Honor Beryl HAMILTON

Honor Beryl HAMILTON (1893-1961) first appeared on my radar as I was writing a piece about Dorothy St. Felix JACKSON (1887-1964). She had lived - for a time - with Dorothy in Glengarriff. This got me wondering. Why had these two single women both settled in Glengarriff? Had they been a romantic couple? Dorothy had always been public about being a lesbian, but what about Honor?

Thanks to my cousin, Venetia Bowman-Vaughan.

Also, had Dorothy moved there first because of Honor or was it the other way around? Later, I wondered whether Honor’s initial move to Glengarriff had been triggered by an IRA raid at Castle Luttrellstown in Co. Meath in 1924 and the resultant theft of a necklace? Her necklace?

Painting of Honor HAMILTON by her aunt Letitia Marion HAMILTON (Irish artist) 1878 – 1964. Honor at the Piano, NOTE: Thanks to novelist Laura McKENNA for this.

Dorothy – one of my 1^st cousins - had always lived openly as a lesbian, and her successive partners had always been fully welcomed by her parents, her siblings, and her nieces and nephews. She had bankrolled trusts for some of them. Living as a couple in the coastal village of Glengarriff in the early to mid-1900s – a time when “gay rights” was a barely uttered phrase in rural Irish communities - might have been made easier for Dorothy & Honor because they were wealthy. Also, did it help that they had previously lived where sexual diversity was accepted?

In her diary, Dorothy’s older sister Amy Oliver JACKSON (1874-1962) recorded visiting them at Glengarriff in 1929. I saw Amy’s diary in 2010 while visiting her great-grandson in Tetbury - where he was living and working as a gardener for Prince Charles. In subsequent emails, his father Pat ROBERTS encouraged me to use what I had copied of her papers for future research. Amy had compiled a document that her family referred to as The Bible – excerpts of her diaries in an abbreviated timeline.  The two entries beneath are from the 1929 in The Bible:

We went to Ireland for a fortnight at Easter [March 31]to Glengarriff Co. Cork. We went via Cunarden from Liverpool to Cork S.S. Samaria back by S S Scythea. Enjoyed the journey very much. Dot – Honor Hamilton there. We did a lot of boating and in the summer [went to Combe Honitan]

We went to stay with Dorothy at Dernasliggaun [&] Leenane Co. Galway right in the wild – on the sea – fishing & boating – Honor Hamilton’ cousin Jack Elliot[?] died in India which was when there. NOTE: This cousin may have been Eliza Jane HAMILTON (1866-1929) who died in Bombay March 24th, widow of J. HAMILTON. Thanks to novelist Laura McKENNA, I learned that Dernasliggaun [&] Leenane are both on the Fjord of Killary in Galway.

I have a foggy memory of having seen Dorothy’s name beside Barony House, Glengarriff in the Valuation Office Revision Books in Dublin, but I can neither find my note of that, nor of any images I might have had, and the records for the Republic of Ireland are not available online.

Nov 23, 2010. Chariot of Life sculpture by Oisín Kelly outside the old Valuation Office site. With no notes about Glengarriff, the reins of memory are non-existent.

The Bantry Estate Collection, 1671-1980s  at UCC has records that Rachel LEIGH-WHITE’s family had owned Barony House – referred to as Glengarriff Lodge in their collection - for generations.  Rachel may be key to why Honor and Dorothy may have ended up living there. Honor Beryl HAMILTON’s probate indicates a close relationship with Rachel LEIGH-WHITE.

Rachel Veronica Rose Leigh-White of Ahakista Durrus Co. Cork. The townland of Reenacappul, Parish Kilcrohane, Barony West Carbery (West Division) [SEE: Map]

In much family research it helps to follow the money. In Ireland it is even wiser to follow the land.  Soon, I hope to be in Cork and see the land records in the Bantry Estate Collection, 1671-1980s. In the meantime, there are other documents, timelines and land holdings of Honor worth exploring. For example, a March 18, 1939 newspaper clipping: Miss H. HAMILTON Barony, Glengarriff shows that Honor is still at Glengarriff a decade after Amy had visited.

Six years after this, Honor and Dorothy were  both now at 8 Sussex Square, Paddington along with Dorothy’s widowed mother - Amelia JACKSON (1851-1944) - and their staff.

