Lissan House
Encyclopedia
Lissan House is a historic house and tourist attraction in Northern Ireland
. Lissan lies nestled at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains amid ancient woodland near the historic market town of Cookstown
.
from about 1620 until the death of the last incumbent, Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling
(née Staples) in April 2006, the longest known occupation by a single family of a domestic dwelling in Ireland
.
Thomas Staples had originally come from Yate Court, near Bristol
in Southwestern England, in about 1610 as part of the plantation of Ulster
. He settled in the town of Moneymore
(then being constructed as part of the terms of the Plantation Grant to the Worshipful Company of Drapers
who had been granted large swathes of the new County in 1611) in County Londonderry
and his stone house is marked in a map of 1635 as in the centre of the town beside the Market Cross
.
In around 1620 he married Charity Jones, heiress of Sir Baptist Jones, head of the Worshipful Company of Vintners
. In 1628, he was created the first Baronet
of Lissan and Faughanvale by King Charles I
. Around the same date, he purchased several leases including the lands of the town of Cookstown
and 180 acre (0.7284348 km²) at Tatnagilta (now the Lissan
estate). It is thought that a dwelling existed on the estate at this time along with an Iron Forge which was used to smelt
the iron deposits found across the estate. Mainly as a result of the existence of the forge, the dwelling house survived the Rebellion of 1641 when the estate was seized by the O'Quin who had marched with a troop of rebels from Castlecaulfield
. Charity, Lady Staples, now a widow, and the couple's four children were imprisoned briefly in the Castle
at Moneymore
before being moved more permanently to the Castle at CastleCaulfield where they spent almost two years in captivity until Moneymore was relieved and the rebels suppressed. Throughout the Rebellion, the rebels used the estate and its workers to manufacture pikes
, staves and other weapons as a result of which all the buildings on the estate survived despite the rebels' destruction of the town of Cookstown and the nearby plantation estate at Ballydrum (later Springhill). Testimonies taken from The Dowager Lady Staples and her son, the new Baronet, Sir Baptist Staples describe the brutality of their treatment during these few years. Lady Staples recounts witnessing anglo-irish families being murdered outside her prison window or those being tortured in chain-gangs begging to be killed to be done with their misery.
The present house substantially owes its existence to Sir Thomas' third son, the fourth Baronet
, Sir Robert Staples. Having married another heiress in the person of Mary Vessey, he improved the estate, building mills and enlarging the iron forge as well as substantially constructing the present house (incorporating large parts of the pre-existent dwelling) in about 1680. He also created the 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) walled garden
which survives to this day. The main feature of his house was the gargantuan oak staircase which still (following a reconstruction due to collapse in 1895) dominates the house today. Thomas Ashe
writing his report to the Archbishop of Armagh
from whom the land was originally leased said in 1703 "Robert Staples has built a very good stone house; the rooms are noble, lofty and large. There is a very handsome staircase which leads to chambers above with a large parlour
and dining room. The house is well-shingled and stands near a small tenement with four pretty rooms. He has built a handsome stable, large barns and a turf house all well shingled." Sir Robert died in 1714.
By the time of the seventh and eighth Baronets in the mid eighteenth century, the main branch of the family had moved to Castle Durrow
near Kilkenny
and the house was let to a minor branch of the family under The Rt. Hon. John Staples
K.C., P.C., M.P., first cousin to the 8th Baronet. He was a talented lawyer and was the last Speaker
in the Irish House of Commons
before its dissolution in 1801. He went on two grand tours of Italy and Greece, furnishing Lissan with a fine collection of books, paintings and marbles. His second wife was Henrietta Molesworth, younger daughter of Viscount Molesworth
, one of the Duke of Marlborough
's generals during the War of the Spanish Succession
. He had saved the Duke from death by shouting to his equery as the Duke mounted his horse just in time for the equery to hoist the Duke up thus avoiding a cannonball which decapitated the equery. Henrietta lost a leg in a fire in her mother's house during her youth. King George III
had provided her dowry and also instructed the Court physician to fashion for her a wooden prosthetic leg.
