Estate: Petty-Fitzmaurice (Marquess of Lansdowne)

Associated Families

• Petty-Fitzmaurice (Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Kerry, Earl of Orkney, Lords Shelburne)
• Fitzmaurice (Earl of Kerry) (Earl of Kerry)
• Marshall (County Kerry)

Description

This estate owes its origins to Sir William Petty, renowned cartographer, mathematician and scientist. He was granted extensive lands in south Kerry, formerly the property of the O'Sullivans, in the seventeenth century. He was also granted large tracts of land in counties Limerick, Cork, Kilkenny, King's County (county Offaly) and Westmeath. Petty's daughter Anne married Thomas Fitzmaurice of Lixnaw, first Earl of Kerry. Their grandson William Petty-Fitzmaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, was created Marquess of Lansdowne in 1784. In the 1870s, the Munster estate of the Marquess of Lansdowne amounted to over 94,000 acres in county Kerry with 1,526 acres in county Limerick. This included property in the parishes of Dromod, Killinane and Prior, barony of Iveragh, county Kerry and in the parishes of St Nicholas, St Munchins and Killeely, North Liberties of Limerick and in the city itself. The Irish estate amounted to over 121,000 acres including property in Dublin, King’s and Queen’s County and Limerick. In the nineteenth century they were mostly absentee landlords. In the 1830s, the Ordnance Survey Field Name Books record James Hickson, of Landsdowne Lodge, Kenmare, as acting as agent for the Marquess of Landsdowne. Later in the century that role was undertaken by William S. Trench.