8 SUSSEX SQUARE, Paddington, London in 1939 “census” – done to issue identity cards.

List of Household members (12 people) NOTE: Amelia’s birthdate was actually 1851. First name(s) Last name(s) Birth date Occupation Marital status Amelia Jackson 23 Feb 1881 Private Means Single Dorothy F Jackson 26 Jul 1889 Private Means Single Emily Grover 29 Mar 1874 Housekeeper Married Colleen (Joan) Chachly 05 Oct 1923 Domestic Servant Single Callis Lionel R Briggs 23 Jul 1907 Butcher Single Annie (Sarah) Sessions 14 Sep 1882 Domestic Servant Single Eileen (Eurlen) Humphries (Humphreys) 02 Dec 1912 Domestic Servant Single Raddie Jones 02 Mar 1923 Domestic Servant Single Edith B Hollick 12 Jun 1877 Ladies' Maid Single Honor B Hamilton 03 Jan 1893 ? Income Single Joan (H C) Murray (Chalkley-Collins) 05 Oct 1923 Domestic Service Single

Bear in mind that Honor might only have been visiting 8 Sussex Street - not living there – after all,  I was recorded as residing in Dublin in the 2016 Irish census while merely visiting:

Census results reveal that both Dorothy and Honor were members of a similar well-monied class. The household help recorded at Dorothy JACKSON mother’s home in 8 Sussex Sq. was similar to Honor’s family’s staff in Wiltshire as recorded in both the 1901 census and the 1911 Census. Both women grew up with the services of butlers, footmen, valets, cooks, maids, etc … (bearing in mind that this list only includes the live-in staff).

1911 Census Great Somerford, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England

First name(s)	Last name	Relationship to head	Marital status	Sex	Age	Birth year	Occupation	Birth place
Edmund C	Hamilton	Head	Married	Male	43	1868	Private means	Canada Quebec
Adelaide	Hamilton	Wife	Married	Female	36	1875	Private means	Canada Quebec
Honor	Hamilton	Daughter	Single	Female	18	1893	Private means	Co Meath Dunboyne
Blyth	Ritchie	Visitor	Single	Male	34	1877	Captain 15th builders	Glos Clapton
Amy	Luce	Visitor	Single	Female	30	1881	Private means	Wilts Malmesbury
George	Phillips	Servant	Widower	Male	52	1859	Butler domestic	Glos Falfield
Ernest	Hillier	Servant	Single	Male	23	1888	Footman domestic	Wilts Chiltoe
Arthur	Clark	Servant	Single	Male	29	1882	Footman domestic	Wilts Malmesbury
Thomas	Pope	Servant	Married	Male	31	1880	Valet domestic	London Hackney
Julia	Kelly	Servant	Single	Female	42	1869	Cook domestic	Kildare Kildham
Harriet	Usher	Servant	Single	Female	34	1877	Maid domestic	Essex Desham
Gertrude	Bates	Servant	Single	Female	39	1872	Housemaid domestic	Stafford
Mariel	Miles	Servant	Single	Female	19	1892	Housemaid domestic	Wilts Malmesbury
Elsie	Salter	Servant	Single	Female	21	1890	Housemaid domestic	Wilts Malmesbury
Lilian	Burden	Servant	Single	Female	19	1892	Housemaid domestic	Wilts Malmesbury

The JACKSON’s Sussex Square family home was bombed sometime between Oct. 7, 1940 and June 6, 1941. Just prior to this, Amelia had moved in with her eldest son Sir Thomas Dare JACKSON (1876-1954) at Herringfleet, Suffolk. The house may have been empty. Where Dorothy or Honor might have been when the bombs fell on Sussex Street, we don’t yet know.

L-R Sir Thomas Dare JACKSON, Nancy Amelia JACKSON (1924-2000), Julius Lloyd JACKSON (1922-1943), Thomas Rickard Eyre JACKSON (1921-1944) and Mary Vivian Vera Massey JACKSON née LLOYD (1891-1975). NOTE: Both sons died before the end of WWII.

Honor’s Irish upper-class roots begin in the early 1600s when the Scottish Hugh HAMILTON (1590-1671) settled at Bangor, Co. Down. Three generations later, his great grandson, Alexander HAMILTON (1690 to 1768), served as an MP for Killyleagh, Co. Down. He was in the Irish House of Commons at the same time as several of the JACKSON M.P.s that Dorothy’s father - in a 1912 speech in Forkhill, Co. Armagh - claimed to have shared kinship with (but his claim has yet to be proven). SEE: JACKSONs of Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry. The HAMILTON family story is an ongoing tale of successful mill owners, merchants and politicians whose success played out on several continents, not only in Ireland.