John Staples brother, the Rev. Thomas Staples, purchased the coal rights of the town of Coalisland
in Co. Tyrone in 1740 and instructed the engineer of the Newry Canal
, Davis Dukart, to construct mines there. He also persuaded Dukart to design the White Bridge on the Lissan Estate along with an important water garden with fountains and cascades. Both survive on the estate today but are in dire need of restoration.
The eighth Baronet, Sir Robert died without legitimate issue as a result of which the Castle Durrow
property was bequeathed to his eldest (illegitimate) son whilst Lissan passed to the Rt Hon. John Staples' eldest son Thomas who also thus inherited the Baronetcy, becoming the ninth Baronet
Lissan. Sir Thomas Staples Q.C. was a notable lawyer and was appointed Queen's Advocate in Ireland in 1845. He married Catherine Hawkins, another heiress and the pair were one of the wealthiest families in Ireland. He purchased the largest town house on Merrion Square
in Dublin (now the Irish Architectural Archive
) and made several notable additions to Lissan House, most notably the large ballroom built to take advantage of views of the water gardens. No expense was spared on the construction of this room which was fitted with an early central heating system, was double glazed and which had sprung floorboards to aid dancing. The room was decorated in a striking oriental scheme of scarlet and black and was decorated with vastly expensive handpainted Chinese wallpaper
originally purchased by Sir Thomas' sister Grace, Marchioness of Ormonde for Kilkenny Castle
. Small portions of this wallpaper survive today, touched up by the last owner.
Sir Thomas' younger brother, the Rev. John Molesworth Staples was Rector of Moville
in Co. Donegal and at Lissan and persuaded the Court architect to George IV
John Nash
to come to Cookstown
to design Lissan Rectory
and Derryloran Parish Church.
Sir Thomas died childless in 1865 as a result of which the title and estate were inherited by Rev. John Molesworth Staples' eldest son Nathaniel, the tenth Baronet
. However, Sir Thomas left the contents of the house as well as the entirety family's fortune to his wife Catherine. She disliked Sir Nathaniel to such an extent that on her death both the fortune and furniture were bequeathed to her goddaughter Mary Banks. Thus the estate began a process of very swift financial decline.
Sir Nathaniel was a civil servant in Dum Dum
in India
and during his absence on the subcontinent
several members of the wider Staples family began to remove the remaining contents of the house. The Rt Hon John's third youngest daughter Charlotte had married William Lenox-Conyngham of Springhill
in 1824. During the 1860s and 70's, she and her eldest son Sir William Lenox-Conyngham
systematically removed the entire contents of the Lissan Library along with the best paintings in the house, including a portrait of the Rt Hon John by Batoni
. All of these can still be found in Springhill today.
When Sir Nathaniel eventually settled at Lissan during the 1880s, despite his straightened financial circumstances, he continued to live life to the full. He added a gargantuan porte cochere to the front of the house and purchased the clock tower from the Market House in Magherafelt
which he added to the West end of the house. This clock was made by Joshua Adams
in 1820 and the great bell can be heard in Churchtown
to this day. It is mentioned in the song Slieve Gallion's Braes. At the age of 55 Sir Nathaniel evicted Elizabeth, Lady Staples from the house and lived out his remaining years in the scandalous company of a young clairvoyant, Mary Potter, who was originally from Cookstown
.
By the time of his death in 1899, the family were all but financially ruined. To compound their difficulties, the eleventh Baronet, Sir John Staples was declared insane and spent the entire duration of his baronetcy in an asylum in England
until his death in 1933.
As a result of this, the estate was first occupied by the second eldest son of the family, James Head Staples who had originally settled in Bremar in Scotland
. He and his wife built a creamery
, took in boarders and Mrs Staples taught cookery and lace-making so that local girls would have some training to enable them to find work in Cookstown
. He also fitted a second-hand water turbine
on the Lissan Water in 1902 which supplied the house with its sole source of electricity until 2007 and which is still in full working order today. The estate remained, however, in terminal decline.
