Prehen
Encyclopedia
Prehen is a small townland
near the city of Derry
, Northern Ireland
. The name derives from the Irish
word préachán meaning crow
or rook
.
in the early seventeenth century, Prehen was in the freehold of
Captain Manus O'Cahan but was taken over by the Goldsmiths' Company of London. The first settlers arrived in the 1620s but it was not until 1664 when the land was granted by charter
to Alexander Tomkins, who established the main house, that it became truly habitable. Later, in 1738, the Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins, great granddaughter of Tomkins, married Andrew Knox of Rathmullan and Moneymore; he was the great great grandson of Andrew Knox, Bishop of the Isles
who first arrived in Ireland in 1609 from Scotland to establish the Protestant faith. In this way, Andrew Knox of Rathmullan and Moneymore acquired Prehen as his third property in 1740 after which he set about building Prehen House
which stands in Prehen to this day.
that John MacNaghten
, later to be known as "Half-Hung" came, originally as a guest and friend of Knox, whose only daughter Mary Ann he tricked into an arranged marriage so that he could gain her dowry. Knox objected to his deceit and had him thrown out of Prehen, refusing to hand over the girl's fortune, and had the marriage eventually declared void on the grounds of the girl's age since MacNaghten was aged 34 and Mary Ann 16. MacNaghten, infuriated, but believing himself entitled to Mary Ann's £5000 marriage dowry, cursed the girl's father and swore bloody revenge on Knox and all his family in front of several witnesses and set in motion a plan to abduct the girl and then consummate the marriage after which he believed Knox would have no choice but to hand over the money.
Over the next two years, MacNaghten stalked the girl around the country in his attempts to kidnap her but did not get a good enough opportunity until November 1761, when the Knox family were making their way by coach to Dublin for the opening of Parliament, as Knox was M.P.
for Donegal
. It was during this ill-fated trip that MacNaghten ambushed the coach at gunpoint, with the help of accomplices, at Cloghcor Wood near Strabane
but began a shooting match with the Knox servants during which he accidentally shot Mary Ann while aiming at her father, who was sitting next to her in the coach. At this, MacNaghten, though wounded, fled the scene but was later caught hiding in a hay-loft not far away. Mary Ann died from her wounds about four hours later and was returned to Prehen. The following day, she was taken to Rathmullan
for burial in the family ancestral tomb.
MacNaghten was found guilty of murder at Lifford
courthouse and sentenced to hang along with one of the captured accomplices, John Dunlap. The hanging rope broke at the first attempt, and again a second time, to the amazement of the gathered crowd. Under the law of the time, MacNaghten was entitled to freedom as no man could be hanged three times for any crime, and the crowd encouraged him to escape. MacNaghten however, refused, allegedly saying that he could not go about the country and be pointed at as the "half-hanged man", preferring instead his own execution, after which he was successfully hanged a third time. He and his servant were both beheaded after execution and were buried in an unmarked grave at St. Patrick's Graveyard in Strabane
.
Life at Prehen House
continued and each year on the anniversary of Mary Ann's death, her mother would retire to her room to lament her daughter's fate and would not emerge until the next day. She eventually recovered from her grief with the marriage of Mary Ann's brother George to Jane Mahon of Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, and this girl became as a second daughter to her. For 170 years the Knox family lived at Prehen during which the house and estate were passed down the generations from father to eldest son.
began, when, as an officer in the Prussian Guard
, he was forced to leave Prehen as an enemy of the state. Prehen and all its holdings were confiscated by the British Government as enemy property. After the war, the estate was liquidated at public auction
under the terms of the Trading With The Enemy Amendment Act 1914.
was acquired in 1971 by its current owners, the Peck family, formerly of Rathbeale Hall, whose have since restored and revived it, officially opening it to the public in September 2004.
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
near the city of Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The name derives from the Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
word préachán meaning crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
or rook
Rook (bird)
The Rook is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering"....
.
Early history
Before the Plantation of UlsterPlantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
in the early seventeenth century, Prehen was in the freehold of
Captain Manus O'Cahan but was taken over by the Goldsmiths' Company of London. The first settlers arrived in the 1620s but it was not until 1664 when the land was granted by charter
to Alexander Tomkins, who established the main house, that it became truly habitable. Later, in 1738, the Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins, great granddaughter of Tomkins, married Andrew Knox of Rathmullan and Moneymore; he was the great great grandson of Andrew Knox, Bishop of the Isles
Bishop of the Isles
The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Sodor, one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompasing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as an ecclesiastical unity to the careers of Olaf, King of the Isles,...
who first arrived in Ireland in 1609 from Scotland to establish the Protestant faith. In this way, Andrew Knox of Rathmullan and Moneymore acquired Prehen as his third property in 1740 after which he set about building Prehen House
Prehen House
Prehen House is a privately owned 18th-century Irish Georgian house at Prehen in County Londonderry.Thought to have been designed by local architect Michael Priestley, it was built in 1740 for Andrew Knox, M.P. for Donegal, after he married Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins two years earlier. Andrew...
which stands in Prehen to this day.
