Drenagh
Encyclopedia
Drenagh is a 19th century house and garden
in Limavady
, County Londonderry
, Northern Ireland
. The property is located on the road to Coleraine
.
The present house was designed by Charles Lanyon
and was the architect's first major commission. It was completed in 1835 and has been the home of the McCausland family since. There are terraced gardens
in the Italian
style, an arboretum
, and a fountain inspired by one at the Villa d'Este
, near Rome
. As well as being a family home, the house and grounds are hired out for conferences, weddings and as a film location. Shooting and fishing are also available in the grounds. Lady Margaret McCausland, daughter of Earl Mount Edgecombe, embellished the botanical beauty of its park with a pink and blue English garden and an all white moon garden.
The family name McCausland goes back more than 900 years to an O'Cahan named Anselan, son of Kyan, King of Ulster. Anselan was forced to leave Ireland in about 1016 on account of his share in a ‘memorable stratagem where he and other young Irishmen dressed in women’s attire surprised and slaughtered their Danish oppressors’ (The Vikings). The family traces its roots to Malcolm II of Scotland
's 11th century noble court
. When Malcolm II of Scotland heard of Anselan's feats he invited him to become his Master Of Arms and ‘bestowed ample lands upon him in The Lennox’.
Twelve generations later, in the 1540s, his descendant Baron Alexander McAuslane returned to Ulster with his brother Andrew and settled in the Strabane area. The first McCausland to live at Drenagh (then called Fruithill) was Robert McCausland, Alexander’s grandson. Robert was bequeathed the Estates when he married the daughter of William Conolly, a wealthy self-made man and speaker of the Irish Parliament. Robert named his first son Conolly McCausland in reverence to his father-in-law, the name is still used in alternate generations to this day. A large painting of Robert and his family now hangs in the dining room at Drenagh. The first Conolly McCausland married the heiress Elizabeth Gage and had a son, Conolly McCausland, who married Theodosia Mahon from Strokestown, County Roscommon
. Their son, Marcus McCausland (1787-1862), was responsible for commissioning Sir Charles Lanyon to build the present house. The former house ("Fruithill") can be seen through a window painted in the portrait of Robert McCausland and his family. Marcus and his wife, Marianne (née Tyndall) produced an heir, Conolly Thomas McCausland(1828-1902).
Conolly Thomas was High Sheriff of Londonderry
in 1866. He married Laura St John, daughter of St Andrew Beauchamp St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso
. Their daughter Laura married Reginald Gibbs and was the mother of Michael McCausland Gibbs
. Conolly's son Maurice Marcus McCausland (1872-1938) lived through both the best and worst of times at Drenagh as in 1902, through the Irish Land Acts, the Government compulsorily purchased 75% of the estate. Many other estates, in comparison, were taken off their owners in their entirety. Some were burned to the ground before they could be sold at any price. His daughter Helen married Lucius Thompson-McCausland
.
Maurice's son Conolly Robert McCausland (1906-1968) fought in the Second World War and was reportedly so deeply moved by what he had witnessed that he was received into the Roman Catholic faith, despite knowing he had signed a codicil to his father's will barring him from inheriting should he become a Catholic. The will was contested and was found valid, although the codicil applied to Conolly Robert himself but not to any of his direct descendants. So, upon the death of Conolly Robert McCausland in 1968, his son Marcus Edgcumbe McCausland (1933-1972) inherited Drenagh.
On 4 March 1972, Captain Marcus McCausland, aged 39, a Catholic member of the Ulster Defence Regiment
(UDR), became the first UDR soldier murdered by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). He was shot dead by the Braehead Road in Derry. The Captain's own son, Conolly Patrick McCausland, lives at Drenagh with his wife Sheelagh (née Williams) and their four children.
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
in Limavady
Limavady
Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The property is located on the road to Coleraine
Coleraine
Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
.
The present house was designed by Charles Lanyon
Charles Lanyon
Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland.-Biography:Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1813...
and was the architect's first major commission. It was completed in 1835 and has been the home of the McCausland family since. There are terraced gardens
Terrace (gardening)
In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hard materials of the architecture and softer ones of the garden.-History:...
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
style, an arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, and a fountain inspired by one at the Villa d'Este
Villa d'Este
The Villa d'Este is a villa situated at Tivoli, near Rome, Italy. Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, it is a fine example of Renaissance architecture and the Italian Renaissance garden.-History:...
