U137 Bandon Estate Office, Rentals and Other Volumes
©Cork City and County Archives 2013
IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference:
U137
Title:
Bandon Estate Office (Doherty and Jones) – Rental Ledgers, Cash Books, and other Volumes
Level of description:
sub-fonds
Date:
1719 - ca 1964
Extent:
133 volumes, 4 boxes
CONTEXT Creator (1) Earl of Bandon Landed Estate
Biographical/Administrative History: Francis Bernard, an English settler, acquired Castle Mahon, near Bandon, in 1639. His son, Francis, who succeeded in 1690, held several high state offices, including Solicitor General (1711), and amassed a fortune which he used to purchase large amounts of land, much of it forfeited by those who had supported James II against William III, most notably the earl of Clancarty. Bernard's holdings, managed by his agent Nathaniel Dangger, included the town of Macroom and much land in west Cork. His son Francis succeeded in 1731 and greatly altered and added to the house and demense, renaming it Castle Bernard. His nephew James Bernard succeeded in 1783, followed by his son Francis in 1790, who became Baron Bandon in 1793 and Viscount Bandon in 1795. He was created Earl of Bandon in 1800, evidently in part owing to his support for the Act of Union. James Bernard succeeded as 2nd earl in 1830. He married Albinia, daughter of Charles Brodrick, archbishop of Cashel, of the prominent Midleton family. His younger son Charles Brodrick Bernard became archbishop of Tuam in 1867, while his eldest son Francis succeeded in 1856. The 2nd earl had had to grant substantial abatements for arrears of rent in 1849, following the Great Famine of 1845-49. For much of the 19th century the estate was managed, evidently not always well, by gentlemen-agents, who included the Reverends Samuel Beamish and Joseph Jervois, and the 3rd earl's brother, Henry Boyle Bernard of Coolmain Castle, Kilbrittain. The estate had grown to include lands in east Cork and Co Waterford, and in 1878 was estimated to contain nearly 41,000 acres. Most of the estate was in two large groupings known as the Eastern and Western Estates. James Bernard succeeded as 4th earl in 1877. He engaged Richard Doherty as his land agent, and he and his son Richard and business partner George Thomas Jones worked with the earl to reorganise the estate, with settlements being made in 1876, 1895, and 1896, including mortgaging of lands to Richard Wheeler Doherty. Much of the estate was sold to tenants under 1903's Wyndham Land Act. Castle Bernard was burned to the ground by an IRA raiding party led by Sean Hales on 21 June 1921. The earl himself was kidnapped for a few weeks and later settled in England. His distant cousin, Percy Bernard, of the Tuam branch, a distinguished RAF officer, succeeded as 5th and last earl in 1924, the title becoming extinct on his
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