| Description |
Apparently named after an English property, Sopwell in Hertfordshire, which was inherited by the Sadleir family. In 1655 a Cromwellian soldier, Colonel Thomas Sadleir, was granted Kinelagh Castle, county Tipperary, which he renamed Sopwell Hall. This property remained in Sadleir possession until it was inherited by Mary Sadleir who, in 1754, had married Frederick Trench of Woodlawn, county Galway, the parents of the 1st Lord Ashtown. The present house was built by Mary's father, Francis Sadleir, in the mid 18th century. Wilson refers to it as the residence of Mr. Sadlier in 1786. Sopwell Hall was left to Francis Trench, brother of 1st Lord Ashtown, who was living at Sopwell Hall in 1814. In 1837 Lewis records the Trenches in possession and writes that "on the demesne are the ruins of the ancient castle formerly occupied by the Sadleir family". The Ordnance Survey Name Books, in 1840, refer to Sopwell as "a spacious building, the residence of Stewart Trench". At the time of Griffith's Valuation the 2nd Lord Ashtown, son of Francis, was occupying the house, valued at £40 and held by him in fee. By 1906 Sopwell was valued at £80 and occupied by the Honourable Cosby G. Trench. The Trench family were still resident at Sopwell Hall in the 1970s. In 1840 the Ordnance Survey Name Books noted that Sopwell was one of the largest demesnes in the country. |
