Estate: Orpen (Glanarought)

Associated Families

• Herbert (Cahernane)
• Orpen (Glanarought)
• Croker

Description

Burke describes the Orpen family as claiming great antiquity. They settled in Ireland after the Cromwellian wars and married into some of the other influential families in county Kerry including the Herberts. Richard Orpen was agent for Sir William Petty on his county Kerry estates. Over 4000 acres of the estate of Richard Becher Opren in the barony of Glanarought were offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court in November 1852. The petitioner was John B. Warren, who later acquired parts of the Orpen lands in this area. Over 10,000 acres of the estate of Adrian Taylor, in which members of the Orpen and Warren families had an interest, were offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court in May 1855. Richard J.T. Orpen was one of the principal lessors in the parishes of Kenmare and Kilgravan at the time of Griffith's Valuation. In the 1870s the estate of the late Sir Richard Orpen amounted to over 12,000 acres in county Kerry as well as 300 acres in county Cork. The representatives of F.H. Orpen were the proprietors of 800 acres in county Kerry at the same time.

Houses

House Name / Description	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Ardtully House (H1805) Richard J.T. Orpen was leasing Ardtully House from John Croker at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £23 5s. In 1814 Leet records it as the seat of Richard O. Townsend while Lewis, in 1837 mentions Ardtully as "the ancient mansion of Richard Orpen Townsend". It was also the seat of the Orpen family in the 1770s and 1780s. Bary states that this property included an earlier castle, which was originally part of the McFineen McCarthy lands forfeited in the seventeenth century. It was granted by the Hollow Blade Company to the Conways but, later in the eighteenth century, the Orpens were occupying the house, subsequently replaced in the nineteenth century. Recorded, perhaps mistakenly, as the seat of R.H.M. Orpen and Sir. R.J.T Orpenm in 1894, in 1906 it was owned by Richard H.M. Orpen and valued at £40. The Scottish-baronial style house was burnt in 1921 but the ruins remain.	Ardtully	Kilgarvan	Kenmare	Kilgarvan 49	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.89917 -9.47333 OSI Ref: V986729 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #94.
Cloontoo (H1806) Adrian Taylor was leasing a property valued at £15 15s from John Croker at the time of Griffith's Valuation. Lewis notes it as the seat of R.E. Orpen in 1837. In 1814 Leet records the house as the seat of Edward Orpen. In 1851 the property was included in the sale of the Croker estate in the Encumbered Estates Court when Adrian Taylor was the occupier. It remained a residence of the Taylor family until the 1950s. Cloontoo is still extant and occupied.	Ardtully	Kilgarvan	Kenmare	Kilgarvan 49	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.89895 -9.49076 OSI Ref: V974729 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.
Woodville (H1807) Richard Orpen was occupying a property valued at £18 5s at the time of Griffith's Valuation. Lewis also notes it as his residence in 1837. In 1814 Leet recorded it as the seat of Samuel Orpen. Bary states that this house was sometimes known as Cranberry House, though on the Ordnance Survey maps it appears as Woodville. It was occupied by various members of the Orpen family throughout the nineteenth century but is now ruinous.	Dromnycolman	Kilgarvan	Kenmare	Glanlough	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.89872 -9.43699 OSI Ref: W011728 Discovery map #79. OS Sheet #94.
Sillahertane House (H1808) John B. Warren was leasing this property from Richard Orpen at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £8 10s. It is named on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map as Sillahertane Cottage though Lewis records it as Sillerdine Cottage in 1837. Bary indicates that it was also known as Sillahertane House and Warren's Lodge.The house later came into the possession of Francis Wise Low, of Kilshane, county Tipperary, who extended it in the early years of the twentieth century. In 1906 it was owned by Sarah S. Lowe and valued at £40. It was burnt in 1921 and is now a ruin. It forms part of a 500-acre sporting estate which also includes a self-catering holiday home, dating from the 1870s. See www.sillahertane.com.for an in-depth history of the estate.	Sillahertane	Kilgarvan	Kenmare	Glanlee 47	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.90282 -9.31651 OSI Ref: W094731 Discovery map #79. OS Sheet #95.
Bridgeville Park (H1809) Richard Orpen was leasing this property to Henry Orpen at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £7 15s. Capt. H. Orpen was recorded by Lewis in this property in 1837. In 1814, Leet mentions it as the seat of Henry Orpen. It is described as "in ruins" on the 1895 map.	Slaght	Kilgarvan	Kenmare	Kilgravan 49	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.90643 -9.46775 OSI Ref: V990737 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #94.
Killowen House (H2186) At the time of Griffith's Valuation, Edward Orpen was leasing this property from the Landsdowne estate when it was valued at £3. Lewis mentions it as the occasional residence of H. Orpen in 1837. In the 1770s it was noted by Taylor and Skinner but no proprietor is given. Bary notes that this property was originally in the possession of the Taylor estate but was was taken over by the Orpens in the early eighteenth century. It passed through marriage to the Palmer family. It was demolished in the twentieth century	Killowen	Kenmare	Kenmare	Kenmare 44	Glanarought	Kerry	Lat/Lon: 51.88640 -9.55717 OSI Ref: V928716 Discovery map #78. OS Sheet #93.

