Foster/Skeffington (Viscounts Ferrand & Massereene)
The Foster family of Collon, Co Louth, Viscounts Ferrand and the Clotworthy and Skeffington families, Viscounts Massereene of Antrim Castle were united in 1810 following the marriage of a Foster heir and a Massereene heiress. In 1668, Lord Massereene held 12,500 statute acres in Co Monaghan, mainly in the parishes of Aghnamullen and Clontibret, barony of Cremorne. He also held some land in the barony of Dartree. Extensive estates in counties Monaghan and Cavan were granted to John Viscount Massereene in September 1669 with smaller amounts in other counties. Much of his estate in county Monaghan was lost through the granting of leases in perpetuity in the early 18th century. Deeds, leases and other records in the Massereene Papers show that this family also held land in counties Antrim, Cavan, Dublin, Kerry, Louth and in England. In 1876, Lord Massereene was recorded as owning only nine acres in county Monaghan but his county Antrim estate amounted to 11,777 acres and he held 7,193 acres in county Louth and 2,045 acres in county Meath. The National Archives, Kew, hold some records relating to the Irish Land Commission sale of the estate of Lord Massereene in county Monaghan in 1910.
Associated Families
No associated families were found for this estate
No houses were found for this estate
Archival sources
- Austin Cooper Papers - account books 1787-c 1830 of Austin Cooper, agent to, among others, Lord Massereene’s estate in Co Monaghan. MIC251; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Massereene & Ferrand – Irish Land Commission sale of estate of Viscount Massereene & Ferrand 1910. T1/11207/10312; National Archives, UK
- Stanhope of Chevening Manuscripts - copies of grants of lands in Irish countries, including Co Monaghan, to Viscount Massereene, 1678. U1590/E175; Kent History and Library Centre
- Massereene Foster Papers, 1623-1857. D562, D207, D1739, D2058, D2681, D3711, D4084, MIC618 ; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- 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] : 309
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland,'' 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix I, Grants under Acts of Settlement: 193-194
Modern printed sources
- MALCOMSON, A.P.W. ''The Extraordinary Career of the 2nd Earl of Massereene, 1743-1805''. Belfast, 1972: All
- COLLINS, Peter. ''County Monaghan Records in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland''. PRONI, Belfast, 1998: 178-179
- ''The Dublin Gazette'': Includes details of purchases by tenants. 25 Jan 1907.