Lord Belmont In Northern Ireland

The 4th Baron O'Neill

2009-12-30T15:50:00.003Z

The Right Honourable Raymond Arthur Clanaboy Baron O'Neill, KCVO, TD, JP, heads a most distinguished family, in historical and dynastic terms. Lately HM Lord-Lieutenant for County Antrim - until he relinquished this role on his 75th birthday on the 1st September, 2008 - Lord O'Neill has many interests, not least his stewardship of the family seat at Shane's Castle.

During the 19th century the O'Neills were the largest landowners in County Antrim, holding 64,163 acres.

Lord O'Neill was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order following relinquishment as Lord-Lieutenant.

The Earldom of O'Neill became extinct in 1841 and eventually, in 1868, the Barony was restored and the Reverend William Chichester became the 1st Baron O'Neill.

Lord O'Neill has, like his father, had a military background. His father, the 3rd Baron, was killed in action in 1944; so Lord O'Neill succeeded to the title when he was only 11 years old.

His other main interests include conservation, transport history and tourism. He held the chairmanship of the National Trust NI for many years; and the NI Tourist Board too. He is particularly interested in railways and "steam". I recall the Shane's Castle Railway which ran through the demesne, and visited it as a child.

Lord O'Neill was the stepson of Ian Fleming, the James Bond creator. His uncle Terence, Lord O'Neill of the Maine, was a former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. He has three sons: the Hon Shane O'Neill, his heir; the Hon Tyrone O'Neill; and the Hon Rory O'Neill.

The Shane's Castle estate is one of the largest and finest private demesnes in Northern Ireland, extending to 3,000 acres. It lies in a particularly scenic, not to say strategic, position on the north-east shore of Lough Neagh between Antrim and Randalstown. Part of the Estate is a nature reserve.

The O'Neill family has had a hapless history with regard to the fate of their houses: the first Shane's Castle dated from the early 1600s and was utterly destroyed by an accidental fire in 1816. The family moved to a small house adjoining the stables. This house was replaced in 1865 by a larger, Gothic Victorian castle which, tragically, was burnt by the IRA in 1922 (as was the nearby Antrim Castle). Its ruin was subsequently cleared away, and for the next 40 or so years the family lived once again in the stables.

Then, in the sixties, a new house was built for the present Lord O'Neill at the opposite corner of the stables to where the Victorian castle stood. It is classical, well-proportioned, with a handsome fanlighted doorway.

This article was last published in July, 2008, and has since been updated.

The Ultimate Mattress?

2009-12-30T12:16:00.003Z

I have used the same bed and mattress for my slumber for as long as I can remember; since time immemorial. I have never given a second's thought to purchasing a new one. Why should I? The present one seems comfortable enough to me and I've never had cause to complain. No sore back, or anything else.

Nevertheless, I was intrigued to see what was on offer at the bed store beside my health club this morning; so I popped in to have a look.

One particular bed drew my attention, manufactured by a company called Hypnos. Its price, however, astounded me: £2,300 for a single, three-foot bed. And that was the sale price.

I think we can safely assume that these are considered to be "the Rolls-Royce" of beds. Are they really worth the price? Mind you, bearing in mind that some of us spend a third of our lives in bed...

Miss Enid Blyton

2009-12-30T08:37:00.003Z

I watched rather a good drama about the life of the famous children's author, Enid Blyton, last night. It was on BBC4 at 9pm, though I have a feeling that it was shown on another channel prior to that.

I think many of these biographical dramas need to be taken with a little pinch of salt; though I enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter playing the title role.

I imagine that Enid Blyton must have been the J K Rowling of her day; for she lived in some style in a large country house with plenty of staff, including a poor chauffeur who was threatened with dismissal if he didn't get rid of his cold! Whether this little episode was made up for the viewers' benefit, or whether there was anecdotal evidence of its veracity, I am unable to confirm.

Enid Blyton was a bit of a paradox. She seemingly invited children - her young fans - to parties at her country home, an act she obviously relished; yet her own little daughters were banished to the nursery. Moreover, she didn't seem to love them and came across as an unkind mother.

As I say, I enjoyed it. I loved her books, particularly the Famous Five series; and I had them all.

Blessingbourne Estate

2009-12-29T12:54:00.009Z

Located just north of Fivemiletown in County Tyrone, much of the Blessingbourne estate used to be in the neighbouring County of Fermanagh. This country estate came to the Montgomery family through marriage early in the 18th century.

During Victorian times, the Blessingbourne estate comprised 7,996 acres.

This is a Regency period demesne, created for a modest dwelling of 1810, referred to as, ‘a romantic thatched cottage’ built as a bachelor pad for Hugh Montgomery. When the family left County Fermanagh, their former seat was Derrygonnelly Castle which was burnt in the late 18th century. Hugh Montgomery, known as ‘Colonel Eclipse’, married in 1821 and travelled abroad, needing the cottage only for very occasional visits.

