Villiers (Kilpeacon & Beech Hill)

The Reverend Fitzgerald in a footnote in his book gives an account of the owners of Kilpeacon, county Limerick. The castle was originally the property of Sir William King. As he had no direct heirs it passed to his grand nephews Richard and Edward Villiers who also died childless. The property then passed to their nephew Joseph Crips of Edwardstown, who took the name Villiers. Edward Villiers the proprietor in the 1820s was his grandson. In the early 1840s the whole parish of Kilpeacon was held by the representatives of Edward Villiers. In the mid 19th century Edward Cripps Villiers owned an estate in the parishes of Kilpeacon, baronies of Smallcounty and Pubblebrien and Ballycahane and Crecora, barony of Pubblebrien, county Limerick. His county Limerick estate, which included houses in the city of Limerick, plus a fee farm rent on lands in county Clare and some land in county Kilkenny were first advertised for sale in July 1850. Kilpeacon was sold to Major George Gavin. Edward C. Villiers appears to have bought the Beech Hill estate, parish of Grange, barony of Kilconnell, in county Galway, at this time. He was in possession of the Beech Hill estate in 1855. In the 1870s Edward C. Villiers estate in county Galway amounted to over 500 acres and his representatives owned 118 acres in county Limerick. In 1906 Villiers was in possession of almost 500 acres of untenanted demesne land at Grange including Beech Hill House valued at £26.

Associated Families

Houses

Name	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Beech Hill	Beechhill	Grange	Loughrea	Grange 121	Kilconnell	Galway	OSI Ref: M644297 OS Sheet: 85, 86 Discovery map: 46
Ballymurphy	Ballymurphy	Crecora	Croom	Crecora 3	Pubblebrien	Limerick	OSI Ref: R548 482 OS Sheet: 22 Discovery map: 65
Rockfield	Rockfield	Ballycahane	Croom	Kilpeacon 6	Smallcounty	Limerick	OSI Ref: R573 462 OS Sheet: 22 Discovery map: 65
Kilpeacon	Kilpeacon	Kilpeacon	Croom	Kilpeacon 6	Smallcounty	Limerick	OSI Ref: R561 472 OS Sheet: 22 Discovery map: 65

Archival sources

Encumbered Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Villiers, 16 July 1850, Vol 2 (23),18 Mar 1851, Vol 6 (15) & 26 June 1855, Vol 35 (52), MRGS 39/001, 39/002 & 39/017, (microfilm copy in NUIG) ; National Archives of Ireland
Beech Hill Photographs. 024/068; Irish Architectural Archive
Pedigree of Villiers of Ballyneboley, Co Waterford & Kilpeacon, Co Limerick, c 1670-1783. GO MS 173:104-108; National Library of Ireland
Copy deed of annuity, Edward Villiers, 1st part, Mrs Hannah Villiers, widow, 2nd part, George Tuthill, 3rd part, re Kilpeacon, 1816. LM2002.0060 ; Limerick City Museum
Deed of partition of unadministered personal estate of John Scott involving Anne Scott otherwise Tuthill, Edward Villiers & Hannah his wife formerly Scott, Richard Villiers, Kilpeacon & George Tuthill, Faha, 24 Oct 1757. BRA Collection, Small Accs Index 61, D.6361; National Archives of Ireland

Contemporary printed sources

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 154 & 300
''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Barony of Pubblebrien, 5 (Ballymurphy): Barony of Smallcounty, 13 (Rockfield), 61 (Kilpeacon)
LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: I, 433 (Ballymurphy), II, 198 (Kilpeacon)
ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS, county Limerick: IV, 350-356, Parish of Kilpeacon, 355 (Kilpeacon House)
FITZGERALD, Rev P. & MCGREGOR, J.J. ''The history, topography and antiquities of the county and city of Limerick''. Dublin: 1826, republished Limerick: O'Brien Book Publications,1999: 301-302
''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Loughrea Union, 35
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] : 460
PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion...'', HC 1906, c, 177: 324

Modern printed sources

BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 174 (Kilpeacon)
GLIN, Knight of, GRIFFIN, D. J. & ROBINSON, N.K (eds).'' Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland''. Dublin: Irish Architectural Archive/Irish Georgian Society, 1989. : 69 (Beech Hill)
''North Munster Antiquarian Journal'': Will of Sir William King, 1704. II, No 2 (1940), 74-75