Drumnasole

In the early days, the townland of Drumnasole belonged to the Donaldsons. They were one of the wealthier and more influential families in the Glenarm district during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Being Kinsmen of the Macdonnells of Antrim they were treated liberally with grants of land. The earliest such lease, dated 16^th October 1626, of Oynaloghaigh and Ballytober and the tenements in Larne and Glenarm, was made by Lord Randal, first Earl of Antrim, to John Donaldson of Glenarm.¹ In 1633, John Donaldson was High Sheriff of the county. That same year Lord Randal granted another lease to the Donaldsons. This consisted of the townlands of Parisha, Straidkilly, Moyglinne (Magluffe or Bay), Ballybraggy (Ballyvaddy?) and Blarbane (Belair?).² Subsequently the family built a substantial residence on their property in Bay. This, the residence of James Donaldson, was recorded in 1669 as having four hearths, the same number as had the castle at Glenarm. It was almost certainly the house described by Richard Dobbs in 1683 as being “a pretty slate house (standing) to the middle of the Bay” (of Carnlough).³ Its remains formed part of the out offices of the Bay Farm until well into the present century.
On the 31st October, 1634, John Donaldson died. He was succeeded by his son, also called John, then just twenty years of age. John lived in Glenarm where his residence was listed in 1669 as having five hearths, the highest number for any house in town. This may have been the “Donaldson Castle” which, according to the Rev. Classon Porter, “stood at the head of the Main Street,” ⁴ Should this be so, it suggests that the Donaldsons lived for a time in a renovated part of the old Macdonnell Castle destroyed in 1597. This stood at the junction of the present Castle and Toberwine Streets, i.e. on the site of the Court House. In 1665, John Donaldson like his father, also became High Sheriff. In 1688, he was one of those twenty-three leading men in the county who signed the manifesto forming the County Association for the mutual protection and defence of Protestant interests – the Donaldsons had always strong Presbyterian loyalties. John subsequently assisted in the defence of Derry. ⁵
The original lease of Drumnasole to the Donaldsons has proved to be elusive. There was a lease of “all that quarterland of Drumnasole” made in 1637 to “McIlduff o` Mulvany of Drumnasole yeoman” which suggests that at that date the townland was not yet Donaldson property. ⁶ Possibly the first lease to the Donaldsons was made in 1707 by Lord Randal, fourth Earl of Antrim. It was a grant of Unshinagh, Drumnasole, Ballyvelligan and the tenements of Larne for a term of 41 years to John Donaldson, probably son of the above. ⁷ This John and his wife Barbara had two sons, Alexander and Hugh. ⁸ Alexander became Lord Randal’s agent and lived in a “good house” situated between the old abbey and the castle at Glenarm, close to the river. ⁹ The Rev. George Hill relates how in 1715, when the Earl was freely expressing his sympathy for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, his agent plotted to expose him to the king, George I. Though the plot failed, cordiality between Earl and Agent apparently survived. ¹⁰ The Earl died in 1721, and by 1734 when his successor, Lord Alexander, fifth Earl, became of age and took over the estate; Alexander Donaldson had acquired quite a considerable property of his own. This included the townlands of Ballycreggy, Black Cave, Antiville, Ballymullog, Ballyruther, Saint Cunning, Ballycoos and Ballygawn, South Lissnahay, North Minish, eight acres of Knockenorr, "a good house" in Glenarm, Unshinagh, Carnallagh, Drumnasole and Ardclinish. ¹¹
On the expiry of the 1707 lease in 1748, Alexander Donaldson sold his interest in Unshinagh, Drumnasole and Ballyvelligan together with his tenements in Larne to his younger brother Hugh. These had already been released to Hugh by Lord Alexander some four years earlier, though under what circumstances is not clear. ¹²The lease, dated 17^th November 1744, was of “all the quarterland of Drumnasole the half quarterland of Ballyvelligan, the tenements at Old Abbey, the tenements and old gardens at Old Castle in Glenarm and a park of land near Larne with two tenements and gardens called Finlays and Widow Gettys Gardens Platts as formerly held and enjoyed by his father Mr John Donaldson.” ¹³
Not long after this Donaldson sub-leased his Drumnasole property to John Davidson of Knockboy, Broughshane, probably for a term of twenty-one years. In 1755, Davidson married a Miss Stewart, possibly of Drumnasole. They had two daughters, Grace and Anne. In due course, Anne married a Dr. George Brown and sailed out to America where the Doctor built a flourishing practice in Baltimore. In 1783, Grace (1758–1843) married Alex. Brown (1764–1834), a Ballymena linen merchant. Shortly after the rising of 1798 Alex. Brown and his wife also sailed out to Baltimore where he established a family business. This rapidly grew into the great international trading concern of Alex. Brown and Sons, which later put up vast sums for the development of Americas eastern seaboard transport systems. In his book about the business of Aytoun Ellis, he said that Grace Brown of Drumnasole “was ‘the power behind the throne’ and her contribution to the fortunes of her husband and the firm was a considerable one.” ¹⁴ Later their son William founded the present merchant banking house Brown Shipley and Co. Ltd., originally in Liverpool but now at Founders Court, London.
