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HOUSE HISTORY
Ballintemple: Dark Knights, Blue Bells
Major Piers Butler had been living in America for close on 20 years when he embarked on his first return trip to his Irish homeland in the summer of 1785. Life on the 41-year-old Carlow man’s plantations in South Carolina had been increasingly awkward ever since the outbreak of war between the colonists and the British Redcoats who sought to govern them. Major Butler would be among those who gathered in Philadelphia to sign the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Shortly before he embarked on his journey across the Atlantic, he wrote to a friend of his excitement at seeing his birthplace once again. 'Ballintemple! What an Irish name!'
Baile an Teampaill & the Knights Templar
Ballintemple is of course an Irish name, an Anglicized version of Baile an Teampaill, indicating that Major Butler’s family home stood upon the site of a sanctuary or settlement attached to an ancient temple. Little remains of this temple today but Lewis’s invaluable Topographical Dictionary of Ireland states that, in 1837, there was at Ballintemple “the ruins of an old church, beautifully situated on the margin of the River Slaney”. All the signs suggest that the original temple at Ballintemple belonged to the Knights Templar. This extraordinary, often controversial military order was established by the Papacy in 1119 to protect pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. King Baldwin II of Jerusalem permitted them to keep their arms in the Temple of Solomon at the rear of his castle; hence the name 'templar'. By 1129 they had come under the influence of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian Order. He established the orders’ hierarchy, greatly increased the membership and created a code, binding the knights to vows of poverty and celibacy. The Templer code decreed that no knight retreat unless outnumber by more than three to one. The Knights reputation and strength grew with astonishing speed over the 12th century. By the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, they were the wealthiest Order in Europe, boasting their own merchant navy and several major financial institutions. As the vanguard of Europe’s crusading armies, the Order inevitably became well acquainted with the philosophies and ritual secrets of their Muslim and Judaic brothers. This may have inspired the Christian leaders to conspire upon the Order’s downfall. On Black Friday 13th October 1307 the Pope, then captive of King Philip of France, excommunicated all members of the Knights Templar.
The Legacy of William Marshall
The Knights first arrived in Ireland in the wake of the Norman invasion of 1169, initially settling at Templetown, County Wexford, but gradually securing strongholds throughout Ireland from Templemore, County Tipperary, to Temple House, County Sligo. During the early years of the Norman conquest, Carlow formed part of the Irish inheritance of the great Norman magnate, William Marshall. Shortly before his death in 1216, he was made an honorary knight of the Order. It is my belief that William Marshall donated the lands at Ballintemple to the Knights Templar for use as a sanctuary. The site made practical sense. The nearby village of Aghade, one of the few fordable points across the Slaney, was an important pass between the Norman strongholds of Wexford and Dublin. One of the benefits of being a Templar was exemption from payment of the hefty toll taxes levied at fords such as Aghade. Working in conjunction with the Cistercians at Duiske Abbey, the Knights of Carlow built castles at Killerig, Leighlinbridge, Bagenalstown and Tullow. Over the course of the 12th century their power and wealth soared throughout Europe. On Black Friday 13th October 1307, King Philip of France launched a campaign to eliminate the all-powerful Knights Templar from the contest. The Pope, a prisoner of Philip, conceded to their excommunication on allegations of on the grounds of heresy, immorality and rampant corruption. Untold thousands were swiftly arrested and imprisoned; hundreds were burned at the stake. Many fled underground or joined the army of Robert the Bruce in Scotland where they would go on to play a pivotal role in securing an epic victory for the Scots over the English at Bannockburn in 1315. And then they disappeared, almost without trace.
Sir Thomas Butler of Cloghrennan
Although the history of the Knights Templar was much censored over the course of the Middle Ages, their stories rapidly became the stuff of legends. It seems likely that their name still conjured a great deal in popular imagination when their former sanctuary at Ballintemple was granted to an off-shoot branch of the great Butler House of Ormonde. In 1564 Wiliam (Roo) O'Nolan of Kilbride granted all his possessions in Ballintemple to Sir Edmund Butler. (A History of the O'Nolan's, Art Kavanagh & Fr. John Nolan, p 260). More information on William can be found in that book but suffice it to say, he was pardoned for being in rebellion with the Butlers in 1559 and 1566. (William may have been William of "Ballywilliamroe" townland next to the the ruins of Ballymoon castle).
