Land Ownership in Newry and Mourne

Conditions of sale of part of the Ballymoyer Estate, Co Armagh, 22nd August 1919

Ballymoyer House and Estate had been in the hands of the Synnot family since the 18th century. The house was rebuilt in the early 19th century and the family continued to add to their estate. By the late 19th century, it totalled over 7000 acres.

Ballymoyer Estate, Co Armagh 1919

Ballymoyer Estate, Co Armagh 1919

R.J. McCombe in Newry, c.1930s

R.J. McCombe in Newry, c.1930s

Major General Arthur FitzRoy Hart adopted the name Hart-Synnot when he married Mary Synnot. Their son, Brigadier General Arthur H.S. Hart-Synnot, sold parts of the estate to its occupying tenants prior to 1919, under the Irish Land Acts.

This document relates to the sale of small portions of land in the townlands of Knockavannon and Ballintate. The Conditions of Sale include rights of way for Brigadier General Hart-Synnot and the purchasers through the property to be sold.

Ballymoyer House was later demolished and Brigadier General Hart-Synnot gave the demesne to the National Trust in 1938.

Map of property owned by R.J. McCombe in Newry, c.1930s

One of the major sources for the history of Newry is the Reside Collection's property maps. Many of these are exceptionally detailed, often showing property leased by landlords, tenants' names and occasionally, the descent of various properties.

This map was drawn by Samuel Wilson Reside, Major Reside's father. It shows property owned by R.J. McCombe in the inter-war years along Sandy's Street, Talbot Street and Stream Street near St. Patrick's Church in Newry.

The map shows that much of this area had been leased by two of Newry's chief landlords - the Earl of Kilmorey and the Marquis of Downshire - to the Glenny family, an important merchant family in the town during the 18th and 19th centuries.

By 1920 this property was owned by R.J. McCombe. The McCombes of Newry were a successful business family in the mid 20th century.


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