The present house is much more substantial. It is a large restrained Elizabethan style manor-house designed by F. Pepys Cockerell and built between 1870 and 1874 for Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery, grandson of Hugh Montgomery. Its grey stone elevations overlook a natural lough, Lough Fadda and is surrounded by a present-day garden around former sunken lawns, Fastigate yews and a gravel terrace, vestiges of the garden made for the present house. A planted area and lawns on the south east side, which leads to the lough, is now a grazing field. Views were opened up in the 1960s.

There is also a late 19th century rhododendron walk. There are fine mature woodland and parkland trees. A walk through the woods goes round the lake; a lake walk, via a rockery (now unkempt). There is public access in the woods and the Ulster Wildlife Trust undertakes some management here. This wood dates from the time of the present house. The boat house and summer house have gone. The part-walled garden is partly cultivated and dates from the time of the first dwelling. The Gardener’s House was replaced by a bungalow in the 1970s. There is a very pretty Tudor style gate lodge, built c.1845 by Hugh Ralph Severin Montgomery after he succeeded to the property in 1838.

Major-General Hugh Montgomery's brother was Field-Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd. Peter Montgomery, former president of the NI arts council, stylishly redecorated much of the interior of Blessingbourne.

In December, 2007, the Daily Telegraph published an obituary of Hugh (Montgomery) Massingberd:-

". . . He was born Hugh John Montgomery at Cookham Dean, in Berkshire, on December 30 1946. His father was in the Colonial Service and later worked for the BBC; his mother was a "Leftward-leaning schoolmistress". His remoter background, however, was distinctly grand, even if it promised a great deal more than it delivered. The Montgomerys, seated at Blessingbourne in Co Tyrone, were a Protestant Ascendancy family, albeit exceptionally conscious of the need to right the wrongs suffered by Roman Catholics.

In his youth Hugh stayed at the Montgomerys' pseudo-Elizabethan (actually 1870) pile in the full expectation that one day it would be his. There was a strong military tradition in the family. Hugh's paternal grandfather was Major-General Hugh Montgomery, while his great-uncle, the major-general's younger brother, ended his career as Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1933 to 1936 .

. . . As a teenager, Hugh seemed to add substance to his dreams when he went to stay with his Uncle Peter at Blessingbourne. Peter Montgomery was something of a figure in Ulster, to such a degree that his homosexuality, at that date unknown to Hugh, did not prevent him from becoming Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone... It was, therefore, a shattering blow to be told in his mid-teens that a cousin who intended to be a farmer would inherit Blessingbourne. This youth, it was judged, would be better qualified than Hugh to return the estate to order after years of benign neglect under Peter Montgomery".

The estate was eventually inherited by Captain Robert Lowry, a great-great grandson of Colonel Hugh Montgomery. I recall Captain Lowry voluntarily "skippering" the Weatminsters' yacht, Trasna, about twenty years ago at Crom. The Westminster family had an absolutely beautiful, classic, wooden motor yacht which they used to keep at Ely Lodge.

It was called Trasna; it was the finest vessel I'd ever seen on Lough Erne. It was about fifty feet in length and held sixteen persons in comfort. Trasna sported a magnificent kind of figurehead on her bow: a golden sheaf, or bundle, of wheat (or corn). The vessel was acquired by the National Trust for a short period before acquisition by the Duke of Abercorn for Belle Isle.

Colleen and Nicholas Lowry now run luxury self-catering apartments on the estate.

NI Honours Speculation

2009-12-28T21:04:00.003Z

Two Lord-Lieutenants in Northern Ireland have retired recently, viz. Lord O'Neill and Sir William Hall; both having been appointed Knight Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order.

During 2009, the Duke of Abercorn and the Lady Carswell have also relinquished the Lieutenancies of County Tyrone and the City of Belfast respectively.

In addition, the Duke has served the Queen in a personal capacity as Lord Steward of the Household. His Grace's late mother, Kathleen Duchess of Abercorn, DCVO, was Mistress of the Robes to HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1964-1990.

I shouldn't be at all surprised if there are conferments of Knight Grand Cross (GCVO) and Dame Commander (DCVO) to the Order.

The Great Fermanagh Estates

2009-12-28T12:19:00.008Z

I am going to begin writing about the great country estates and landowners of County Fermanagh shortly. I've always had a great affection for Fermanagh; ever since I spent holidays there as a boy. Indeed I wrote a nostalgic article about Castle Archdale earlier this year.

There is an abundance of rich material and truly beautiful demesnes in the county to dwell on. Some remain private and still owned by the families; others are forgotten or have been transformed into forests and country parks.

I intend to commence the series with Blessingbourne estate, which is technically in County Tyrone though a substantive part of the demesne was in Fermanagh.

Castle Irvine - now known as Necarne Castle - was a large estate near Irvinestown; now an equestrian centre.

Rosslea Manor, home to the Maddens, was burnt in 1885 and finally demolished in 1914; and, it is believed, is now mainly forestry.

The manor-house at Killadeas was another substantive estate, extending to over 11,000 acres; now a hotel.

