Landed Estate

Genealogies of the Villiers and Westby families.

The Villiers family origin to Ireland begins with Captain Robert Villiers of the British Army, who was granted Castlefort House, Estate, Ireland, in 1765, containing over five thousand acres.

Capt. Robert Villiers, of England, married Anne Harrington (d.1788). of Somerset, England in 1756. The couple were in England for the birth of their three children as follows:

1 Sam Villiers, born 1757, Somerset, England. Sam Villiers married Katherine Westby (1758 – 1827), first daughter of Francis Westby of Point Pleasant House and Angela Scott of Knock Abbey Castle, in 1778, Kilbrack, Church of Ireland. Sam Villiers and his wife, Katherine, lived at Castlefort House. Sam was arrested in 1778, following the death of Chief Inspector Earl Southwell and for the murder of Eyre Westby, the husband of his sister.  Sam served sentence in Riverdale City prison, where he died. Sam and Katherine had one son:

George Villiers born 1780. George married (unknown) and the couple had a family. George was evicted from Castlefort House and along with his mother, Katherine in 1827. Castleford House Estate was taken over by the 7th Marquess Cunningham, who sold the estate to Baron Fitzgerald. George and his family left for Kilbrack, and little is known of where they went following. Katherine was taken in by her nephew, Sebastian Westby and lived with them at the West House until her death, later that year in 1827.

2 Susanna Villiers, born 16 April 1760, Somerset, England. Susanna married (first) Eyre Westby, only son of Francis Westby of Point Pleasant House and Angela Scott of Knock Abbey Castle on the 20 September 1760, Kilbrack, Church of Ireland. A pre-marriage agreement was put in place on September 10, 1760, between the Westby and Villiers family. Following her marriage, Susanna moved to Point Pleasant House and Estate, containing 3,306 acres. Her husband, Eyre was killed in a shooting during the annual hunt at Point Pleasant Estate on the 25 September 1787. Point Pleasant Estate fell to Susanna who took ownership and management of it. Following the imprisonment of her brother, and under her pre-marriage agreement, Susanna also took ownership of Castlefort Estate. In 1805, Susanna removed Castlefort estate from Point Pleasant holdings and signed it over to her brother Victor Villiers. Susanna and Eyre had the following children:

Stuart Westby, born 1781. Stuart married (first) to Elizabeth Worthington on the 20 March 1805. Elizabeth was the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Riverdale City. Stuart was heir to Point Pleasant Estate and his mother signed over his share on the 15 August 1805 and in September of the same here, his mother, Susanna, left Point Pleasant House and moved to the West House, to live with her second son, Sebastian. Stuart’s wife, Elizabeth died in childbirth in 1806, with their only son surviving and becoming heir to his father:  

Edward Westby, born 27 August 1806.

Stuart marries (second) to Agusta Whitehall in 1808 and the couple continued to live at Point Pleasant House, however the estate had amassed huge debts, which were paid off by Stuart’s mother, Susanna, who took over the financial management, however on discovering her son, was involved in the death of her brother and his wife, Susanna put Point Pleasant up for sale and sold it in 1827 agreeing a deal with the Marquess Cunningham, who had the property sold to Captain Theobald Hastings. Following the departure form Point Pleasant House, little is known of where Stuart and Agusta travelled to. The couple had the following children:

Jonathon Westby

Sarah Westby

Sebastian Westby, born 1783. Sebastian married Jane Burton, daughter of William Burton of Marone Estate and his wife Anne, on the 26 June 1805. William Burton had leased part of the estate of Point Pleasant from Susanna and lived in the West House. Following Sebastian’s marriage to Jane, the couple moved into the West House. Sebastian and Jane had the following children:

Harriet Burton-Westby, born 18 June 1807. Harriet developed a relationship with Edgar Evans, a writer from Riverdale City, which created scandal for the Westby family, as he attempted to write the story of Susanna Westby and the deaths of her husband Eyre Westby and Chief Inspector, Earl Southwell. The couple planned on fleeing Point Pleasant and getting married, however, her grandmother, Susanna had the relationship ended. Harriet Westby married Richard Parker in 1834. The couple had one son:

Frederick Parker, born 1837. Frederick was an adventurer and when he returned to Ireland, he married Frances Banhoff in 1887. The couple had a son:

Samuel Parker, born 1888. Samuel married Johanna Hotchin in 1915. The couple continued to live at the West House, on the western edge of Point Pleasant Estate and were still living there with their family in 1966.

