Godfrey
The Godfrey family were granted in 1668 the confiscated
Spring
estate of
Kilcolman Abbey,
near
Milltown,
Co.Kerry.
They built a new house,
Bushfield House, before 1700.
Sir William Godfrey, 1st Baronet,
born 1739,
of
Bushfield, Kilcolman, Milltown, Co.Kerry.
See
wikipedia.
He
mar 15 Aug 1761 to
Agnes Blennerhassett
[born 12 Oct 1740,
descendant of
Edward III].
Marriage settlement dated 15 Aug 1761.
Registered 7th of [possibly November] 1763.
See
[Godfrey Papers].
Marriage settlement
wit by "George Cashel".
He
must be
George Cashell
of
Rathanny, Co.Kerry,
the son of Agnes' 2nd cousin
Sarah Rowan.
Bushfield House was destroyed by fire c.1774.
William soon after re-modelled a nearby tower house to live in.
High Sheriff of Co. Kerry 1780-1781.
MP for
Tralee
1783-1790.
He was
cr Baronet 1785.
He kept a mistress and had about 10 natural children.
He and Agnes separated.
Agnes died 1799.
He
died 23 Jan 1817 (or 19 Jan), age 78 yrs.
Sir William and Agnes had issue:
- Sir John Godfrey, 2nd Baronet,
born at Elmgrove, 17 June 1763.
He built a new house at Kilcolman, called Milltown House,
later called Kilcolman Abbey (or Kilcoleman Abbey).
Ancestor of Godfrey, Baronets.
- Rev. William Godfrey,
born at Elmgrove, 22 December 1764.
Rector of Kenmare, Co.Kerry.
He mar 1796 to Lucy Day
and had issue.
- Arabella Godfrey.
She
mar 11 August 1798
[Kilcolman CoI par records]
to
Rev. John Day
and had issue.
Bushfield House, Milltown, Co.Kerry.
From
p.187
of
[Taylor and Skinner, 1777].
Kilcolman Abbey, Milltown, Co.Kerry, on
1829 to 1842 map.
Kilcolman Abbey.
From here.
The house was demolished in 1970s.
It is now vanished and a housing estate built on the site.
See modern map
and street view
of entrance to estate.
References
Sources yet to be consulted
- Godfrey deeds and papers, 18th-19th century.
In private possession in Ireland.
- Godfrey papers, 18th-19th century.
In private possession in UK.
- [NLI].
Reports on Private Collections. No. 471.
"Report on Godfrey papers, letters & other materials relating to Godfrey & other families in Kerry, including Day & Coltsmann, 1778-1865".
- Articles by
Valerie Bary, Irish Ancestor.
- "Household Lists 1826-1838 made by Lady Godfrey of Kilcoleman Abbey, Co. Kerry". XI (1979), 30-44
- "The Hunting Diaries (1863-1872) of Sir John Fermor Godfrey of Kilcoleman Abbey, Co. Kerry". XI (1979), 107-118 and XII (1980), 13-25
- "The Godfrey Papers",
series of articles by
Valerie Bary and Jane Spring,
Journal of the KAHS.
- The Godfrey papers: abstracts of the eighteenth-century deeds. XX (1987), 32-78
- The Godfrey papers: abstracts of deeds, 1800-1839. XXI (1988), 42-101
- The Godfrey papers: abstracts of deeds, 1840-1848. XXII (1989), 35-60
- The Godfrey papers: abstracts of deeds, 1850-1858. XXIII (1990), 48-68
- The Godfrey papers: abstracts of deeds 1860-1898. XXIV (1991), 72-94
- GODFREY on
p.62
of
[Smith, 1756].
- John G. Knightly research:
- "Eleanor Godfrey - a tradition of landlord philanthropy".
Journal of the KAHS ser. 2, II (2003), 87-102.
-
"The Godfrey estate during the Great Famine".
Journal of the KAHS Series II, V, 2 (2005), 125-153.
- "The Godfrey family and their estate". PhD Thesis, UCD, 2009.
- "The evolution of a Kerry demesne, 1730-1830: Kilcoleman Abbey, Milltown",
in [Bric, 2020].
