Heraldry at Rathmoylon, Co Meath

The Parish Church (CoI) is a rectangular gabled hall built in 1797 and enlarged in the nineteenth century by the addition of a substantial north transcept. In 1862 Joseph Welland added an entrance porch, octagonal belfry, tower and spire, into the angle between the transept and nave. 

In the nave there is a monument to Sir Richard Levinge who died in 1747. It is a large and impressive Tuscan aedicule in grey-black marble framing an inscribed tablet.

{Casey and Rowan: Buildings of North Leinster pp458-9.]

For the Rawdon and Fowler pedigrees, click on the following and scroll to page 5.

https://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/128_FowlerAndRawdoOfRathmolyon.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Richard_Levinge,_2nd_Baronet

Sir Richard Levinge, 2nd Baronet (c. 1685 – 1748). He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet and of his first wife Mary Corbin, daughter of Gawan Corbin, merchant of London. His father, from Derbyshire served in Ireland as MP and in various legal roles. Sir Richard (2nd) inherited the ancestral home in Derbyshire, and the newer property of Knockdrin in Co Westmeath near Mullingar. He married in 1718 Isabella Rawdon (d. 1731), daughter of Sir Arthur Rawdon and Helena Graham. John Rawdon (her brother) married Dorothy Levinge (his sister). See the pedigree. They had no children and on his death his title and estates passed to his brother Charles. He was M.P.from 1723 to 1727 for Westmeath and from 1727 to 1748 for Blessington.

The monument for Sir Richard Levinge

The arms of a chevron and three escallop shells for Levinge

The crest is an escallop shell

How is your Latin?

For more information on the Levinges of Knockdrin.

https://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2017/02/knockdrin-castle.html

Quartered arms of Fowler and Gardiner

The stained glass window was erected to the memory of the Honourable Louisa Fowler, eldest daughter of Luke Gardiner Viscount Mountjoy and widow of Robert Fowler Bishop of Ossary and Ferns. She was born in 1774 died Nov 4th 1848 leaving two sons Robert and Luke. She was buried in the family vault St Thomas's Church, Dublin by the side of her husband. Erected by her eldest son Robert of Rahiston, County of Meath.

The arms for Fowler appeared to be the quartered arms of Fowler (modern) and Fowler (ancient).

Azure on a chevron argent between three lions passant guardant or, as many crosses pattee sable.

Ermine, on a canton gules, an owl argent.

The arms for Gardiner, gules a fesse chequy argent azure between three lions rampant. 

The stained glass window of the resurrection that displays the impaled arms of Fowler and Gardiner at its base.  

The quartered arms of Fowler (ancient) and Fowler (modern) along with the crest and motto for Fowler are on the monument to Louisa and her husband Robert Fowler, Lord Bishop of Ossary and Ferns.

Williams

The monument of James Williams of Trammont died in 1853. He was son of Thomas Williams of St Catherine's Park, Leixlip. James's wife, Maria Anne Kent d. 1894 daughter of Abel Ram de la Bertouche of Donnycarney House, Dublin.  The coat of arms is a lion rampant, the crest a dog (?) and motto is Confide recte agnes.

The Crook Gravestone

Thanks to the webpages of Bruce Chandler the inscription is available, I was only able to make out parts.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~rathmolyongraveyard/directory/E25.html

          This tablet was erected
           by John Crook anno
         domini 1714 in proud rememb
         erance of his father Cap
           John Crook of Rathmolian
            who departed this life
      March ye 25th 1710 aged 62 years
          Here also lyieth Mary Cr
          ook alias Pownell relict
          of the above John Crook
         who died July ye 17th 1742
             aged 84 years

   North of this tombe lies the remains of
   Stephen Hughes who died 13th July 1843
 aged 73 years also the remains of his wife
    Elizabeth alias Crook daughter of the 
late Capt John Crook She died 14th May 1870
                aged 95 years

Of interest too us here is the coat of arms and crest on the gravestone. The closest description for the coat of arms is for Crook of Abram Hall in Lancaster. Argent on a bend gules, three roses gules. The crest is described as a Cornish chough. The arms at Rathmolyon also appear to have a bird on the upper part of the shield.

