Tag Archives: Dargle

Brassington & Gale Valuation of Powerscourt 1853: Tenant Names (Archive Month #18)

In 1853, during the minority of the 7th Viscount Powerscourt, the firm Brassington and Gale (Bachelor’s Walk) were requested to carry out a valuation of all property on the Estate, to assist the Guardians of the estate in deciding on rents that should be charged for land. They produced a ledger of incredible detail, which is now in the National Library of Ireland (MS 2740) that lists all of the townlands in the Wicklow estate (Enniskerry and Castlemacadam), the tenants in each of the holdings in these townlands, their area and their value.

Below, I have reproduced some of this—namely the townlands, their total acreage and value, and the tenants names given in each. There is a return for each holding, so in many cases a tenant’s name will appear more than once. For each holding, the original lists several sub-sections—e.g. arable fields, rocky land, boggy land and their component values and areas—this isn’t reproduced. Therefore the list below should be read as all of the holdings within a townland, bearing in mind that their value was comprised of several sub-sections. Also, some holdings have joint tenants—I would imagine that these are usually related in some way.

Of course, there were many more tenants than are listed here—I suppose they sub-let land from the listed tenants. I am really just listing these names as a genealogical resource, so hope it is of some interest. There does seem to have been a map to accompany this report, but I haven’t seen it yet (I’m not even sure if it still exists). I have occasionally recorded details of note, usually any significant buildings that were noted or anything that was occupied directly by the estate (!In hand”). Unfortunately, details in the village were scant – buildings were only listed as dwellings, sub-divided by whether they had slated or thatched roof. Businesses or types of buildings, with some rare exceptions, were not indicated.

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Planting at the Dargle: Journal of Rural Affairs 1842 (Archive Month #7)

The following article about the potential for planting trees in non-arable land in Ireland appeared in the wonderfully named The Irish Farmer’s and Gardener’s Register and Journal of Rural Affairs in 1842 [Volume I, (pp 199 – 205)]. The Journal is available at the National Library of Ireland.

The article uses Powerscourt as a case-study, and says that trees were:

…planted under out supervision about twelve years since; and although furze, which previously to planting trees had to be uprooted, made powerful efforts to regain possession of the land; it was at length overcome, and at present the surface is covered with luxuriant grasses, ready, whenever the trees have attained sufficient size, to be beyond the reach of injury from cattle, of affording valuable pasturage…

The effect also led to improved scenery:

…The truth of this observation was forcibly impressed on us a few days since, when contrasting the change which the planting of about thirty acres of land had in a few years, produced on the scenery of a formerly uninteresting drive from Bray to the Dargle gate. The site of this plantation, the precipitous banks of the Dargle river, was lately little better than a quagmire, affording only coarse pasturage in summer…

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Maps from Monck Papers at the National Library of Ireland (Archive Month #6)

The Monck papers which, like the previously mentioned Powerscourt papers, have their own index (No. 4 – Part I includes the Wicklow Estate information), have two maps of interest that I came across. Monck’s lived at Charleville, and the two maps mentioned here cover the area around Tinnehinch at the end of the 18th and 19th centuries respectively.

MS 26,949: A map of part of Tinnehinch, county Wicklow, part of the estate of Charles Stanley Monck, later 1st Viscount Monck, and holding of the Rt. Hon. Henry Grattan. Surveyed by Michael Curran. November 1788. 20 perches to 1 inch.

Michael Curran/Currin was obviously the map maker in the area at this time as he made several maps in the locality (see Powerscourt papers maps). This map shows the area east of the road, just past the narrow bridge at Tinnehinch, and the junction west to Roundwood and right to Kilcroney. Details between the road and the river are given. I was interested in this map as I was trying to pin down the building of Grattan’s house at Tinnehinch. The map shows three plots enclosed between the river and the road. The largest, most northerly and running along most of the river is annotated “Part of Lower Tinnehinch, the holdig of Henry Grattan”. The second portion has a house at the road’s edge, past the turn west for Roundwood, and is marked [unreadable]’s garden. No. 3 is a tiny plot, and either is not annotated or I did not take it down. The small remainder of the land is marked Kilcroney (possibly the townland?), and the road continuing east is marked “To Glen of the Downs”.

This map gave me more questions than answers. I wanted to know if Grattan rebuilt the inn that existed at Tinnehinch to make his new home (which seems to be locally accepted, but I haven’t seen evidence) or rebuilt the inn near the site of the old inn (some evidence for this, e.g. in landscape paintings). I go for the latter, but am still looking for the silver bullet to prove it! Let me know if you have an opinion for either option!

MS 26,962 Map of Charleville House, and lands to the north. No title, no map-maker, Lord Monck’s Estate, by John Kenny, 1891. Scale 6 inches to 1 statute mile.

