Introduction

Castle Upton, just 12 miles from Belfast, in the picturesque village of Templepatrick, has a long and varied history. However, the site itself is equally intriguing as it is believed to have been the location of a priory belonging to the Knights Hospitallers.

“The present castle is built on the site of the Priory of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, an order of monks dating back to the time of the Crusades, whose exalted and chivalrous purpose was to deliver the Holy Land from the infidel Turks”

Belfast Telegraph 29th October 1919

The Knights of St John of Jerusalem

In the 13th century the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, established a fortified priory on this County Antrim site. The Hospitallers, as they were known, were formed in the 12th century with the aim of providing care for sick or injured Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.

By the 1120’s the Order of St John also took on a more military role, fighting in the Crusades and charged with the defence of the Holy Land.

The Priory

The Hospitallers arrived in Ireland in conjunction with the Anglo-Norman invaders. They were a powerful and influential organisation and were awarded tracts of land throughout the island to establish religious institutions with medical facilities.

The Priory of Templepatrick was the principal house in the Diocese of Connor, under the rule of St John the Baptist in Ards, County Down

“Arriving in Ireland in the wake of the Anglo-Normans, they received support and endowments from the invaders and in turn provided administrative acumen, fiscal competence and military service to the crown and colony.

More importantly, they maintained an oriental focus, an eastward gaze that ensured the Holy Land and its holy places were not entirely forgotten in medieval Ireland”

Soldiers of Christ (editors M Browne & C O’Clabaigh 2015)

Castle Norton

In 1610 the Norton family settled on the site and built the original manor house.

“An English officer named Sir Humphrey Norton became possessed of the religious house, and erected a castle, which was styled indiscriminately Templepatrick Castle and Castle Norton”

Black’s Guide to Ireland 1871

The surname Norton comes from the old English ‘norp tun’ meaning northern settlement.

In 1617 Sir Humphrey Norton was paying rent to the infamous Arthur Chichester at an annual rate of £16 10 shillings.

Arthur Chichester

Chichester was from Devonshire, but had to flee from there as he was involved in the robbery of a ‘Queens-purveyor’ (tax collector). However, as Elizabeth 1 had need of men of ruthless character he was pardoned and sent to Ireland.

“It was commonly remarked that whilst Elizabeth sent her eagles against Spain, she reserved her vultures for this unhappy country….”

F J Bigger, Ulster Journal of Archaeology Vol 10 No4 1904

Chichester laid waste to vast areas of land in the north of Ireland for his own gain. Even given the harshness of the times, Arthur Chichester was known for his butchery. He himself wrote

“I spayre neither house, corne nor creature…..sparing none of what quality, age or sex so ever; beside many burned to death, we kill man, woman and child, horse, beast and whatever we find”

Arthur Chichester

Constructing Castle Norton

It is thought that Norton used the ruins of the old church as a basis for the new Castle Norton.

“…we beheald materialles sufficient to finish a faire castle already built two stories high with greate Towres of flankers the worke of Humfrey Northon Lieutenant Lo: deputies foot companie, at a place called Tymple Patricke”

Plantation Commissioners 1610

Some historians believe that remnants of the old priory were incorporated into the rear courtyard wall. Others that the ancient refectory with its vaulted ceiling still survives in the castle’s lower storey.

“Of the ancient preceptory nothing remains, except what is within the walls of Castle Upton”

Samuel Lewis, Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837

Castle for Sale

The Sale of Castle Norton

However, the story goes on that Norton’s only child, a daughter, disobeyed her father and eloped to marry a dragoon sergeant named O’Linn.

Norton disinherited the girl, and on 28th November 1625 sold the castle and lands to Sir Harry Upton for £14,000.

The Uptons

The Uptons came from a town named Lupton in Devon. They arrived in Ireland with the English army seeking to seize any conquered land. Upton was a captain under the ruthless earl of Essex.

In 1628 Henry Upton married Mary Clotworthy, the only daughter of Sir Hugh Clotworthy. Clotworthy, another of Essex’s captains, had also been rewarded with substantial lands and became High Sheriff of County Antrim.

Henry and Mary renamed their home Castle Upton. They had a family of seven children. Their daughter Mary born in 1629, married Sir Hercules Langford, whom it is believed, Hercules Street (now Belfast’s Royal Avenue) was named after.

The eldest son Arthur, succeeded his father in 1642. He served as an MP representing Carrickfergus for 40 years.