 A description of the wedding of Honor’s parents at St. Mary Abbots Church, Kensington, which was typical for their class, was published in the Lady's Pictorial Feb 27, 1892. Two of their bridesmaids were “cousins” Miss Eva HAMILTON and Miss Maud [?] HAMILTON – attired in Gainsborough gowns of ivory-white corduroy with long trains, over ivory satin petticoats and bodices swathed with turquoise-blue velvet…. with reception held at De Vere-gardens, Kensington Palace, after which the newly weds then departed for Paris and the Riviera. Like her sister Letitia, the painter of Honor, Eva was also an acclaimed painter: SEE: Ceilidh at Dunboyne, 1919–1919

Eleven months later, Honor Beryl HAMILTON was born on Jan 3, 1893, at the HAMILTON’s ancestral family home at Hamwood, Dunboyne. Co. Meath. Although there is no record of her birth certificate on GRONI or elsewhere, there was a birth Announcement which at least included both where and when she was born:

HAMILTON, January 3, at Hamwood, Dunboyne, County Meath, the wife of E.C. Hamilton, 3rd King’s own Hussars, of a daughter. The Belfast Weekly News. January 14, 1893.

Hamwood had long been home for many of Honor’s ancestors. The Dunboyne Church of Ireland Church and Graveyard – Monumental Inscriptions include the names of dozens of them, starting in the late 1700s and continuing until the 1970s (the  inscriptions were recorded in 1977).

Charles HAMILTON (1738-1818) had built the original Hamwood in Dunboyne, Co. Meath and two generations later, his grandson, Robert HAMILTON (1822-1898), who had prospered in a timber business in Canada, built a second home called Hamwood in Quebec (630 Chemin  Sainte-Foy). Three generations of Honor’s ancestors were born there, including Honor’s father Edmund Charles HAMILTON (1868-1922). When Honor was born at the Co. Meath Hamwood, it was owned by Charles Robert HAMILTON (1846-1913), a 2^nd cousin of Honor’s father.

The Hamiltons and Hamwood House, Dunboyne, Co. Meath.

Hamwood House: Hamwood is a smaller Palladian house of the 1770s, near the town of Dunboyne on the borders of Meath and Kildare, with a central block joined to little octagonal ‘pepper-pot’ wings by elegantly curved sweeps. Unusually, the left hand wing contains the main entrance, since it is said that the house was so cold when built that the family decided to move the hall door as far from the main rooms as possible. The resulting effect is interesting, since the principal facade lacks a central feature and looks more like a garden front. Internally this has allowed the creation of a double drawing room that runs along the entire length of the facade, an unusual feature in a house of this size. Hamwood’s builder, Charles Hamilton, acted as land agent for the Dukes of Leinster whose principal seat, Carton, is nearby, and the duke made him a present of the impressive flights of granite steps leading to the doors in the end pavilions. Successive generations of the family acted as the Leinsters' agents until the present owner's father, Charles Hamilton, retired in the 1970s. There is good late 18th century decoration and an interesting family collection.

Hamwood House in Quebec: an architectural echo of the original Hamwood House

Following the land leads us to a second property connected to Honor, Luttrellstown just outside Dublin. Honor was mentioned in connection with this property in the November 25^th 1931 edition of The Tatler, No 1587, in The Letters of Eve -  a popular society column begun in May 1914 in The Tatler. The column was written as if it were the correspondence of the fictional Hon. Evelyn Fitzhenry to her friend, Lady Betty Berkshire:

Honor’s father bought the property from Luke Henry WHITE, 3^rd Lord Annaly, and in a memorial in 1919 finalized this purchase. Long before this purchase, HAMILTONs had been recorded as parties in several other Luttrellstown transactions. It is significant that this property had been bought and sold more than once along with several clusters of other holdings also held by HAMILTONs in other counties. NOTE: The 560 acre Luttrellstown Castle estate occupied the entire townland, of Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock], Co. Meath. 