 

            The coat of arms and crest for Crook

The three roses can be seen on the bend using both photos 

                 Some of the detail of the Crook inscription.

                      The Crook gravestone.

 
For a general history of Rathmoylon see:
https://meathhistoryhub.ie/rathmolyon/

Genet Sarsfield - Six Husbands - Dardistown

Genet (Jemet) Sarsfield (c. 1528-1598) was remarkable in that she was married six times! She was possibly born at Sarsfieldstown near Laytown, Co Meath.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenet_Sarsfield

She left her mark at Dardistown Castle, the history of which we return to, below.

The Bellew and Sarsfield coat of arms at Sarsfieldstown.

The context for this coat of arms is to found at:

https://irishheraldry.blogspot.com/2022/06/marriage-stones-at-bellewstownduleek-co.html

                                                  

Genet Sarsfield (Lady Donsanie, Dunsany) was the third wife of John Bellew (1522-1600) of Bellewstown and Castletown (Dundalk). John Bellew was likely buried in Duleek. Genet was buried in Moorechurch near Julianstown. 

                                    

Moorechurch, the memorial inscription to Genet Sarsfield is approximately at the top of the shadow in the arch.

http://www.meathheritage.com/index.php/archives/item/me01280-moorechurch-church

The following website has a good photograph of the inscription:

http://www.megalithicireland.com/Moorechurch%20Church,%20Meath.html

The inscription reads: Here vnder lieth the body of Dame Ienet Sarsfeld Lady Dowager of Donsany who dyed the xxii of Febrvary an DNI 1597 (in capital letters)

Genet was an interesting lady not only for the fact that she was married six times! She was reputed to be the tallest lady living in Ireland in the 1500s. Genet's first husband was Robert Shillingford (Mayor of Dublin in 1534). Katherine Shillingford seems to be her only child who lived to adulthood. It was through Katherine that Genet appears to have moved into Dardistown as the mother-in-law of John Talbot.

The door built on to the Dardistown extension may testify to this. The extension is marked by the Sarsfield coat of arms and inscription that reads 'This chamber was made at the charge of Dame Genet Sarsfelde Ladie of Donsanie An^o 1586'. Genet continued to carry the title Lady Dunsany from her third marriage to Lord Dunsany who died in 1559. From this marriage she had two children who died in infancy. Her second husband was James Luttrell who died in 1557 and she was pregnant at the time but the child died in infancy.

Her fourth husband was Thomas Cusack, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Genet remained in the Cusack home at Lismullin, Co Meath following Thomas's death in 1571. There followed a period of litigation with her step-son Edward Cusack. Eventually Genet left Lismullin, however removing most of the valuables! Her fifth husband was another influential legal person, John Plunkett of Dunsoghly, Co Dublin who died in 1582. The marriage seemed amicable but her husband resented the Cusack quarrel and he stated that his marriage with Genet left him none the richer! Genet's sixth husband was John Bellew who survived her by three years. She died in 1597 and is buried in Moorechurch as stated above. 

The Sarsfield coat of arms at Dardistown

The drawing of the Sarsfield arms from Du Noyer's Drawing.

https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/2020741/object_DP_17482328

Here is a photograph of Dardistown, the coat of arms is located about halfway between the tall chimney and the balcony above the timber in the basement.

Another fragment at Dardistown commemorating Genet Sarsfield, Lady Donsanie

                                          

The coat of arms now at Dunsany commemorates Genet Sarsfield and her third husband Robert Plunkett, Lord Dunsany.

Dardistown Castle

Dardistown: The Sarsfield Connection

 

Dardistown was built in 1465 by Sir John Cornwalsh, an influential legal person who died around 1472. He married in 1444 Mrs Maud Talbot (née Plunkett) and through her the Talbots came to reside in Dardistown for a period of about two hundred years. They were related to the well-known Malahide family.