Sir Edmund was father of both 'Black Tom' Butler, the Earl of Ormonde and Sir Thomas Butler of Cloghrennan. Sir Thomas was Sir Edmund's illegitimate son but, with Black Tom, grew up in England in the same household as the future Queen Elizabeth. Loyalty to the Houses of Tudor and Stuart paid off when Thomas was elevated to the peerage by Charles I in 1628. In due course, he found himself centre stage of the Confederate Wars. His cousin, the Earl (later “Great Duke”) of Ormonde convened a large royalist Confederate army at his castle at Cloghrennan (near Milford) in 1649. The army was duly annihilated by the English at Rathmines and Cloghrennan Castle blown apart by Cromwel’s canons. Sir Thomas and his wife, Lady Anne, were arrested and held prisoner in Kilkenny Castle. Lady Anne later recalled the waters of the River Barrow filled with the bloated carcasses of slaughtered innocents.
The Great Duke & Sir Thomas Butler, MP
The restoration of Charles II and the House of Stuart in 1660 would have stood the Butler family in good stead. Sir Thomas’s cousin, the Earl of Ormonde, was created Lord Deputy of Ireland and, in 1682, elevated to the Duchy. Would this enlightened soul not have rewarded his long-suffering kinsman with a grant of lands, perhaps even the lands on which the Knights Templar once gathered? The lands at Ballintemple had been part of the vast estate purchased by Ormonde’s forefathers in the late 14th century. The Duke must have been aware of the Knights Templar, perhaps through his friendship with Charles II. In 1680 he founded the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham as a home for wounded army pensioners. Symbolic or not, Kilmainham was itself a former stronghold of the Knights. The family survived the upheavals of King James II’s fall in 1691 intact, no doubt helped by their Protestant faith. Sir Thomas’s grandson, Sir Thomas Butler, 3rd Bart, of Garryhunden, represented Carlow as an MP from 1692 until the death of Queen Mary in 1703. His sister Arrabella Butler married John Warren, MP for the Borough of Carlow in 1689, son of Henry and Elizabeth Warren of Grangebegg Co Kildare. After Arabella's death, John Warren married secondly Katherine Walsh (whose sister was married to Morgan Kavanagh), a Catholic. Warren was subsequently attainted as a Jacobite supporte rand lost significant land holdings in Carlow around Ballon and Tullow.
The Construction of Ballintemple House
The chief hazard of writing the history of Ballintemple House is that scant little information about the house survived its burning in 1917. Thus we do not know when it was built, who built it or even which of the family commissioned it. That said, it is my belief that the original house of Ballintemple was built for Sir Richard Butler, 5th Bart, father of the Major Butler who fought in the American Revolution. He stood as MP for Carlow from 1729 to 1761 and married a cousin of the Duke of Northumberland. 18th century MPs were wont to devote their latter years to overseeing the construction of magnificent new homes that might reflect their lifetime achievements for centuries to come. Such properties were erected throughout Carlow at this time – consider Burton Hall (1730), Viewmount House (1750), Beechy Park (1750s), Duckett’s Grove (pre-Gothic, 1760s) and Browne’s Hill (1763). Sir Richard was a man of considerable wealth and political prowess. He would have required a sizeable house for a family of four sons and six daughters and perhaps, as befitting the age, he decided to build a new home at Ballintemple. It is certainly relevant to note that the parish records in Aghade state that (Major) Piers Butler was born 'at Ballintemple' on 11th July 1744. All that remains of Ballintemple today is a classical portico through which the Butler family and their guests once entered and exited the big house. It seems likely that this stylized entrance was a later addition to the Georgian building, probably added in the wake of the Act of Union when the landed gentry began rebuilding and updating their houses with renewed vigour. An estate of some 6500 acres centred on Ballintemple came into the possession of Sir Thomas Butler on the death of his father, the 7th Bart, in 1817. His eldest son and heir, another Sir Thomas, wrote an intriguing journal chronicling his time with the 56th Regiment in the Crimean War while a young man.
