Christopher Fleming, 1st Viscount Longford and 17th Baron Slane (1669–1726), was an Irish peer and a member of the Irish parliament of 1689.

Career

Lord Slane was a Roman Catholic who had been educated in France at

University of Douai The University of Douai (french: Université de Douai) ( nl, Universiteit van Dowaai) is a former university in Douai, France. With a medieval heritage of scholarly activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started ...

. He was the only son of Randall Fleming, 16th Baron Slane and his second wife Penelope Moore, daughter of

Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda PC (I) (died 11 January 1676) was an Anglo-Irish peer, politician and soldier. Moore was the son of Charles Moore, 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda, by his wife Hon. Alice Loftus, the youngest daughter of Adam ...

and Alice Spencer. His father died when he was only seven years old and he was placed in the guardianship of his grandmother, the dowager Lady Drogheda, who petitioned the Crown to restore to him all lands forfeited by the family during the political troubles of the 1640s and 50s. He served as a colonel in the forces of James II during the 1689–1691 war in Ireland. He fought in such engagements as the Battle of Boyne and

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivale ...

, at the latter of which he was taken prisoner. After being released he went abroad and served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the French army. By 1704 he had joined the Portuguese army, where he served as a lieutenant general. Through this service he was reconciled to the British Crown; in 1709, his

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

was reversed by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. In 1713 he received a

royal patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

from Queen Anne naming him The 1st

Viscount Longford A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Death and burial

Lord Longford (as he then was) died at Fleming Hall, Anticur, in 1726 and was buried in the MacDonnell family vault in

Bonamargy Friary Bonamargy Friary is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, off the Cushendall Road on the approach to Ballycastle. The name Bonamargy means ‘foot of the Margy River’, the river formed by the joining of the Cary River and Shesk Rive ...

at Ballycastle, the burial place of the Earls of Antrim.

Children and succession

He left only one child, a daughter, Helen Fleming, who lived and died in Paris on 7 August 1748. She was unmarried and left no children. The heir to Fleming Hall and the barony was his nephew William Fleming, 23rd Baron Slane. He was the son of Thomas Fleming of Gillanstown in County Meath. William had a son Christopher Fleming, 24th and last Baron Slane, who lived at Fleming Hall and died there in 1771. He left as his sole heiress his daughter who married Felix O’Connor of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

. Following her husband's death, she sold Fleming Hall and moved to Craigs, Finvoy, and then to America.

Fleming Hall

Fleming Hall was purchased by the Leslie family, and was sold by them in 1847 to the Richards family, from whom it descended to the present owners in 2012, the Wallace family.Boyd

Sources

* G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. ''The Complete Peerage''. (London: St. Catherine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p. 19-21.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slane, Christopher Fleming, 17th Baron People from County Meath 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England 1669 births 1726 deaths Portuguese generals Members of the Irish House of Lords Barons in the Peerage of Ireland