The Londonderry Arms Hotel in Carnlough was built in
1848 as a coaching inn by Frances Anne Tempest, Marchioness of
Londonderry. She was the grand-daughter
of Randall William, sixth Earl and second Marquis of Antrim. He was the great
great grandson of Sir Randall MacDonnell, the first of that branch of the
MacDonnells to bear the title Earl of Antrim.
She inherited from her mother, Anne Katherine, Countess
of Antrim in her own right, land between Glenarm and Cushendall, including
Carnlough.
At the age of 19 she married Charles
William, Lord Stewart, the British Ambassador to Austria, later the third
Marquis of Londonderry and sometime affectionately known as fighting Charlie.
As Ambassador he assisted his half-brother Castlereagh, and afterwards the Duke
of Wellington in the negotiations of the celebrated Congress of Vienna. Lady
Londonderry was greatly admired at the Russian Court and the Russian Emperor,
Alexander I, gave her some of the Londonderry family jewels - the Down diamonds
and the parture and cross.
Conscious of their responsibilities as
landlords, the Marquis and Marchioness of Londonderry were determined to
provide assistance for the people of the area.
Ireland at that time
was suffering one of the greatest tragedies in its history - The Great Famine,
also known as the potato famine.
They initiated the erection of a town hall, lime
kilns and the building of a protected harbour. Later a mineral railway line was
built to connect the south pier with the limestone quarry in the hills rising behind
the village.
The Marquis died in 1854 and on the death of
Lady Londonderry in 1865 the Carnlough estate passed to her son Henry the fifth
Earl. After his death in 1884, the estate passed to her grandson Herbert Vane
Tempest who was tragically killed in a train accident in Wales in 1921. After
his death the estate, including the hotel, passed to his second cousin, Sir
Winston Churchill.
In 1934 Winston Churchill sold the hotel to the
Lyons family. During the Second World War part of the hotel was commissioned by
the Army to allow for the recuperation of wounded soldiers; after the war in
1946 Mr Lyons sold the hotel in several lots which considerably reduced its
size.
In this cabinet was a full champagne and cigar
belonging to
Sir Winston Churchill.
For 60 years the hotel has been owned by the
O'Neill family who are the longest established hotelier families in
Ireland.
I have another piece of interesting Irish history
surrounding this hotel which I will tell you about on Wednesday.
Many thanks for visiting
and also for leaving any comments.
