Earlscliffe residents 1844 to 1901

Captain William Bunbury McClintock

We believe that the house at Earlscliffe was built around 1844. [1] We are not exactly sure, but we believe that the property was owned by Cornelius Egan, Alderman of Dublin, under a 99-year lease of 1847 from the Earl of Howth.

We don't know much about Egan, but we do know that there were legal dealings with Egan and his executors and William McDougall of Drumleck, Howth.[2]

The first person we have details of who owned the house was Royal Navy Captain William Bunbury McClintock Bunbury. [3]  The Captain first rented it , either from Egan or McDougall, in 1862 (possibly because his own or his wife's health required sea-bathing).  He had certainly bought it by 1864. [4]

As a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, McClintock Bunbury had sailed on HMS Samarang and had sailed the coast of South America with Charles Darwin [5] in the 1830s. During this time McClintock Bunbury secured the first post on HMS Samarang for one of his young cousins, Francis Leopold McClintock, the arctic explorer who later discovered the Prince of Wales Island and Prince Patrick Island and also discovered the fate of the explorer John Franklin who had perished looking for the Northwest Passage [6]

Captain McClintock Bunbury later became MP for Carlow [7] and built the house and gardens at Lisnavagh in County Carlow shortly after his marriage to Pauline Stronge in 1842. [8] 

We believe that the Captain owned Earlscliffe in 1864 but unfortunately he passed away in 1866. His wife continued to own and live in Earlscliffe for some years until her death in 1876. [5] In Turtle Bunbury's excellent website exploring the history of the Bunbury family, it is mentioned that living at Earlscliffe was good for the health of the Captain's wife. [9]

The house was put up for auction in 1877 by their son, Thomas Kane McClintock-Bunbury, for around £2,000. However, it wasn't sold until 1878 when the price had dropped to £1,500.  [10]  It is not known who bought the house at this time, but around 1886 Earlscliffe house was owned by the Knox family [11]. We are uncertain as to who the Knox family were, except that a daughter of theirs lived at another house nearby on Ceanchor Road (Couleen) until she was in her 80s in the 1950s.[12] The Knox family put the house up for auction in the summer of 1895. [13]

In August 1896 the house was purchased by John Randal Plunkett (who also had a property at 83 Merrion Square South).  [14] Again, we are uncertain as to who the family were. However, they didn't stay long as the house was put up for rent in June 1901 [15] and in October 1901 Earlscliffe was sold to Professor John Pentland Mahaffy, soon to be Provost of Trinity College Dublin (but not as soon as he would like!).[16] 

• Earlscliffe Residents 1901 to 1922 - Professor John Pentland Mahaffy

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References

• [1] A sale notice for Earlscliffe in the Irish Times July 6 1895 mentions that it is "held as to part for 143 years from 1st November 1844, under a lease dated 15th December 1847, and a reversionary lease dated 1st May 1895..."
• [2] From the Lisnavagh Archives (G 8/12). As relayed to me by Turtle Bunbury in a recent correspondence (July 2009). As an aside, a later owner of Earlscliffe, John Pentland Mahaffy, married the daughter of William McDougall in 1865.
• [3] National Register of Archives, Record Reference D/4132/G/, NRA catalogue reference NRA 40262 McClintock-Bunbury http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/pidocs.asp?P=P42634
• [4] Thom's Irish Almanac & Official Directory~1864, as listed in "Extracts From Various Trade Directories 1834 To 1910" http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chrisu/howth5.htm
• [5] http://www.turtlebunbury.com/family/bunburyfamily_lisnavagh/bunburyfamily_lisnavagh_captainwilliam.html . Turtle Bunbury, a descendent of the Captain's family, has confirmed that Pauline Stronge died in 1876. This fits in with the entry in [2] above which states that the last date that she is known to have lived at Earlscliffe was in that year. Turtle has a well laid out and fascinating site about the many generations of the Bunburys and is well worth a visit. See http://www.turtlebunbury.com
• [6] As related in the book "The Arctic Fox - Francis Leopold McClintock, Discoverer of the fate of Franklin", David Murray, 2004. Cork: The Collins Press, ISBN 1-55002-523-6
• [7] The House Of Commons Constituencies - County Carlow,  http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ccommons2.htm
• [8] Family History, Stronge Of Tynan Abbey, Co. Armagh http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_stronge.htm
• [9] http://www.turtlebunbury.com/family/bunburyfamily_lisnavagh/bunburyfamily_lisnavagh_captainwill3.html
• [10] As told to me by Turtle Bunbury in a recent correspondence (July 2009). An advert in the "The Freeman's Journal", May 1 1877 describes Earlscliffe as a "charming residence with ornamental grounds and garden, the whole comprising 4a. 3r. 29p" and that the "present proprietor has expended a considerable sum in valuable and judicious improvements".
• [11] Thom's Irish Almanac & Official Directory~1886, as listed in "Extracts From Various Trade Directories 1834 To 1910" http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chrisu/howth7.htm 
• [12] As told by Olive Stanley Clarke to David Robinson in the 1980s.
• [13] The house was advertised in the Irish Times July 6 1895 pg 9. Earlscliffe was described as a "first class Residence, in perfect order, with every residential attraction, situated on the sunny side of Howth, facing Kingstown, and adjoining the sea shore, standing upon about five acres. Immediate possession." It also said that the "climate on the south slope of Howth is well know for salubrity, being well protected from north and east winds. Earlscliffe occupies the choicest position on the south slope of Howth, the most enviable marine residential position in the County of Dublin."
• [14] The 1901 census information from the National Archives found on the internet http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Dublin/South_Dock/Merrion_Sq__South/ on 10th June 2010. The Thom's Irish Almanac & Official Directory~1897, as listed in "Extracts From Various Trade Directories 1834 To 1910" states that it was 33 Merrion Sq. South, but this is probably an OCR glitch http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chrisu/howth9.htm 
• [15] Irish Times June 15, 1901, pg 11
• [16] A History of the County Dublin, Francis Elrington Ball, originally published in six volumes (1902-1920). Volume 5, Chapter 9 "As a Packet Station and After" http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/ball1-6/Ball5/ball5.9.htm

This page was last updated on 04-Jul-2010 .