The lovely Belle Isle estate, near Lisbellaw, belongs to the Duke of Abercorn - or, rather, the Duke's second son, Lord Nicholas Hamilton; now a holiday leisure complex and catering school.

The aforementioned Castle Archdale - with its noble manor-house - used to be one of the biggest estates in the county; now a holiday camp and country park.

Colebrooke Park , a stately home near the village of Brookeborough, remains the seat of the Viscounts Brookeborough to this very day.

Florence Court, a property of the National Trust and once the seat of the Earls of Enniskillen, was formerly a very large estate.

Crom still remains the seat of the Earls of Erne, though the country estate has been a property of the National Trust since 1988. Lord and Lady Erne live in the stately Victorian mansion which is private; though, like Colebrooke, run partly on a commercial basis as luxury accommodation in its west wing.

Ely Lodge, near Enniskillen, was once a seat of the Marquesses of Ely; then purchased by Lt-Col Robert Grosvenor about 1948. The Westminster family's connection with Ely ended about 1987, when Voila, Duchess of Westminster died in a tragic car accident; and it is now privately owned. Lord Ely was the largest landowner in County Fermanagh, with 34,879 acres.

Queen's Quarter Amble

2009-12-27T14:26:00.009Z

I felt like an urban stroll today, so I motored over to University Square, adjacent to the Queen's University of Belfast, and parked the baby two-seater there.

Ambling round College Green, I had a look at the recent damage inflicted to the Union Theological College; then I passed that agreeable little bistro-restaurant, Molly's Yard, which is entered from Botanic Avenue. Click on the image to read the bistro menu.

Thence my route took me up Mount Charles, turning right at University Road, and along Upper Crescent, parts of which are still in a deplorably neglected state. Who, might I inquire, owns 16, Upper Crescent? It is in a most dreadful condition due to the negligence of its owner. In 1974 it was owned by the University.

Carrying on along Lower Crescent, I crossed and walked up Lisburn Road; and up Fountainville Avenue; down Claremont Street; up Camden Street; and down Fitzwilliam Street; finally strolling along Elmwood Avenue.

Generally speaking, these streets have an air of neglect about them, possibly due to either irresponsible landlords, tenants or both! I passed Queen's red-brick Lanyon Building: I do wish they would reinstate the iron railings round the perimeter with replicas. There must be pre-war photographs somewhere. This would considerably enhance the appearance of the area. The "stumps" of the old railings can still clearly be seen.

The Dukedom of Abercorn

2009-12-27T09:34:00.009Z

The Dukes of Abercorn have been County Tyrone's greatest landowners since the Plantation, with estates extending to 60,000 acres in 1872. I have written an article about the present Duke here.

The coat-of-arms above belonged to the 2nd Marquess of Abercorn KG.

My information about the Abercorn family and estates comes from several sources, including the Abercorn Papers at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; and the NI Environment Agency. Despite the length of this article, it has, nevertheless, been greatly condensed.

I shall begin with the 1st Earl of Abercorn.The 1st Earl (1575-1618) was one of the promoters of the Plantation of Ulster, and had a very great estate granted out of the escheated lands in County Tyrone. The Tyrone estate derived from Plantation grants, some of which survive in the archive, of four manors in the parishes of Ardstraw, Donaghedy, Leckpatrick, Camus and Urney, and in what came to be defined as the barony of Strabane Lower. The four manors were, from north to south: Donelong, Cloghogle, Strabane and Derrygoon/ Derrywoon/Dirrywoon (where Baronscourt is situated).

The Donegal estate, across the River Foyle from the manor of Donelong, came in by a combination of marriage and purchase in the second half of the seventeenth century.

The best documented Abercorn property outside Tyrone and Donegal is the Dublin town house on the corner of York Street and Stephen's Green which was held by lease from the Dean and Chapter of St Patrick's, and was brought into the family through the 6th Earl's marriage in 1684.

The Priory, Stanmore, Middlesex, was another property of the Dukes of Abercorn. In 1852-1854, this was sold (for over £90,000) by the 2nd Marquess, subsequently the 1st Duke, in order to pay off his debts and, it was said, after some deliberation over whether Baronscourt should be sold instead. Most of the title deed material relating to the Middlesex estate passed to the purchaser, Sir John Kelk. Hampden House, in Green Street, London, became the town house of the Abercorn family in 1869.

In 1868, at the time the dukedom of Abercorn was created, the rental income of the estates had been restored to its 1818 level, standing at nearly £40,000 a year.

By the mid-1850s, the 1st Duke had spent nearly £30,000 buying church lands and other property in the vicinity of Baronscourt, and at least £20,000 more on improving and planting them. During the financial crisis which beset him at that time, and which obliged him to sell The Priory, outlying townlands in his inherited fee simple estate in Tyrone and Donegal with a rental of over £2,000 a year were sold for £51,000. Both the composition and character of the estate changed greatly during this period.

