Henry Westenra, 3rd Baron Rossmore
Encyclopedia
Henry Robert Westenra, 3rd Baron Rossmore of Monaghan
(24 August 1792 – 1 December 1860) was an Anglo-Irish
Member of Parliament
and peer
, from 1843 to 1852 Lord Lieutenant of Monaghan
.
(1765–1842) by his marriage to Mary Ann Walsh, Henry Robert Westenra was born on 24 August 1792 at his mother's family seat, Walsh Park
in County Tipperary
. He was educated at Westminster School
and Trinity College, Dublin
, where he matriculated on 4 July 1810. His portrait
was painted the same year by John Ferneley
(1782–1860), showing him with his dogs and carrying a shotgun
.
Westenra was Member of Parliament
for County Monaghan
from 1818 to 1830, again from 1831 to 1832 and from May to July of 1834, and finally from 1835 to 1842. On 10 August 1842, on the death of his father, he succeeded to the titles of Baron Rossmore of Monaghan
in the peerage of Ireland
and Baron Rossmore of Monaghan in the peerage of the United Kingdom
, the second title giving him a seat in the House of Lords
. From 1843 to 1852 he was Lord Lieutenant of County Monaghan
.
A member of a family of individualists, Rossmore was a prolific letter-writer, and his surviving letters have been described as "voluminous, frequently vitriolic, and very instructive".
He was also an accomplished player of the Irish pipes
, and was considered to be the equal of a good professional piper. In Twenty Years Recollections of an Irish Police Magistrate (1880), Frank Thorpe Porter recalled an evening when Rossmore
On 25 January 1820 he married firstly, at Edinburgh, to Anne Douglas-Hamilton (born c. 1796 – died 1844), daughter of the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon (1756–1799), and of Harriet Pye Bennett. In right of this wife Rossmore inherited an estate in the Aran Islands
.
On 19 May 1846, after the death of his first wife, Rossmore married secondly at Camla Vale, County Monaghan, his cousin Josephine Julia Helen (née Lloyd), with whom he had six children:
According to Rossmore's second son, the fifth baron, "My father's favourite amusements were yachting
, shooting
and fishing
, and, oddly enough, playing the bagpipes
, at which he excelled." He also reported that Rossmore had suffered from a very bad stammer
.
His grand-daughter Kathleen
(1872–1955), married the 7th Duke of Newcastle
in 1899 and was a dog breeder who influenced the Borzoi
and Wire Fox Terrier breeds.
County Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
(24 August 1792 – 1 December 1860) was an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and peer
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, from 1843 to 1852 Lord Lieutenant of Monaghan
Lord Lieutenant of Monaghan
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of County Monaghan. The office was created on 23 August 1831.* William Westenra, 2nd Baron Rossmore 7 October 1831 – 1836* Henry Westenra, 3rd Baron Rossmore 13 June 1836 – 6 December 1858...
.
Life
The son of Warner William Westenra, 2nd Baron Rossmore of MonaghanBaron Rossmore
Baron Rossmore, of Monaghan in the County of Monaghan, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1796 for the soldier Robert Cuninghame, with remainder to his wife Elizabeth's nephews Henry Alexander Jones and Warner William Westenra...
(1765–1842) by his marriage to Mary Ann Walsh, Henry Robert Westenra was born on 24 August 1792 at his mother's family seat, Walsh Park
Walsh Park
Walsh Park is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Waterford, Ireland named after Willie Walsh, a well-known referee and long time campaigner for Gaelic games in Waterford It is the home of the Waterford Gaelic football and hurling teams. The ground currently has a capacity of 17,000...
in County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where he matriculated on 4 July 1810. His portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
was painted the same year by John Ferneley
John Ferneley
John E. Ferneley , was an English painter who specialised in portraying sporting horses and hunting scenes...
(1782–1860), showing him with his dogs and carrying a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
.
