'Sir' Anthony

So on with 'Sir Anthony Colclough, it seems a useful exercise to try to place some historical context to his arrival at Tintern Abbey on the river Bannow in Wexford:

English monarchs:

Henry VIII king of England from 1509 -1547,

Edward VI king from 1547-1553,

Mary I queen from 1553-1558,

Elizabeth I queen from 1558-1603.

The dissolution of the monasteries took place between 1536 and 1540, later in the reign of Henry VIII, organised to a large extent by Thomas Cromwell who looked to the wealth of these religious houses disappearing to Rome and saw it as an opportunity to increase the wealth of the English crown, however it became a scramble for land and wealth almost out of control of the crown (Koenigsberger et al. 1989).

An extract from the chronicles of Tintern, publisher unknown at this time

The Chronicles of Tintern p85.

On March 26, 1541, the King writes from Canterbury to the Lord Deputy and Council in Ireland advising them to consider whether any of the late dissolved " freres Houses" are "mete (measured, or within a boundary JC) and necessary for our own use," and if so to reserve them, as he refuses to allow them to be leased or sold to any but "men of honestye and good disposition to Civilitie."

In accordance with these instructions the site of the Abbey and the manors in the vicinity were reserved for the time, although the " parcels " of outlying lands and the

Bargy property, originally belonging to Canterbury, were leased to different tenants.

On July 13, 1541, a lease was granted to Wm. Gerbarde or Jerbard, gent, of the grange of Kilmore, for 21 years at 43s. 4d and

On the 20th of the same month Richard Ketyng, gent, obtained a lease of Ballycross, Poillenton (Pullingtown), Ballyboughte and Casteltowne, all these lands being parcels of the possessions of the late Abbey of Tintern, at a rent of £4 for 21 years.

1543. In this year the following Inquisition, giving the names of the Jury, was taken upon Tintern, and is written in English. It differs in some respects which we have noted from the former Latin Inquisition of 32 (year of JC.) Hen. VIII and as it refers to the late King with a memo. of indorsement showing it to be a copy, and the estate granted to Anthony Colclough, of whom presently, it must have been written after the 18^th (year of JC) Eliz. (1576), when that grant was. made.

An office found by virtue of a Commission directed to John Allen, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and other Commissioners appointed the 3oth of August in the thirty-fifth year of the Reign of the late King Henry VIII. [1543] taken at Rosse in the County of Wexford before the said Commissioners by the others of these persons hereafter named...

Also now an acerbic description of the abbey and house from the 19^th century:

Cistercian Establishments in Ireland by Sir James Ware in 1626, collated from an earlier MS (manuscript)., we find :—

Tintern Abbey. County Wexford, like its sister Abbey in Mon­mouthshire, appears to have been singularly beautiful and rich in sculptural ornaments. The remains of some very finely carved mould­ings and mullioned window frames are yet to be seen. As in the English Abbey, the ruins of our Tintern abound with beautifully sculptured figures representing the saints. The two Abbeys seem to have been built originally on very much the same plan, and must have been the work of many years and of skillful hands. We present a sketch of the ruins of the English Tintern, with the ground plans of both Abbeys. A glance at these will reveal how much of the Wexford Abbey has been swept away. Both 'transepts have disappeared, as well as the outer walls, between which and the arches were both aisles of the fine church. The four noble arches on either side, as well as those which support the tower, still remain, but have been built up and a portion roofed, forming at present the dwelling-house of the Colclough family, whose ancestors obtained a grant of this Abbey at the time of the Dissolution (see Chronicles). They first resided in the wing east of the tower, which usually forms the choir in Abbey churches. It is stated that this also formed the domicile of the monks, the sanctuary and choir being immediately under the tower, with the northern and southern transept on either side. The erection of the present residence has totally destroyed the most imposing and beautiful portion of the ruins, and has resulted in the building of a very bad house at a cost probably which would have sufficed for the erection of a very fine one in another portion of the demesne. There is a fine stream of pure water running close to the Abbey, and the remains of an ancient fish-pond in the garden, through which a branch of the same stream runs ; there are also still to be seen some of the fortifications erected by the first grantee against the inimical Irish tribes in the vicinity. The demesne is well wooded and of great extent, and although the soil is poor, the estate is one of the largest in the County.' When we look upon the picture of the English Abbey and that of the .County Wexford we see at once the magnificence of the latter, much of which might have descended to our times if it had escaped the vandalism of the Great Rebellion and ordinary care and trifling expense had been bestowed upon repairs. The grand western window, and even a large portion of the western gable have disappeared. What remains encases the window of the present dining-room. The crenellated turrets and almost every window of the old Abbey have been demolished. In fact, the present ruins afford but a faint idea of what Tintern, County Wexford, formerly was. How vastly different is the fine state of preservation in which the ruins of the English Tintern are kept !

Finally for now a few tables with a family tree, one comment on these is that they were given to me by my uncle Bernie he sourced them from a Mrs McCutcheon from London, many of the relationships will match the pedigree collated by Beauchamp Colclough in the 19th century, be aware that in those days that being legitimate (i.e. born in wedlock)  was of paramount importance, as was the established religion, so many who may have been declared as having no heirs may well have been of the wrong hue! Indeed are completely ignored.

 

Reference:

Koenigsberger, H.G. Mosse G.L. and Bowler, G.Q.. (1989). The Monarchies. In: Europe in the Sixteenth Century. 2nd ed. London: Longdon. 292.

I have more bits and pieces of research including more on Sir Anthony and the 'acquisition' of Tintern , so I hope that this has been of some interest, please leave comments if you wish, I hope to make at least weekly offerings for the foreseeable future.

John