When James Head Staples died in 1911, the house was left temporarily unoccupied until his eccentric younger brother, Robert Ponsonby Staples was persuaded to leave London
and settle at Lissan in late 1912. Robert Ponsonby Staples was an exceptionally talented artist. He had gone to the Catholic University of Leuven
to study architecture at the age of twelve before moving to Dresden
to study fine art. When he returned to London
during the 1880s he quickly became one of the most famous portrait artists of his day. He exhibited his first picture at the Royal Academy
at the age of 21 and was a founder member along with Sir Coutts Lindsay of the Grosvenor Gallery
, which launched the careers of Whistler and Burne-Jones. His most famous paintings can be found in galleries across the world today. His most noted work, An Imaginary Cricket Match hangs at Lords Cricket Ground whilst other large scale works can be found at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
(The Last Shot at Queen's Club
); the House of Lords
(The Passing of the Home Rule Bill) and the Archepiscopal Palace at Westminster
(Cardinal Manning's Last Reception). Robert Ponsonby was also an infamous socialite and member of the Café Royal
set. He was a friend and favourite of King Edward VII. His most famous attribute was his refusal to wear shoes. He believed that the earth exuded natural electricity which was beneficial to the health and thus shunned the wearing of shoes and listing his principal occupation as "barefoot walking" in the 1926 Who's Who.
Today his paintings are hugely valuable but, whilst existing at the centre of the social scene in fin de siecle
London
, his work did not make him a wealthy man. After settling at Lissan, his finances evaporated and he was known to often ask the postman for a loan or to pawn
his own paintings in order to raise funds. A great sale was held during his tenure which lasted two full days and which saw the remaining pictures and fine furnishings sold off, many to the Lenox-Conyngham family at Springhill where they remain. He inherited the baronetcy at the age of eighty in 1933 and died ten years later.
By 1943, the estate, stripped of its furnishings and largely sold off, was virtually bankrupt. Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples' eldest son, Sir Robert George Alexander Staples discovered that he could no longer afford to live at Lissan. He thus hired Harry Dolling as estate manager and settled in England
where he could find work. Harry Dolling had the house divided into apartments and from 1943 until the late 1960s the house was home to over a hundred people living in self-contained flats and tenements carved out of the once elegant public rooms and bedrooms. Any remaining contents of value were sent to be stored temporarily at Springhill where they were mixed with the Lenox-Conyngham's own property, were presented mistakenly to the National Trust
along with Springhill in 1957 and which were never returned. Sir Robert George Alexander feared that he would be the last Staples owner of Lissan. He had only two daughters as issue. The younger, Elizabeth, had settled with her own family in England whilst the elder, Hazel, (following a spell in the WRNS
) had settled into a life on the seas with the Cunard Line
as purser on the Queen Mary
and Caronia
. Neither had any interest in the now crumbling, rundown, and bankrupt estate.
However, on his death in 1970, the elder daughter Hazel visited Lissan with her mother and met the agent Harry Dolling. Within the year the pair were married and both settled at Lissan, returning the house to a single dwelling for the occupation of themselves and Vera, Lady Staples. Whilst Hazel inherited the house and estate from her father, the Baronetcy passed to Sir Jack Staples and from him to his cousin and, in swift succession, to his two brothers, the present being the seventeenth Baronet
, Sir Richard Staples (both inherited the title at ages well into their eighties and neither of whom have any male heirs). Following a global search by Debretts, an heir to Sir Richard, Mr. Garth Staples of Charlottetown
, Prince Edward Island
, Canada
, was discovered in 2005 and will inherit the title on Sir Richard's death.
which could begin to seek a plan for a viable future for the estate. The Farm Yard and walled gardens were immediately put in the care of the Trust and a scheme was sought for the future of the estate.
In 2003, Hazel managed to have the property featured in the TV Series Restoration
which promised to the winner of a phone in competition a fund in excess of £1,000,000 for the restoration of the building. Lissan featured prominently and caught the imagination of the British public. As a result, Lissan beat off 28 other properties to make it to the grand final and lost out to the Victoria Baths
in Manchester
by only 140 votes. Sadly however whilst bringing the estate to huge public attention, the programme resulted in no funding for the project whatsoever.
The Charitable Trust was thus re-formed in 2004 as the Friends of Lissan Trust with a new impetus - to find a future for the estate after Hazel's death and to seek funding for the project. Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling died in April 2006 and under the Terms of her will
, the entire estate was bequeathed to the Charitable Trust
on condition that a viable scheme of Restoration be secured within three years of her death.
