Hartstonge

Family title

Baronet

Estate(s)

Name	Description
Hartstonge	In the 18th century the Harstonge family held lands in the Bruff and Kildimo areas of county Limerick. They also had property in Limerick city and in the parish of Castlemagner, barony of Duhallow, county Cork. They first intermarried with the Perys, Earls of Limerick in 1757 and by the early 19th century the Perys had inherited the Hartstonge's Munster estates. See Dr Malcomson's introduction to The Limerick Papers, Collection List 121, National Library of Ireland. Lewis writes that the town of Bruff and surrounding area was formerly the property of the Hartstonge family but by 1837 was in the possession of the Earl of Limerick.
Pery	Sometime in the mid 17th century Susanna Sexton, eventually heiress to the Sexton estates in county Limerick, married Edmond Pery of Croom, county Limerick. In 1677 Bartholomew Stackpole was granted over 3,000 acres in county Clare and the power to hold fairs at Stackpole Court [Ballymulcashel, parish of Kilfinaghta] on specific days of the year. His estate passed to the Pery family due to the marriage of his daughter to Colonel Edmond Sexton Pery. The Perys later inherited the Munster estates of the Hartstonge family through marriage with a member of the Ormsby family of Cloghran, Co Mayo. Edmond Henry Pery was created Earl of Limerick in 1802. By the early 1850s the Earl of Limerick's county Clare estate was in the parishes of Quin, barony of Bunratty Upper and Clonlea and Kilseily, barony of Tulla Lower. The Earl's county Limerick estate was in the parishes of Kildimo, barony of Kenry, Knockainy and Monasteranenagh, barony of Smallcounty and in Liberties and city of Limerick and his county Cork estate was in the parishes of Castlemagner, barony of Duhallow, Caherduggan, barony of Fermoy and Little Island, barony of Barrymore. The latter was leased to the Burys of Little Island. The county Cork estate was advertised for sale in May 1872 and was comprised of 1,594 acres in the barony of Duhallow held in fee simple and fee farm rents out of 1,681 acres at Little Island, barony of Barrymore and 539 acres at Derryvillane, barony of Fermoy. Seven lots were sold to Sir Henry Beecher for over £38,000 while the lot in the Barony of Fermoy was bought in trust for Sergeant Armstrong. Griffith's Valuation also records the trustees of the Earl of Limerick holding land in the barony of Coshma parishes of Bruff, Dromin, Tullabracky and Uregare, county Limerick. Daniel Barrington was the agent for the estate in the 1840s. Up to the mid 19th century the main residence of the Earls of Limerick was in Henry Street, Limerick, later occupied by St Munchin' s College. By the end of the 19th century they were mainly absentee and their main residence was at Welwyn, Hertfordshire. In the 1870s the Earl of Limerick owned 1550 acres in county Clare, over 4000 acres in county Limerick and 76 acres in county Cork. In 1907 the Earl of Limerick advertised for sale the ground rents of his property in the city of Limerick. The sale catalogue and maps can be accessed on the Limerick library website http://www.limerickcity.ie/Library/LocalStudies/The1907SaleofLimerickCatalogueMaps/
Widenham	There appear to be two branches of this family one in county Limerick and one in county Cork. Henry Widenham of Court, county Limerick, son of Henry Widenham was granted lands in the baronies of Kenry and Pubblebrien, county Limerick in 1684. He died in 1719 leaving two daughters, his co heiresss. Mary married Valentine Quin of Adare and Alice married Price Hartstonge, eldest son of Sir Standish Hartstonge, 2nd Baronet, of Bruff, county Limerick. In 1703 Henry Widenham of Court bought part of the confiscated estate of James II in the baronies of Kenry and Connello. Walter Widenham of Limerick city made his will in March 1797 leaving all his property in trust to Captain Widenham of Castle Widenham, county Cork, and Edmund Burton, Clifton, county Clare, for the benefit of his daughter, Frances Blood, for life and then to her children and in default to his three nephews, William, Hyacinth and Francis Compton. Lieutenant Colonel John Widenham was granted over 2,600 acres in the barony of Fermoy, county Cork in 1666.