Westenra was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for County Monaghan
Monaghan (UK Parliament constituency)
Monaghan is a former parliamentary constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Members of Parliament:-References:...
from 1818 to 1830, again from 1831 to 1832 and from May to July of 1834, and finally from 1835 to 1842. On 10 August 1842, on the death of his father, he succeeded to the titles of Baron Rossmore of Monaghan
Baron Rossmore
Baron Rossmore, of Monaghan in the County of Monaghan, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1796 for the soldier Robert Cuninghame, with remainder to his wife Elizabeth's nephews Henry Alexander Jones and Warner William Westenra...
in the peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
and Baron Rossmore of Monaghan in the peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, the second title giving him a seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. From 1843 to 1852 he was Lord Lieutenant of County Monaghan
Lord Lieutenant of Monaghan
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of County Monaghan. The office was created on 23 August 1831.* William Westenra, 2nd Baron Rossmore 7 October 1831 – 1836* Henry Westenra, 3rd Baron Rossmore 13 June 1836 – 6 December 1858...
.
A member of a family of individualists, Rossmore was a prolific letter-writer, and his surviving letters have been described as "voluminous, frequently vitriolic, and very instructive".
He was also an accomplished player of the Irish pipes
Uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
, and was considered to be the equal of a good professional piper. In Twenty Years Recollections of an Irish Police Magistrate (1880), Frank Thorpe Porter recalled an evening when Rossmore
On 25 January 1820 he married firstly, at Edinburgh, to Anne Douglas-Hamilton (born c. 1796 – died 1844), daughter of the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon (1756–1799), and of Harriet Pye Bennett. In right of this wife Rossmore inherited an estate in the Aran Islands
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
.
On 19 May 1846, after the death of his first wife, Rossmore married secondly at Camla Vale, County Monaghan, his cousin Josephine Julia Helen (née Lloyd), with whom he had six children:
- Frances Kathleen (died 1925)
- Norah Josephine Harcourt (died 1934)
- Henry Cairns Westenra, 4th Baron RossmoreHenry Westenra, 4th Baron RossmoreHenry Cairns Westenra, 4th Baron Rossmore of Monaghan was an Anglo-Irish soldier and peer who was briefly a member of the House of Lords before his death at the age of 22 in a riding accident.-Life:...
(1851-1874) - Derrick Warner William Westenra, 5th Baron RossmoreDerrick Westenra, 5th Baron RossmoreDerrick Warner William Westenra, 5th Baron Rossmore ofMonaghan was an Anglo-Irish noble, soldier and author....
(1853-1921) - Richard Hamilton (1854-1880)
- Peter Craven (1855-1932).
According to Rossmore's second son, the fifth baron, "My father's favourite amusements were yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
, shooting
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
and fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
, and, oddly enough, playing the bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, at which he excelled." He also reported that Rossmore had suffered from a very bad stammer
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
.
Death
Rossmore died on 1 December 1860 at his country house in County Monaghan, Rossmore Park, and was buried there on 7 December 1860. The house was abandoned in the 1940s, fell into a ruin, and was demolished in 1975.His grand-daughter Kathleen
Kathleen, Duchess of Newcastle
Kathleen Florence May, Duchess of Newcastle OBE, was a well known conformation show judge and dog breeder who influenced the Borzoi and Wire Fox Terrier breeds...
(1872–1955), married the 7th Duke of Newcastle
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 7th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne
Henry Pelham Archibald Douglas Pelham-Clinton, 7th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme was an English nobleman, styled Earl of Lincoln until 1879.Henry was educated at Eton College and then Magdalen College, Oxford....
in 1899 and was a dog breeder who influenced the Borzoi
Borzoi
The borzoi is a breed of domestic dog also called the Russian wolfhound and descended from dogs brought to Russia from central Asian countries. It is similar in shape to a greyhound, and is also a member of the sighthound family.The system by which Russians over the ages named their sighthounds...
and Wire Fox Terrier breeds.