| Title: | Arthur Savage Nugent, Leamington to G.F.S. Armstrong. |
|---|---|
| ID | 2378 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Savage Nugent, Arthur/99 |
| Year | 1891 |
| Sender | Savage Nugent, Arthur |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Leamington, England |
| Destination | prob. Co. Wicklow, Ireland |
| Recipient | Armstrong, G.F.S. |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | penfriends (Mr Savage provides information |
| Source | D/618/259: Presented by Major R. Savage-Armtrong, J.P., Strangford House, Strangford, Co. Down. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, N. Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9809094 |
| Date | 20/09/1891 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | LET |
| Log | Document added by LT, 11:09:98. |
| Word Count | 1014 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | [To?] G.F.S.Armstrong. [From?] Arthur Savage Nugent. Quinton Lodge, Leamington. [England?] August 24 1884 Dear Sir, I regret very much that I am unable to assist you in your search relative to those tomb stones you have mentioned in your letter. It is so long since I left my home at Portaferry & my visits there are rare. I have forgotten almost everything I know of the different localities & the land marks have been [----?] obliterated, particularly at Ardkeen, though often while shooting about the [Hill?] in old times I have visited the graveyard & inside of the old Church I never remarked those stones, which in my opinion must have been [built?] in the wall of the Chancel & [referred?] to some of the bodies which were found in the Vault underneath Some years ago I attended the funeral of the late Francis Savage of [Ghest--y?] son of the Revd. Henry Savage - he was buried in a tomb alongside his Grandfather old Frank Savage as he was called by the old folk Charles Coulter was the sexton & caretaker of the Park & place for the late [Wm?] [William?] Forde of Seaforde - told me that he was in the Vaults opened at the time I presume for the reception of the body of the late Francis Savage of Holly [Mount?] & that there were 9 Leaden Coffins in the Vault which is under the Chancel I am sorry for the [-----?] of the Ards - to relate to you that some years ago when on a visit to my brother I heard that some miscreants had broken a hole down to the foundation of the old church & had got access to the Vault - I on hearing this went with my brother Major Nugent - & crept into the Vault by the hole, & certainly it was a sad sight - there were several coffins in a wonderful state of preservation with the cloth & other fragments of [V-e-?] [----?] which is usual on those melancholy events but no sign of lead - it was such a painful thing to witness we both hurried out of the place & did not make a [short?] examination of the place or [form?] of the Vault. The church was used as a place of worship in my younger days - and was only allowed to go to Ruin during the incumbency of the late Mr. Bullock - who when Mr Harrison bought the property took the demesne from him, cut down every tree on the farm, fine old ash hedge [----?] & large thorns & large plantation along the [bank?] facing North - a good orchard of old apple & pear trees - levelled the old family Mansion where I conclude his reverence hoped to find treasure but was rewarded for this ruthless destruction only by a bottle of wine in the cellar - he not only did that but levelled the outline of the old Castle on the hill - it was not more than a foot high still it marked the site of the Castle : My Father who was a friend of Francis Savage of [Hollymount?] told me that when a very young man he [Dined?] with old Mr. Savage in that old house & he must have been about the same age as your grandfather - for he was alive & living at [Glastry?] when I was a young man - therefore the Castle must have been a ruin a long time ago - certainly not inhabited when your grandfather was a child - the peasants in those days called all gentlemen's houses Castles - the Portaferry Castle was given up by my great grandfather about the middle of the last century - I am sorry I cannot give you any information of Henry Savage who died in 1655 or of Hugh Savage who died in 1723 but should say that both were placed in the vault already alluded to. It was a great misfortune that the Ardkeen Estate was sold & that Bullock [----?] [----?] the farm - he destroyed what was a [pretty?] feature in that [barren?] [----?] I should think that who ever built the house must have made the park which was famous for its venison I killed the last deer more than 35 years ago - Another piece of Vandalism perpetrated by Sir John [Boscanter?] Savage to save window tax he pulled down the house of [Ball-----?] a much better one I have heard than that at Arkdeen with pretty lake which I have seen covered with wild fowl - a plantation round [it's?] the hedge [--?] [-------?] [----?] & a fine brick walled garden. The lake [drained?] by the late [Wm?] [Ek---?] of [Rh-----?] not a vestige of what I [--------?] [a?] very pretty gentleman place The old parish church of Ardkeen was behind the demesne Wall of [Ballygulgit?] on one side of the hill called Knockdhu - its name was Shankill - Many years ago when I guided Dean Reeves through that part of the Ards I showed him the green sward with the appearance of graves - he pronounced it as Shankill - and the old farmers when Ardkeen became a burial ground & the other [was?] [disused?]. The families brought the earth of the old family graves from it to Ardkeen - As to the vaults of the above - I wrote at the time to Mr. Bullock to remonstrate with him & such a scurrilous affair & to beg him to have the hole built up which he has done at my request & I also wrote to the Meredith family at [Kilkenny?] but they took no notice of my letter they did not seem to care much for their ancestors. I regret much cannot help you much in your valuable work having forgot all the old traditions I used to hear from those curious old folk. I enclose to you a circular that I received the other day. believe me dear sir Yrs [Yours?] very truly Arthur Savage Nugent |
