Estate: King (Drumsna)

Associated Families

• King (Drumsna)
• King (Carrigallen)
• King (Ballylin)

Description

The King family descend from the Reverend Edward King, Bishop of Elphin (1611-1639) who was granted lands forfeited by the O'Beirnes in the Drumsna area of county Roscommon early in the 17th century. The Bishop built the original houses at Charlestown and Kilmore. Members of the family served as High Sheriffs of Leitrim in the eighteenth century. Gilbert King was made a baronet in July 1815 and died in 1818. He was succeeded by his nephew Robert, who died in 1825. Robert's son Gilbert became the 3rd baronet and at the time of Griffith's Valuation he held an estate in the parishes of Kilmore, barony of Ballintober North and Aughrim, barony of Roscommon. In the 1870s Sir Gilbert King owned 1,858 acres in county Roscommon, 4,328 acres in county Sligo and 480 acres in county Leitrim.The King estate in North Sligo was principally in the parish of Drumcliff though Griffith's Valuation and the Ordnance Survey Name Books indicate Sir Gilbert King was the owner of a number of townlands in Tawnagh parish in Tirerrill barony also. In the 1870s Henry King owned over 1500 acres in county Sligo. . Extensive estates were also held in Leitrim and Roscommon. James King is recorded as owning over 2200 acres in county Leitrim in the 1870s while John King, with an address in France, owned almost 2500 acres.

Houses

House Name / Description	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Jamestown House or Jamestown Lodge (H361) At the time of Griffith's Valuation Hugh O'Beirne was occupying a house at Jamestown, barony of Leitrm, valued at £40. Jamestown House was held by the O'Beirne family until the twentieth century though in 1894 Slater refers to it as the seat of Gilbert King, junior. In 1906 it was also valued at £40. It is still extant and occupied.	Jamestown	Kiltoghert	Carrick-on-Shannon	Carrick-on-Shannon 28	Leitrim	Leitrim	Lat/Lon: 53.92501 -8.02892 OSI Ref: M981973 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #31.
Kilmore House (H1319) Built by the Reverend Edward King, Bishop of Elphin circa 1630. Home of a branch of the Lawder family in the 18th century until the murder of James Lawder in 1779. The Auchmuty family resided at Kilmore in the 19th century. The demesne was named Aghaward on the first Ordnance Survey map. A large farm is still extant at the site.	Kilmore	Kilmore	Carrick on Shannon	Cloonteem 47	Ballintober North	Roscommon	Lat/Lon: 53.88997 -8.01065 OSI Ref: M993 934 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #18.
Cartron (King) (H1325) The home of the Waldron family in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Occupied by Gilbert Hogg in 1837. Valued at £10 and occupied by John B. Hogg at the time of Griffith's Valuation who held the house from Sir Gilbert King. A substantial farm is still extant at the site but the original house is no longer extant.	Cartron (King)	Kilmore	Carrick on Shannon	Cloonteem 47	Ballintober North	Roscommon	Lat/Lon: 53.90615 -8.01522 OSI Ref: M990 952 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #12.
Charlestown House (H1327) In 1786 Wilson refers to Charlestown as the "the fine seat of Mr. King, most delightfully situated on the Shannon". The first Ordnance Survey map marks both Charlestown House and Charlestown Old House closeby at M984 976. Valued at £46 at the time of Griffith's Valuation. In 1894 Charlestown was the residence of Sir Gilbert King. The house is no longer extant but extensive estate architecture survives.	Cloonavery	Kilmore	Carrick on Shannon	Cloonteem 47	Ballintober North	Roscommon	Lat/Lon: 53.92861 -8.02284 OSI Ref: M985 977 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #11.
Rush Hill (H1383) Home of the Devenish family in the 18th and 19th centuries, held from Sir Gilbert King. Funding received from the Heritage Council in 2005 for the restoration of this house. http://www.iol.ie/~oldbuilders/oldbuilders/rushhill/rushhill_01.htm. A detailed history and account of ongoing improvements to Rush Hill can be found at the blog www.irishaesthete.com tagged as Rush Hill.	Ardlougher	Aughrim	Carrick on Shannon	Aughrim East 45	Roscommon	Roscommon	Lat/Lon: 53.87914 -8.11253 OSI Ref: M926 922 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #17.

Archival sources

• Irish Architectural Archive: Charlestown House. Photographs of gates and ruined lodges. 152/060.
• Irish Architectural Archive: Charlestown photos. 011/046
• National Library of Ireland: Rent &account books of John King in counties Leitrim, Longford & Roscommon, 1757-85. Ms. 3125, 3520.
• National Library of Ireland: Rent roll & accounts of King estate in counties Leitrim, Offaly & Roscommon, 1801-1818. Ms.4120.
• National Library of Ireland: Accounts of Rev. H. King concerning family estates in Leitrim, Offaly & Roscommon, 1825-27. Ms.3524.
• National Library of Ireland: 25 maps of estate of Sir Gilbert King in Cos Leitrim, Roscommon & Sligo, 1767-1862. 16.F.9
• National Library of Ireland: Pedigree of King, baronets, of Charlestown, Co Roscommon, c 1580-1815. GO MS 113:283-284
• National Library of Ireland: King Papers, letters & other documents re the King family of Charlestown & Elphin, Co Roscommon, in particular John King MP, 1667-1787. MS 8472
• National Library of Ireland: Copy grant of arms to descendents of Rev Edward King, Bishop of Elphin & to Gilbert King of Charlestown, Co Roscommon, as one of them, 12 Dec 1814. GO MS 106:79

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. : Carrick on Shannon Union, 3 (Cartron) & 4 (Charlestown)
• BATEMAN, John. The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Harrison, 1883. : p.251
• 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] : 250
• LEET, Ambrose. A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 104 (Charlestown)
• LEGG, Marie Louise (ed). Census of Elphin 1749. Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission, 2004: 52 (Charlestown)
• LEWIS, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: Vol II, 186
• ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS, County Roscommon: Vol II, 186
• ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS, County Roscommon: Vol II, 346 & 369
• ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS, County Sligo: Vol I 321
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion..., HC 1906, c, 177: 378 (Cloonavery)
• PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland. HC 1876, LXXX: 316 & 321
• SLATER, Isaac. Royal National Directory of Ireland: List of the principal seats. (Manchester: 1894) : xxiv, 69 (Charlestown), xviii & 58 (Jamestown Lodge)
• 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: 64 (Charlestown)
• WILSON, William. The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 103 (Charlestown)

Modern printed sources

• The Irish Genealogist: GRAY, Edward S. Some notes on the High Sheriffs of county Leitrim, 1701-1800. I (1941), 302-303.
• BENCE-JONES, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 81 (Charlestown)
• BURKE, Sir Bernard. A genealogical and heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of Ireland. London: Harrison & Sons, 1912: 369
• HARRISON, A (compiler). A roll of all gentlemen....High Sheriffs, MPs & other officers of county Leitrim, 1600-1909. Carrick-on-Shannon: printed by P. Brennan, 1910. : 4-5
• MOSLEY, Charles (ed). Burke's Peerage and Baronetage. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999: I, 1591