Friday 23 February 2024

Burnham House

THE BARONS VENTRY WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KERRY, WITH 93,629 ACRES

This noble family derives from a common ancestor with that of Molyneux, Earls of Sefton, namely, SIR RICHARD MOLYNEUX, Knight, of Sefton, Lancashire, from whom descended WILLIAM MOLYNS, of Burnham, Norfolk, descended from the ancient family of MOLYNS of Sandhill, Hampshire, itself a scion of the old baronial house of DE MOLEYNS OF HENLEY, whose heiress of line, ELEANOR MOLEYNS, married Sir Robert Hungerford, Knight.

Mr Molyns married firstly, the daughter and heir of William Montague; and secondly, Emily, daughter William Walrond, of Bovey, Devon, by whom he had a younger son,

RICHARD MOLEYNS or MOLINS, of Mitford, Norfolk, who wedded Jane, eldest daughter of Sir Alexander Culpeper, Knight, of Bedgebury, and was father of

COLONEL FREDERICK WILLIAM MULLINS (c1625-1712), MP for Dingle, 1692-3, and for Tralee, 1695-9, who settled in Ireland ca 1666, purchased estates in County Kerry, and named his seat there "Burnham," from that place in Norfolk wherein he was born.
Colonel Mullins wedded Jane, daughter and co-heir of the Very Rev John Eveleigh, Dean of Ross, of Blackhall and Coplands Meade, in the parish of St Giles's, Oxford, by Mildred, his wife, daughter of Thomas Caldwell, of Newbury, Berkshire, by Jane, his wife, youngest daughter of Michael Boyle, of London, sister of Richard Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Tuam, and of Michael Boyle, Lord Bishop of Waterford, and aunt of the Lord Primate, Michael Boyle.
He had issue,
FREDERICK;
Richard;
Edward;
Samuel.
The eldest son,

FREDERICK MULLINS (1663-95), wedded, in 1685, Martha, eldest daughter of Thomas Blennerhassett, and granddaughter maternally of Dermot, 5th Baron Inchiquin, and by her had issue, an only son,

WILLIAM MULLINS, of Burnham, County Kerry, who espoused, in 1716, Mary, daughter of George Rowan.

Mr Mullins died in 1761, and left, with a daughter, Anne, an only son,

THOMAS MULLINS (1736-1824) who was created a baronet, in 1797, designated of Burnham, County Kerry.

Sir Thomas was elevated to the peerage, in 1800, in the dignity of BARON VENTRY, of Ventry, County Kerry.

He wedded, in 1775, Elizabeth, daughter of Townsend Gunn, of Rattoo, in the same county, and had issue,
WILLIAM TOWNSEND, his successor;
Townsend, father of THOMAS TOWNSEND AREMBERG, 3rd Baron;
Thomas;
Richard;
Edward, a major in the army;
Frederick, in holy orders;
Theodora; Elizabeth; Arabella; Charlotte; Catherine; Helena Jane.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM TOWNSEND, 2nd Baron (1761-1827), who espoused firstly, in 1784, Sarah Anne, daughter of Sir Riggs Falkiner Bt, and had issue,
ANNA;
Elizabeth.
His lordship wedded secondly, in 1790, Frances Elizabeth, only daughter of Isaac Sage, which marriage was dissolved, 1796; and thirdly, in 1797, Clara, daughter of Benjamin Jones, and had further issue,
THOMAS (1798-1817).
The 2nd Baron died without surviving male issue, when the honours devolved upon his nephew,

THOMAS TOWNSEND, 3rd Baron (1786-1868), who espoused, in 1821, Eliza Theodora, daughter of Sir John Blake Bt, and had issue,
DAYROLLES BLAKENEY, his successor;
Frederick William;
Edward Alured;
Denis John;
Christabella; Rose; Eliza; Helena Emily.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