Pertinent Memorials of Deeds (Feel free to skip over all these details)

·         19 Oct 1768. ROD: 267- 425-172640. Image 236 Lands of Clony otherwise Clonee [Clonee, Parish Trim, Barony Lower Moyfenrath, Co. Meath] called or known by the name of the WOOD’s … for lives of William ESSINGTON late of Clonee aforesd Gent Richard WARD Eldest Son of John WARD of Gilltown Co. Kildare Gent & James Archibald HAMILTON Son of Gustavus HAMILTON late of the City of Dublin Esqr & who was formerly Major in the Lord Tyrawly's Regiment of Dragoons. ·         18 Nov 1768 ROD: 271-35-173311. Image 24. BTW John Stewart HAMILTON of Donemanaghin [Dunnamanagh, Parish Donaghedy, Barony Strabane Lower] Co. Tyrone Esqr of the one part and Catherine JOHNSTON [née GILL (1709-1794)] of Henry Street in the City of Dublin Widow and Administratrix of Richard JOHNSTON [1710-1758] late of Gilford Included being lease for lives renewable forever from Henry LUTTEREL of Luttrelstown [in Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] in the Co. of Dublin Esq . deed : and also all that and those the Towns and Lands of Lowe Bennally [Binnelly, Parish Donaghedy, Barony Strabane Lower] otherwise Bennalty and Stoney folds otherwise Stoney falls [Stonyfalls, Parish Donaghedy, Barony Strabane Lower] situate lying and being in the Manor of Elliston and Parish of Danahey Barony of Strabane and Co. of Tyrone afores . also all that share and proportion of the Lands of Mellytore otherwise Morefield [?] otherwise Merryval [NOTE: Moorefield House is in Ballybrack, Parish Killiney, Barony Rathdown] situate in the Barony of Coolock and Co Dublin … and also that part of the Lands of Taggard [possibly Saggart, Parish Saggart, Barony Newcastle] Commonly Called DINNEYs farm situate in the Barony of Newcastle Co of Dublin ·         31 August 1819 ROD: 744-234-506570 Image 128 [NOTE: The preceding deed ROD: 744-233-506568 involved Gawin William Rowan ROWAN-HAMILTON (1783-1834) and was probably connected.] BTW Luke WHITE of Woodlands [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] in the Coy of Dublin Esqr of the first part Thomas WHITE Esqr Colonel of his Majestys County of Dublin Regiment of Militia Eldest Son and Heir apparent of the said Luke WHITE of the 2nd part … the Towns and lands of Luttrelstown Diswellstown [Diswellstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Esker [Esker North  and/or Esker South, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle]  Huntstown [Huntstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock]  Hartstown [Hartstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]  Bally Owen [Ballyowen, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Devilsmills [NOTE: The Devil's Mill (also known as the Anna Liffey mill) is a historic mill site located in the Strawberry Beds area of the St. Catherine's Park/Lucan region in County Dublin. It sits at the bottom of Tinkers Hill alongside the River Liffey, directly opposite the Luttrellstown Estate - Astagob (Clonsilla), Parish of Clonsilla, Barony Newcastle]  Great Kellystown [Kellystown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Little Kellystown Barberstown [Barberstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]   Cappa [probably Cappoge, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock]  Barnhill [Barnhill, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] , Astagob [Astagob (Clonsilla) and/or Astogob (Castleknock) ] Slaps owise Slips Carpenter 's town Saltwood acuse Saltwood [?] and Febblestown wise Fiblestown Owise Pheblestown [Hansfield aka Phibblestown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]  Clonsillagh [Clonsilla, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Ballydand [Ballydowd, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Costaheny [?]Rishanstown ourse Kiskinstown [?] Barnaceit ourse Barnaquetch [?] Porterstown [Porterstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] & West fallstown [possibly Westpalstown] with their & every of their Rights members & appurtences.. NOTE Sheephill is also in Parish Castleknock. ·         27 Sept 1861 ROD: 1861-30-28 Link 387 BTW Luke WHITE of the Grange in the County of Dublin M.P. and Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Longford Regiment of Militia [Luke WHITE (1829-1888) 2nd Baron Annaly] of the one part and William SMYTHE Esqr Methven Castle Perthshire and Ralph Erskine SCOTT accountant Edinburgh Alexander HAMILTON W.S. Edinburgh [probably Alexander HAMILTON L.L.B. W.S. (Writer to the Signet – ie a solicitor) born 1797 died 1 Jan1884, late of Edinburgh. Obit Dundee Evening Chronicle] John Beatson BELL Glenfarg W.S. Edinburgh and James ADAMS Sol Supreme Court of Scotland Edinburgh Trustees for and on behalf of the English & Scottish Law life assurance association of the other part Whereby after reciting that by Indenture 17 Aug 1857 BTW Henry WHITE [Henry WHITE 1791-18731st Baron Annaly] of Woodlands in the County of Dublin Esquire Colonel of the Longford Regiment of Militia and father of the said Luke WHITE of the first part the said Luke WHITE of the second part and Thomas Orde LEES and Henry COSGRAVE of the third part the Manor and estate of Luttrelstown ors Woodland [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and the several other Lands and heredits Luke WHITE did thereby grant convey and assign unto the said William Smythe Ralph Erskine SCOTT Alex HAMILTON John Beatson BELL and James ADAM their heirs and assigns Firstly all that annuity or yearly sum or rent charge of £1,000 by the said Indenture of 17 Aug 1857 charged upon and payable out of all that and those the Manor of  Luttrelstown orse Woodlands [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and the rights and appurts thereunto belonging and the Towns and Lands of Luttrelstown orse Woodlands Diswells town [Diswellstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Huntstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock]  Hartstown [Hartstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Devilsmills [NOTE: The Devil's Mill (also known as the Anna Liffey mill) is a historic mill site located in the Strawberry Beds area