Favour Royal (previously known as Portclare) is a manor and estate in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is located in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Favor Royal Demesne, around east of

Augher Augher (from ga, Eochair meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the County Monaghan Border and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clog ...

, close to the Irish border. It is within the parish of Errigal-Trough which is part of the historic barony of

Clogher Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and ...

History

Portclare was granted, in 1613, by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

to Sir Thomas Ridgeway, a prominent figure in the plantation of Ulster. Samuel Lewis recorded Ridgeway's grants as comprising of arable land and extending over the present towns of Aughnacloy and

, including the districts of Lismore and Garvey, with all the intermediate country. In 1622 Ridgeway sold Portclare to Sir James Erskine, younger son of

Alexander Erskine of Gogar Alexander Erskine of Gogar (died 1592) was a Scottish landowner and keeper of James VI of Scotland at Stirling Castle. Career Alexander was a son of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret Campbell, a daughter of Archibald Campbell, ...

. In 1665, ownership of the manor of Portclare was confirmed to the Erskines by Charles II, under the name Favour Royal. The estate was subsequently divided between Sir James Erskine's two granddaughters. Favour Royal comprises one part, while the other, lying to the west of Augher, is known as Spur Royal or Augher Castle. St Mary's Church of Ireland, Errigle - geograph

St Mary's Church of Ireland, Errigle - geograph

John Moutray married the Erskine heiress of Favour Royal, and the original house was built by them in 1670. In 1816 the Moutrays briefly employed a local boy, John Hughes, as an apprentice gardener - Hughes would go on to become the Catholic Archbishop of New York in 1842. The old house was destroyed in 1823 by an accidental fire, and was replaced with a larger structure by Captain John Corry Moutray of

Castle Coole Castle Coole (from ga, CúlLogainm
– Castle Coole – scanned record 2) is a

. Captain Moutray commissioned the architect

John Hargrave John Gordon Hargrave (6 June 1894 – 21 November 1982), (woodcraft name 'White Fox'), was a prominent youth leader in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s, Head Man of the Kibbo Kift, described in his obituary as an 'author, cartoonist, inve ...

to design the new building, which was completed in 1825 in a

Tudor revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style. Captain Moutray also commissioned the building of a private chapel on the estate, consecrated on 3 July 1835, which is now the parish church of St Mary's, Portclare. Favour Royal continued to be the family home of the Moutrays until 1976, when the house, demesne and contents were sold. It was occupied until the 1990s but is now derelict. The demesne comprised of fertile and highly cultivated land, and is finely diversified and richly wooded. The house is situated on the bank of the River Blackwater, and is built of freestone found on the estate. It is embellished with a noble portico, and with elegant architectural details. The demesne includes an ornamental lake and an 18th-century walled garden, and is listed on the Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest. More recently it has been planted with coniferous forestry by the Forest Service Northern Ireland. Favour Royal Forest is one of Ireland's Millennium Forest sites. Several planning applications were submitted for permission to restore Favour Royal as a hotel and golf course, but these expired, and the house was on the market in 2013.

References

External links

*
Photos of Favour Royal on FlickrPeople’s Millennium Forest Derrygorry & Favour Royal
{{Forests and woodlands of Northern Ireland Grade B+ listed buildings Country houses in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Tyrone Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest Forests and woodlands of Northern Ireland

History

See also

References

External links