Maud (or Matilda) Plunkett, widow of Richard Talbot of Malahide Castle, and also widow of Thomas Hussey, 5th Baron Galtrim, who was murdered on their wedding day, thus inspiring the nineteenth-century ballad "The Bride of Malahide". Maud Plunkett, daughter of Christopher Plunkett, 1st Baron Killeen: she remarried firstly Richard Talbot and secondly John Cornwalsh, and she died in 1482.

Thomas and John Talbot resided at Dardistown in 1515 and were likely son and grandson of Maud and of her husband Richard Talbot of Malahide. John's son was Matthew who was married to Elizabeth Hamlyn and their son John mentioned in a deed of 1591 was married to Katherine Shillingford, daughter of Robert Shillingford (Mayor of Dublin 1534) and of Genet Sarsfield who was from Sarsfieldstown nearby. It would have then been as mother-in-law of John Talbot that Genet moved into Dardistown, and likely she carried plenty of dosh!

Two of their children were Robert Talbot (died 1636) married to Jane Dillon and Genet Talbot (died 1625) married to Robert Barnwall, Lord Trimbletown. Genet no doubt was named after her 'famous' grandmother, Genet Sarsfield.

The Osborne family acquired Dardistown in the 1690s and Francis Osborne was M.P. in 1693. There were various additions to the castle and eighteenth-century house over the period of the past two hundred years. After the Osbornes, the house went to the Jameson family. Patrick Geraint Jameson inherited Dardistown from his cousin Henry Ralph Osborne who died c. 1970. Next a religious group had for a period. The house was sold to the Armstrong family in the 1970s. The present owners purchased it in 1987.

See also:

http://www.dardistowncastle.ie/

From Buildings of Ireland North Leinster: Christine Casey and Alistair Rowan

Finally some more connections to Genet Sarsfield

Marriage Stones at Bellewstown/Duleek Co Meath

 This article first appeared in the Duleek Annals 2019-20

The recent comprehensive article, on the visit of George du Noyer in 1866 to Bellewstown, by Fiona Ahern has prompted a further examination of some of the Bellew ‘marriage’ stones. The fine investigative work by the late Enda O'Boyle and the relocation of one of the stones mentioned by Ahern merits revisiting the topic. In short ‘marriage stones’ commemorate a particular couple’s marriage by displaying the impaled arms of the husband on the left hand side and those of the wife on the right. The commemorative stones or plaques pertain to John Bellew (1522-1600) and of his three wives. John’s long life span and his three marriages allowed him to forge links with many well-known local families. The fact that his third wife had been married five times previously was not untypical at the time. He married in 1543 Margaret Plunkett, fourth daughter of Oliver, first Lord Louth. Margaret died about 1550. John then married Ismay Nugent who had been twice married before this. His third wife was Jenet Sarsfield, and John in turn was her sixth husband!

John Bellew of Bellewstown was appointed a Commissioner for the Preservation of the  Peace, and good Government of the County and the Town of Drogheda, and the County of Louth during the absence of the Lord Deputy Sussex, in his expedition against Shane O’ Neill, in the north parts of the Kingdom. John was seized of the Manors of Bellewstown, and Duleek, with many other lands and hereditaments in the County of    Meath, which, by Recovery, and other valuable Assurances in the law, were conveyed to the Use of himself, and his wife Dame Jenet Sarsfield, for Life; and after, to the Use of him and his Heirs (Lodge 1754, iv, 166-7).

The Plaques Commemorating John Bellew’s Marriages:

            Enda O’Boyle (1984, 114-16) has connected John Bellew’s three marriages with as many marriage stones. He did this by using the inscriptions beneath the coats of arms on each stone. John’s three wives were Margaret Plunkett, Ismay Nugent and Jenet Sarsfield, the latter resided at Dardistown Castle. Two of the plaques are now on the west- and east-facing sides of Bellewstown House (about one mile from Duleek). The third plaque is beneath the Barnewall cross at Sarsfieldstown (about one mile south of Julianstown on the N1).