of the St. Catherine's Park/Lucan region in County Dublin. It sits at the bottom of Tinkers Hill alongside the River Liffey, directly opposite the Luttrellstown Estate - Astagob (Clonsilla), Parish of Clonsilla, Barony Newcastle] Great Kellystown Little Kellystown [Kellystown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]- Barberstown [Barberstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Cappa [probably Cappoge, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Barnhill [Barnhill, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Astagob [Astagob (Clonsilla) and/or Astogob (Castleknock)] Slaps orse Slips Carpenterstown Scaldwood use Salwood Febbletown otherwise Tebblestown otherwise Phebblestown orse Hansfield [Hansfield aka Phibblestown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Clonsellagh orse Clonsilla [Clonsilla, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Cashahery [?] Kishamstown otherwise Kishinstown [?]  Barnageethouse [?] Barnaquetch [?] and Porterstown [Porterstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] situate in the of Castleknock and County of Dublin and also upon and out of the Town and Lands of Esker [Esker North  and/or Esker South, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle]  Ballowen [Ballyowen, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Ballydowed [Ballydowd Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Westmanstown [Westmanstown, Parish Rathcoole, Barony Newcastle], & Clonburras  [?] otherwise Clonburrows [?] situate in the Barony of Newcastle and County of Dublin and all other if any Lands and heredits comprised in the said Indenture of 17 Aug 1857 ·         1915 Oct 14 ROD: 1915-45-224 Image 98 BTW The Right Honourable Luke Baron Annaly . ( thereinafter referred to as Lord Annaly ) of the one part and The Honourable Luke Henry WHITE ( then Known Luke WHITE) … all those 169 equal undivided 400th parts or shares of or to which he Lord Annaly was seized or entitled of and in all that and those mansion House Known as Luthellstown Castle being part of the Townland of Woodlands , together with the pleasure grounds Garden American garden and premises containing together 16a or thereabouts statute measure and also all that and those the Towns and Lands of Luttrellstown otherwise Woodlands [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and Devils Mills [NOTE: The Devil's Mill (also known as the Anna Liffey mill) is a historic mill site located in the Strawberry Beds area of the St. Catherine's Park/Lucan region in County Dublin. It sits at the bottom of Tinkers Hill alongside the River Liffey, directly opposite the Luttrellstown Estate – Astagob (Clonsilla), Parish of Clonsilla, Barony Newcastle]  Kellystown ( part of ) [Kellystown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Barberstown ( part of ) [Barberstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]  including its sub denomination of Kishington [?]  Astagob 1 part of ) Hansfield otherwise Phibblestown [Hansfield aka Phibblestown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Consilla ( part of ) [Clonsilla, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Castaheany (part of ) [Castaheany, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]  Barnhill ( part of ) [Barnhill, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and Porterstown (part of) [Porterstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] situate in the Barony of Castle Knock and also all that and those the Town and Lands of Ballygower ( part of)  Westmanstown (part of) [Westmanstown, Parish (possibly) Clonsilla, ,Barony Castleknock] and St Edmonsbury (part of) situate in the Barony of Newcastle all in the County of Dublin ·         14 Sept 1915 Image 99  ROD: 1915-45-225 BTW The Right Honourable Luke Baron Annally thereinafter referred to as Lord Annaly of the one part and The Honourable Luke Henry WHITE 1 now known as and thereinafter called Luke WHITE of Holdenby House Northampton of the other part whereby by Recitals it appeared that by the joint effect of an Indenture of settlement thereinafter referred to as Lady Annaly settlement 23 Jul 1884 and the other Indenture specified in the First Schedule thereunder written and in the events which have happened divers Townlands and other lands in the Baronies of Goman [Gowran ] Callan [Callan] or Kells [Kells] Ida [probably Iverk] Fassideneen [Fassadinin] Grark or Knocktopher [Knocktopher] in the County of Kilkenny in Ireland and in the Barony of East affaley [East Offaly] in the County of Kildare and in the Barony of Moyfurath [Lower Moyfenrath] in the County of Meath and in the Barony of Coolock [Coolock] in the County of Dublin and in the Barony of Idrone East [Idrone East] in the County of Carlow and in the Counties of Tipperary and Waterford and certain Estates in England ·         1919 Dec 4. ROD: 1919-70-13 Image 10 1919 Nov 19 (registered 1919 Nov 4) BTW the Right Honourable the third Baron Annaly and hereinafter called Lord Annaly of the first part The Honourable Luke Henry WHITE of Holdenby House in the County of Northampton ( the eldest son of Lord Annaly and thereinafter and hereinafter called Mr WHITE) of the second part and Edmund Charles HAMILTON of Luttrellstown Clonsella [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Co. Dublin late a Major in his Majestys Army … therein mentioned Indenture mortgage of the 15 Sept 1915 and from all monies thereby secured Schedull First all and Singular the Mansion House known as Luttrellston Castle [in Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]  and the messuages cottages lands covered with water tenements and hereditament specified in the plan thereto annexed and thereon closed and surrounded by a red verge line such red Verge line running down the road marked on the said plan as on all sides bounding on and enclosing the said premises except only that for a small portion of the Eastern side of the parcel marked on the plan Rabbit Warren at the South Eastern corner of the premises thereby conveyed the said Verge line doth not run down a road nor for that portion are the premises thereby conveyed bounded by a road.