In 1776 Clotworthy Upton was promoted to Baron Templeton. He had served in the household of Princess Augusta, widow of Frederick Prince of Wales. The ‘Templeton‘ name originates from old legal documents which refer to this area as Templeton – meaning ‘Templars town’. The family gained further prestige in 1806, becoming Viscounts Templeton of County Antrim.

The Upton family continued well into the 20th century but with the death of the 5th Viscount Templeton, without a male heir, in 1981, the title became extinct.

The Last Wolf?

In the 17th century a Clotworthy Upton had the dubious distinction of killing the last wolf in Ireland (though this is disputed by some).

A Compendium of Chronology written in 1823 by J Compton, states that Clotworthy Upton while out hunting with his Irish wolfhounds in 1692, came upon and slew the last wolf.

This happened on the Hill of Aughnabrack near Ligoniel (see post Ligoniel – The Village by the River). The name in Irish means ‘hill of the wolf’.

“The Burnt Ladies”

An interesting mention of Castle Upton is recounted in “The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613-1816” relating to the fire at Belfast Castle.

“April 25th 1708, the Castle of Belfast burned down, and the ladies Jane, Frances, and Heneretta lost their lives. This accident was occasioned by a servant, who left a fire of wood burning in a room which she was airing. A servant woman called Catherine Douglas and a daughter of Parson Berkley perished: Mary Taggart, a servant, made her escape thro’ the flames.”

As the Editor was anxious to verify a note given him by Rev. G. Hill, in which he mentioned that portraits damaged by fire of these unfortunate ladies were preserved by Lord Templetown at Castle Upton, and were called “The Burnt Ladies,” and as on enquiry at the Castle only one picture answering to the description was pointed out with the title “The Burnt Lady,” he wrote to the Viscountess of Templetown asking for further information, and received the following courteous reply:

“As to the portrait of the Burned Lady, so far as Lady Templetown knows it has nothing to do with the Chichesters, with whom the Uptons are not connected, but is supposed to be the portrait of a Miss Upton married to a local chief of the name of Dunn, who is supposed to have burnt her and her children in front of his own house.

The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613-1816 (M. Ward, 1892)

Renovation of Castle Upton, 1783

In 1783, another Clotworthy Upton employed the Scottish architect Robert Adam to renovate the castle inside and out.

Adam never actually came to Ireland but his designs included adding conical roofs to the two flanker Anglo-Norman towers on the north-east and south side of the house. He also added a new tower on the north-west and an additional wing.

To add to the ‘medieval castle feel’ Adam added mock machicolations (similar to a raised balcony with holes in the floor, built high on the side of a castle to allow defenders to deter attackers e.g. pouring burning oils over those below), tourelles (narrow circular towers attached to a main building), and a stepped parapet with a Maltese Cross motif (perhaps a nod to the Knights Hospitallers who were based in Malta from 1530 until 1798?).

A few years later in 1789, Adam drew up plans for a castellated stable block. This was based on the lay-out of the old Fish Market in Leith, Scotland. Today, this has been converted into a collection of luxury townhouses around a central courtyard known as Adam’s Yard.

The Hearts of Steel

In the 18th century, the Uptons were among several landlords to suffer the vengeance of the Hearts of Steel (see post – Who Were the Hearts of Steel?).

Lord Donegall, George Augustus Chichester was a notorious spendthrift (see post – The Story of Ormeau Park and its ‘Lost’ Mansion) and, to cover his debts, he imposed ‘fines’ and higher rents on his tenants.

Clotworthy Upton, like many others of his rank, followed suit, increasing rents to such an extent that tenant farmers, unable to pay, were forced off their lands. Rich speculative Belfast merchants then took over the lands, which they sub-let at higher rates.

“Clotworthy Upton, ancestor of Lord Templeton, another great Antrim proprietor, imitated his example, and at once the whole countryside were driven from their habitations”

F J Bigger The Ulster Land War of 1770, 1910

Many tenants felt they had no option but to take the law into their own hands. These were mostly Presbyterians of Scottish descent who had been ‘planted’ on Irish soil in an effort to quell rebellion from the now landless and impoverished native Irish.

“It is said that there is not a single Roman Catholic cess-payer in the parish (Templepatrick); the great majority of the inhabitants being Presbyterian”.

