Monday 6 June 2022

Seskinore House

THE McCLINTOCKS OWNED 4,553 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY TYRONE


JAMES PERRY, of Welsh descent, had a free farm grant of the lands of Mullaghmore, County Tyrone, from SIR AUDLEY MERVYN in 1662.

He had three sons, viz.
Francis, of Tattyreagh; m Francis, daughter of J Lowry, of Ahenis; dsp;
Samuel, m 1st Catherine, daughter of J Lowry, of Pomeroy;
GEORGE, of whom presently.
The third son,

GEORGE PERRY, of Mullaghmore, married Angel, daughter of the Rev James Sinclair, of HOLYHILL, near Strabane, County Tyrone, and had issue,
SAMUEL, of whom presently;
George;
Margaret; Letitia.
The eldest son,

SAMUEL PERRY, of Perrymount and Mullaghmore, wedded the daughter of _______ Olphert, of Ballyconnell House, County Donegal, and had issue,
GEORGE, of whom hereafter;
Mary, m
A McClintock; mother of SAMUEL, heir to his uncle.
The only son,

GEORGE PERRY (1762-), of Perrymount and Mullaghmore, a cornet of horse, espoused Mary, daughter of John Burgess, and niece of Sir John Smith Burgess Bt.

He dsp, and was succeeded by his nephew, the second son of his only sister, Mary,

SAMUEL McCLINTOCK JP (1790-1852), of Newtown, County Louth, and Seskinore, County Tyrone, High Sheriff of County Louth, 1843, who married firstly, Jane (d 1837), daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Lane; and secondly, in 1839, Dorothea, fourth daughter of John Knox, by whom he had issue,
GEORGE PERRY, his heir;
Samuel John, d 1856.
The elder son,

GEORGE PERRY McCLINTOCK JP DL (1839-87), of Seskinore, Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Colonel, 4th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1865, ADC to the Duke of Abercorn and the Earl Spencer when Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, married, in 1860, Amelia Henrietta, daughter of the Rev Samuel Alexander, Rector of Termon, and had issue,
BERESFORD GEORGE PERRY, 1861-70;
JOHN KNOX, of whom we treat;
Harry Edward, 1865-6;
Augustus, DSO;
Leopold Arthur;
Hubert Victor;
Guy Reginald;
Dorothea Selina Navarra; Amelia Charlotte Olivia; Eleanor Harriette Woodrop;
Madeline Frances Edith; Florence Beatrice Hanna.
His eldest surviving son,


COLONEL JOHN KNOX McCLINTOCK CBE JP DL (1864-1936), of Seskinore, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1891, ADC to the Governor of Northern Ireland, married, in 1893, Amy Henrietta, eldest daughter of John Stuart Eccles DL, of ECCLESVILLE, County Tyrone, and had an only daughter,

AMELIA (Leila) ISOBEL McCLINTOCK (1898-1937), of Seskinore, who married twice.

By her second husband, Wilfred (Tony) Heyman Joynson-Wreford (1896-1940) she had an only daughter,

XENIA PENELOPE JOYNSON-WREFORD, born in 1935.

*****

A TRAGIC series of events befell the McClintocks and Seskinore in 1937: Leila McClintock died suddenly, aged 38, of Meningitis.

Her beloved husband Tony, already broken-hearted at his wife's death, died himself, three years later, aged 44, of Tuberculosis.

They are both buried beside each other at the family burial ground in Seskinore.

Xenia was left an orphan.

Amy (Amelia Henrietta) McClintock died in 1942 and was buried in Kent.

At this stage, the Seskinore estate comprised 129 acres.

*****

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM THE BELFAST NEWSLETTER NEWSPAPER OF 2008

THE lost heiress of an Ulster village has been found after 70 years – on the other side of the world.

Xenia Lewis, who has lived in Australia most of her life, has been crowned the rightful owner of the McClintock estate in Seskinore, just outside Omagh.

The 73-year-old, who was born in the tiny hamlet, only realised she was entitled to the inheritance when she joined a social networking site on the web.

Mrs Lewis, formerly Xenia Penelope Joynson-Wreford, made the connection to her true roots when she discovered an email on Friends Reunited – from a half-brother she never knew existed.

Pat Joynson-Wreford – a son from their father Pat’s first marriage – had posted the message in a bid to track down ancestors of the family.

While Pat never dreamed a living relative would be found, he found himself reunited with his long-lost sister.

Initially, Xenia thought someone was playing a joke on her when she first found the email earlier this year – but eventually replied and the pieces of her disjointed family history fell into place.

Xenia’s mother, Lila, died from meningitis when she was only 15 months old; and her father died from TB when she was four.

She was put in the custody of guardians who were friends of her parents – but they told her nothing of her family.

She was moved around the world, from France to India, before she settled "Down Under".

Her family estate, which once had 4,553 acres, a mansion house and mill, was sold to fund her privileged upbringing.

Xenia never knew trustees handling her parents’ money supported her through boarding and finishing school.

Even though her schooling turned her into a lady, she was kept in the dark over the title she had at home and her connections to the McClintock family.

Xenia, who paid a whirlwind visit to Northern Ireland a fortnight ago to pick up her father’s will, now knows she is the granddaughter of Colonel John Knox McClintock CBE.

Money from her estate is long-gone – only pictures tell of its statures – and there is no title to go with her birthright.

But Xenia is annoyed she cannot remember anything of her early life at Seskinore,
“I don’t know if I have just blocked it out because I was taken away from my family. I would dearly love to remember something of my father but I just can’t do it. I have not even got any memories of this house. I would dearly love to remember something.”
On discovering her parents graves in a garden on the estate, Xenia said,
“They are happy and where they would want to be – together. I just wish I did not live so far away where I can’t look after them. But I will be back again next year to come and see them. Like Pat said to me, they are probably sitting up there saying to each other at least you have now found us.”
SESKINORE HOUSE, near Fintona, County Tyrone, comprised two storeys and a mid-19th century aspect.

The entrance front had two bays on either side of a pedimented breakfront, with three narrow, round-headed windows above; and a balustraded Ionic portico below, the outside columns coupled. 

There was a curved end bow.


The house was remodelled and extended in 1862 to a design by Sir Charles Lanyon, and included five reception rooms and ten bedrooms plus staff quarters. 

Seskinore Forest Walk goes through Seskinore Forest and passes the courtyard and stable block, all that now remains of the McClintock Estate.

The forest is predominantly mixed or deciduous and therefore changes with the seasons.

It is thought that the estate was sold  to the Northern Ireland forest service in 1941, following Tony Joynson-Wreford's death.

Seskinore House was demolished by the forest service in 1952.


The small chapel of ease of 1873 remains, though. 

It was erected on the McClintock estate to designs of Robert A Ferguson, of Londonderry, and located to the north side of Seskinore Road.

The main body of the church is simply detailed and enlivened by the ornate plate tracery windows with carved label-stops.

The church has strong historical association with the McClintock Family who owned the estate prior to the erection of the church.

The family's private burial ground remains to the east of the church, a good example of a small rural chapel of fine workmanship in original condition. 

The McClintock of Seskinore website contains information and images of Seskinore House, the McClintocks and associated families.

I am grateful to Alex Watson.

First published in October, 2010.

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