Hugh Donaldson also sailed to America, exactly when is not known, but in 1760 he gave William Agnew of Kilwaughter his power of attorney. ¹⁵ In 1764, he unsuccessfully endeavoured to sell his Drumnasole property, giving his neighbour Hugh McCollum of Lemnalary and Robert Allen of Ballymena power to act on the matter. ¹⁶ From the announcement of the sale it is evident that there was an annual head rent on Drumnasole townland of £26.3.3 payable to Lord Antrim. The property included a good house, offices and a garden then in possession of John Davidson at a yearly rent of £42.1.0 with eight years of the lease still to go. A second farm was leased to Alexander Donaldson at a peppercorn rent and a third, for which there was no lease (i.e. it was held at will), was held by Patrick Moore and others at a yearly rent of £23.11.10.
Hugh Donaldson died in 1774. By his will made the previous year, it is evident that it was to Philidelphia he went and that he returned to Drumnasole before his death. He left Drumnasole, Ballyvelligan and his tenements in Larne and Glenarm to his trustees William Agnew, Hugh McCollum and William Burgess of Belfast to realise on behalf of his wife Mary, his son John, and his daughter Helen Campbell. ¹⁷
On 3^rd March 1775, Hugh’s trustees sold his estate to Francis Shaw of Ballyclare. Shaw was a man of property having houses in Carrickfergus and mills at Woodburn and Ballyclare as well as lands in County Down. He died in 1801, having held Drumnasole for over a quarter of a century. By his will made up on the 17^th February 1800, he left part of his real estate to his wife Anne and his step grandson Charles Joyce. He also left “my house and offices my lands of Drumnasole and Ballyvalgen (sic.) my Tenements in Glenarm, my Tenements in Larne with the lands thereto belonging (and various other properties) in trust to sell and dispose of said several lands and premises to the best advantage as soon as prudence and the interest of my family will admit and the money arising therefrom to divide amongst my four daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, Frances and Ellen in equal shares and proportions to share and share alike.” ¹⁸
However, it was not until 1^st May 1808, that the Drumnasole property was sold, this time to Francis Turnly of Richmond Lodge, Knocknagoney, near Belfast. One of the conditions of the sale was that the price, £7,400, should be paid in gold. ¹⁹ At that time there was a head rent of £25.12.6 payable annually to Lord Antrim, which Francis Turnly redeemed on 3^rd January 1817. ²⁰ Since that date the Turnly family have been in continuous possession of the townlands of Drumnasole and Ballyvelligan together with their sub-denominations of Newtown and Burnside.
In a memorandum concerning his title to the lands of Drumnasole and Ballyvelligan written in 1926, Francis J.S. Turnly, grandson of the purchaser, was at pains to point out that they included the newly created townlands of Newton and Burnside. He did not know when these “were converted into recognised townlands.” There were in fact a number of similar newly created townlands in the vicinity, most of them bordering on the sea and bearing English rather than Irish names. These included the townlands of Dunmall, Two Acres and Half, Slate House, Loughan, Drumnacross, Longtown and Highlandtown. Some of these have since been amalgamated with their neighbours and their names discarded. They also appear on the first Ordnance Survey map (1833) of the district and probably date from the widespread movement about the turn of the century to eradicate the old Clachans(sic) and their associated rundale systems of cultivation.
