Estate: Wrixon

Associated Families

• Beecher/Becher
• Wrixon

Description

Henry Wrixon of Assolas was the father of William Wrixon who married Mary Becher in 1778. Their son, William, was created a baronet in 1831 as Sir William Wrixon Becher. At the time of Griffith's Valuation a relative, John Wrixon, held land in the parishes of Kilbrin, Knocktemple and Tullylease, while Henry Wrixon held land in the parishes of Castlemagner, Clonfert, Tullylease and Knocktemple, all in the barony of Duhallow, county Cork. In June 1852 the estate of Henry Vowel Wrixon (died 1877), amounting to 603 acres at Farrankelly, Ballinla, Aughrim Upper and Lower, barony of Orrery and Kilmore, was advertised for sale. In the mid 1870s Henry Wrixon of Paris is recorded as the owner of 1,008 acres in county Cork. Part of the lands of Aughrim and houses in the city of Cork were advertised for sale in July 1864, the city premises were puchased by Messers. Howe, Goold and Baker and Dr. Edward Townsend while the lands of Aughrim were bought in trust by Mr. Swift. Further premises in Cork city were sold in 1865. In February 1854 a quarter share of the demesne and lands of Blossomfort, the estate of Edward Wrixon, were advertised for sale. Blossomfort was originally leased to John Wrixon by Bartholomew Purdon in 1721. The whole demesne amouted to 545 acres and was partitioned in 1853. John Nicholas Wrixon, H.V.Wrixon and Charles Wrixon held the other three quarters. In March 1856 the demesne of Cecilstown and Ballinamona was advertised for sale, the estate of Thomas Tangney, assignee of Henry Wrixon. The original lease "for ever" was from Henry Wrixon of Assolas to John Wrixon of Cecilstown, 10 Dec 1779. The Freeman's Journal reported that the property was purchased by Mr. Wrixon for almost £3000. An extensive family history of both the Becher and Wrixon families is given by Grove White and published in the ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society'' (1907) under Ballygiblin.

