Rochfort (Belvedere)
Robert Rochfort, Attorney General and Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, purchased parts of the estates of King James and Denis Sheil or Geoghegan in county Westmeath in June 1703. Robert Rochfort, born 1652, married Hannah Handcock of Twyford, county Westmeath and they had two sons George and John. From John descend the Rochforts of Clogrenane, county Carlow. From George descend the Earls of Belvedere. George’s son Robert, born 1708, MP for county Westmeath was created Earl of Belvedere in 1756. He is best remembered for having locked up his second wife Mary Molesworth at Gaulstown for over thirty years for adultery with his brother. Their son George became the 2nd Earl but died in 1814 childless. His widow married Abraham Boyd in 1815 and had a son George Augustus Boyd of Middleton Park who inherited some of the Belvedere estates through his mother. Another portion, including Belvedere House, devolved on Charles Brinsley Marlay, a descendant of the 1st Earl’s daughter Jane, Countess of Lanesborough.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calverstown | Calverstown | Clonfad | Mullingar | Clonfad 100 | Westmeath |
OSI Ref: N410418
OS Sheet: 33 Discovery map: 48 |
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| Claremount House | Claremount or Cummingstown | Enniscoffey | Mullingar | Enniscoffey 74 | Westmeath |
OSI Ref: N498451
OS Sheet: 26 Discovery map: 48 |
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| Belvidere/Belvedere | Belvidere | Moylisker | Mullingar | Belvidere 80 | Westmeath |
OSI Ref: N419476
OS Sheet: 26 Discovery map: 48 |
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| Tudenham Park/Rochfort | Rochfort Demesne | Moylisker | Mullingar | Belvidere 80 | Westmeath |
OSI Ref: N418471
OS Sheet: 26 Discovery map: 48 |
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| Tallyho | Tallyho | Moylisker | Mullingar | Belvidere 80 | Westmeath |
OSI Ref: N429470
OS Sheet: 26 Discovery map: 48 |
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| Gallstown | Gallstown | Pass of Kilbride | Mullingar | Gaybrook 75 | Westmeath |
OSI Ref: N482432
OS Sheet: 33 Discovery map: 48 |
Archival sources
- Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Rochfort and Others, 3 July 1857, Vol 47 (11), MRGS 39/023, (microfilm copy in UG); National Archives of Ireland
- Documents relating to property and interests of Henry Lord Drogheda and of Rochfort family in Cos Meath and Westmeath, 1669-1819. M 6994; National Archives of Ireland
- Bury Charleville papers include Westmeath estate papers relating to the Rochfort, Levinge and Smyth of Ballynagall families and to lands in the vicinity of Mullingar, 1782, 1826, 1840 and 1887 to 1894. T3069 153; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Papers relating to the property of George Rochfort at Calverstown and Grange, Co Westmeath, including settlement on his marriage to Letitia Copperthwaite, 2 Nov 1813. M. 5749; National Archives of Ireland
- Lease by George Rochfort to John Boswell of lands at Coosan, Co Westmeath, 16 Oct 1780. D 24,030; National Library of Ireland
- Poor rent of the Rochforts Westmeath estate for the half year ending 1 Nov 1851 - May 1854. M. 1262; National Archives of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland,'' 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix III. Abstracts of the conveyances from the trustees of the Forfeited Estates and Interests in Ireland in 1688'.: 357
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Mullingar Union, 132 (Calverstown)
- LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: II, 403 (Rochfort and Tallyho)
- 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: 74, 250
- LEET, Ambrose. ''A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland''. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 337 (Rochfort), 367 (Tallyho)
Modern printed sources
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Reports on Private Collections: Report on the Walker Papers (from 1726), in the custody of Mr. H. J. Walker, solicitor, Athlone relating to Athlone Corporation, the Adamson, Handcock, Kelly, Longworth, Robinson and Rochfort families and to lands in Cos. Roscommon and Westmeath. No. 196
- BURKE, Sir Bernard. ''A genealogical history of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire''. London: Harrison, 1883: 456
- O'Brien, Donal. ''The Houses and Landed Families of Westmeath''. The author, Athlone (2nd edition 2015): 35, 42, 108-109
- O'Brien, Donal. ''The Houses and Landed Families of Westmeath''. The author, Athlone (2nd edition 2015): 35, 108, 215