Three years after Honor’s father bought the Luttrellstown property, he died unexpectedly. Various sources, including Find-a-Grave, recorded varying death dates of his demise, but the 1922 May 26 Wiltshire News of March 7, 1922 seems to have the most reliable death date.

An inquest, held three days later, was reported in the Evening Standard 1922 March 10.

Three years after her father’s death, Honor Beryl HAMILTON had been staying at Luttresall Castle when a necklace was reported stolen in an IRA raid [1925 Dec 2 Irish Times].  At the time, she was thirty-three years old, and single. Nothing more is known.

Months after this raid, a Mrs HAMILTON – presumably Honor’s mother - was recorded in the 1926 Irish Census as the employer of a farm labourer, John REID, at Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock aka Luttrellstown. She herself was probably living in England. Honor is not recorded being anywhere in Ireland in this census.

 In 1927, soon after Hon Ernest GUINESS (1876-1949) had purchased Luttrellstown he gifted it to his daughter Aileen PLUNKETT (1904-1999) - one of the "Golden Guinness Girls". For decades, she hosted her lavish hunt balls, and house parties there until she sold it in 1983

In 1916, the Hon. Ernest Guinness, a member of one of Ireland’s most illustrious families, visited Luttrellstown Castle with his daughter Aileen and her friend. It was there, while seated in the enchanted ‘wishing chair’, that Aileen declared her dream of one day living in the grand castle. A decade later [1926], in a gesture of profound love and secrecy, Guinness purchased Luttrellstown from Major E.C. Hamilton’s widow and, upon his daughter's return from her honeymoon, handed her the key to her new home with the words, “You are going to need it, you keep it, this is your home now.” SOURCE: Facebook post on Luttrellstown

For more background, see: The Sale of the Century and The Fascinating History of Luttrellstown as well as a Map of Luttrelstown which gives a sense of the grounds surrounding the Castle.

So many questions remain. Why had Honor’s father bought it the Luttrellstown property in the first place? Was it a bargain because of the political unrest? Had the WHITEs already decamped because of the risks? Presumably Honor and/or her mother sold it because they could no longer envision living there.

About a decade after the sale and a few years after the bombing of 8 Sussex Square, Honor was reported in the Westminster and Pimlico News, June 25, 1943 at Elizabeth Street, Pimlico:

These two sightings of Honor - in the 1939 census and then in the 1943 news item - bracket the date when Barony House was sold. Honor HAMILTON, Dorothy JACKSON and Rachel LEIGH-WHITE had the means to purchase it, Dorothy had continued to live there but by then she was with her new partner Dorothy Mary FITCH (1907-1981) née WETHERED. She may have been there either as an owner or a renter. Once I can source the property transfer records I will update this section.