A 1780 Election Notice: Lady Butler of Ballintemple in the County of Carlow, being informed that several of the friends of her family have lately been solicited for their Votes and Interests, as if a General Election was shortly expected, humbly takes the liberty of requesting all those who have formerly honoured the BUTLER FAMILY with their protection and support, to hold themselves disengaged until they can be properly consulted with respect to such an event-----------Ballintemple, Nov. 10th 1780. (Pat Purcell Papers).
Sir Richard and Alice Mease
Life went full circle for the Butlers when one afternoon in 1899 a young American heiress introduced herself to Sir Richard Butler, 10th Bart, as Alice Mease, great-great-granddaughter of Major Piers Butler. Between 1895 and 1945, one hundred and four British peers married Americans. Sir Richard was among the early ones. In June 1906, the two married; their grandson is Sir Richard, the present Baronet. Alice wrote of Ballintemple as 'one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen ... it had a thousand acres and three woods: the upper, the middle and the lower. In front of the comfortable Georgian house rose a high terraced bank of rhododendrons which, when in full bloom, and the sun setting behind them, looked like a red river. At the bottom of the third wood flowed the River Slaney, somewhat like a s Scottish river, tumbling over brown mossy rocks and full of salmon … In the spring the woods were literally carpeted with bluebells, the bluest and largest I have ever seen, often having fifteen bells on one stalk'.
Ballintemple at the Turn of the Century
Surviving photographs indicate that Ballintemple was a three storey Georgian house of much elegance. Above the ground, there were 25 rooms, the principals likely set aside as bedrooms for family and guests, drawing room, dining room, library, nursery and so forth. A large basement supported servants quarters, pantries, laundry, cellarage and other fundamental basics to the running of a good household. The cleanliness, sustenance and education of the Butler family was orchestrated by a sizeable team of tutor, housekeeper, cook, parlour maids, housemaids, footmen, valets and – of course – the Butler’s butler. Fruit and vegetables was supplied from a 4 acre walled garden a half mile from the house, secured from rabbits by a wall 12 foot high and 4 foot thick.
The Butlers were progressive landlords, keen to enhance the quality of their lands and so improve the lot of their tenant farmers. At its peak, the farm was one of the most complete in the south of Ireland, comprising farm house, dairy, laundry, stables, forge, saw mill, stables, three sunken cottages and several cottages for farm labourers, gardeners, grooms and - eventually - a chauffeur. Wheat, potatoes and other crops were grown on the land; livestock was primarily sheep and pigs. In the early 20th century, Sir Richard Butler, began breeding a large herd of black Aberdeen Angus whilst simultaneously cultivating a smaller herd of Clydesdale shire-horses. It is believed more than twenty families derived their income from working at Ballintemple right up until its tragic burning in 1917. At peak times such as hay-making, potato-picking, harvesting and threshing, dozens of seasonal labourers were also recruited.
The Burning of Ballintemple
The burning of Ballintemple in 1917, attributed to a plumber’s blow-lamp and dry-rot filled rafters, was a great loss to Carlow’s architectural legacy. The shell was later demolished and only the 19th century portico remains. Subsequent confiscation’s and compulsory purchases by the Irish Land Commission whittled the Butler estate down to a few acres and a former garden house. But the Butler family continue to view Ballintemple as an intrinsic part of their family heritage in the 21st century. Sir Richard Butler has been concentrating on the opening of several fishing lodges along the banks of the Slaney; his eldest son, Tom, is developing a modest organic farm. Standing at Ballintemple today, listening to the rushing waters of the Slaney one is carried back through the course of time to an age when, perhaps, veterans of the Crusades ambled along these same forested riverbanks, their feet carpeted in bluebells and wild daffodils.
For further information on Ballintemple today, follow this link - Ballintemple : Ancient World, Ancient Fish
See also www.ballintemple.com
OBITUARY TO COLONEL SIR THOMAS BUTLER, 12th BART, OF BALLINTEMPLE, BY MICHAEL PURCELL (APRIL 1994).
Colonel Sir Thomas Butler Bt. who died on the 9th April last was the 12th Baronet Butler of Clogrennan, County Carlow.
He was born in Carlow in September 1910 at a time when the family doctor was out riding with the Carlow Hunt , upon been told of the impending delivery the doctor replied " tell them to delay the event until we've killed the fox".
