements were probably effected by Archbishop Boyle's eldest son, Viscount Blessington, whose son, the second and last Viscount Blessington, and son-in-law, Viscount Mountjoy, subsequently held the lands. Cheevers' death took place in 1678, and the marriage of a connection of Lord Blessington's in 1686, at Monkstown, indicates that the Castle was then one of his residences.
Archdekin - Boyle - Shaw
Monkstown Castle is also known as Castle Mahon and is currently the clubhouse of Monkstown Golf Club. Built in 1636 by Anastasia Archdeacon (nee Gould) as a surprise for her husband who served with the Spanish army. Anastasia stipulated that the people building the castle should buy all their food from her and as a result the overall cost was said to be one penny. Granted in 1685 to Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh. Ca. 1795 acquired by Bernard Shaw and restored. M. Bence-Jones, A Guide to Irish Country Houses, London, 1988.
Built in 1638 for Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Robert Boyle, the celebrated physicist, inherited Stalbridge from his father, Richard. He moved into the house in March 1646 and performed many of his experiments there. Robert nearly drowned whilst crossing a river on horseback and narrowly escaped death when a ceiling of the house collapsed on him. In 1652 Robert returned to Ireland to look after his estates there. The house was bought by Peter Walter, passed to Edward Bayly in 1752 and was owned in 1820 by Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge and Marquis of Anglesey. The house was burnt down in 1820 and demolished in 1822. Only the gate piers remain.
Built between 1602 and 1605 for Lady Berkley, wife of the 7th Lord Berkley. The house passed through a number of families including the 1st Earl of Anglesey, Christopher Villiers, Benjamin Weston, Field Marshal Richard Boyle 2nd Viscount Shannon. Sir Henry Fletcher acquired the house in 1786 and it remained in Fletcher family until the 1860's when it was sold to David Sasson. The house was demolished and broken up for housing development in the 1930's when the last Sasson died without an heir.
Boyle - Hayman - Faunt 1580+
Acquired 1602 from Sir Walter Raleigh's Irish estate by Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Though remodeled twice still the best Tudor house in Ireland. Acquired by Hayman family in 18 cent. M. Bence-Jones, A Guide to Irish Country Houses, London, 1988. J.B. Burke, Visitation, 2nd Series, II, 1855, 66.