Later news items, such as the one in The Times Pictorial from May 1955, now describe Honor living and giving garden tours at her home at Ahakista, Duras, a 37 minute drive away from Glengarriff. This is where she was living when she died.  She was one of those women of her social class who had opened their gardens to the public to raise funds for the Jubilee Nurses Pension Fund, a charity also supported by Rachel LEIGH-WHITE and the GUINESS family.

Other mentions in 1956, 1957 and 1959, a year later, continue to show that fund raisers were not a one-off for her. The Mrs. Owen GUINESS – née SMITH-RYLAND, mentioned in several such articles, often did these fund-raising teas with her. She was the wife of Owen Charles GUINESS (1894-1970), the 2^nd cousin of Ernest GUINESS (1876-1949), the one who had purchased Luttresallstown Castle. The following mention in the Irish Times May 7 1956 also includes mention of a showing of paintings by Honor’s aunt Lettia HAMILTON, the painter of Honor at the piano.

News articles, census reports and land transactions can only help us to nail down some of the outlines of the Who, What, Where and Whens of Honor’s life. They don’t help us with the Whys of her life, but at least they can be a start to understanding some aspects of her life and the lives of other “spinsters” of her class, those who like her also tended to move in clusters of connection, much like their family’s overlapping land transactions.

CONCLUSIONS & MEANDERINGS:

CLASS: For years now, I have been hosted in Ireland by people from every possible class. Some were from old money. Some from new. Some lived in castles. Some on vast estates. Some lived in small houses or apartments, and more than one of them gave up their own bed and slept on the couch while I overnighted. What they had in common was a generous spirit, the same spirit that I know informed the life of Dorothy St. Felix Jackson – and probably that of most of her friends.

As for my own understanding the lives of the upper class, I come to it as an outsider. My parents never owned a house or a TV and only occasionally owned a car. When my father died, he bequeathed his total estate for me to handle as executor – without instruction – so I split the entire $10,000 bequest evenly between myself and my four brothers. $2,000 each. Three of us used it to travel to Ireland in the following month, and one of my brothers took some of our father’s ashes in a wee baggie to leave there.

As an outsider exploring the life of Honor, I can’t help but notice how the inter-tidal zone of her ancestor’s land transactions was part of the key to their success as members of the ascendent merchant class. Back and forth, the members of the HAMILTON, JACKSON, ROWAN, HILL, BERESFORD, GUINESS continuously borrowed, and sold, and shared properties with each other. They also retained wealth because they sustained a social life which laid the ground for economically beneficial marriages. They enjoyed hunt parties, grouse shooting parties, and tea parties, and such events often led to lengthy stays in each other’s homes which in turn led to sustained friendships.

It was this mix of social wealth and land-based wealth which then opened the doors for them to gain high offices – being M.P.s and the like - not only in Ireland but also in Canada, America, Hong Kong, England. In such offices, the men held the title, but the women supplied the glue, the behind-the-scenes-power. While the men went to prestigious colleges, members of Honor’s female ancestors had been schooled by governesses who were acclaimed in their own right – governesses such as Sydney Owenson,  Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maria Edgeworth. When they grew up, they had learned not only how to handle the inevitable household staff, but also had the advantage of seeing the modelling of female independent minds. Not to be sniffed at.

The social connections of Honor HAMILTON included “cousins” of the BLACKWOOD, and GUINESS families, both of whom were distant relatives of the United Irishman Archibald ROWAN-HAMILTON (1751–1834). For a while, I had wondered if he and Honor were related, but seemingly not by blood. Only by class. Still I do wonder if the combination of both her name and her social class had afforded her some level of protection when living in Luttrellstown at a time when wealthy Protestants such as herself had felt the need to flee.

IDENTITY: While in the mulling stages of writing this post, I read Francis Fukuyama’s Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, a book that I had found in the book bin at our recycling depot. As Faulkner said: The past is never dead. It's not even past. Even so, some things do move on. In the time of Aristotle, dignity and identity were only for the upper crust but now it has morphed into becoming a commonly accepted human need and has in my lifetime been written into more legislated respect for race, sexual orientation, gender, language, religion and more. It was a mix of the French Revolution, Rousseau and even Marx that opened the door to the expectation of respect for all kinds of personal identities." People don't have ideas. Ideas have people." Carl Jung once said or to put it another way: “Ideas we don't know we have, have us.”  James Hill.

