The Blennerhassett family is an English and

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

noble family which has been involved in the politics of the

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

since the fourteenth century. The male line of the family is extinct in Britain.

History

The family is recorded as having originally been settled in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

in northern England, at the manor of

Blennerhasset Blennerhasset and Torpenhow is a civil parish in Cumbria, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 437, reducing to 423 at the 2011 Census. It includes the villages of Blennerhasset and Torpenhow at and the smaller set ...

. The landowner John de Blennerhassett sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

as the Member of Parliament for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

in 1381 and 1384, and his descendants represented the seat in almost every Parliament from the reign of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

to the reign of

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� ...

. In 1390 Alan de Blenerhayset secured a grant of arms from the Crown. In 1547 the Blennerhassett family relocated to Frenze,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and

Barsham, Suffolk Barsham is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is about west of Beccles, south of the River Waveney on the edge of The Broads National Park. It is spread either side of the B1062 Beccles ...

on former monastery lands. In the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

the senior branch of the family under Robert Blennerhassett (accompanied by his elderly father Thomas) settled in

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, Ireland, during the

Plantation of Munster Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland () involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The main plantations took place from the 1550s to the 162 ...

,. The family established themselves as part of the Anglo-Irish

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

, and under the

Act of Settlement 1662 The Act of Settlement 1662 ( 14 & 15 Chas. 2. Sess. 4. c. 2 (I)) was an act of the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists ...

were granted 2,787 acres in County Kerry and 2,039 acres in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. The marriage of Robert Blennerhassett to Avice Conway, the daughter and heiress of Edward Conway, brought the Blennerhassetts into the possession of

Castle Conway Castle Conway is a former castle and stately home in the town of Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland. Today only the ruins of one wall remain. History Originally called Killorglin Castle, a defensive structure was first built on the site next to ...

Killorglin Killorglin () is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, the town's population was 2,163. Killorglin is on the Ring of Kerry tourist route, and annual events include the August Puck Fair festival, which starts with the crownin ...

, which would subsequently become the manor of the Blennerhassetts' 7,000-acre Kerry estate. Numerous Blennerhassetts sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

for the constituencies of

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

and

, which were controlled by the family, and several also served as

High Sheriff of Kerry High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

. Sir John Blennerhassett (1560-1624) served as

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Irish Court of Exchequer. This was a mirror of the equivalent court in England, and was one of the four courts which sat in the building in Dublin which is still ...

. Many members of the family married into other Kerry dynasties such as the Conways, Dennys, Crosbies, Fitzmaurices, O'Connells, Sealys, Springs and Mullins. Indeed, the grandmother of Mary O'Connell from Tralee, who married Daniel O'Connell MP, was Jane Blennerhasset, a granddaughter of Robert Blennerhasset MP, of Castle Conway. In 1809, Rowland Blennerhassett, a lawyer and politician, was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

.A., E., and M. Innes, ''The Annual peerage of the British empire'' (1829), p.425 Sir Rowland renamed the estate village

Blennerville Blennerville (, meaning "the seat/home of the Morans") is a small village near Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is approximately west of the town centre on the N86 road to Dingle, where the River Lee enters Tralee Bay. The village was former ...

in his family's honour. His relation

Harman Blennerhassett Harman Blennerhassett (8 October 1764 – 2 February 1831) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, a member of the Society of United Irishmen who emigrated in advance of their rebellion in 1798 to become a socially and politically distinguished plantation o ...

settled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1796, where

Blennerhassett Island Blennerhassett Island is an island on the Ohio River below the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, near Parkersburg in Wood County, West Virginia, United States. Historically, Blennerhassett Island was occupied by Native Americans. Nemacolin, c ...

and

Blennerhassett, West Virginia Blennerhassett is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Parkersburg, West Virginia, Parkersburg-Marietta, Ohio, Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia, Vienna, WV-Ohio, ...

are named after the family. The Irish politician John Blennerhassett (1930–2013) is the most recent member of the family to be involved in politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blennerhassett, family English gentry families English families Irish families Anglo-Irish families Political families of the United Kingdom Families from West Virginia