Archival sources

• National Archives of Ireland: Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Orpen, 12 November 1852, Vol 19, MRGS 39/008, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Taylor, Warren, 3 May 1855, Vol 34, MRGS 39/016, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Jameson, solicitors collection, lease of dwelling house, office & lands at Killowen, Co Kerry, Marquess of Lansdowne to Edward Orpen Palmer, 11 Feb 1867. Small Accs Index 53, D.7367
• National Library of Ireland: Copy of confirmation of arms to the descendants of the Rev. Francis Orpen, Rector of Dungorney, Co. Cork by Susanna Millerd, daughter and coheiress of Alderman Hugh Millerd of Monard, Co. Cork and to his second but eldest surviving son, Richard John Theodore Orpen of Ardtully, Co. Kerry, President of the Society of Attorneys and Solicitors of Ireland, May 21, 1862. Genealogical Office: Ms.108, pp.414-5
• Private Possession: 1755-19th cent: deeds and papers. Contact National Library of Ireland

Contemporary printed sources

Many of these resources are now available online. For a list with Web links please see the Online Printed Sources Links

• GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Glanarought Barony: 18 (Killowen), 30 (Ardtully House), 35 Dromnycolman), 43 (Sillahertane & Slaght)
• HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878. [available online at www.askaboutireland.ie] : 358
• LEET, Ambrose. A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 11 (Ardtully), 120 (Cloontoo), 356 (Slacts [Bridgeville], 393 (Woodville)
• LEWIS, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: Vol.II, 38 (Kenmare Parish), 96 (Kilgarvan Parish)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion..., HC 1906, c, 177: 254 (Ardtully)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of names of proprietors and area and valuation of properties in counties in Ireland, held in fee or perpetuity or long leases at chief rents, 1876. (412) LXXX. 395: 75.
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland. HC 1876, LXXX: 144
• SLATER, Isaac. Royal National Directory of Ireland: List of the principal seats. (Manchester: 1894) : xxi, 216, 225
• TAYLOR, George & SKINNER, Andrew. Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783. Facsimile of 2nd edition. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969: 177
• WILSON, William. The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 239 (Ardtully)

Modern printed sources

• Weekly Irish Times: 22 May 1937 Ardtully
• BENCE-JONES, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 12 (Ardtully House)
• BURKE, Sir Bernard. A genealogical and heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of Ireland. London: Harrison & Sons, 1912: 543-546
• Bary, Valerie. Historical Genealogical Architectural notes of some Houses of Kerry Whitegate, county Clare: Ballinakella Press, 1994. : 15 (Ardtully House), 54 (Bridgeville Park), 156 (Killowen House), 223 (Sillahertane), 247 (Woodville)
• HOWARD, Joseph Jackson and CRISP, Frederick Arthur (eds). Visitation of Ireland. Baltimore: reprint by Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1973: III, 93-97
• MONTGOMERY-MASSINGBERD, Hugh (ed). Burke's Irish Family Records. London: Burke's Peerage, 1976: 935-944.
• NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Reports on Private Collections: Report on papers relating to families of Orpen in counties Wexford and Kerry. No. 160
• O'BYRNE, ROBERT. The Irish aesthete: ruins of Ireland. London: Cico Books, 2019. : 96-97 (Ardtully House).