DAYROLLES BLAKENEY, 4th Baron (1828-1914), DL, who married, in 1860, Harriet Elizabeth Frances, daughter of Andrew Wauchope, and had issue,
FREDERICK ROSSMORE WAUCHOPE, his successor;
ARTHUR WILLIAM, 6th Baron;
Edward Dayrolles;
Richard Andrew;
John Gilbert;
Mildred Rose Evelyn; Maud Helen; Frances Elizabeth Sarah; Hersey Alice.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

FREDERICK ROSSMORE WAUCHOPE, 5th Baron (1861-1923), DSO DL, who died unmarried, when the family honours devolved upon his brother,

ARTHUR WILLIAM, 6th Baron (1864-1936), of Burnham House, who wedded, in 1897, Evelyn Muriel Stuart, daughter of Lansdowne Daubeny, and had issue,
ARTHUR FREDERICK DAUBENEY OLAV, his successor;
Francis Alexander Innys;
Mary Helen.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR FREDERICK DAUBENEY OLAV, 7th Baron (1898-1987),
The heir apparent is the present holder's only son, the Hon Francis Wesley Daubeney de Moleyns (b 1965).


BURNHAM HOUSE (or Manor), near Dingle, County Kerry, comprises a three-storey, seven bay Georgian block enlarged by the addition of two-storey wings, which were re-faced during the late 19th century.

The entrance front boasts engaged Doric columns which support sections of entablature and a steep pediment above a porte-cochère.

The roof is eaved on the centre and wings; while the centre has a modillion cornice.

The garden front has two-storey, rectangular projections in the centre; with three-sided bows at the ends of the wings.


Burnham House was sold to the Irish Land Commission in the 1920s and is now a girls' boarding school

Other former residence ~ Lindsay Hall, Branksome, Dorset.

First published in April, 2011.

6 comments :

Derek said...

Nice work Timothy! I'm a descendant of the DeMoleyns clan, through my father's mother. The third Baron was my Great-Great Grandfather. There was a schism in the family whether or not to raise my Great Grandfather and his brothers as Catholic or Protestant - due to an inter-faith union, they were subsequently raised Catholic - which led to my Great Grandfather and his brothers being passed over as inheritors of any family titles or fortunes (which were pretty much null and void anyway after the land return policy of the 1920's and the Irish Free State. Very few landlords were able to hold on to the majority of their former estates).

There was considerable bad blood and confusion regarding all of this and apparently, it was a subject that was not spoken of in the home of my Grandmother and her siblings during her childhood. Her parents avoided the subject, hence, the confusion. All they knew was that DeMoleyns was their ancestor, and Burnham was the family seat.

I was able to finally go to Ireland for a month, spending a week in Dingle in 1999, talking to the holy men of the area (great historians) and found out the whole story, which was interesting to say the least!

It is a beautiful house and I'm glad that the house and grounds are now a boarding school teaching lessons exclusively in the Irish language. The residents of Dingle were very nice to me and seemed to harbor no ill will toward my ancestors, a landed gentry, Anglo-Irish, Protestant Ascendancy family (who didn't exactly purchase, or ask for all that Kerry land, but more or less took it by force back in the 1600's). By the way, I'm an American, a North Carolina native.
Interesting blog. I'll be back to check out more soon!

Teresa Stokes said...

In 1874 the reconstruction, including new porch, for 4th Baron Ventry was overseen by my great grandfather, architect James Franklin Fuller. Porch built by Sharp of Dublin.

Cathy said...

Derek, are you a descendant of Mary Palmer?

She had 5 son's with one of the Barons. Denis Palmer was my grandfather.

Anna said...

The third Baron Ventry is my 3x great grandfather, so we are cousins. I'm visiting Ireland now and am close to Dingle and Burnham Manor.

Cathy said...

Anne, I would love to connect with you. Perhaps the owner of this blog can assist us.

Teresa Stokes said...

William Mullins (d.1761) was my 7th great grandfather. As well as daughter Anne there was Mary, my 6th great grandmother. Thomas wasn’t his only son. There was another son, Frederick, who left no issue.