Isabella Westby, born 09 October 1809. Isabella married Finbar Waitropp.

Eyre Westby, born 1785. Died 1805, following a shooting accident. No marriage.

Susanna Villiers Westby marries (second) to William Camwell, Magistrate on the 05 of May 1806. William Camwell was married previously to Isabella Southwell (d.1804), sister of Earl Southwell of Oakwood Estate and the Chief Inspector who Susanna had called to investigate the death of her husband. Susanna and William left Ireland on the 10 June 1806 for India, where they would spend the next twenty years living. William Camwell died on the 05 November 1826, India and following his death, Susanna departs and arrives in Ireland in July 1827. Susanna Villiers Westby Camwell died on the 15 July 1847, aged 87 years.

3 Victor Villiers, born 1762, Somerset, England. Victor marries Abigail Westby, second and youngest daughter of Francis Westby of Point Pleasant House and Angela Scott of Knock Abbey Castle, in 1783. Following the imprisonment of his brother, Samuel, Victor took over the management of Castlefort House Estate, under the guidance of his sister Susanna Westby, who later signed the entire estate over to him. A plot was devised against Victor to remove him from Castlefort House Estate by his two nephews, which resulted in Victor and his wife Abigail being tragically killed in 1805, from a carriage accident. The couple had no children.

Several references are made to Susanna’s outfits within the novel.  For the first eighteen months following the death of her husband she wore only black.  On her first meeting with Chief Inspector Earl Southwell, she wears a full length ivory dress with a black knee length jacket fitted to her waist with ivory black lace.  This represents her preparation for moving forward and the first time discussing her husband’s death.  On her attendance to the ball at Kilbrack House, she wears a blue satin regency ball gown with black embroidered bodice, complimented by a black silk shoulder wrap. Following her scuffle with Katherine Villiers and her brother Sam, she returns to Point Pleasant and is greeted by the arrival of her late husband’s cousin, the Honourable Mervin Scott.  Prior to meeting him she changes into dark blue full length dress with a white embroidered bodice and high lace neck line.

Kilbrack House:  lived in by the Stackpoole family, Kilbrack House is a large Palladian style mansion with a total of sixty-eight rooms.  It was built in 1720 when the Stackpoole family arrived in Kilbrack.  The house contains many spacious reception rooms, including the red and green drawing rooms, print room and a long gallery decorated in blue and gold. Steps lead to the grand entrance hall and its floor consists of black and white Italian marble with elegant Pompeian style pillars with intricate carvings of baskets of fruit lining both sides.  The oval shaped ball room is situated at the end of a long hallway with colonnade pillars on each side extending upwards to an arched ceiling decorated with large frescos.  On either side of the ball room are two spacious reception rooms. Kilbrack House is by far the most grandiose of all the houses in Landed Estate, followed by Castlefort House.  

Castlfort House: home to the Villiers, is a mixture of styles.  It is a house of elegance and grandeur, with its domed ball room extending high, its grand entrance hall with its impressive staircase spitting in two, along with its beautiful ballroom, and magnificent dining room.  Everything about Castlefort House shouts grandeur and the main idea for the house exterior comes from Powerscourt House in Co. Wicklow, a magnificent Palladian style mansion.

The West House: home to the Burton, Westby & Parker families.  This house is not based on any notable design, however this is a much smaller house with less architectural features and not classed as strikingly impressive house.  It is a large two story house with its front walls covered in ivy.  The most imposing feature is the white columns extending out from the main door. The house is the newest of the houses, built in 1770 and had not been lived in until 1787, when it was first furnished by William and Anne Burton, when they leased the house and 550 acres from Susanna Westby. What it lacks on its exterior it makes up for inside with its lavish furnishings and decorations.  In the Landed Estate, it is the only house to survive the changing times in Irish society. 