            The stone on Bellewstown House facing west has, within a wreath, the Bellew arms impaling those of Plunkett. Above the arms are the initials SIB and DMP for Sir John Bellew and Dame Margaret Plunkett. The stone on the east-facing side of Bellewstown House has, within a wreath, the Bellew arms impaling those of Nugent. Above the arms are the initials IB and IN for John Bellew and Ismay Nugent. The stone at Sarsfieldstown has only the bottom third of the coat of arms. Clearly the ‘fretty’ indicates that we have the Bellew arms impaling some other arms. As we shall see it is reasonable to assume that the other arms are probably those of Sarsfield. The three stones each have an inscription below the coats of arms. The Bellew & Plunkett plaque and the Sarsfieldstown plaque are shown below. The three inscriptions are as follows:

 The Bellew & Plunkett coat of Arms at Bellewstown Lodge  

                                     The Bellew & Sarsfield Arms at Sarsfieldstown

It would be reasonable to assume that the arms impaling the Bellew arms at Sarsfieldstown belong to Jenet Sarsfield. The remaining part of the right hand side of the  Sarsfieldstown plaque resembles the bottom of the fleur-de-lis, the sole charge in the Sarsfield arms. Other local evidence would also suggest that this is the case. Jenet Sarsfield is buried nearby at Moorechurch. Ahern draws attention to the Sarsfield coat of arms at Dardistown that depicts the sole charge of a fleur-de-lis. It is reasonably obviously that the right hand side of the Sarsfieldstown plaque shows the base of the fleur-de-lis. The plaque on the east-facing side of Bellewstown Lodge is now badly weathered and difficult to photograph 

Du Noyer

            A detailed account of the visit by the artist, antiquarian and geologist George Victor du Noyer to Bellewstown in 1866 is provided by Fiona Ahern (2018, 147-62). Du Noyer presented his eleven volumes of watercolours to the Royal Irish Academy. Of interest in our context are his drawings No. 80 and No. 81. Both of these stones from Du Noyer’s catalogue, are illustrated in figure 4 of Ahern’s (2018, 158) article and these are reproduced again in du Noyer’s watercolours. Du Noyer’s drawing, No. 81 depicts the plaque bearing the Bellew & Plunkett arms along with the date of 1598. His notes point to the location in the wall of Mr Maxwell’s house. In the water colours he describes it as a ‘tablet over the door of Mr Maxwell’s Cottege near his farmyard, Bellewstown’. This is still in the same location as photographed above. Drawing No. 80 depicts the Bellew and Nugent arms and were described by du Noyer, as on the back of a garden seat at Mr Maxwell's House. They carry the inscription.

 ‘This Barne was made | Sirr Iohne Bellewe | ...ght and Dame Isma | .. ent his wife in’. Clearly this inscription does not match or fit with O’Boyle’s trio of marriage stones. This marriage stone is no longer at Bellewstown. 

O’Boyle successfully accounts for the Bellew-Nugent stone on Bellewstown Lodge that has the inscription ‘of Sir | ves Mar(g) | t Sars(f) | made thi (s)’. It was on the bridge at Bellewstown when it was sketched by Austin Cooper in 1783. This drawing has been reproduced in Cooper’s Ireland (Harbison 2000, 116-17). This Bellew & Nugent stone now at Bellewstown Lodge was not mentioned by du Noyer. So it must be presumed that it was not there when he visited Bellewstown House in 1866. O’Boyle further points out that work was carried out on the bridge over the River Nanny in 1884, so ‘it was natural to expect that the plaque was removed from the bridge crossing the Nanny, which ran through the Bellewstown estate, and where better to erect it than on one of the buildings nearby?’.