, near Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. As well as being a family home, the house and grounds are hired out for conferences, weddings and as a film location. Shooting and fishing are also available in the grounds. Lady Margaret McCausland, daughter of Earl Mount Edgecombe, embellished the botanical beauty of its park with a pink and blue English garden and an all white moon garden.
The family name McCausland goes back more than 900 years to an O'Cahan named Anselan, son of Kyan, King of Ulster. Anselan was forced to leave Ireland in about 1016 on account of his share in a ‘memorable stratagem where he and other young Irishmen dressed in women’s attire surprised and slaughtered their Danish oppressors’ (The Vikings). The family traces its roots to Malcolm II of Scotland
Malcolm II of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death...
's 11th century noble court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
. When Malcolm II of Scotland heard of Anselan's feats he invited him to become his Master Of Arms and ‘bestowed ample lands upon him in The Lennox’.
Twelve generations later, in the 1540s, his descendant Baron Alexander McAuslane returned to Ulster with his brother Andrew and settled in the Strabane area. The first McCausland to live at Drenagh (then called Fruithill) was Robert McCausland, Alexander’s grandson. Robert was bequeathed the Estates when he married the daughter of William Conolly, a wealthy self-made man and speaker of the Irish Parliament. Robert named his first son Conolly McCausland in reverence to his father-in-law, the name is still used in alternate generations to this day. A large painting of Robert and his family now hangs in the dining room at Drenagh. The first Conolly McCausland married the heiress Elizabeth Gage and had a son, Conolly McCausland, who married Theodosia Mahon from Strokestown, County Roscommon
Strokestown
Strokestown, historically called Bellanamullia and Bellanamully , is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N5 National primary route and the R368 regional road in the north of the county....
. Their son, Marcus McCausland (1787-1862), was responsible for commissioning Sir Charles Lanyon to build the present house. The former house ("Fruithill") can be seen through a window painted in the portrait of Robert McCausland and his family. Marcus and his wife, Marianne (née Tyndall) produced an heir, Conolly Thomas McCausland(1828-1902).
Conolly Thomas was High Sheriff of Londonderry
High Sheriff of Londonderry
High Sheriff of Londonderry or High Sheriff of Derry can refer to:*High Sheriff of Londonderry City, with responsibilities in the city of Derry*High Sheriff of County Londonderry, with responsibilities in County Londonderry outside the city of Derry...
in 1866. He married Laura St John, daughter of St Andrew Beauchamp St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew Beauchamp St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso was an English peer.St John was born at Wimpole Street the eldest son of St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso, and his wife, Louisa Boughton, daughter of Sir Charles William Rouse-Boughton, 9th Baronet. He succeeded his father in 1817 to...
. Their daughter Laura married Reginald Gibbs and was the mother of Michael McCausland Gibbs
Michael McCausland Gibbs
Michael McCausland Gibbs was an eminent Anglican clergyman in the third quarter of the 20th century.Gibbs was the son of the Revd Reginald Gibbs and his wife Lucia McCausand, daughter of Conally Thomas McCausland of Drenagh. His father was Vicar of Clifton Hampden. He was educated at Lancing and...
. Conolly's son Maurice Marcus McCausland (1872-1938) lived through both the best and worst of times at Drenagh as in 1902, through the Irish Land Acts, the Government compulsorily purchased 75% of the estate. Many other estates, in comparison, were taken off their owners in their entirety. Some were burned to the ground before they could be sold at any price. His daughter Helen married Lucius Thompson-McCausland
Lucius Thompson-McCausland
Lucius Perronet Thompson-McCausland was a British economist who took part in the Bretton Woods conference and was a Treasury adviser during the sterling crisis in the 1960s....
.
Maurice's son Conolly Robert McCausland (1906-1968) fought in the Second World War and was reportedly so deeply moved by what he had witnessed that he was received into the Roman Catholic faith, despite knowing he had signed a codicil to his father's will barring him from inheriting should he become a Catholic. The will was contested and was found valid, although the codicil applied to Conolly Robert himself but not to any of his direct descendants. So, upon the death of Conolly Robert McCausland in 1968, his son Marcus Edgcumbe McCausland (1933-1972) inherited Drenagh.
On 4 March 1972, Captain Marcus McCausland, aged 39, a Catholic member of the Ulster Defence Regiment
Ulster Defence Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army which became operational in 1970, formed on similar lines to other British reserve forces but with the operational role of defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage...
(UDR), became the first UDR soldier murdered by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). He was shot dead by the Braehead Road in Derry. The Captain's own son, Conolly Patrick McCausland, lives at Drenagh with his wife Sheelagh (née Williams) and their four children.