Half Hung MacNaghten
It was to Prehen HousePrehen House
Prehen House is a privately owned 18th-century Irish Georgian house at Prehen in County Londonderry.Thought to have been designed by local architect Michael Priestley, it was built in 1740 for Andrew Knox, M.P. for Donegal, after he married Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins two years earlier. Andrew...
that John MacNaghten
Half Hung MacNaghten
John MacNaghten or "Half-Hung MacNaghten" is a figure of 18th century romantic folklore in the North West of Ireland.MacNaghten was an impoverished member of the Anglo-Irish gentry who claimed to have fallen in love with a young heiress, Mary Ann Knox of Prehen, Derry. However, her father did not...
, later to be known as "Half-Hung" came, originally as a guest and friend of Knox, whose only daughter Mary Ann he tricked into an arranged marriage so that he could gain her dowry. Knox objected to his deceit and had him thrown out of Prehen, refusing to hand over the girl's fortune, and had the marriage eventually declared void on the grounds of the girl's age since MacNaghten was aged 34 and Mary Ann 16. MacNaghten, infuriated, but believing himself entitled to Mary Ann's £5000 marriage dowry, cursed the girl's father and swore bloody revenge on Knox and all his family in front of several witnesses and set in motion a plan to abduct the girl and then consummate the marriage after which he believed Knox would have no choice but to hand over the money.
Over the next two years, MacNaghten stalked the girl around the country in his attempts to kidnap her but did not get a good enough opportunity until November 1761, when the Knox family were making their way by coach to Dublin for the opening of Parliament, as Knox was M.P.
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 Donegal
Donegal
Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
. It was during this ill-fated trip that MacNaghten ambushed the coach at gunpoint, with the help of accomplices, at Cloghcor Wood near Strabane
Strabane
Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....
but began a shooting match with the Knox servants during which he accidentally shot Mary Ann while aiming at her father, who was sitting next to her in the coach. At this, MacNaghten, though wounded, fled the scene but was later caught hiding in a hay-loft not far away. Mary Ann died from her wounds about four hours later and was returned to Prehen. The following day, she was taken to Rathmullan
Rathmullan
Rathmullan is a small seaside village on the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It is situated on the western shore of Lough Swilly, 11 km north-east of Ramelton and 12 km east of Milford...
for burial in the family ancestral tomb.
MacNaghten was found guilty of murder at Lifford
Lifford
Lifford is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland. It is the administrative capital of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken for fulfilling this role...
courthouse and sentenced to hang along with one of the captured accomplices, John Dunlap. The hanging rope broke at the first attempt, and again a second time, to the amazement of the gathered crowd. Under the law of the time, MacNaghten was entitled to freedom as no man could be hanged three times for any crime, and the crowd encouraged him to escape. MacNaghten however, refused, allegedly saying that he could not go about the country and be pointed at as the "half-hanged man", preferring instead his own execution, after which he was successfully hanged a third time. He and his servant were both beheaded after execution and were buried in an unmarked grave at St. Patrick's Graveyard in Strabane
Strabane
Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....
.
Life at Prehen House
Prehen House
Prehen House is a privately owned 18th-century Irish Georgian house at Prehen in County Londonderry.Thought to have been designed by local architect Michael Priestley, it was built in 1740 for Andrew Knox, M.P. for Donegal, after he married Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins two years earlier. Andrew...
continued and each year on the anniversary of Mary Ann's death, her mother would retire to her room to lament her daughter's fate and would not emerge until the next day. She eventually recovered from her grief with the marriage of Mary Ann's brother George to Jane Mahon of Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, and this girl became as a second daughter to her. For 170 years the Knox family lived at Prehen during which the house and estate were passed down the generations from father to eldest son.
Baron George Von Scheffler
On the death of Colonel George Knox in 1910, Prehen passed to his German-born grandson, Baron George Von Scheffler, who then became Baron Von Scheffler-Knox of Prehen. The Baron resided at Prehen only until 1914 when the Great WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began, when, as an officer in the Prussian Guard
Garde du Corps (Prussia)
The Gardes du Corps was the personal bodyguard of the king of Prussia and, after 1871, of the German emperor . The unit was founded in 1740 by Frederick the Great...
, he was forced to leave Prehen as an enemy of the state. Prehen and all its holdings were confiscated by the British Government as enemy property. After the war, the estate was liquidated at public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
under the terms of the Trading With The Enemy Amendment Act 1914.
Prehen Park
The house changed hands during the decades that followed and was converted into apartments while many of Prehen's fine old trees were cut down by a timber merchant to build newer houses. Prehen Park, a nearby private housing estate in Brickkilns was built on Prehen's borders in the 1960s and much of the rest of the old estate has also since been swallowed up by housing.Restoration
Prehen HousePrehen House
Prehen House is a privately owned 18th-century Irish Georgian house at Prehen in County Londonderry.Thought to have been designed by local architect Michael Priestley, it was built in 1740 for Andrew Knox, M.P. for Donegal, after he married Prehen heiress Honoria Tomkins two years earlier. Andrew...
was acquired in 1971 by its current owners, the Peck family, formerly of Rathbeale Hall, whose have since restored and revived it, officially opening it to the public in September 2004.