Hodgson
The Hodgson family came to Ireland from Whitehaven in Cumberland, England and were mine owners in Avoca, county Wicklow before they moved west in the mid 19th century. Pádraig Lane writes that they spent over £22,000 buying 2,800 acres in the Galway area from George F. O'Flahertie, Robert H. Eyre, William H. Gregory, Charles Blake, the Reverend T. Kelly and Christopher St. George. They mined copper and lead on their estate in the west of Ireland, which was mainly located in the parish of Kilcummin, barony of Moycullen, county Galway. By the time of Griffith's Valuation they held eleven townlands in the parish, some of which had previously belonged to the St George family. In 1852 Henry Hodgson bought Merlin Park from the sale of the estate of Charles Blake in the Encumbered Estates' Court. The Merlin Park estate of 1,109 acres, including the marble quarries at Dohiskey, and some land at Castle Waller (321 acres) in county Tipperary, were advertised for sale in the Landed Estates' Court in 1868 but it was not until 1876 that the Waithmans bought the Merlin Park estate. Henry Hodgson still owned over 17,000 acres in county Galway in the early 1870s. http://www.currarevagh.com/
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currarevagh | Currarevagh | Kilcummin | Oughterard | Letterfore 169 | Moycullen | Galway |
OSI Ref: M100 471
OS Sheet: 40 Discovery map: 45 |
|
| Merlin Park | Merlinpark | Oranmore | Galway | Galway Rural 41 | Galway | Galway |
OSI Ref: M339 256
OS Sheet: 94 Discovery map: 46 |
|
Archival sources
- Landed Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Hodgson, 4 Feb 1868, Vol 88, MRGS 39/043, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Rental of Merlin Park, Co Galway, 1871. M.3465 ; National Archives of Ireland
- Merlin Park photos & press cuttings. 022/072; Irish Architectural Archive
Contemporary printed sources
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 296
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Oughterard Union, 3
- 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] : 220
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Galway Union, 23.
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of names of proprietors and area and valuation of properties in counties in Ireland, held in fee or perpetuity or long leases at chief rents,'' 1876. (412) LXXX. 395: 148.
Modern printed sources
- BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 98 & 205
- SHEERIN, Norbert. ''Renmore and its environs: An Historical Perspective''. Galway: Renmore Residents Association, 2000: 63-70
- SEMPLE, Maurice. ''Where the River Corrib flows''. Galway: the author, 1988: 103-106
- LANE, Pádraig. The Encumbered Estates Court and Galway Land Ownership, 1849-58. In MORAN, Gerard (ed). ''History & Society''. Dublin: Geography Publications, 1996 : 395-419