The Abercorn family were never extensive English landowners. The Priory estate, for example, which was probably the largest English property they ever owned, produced a mere £2,750 a year in 1840; and in 1797 the 1st Marquess had described The Priory as 'a large house, [run] at great expense, without what deserves the name of property around it'. Yet, from at least the late seventeenth century, when the 5th Earl was in possession of a property in Oxfordshire, the Abercorns were never without an English base. Indeed, during the period 1868-1918 three of the 1st Duke's sons sat in parliament for English constituencies.

The 7th and 8th Earls maintained town houses, first in Cavendish Square and then (by 1763) in Grosvenor Square, as well as Witham Place, to which the 8th Earl added a wing in the 1740s. The 1st Marquess sold Witham, but retained his uncle's town house, and greatly extended his own house and estate at Stanmore. Ironically, the proximate reason for the 1st Duke's having to sell The Priory in 1852-1854, was an over-ambitious attempt to extend his English base by spending nearly £100,000 (which he did not possess) on buying the estate of Dale Park, near Arundel, Sussex. Both before and after the sale of The Priory, the 1st Duke kept up a succession of London town houses: Dudley House (Park Lane), Chesterfield House (Audley Street) and, from 1869, the house which the Abercorn family were to retain until the First World War and which they were to make famous, Hampden House (Green Street).

The Baronscourt Estate

Baronscourt, near Newtonstewart in County Tyrone, is Northern Ireland's only ducal seat and one of our grandest houses and demesnes. The unwalled demesne is wooded around three lakes, Loughs Catherine, Fanny and Mary, lying in a valley and was laid out as a landscape park from the mid-18th century. The development of the demesne is well documented and it is one of the few at which named landscapers were employed.

The Hamilton family have lived here since 1612; ruins of their Scottish-style plantation castle and bawn (Derrywoone) lies about half a mile north of the present house within the demesne; it has recently (2005) been stabilised and conserved. In the early 1740s James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn (1685-1744) initiated the building of a Palladian villa on high ground just north of the present house, part of which survives as the Agent’s house. This work was completed by his son James, the 8th Earl (1712-1789), and was undertaken by the local builder/architect James Martin, but was badly built and rarely visited. It was later decided by 8th Earl to build a new house on a different site closer to the lake; and work on foundations began in July 1767.

No further progress was made until 1779 when John, 9th Earl and (later) 1st Marquess of Abercorn (1756-1818) engaged the Scottish architect George Steuart, who arrived from London with masons and carpenters to take charge of operations. Work on this stage of the house, with its south facing entrance front, was completed in 1782. In May 1791 (Sir) John Soane visited Baronscourt and proposed alterations, notably by reversing the house and adding curving screens. This work, overseen by Soane’s assistant Robert Woodgate, lasted four years from 1791-95. There was a disastrous fire in December 1796, but due to political disturbances of the time the damaged centre of the house was left until 1810, when it was re-roofed temporarily to the top of the 1st floor.

In 1818 the 1st Marquess’s grandson, James Hamilton (1811-1885) succeeded to the estate and titles, being raised to 1st Duke of Abercorn in 1868. He engaged Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison to remodel house in 1836-41.

After another fire, which destroyed the east wing on the entrance front, Sir Albert Richardson was engaged in 1946-47 by James Hamilton, the 3rd Duke (1869-1953) to remodel the house. He reduced both wings flanking the entrance and the Morrison service wing. In 1970 Raymond Firth built a garage on the site of this Morrison wing, while in 1975-76 David Hicks was commissioned to remodel the interior.

The house lies in a declivity, which drops further to Lough Fanny below. Woodland planting began here in 1746, when the 8th Earl sent a gardener here called James Broomfield to put down trees, and in 1751, on the opposite side of Lough Fanny, the deer park established and stocked with deer from England. This was planted by Broomfield with clumps of lime, beech and laburnum. Extensive large-scale landscaping took place at Baronscourt in 1770s and 1780s as a setting for the new Steuart designed house. Much of this work was supervised by Thomas Hudson, then the head gardener [discharged 1790].

When Daniel Beauford came here in 1786 he commented upon the ‘magnificent seat’ and ‘the great number of fine oaks and three long narrow lakes which ornament this place and give it an air of great grandeur’. The park with its extensive plantations, enclosing all three lakes, covered about 900 acres by the early 19th century. In the 1840s, following the remodelling of the house by the Morrisons, the park was considerably enlarged and extensively re-designed, almost certainly to designs of the famous landscape gardener James Frazer.

The Lough Fanny Deer Park was also enlarged to occupy the whole area between the lake and the public road skirting the demesne; at this time the deer was landscaped to form an integral part of the landscape park. In consequence to this development, the view across the lough to the rising ground of the Deer Park is now decorated with a great number of splendid mature parkland trees. In the decades following the Morrison improvements a number of garden embellishments were added near the house itself.

In the late 1840s or early 1850s an enormous ramped Italian parterre terraced garden was added to the lake or west front, with a parterre designed by W. Broderick Thomas. It is believed that 13 gardeners alone were needed to tend this parterre, which was cleared in 1913 and replaced for many years with rather unsatisfactory island beds; eventually these, too,were removed and now only some stone balustrading survives.