In the above-mentioned memorandum, Mr. Turnly wrote, “I was informed about forty years ago by an old man named William Darragh who had then worked as a labourer at Drumnasole for about seventy years, that part of the lands of Ballyvelligan and Drumnasole were known as the ‘Old Abbey’ lands, and he informed me that it was common hearsay in the country that there was an old abbey on these lands, and he pointed out to me what was supposed to be the Abbey Garden.” The tradition that there was an abbey thereabouts persists to this day and sometimes is linked with the site of the nearby Killycrappan (Nappan) graveyard. It should be noted however that this graveyard, though near, is not actually situated in either of the mentioned townlands, nor can any written confirmation be found that an abbey ever existed here.
It was Francis Turnly who built the present Drumnasole House with its “garrets and underground apartments, close to the site of an old house called Drumnasole.” ²¹ He bought the property in 1808 and, though by 1810 he had already erected on it a fine school for forty boys and forty girls, the house itself remained unfinished for a quarter of a century later. ²²
There are many stories that might be told about Drumnasole but the following seems to be particularly appropriate to our present theme. Apparently the Donaldsons later fell upon hard times: of all the lands they formerly possessed, not one rood now belonged to them. Much of it was sold to Squire Agnew and as we know some of it eventually came into the hands of Mr Francis Turnly. One of the men employed in building the house was a Donaldson, and when Mr Turnly discovered that a member of the family was now but a labourer on the old ancestral estate, he immediately promoted him to be land steward of Drumnasole. ²³
References:

1. George Hill, The Macdonnells of Antrim, p. 362, (18).
2. H.C. Lawlor, Belfast Weekly Telegraph, 1^st April, 1911.
3. George Hill, ibid. p. 382.
4. Classon Porter, The Christian Unitarian, Vol. 5, p. 12.
5. R.M. Young, Fighters of Derry, p. 203.
6. P.R.O.N.I., Uncatalogued Antrim Estate Papers, 14^th August 1637.
7. P.R.O.N.I. Uncatalogued Antrim Estate Papers, 11^th December 1707.
8. Registry of Deeds, Dublin, 104, 228, 72748 (10.10.1741).
9. P.R.O.N.I. T 2325/3/40.
10. George Hill, Ibid., p. 362.
11. P.R.O.N.I. T 2325/3.
12. P.R.O.N.I. Uncatalogued Antrim Estate Papers, 13 January 1748.
13. P.R.O.N.I D 282/11.
14. Aytoun Ellis, Heir of Adventure, p. 21.
15. Registry of Deeds, Dublin, 211 152 138878 (2.8.1760).
16. P.R.O.N.I. Mic 19 (3.4.1764).
17. Registry of Deeds. Dublin. 305 294 202036 (12.10.1773).
18. P.R.O.N.I. D 1296/3.
19. Registry of Deeds, Dublin. 601 373 410071 (1.5.1808).
20. Francis J.S. Turnly, “Memorandum re Title” Drumnasole House.
21. R.S. Dobbs, “Statistical Account of Ardclinis and Laid”, The Glynns, Vol.2, p. 48.
22. P.R.O.N.I. Val IB 147B, An addendum written in fly leaf of this evaluation book states, “Mr Turnly’s house is a large extensive building not finished and without offices: nearly all the stucco work, ceiling, some plastering and some flooring are yet to be completed for which a deduction of ¼ is made on the whole, and also a sum of £10 is deductable for want of offices, which would cost about £160 in the erection before the building would be tenable.” In valuation itself the house measurements are given as 67 ½ x 67 ½ x 34 ½ ft. excluding returns.
23. Classon Porter, Ibid. Vol. 5 p. 12.

From Volume 11, The Glynns, 1983.