As of today's date, the Trust have submitted an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund
to cover the estimated £11,000,000 cost of restoring the entire estate. The Trust plans to restore the house as a tourist attraction and use the outbuildings and estate as a means of raising funds through conversion to conference, workspace and community space.
Today, Lissan represents an absolutely unique and fascinating part of Ulster's history which has caught the public imagination. In August 2007, the Friends of Lissan Trust opened the house to the public for the first time and almost 5,000 visitors made their way to the estate in the eight days of opening, making Lissan potentially one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ulster
.
Corramore Construction are currently undertaking the renovation to restore the outside of the building to its former glory.
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...
. Lissan lies nestled at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains amid ancient woodland near the historic market town of Cookstown
Cookstown
Cookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
.
The Staples family
The estate was home to the Staples familyStaples Baronets
The Staples Baronetcy, of Lissan in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 18 July 1628 for Thomas Staples, who later served as High Sheriff of County Tyrone...
from about 1620 until the death of the last incumbent, Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling
Hazel Dolling
Hazel Dolling was the châtelaine of Lissan House, a stately home near Cookstown, Northern Ireland. Lissan is said to be the oldest plantation house in Northern Ireland to be lived in by the descendants of its original builders, one of whom was Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, known as "the barefoot...
(née Staples) in April 2006, the longest known occupation by a single family of a domestic dwelling in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Thomas Staples had originally come from Yate Court, near Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in Southwestern England, in about 1610 as part of the plantation of Ulster
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
. He settled in the town of Moneymore
Moneymore
Moneymore is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,369 in the 2001 Census.It is an example of a Plantation village in Mid-Ulster. It was the first town in Ulster to have piped water.-Geography:...
(then being constructed as part of the terms of the Plantation Grant to the Worshipful Company of Drapers
Worshipful Company of Drapers
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London; it has the formal name of The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London but is more usually known...
who had been granted large swathes of the new County in 1611) in 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...
and his stone house is marked in a map of 1635 as in the centre of the town beside the Market Cross
Market cross
A market cross is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, originally from the distinctive tradition in Early Medieval Insular art of free-standing stone standing or high crosses, often elaborately carved, which goes back to the 7th century. Market crosses can be found in most...
.
In around 1620 he married Charity Jones, heiress of Sir Baptist Jones, head of the Worshipful Company of Vintners
Worshipful Company of Vintners
The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, England.- History and origins :It probably existed as early as the twelfth century, and it received a Royal Charter in 1364. Due to the Royal Charter, the Company gained a monopoly over wine imports from Gascony...
. In 1628, he was created the first Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
of Lissan and Faughanvale by King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. Around the same date, he purchased several leases including the lands of the town of Cookstown
Cookstown
Cookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
and 180 acre (0.7284348 km²) at Tatnagilta (now the Lissan
Lissan
Lissan is a civil and ecclesiastical parish that spans into County Londonderry and County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The local Roman Catholic church was built in 1908....
estate). It is thought that a dwelling existed on the estate at this time along with an Iron Forge which was used to smelt
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
the iron deposits found across the estate. Mainly as a result of the existence of the forge, the dwelling house survived the Rebellion of 1641 when the estate was seized by the O'Quin who had marched with a troop of rebels from Castlecaulfield
Castlecaulfield
Castlecaulfield is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies about three kilometres west of Dungannon and is part of the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council area. The village is mostly within the townland of Drumreany, although part of it extends into Lismonaghan....
. Charity, Lady Staples, now a widow, and the couple's four children were imprisoned briefly in the Castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
at Moneymore
Moneymore
Moneymore is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,369 in the 2001 Census.It is an example of a Plantation village in Mid-Ulster. It was the first town in Ulster to have piped water.-Geography:...
before being moved more permanently to the Castle at CastleCaulfield where they spent almost two years in captivity until Moneymore was relieved and the rebels suppressed. Throughout the Rebellion, the rebels used the estate and its workers to manufacture pikes
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
, staves and other weapons as a result of which all the buildings on the estate survived despite the rebels' destruction of the town of Cookstown and the nearby plantation estate at Ballydrum (later Springhill). Testimonies taken from The Dowager Lady Staples and her son, the new Baronet, Sir Baptist Staples describe the brutality of their treatment during these few years. Lady Staples recounts witnessing anglo-irish families being murdered outside her prison window or those being tortured in chain-gangs begging to be killed to be done with their misery.