On the south side of the house a terraced garden was made by the Dublin gardener Ninian Niven in 1876 for the 1st Duke, after his second term as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1874-6). This garden was formed on three terraces with terracotta balustrading and urns and a semi-circle of yew-hedges on the lowest terrace. It was here that the pale peachy orange Potentilla ‘Sophie’s Blush’ was discovered. In the early 1990s this was restored and herbaceous borders replanted in the middle terrace. North-west of the house an avenue of alternating Monkey Puzzles and Lawson Cypress ‘Erecta viridis’ was planted in the 1860s; some reached over 100 feet tall when they were removed in the 1980s.

To the west of this was a woodland garden with a shelter of Scots Pine. The area was planted with Japanese maples and later; in the 1920 and 1930s, rhododendrons were placed here. In the 1890s James, the 2nd Duke (1838-1913), created a bog garden for his wife Mary Anna, Duchess of Abercorn. It was made astride a small stream between Lough Fanny and Lough
Mary; bamboo inevitably took over much of this area in later years.

The 2nd Duke also added the stable block in 1889-90 to a design of the Belfast architect Joseph Bell. Around this time a second deer park was made at Baronscourt on the hills east of the demesne; it was created in imitation of Scottish Deer Parks of the time and was used mainly to stock Red Deer. It remained in use until the 1920s.

The whole of Baronscourt is a fully maintained domestic and working demesne. Farmland and acres of mixed woods are managed. There are large traces of commercial forest, composed mainly of larch, white fir, western hemlock, Scots Pine and some popular, much of which was the product of the extensive planting by the 4th Duke (1904-1979) who had a passion for forestry and introduced Nothofagus as a crop, using seed from Chile. Lying in unexpected places within some of the plantations are found old magnolias and walnuts, planted by the 3rd Duke as ‘surprise trees’.

The walled garden is used by Baronscourt Nurseries. The demesne includes many subsidiary buildings, notably the highly picturesque ‘Rock Cottage’ of c.1832, designed by Peter Frederick Robinson and located at the Largybeg Gate. Other gate lodges by Robinson, who was probably recommended by Soane, includes the picturesque Church Lodge or ‘Devine’s Gate’ (c.1835) and the Newtownstewart Gate Lodge, the latter being an adoption from Robinson’s book Designs for Lodges and Park Entrances (1833). Another lodge, ‘Moore’s Lodge’ of c.1780 has been demolished and may have been the work of John Soane.

Richard Morrison c. 1837 drew plans for three entrances and accompanying lodges, but none were executed. The demesne church lying above Lough Mary was consecrated in 1858; its grounds contain a large Celtic cross, 1885, designed by Dublin architect Walter Glynn Doolin (1819-1900) and restored in 2005. In recent years a log-built Russian style house, designed by Richard Pierce, has been built as a retreat in the park south of the House.

The Definitive Holmes?

2009-12-26T08:44:00.003Z

It's a wonder I don't own the Sherlock Holmes box-set collection. I do have about three videos; no DVDs, though.

I suppose whomsoever one considers to be the definitive Sherlock Holmes actor is entirely subjective, as is the case with the James Bond characters.

For me, the ultimate Sherlock Holmes portrayal has been - and will probably remain - the late Jeremy Brett.

Jeremy Brett (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), was born Peter Jeremy William Huggins.

Brett was born at Berkswell Grange in Berkswell on 3 November 1933; son of a Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire and an heir of the Cadbury Chocolate family. He was educated at Eton.

Perhaps I am biased, for I've seen photographs of the latest version of our great detective played by Robert Downey. How does Downey portray Sherlock Holmes? Should I even bother going to see the movie?

A Very Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T08:41:00.002Z

I wish readers and friends the compliments of the Season. Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

I attended the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at Belfast Cathedral last night, which was well attended. The Dean of Belfast, the Very Reverend Houston McKelvey, led the Service.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T09:42:00.004Z

It's freezing in Belfast again this morning; so yet another opportunity to light a hearty, roaring fire at home courtesy of Timothy "one match" Belmont! The fire is well lit already.

I think I'll buy some more fuel for the fire today. I'd really prefer logs, though they are more readily available in the country than in the town.

It was customary for me to attend the traditional Christmas Eve carol service at Belfast Cathedral in times past; so I might well consider that this evening. The preacher at the main Christmas Day service in the Cathedral is the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Down and Dromore.

The Birthday Dinner

2009-12-23T18:40:00.001Z

Don't have your birthday in December. The weather is inclement; the days short; and, if you are young, your birthdays presents occasionally "double up" as Christmas gifts, too.

I'm beyond caring about the latter. We dined, yesterday evening, at Alden's Restaurant in Belfast. It is ten years since we last ate there, so a visit was long overdue.

Beware: parking is difficult. There is a single yellow line outside Alden's with a notice which states that parking is prohibited between 7am and midnight, or thereabouts. Parking is available in the side streets, round the corner.

Service at Alden's is efficient and courteous, as you'd expect. We were shown to our table forthwith. Ambiance is contemporary; the walls are off-white; and the seating a mixture of maroon banquette and armless cushioned chairs.

