Bentley (Hurdleston)
The ancestors of the Bentleys received land in county Clare under the Cromwellian settlement of the mid 17th century and came to live at Broadford before the beginning of the 18th century. Pat O'Brien gives a detailed history of the family in his article in ''The Other Clare''. At the time of Griffith's Valuation the Bentley estate was in the parishes of Killokennedy and Kilseily, barony of Tulla Lower. Much of their estate was held from Sir John Dillon Massy. This is evident from the sale rental of the Dillon Massy Broadford estate in November 1858. In the 1870s the Bentley estate was comprised of 2,497 acres. Family members continued to reside at Hurdleston until 1952 when Digby Bentley died.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurdleston/Hurdlestown | Hurdleston | Kilseily | Limerick | Kilseily 108 | Tulla Lower | Clare |
OSI Ref: R572 724
OS Sheet: 44 Discovery map: 58 |
|
| Doon House | Doon | Killuran | Tulla | Killuran 139 | Tulla Lower | Clare |
OSI Ref: R555 739
OS Sheet: 44 Discovery map: 58 |
Archival sources
- Bentley Papers, Hurdleston, Broadford; Private Possession
- Encumbered Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Massy, 25 Nov 1858, Vol 54 (12), MRGS 39/027, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Encumbered Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Pilkington, Davis & Lysaght, 14 Mar 1851, (Bentley v Pilkington), Vol 6 (10), MRGS 39/002, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Lease of Cobagh etc, Co Clare, Henry Bridgeman to John Bentley, 1757. E.J. French solicitor's collection, Small Accessions Index 8, D.2682; National Archives of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Limerick Union, 62 (Hurdleston); Tulla Union, 41 (Doon)
- LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: II, 207
- LEET, Ambrose. ''A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland''. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 219
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 107
- HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. ''The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland''. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878. [available online at www.askaboutireland.ie] : 30
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland,'' 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix I, Grants under Acts of Settlement: 224
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion...'', HC 1906, c, 177: 223 (Hurdleston)
- TAYLOR, George & SKINNER, Andrew. ''Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783''. Facsimile of 2nd edition. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969: 101
- WILSON, William. ''The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland''. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 171 (Broadford)
Modern printed sources
- WEIR, Hugh W. L. ''Historical, Genealogical and Architectural notes on some Houses of Clare''. Whitegate, county Clare: Ballinakella Press, 1999. : 148, 103-104
- ''The Other Clare'': O’BRIEN, Pat. The Bentley Family of Hurdlestown, Co Clare. X (1986), 26-27
- WALFORD, Edward. 'The County families of the United Kingdom''. London: Chatto and Windus, 1885): p.78