Favour Royal (previously known as Portclare) is a manor and estate in
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh.
Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. It is located in the
townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
Augher
Augher (from meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the border with County Monaghan and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clogher and ...
, close to the
Irish border
Irish commonly refers to:
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state
***Erse (disambiguatio ...
. It is within the parish of Errigal-Trough which is part of the historic
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of
Clogher
Clogher (; , ) is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne ...
.
History
Portclare was granted, in 1613, by
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†...
plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...
. Samuel Lewis recorded Ridgeway's grants as comprising of arable land and extending over the present towns of Aughnacloy and
Augher
Augher (from meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the border with County Monaghan and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clogher and ...
, including the districts of Lismore and Garvey, with all the intermediate country. In 1622 Ridgeway sold Portclare to Sir James Erskine, younger son of
Alexander Erskine of Gogar
Alexander Erskine of Gogar (died 1592) was a Scottish landowner and keeper of James VI of Scotland at Stirling Castle.
Career
Alexander was a son of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret Campbell, a daughter of Archibald Campbell, ...
. In 1665, ownership of the manor of Portclare was confirmed to the Erskines by Charles II, under the name Favour Royal. The estate was subsequently divided between Sir James Erskine's two granddaughters. Favour Royal comprises one part, while the other, lying to the west of Augher, is known as Spur Royal or Augher Castle.
John Moutray married the Erskine heiress of Favour Royal, and the original house was built by them in 1670. In 1816 the Moutrays briefly employed a local boy,
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment Literature
*John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet
*John Hughes (1790–1857), English author
*John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet
*John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
, as an apprentice gardener - Hughes would go on to become the Catholic Archbishop of New York in 1842. The old house was destroyed in 1823 by an accidental fire, and was replaced with a larger structure by Captain John Corry Moutray of
Castle Coole
Castle Coole (from Logainm – Castle Coole – scanned record 2) is a
Captain Moutray commissioned the architect
John Hargrave
John Gordon Hargrave (6 June 1894 – 21 November 1982), (woodcraft name 'White Fox'), was a prominent youth leader and politician in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s, Head Man of the Kibbo Kift, described in his obituary as an 'author, c ...
to design the new building, which was completed in 1825 in a
Tudor revival
Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...
style. Captain Moutray also commissioned the building of a private chapel on the estate, consecrated on 3 July 1835, which is now the parish church of St Mary's, Portclare. Favour Royal continued to be the family home of the Moutrays until 1976, when the house, demesne and contents were sold. It was occupied until the 1990s but is now derelict.
The demesne comprised of fertile and highly cultivated land, and is finely diversified and richly wooded. The house is situated on the bank of the River Blackwater, and is built of freestone found on the estate. It is embellished with a noble portico, and with elegant architectural details. The demesne includes an ornamental lake and an 18th-century walled garden, and is listed on the
Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest
The Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest is a listing of significant ornamental parks and gardens in Northern Ireland. It is maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), an executive agency within t ...
. More recently it has been planted with coniferous forestry by the
Forest Service Northern Ireland
The Forest Service Northern Ireland is an executive agency of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs entrusted with the development of forestry and the management of forests in Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 19 ...
. Favour Royal Forest is one of Ireland's Millennium Forest sites. Several planning applications were submitted for permission to restore Favour Royal as a hotel and golf course, but these expired, and the house was on the market in 2013.