In a previous incarnation, this premises had been a grocer's shop or supermarket forty years ago.

We were served about three or four pieces of fresh, thinly-sliced bread - possibly home-made - with butter and chopped olives; and this was good.

I ordered a half-bottle of Sancerre wine from the extensive wine-list. I proceeded to order the roasted pigeon breast with crisp pancetta, black pudding and beetroot dressing for my first course. The Dowager opted out.

By the way, game features strongly on the menu. I thoroughly enjoyed my pigeon, feeling that the black pudding and beetroot dressing complemented it well.

For our main course, the Dowager went for the pan-seared salmon with asparagus and pea emulsion; while I had the breast of pheasant with spiced red cabbage and blue cheese gratin. We shared a special mashed potato and mixed vegetables consisting of fine beans, carrot, peas and broccoli.

Once again, we both enjoyed our food. The plates weren't particularly hot, though the food was warm enough. My pheasant was delicious. You are advised that it is normally served slightly pink, though I didn't notice any pinkness myself. No matter, it was very good.

I indulged in egg nog brûlée for pudding. I felt, personally, that this was the weakest link. It wasn't creamy enough for me; slightly bland. The top seemed cold, as if it hadn't been under the grill long enough. Acceptable enough, though.

We rounded the evening off with coffee and this came with complimentary truffles. Incidentally, it was busy in this restaurant; not too crowded, but busy enough. most tables were occupied within our eyesight.

All in all, an enjoyable evening.

Cigarette Case Solved

2009-12-23T08:43:00.005Z

It is gratifying that a silver cigarette case which once belonged to Lord Enniskillen - then Lord Cole - has been returned to its rightful place at Florence Court House.

An excellent Christmas present for the National Trust at Florence Court, the eloquent kleptomaniac wishes to remain anonymous.

I'm looking forward to my forthcoming series about the great landowners of County Fermanagh, Florence Court and the Enniskillen family.

Ill-Health of the Duke

2009-12-23T08:29:00.003Z

The 10th Duke of Roxburgh's first wife, Lady Jane Grosvenor, shall be familiar with Ely Lodge and County Fermanagh. She is also the mother of the Duke's heir, Lord Bowmont.

Lady Jane is, herself, rather appropriately the daughter of a duke and sister of the present Duke of Westminster.

His Grace is having to endure the ordeal of chemotherapy in London for cancer presently, while still supervising the management of his 60,000 acre estate in Scotland, the nucleus of which is Floors Castle at Kelso.

Fifty Winters

2009-12-22T16:03:00.004Z

I have had an absolutely wonderful birthday. Everyone has been so kind. I really wasn't expecting anything at all. However, this expectation turned out to be quite wrong.

Through this website I wish to express heartfelt thanks - in no particular order - to: Pamela and Fred; Margaret; Joan; Beatrice; Carmel and Brendan; Patricia; Heather and Jim; Judy and Malcolm; Allison and Paul; Diane and Kingsley; Debbie and David; Shirley and Charles; Pete; John; Mark; and anyone else I have forgotten to mention.

We are dining at Alden's Restaurant in Belfast this evening.

The Castle Stewart Estate

2009-12-22T12:23:00.008Z

Andrew Thomas Stuart (1725-1809) established his claim to the barony of Castle Stewart in 1774, but was later, in 1793, unsuccessful in his attempt to establish his claim to an earlier Scottish barony of Ochiltree (created 1543). It was he who became the 1st Earl Castle Stewart in 1800.

The other major event of his long reign as head of the family was his acquisition, in 1782, of a third manor in County Tyrone, the manor of Orritor, alias Orator. Orritor was near Stewartstown, and was thus geographically well-situated to round off the existing manors of Castle Stewart and Forward.

However, the fourth manor in the Tyrone estate came in by inheritance, not deliberate purchase, and was remote from the other three. This was the manor of Hastings, alias Castlegore, near Castlederg, formerly the property of the Edwards family of Castlegore. Robert Stuart of Stuart Hall had married Margaret Edwards of Castlegore back in 1722; and as a result of failure of heirs male in the Edwards family, Castlegore passed to the Stuarts.

In 1862, the four manors generated an annual income of £7,567. In 1872 the Castle Stewarts were the second largest landowners in the county, with 32,615 acres.

A further, temporary addition to the Tyrone estate was made in 1866, when Viscount Stuart, the future 5th Earl Castle Stewart, married the heiress of the Richardson Brady family of Oaklands, alias Drum Manor, Cookstown. On his death in 1914, however, he was succeeded in the earldom and in the Castle Stewart estates by his cousin, but at Drum Manor by one of his daughters, Lady Muriel Close.

Stuart Hall was built about 1760. It was originally a three-storey Georgian block with a pillared porch, joined to an old tower house by a 19th century Gothic wing. More recently the top two storeys of the main block were removed, giving it the appearance of a Georgian bungalow. The Hall was destroyed by the IRA in 1974 and subsequently demolished. A modern dwelling was built about 1987.