The present house substantially owes its existence to Sir Thomas' third son, the fourth Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, Sir Robert Staples. Having married another heiress in the person of Mary Vessey, he improved the estate, building mills and enlarging the iron forge as well as substantially constructing the present house (incorporating large parts of the pre-existent dwelling) in about 1680. He also created the 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) walled garden
Walled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...
which survives to this day. The main feature of his house was the gargantuan oak staircase which still (following a reconstruction due to collapse in 1895) dominates the house today. Thomas Ashe
Thomas Ashe
Thomas Patrick Ashe born in Lispole, County Kerry, Ireland, was a member of the Gaelic League, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a founding member of the Irish Volunteers...
writing his report to the Archbishop of Armagh
Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)
The Anglican Archbishop of Armagh is the ecclesiastical head of the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the Province of Armagh and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh....
from whom the land was originally leased said in 1703 "Robert Staples has built a very good stone house; the rooms are noble, lofty and large. There is a very handsome staircase which leads to chambers above with a large parlour
Parlour
Parlour , from the French word parloir, from parler , denotes an "audience chamber". In parts of the United Kingdom and the United States, parlours are common names for certain types of food service houses, restaurants or special service areas, such as tattoo parlors...
and dining room. The house is well-shingled and stands near a small tenement with four pretty rooms. He has built a handsome stable, large barns and a turf house all well shingled." Sir Robert died in 1714.
By the time of the seventh and eighth Baronets in the mid eighteenth century, the main branch of the family had moved to Castle Durrow
Castle Durrow
Castle Durrow is a country house in Durrow, County Laois Ireland, built between 1712-1716 by Colonel William Flower as a family home. The house was built in the pre-Palladian design and formal gardens that was popular in the 18th century and is considered one of the finest country houses in Laois...
near Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
and the house was let to a minor branch of the family under The Rt. Hon. John Staples
John Staples
John Staples was an Irish Member of Parliament.He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Newtown Limavady from 1765 to 1768, for Clogher from 1768 to 1776, for Ballyshannon from 1776 to 1783, for Newtown Limavady again from 1783 to 1795 and for County Antrim from 1796 to 1800, and then for Antrim...
K.C., P.C., M.P., first cousin to the 8th Baronet. He was a talented lawyer and was the last Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
before its dissolution in 1801. He went on two grand tours of Italy and Greece, furnishing Lissan with a fine collection of books, paintings and marbles. His second wife was Henrietta Molesworth, younger daughter of Viscount Molesworth
Viscount Molesworth
Viscount Molesworth, of Swords in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1716 for Robert Molesworth. He was made Baron Philipstown, of Swords in the County of Dublin, at the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland...
, one of the Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough , is a hereditary title in the Peerage of England. The first holder of the title was John Churchill , the noted English general, and indeed an unqualified reference to the Duke of Marlborough in a historical text will almost certainly refer to him.-History:The dukedom was...
's generals during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. He had saved the Duke from death by shouting to his equery as the Duke mounted his horse just in time for the equery to hoist the Duke up thus avoiding a cannonball which decapitated the equery. Henrietta lost a leg in a fire in her mother's house during her youth. King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
had provided her dowry and also instructed the Court physician to fashion for her a wooden prosthetic leg.
John Staples brother, the Rev. Thomas Staples, purchased the coal rights of the town of Coalisland
Coalisland
Coalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 4,917 people . As its name suggests, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.-History:...
in Co. Tyrone in 1740 and instructed the engineer of the Newry Canal
Newry Canal
The Newry Canal, located in Northern Ireland, was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough near Newry.-History:...
, Davis Dukart, to construct mines there. He also persuaded Dukart to design the White Bridge on the Lissan Estate along with an important water garden with fountains and cascades. Both survive on the estate today but are in dire need of restoration.
