Lismore Castle Papers

Context

Creator(s): Lismore Estate, Irish Estates of the Dukes of Devonshire

• Administrative History ↴

  Lismore Castle was the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire in Ireland. William, the 4th Duke of Devonshire (1720-1764) married Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754), heiress of the 3rd Earl of Burlington and through this marriage the Irish estate mainly situated in counties Waterford and Cork became part of the estates of the Dukes of Devonshire. The Irish estates were administered from Lismore Castle, Lismore, County Waterford by agents living and working from Lismore Castle and responsible for all the Irish estates of the Dukes of Devonshire with a sub-agent located in Bandon to administer the lands and properties located in the areas surrounding Bandon in county Cork. The seat of the Dukes of Devonshire is Chatsworth in Derbyshire, England. The Dukes visited Lismore on occasion, in particular, to hunt and fish but were not permanent residents of Lismore Castle. Instead, the estate was administered by agents who were closely supervised by the Dukes of Devonshire through a series of detailed and, in some cases, daily, correspondence. During the period covered by these papers there were a number of holders of the title of Duke of Devonshire who held the Lismore estates. William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (1748-1811) who married Lady Georgiana Spencer; William Spencer Cavendish, the 6th Duke (1790-1858), known as the “Bachelor Duke”, who extensively remodeled Lismore Castle. The estate was then inherited by the 7th Duke, William Cavendish (1808-1891) who married Lady Blanche Howard, granddaughter of the Duchess Georgiana. Spencer Compton Cavendish 8th Duke (1833-1908) who married Louise von Alten. Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke (1868-1938) who married Lady Evelyn Fitzmaurice and Edward Cavendish 10th Duke (1895-1950) who married Lady Mary Cecil. For more information on the Dukes of Devonshire please see www.chatsworth.org.uk The agents for the duration of these papers were Colonel William Currey (1817-1839); Francis Edward Currey (1839-1885), assisted by his son Chetwode H. Currey; Robert H. Power (1885-1895); James Penrose (1895-1921) and Edward Beecher (1921-1936). During the 1930s Charles Cavendish, son of Victor , 9th Duke was resident at Lismore Castle and was managing the estate on behalf of his father and brother until his death in 1944. The sub-agents in Bandon were Alexander Swanston (c.1825-1852) and John R. Berwick (1852-c.1892). The Lismore estate became the Lismore Estates Company c. 1927 and members of the Cavendish family sat as members of the Board of the company. The company was administered with the assistance of Anthony Carroll, solicitor, Fermoy, co. Cork. Meetings were held to discuss the administration of the estate at Lismore Castle and in London.

• Archival History ↴

  This collection was held at Lismore Castle until 1983 when it was box listed by Anthony Malcolmson, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. The earlier part of the collection was transferred to the National Library of Ireland and these papers were transferred to Waterford County Library’s store in Lismore. The papers stored in the County Library in Lismore were transferred to Waterford County Archives in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford on its establishment in October 1998. In 2004 as part of a project to list the papers there was a meeting between Waterford County Archives and the National Library of Ireland to create a clearer method of dividing the parts of the collections held. A further visit was made to Lismore Castle to sort and collect papers that had not been removed in the 1980s and these were divided according to the method determined between WCA and NLI. Waterford County Archives holds the following: All Rental Books, Account Books and Legal Deeds from 1870 onwards Correspondence from 1885 (the end of FE Currey’s agency) Fishery records from any cases commenced after 1870 (any cases commenced prior to 1870 to be held in their entirety by the National Library) All Railway records All Tenant Application Books All Financial Vouchers Some records prior to the 1885 cut-off point were found inside the rental books or mixed among the financial vouchers and ledgers following the completion of the Descriptive List by the National Library of Ireland and, therefore, while prior to the 1885 date have been listed here.

• Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

  Permanent Loan