Estate: Delacour

Associated Families

• Lombard (Lombardstown)
• Delacour

Description

Of French origin this family settled in county Cork in the second half of the 17th century. In 1680 Robert Delacour married Ellen, daughter of Philip Cross and their grandson, another Robert, married Dorcas Norcott in 1764. Their eldest son was Robert De La Cour of Beare Forest who by his wife, Mary Baggs, had three sons, Robert of Fairy Hill, James of Sunny Hill and Hugh who married Katherine Stawell of Crobeg as well as a daughter who married Captain William Henry Herrick of Shippool. Robert Delacour was among the principal lessors in the parishes of Ballinaboy and Dunderrow, barony of Kinalea, county Cork, at the time of Griffith's Valuation. In 1820 James Delacour married Harriet G. Lombard, daughter and co heiress of James Lombard of Lombardstown. In the 1870s James Delacour of Mallow owned 4,507 acres in county Cork. His brother Robert Delacour of Fairyhill owned a further 717 acres and James' son, Reverend Robert W. Delacour of London, owned 872 acres.

Houses

House Name / Description	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Fairy Hill (H3277) At the time of Griffith's Valuation Robert De La Cour was resident at Fairy Hill, which he held from the Earl of Limerick. The buildings were valued at £36. Hajba writes that Robert lived in this house from circa 1817 to 1878. The property then passed to his niece, Miss Herrick of Shippool, who married William Nicholas Wrixon Becher in 1888 and this couple lived at Fairy Hill. Fairy Hill was in use as a nursing home at the beginning of the 21st century.	Annabella	Mallow	Mallow	Mallow Rural 250	Fermoy	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.13844 -8.65879 OSI Ref: W549 987 Discovery map #80. OS Sheet #33.
Sunny Hill (H3280) In 1786 Wilson refers to a seat of Mr. Cotter in the town of Mallow. James Delacour, second son of Robert Delacour of Beare Forest, was residing at Sunny Hill in the mid 19th century. He held the property from Henry Braddle and it was valued at £36. He was still described as "of Sunny Hill" in 1886. The house became a rectory for about fifty years in the 20th century. In 1942 the Irish Tourist Association Survey referred to it as "a fine well kept residence built by J. Carmichael". It is now a private residence named Duarrigle.	Annabella	Mallow	Mallow	Mallow Rural 250	Fermoy	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.13572 -8.66313 OSI Ref: W546 984 Discovery map #80. OS Sheet #33.
Bearforest (H3291) Named after Richard Beare who held this land in the early 18th century, the house was built in 1807-1808 by Robert Delacour, a partner in the Delacour bank of Mallow. Townsend writes that it was designed by Richard Morrison. Delacour was living in the house in 1814 but had vacated it by 1837. At the time of Griffith's Valuation it was occupied by John Hugh Bainbridge who held it from James Murphy. The buildings were valued at £70. Bence Jones records the Purdon Coote family as later owners. The house was burnt in June 1921 during the War of Independence when it was the residence of Maj. Charles Purdon Coote but was rebuilt.	Bearforest Lower	Mallow	Mallow	Mallow North Urban 251	Fermoy	Cork	Lat/Lon: 52.12778 -8.63527 OSI Ref: W565 975 Discovery map #80. OS Sheet #33.

Archival sources

• Cork County Library: Irish Tourist Association Survey files, Parish of Mallow

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. : Fermoy Barony, 123 (Annabella), 129 (Bearforest)
• BATEMAN, John. The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Harrison, 1883. : p.125
• 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] : 122
• LEET, Ambrose. A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 64 (Bear Forest)
• LEWIS, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: II, 338-341 (Beareforest)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland. HC 1876, LXXX: 121
• TOWNSEND, Horatio. Statistical survey of the county of Cork... Dublin: Royal Dublin Society, 1810: 514 [Bearforest]

Modern printed sources

• 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). XV, 2nd Series (1909), 285 (Bearforest)
• 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), 236-237 (Sunny Hill)
• BENCE-JONES, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 34 (Bearforest)
• BURKE, Sir Bernard. A genealogical and heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Harrison & Sons, 1886: I, 498-499
• HAJBA, Anna-Maria. Historical Genealogical Architectural notes on some Houses of Cork. Volume I: North Cork. Whitegate: Ballinakella Press, 2002: 74, 163, 343