A century later, and this map, which the library index suggests dates from 1890 – 1900 shows the house at Charleville and the lands to the north west, running along the river between Charleville and Powerscourt demesnes. Three large fields are marked. Most southerly, closest to, but not quite at, the house is Fernyfield, which has a track running through it south west to north east, which eventually meets the main avenue; there is a pump at the southern end. moving north along the river, the next plot is Bottoms, which contains “Drumbank”, and some forest or scrub planting. A path, along the northern edge of Bottoms runs east-west from Charleville Gate Lodge across this land, and a foot-bridge, to Powerscourt (to the Golden Gates lodge, which is not marked). The third plot, north of the path, is “Rape Field“, which is bound by the river at the west, north and east, and the mentioned path to the south.

It’s a pretty little map, with the fields coloured pink, green and yellow respectively. Fernyfield and Rape Field look to be similar size, with Bottoms approximately half as big again.

Edited:

In my haste, I forgot to include additional details from the reverse of the map. The title is Lord Monck’s Estate, by John Kenny, 18th March, 1891. He has added a note: “I have shown the Rape Field as it may be required.” 3acres and 36 perches of the land surveyed are considered woods and waste. The acreage of the three plots are given:

  • Fernyfield: 11A 0R 24P Gross; 10-2-0 Net (of woods and waste)
  • Bottoms and Drumbank: 15-0-38 gross, 12-3-0 net
  • Rapefield: 7-1-14 gross, 7-1-0 net.

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Five O’Clock Tea at the Dargle

Allen Mustard has sent in some information on his ancestor, Thomas James Mustard (1826 – 1902), who lived at Dargle Gate Lodge, Cookstown Enniskerry, taking payments for entering into the Dargle Glen. He had served in the RIC, and his son was born in the married quarters of the Barracks at Enniskerry.

Thomas James Mustard

The Dargle Glen was a very popular tourist destination at this time. One visitor was the poet Alice Furlong, who wrote two poems after visiting the Dargle. The first, In the Dargle, begins

By leaning fern and mossy stone
The river singeth all alone
A musical sweet monotone.

Within its lucent canopies;
The sunbeam broodeth dreamy-wise
Like to a smile in girlhood’s eyes.

Athwart the amber and the snow
Of quiet pools ‘twixt flow and flow,
The quiet birds flit to and fro.

The poem continues on a rather depressing note.

A second poem, much happier in tone is Five O’Clock Tea at the Dargle, which mentions Mustard and describes the jaunting car ride to Wicklow and Enniskerry, and is reproduced below. If you have any more information on the tea rooms at the Dargle, or anything about the Mustard family in the area, Allen would be delighted to hear from you.

Harp, long disused and out of tune!
Assist us to remember
This sunny, breezy afternoon,
This second of September,
Nineteen-nought-one, when two fair dames.
An old man and a younger,
First having satisfied the claims
Of Nature’s noontide hunger,
We issue from the postern-gate
Of sylvan Villa Nova,
Sweet haunt of song, yet rhyming mate
it hath not, save Jehovah!
We speed on nimble jaunting-car
Through sunshine and no showers
Towards where the Sugar-loaf afar
O’er Wicklow valleys towers;
Past Linden when the sun is high,
Past Leopardstown, Stillorgan –
For city smoke the bright blue sky,
The birds for barrel-organ.

By quiet rural roads we glide
Past Stepaside, Kilgobbin,
‘Twixt hedges tall and thick that hide
The home of many a robin.
In purest air, no dust, no glare,
We four, sedately merry,
Whirl through the Scalp, that tiny Alp.
And skirt fair Enniskerry.
Alighting soon, we leave the road
For forest-shaded byway;
Our car will find again its load
By driving round the highway,
While we pursue our grassy way
Through glorious maze of greenery.
Oh! could I worthy tribute pay
To such enchanting scenery!
A mighty fissure’s rugged sides
Are oft austere, unsightly –
Rich verdure here all harshness hides,
Wild flowers from clefts gleam brightly.
Far down in leafy depths below,
Winds noisily the Dargle,
In whose pure wave the linnets lave,
Their throats the thrushes gargle.
And can it be yon slender stream
Has scooped this magic valley ?

But, though ’twere sweet to gaze and dream,
We must no longer dally.
Nature for some refreshment calls:
Lo ! yonder stands old Mustard
Beside his whitewashed cottage walls
With roses thickly clustered.
Between the porch and hedge is spread
A white-naped wooden table,
Whereon is served no common bread
But fairy feast of fable:
Hot scones, delicious jam, hot tea,
And dainty pats of yellow –
Could cream more like to nectar be ?
Could butter taste more mellow ?

We home return another way,
Like to the Eastern Magi,
While I of our grand Dargle “tay”
This monument exegi.
Would that my strain were half as sweet
As is my theme so bonnie!
With love I lay it at the feet
Of my grandnephew, Johnnie.

Download PDF of poem

Source

Matthew Russell, Poets I have Known: VIII: Alice Furlong, The Irish Monthly, Vol. 36, No. 421 (Jul., 1908), pp. 389-398