John Staunton Rochfort

Colonel John Staunton Rochfort (1763 – 6 May 1844) was an Anglo-Irish landowner and sheriff.

Early life

Rochfort was born in Ireland in 1763. He was the eldest son of John Rochfort and Dorothea Burgh. Among his siblings were Anne Rochfort (who married Sir Matthew Blakiston, 2nd Baronet, heir of Sir Matthew Blakiston, 1st Baronet),[1] and the Rev. Robert Rochfort (1775–1811), the notorious "Slashing Parson" of 1798.[2][3]

His paternal grandparents Deborah Staunton (a daughter of Thomas Staunton) and John Rochfort, MP for Ballyshannon and for Mullingar.[4] They lived in Clogrennane, County Carlow, and Newpark, County Dublin,[5] His maternal grandparents were Thomas Burgh, MP for Lanesborough and Anne Downes. His maternal uncle was Thomas Burgh.[1]

Career

The Rochfort family estate included the lands of Newpark in Dublin, estates in County Westmeath and County Wexford. His primary estate was Clogrennane in County Carlow, which included the lands of Raheendoran, the ruins of Clogrennane Castle and Clogrennane Lodge.[2] When in Dublin, they had a residence on Jervis Street and another on Ormond Quay. In Carlow, they had a residence on Dublin Street.[2]

He served as High Sheriff of County Carlow in 1823.[6]

Clogrennan House

Between 1806 and 1815, he built a new house in Clogrennane which had 52 rooms including 30 bedrooms, 33 fireplaces, 365 panes of glass and cost approximately £32,000.[6] The house and estate were inherited by his eldest son, Horace. After his death in 1891, his descendants continued to own the house until they through their last ball in January 1922, shortly before the house was sold. Like the castle, it was later abandoned and has been roofless since 1945.

Personal life

On 27 July 1801, he married Harriette Mann in Linton, Kent. She was a daughter of Sir Horatio Mann, 2nd Baronet and Lady Lucy Noel (a daughter of the 4th Earl of Gainsborough).[7] Before her death in 1810, they were the parents of:

In 1814, he married Mary Burgh, a daughter of Anne Aigion and Thomas Burgh, MP.[10] Together, they were the parents of:

Rochfort died on 6 May 1844 and was succeeded in his estate by his eldest son Horace. His second son, John, owned the Bawnboy estate in the parish of Templeport, in the barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan.[15]

Descendants

Through his daughter Dorothea, he was a grandfather of Edward Law, 5th Baron Ellenborough,[16] and Cecil Law, 6th Baron Ellenborough.[13]

Through his son Horace, he was a grandfather of Sir Alexander Nelson Rochfort (1850–1916), a Major-General in the Royal Artillery who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey.[17][18]

Through his daughter Anne,[14] he was a grandfather of General Sir Henry Hildyard (1846–1916), and the great-grandfather of General Sir Reginald Hildyard (1876–1965).[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Cokayne, George Edward, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes ((c. 1900); reprint, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume V, page 127.
  2. ^ a b c Kinsella, Shay (2012). "The 'Slashing Parson' of 1798: The Life & Death of Rev. Robert Rochfort of Clogrennane, Co. Carlow, 1775-1811" (PDF). Carloviana. Carlow Historical & Archaeological Society: 117–120. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  3. ^ Maxwell, Nick (27 December 2013). "The 'slashing parson' of '98". History Ireland. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  4. ^ 'MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800', By E. M. Johnston-Liik
  5. ^ 'The Peerage of Ireland: Or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom, Volume 3' by John Lodge
  6. ^ a b "The Rochfort Family Clogrennan Hall Benches (1806 to 1815 Ireland) MACK, WILLIAMS AND GIBTON". lapada.org. LAPADA. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  7. ^ "MANN, Sir Horatio (1744-1814), of Linton, nr. Maidstone, Kent". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  8. ^ Linzee, John William (1917). The Lindeseie and Limesi Families of Great Britain: Including the Probates at Somerset House, London, England, of All the Spellings of the Name Lindeseie from 1300 to 1800. The Fort Hill Press. p. 750. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  9. ^ Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1848. p. 123. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Family of Rochfort". Irish Builder and Engineer. Howard MacGarvey & Sons.: 289 1887. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  11. ^ "English School, Dorethea Anne Law (née Rochfort) (1815-71), wearing blue dress with white underslip, a veil falling from her upswept hair (hairline cracks)". www.bonhams.com. Bonhams. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  12. ^ Forster, Henry Rumsey (1852). The Pocket Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland: With Genealogical and Historical Notices of the Families of the Nobility, the Archbishops and Bishops, a List of Titles of Courtesy, a Baronetage of the United Kingdom, Etc. D. Bogue. p. 424. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland, for ...: Including All the Titled Classes. S. Low, Marston & Company. 1901. p. 334. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Biography of Thomas Blackborne Thoroton Hildyard (1821-1888)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Rochfort". landedestates.ies. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  16. ^ "The Morning Post". 3 July 1855.
  17. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard, ed. (1914). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (76th ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2502.
  18. ^ "Obituary: General Sir A. N. Rochfort". The Times. 6 December 1916. p. 12.
  19. ^ Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881