=

                                         The Bellew & Nugent coat of Arms at Duleek     

                         The Bellew & Nugent Arms on Du Noyers’ drawing No. 80

So where did the plaque, on the back of the garden seat, drawn by du Noyer go? When I wrote an article (2004, 445), it was then described as a missing stone. Following the death of James Bellew (1920-2010) 7th Lord Bellew of Barmeath in England, the stone resurfaced. So how did it end up in England? James’s uncle, Sir George Rothe Bellew (1899-1993) held various heraldic positions and in 1950 he became Garter Principal King of Arms. He was tasked with overseeing the State Funeral of King George VI in 1952. He also played a key role in organising the Queen’s Coronation. Bellew’s successor as Garter, Sir Anthony Wagner, referred to him in his 1988 memoirs; he wrote that Bellew seemed ‘in early years a temperamental, combative Irishman not easy to live with, though always possessed of great feeling for ceremonial and heraldic design and a skillful pen and pencil. In later years I have found him ever more charming’. In his retirement he lived at Farnham in Surrey, so it would appear that George, his brother or an earlier family member may have picked up the arms that once adorned the garden seat at Bellewstown. George’s half-brother, Bryan Bellew (1890-1981), 6th Lord Bellew, used to periodically visit Bellewstown. So it would hardly take the sophisticated detective skills of Enda O'Boyle to piece this together!  This marriage stone is now back at Barmeath. 

Duleek Window

            There is a similar Bellew & Nugent stone under the east window of the south aisle in the church at Duleek.. The inscription reads ‘This Window was made by Sirr Iohne Bellewe Knight and Dame Ismay Nvgent his wife in the yeare of ovre Lord 1587. They must be one of the most commemorated couples, for there is a similar plaque on the bridge at Ballinacor (near Delvin, Co Westmeath) and one also on their tomb at St Nicholas’s Churchyard at Dundalk. The inscription on the Dundalk tomb reads:

In a will dated 14 June 1589, John Bellew directed ‘If I be buried in Duleek I will that my well beloved wife Ismay Nugent shall be moved thither at my charge’ (National Archives, Bellew papers, 1121/1/10, p. 51). If Ismay’s remains were removed from St Nicholas’s, Dundalk to Duleek this might account for the dates of their deaths not being cut on the slab. Tempest’s (1952, 279) article also concluded that the couple were likely buried at Duleek.  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

I would like to thank the late Enda O’Boyle (R.I.P.), The McKean family, Bellewstown, Lord & Lady Bellew, Barmeath, Peter Harbison, the staff at R.I.A. and Andrew Wright.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fiona Ahern, 2018, ‘An Account of George Victor du Noyer's Visit to Bellewstown in 1866’, Ríocht na Mídhe, xxix, 147-62.

Seamus Bellew, 2004, ‘Coats of Arms and the Bellew Family’, C.L.A.H.J. xxv, 4, 426-50.

George Du Noyer, 1867, Sketches at the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, vol. viii, nos 80, and 81.

Peter Harbison, 2000, Cooper’s Ireland: Drawings and Notes from an Eighteenth Century Gentleman, Dublin.

J. Lodge, 1754, The Peerage of Ireland, 4 vols, London.

Enda O’Boyle, 1984, ‘The Bellew Plaques’, Ríocht na Mídhe, vii, 3, 114-6.

H. G. (Harry) Tempest, 1952, ‘The Bellew-Nugent Tomb in Dundalk’, C.L.A.H.J. vii, 4, 279-80. 

A Heraldic Conundrum from Cummer

 This article first appeared in the Journal of the Old Tuam Society in 2021.

The presence of a full achievement of arms complete with a coronet of an earl on the Glynn gravestone at Cummer poses our heraldic conundrum. It begs the question as to whom the gravestone was intended for, or why the Glynn family would identify with these elaborate arms. One of the eighteenth-century Burke gravestones at Cummer depicts some mortality symbols along with what appears to be the family crest. The inclusion of four shamrocks on the eighteenth-century Nolan gravestone is also curious and the Nolan family crest on the archway at nearby Ballinderry provides further additional context in the relation to the Glynns.

