Pratt
Description
In 1834 a member of the Pratt family of Cabra Castle, Co Cavan, married the Jackson heiress of Enniscoe in the parish of Crossmolina, Co Mayo.
Estate(s)
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Jackson (Fortland) | At the time of Griffith's Valuation a junior branch of the Jacksons of Enniscoe had an estate in the parish of Meelick in the barony of Gallen, Co Mayo and held Fortland, parish of Kilfian, barony of Tirawley from the Pratts. In 1876 George Humphrey Jackson of Fortland owned 2695 acres in Co Mayo. |
| Jackson (Enniscoe) | Francis Jackson, a Cromwellian soldier, bought extensive lands in the barony of Tirawley, county Mayo and was granted lands in the parishes of Addergoole, Crossmolina, Moygawnagh and Rathreagh under the Restoration settlements. By the early 18th century the Jacksons were established at Enniscoe. In the 1830s the Jackson estate at Enniscoe passed to the Pratt family through marriage with a Jackson heiress. |
| Pratt (Cabra Castle) | Burke’s Landed Gentry of Ireland (1904) states that the Pratts came from Leicester and that Cromwell granted them land in county Meath. The county Cavan estate came into their possession through the marriage of Joseph Pratt and Frances Cooch, sister and heir of Thomas Cooch of Cabra Castle, county Cavan. Thomas Cooch was granted an estate in county Cavan of 3,813 acres in December 1667. The ruins of this first Cabra Castle are marked on the first edition six inch Ordnance Survey map (publ. 1837), located to the east of Cabra Cottage, the original home of the Pratt family until the acquisition of Cormey Castle in 1813. In 1704, Joseph Pratt’s fifth son, Mervyn, by his second wife Elizabeth Mervyn, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Coote of Coote Hall and sister of the Earl of Bellamont. In the 1850s, their great grandson, Colonel Joseph Pratt, held an estate of at least 30 townlands in the parish of Enniskeen, barony of Clankee, county Cavan. His eldest son Mervyn married Madeline, daughter and heiress of Colonel William Jackson of Enniscoe, county Mayo. The Jackson estate at Enniscoe, parish of Crossmolina, barony of Tirawley, county Mayo became the property of the Pratts of Cabra Castle, county Cavan, following this marriage in 1834. In 1876, Mervyn Pratt owned 17,955 acres in county Mayo, 8095 acres in county Cavan and 1,014 acres in county Meath. In 1916, the Congested Districts' Board made a final offer of just under £50,000 for the Pratt's county Mayo estate. Enniscoe was inherited by the Nicholson family in the 20th century and the nucleus of the property has remained in the ownership of descendants of the Jacksons for over 300 years. http://www.enniscoe.com/ At the time of Griffiths Valuation Joseph Pratt was among the lessors of townlands in the parish of Conwal, barony of Raphoe, County Donegal. In November 1868 over 6000 acres of the Pratt estate in Donegal was offered for sale by Mervyn Pratt in the Landed Estates Court. |
| Medlycott | The Burrishoole estate of approximately 70,000 acres was acquired by Thomas Medlycott, Chief Commissioner of Revenue in Ireland, from Charles Butler, Earl of Arran, and grandson of the 1st Duke of Ormonde, at the turn of the 17th century. Later on in the 18th century the Medlycotts found themselves in financial difficulties and sold the estate to John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont, on 15 July 1774, who sold it back to the Medlycotts on a lease in perpetuity. This lease was sold by the Medlycotts to Sir Neal O'Donel in 1785. Earlier the Medlycotts had leased the property to "Mr Pratt, Clerk of the Treasury" [John Pratt of Cabra Castle, Co Cavan, Deputy Treasurer, died 1740] but when he got into financial difficulty the estate had reverted to the Medlycotts. The Medlycotts had another estate at Rocket's Castle, county Waterford, where they resided during the 19th century. Reverend John T. Medlicott was among the principal lessors in the parish of Clonagam, barony of Upperthird, at the time of Griffith's Valuation. In the 1870s he owned over 950 acres in county Waterford. |
| Foster (Dunleer) | The Foster family were settled at Dunleer, county Louth, from the early 18th century. The Reverend Thomas Foster, rector of Dunleer, was succeeded by his son John Thomas Foster who married in 1776 Lady Elizabeth Hervey, daughter of the Earl of Bristol. Part of the Foster estate was at Cormey in the parish of Enniskeen, county Cavan. Following John T. Foster’s death in 1795 the Cormey property was inherited by his son Augustus, a minor. A cousin, Henry Foster, was his trustee and in 1808 he began to rebuild Cormey Castle, then a ruin. The rebuilding of Cormey Castle bankrupted his ward Augustus and in 1813 Augustus sold the Castle and about 400 acres to his neighbour Colonel Joseph Pratt. The Colonel then made Cormy Castle his main residence and renamed it Cabra Castle. Augustus Foster became a foreign diplomat and in 1831 was created a baronet. |