Estates: Point Pleasant House Estate and Castlefort House Estate are two of the main estates within Landed Estate, with Kilbrack House Estate getting a brief mention.  The sizes of the estates vary with the largest being Kilbrack Estate exceeding 25,000 acres.  Castlefort estate exceeds 5,000 acres with Point Pleasant having a total of 3,306 acres.  After Sam Villiers failed to lease from Susanna, she managed Point Pleasant Estate herself, less 550 acres that went with the West House, which she leased to William Burton of Marone Estate, an estate totalling 12,000 acres that he co-managed with his brother Oscar.  Following the conditions of the Will of Eyre Westby, husband of, Point Pleasant Estate was split evenly between her sons: one half to Stuart Westby and other half to Sebastian and Eyre Westby. 

This was one of the hardest chapters to write in the book along with the chapter on the annual hunt.  To set the scene it was important for the reader to be swept into the majestic Kilbrack house in all its grandeur. The annual ball held at Kilbrack House takes many months of preparation and the Stackpoole family use it to rally support for elections and fund raising for developments in the town of Kilbrack. The procedure of the ball had to be researched along with the type of dances and other activities that went on simultaneously throughout the night.  The opening minuet is danced by Mr. and Mrs. Stackpoole of Kilbrack house and then followed by couples in order of their rank.  The annual ball in the story is also the first time that Susanna attends without her husband, something she thought long and hard about.  It is a bold step on her part to have asked Earl Southwell, the Chief Inspector, investigating the death of her husband to accompany her, as he was not her husband and an outsider to the locality.  Her attire had to be right for the occasion and era, a blue satin regency ball gown with black embroidered bodice complimented by a black silk shoulder wrap.  The ball is the highlight of the year for the aristocracy classes, for it is a chance to be seen and for families to demonstrate their status and wealth.  

The local town of any size in Landed Estate is Kilbrack, a bustling country market town, based on the town of Kilrush, Co. Clare. The Town Hall stands in the centre square where the busy market takes place.  Four main streets radiate from the square with the widest and finest being Ellen’s street.  The town owes its prosperity to the Stackpoole Family of Kilbrack house especially to the grand pier that the family had constructed that served as a connection to Riverdale City.  We first get an insight into Kilbrack when Susanna Westby travels there to meet her friend and solicitor Edward Ryall, who has his law office on Ellen Street.  Following this, Earl Southwell marvels at the atmosphere of the town, something he remarks is missing from Riverdale City.  The town has other references throughout Landed Estate,  including the visit by Susanna and Earl to the annual ball at Kilbrack House and shows when Victor Villiers and his wife Abigail, leave the Town Hall after enjoying a local dramatic production sponsored by the Stackpoole Family.  Kilbrack is also the place where Stuart Westby met his wife Isabella Worthington who would accompany her father on business to the town from Riverdale City.   

During the period of Landed Estate, there were some notable manufactures of porcelain ware, for example Minton's and Spode that continue manufacturing fine bone china today along with Coalport, Royal Crown Derby, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood and Worcester.  

Porcelain originated in China and the name porcelain is often used interchangeably as China.  By the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) porcelain was being exported to Europe and during this period the blue and white wares were popular.  Europe first attempted to copy the production of China ware in the 16th century in Florence, Italy however it was not successful.  In 1742 England, the first attempt was made and in 1749 the first porcelain was manufactured using bone ash, leading to the first bone China.  This was later perfected by Josiah Spode, an English potter.  In Landed Estate, Susanna takes part in a stock count of tableware which are Minton & Spode, however on cracking one of the cups she orders a new set to be purchased.

Landed Estate Series has brought us all the way to India where research was required for the period of 1806 to 1826.  Company rule or Raj is the time of British rule in India that began in 1757 following the battle of Plassey, when Nawab of Bengal surrendered his kingdoms.  In 1773 the company established a capital in the region of Bengal called Calcutta.  In Pitt’s India Act of 1784, the Company fell under the control of the British Government who set out to stop the mass corruption and set new standards.  The Company rule lasted until 1858 and was abolished following the Indian rebellion.  The British Government continued to administer India now under the new British Raj.

Prior to 1830 the only way to travel from Britain to India was by sailing around the tip of South Africa and the journey could have taken from six to eight months.  Some of the best sources available are from many known journals of men and women while in India during this period.  The journals are from the wives of the East India Company officials and soldiers along with journals from members sent out on diplomatic missions and east India company civil servants. The diaries of the women give great insight into the life in India from a personal and family aspect, in addition to how they dealt with the difficulties of war.