A late medieval church is located in the early ecclesiastical enclosure in the townland of Glebe. The graveyard is also within this enclosure and includes the fine burial vault with a corbelled roof, dedicated to Edmondus de Burgo and dated 1730. The townland of Glebe consists of some fifteen acres and is bordered by the much larger townland of Cummer (650 acres) and both are in the civil parish of Cummer. The graveyard is usually referred to as Cummer. The Glynn gravestone of interest carries the inscription for the five brothers:

 

            In | Memory | Of | The Brothers | Stephen, John | William, Michael | And |   Thomas Glynn |                    R.I.P. | A.D. 1887.

The achievement of arms of the Earl of Granard along with compass, set square and gavel.

Thomas Glynn died on 2 January 1887 aged 77 at Tuam Workhouse and his occupation was given as a 'stonecutter'. He appears to be last of the brothers to die and it is probable that the inscription was added to the gravestone sometime after that. It would be natural to check if the arms matched those of some aristocratic Glynn family. One such similar local example is the Hale coat of arms, dated 1836 for Archbishop MacHale over the door of the Cathedral (R.C.). No such arms for Glynn were found and it transpires that they are in fact those of Forbes, Earl of Granard. They consist of three bears' heads (muzzled). The supporter on the left is a unicorn and that on the right is a dragon with expanded wings. The crest over the earl's coronet is a bear passant. The family motto 'Fax mentis incendium gloriæ' is not legible or not included at Cummer.

The building of St Colman's Church at Corofin was commenced in 1829 by Canon Patrick Canavan P.P. and completed by his nephew Dr Patrick Duignan in 1844. Skilled masons, carpenters and craftsmen would have been required to carry out this work. It has been conjectured that the local stone mason family, the Glynns of Curry would have been employed. They were highly skilled, having previously worked for the Nolans at Ballybanagher and at Ballinderry. In 1834 the Glynns were contracted to build the bridge over the river Grange on the Tuam to Ballyglunin Park road.[1] The listing of both Stephen and Thomas Glynn at Curry Oughter in Griffith's Valuation (c. 1855) is noted.

The IHS motif and trumpeting angels on the Glynn gravestone.

The Glynn gravestone with the achievement of arms of the Earl of Granard, may have already been carved prior 1887 where space was reserved for an additional inscription. The gravestone could have been previously commissioned by the Earl of Granard, or perhaps the Glynns may have produced a duplicate for their own grave. The religious symbolism on the gravestone consists of the IHS motif within a sunburst flanked on either side by trumpeting angels. The keys of St Peter are also present along with a dove. Also noted beside the achievement of arms are the additional symbols of the compass, set square and gavel. These symbols are often associated with freemasons but in the case of the Glynns, they were stonemasons. The IHS motif and keys have strong Catholic connotations and would appear to rule out a freemason association.

The Burke Gravestone

The other gravestone of heraldic interest is that of Richard Burke. It depicts what looks like the Burke family crest, a cat, along with the mortality symbols of the skull and crossbones and coffin. The inscription reads: I.H.S. | Pray for the souls of | Rich^d Burke his son | W^m Burke & wife | The(r?) Rose who | Erec^d ... Mom^t | Jan 1780.

The cat, skull, crossbones and coffin on the Burke gravestone at Cummer

The Nolan Gravestones 

Two gravestones just outside the old ruined church are both dedicated to a young child, Andrew Nolan. Both inscriptions together follow and have been reworked in conjunction with those already recorded:[1]

Underneath this stone doth lyeth | the Body of A Noble child in token | of greif  (sic.) & great  respect to his | Memory this Monum^t I do erect | the 1^th7 of octob^r 80 he Dec | is^d the 4^th y^r of his Age | Andrew Nolan A.D.

Farewell fond child to you be | that P^eace to Virtue Due | in seats of Bliss Prep^d  in He | aven for all the Just like you. | John (?) Nolan.

One of these gravestones depicts three larger shamrocks (trefoils) and a fourth smaller one. These appear to represent the three 'full' years of age and part of the fourth year of the child's life. The recorded inscription gives the date as 1780 but it appears to read as '80, that stands for 1780. Clearly the style of the gravestones dates them from the eighteenth century.