Houses

House Name / Description	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Gortmaloon (H1779) James Breen was leasing a house valued at £8 15s along with 500 acres from the Landsdowne estate at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. The building is no longer extant.	Gortmaloon East	Knockane	Cahirciveen	Curraghbog 17	Dunkerron North	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 52.00285 -9.83502 OSI Ref: V740850 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #72.
Glencar Hotel (H1780) John Breen was leasing a house valued at £7 5s along with almost 200 acres from the Landsdowne estate at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. On the 25-inch Ordnance Survey map of the 1890s, the building in this townland is labelled Glencar Hotel, which is still the name it is known by today. The hotel history indicates the property may initially been used as a hunting lodge for the Landsdowne estate. See www.glencarhouse.com.	Lyranes Lower	Knockane	Cahirciveen	Curraghbog 17	Dunkerron North	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 52.00778 -9.86435 OSI Ref: V720856 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #72.
Derreen (H1796) Peter McSweeney was leasing the property at Derreen from the Lansdowne estate at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £6 10s. Lewis also notes it as his residence in 1837. Bary states that Derreen was originally built by a branch of the O'Sullivans from whom it passed to Peter McSweeney who was married to a member of that family. It formed part of the Lansdowne estate and later came into the possession of the Petty-Fitzmaurices. In 1906 it was owned by that estate and was valued at £53 15. It was burnt in the early 1920s but rebuilt in the same style and is still extant and occupied. It is famous for its beautiful gardens.	Derreen	Tuosist	Kenmare	Ardea 54	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.76729 -9.77908 OSI Ref: V772587 Discovery map #84. OS Sheet #108.
Dromneavane (H1797) Rev. John O'Sullivan was leasing a property valued at £8 5s from the Lansdowne estate at the time of Griffith's Valuation. Labelled Dromneavane on both the 1st-edition and 25-inch Ordnance Survey Maps. A house still exists at the site.	Dromneavane	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.88957 -9.58924 OSI Ref: V906720 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.
Lansdowne Lodge (H1798) William S. Trench, Lord Lansdowne's agent, was occupying this property at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £27. In 1837 Lewis refers to it as the residence of the then agent, J. Hickson. Bary states that it was the home of the various agents of the Lansdowne estate throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was demolished in the latter decades of the twentieth century and a housing estate built on the grounds.	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.88070 -9.58021 OSI Ref: V912710 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.
Reenmore House (H1799) Rev. John Day was leasing a property valued at £12 15s from the Lansdowne estate at the time of Griffith's Valuation. This may have been the conjoined property labelled Sound House and Fir View on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey Map. On the 25-inch map of the 1890s, Sound House has become known as Reenmore House. The are still extant buildings at the site.	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.87521 -9.58728 OSI Ref: V907704 Discovery map #85. OS Sheet #93.
Sheen Cottage/The Falls (H1800) George Woodhouse was leasing a property valued at £6 from the Lansdowne estate at the time of Griffith's Valuation. On the 1st edition OS map the house in this townland is named Sheen Cottage. On the 25-inch map of the 1890s it is labelled The Falls. It is now the Sheen Falls Lodge hotel. See www.sheenfallslodge.ie.	Kenmare Old	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.87372 -9.56399 OSI Ref: V923702 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.
Riversdale (Kenmare) (H1801) George Mayberry, MD, was leasing Riversdale from the Lansdowne estate at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £12 5s. Bary states that the house was in the Mayberry family until the early twentieth century when it was pruchased by the Representative Church Body who owned it until the 1960s. It is now an hotel.	Mucksna	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.86992 -9.57983 OSI Ref: V912698 Discovery map #85. OS Sheet #93.
Shelburne Lodge (H1804) In 1786 Wilson refers to "the Earl of Shelburne's lodge at Kenmare". William Lawrenson was leasing Shelbourne Lodge at the time of Griffith's Valuation when it was valued at £10. The lessor is named as Garrett Riordan though Bary states that the house was part of the Lansdowne estate and may, in the eighteenth century, have been used by the estate agent. It has had several owners since its sale in the early twentieth century but is still extant and now run as a guesthouse. See www.shelburnelodge.com	Killowen	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.88168 -9.57443 OSI Ref: V916711 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.
Emlaghmore House (H1828) Thomas Smith was leasing this property from the Lansdowne estate at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £12 10s. Bary states that this house was associated with a branch of the O'Connell family, one of whom, Mary, married Daniel O'Connell. It later fell into ruin and nothing remains today.	Emlaghmore West	Prior	Cahersiveen	Emlagh	Iveragh	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.85563 -10.23842 OSI Ref: V458694 Discovery map #83. OS Sheet #88.
Springfield Castle (H2383) Originally a Fitzmaurice residence adjoining a tower-house of the Fitzgeralds, this house passed by a marriage in 1775 to the Deane family, Lords Muskerry. It became their main residence in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century. IN 1786 Wilson refers to it as " a very fine seat with extensive demesnes". At the time of Griffith's Valuation the Honourable Robert Fitzmaurice Deane was residing at Springfield which was valued at £45. The house was burnt in 1923 and a 19th Gothic wing was made into a new house, which may now be rented as self catering accommodation.	Springfield	Killagholehane	Newcastle	Broadford 104	Glenquin	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.35212 -8.95552 OSI Ref: R349 227 Discovery map #72. OS Sheet #54.
Castlepark (H2391) The original building was a residence of the O'Briens of Thomond. Wilson, writing in 1786 refers to Castle-Park as the seat of Mr. Smith. In 1789 it became Ormsby property and was named Blackland Castle. The home of William Maunsell in 1814. In 1833 it became the property of Christopher Delmege who rebuilt most of it. The Ordnance Survey Field Name Book describes it as "a splendid edifice 4 story high overlooking the Shannon and estimated at £2,000." The house was valued at £55 in the early 1850s and Christopher Delmege held it from the Marquess of Lansdowne. It was the seat of James O'Grady Delmege in 1894. Occupied by James Lyons, Limerick city coroner in the late 20th century, the house was gutted by fire in 2001 and for sale in 2007 for 40 million euro (Irish Independent 20 Dec 2007). Caste Park remains derelict.	Ballygrennan	St Munchins	Limerick	Limerick North Rural 58	North Liberties of Limerick	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.68584 -8.65073 OSI Ref: R560 596 Discovery map #65. OS Sheet #5.
Clonmacken (H2452) Built in 1700 by the Reverend Edmund Palmer according to the Ordnance Survey Field Name Book, this 2 storey house was occupied by Henry D'Esterre in 1814, by Captain Vereker in 1834 and by 1839 was the seat of John Brown Finch. In the early 1850s it was the residence of John Sharp, situated on the Lansdowne estate, it was held from Lawrence Kelly.	Clonmacken	St Munchins	Limerick	Limerick North Rural 58	North Liberties of Limerick	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.66056 -8.67105 OSI Ref: R546 568 Discovery map #65. OS Sheet #5.
Coolraine (H2453) Occupied by John Vereker at the time of Griffith's Valuation, valued at £30 and held from the Marquess of Lansdowne.	Coolraine	St Munchins	Limerick	Limerick North Rural 58	North Liberties of Limerick	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.66692 -8.65784 OSI Ref: R555 575 Discovery map #65. OS Sheet #5.
Shelburne (H2461) The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (buildings of Ireland) states that this was a home of William Petty-FitzMaurice (1737-1805), 2nd Earl of Shelburne and 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. The Ordnance Survey Field Name Book refers to the building of Shelburne in 1837 at a cost of £2,000. Circa 1840 it was the seat of H.N.Seymour. At the time of Griffith's Valuation it was occupied by a representative of Robert Gabbett and held from the Marquess. It was the home of Thompson Russell in 1878 and of Henrietta Rose in 1887. Now located in the grounds of Ardscoil Rís.	Farranshone More	St Nicholas	Limerick	Limerick North Rural 58	North Liberties of Limerick	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.66521 -8.64155 OSI Ref: R566 573 Discovery map #65. OS Sheet #5.
Bellevue (H2463) The description in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records the building of this house as circa 1820 and that it was the home of the artist Douglas Alexander (1871-1945), one of three brothers who were prominent Quaker merchants in the city of Limerick. At the time of Griffith's Valuation Bellevue valued at £35 was occupied by William Alexander. Another house occupied by James Alexander and valued at £31 stood close by. Both houses were held from the Marquis of Lansdowne. Later this house was the home of the Cleeves family, toffee makers.	Farranshone More	St Nicholas	Limerick	Limerick North Rural 58	Limerick City	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.66337 -8.65039 OSI Ref: R560 571 Discovery map #65. OS Sheet #5.
Kilmoyle (H2619) A house built by the Boyds, merchants in Limerick city, circa 1845 on the Lansdowne estate and originally known as Westfield. For many years the residence of the Catholic Bishops of Limerick. Sold by the Diocese to Aidan Brooks for development in 2007 for a sum reputed to be in access of 20 million euro.	Farranshone More	St Nicholas	Limerick	Limerick North Rural 58	North Liberties of Limerick	Limerick	Lat/Lon: 52.66520 -8.64451 OSI Ref: R564 573 Discovery map #65. OS Sheet #5.
The Shrubberies (Kenmare) (H4805) At the time of Griffith's Valuation, Kenmare Board of Poor Law Guardians were leasing this property from Nathaniel Irvine as an Auxiliary workhouse, when it was valued at £37. On the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map it is labelled Monastery but on the later 25-inch Map of the 1890s it appears as The Shrubberies. It is still extant.	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.87703 -9.58589 OSI Ref: V908706 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.