The Stuart Hall Shoot presently operates on the Estate.

The present house is surrounded by lawns and a maintained woodland garden. There is a ha-ha to grazing, with fine views of the landscape park and woodland beyond. The stables and farm buildings survive from the 18th century and are listed. The walled garden has a date stone 1832 and is adorned by a castellated wall and two folly towers backing onto the former stack yard. Rowan describes it as ‘…castellated, of rubble stone with brick corbelling and a plump round tower at either end.’ The walled garden is not kept up. There were extensive glasshouses. The chief attribute of the demesne is the fine stands of mature trees, disposed in the landscape style of the mid-18th century. There is also forest planting. A gate lodge of c.1835 has gone but the gate screen remains.

The First Fire

2009-12-22T12:16:00.003Z

We lit our very first fire in the sitting-room today and, I am gratified to say, it lit with one match immediately. I haven't lost the old touch!

There is no mystery to my technique at all: Screw up half a dozen pieces of newspaper; throw in some fire-lighters, if you have them; arrange half a dozen kindling sticks gently on top; and then, with tongs, place a number of coals strategically.

This method seldom fails me.

I had to place an order for heating oil on Saturday. The last delivery was about June 2nd, so it has lasted very well.

Cadbury's Caramel

2009-12-22T09:35:00.000Z

Like so many things in life, opinions and personal tastes vary. They are subjective. For instance, the finest chocolate in the world, to my mind, is probably Lindt 70% Excellence due to a number of factors: depth of flavour, balance - neither too bitter, nor too sweet; a lingering taste in the palate.

Despite that, I remain a Cadbury's Caramel Loyalist; or, to give it its formal name, Cadbury Dairy Milk with Caramel. It is simply heavenly and sublime. If I'm lucky, the supermarkets sometimes have a "two bars for two pounds" offer.

Whilst checking out of my apartment in the Canary Islands recently I gave Reception two bars of it!

The 8th Earl Castle Stewart

2009-12-21T08:30:00.004Z

The Castle Stewart coat-of-arms provides one with an indication of the family lineage: Split into four quarters, the first depicts the Royal arms of Scotland; the second quarter, Stuart; the third, Lennox; and the fourth, Macduff.

During the 15th century, Andrew Stuart, the founder of the Castle Stewart/Stuart family whose progenitor was none other than King Robert II of Scotland; so the Earls Castle Stewart can boast an illustrious pedigree.

The Right Honourable Arthur Patrick Avondale Earl Castle Stewart is presently the 8th Earl and 15th Baronet.

Lord Castle Stewart is a retired farmer; and served as a lieutenant in the Scots Guards, 1949; Fellow of the Institute of Management, 1978. His mother, Eleanor May Countess Castle Stewart, was daughter of Solomon R Guggenheim of New York, USA.

He married for the second time in 2004, at City Hall in Belfast Gillian Savill, now the Countess Castle Stewart; and lists his hobbies as being woodland management, travel, walking and singing.

Lord Castle Stewart has one son, Andrew Richard Charles, Viscount Stuart; and one daughter, Lady Bridget Wadey.

Lord and Lady Castle Stewart have homes in London and at Stuart Hall estate, near Stewartstown in County Tyrone, the family seat. The Hall was destroyed by the IRA in 1974 and a modern dwelling was built in 1987.

The illustration of Stuart Hall atop is courtesy of BQ Postcards.

Wintry Scene

2009-12-20T09:23:00.002Z

By Jove, it isn't half nippy this morning in Belfast. It is snowing lightly as I write this blog. We cooked some nice, crispy bacon this morning. I like it with wholemeal buttered toast and Acacia honey.

I donned the fleece and wellies awhile ago, in order to replenish the bird feeders. My goldfinches were all in an utter frenzy this morning, squabbling for the Nyger seeds. Some of these beautiful little birds resorted to eating the spillage on the ground.

Now I'm going to scan the Sunday Times online. When is Murdoch going to impose charges for it?

Oil Tank Blaze

2009-12-19T10:00:00.003Z

When I was driving home last night, along the Saintfield Road opposite Knockbracken (formerly the Purdysburn Estate), a substantial amount of bellowing smoke caught my eye. It came from a housing development opposite Knockbracken.

I wondered what, on earth, it could be at the time.

I have read, this morning, about a blaze last night which destroyed two homes there. How terrible for those families just at Christmas; and what would have caused it?

Newcastle Dinner

2009-12-19T08:41:00.003Z

Last night was the occasion of the annual National Trust Strangford Lough-Murlough Christmas dinner. The venue was the same place as last year, Villa Vinci's restaurant in Newcastle, County Down.

Of course it was a very cold night - on the way home the temperature dropped to -2 Celsius at Ballynahinch. I drove and, as a consequence of this, remained as sober as a judge the whole night. I continually sipped glasses of tonic water with ice and lemon, sad to recount!

There must have been about two dozen of us, most from the Murlough group; so I was only acquainted with five people. For some reason I wasn't on "top form"; I don't always feel comfortable at social gatherings like that. Still, perhaps I'm out of practice; and, had I been able to indulge in a proper drink, that might have helped.

