Browne-Clayton of Browne's Hill, Co. Carlow
Motto: Fortiter ed fideliter.
Browne’s Hill mansion occupies the site of an
ancient religious establishment called St. Kieran's Abbey. The
Browne family moved from Essex and quickly became one of the most
influential families in County Carlow. Built in 1763, Browne’s Hill
is one of the few surviving Georgian mansions in the county and
should thus be considered as a work of considerable historical
value. It was probably designed by the Georgian landscape architect,
Matthhew Peters.
This fine house originally comprised a detached
six-bay three-storey over-basement structure, built in the
Neo-Classical style with a granite ashlar façade. the house 'quickly
became the flagship seat in the county and the property which all
others tried to emulate or outbuild'. (It was renovated by Thomas
Cobden in the 1830s, with a pedimented central breakfront on the
front and a full-height canted bay extended to the rear. The park
wall and nearby house at Viewmount were built using material from
the original quondam abbey, while the high wall around the estate
was built as part of a Famine Relief project in the 1840s. [1a]
In October 2009, the Department of Manuscripts in
the National Library of Ireland stumbled upon several boxes of maps,
drafts, surveys and correspondence relating to the Browne-Clayton
family, which were acquired by the NLI in 1982.
Origins The Browne’s of Carlow originally came from
the West Country of England with Cromwell in August 1649. Robert
Browne, second son of Sir William Browne of Abbas Roding in Essex,
is said to have come to Ireland with Cromwell. He married Jane
Feltham of Gray’s Inn, London and died on 10 Feb 1677. [1b] His
eldest son, John Browne of Carlow was married circa 1680 to Mary,
daughter of Robert Jennings of Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare. As late
as 1717-1723, Benjamin Burton's leases of Feltham's concerns listed
John Browne as lesse of three properties in Carlow Town. John's
younger brother was Robert Browne.
An account of this Robert's early
days in Carlow found recently by Michael Purcell among the family
papers reads: 'When King James II came to the throne of England in
1685, Mr Browne suffered great hardships and loss, his house was
occupied by his enemies and his family imprisoned. His land and
stock sequestered and plundered and still worse might have happened
only for the intervention of a worthy and respectable Roman Catholic
gentleman of the name of Allen from Pollerton near Carlow town. Upon
their release Robert built a roomy Mansion close to the Tullow Gate
in Carlow town'. The "roomy Mansion" referred to is now Lennon's Pub
and adjoining house, (120/121 Tullow Street, Carlow).
Read more about this family at
http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_b_clayton.html
Source: Turtle Bunbury website