Archival sources

• Limerick City Archives: Sale rental of the Limerick city estate of the Marquis of Lansdowne, Aug 1919. P23/61
• Limerick City Museum: Sale rental of the Limerick city estate of the Marquis of Lansdowne, with annotations re purchaser & price, Aug 1919. LM2009.1127
• National Archives of Ireland: D. 20,252-72, M.3279-3303, 3305-33: Deeds, maps and other papers relating to estates in county Kerry sold to William Locke by the Earl of Kerry, 1768-1836.
• National Library of Ireland: Microfilm copy of reports, accounts and rentals of the Lansdowne estates in county Kerry, 1864-73. N.818, P.1020.
• National Library of Ireland: Devoy Papers: Mem by John Devoy re Lord Lansdowne's Irish estates, 1880s. Ms.18,056.
• National Library of Ireland: Rent rolls of the Earl of Shelburne's estates in a number of counties including cos Tipperary & Waterford, 18th century. Microfillm P.8961
• National Library of Ireland: Longfield map, map of lands of Killahagan, barony of Eliogarty, estate of Lady Shelburne, 8 Nov 1780. 21.F.46 (10)
• Private Possession: NRAS 3698: 1318-1967: family and estate papers, enquiries to National Register of Archives for Scotland. nra@nas.gov.uk
• Public Record Office, Northern Ireland: Journal of Lord Lansdowne’s agent mainly re property in Clonmacken, Co Limerick & in Limerick city, 1817-1832. D/2867
• Roscrea Heritage Society Centre, Damer House, Roscrea: Menton, solicitor's collection, Roscrea, includes an original document of Henry Earl of Shelburne and John Damer re purchase of lands around Roscrea dated 1734. Box 16 (3)
• Royal Irish Academy Library: Transcripts of reports to Elizabeth, Lady Shelburne, by Richard Orpen, on her estates in Co. Cork, including aifidavits relating to tenures, and notes of rents and numbers of tenants, acreages, etc., 1692. Ms. 12 L. 2