Houses

House Name / Description	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Assolas (H2771) Built by the Reverend Francis Gore (died 1748) in the early 18th century and occupied by Philip Oliver circa 1750. This house was the home of the Wrixon family from 1774. Occupied by William Harris in 1814 and by Sir William Wrixon Becher in 1837. Richard Smith was resident in the mid 19th century, holding the property then valued at £25+ from Sir William W. Beecher. Owned and run as a guest house by the Bourke family until 2005.	Assolas	Castlemagner	Kanturk	Greenane 164	Duhallow	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.17416 -8.83767 OSI Ref: R427 028 Discovery map #73. OS Sheet #23.
Summerville (H2817) Originally a Purdon house situated on the Coote estate and described by Smith as a "neat lodge" in 1750. It was home to members of the Chapman and Nason families. Occupied by John Nicholas Wrixon in 1837. Valued at £14 in the early 1850s when it was occupied by Kenny Herbert. Still occupied and surrounded by mature woodland.	Gortnagross	Ballyclogh	Mallow	Ballyclogh 234	Duhallow	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.13453 -8.71277 OSI Ref: W512 983 Discovery map #80. OS Sheet #32.
Blossomfort (H2865) Hajba refers to John Wrixon of Blossomfort in 1703. Wilson, writing in 1786, refers to Blossom-fort as the seat of Mr. Wrixon. The present house, occupied by William Bullen in 1814 and by J. Smith in 1837 was built by the Wrixons probably in the early 19th century. In the mid 19th century Blossomfort was the residence of Thomas Haynes who held the property from Benjamin Wrixon. It was valued at £14. Sold by the Wrixons to the Longfields of Longueville, Blossomfort became the residence of their agent, Richard Smith. This house was reconstructed following a fire in the early 1900s and is still extant.	Blossomfort	Ballyclogh	Mallow	Kilmaclenine 235	Orrery and Kilmore	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.15951 -8.74386 OSI Ref: R491 011 Discovery map #73. OS Sheet #24.
Cecilstown Lodge (H2866) A home of members of the Wrixon family in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Occupied by William Wrixon, father of Sir William Wrixon Becher, in 1837. It was leased to Thomas Heffernan from the 1840s. Valued at £9 in the early 1850s it was later occupied by members of the clergy including the Reverend E.G. Jones, whose widow bought the house in the early 20th century. It was burnt in June 1921 during the War of Independence when it was the residence of the sisters, Esther Jane and Annie Jones. A house, however, still exists at the site.	Cecilstown	Castlemagner	Kanturk	Roskeen 168	Duhallow	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.17022 -8.75574 OSI Ref: R483 023 Discovery map #73. OS Sheet #24.
Castle Wrixon (H2893) A Wrixon property in the 18th century, occupied by John Wrixon in 1814 and Hajba writes that it was sold by the Wrixons to the Crofts in the mid 19th century. At the time of Griffith's Valuation it was occupied by John Connor who held it from Wills G. Crofts. The buildings were valued at £11. Christopher Crofts of Velvetstown House (died 1913) lived at Castle Wrixon for a time. He inherited Velvetstown from his uncle, Reverend Henry, in 1869. In the 1940s the Irish Tourist Association Survey outlined subsequent owners and noted that it was, by then, the residence of the McDermott family. It is still extant.	Castlewrixon South	Imphrick	Kilmallock	Springfort 188	Orrery and Kilmore	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.29568 -8.66698 OSI Ref: R545 162 Discovery map #73. OS Sheet #8.
Ballyellis (H3282) A home of a branch of the Norcott family in the 18th century. William Wrixon is given as the proprietor of Ballyellis, Mallow, in 1814. In 1837 Lewis refers to Bally Ellis as "formerly the residence of Lord Ennismore and now of A. G. Creagh". By the time of Griffith's Valuation Kilner Brazier held the property in fee. The buildings were valued at £60. Sold to Mr McCormick circa late 1870s and then to Nigel Baring of Baring's Bank in the 1890s. Baring was Master of the Duhallow Foxhounds for a time and changed the name of the house to Avondhu. Later bought by the De La Salle Order of Brothers. Sold by them in 1974 and demolished.	Ballyellis	Mallow	Mallow	Mallow Rural 250	Fermoy	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.13053 -8.62654 OSI Ref: W571 978 Discovery map #80. OS Sheet #33.
Glenview Cottage (H4964) In 1786 Wilson refers to a house in the vicinity of Egmont as "Glenfield", the seat of Mr. Wrixon. This may be the property marked on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map as Glenview Cottage. At the time of Griffith's Valuation, this house was leased by Daniel Murphy from the Egmont estate and valued at £10. A house is still extant at the site.	Egmont	Churchtown	Mallow	Churchtown 238	Orrery & Kilmore	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.26008 -8.75873 OSI Ref: R482123 Discovery map #73. OS Sheet #16.