The eighth Baronet, Sir Robert died without legitimate issue as a result of which the Castle Durrow
Castle Durrow
Castle Durrow is a country house in Durrow, County Laois Ireland, built between 1712-1716 by Colonel William Flower as a family home. The house was built in the pre-Palladian design and formal gardens that was popular in the 18th century and is considered one of the finest country houses in Laois...
property was bequeathed to his eldest (illegitimate) son whilst Lissan passed to the Rt Hon. John Staples' eldest son Thomas who also thus inherited the Baronetcy, becoming the ninth Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
Lissan. Sir Thomas Staples Q.C. was a notable lawyer and was appointed Queen's Advocate in Ireland in 1845. He married Catherine Hawkins, another heiress and the pair were one of the wealthiest families in Ireland. He purchased the largest town house on Merrion Square
Merrion Square
Merrion Square is a Georgian square on the southside of Dublin city centre. It was laid out after 1762 and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. It is considered one of the city's finest surviving squares...
in Dublin (now the Irish Architectural Archive
Irish Architectural Archive
The Irish Architectural Archive was established in 1976 by Dr Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of Ireland, and make it available to the public...
) and made several notable additions to Lissan House, most notably the large ballroom built to take advantage of views of the water gardens. No expense was spared on the construction of this room which was fitted with an early central heating system, was double glazed and which had sprung floorboards to aid dancing. The room was decorated in a striking oriental scheme of scarlet and black and was decorated with vastly expensive handpainted Chinese wallpaper
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a kind of material used to cover and decorate the interior walls of homes, offices, and other buildings; it is one aspect of interior decoration. It is usually sold in rolls and is put onto a wall using wallpaper paste...
originally purchased by Sir Thomas' sister Grace, Marchioness of Ormonde for Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways...
. Small portions of this wallpaper survive today, touched up by the last owner.
Sir Thomas' younger brother, the Rev. John Molesworth Staples was Rector of Moville
Moville
Moville is a town and coastal resort on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, close to the northern tip of Ireland.-Location:...
in Co. Donegal and at Lissan and persuaded the Court architect to George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
John Nash
John Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
to come to Cookstown
Cookstown
Cookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
to design Lissan Rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
and Derryloran Parish Church.
Sir Thomas died childless in 1865 as a result of which the title and estate were inherited by Rev. John Molesworth Staples' eldest son Nathaniel, the tenth Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
. However, Sir Thomas left the contents of the house as well as the entirety family's fortune to his wife Catherine. She disliked Sir Nathaniel to such an extent that on her death both the fortune and furniture were bequeathed to her goddaughter Mary Banks. Thus the estate began a process of very swift financial decline.
Sir Nathaniel was a civil servant in Dum Dum
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a neighbourhood in North-west Kolkata and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport.Dum Dum is a well known place in greater Kolkata...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and during his absence on the subcontinent
Subcontinent
A subcontinent is a large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent. By dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision...
several members of the wider Staples family began to remove the remaining contents of the house. The Rt Hon John's third youngest daughter Charlotte had married William Lenox-Conyngham of Springhill
Springhill, Northern Ireland
Springhill is a 17th century plantation house in the townland of Ballindrum near Moneymore, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It has been the property of the National Trust since 1957 and, in addition to the house, gardens and park, there is a costume collection and a purported ghost.It is...
in 1824. During the 1860s and 70's, she and her eldest son Sir William Lenox-Conyngham
William Lenox-Conyngham
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Fitzwilliam Lenox-Conyngham, KCB, DL, JP was an Irish soldier.The eldest son of William Lenox-Conyngham and Charlotte Melosina Staples, third daughter of the Rt Hon...
systematically removed the entire contents of the Lissan Library along with the best paintings in the house, including a portrait of the Rt Hon John by Batoni
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...
. All of these can still be found in Springhill today.