The Butler family settled in Carlow circa 1500. At one time they owned over 30,000 acres of land and several houses in Carlow. The late Sir Thomas maintained a home at Ballintemple and up to a short time before his death at the age of 83 he was fishing on the Slaney river with his friend Robin Eustace Harvey.
During the Second World War Thomas served with the Grenadier Guards and was engaged in action in France and Belgium. Following the surrender of Belgium his mixed force of several surviving Guards battalions, with no transport or weapons, withdrew to France from where they set sail to England.
He was then posted to Damascus and the Western Desert as an officer with the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) for his gallantry during the battle of Mareth in 1943.
Butler was the commander of the company leading the attack on the elite German Infantry 90th Light Afrika Korps, which shortly before had been under the command of General Erwin Rommel, holding the Mareth Line. His battalion passed through minefields and mined wire whilst encountering the enemy whom they fought with small-arms fire and bayonets. Half of Butler's company was wiped out and during the battle he was wounded twice.
He was taken prisoner along with two fellow officers by the Germans . The two officers were later shot dead as they attempted to escape. During his captivity Butler was nursed back to health and later made several attempts to escape.
Finally following the surrender of Italy, Butler along with another officer managed to escape from the Modena prisoner of war camp. He had to walk for over 400 miles, still in pain from his injuries , criss-crossing the Apennines in freezing conditions before meeting up with the advancing British army.
In 1946 his Battalion provided firing squads to carry out the death penalty on German war criminals. Having learned of the extent of their criminality he had no sympathy for those sentenced to death by the War Crimes Commission. When he returned to London after the war he found that his London home had been demolished during a German air raid on the city.
In 1952 Butler was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General, London. In 1953 under the command of The Earl Marshall for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, he had responsibility for administration and quartering of the 16,000 Commonwealth officers and troops who were in London to take part in the Coronation ceremony.
In 1954 he was invested with the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.). Following the death of his father, Pierce Butler, in March 1955 Thomas succeeded to the title 12th Baronet Butler of Clogrennan. In 1957 he became Lieutenant Colonel in command of the Grenadier Guards. He visited Thailand as military advisor to the Thai army, reviewing troops and inspecting military installations. In 1959 he was appointed to head the defence staff of the High Commissioner in New Zealand.
His next post was as Resident Governor of the Tower of London where he lived with his family in the Queen's House, which had been built for Anne Boleyn and was said to be haunted by her. Following the State Funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965 Thomas was in charge of receiving the coffin into the Tower for loading on a barge to carry the remains up the river Thames to Waterloo Station.
In 1967 he oversaw the transference of the Crown Jewels to the newly built Jewel House.
In 1968 he held the office of Keeper of the Jewel House and kept the keys in a secret place in the house. During his time as Resident Governor of the Tower many people from Carlow experienced his hospitality and were often taken on "inside" tours of the Tower. Some local lads from the Carlow branch of the FCA recall such a welcome on one of their visits to London.
In 1966 Corona Lecky-Watson from Altamont House and her new husband Garry North on their honeymoon slept in Anne Boleyn's bed as guest of Thomas and his wife. I am grateful to Corona and her sister Diana Lecky-Watson Curtis for much of the information contained in this obituary
In 1970 Thomas was invested as a Commander, Royal Victorian Order (C.V.O.).
Following his retirement as Governor in 1971 Thomas and his family returned to Ballintemple where, despite the fact that his family home had been accidently burnt down in 1917, he spent many healthy and happy years fishing, wildfowling and enjoying the company of his family and friends. He was an advisor to the Imperial War Museum in London and was also active in charitable work on behalf of the Cheshire Homes. He was the author of three publications " Tower of London" " The Crown Jewels and Coronation Cermony" and "Crown Jewels and Coronation Ritual", they are now collectors items and are much sought after.
He is survived by his wife, Rosemary Liege, daughters, Caroline and Virginia and his son, Richard Pierce Butler who now succeeds to the title of 13th Baronet Butler, of Clogrennan County Carlow. M.P.
With thanks to Alice Beresford, Sir Richard Butler, Wendy Elliot, Mick Purcell, Roger Nowlan, Susie Warren & Denis Bergin.