Archival sources

• Cork County Library: Irish Tourist Association survey files, Parish of Ballyhea, Parish of Castlemagner
• National Archives of Ireland: Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Wrixon, 13 Feb 1854, Vol 26 (25), MRGS 39/011, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Wrixon, 6 Mar 1856, Vol 38 (43), MRGS 39/018, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Encumbered Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Wrixon, 4 June 1852, Vol 16 (6) & 8 July 1852, Vol 17 (19), MRGS 39/007, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Wrixon, 14 July 1864, Vol 73 (87), MRGS 39/036, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Wrixon, 27 Mar 1865, Vol 75 (71), MRGS 39/037, (microfilm copy in NUIG)
• National Archives of Ireland: Lease for lives Anne Lysaght & Mary Coote Purdon, Cork city to Henry N. Wrixon of Assollas of land at Mehanough, Co Cork, 14 Apr 1786. 999/424
• National Archives of Ireland: Abstract of title of the Echlin family to Kilpatrick, Duhallow Barony, Co. Cork, from 1784, with references to the families of Echlin and Wrixon. M. 6122
• National Archives of Ireland: British Records Association Deposit (1950) included leases of lands in barony of Duhallow from members of the Dickson & Boyle (Earl of Shannon) families to members of the Freeman, Carthy, Foote, MacGhee, Keeffe, Boyle, Purdon, Allen, Purcell, Pike, Creagh, Wrixon, Longfield, Holmes, Fitzgerald, Purdon, Trant,, Delaney, Herrick, Reilly, Leader & Barry families, 1715-1857. Small Accs. Index 102
• National Library of Ireland: Detailed abstracts of the wills of Wrixon of Ballygiblin and Blossomfort in Co. Cork, 1714 -- 1778. GO Ms.139, pp.211-2
• National Library of Ireland: Detailed abstracts of wills of Wrixon of Glenfield, Assollas, Kilroe, Woodwark and Ballygiblin, all in Co. Cork, 1731 -- 1787. GO Ms.139, pp.178-81
• National Library of Ireland: Thirty documents, mostly deeds, relating to lands in Co. Cork, particularly to Gortnagruss, Killynegrohan (Kilnagrohan) and Kilcranton and to the families of Connor, Curtis, Longfield, Wrixon, etc. 1770 - 1821. D. 8685-8714
• National Library of Ireland: Pedigree of Wrixon, later Wrixon Becher of Ballygiblin, Cecilstown and Creagh in Co. Cork, c.1700 - 1831. GO Ms.173, pp.148-9
• Representative Church Body Library: Swanzy Notebooks, include pedigree of Wrixon of Co Cork.

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. : Barony of Duhallow, 4 (Cecilstown)
• 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] : 484
• LEET, Ambrose. A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 39 (Ballyellis)
• LEWIS, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: I, 129 (Summerville & Blossomfort), 303 (Cecilstown Lodge)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland. HC 1876, LXXX: 138
• SMITH, Charles, M.D. The ancient and present state of the county and city of Cork. Containing a natural, civil, ecclesiastical, historical and topographical description thereof . First published 1750. This edition published Cork: John Connor, 1815: I, 299-300
• 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: 182 (Blossomfort)
• WILSON, William. The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 236 (Blossom-fort), 360 (Glen-field)

Modern printed sources

• Freeman's Journal: Encumbered Estates Court sale reports, 7 March 1856, p.4.
• Irish Times: Landed Estates Court sales, 15 July 1864 p.3
• Jnl. of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.: Historical and Topographical Notes, etc on Buttevant, Doneraile, Mallow and Places in their vicinity. Collected by James Grove White (c 1906). XIII, 2nd Series, 177-192 (Ballygiblin), XV, 2nd Series (1909), 292 (Blossomfort)
• Jnl. of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.: Historical and Topographical Notes, etc on Buttevant, Doneraile, Mallow and Places in their vicinity. Collected by James Grove White (c 1906). XXVI, 2nd Series (1920), 236 (Summerville)
• Éire-Ireland: DONNELLY, James S. Jnr. Big House burning in county Cork during the Irish revolution, 1920-21. XLVIII, 3 & 4, Fall-Winter (2012), pp.141-197. [Cecilstown Lodge owned by Jones in 1921]
• CASEY, Albert Eugene. O’Kief, Coshe Mang, Slieve Lougher and Upper Blackwater in Ireland. Birmingham Ala.: Knocknagree Historical Fund, 1952: Reference to the marriage of Henry Vowel Wrixon to Jane Sophia Wrixon in 1832 & to will & death of Henry Vowel Wrixon 1877,. XIV, 944 & IV, 277
• HAJBA, Anna-Maria. Historical Genealogical Architectural notes on some Houses of Cork. Volume I: North Cork. Whitegate: Ballinakella Press, 2002: 38-39, 80