When Sir Nathaniel eventually settled at Lissan during the 1880s, despite his straightened financial circumstances, he continued to live life to the full. He added a gargantuan porte cochere to the front of the house and purchased the clock tower from the Market House in Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...
which he added to the West end of the house. This clock was made by Joshua Adams
Joshua Adams
Joshua K. Adams is an Australian Dancesport competitor. Son of Kevin and Donna Adams, Adams also has two older brothers, Paul and Michael who were successful Ballroom Dancers.-Personal life:Adams was born in Sydney, New South Wales...
in 1820 and the great bell can be heard in Churchtown
Churchtown, County Cork
Churchtown is a village and townland near Buttevant in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland.Churchtown underwent a huge expansion during the Celtic Tiger years with the population increasing from about 100 to almost 700 people...
to this day. It is mentioned in the song Slieve Gallion's Braes. At the age of 55 Sir Nathaniel evicted Elizabeth, Lady Staples from the house and lived out his remaining years in the scandalous company of a young clairvoyant, Mary Potter, who was originally from Cookstown
Cookstown
Cookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
.
By the time of his death in 1899, the family were all but financially ruined. To compound their difficulties, the eleventh Baronet, Sir John Staples was declared insane and spent the entire duration of his baronetcy in an asylum in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
until his death in 1933.
As a result of this, the estate was first occupied by the second eldest son of the family, James Head Staples who had originally settled in Bremar in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He and his wife built a creamery
Creamery
In a dairy, the creamery is the location of cream processing. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream returned to the skimmed milk....
, took in boarders and Mrs Staples taught cookery and lace-making so that local girls would have some training to enable them to find work in Cookstown
Cookstown
Cookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
. He also fitted a second-hand water turbine
Water turbine
A water turbine is a rotary engine that takes energy from moving water.Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they are mostly used for electric power generation. They harness a clean and renewable energy...
on the Lissan Water in 1902 which supplied the house with its sole source of electricity until 2007 and which is still in full working order today. The estate remained, however, in terminal decline.
When James Head Staples died in 1911, the house was left temporarily unoccupied until his eccentric younger brother, Robert Ponsonby Staples was persuaded to leave London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and settle at Lissan in late 1912. Robert Ponsonby Staples was an exceptionally talented artist. He had gone to the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
to study architecture at the age of twelve before moving to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
to study fine art. When he returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during the 1880s he quickly became one of the most famous portrait artists of his day. He exhibited his first picture at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
at the age of 21 and was a founder member along with Sir Coutts Lindsay of the Grosvenor Gallery
Grosvenor Gallery
The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé...
, which launched the careers of Whistler and Burne-Jones. His most famous paintings can be found in galleries across the world today. His most noted work, An Imaginary Cricket Match hangs at Lords Cricket Ground whilst other large scale works can be found at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , also known as the All-England Club, based at Aorangi Park, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass...
(The Last Shot at Queen's Club
Queen's Club
The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. Founded in 1886, the Queen's Club was the world's first multipurpose sports complex and named after Queen Victoria, its first patron...
); the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
(The Passing of the Home Rule Bill) and the Archepiscopal Palace at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
(Cardinal Manning's Last Reception). Robert Ponsonby was also an infamous socialite and member of the Café Royal
Café Royal
The Café Royal was a restaurant and meeting place on 68 Regent Street in London's Piccadilly.-History:The establishment was originally conceived and set up in 1865 by Daniel Nicholas Thévenon, who was a French wine merchant. He had to flee France due to bankruptcy, arriving in Britain in 1863 with...
set. He was a friend and favourite of King Edward VII. His most famous attribute was his refusal to wear shoes. He believed that the earth exuded natural electricity which was beneficial to the health and thus shunned the wearing of shoes and listing his principal occupation as "barefoot walking" in the 1926 Who's Who.
Today his paintings are hugely valuable but, whilst existing at the centre of the social scene in fin de siecle
Fin de siècle
Fin de siècle is French for "end of the century". The term sometimes encompasses both the closing and onset of an era, as it was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, his work did not make him a wealthy man. After settling at Lissan, his finances evaporated and he was known to often ask the postman for a loan or to pawn
Pledge (law)
A pledge is a bailment or deposit of personal property to a creditor to secure repayment for some debt or engagement, The term is also used to denote the property which constitutes the security....
his own paintings in order to raise funds. A great sale was held during his tenure which lasted two full days and which saw the remaining pictures and fine furnishings sold off, many to the Lenox-Conyngham family at Springhill where they remain. He inherited the baronetcy at the age of eighty in 1933 and died ten years later.