The meal was perfectly acceptable. There was a reasonably good choice, and I chose the exactly the same courses as last year: Prawn cocktail; turkey with all the trimmings; plum pudding with custard; and coffee. I noticed others having duck and salmon.

Villa Vinci's was full. They're bound to have been "stretched" and there was occasionally slight confusion from the waiting staff - not to mention the diners - as to whom had ordered what! I think they did fairly well though, under the circumstances.

I cannot recall the precise time I left. I'd been hemmed in somewhat, sandwiched between others at the rear seating; otherwise I might have left a bit sooner. However, I got home safely about eleven-fifteen.

The Earldom of Caledon

2009-12-18T09:23:00.009Z

Any narrative of the Caledon Estate, its history and family would only be a mere duplication by me. The Caledon Papers, for instance, are readily available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. I shall endeavour, however, to condense the tale to its essence.

James Alexander, the second son of Alderman Nathaniel Alexander of Londonderry, was the effective founder of the Alexander/Caledon family, and certainly the founder of its fortune. He arrived at Fort St George, Madras, in 1752, at the age of twenty-three, and became a factor there. Alexander rose rapidly in power and influence and in 1762 became the Eleventh in Council at Fort St George, Civil and Military Paymaster, and Military Storekeeper. He returned to the British Isles in 1763.

In 1766 he returned to India, this time having been appointed to a very senior civic position at Fort William, Calcutta. A commentator at the time said: "you have given him every kind of curry that ever was invented at Madras. He deserves it; he deserves a great fortune, for he has a noble spirit. ...". In 1772 Alexander left India again.

Alexander, one of the relatively few Irishmen in the Bengal civil service, believed that he was worth about £150,000 when he left Bengal in 1772. He acquired nearly 9,000 acres in Ulster, from which he hoped to derive an annual income of some £7,000.

In 1776 James Alexander purchased the Caledon estate in Counties Tyrone and Armagh for £96,400 from the 7th Earl of Cork and Orrery, whose father had acquired it by marriage into the Hamilton family of Caledon in 1738. James Alexander had already acquired property nearer his native Londonderry: the house and demesne of Boom Hall, outside Londonderry, the Church-land estate of Moville, County Donegal, and a fee simple estate near Ballycastle, County Antrim. The Caledon estate was extended by piecemeal purchases of adjoining townlands and by the leasing of other adjoining townlands belonging to the Lord Archbishop of Armagh. Another extensive but more remote property at Castlederg, County Tyrone, known as the Derg estate, was purchased in 1861 by the Guardians of the 4th Earl of Caledon from a kinsman of the Alexanders, Sir Robert Ferguson, through the Landed Estates Court.

Alexander was elevated to the Peerage in 1790 as the 1st Baron Caledon; and raised again, in 1797 as 1st Viscount Caledon. In 1800 he was created Earl of Caledon.

In 1811, the 2nd Earl of Caledon married Lady Catherine Freeman Yorke, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Hardwicke. Ultimately, the Caledon family inherited Tyttenhanger Park in Hertfordshire, which had belonged to Lord Hardwicke's mother, the sister and heiress of Sir Henry Pope Blount, 3rd and last Baronet.

I have written an article about the present Lord and Lady Caledon here. Caledon Castle is pictured above.

In 1872, the Caledon family were the third largest landowners in County Tyrone, with 29,236 acres, almost 4% of the county.

Yuletide Gifts

2009-12-17T12:23:00.003Z

I paid a visit to the Ulster Historical Foundation's new office at 49, Malone Road, Belfast, this morning. Some of their publications interested me. Their new office is beyond the Botanic Inn bar.

I think my amateur research of various country houses and estates, particularly in counties Tyrone and Armagh, has whetted my appetite.

I purchased the Plantation of Ulster by Philip Robinson; and Early Belfast, by Raymond Gillespie.

I was intending to pay them by debit card and, when I inserted it into the machine, the card was rejected because the PIN number had been locked. This is the second occasion when this has occurred.

I recall entering an incorrect PIN number with it several times at Donaghadee Garden Centre recently; and then having to use another card or cash. What a confounded nuisance! Still, I imagine its all for my own good.

I've contacted my bank about it.

State of the Palace

2009-12-17T09:12:00.005Z

The condition of the stone-work on sections of Buckingham Palace is concerning and deplorable. Richard Kay has written an article about it today in his column.

This has been a gradual process over many decades. Buckingham Palace, unlike Sandringham and Balmoral, is a State building; and, consequently, ought to be cared for by the State.

Is the Government seeking to extract some sort of "deal" from the Royal Family, whereby the Palace is kept open more often to paying visitors? Is State assistance conditional on some sort of concessions?

Doesn't the State look after other historic royal palaces, like the Tower of London and Hampton Court? Since Buckingham Palace is still inhabited, its preservation ought to be doubly important.

I'm sure that our national museums and galleries are well cared for. Surely Buckingham Palace, renowned the world over, deserves similar attention?