Already by the mid-1900s, Irish identity had become an object of pride, to be celebrated. In the recent past, this had not been so universally felt. Also, the religious identities of being Protestant, Catholic or none of the above had become much more accepted in Ireland. Even so, it took longer for the identity of being gay or lesbian to become similarly acceptable. The demands for dignity and acceptance are continuing to be a work in progress. Protests against immigrants and intolerance against certain kinds of minorities have metastasized across the political landscape of many nations with sometimes terrifying ferocity. When women like Dorothy, Honor and Rachel were living as spinsters - in the grey zone of maybe lesbian or maybe not – they were still regareded as less-than. To what extent did the benefit of their class and wealth over-ride this?

MIGRATION and ROOTS. The impacts of migration on individuals can be complex, and as Simone Weil laid out in The Need for Roots, roots do matter, and how we are free to express them also matters. It is often the small details which can be the most telling. For example, one of my brothers named his business Armagh Forest Products Inc., despite that he had only ever visited Armagh, the home of our ancestors. The name spoke to him. Similarly, Charles HAMILTON named Hamwood House in Quebec and Sir Thomas JACKSON named Creggan in Hong Kong. One foot in the present; one foot in the past

Although the previous generations of Honor’s family had settled in places such as Canada, America and England, it is intriguing that her parents chose to have her born in Ireland. In a house belonging not to them, but to a cousin. Also curious that a few decades later, after years of living in England, her father bought his own heap (as my Gilford Castle relations call such buildings) at Luttrellstown.

As for the rootlessness of Dorothy’s family, half of her eight siblings had been born in either Yokohama or Hong Kong, while half were born - as she had been - at their home in Oakbank, Chislehurst, a suburban district in south-east London. Her own mother had been born to an English merchant family in Singapore, while her father had been born in Co. Leitrim (albeit raised in Co. Armagh). Despite an early footloose life, Dorothy choose to live most of her later life in Glengarriff. Did she know something about the ancestral presence of her family that I have yet to discover or did she move there simply for love? This continues to fascinate me.

RELATED RESEARCH ON MY WEBSITE.

·         Sir James HAMILTON of  Fynnart, Scotland. His descendants include Honor Beryl HAMILTON. It also shows that some of her friends such as some of the members of the BLACKWOOD family were also “cousins’. Her aunt Letitia Marion HAMILTON (Irish artist) 1878 – 1964 included in this tree, was also a key person in her life.

·         Rev Hans HAMILTON (1536-1608). His descendants include Archibald ROWAN-HAMILTON, the famed United Irishman. His line does not include Honor Beryl HAMILTON, but there are other overlaps.

·         Links to tables of Deeds Research.  The list to the right of the map indicates how recently these images were updated. HAMILTONs can be located by doing a page search with the key word: ‘HAMILTON’ in the time frame of interest. For example, Later Deeds-1851-1920.

POSTSCRIPT:

Hon John HAMILTON (1827-1888) and Ellen Marion WOOD (1837-1872), both died in Quebec. They were the grandparents of Honor Beryl HAMILTON

 HAMILTON v. DUNNE. BETWEEN: ANNE HAMILTON Plaintiff and CHARLES ROBERT FRANCIS HAMILTON AND FRANK DUNNE Defendants. 1982 WJSC-HC 818A. No. 4687P/1979. THE HIGH COURT

Major Hamilton, the first defendant, and his wife Anne Hamilton, the plaintiff, and their two children live at Hamwood House, near Dunboyne, County Meath, a property comprising 215 acres with a residence, a gatelodge, a steward's house, a garden cottage and out-offices. There are roughly 180 acres of good arable land well sheltered by woodlands and with gardens and lawns. Major Hamilton has a valuable herd of Charollais cattle which he has himself bred and Mrs. Hamilton has thoroughbred horses and mares from which she breeds foals for annual sale. They engage in market gardening. Their daughter and son are now both over 21 years. The property has been in the Hamilton family since 1760 and Major Hamilton's forebears were land agents of the Dukes of Leinster. When he and Mrs. Hamilton came to live there in 1961 the house and farm were not in very good condition as his father, who was an old man, had not kept them up. Each of them devoted a lot of time and personal work and attention to the property then and since, and both have become very attached to it as a home. The thought of leaving it is disturbing and distressful to each of them, but particularly to Mrs. Hamilton.