 The Nolans were Elizabethan settlers in Co Mayo who were transplanted to Ballinderry in the parish of Cummer during the Cromwellian period. The house was burnt in the 1920s, all that remains are the farm buildings that can be accessed through the stone archway dated 1843 and signed by M.G. This work was carried out by the Glynns. The Nolan crest is carved onto the keystone of the arch. It is a lion rampant and the family motto 'Cor unum via una' (one heart, one way) is also included.[2]

All the gravestones mentioned are listed and mapped on the marble display panel that was erected at Cummer in July 2020. They are Burke (208), Glynn, Corofin (222), Nolan (183), and Nolan (184).

                                Four shamrocks (trefoils) on the Cummer gravestone to Andrew Nolan.

                                   Right:The Nolan crest on the keystone on the archway at Ballinderry.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the staff of the library at Tuam and to Gerard Crotty, Jim Higgins and Ruairí Ó hAodha for their comments and helpful conversation. 

---

[1] 'Cummer Cemetery', 1999/2000, Corofin News, No. 12, p. 56.

[2] Maura Nolan, 1991, The Nolans of Ballinderry, The Corofin News, No. 4, pp 9-11.

---

[1] Sean Cunningham, 1994, 'Celebration of 150th year of Corofin Church - October 1994: The Building of the Church 1829-1844', The Corofin News, No. 7, pp 11-19.

The Smith Family of Annesbrook, Co Meath: Associated Heraldry

 

This article originally appeared in The Annals of Duleek, a local publication. The heraldry, of the Smith family who resided at Annesbrook, Duleek for more than a century, provides an interesting backdrop to their association with the Parish of Duleek. The townland of Annesbrook is situated about two miles from Duleek and the property there was owned by Thomas Fay in 1796. John McCullen (2011) in his detailed article on the Smiths says that the first member of the Smith family to reside at Annesbrook was Henry Smith (d. c. 1817), of Beabeg near Drogheda, who purchased the house in the early 1800s. His son, Henry Jeremiah Smith (1784-1857) married first in 1802 Margaret Osborne of Dardistown and second in 1809 to Elizabeth Radcliff of Tinnakilly, Co Wicklow. One of the sons from the second marriage was Stephen Henry Smith (1812-90) who succeeded at Annesbrook.

 

Figure 1: The Smith arms at Annesbrook

Stephen Smith, High Sheriff of Meath in 1861, married first to Georgina Pelly. One of their three daughters, Constance married Colonel John Coddington of Oldbridge. Stephen married secondly in 1876, Francesca Bourchier Savile. After Stephen’s death in 1890, Annesbrook continued in Smith ownership until 1920 when it was sold. The present owner, Ms Kate Sweetman has successfully operated a guest house there for over twenty years. She comes from a family with a deep interest in the built and living heritage and is sister of P. David Sweetman, former Chief Archaeologist of Ireland (Annesbrook Website). The Smith coat of arms (Figure 1) and crest (Figure 2) are on a beautiful stained-glass window at Annesbrook.

Figure 2: The Smith crest at Annesbrook 

 

Thanks to the foresight of the late Enda O'Boyle, we have a recording of the wall plaques from St Kienan’s Church of Ireland in Duleek (O’Boyle, 2002). He kindly loaned his photograph of the stained-glass window and while its quality is not perfect, the detail is sufficient to identify the associated heraldry. Regrettably the plaques and stained-glass window no longer exist. The stained-glass window at Duleek (Figure 3) was erected to the memory of Stephen Smith by his wife, Francesca, and children. It contained two impaled shields, these recognised both of Stephen’s marriages, the first to Georgina Pelly and the second to Francesca Bourchier Savile. The lower shield contains the impaled arms of Smith and Savile. The second shield shows the arms of Smith and Pelly. The Smith crest of a demi-bull along with a red background was displayed above each of the shields. 