Contemporary printed sources

• GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND, 1850-1858. : Dunkerron North barony: 26 (Gortmaloon), 30 (Lyranes)
• GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND, 1850-1858. : Glanarought Barony: 6 (Dromneavane), 12 (Lansdowne Lodge & Kenmare), 17 (Sheen Cottage), 18 (Shelbourne Lodge), 21 (Riversdale)
• GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND, 1850-1858. : Iveragh Barony: 123 (Emlaghmore)
• GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND, 1850-1858. : Barony of North Liberties of Limerick, 5 (Ballygrennan), 6 (Clonmacken & Coolraine)
• HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878: 260
• LEET, Ambrose. A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 100 (Castlepark - William Maunsell), 118 (Clonmackin - Henry D'Esterre)
• LEWIS, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: Vol.II, 38 (Kenmare Parish), 661 (Tuosist Parish)
• ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS County Kerry: Vol. I, 306, Parish of Caher.
• ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS, county Limerick: VI, 50 (Clonmacken & Castlepark)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion..., HC 1906, c, 177: 252 (Derreen)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. 15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland, 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix I, Grants under Acts of Settlement: 59, 207, 219 & 279
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland. HC 1876, LXXX: 143, 150
• PRIOR, Thomas. A list of the Absentees of Ireland, and the yearly value of thier estates and incomes spent abroad. 1730: 6
• SLATER, Isaac. Royal National Directory of Ireland: List of the principal seats. (Manchester: 1894) : xxv, 216
• WILSON, William. The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 201 (Earl of Shelburne's Lodge)

Modern printed sources

• Irish Economic and Social History: BARNARD, T.C. Sir William Petty, his Irish estates and Irish population. VI (1979), 64-69.
• Jnl. of the Royal Society of Antiquaries Ireland: WOOD, Herbert. Sir William Petty and his Kerry estate. LXIV (1934), 22-40.
• Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society: LYNE, Gerard. John Townsend Trench's reports on the Lansdowne estates in Kerry 1863-73. XIX (1986), 5-64.
• Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society: LYNE, G. J. Landllord-tenant relations on the Shelburne estate in Kenmare, Bonane and Tuosist, 1770-1775' [With a rental of the estate for 1783]. XII(1979), 19-62.
• Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society: LYNE, Gerard J. William Stewart Trench and post-famine emigration from Kenmare to America, 1850-55. XXV (1992), 51-137.
• Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society: LYNE, G. J. Land tenure in Kenmare, Bonane and Tuosist, 1720-70. XI (1978), 25-55.
• Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society: LYNE, G. J. Land tenure in Kenmare and Tuosist, 1696-c.1716, with notes on the tenants and their holdings. X (1977), 19-54
• North Munster Antiquarian Journal: IRWIN, Liam. Visit of the Marquis of Lansdowne to His Limerick Estates. XLIII (2003), 118
• Weekly Irish Times: 16 Apr 1938 Derreen Lodge
• BENCE-JONES, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 101 (Derreen), 182 (Lansdowne Lodge)
• Bary, Valerie. Historical Genealogical Architectural notes of some Houses of Kerry Whitegate, county Clare: Ballinakella Press, 1994. : 95-96 (Derreen), 222 (Shelburne Lodge),
• GLIN, Knight of, GRIFFIN, D. J. & ROBINSON, N.K (eds). Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland. Dublin: Irish Architectural Archive/Irish Georgian Society, 1989. : 104 (Springfield Castle)
• LYNE, Gerard: The Lansdowne Estate in Kerry under the Agency of William Steuart Trench', 1849-72'. Dublin: Geography Publications, 2001. : All
• MOSLEY, Charles (ed). Burke's Peerage and Baronetage. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999: II, 1635-1637
• NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Special Lists.: List of rent rolls and other material Shelburne estate, 18th century. Special List 391
• O'HEA O'KEEFFE, Jane. Voices from the great houses: Cork and Kerry. (Cork: Mercier Press, 2013): 165-173
• Oidhreacht Leac Snámha. The Fitzmaurices: Lords of Kerry and Barons of Lixnaw. Lixnaw, county Kerry: Oidhreacht Leac Snámha, [n.d]: 40-59
• PETTY-FITZMAURICE, Henry William Edmund, 6th Marquess of Lansdowne. Glanerought and the Petty-Fitzmaurices. London: Oxford University Press, 1937: All