Sir Arthur Rawdon, 2nd Baronet (17 October 1662 – 17 October 1695) was an Irish landowner. He built a large part of

Moira, County Down Moira () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the northwest of the county, near the border with counties County Antrim, Antrim and County Armagh, Armagh. The M1 motorway (Northern I ...

in the seventeenth century. Known as "Father of Irish Gardening" and "The Cock of the North", he was a keen

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, and brought over 400 different species of plant to Moira from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He played an active role in the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

. Following the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

he was involved in the raising of the

Army of the North The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...

, a Protestant force opposed to the Jacobite

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

Biography

His father was Sir George Rawdon, 1st Baronet. His mother was George's second wife Dorothy, daughter of

Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway The Rt Hon. Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway, PC ( bapt. 10 August 1594 – 26 June 1655), was an English politician, military commander, bibliophile and peer. Early life and education Conway was the eldest son of The 1st Viscount Conway a ...

. Rawdon was a Member of Parliament for

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and a general in the army of King

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

. Besieged at

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, he fell ill, but managed to escape, though his military career was at an end. He married Helena Graham, daughter of Sir James Graham of Airth. They had at least two children, John and Isabella. Rawdon inherited the lands at Moira after his father died. He rebuilt a mansion, surrounded by trees, sheep and huge gardens. On this estate, Arthur built the first hot-house in Europe. Rawdon was a botanist and imported 400 plant species from Jamaica, earning the name "Father of Irish Gardening". His garden had a labyrinth, ponds, and canals. The trees included the "Locust of Virginia" which was 30 ft high and had a trunk of at least a foot and a half in diameter. For two generations the garden was maintained.

Legacy

Today in Moira many places are named after Sir Arthur Rawdon, including Rawdon Court, off Main Street, Moira. Off Meeting Street there is Rawdon Place which is a housing street. Parts of the remains of his mansion are still visible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawdon, Arthur 1662 births 1695 deaths 17th-century Irish botanists Military personnel from County Down Irish gardeners Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Irish MPs 1692–1693 Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies Irish generals People from Moira, County Down