Figure 3: The Smith Window at Duleek, Courtesy of the late Enda O'Boyle

The Smith arms contains two unicorns and a diagonal, including three lozenges (Figure 1). The Pelly arms consist of a diagonal (engrailed) that contains three martlets. While the martlets on the window were white (argent), they are yellow (or) on the Pelly arms shown in (Figure 4). The arms also included two trefoils. The Savile arms contain a diagonal and three owls (Figure 5). Among the Smith plaques recorded at Duleek by Enda O’Boyle was one to Stephen Smith’s first wife that read ‘In loving memory of Georgina Barbara dearly beloved wife of Lt. Col. Stephen Henry Smith J.P. of Annes Brook and only daughter of Lt. Col. Raymond Pelly C.B. 16th Lancers. Died June 19th 1854 ...’. There was also a plaque at Duleek to Stephen Smith that read: ‘To the glory of God and to the beloved memory of Stephen Henry Smith of Annesbrook in this parish who entered into rest February 5th 1890 … erected by his wife …’.

              

                        Figure 4: The arms of Pelly 

        

                             Figure 5: The arms of Savile    

The Smith arms shown in Figure 1 and the crest in Figure 2, are depicted on the stained-glass window at Annesbrook. The colours (tinctures) of the crest differed from those on the Duleek window. The demi-bull is blue at Annesbrook while it was a natural colour (Brown) at Duleek. Also at Annesbrook are arms within a lozenge shape that appear to represent those of Wallace. Usually arms displayed in a lozenge shape represent those of the wife. The arms of Wallace (Figure 6) are given by a red background and a lion rampant, charged with eight mullets all within a bordure. The eldest sister of Stephen Smith, Catherine, married in 1843, Sir Robert Wallace K.C.B., K.C.S.I. He was in the Bombay Staff Corps and first commissioner of Rawalpindi. The window at Annesbrook was likely erected to commemorate the marriage of the eldest daughter of the house to Sir Robert Wallace.

      

Figure 6: The arms of Wallace at Annesbrook 

  

    Figure 7: The arms of Wallace at Annesbrook

Also of interest is the stained-glass window at Kentstown, dedicated to Emily, sister of Stephen Smith. She died in 1864 and had lived at Besborough House in the parish of Kentstown. Elizabeth Smith (née Radcliffe) and mother of fifteen children including Stephen and Emily, had bought the lands at Besborough. She retired there after her husband’s death in 1857 and resided there until her death on 5 March 1872. The Kentstown window has two panels and the arms of Smith are displayed in one while the quartered arms of Smith and Wallace are depicted on the other panel as shown in Figure 7. William Smith, brother of Stephen who lived at Besborough is buried at Kentstown. The Smith arms were confirmed in 1844 by William Betham, Principal Herald of All Ireland to Henry Smith D.L., J.P. The fact that the Smiths descended from an ancient Yorkshire family was also recognised. The motto ‘Delectat Amor Patriae’ (The love of our country delights) was also used.

References

A History of Duleek by Enda O'Boyle, 1989.

‘The Smith Family’, by John McCullen, Co Louth Archaeological and Historical Journal, 2011, vol. xxvii pp 379-409.

Inscriptions from the Wall Plaques which were in St. Kienan’s Church of Ireland Church in Duleek, by Enda O'Boyle in Ríocht na Midhe, 2002, vol. xxvii pp 96-99.

Heraldry at Kentstown, Co. Meath, by Seamus Bellew, Ríocht na Midhe, 2011, vol. xxxvi pp 64-89.

 (Annesbrook website)

http://www.annesbrook.com/

 (Grant of arms to Henry Smith, Insert 297 into the box where 1 is present, hit return!)

http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000529302#page/297/mode/1up

Acknowledgements

 

The author would like to acknowledge the support and interest of Ms Kate Sweetman of Annesbrook. The late Enda O’Boyle generously shared his notes and photographs. Thanks also to Noel Ross, John McCullen, Gerard Crotty and Andrew Wright.