John Borbridge Doyle, Tours in Ulster 1855

Thousands of acres of lands on the Upton estate and Templepatrick were advertised to be let or sold in the Belfast Newsletter. This obviously roused outrage among the ex-tenants who banded together as the Hearts of Steel.

As well as damaging landlords’ property and cattle, they issued statements explaining their grievances. One such declaration enraged Clotworthy Upton to such an extent that he offered a monetary reward and 300 acres of land in America to anyone providing information that would lead to the conviction of the perpetrators.

“I do hereby, in order to bring such malicious and atrocious offenders to the severest punishment that the law can inflict, promise a reward of fifty pounds and 300 acres of land in the province of New York, rent free for ever, to any person or persons who shall, within six months from the date hereof, discover and prosecute to conviction the author or authors of such an infamous and audacious paper.

Castle-Upton, the 10th of August, 1771. C. Upton

Renovation 1837

In 1837 Henry Montagu Upton, 2nd Viscount Templeton, had the castle redesigned by architect and antiquary Edward Blore of London. He had mullioned windows inserted and redecorated the rooms in a Tudor-Elizabethan style. In the 19th century Castle Upton was described

“…the appearance is somewhat baronial and interesting and its extent rather considerable, of three floors and basement towers, four storeys with conical roofs with vanes, and with ornamental little machiocaled towers at its other angles, give to the building a singular and pleasing effect – which however, is not increased by its having been roughcast and whitened”

Ordnance Survey Memoirs, 1838

Prestige

During the 19th century Upton Castle was a renowned stately home.

“Of the many notable residences endowed with historical, social and artistic attractions in the North of Ireland, few occupy so important a position as Castle Upton”

Belfast Newsletter 14th October 1893

The interior was described as very grand with oak-panelling and a “time-worn standard and drum suspended from the balustrade of the gallery over the entrance door, the banner once belonging to the Templepatrick Infantry”.

Displayed in the inner hall, known as the organ room, were antique chairs, fine old china and family portraits.

The drawing room with its ornate ceiling was adorned with works of art brought from Italy, a grand piano, and a large Chippendale mirror a gift from Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.

Castle Upton for Sale

The Uptons sold the castle in the early 20th century. Subsequently it was run as a pig and dairy farm by Mr Henderson Smith.

In 1963 the mansion and 300-acre estate were purchased by Unionist politician Sir Robin Kinahan for £53,000.

More recently the castle has been resold and is in the process of being lovingly and painstakingly restored and will once again be a family home. (Note that this is a private residence & gardens, not open to public visits).

Castle Upton Grounds & Gardens

Surrounding the house were extensive grounds which over the years included a formal garden, an artificial lake, woodlands of lime and beech trees, an Italian garden, a bowling green and a walled kitchen garden.

There was also a dedicated walkway designed by Lady Elizabeth Templeton. This was a secluded romantic path between the trees; the ground laid with English moss. The pathway subsequently became known as Bessie’s Moss. The gardens were enclosed with a tall stone wall with a main entrance and an eastern gate and lodge.

“Opposite to it is the great fortified entrance to Castle Upton, and, for miles along the road runs the grey stone wall, from twelve to fifteen feet high, built by the Planter landlords with a dual purpose – to preserve and secure to themselves their ill-gotten possessions, and to keep at a respectful distance the rightful owners of all the plundered acres which it encloses”

Cathal O’Byrne, As I Roved Out, 1946

The Graveyard

Within the Upton estate is the old Templepatrick graveyard.

Robert Adam designed the Templeton Mausoleum here for deceased members of the Upton family. The construction, in the shape of a triumphal arch and decorated with Greek-style urns, leafy garlands and classical circular reliefs, is now a designated Grade A listed building.

Legend has it that the mausoleum is actually built on the site of an ancient church founded by Ireland’s patron Saint Patrick.

Other families buried here include McNeillys, Herdmans, Mc Burneys and Williamsons. Also interred here is preacher Josias Welsh, grandson of John Knox. Among the most historically significant graves in the old burial ground is that of United Irishman, William Orr (see post – William Orr – Trial and Execution 1797).

Castle Upton Today

Today Castle Upton and Adam’s Yard are private properties but the old graveyard and mausoleum are open to the public. Even a brief walk through the grounds gives a feeling of the opulence of these once magnificent gardens with their mature trees and lush planting.

The area has a sense of peace and tranquillity that underscores its exceptionally long history. The serenity is only disturbed by the raucous cries of the resident strutting peacocks!

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