By 1943, the estate, stripped of its furnishings and largely sold off, was virtually bankrupt. Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples' eldest son, Sir Robert George Alexander Staples discovered that he could no longer afford to live at Lissan. He thus hired Harry Dolling as estate manager and settled in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he could find work. Harry Dolling had the house divided into apartments and from 1943 until the late 1960s the house was home to over a hundred people living in self-contained flats and tenements carved out of the once elegant public rooms and bedrooms. Any remaining contents of value were sent to be stored temporarily at Springhill where they were mixed with the Lenox-Conyngham's own property, were presented mistakenly to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
along with Springhill in 1957 and which were never returned. Sir Robert George Alexander feared that he would be the last Staples owner of Lissan. He had only two daughters as issue. The younger, Elizabeth, had settled with her own family in England whilst the elder, Hazel, (following a spell in the WRNS
Women's Royal Naval Service
The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...
) had settled into a life on the seas with the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
as purser on the Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
and Caronia
Caronia
Caronia is a town and comune on the north coast of Sicily, in the province of Messina, about half way between Tyndaris and Cephaloedium...
. Neither had any interest in the now crumbling, rundown, and bankrupt estate.
However, on his death in 1970, the elder daughter Hazel visited Lissan with her mother and met the agent Harry Dolling. Within the year the pair were married and both settled at Lissan, returning the house to a single dwelling for the occupation of themselves and Vera, Lady Staples. Whilst Hazel inherited the house and estate from her father, the Baronetcy passed to Sir Jack Staples and from him to his cousin and, in swift succession, to his two brothers, the present being the seventeenth Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, Sir Richard Staples (both inherited the title at ages well into their eighties and neither of whom have any male heirs). Following a global search by Debretts, an heir to Sir Richard, Mr. Garth Staples of Charlottetown
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, was discovered in 2005 and will inherit the title on Sir Richard's death.
Preservation
Following inheriting the house, Hazel lived with her husband and mother until the former's death in 1986 and the latter's death in 1990. From 1990 she lived at Lissan alone. By 1997, it had become clear to Hazel that no member of the family would be able financially or viably to inherit the estate. After a life devoted to the preservation of what was now an absolutely unique property of great antiquity and historic value, Hazel decided to establish a Charitable TrustCharitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
which could begin to seek a plan for a viable future for the estate. The Farm Yard and walled gardens were immediately put in the care of the Trust and a scheme was sought for the future of the estate.
In 2003, Hazel managed to have the property featured in the TV Series Restoration
Restoration (TV series)
Restoration, Restoration, Restoration is a set of BBC television series where viewers decided on which listed building that was in immediate need of remedial works was to win a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund...
which promised to the winner of a phone in competition a fund in excess of £1,000,000 for the restoration of the building. Lissan featured prominently and caught the imagination of the British public. As a result, Lissan beat off 28 other properties to make it to the grand final and lost out to the Victoria Baths
Victoria Baths
Victoria Baths is a Grade II* listed building, situated in the Chorlton-upon-Medlock area of Manchester, in northwest England. The building is currently on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register....
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
by only 140 votes. Sadly however whilst bringing the estate to huge public attention, the programme resulted in no funding for the project whatsoever.
The Charitable Trust was thus re-formed in 2004 as the Friends of Lissan Trust with a new impetus - to find a future for the estate after Hazel's death and to seek funding for the project. Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling died in April 2006 and under the Terms of her will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, the entire estate was bequeathed to the Charitable Trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
on condition that a viable scheme of Restoration be secured within three years of her death.
As of today's date, the Trust have submitted an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
to cover the estimated £11,000,000 cost of restoring the entire estate. The Trust plans to restore the house as a tourist attraction and use the outbuildings and estate as a means of raising funds through conversion to conference, workspace and community space.
Today, Lissan represents an absolutely unique and fascinating part of Ulster's history which has caught the public imagination. In August 2007, the Friends of Lissan Trust opened the house to the public for the first time and almost 5,000 visitors made their way to the estate in the eight days of opening, making Lissan potentially one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
.
Corramore Construction are currently undertaking the renovation to restore the outside of the building to its former glory.