William Maynard Sinton JP (1 February 1860 – 31 December 1942) was High Sheriff of

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, an

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist oppositi ...

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

lor for Armagh and industrialist. Sinton was the eldest son, and heir, of

Thomas Sinton Thomas Sinton, JP (February 1826 – 20 August 1887) was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh. Thomas Sinton was born ...

of Laurelvale House. His father founded the family

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

firm of ''Thomas Sinton & Co. Ltd.'' (

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

spinners). Maynard Sinton attended school at

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

, Westmoreland and at

Newtown School, Waterford Newtown School is a multidenominational, coeducational independent school with both day and boarding pupils in Waterford, Ireland. It is run by a board of management, but owned by the Religious Society of Friends. History Newtown School wa ...

. Sinton's uncle was the linen manufacturer John Sinton owner of the Ravarnette Weaving Company; his cousin, a grandson of the same John Sinton, was the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

winner

John Alexander Sinton Brigadier John Alexander Sinton (2 December 1884 – 25 March 1956) was a British medical doctor, malariologist, soldier, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Bri ...

. He continued to manage the firm following his father's death and took up residence a
Ballyards Castle
Armagh. Sinton married, on 16 March 1905 at Tandragee, Myra Atkinson, of Park View,

Tandragee Tandragee () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is on a hillside above the Cusher River, and is overlooked by Tandragee Castle. The town is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Ballymore, County Armagh, Ballymore and t ...

, daughter of William H. Atkinson, solicitor and sometime agent to the

Duke of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named aft ...

; J. Charters Boyle, JP was best man. The couple had two children, *Bridget Maynard Sinton (1914–1998) (m. 1943, James Engledow, of the Army Intelligence Corps, at Armagh Cathedral); * Second Lieutenant Maynard Bunbury Sinton (1916–1940) (ed.

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the Battle of the Ypres–Comines Canal with the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

and posthumously

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the family employed over 20 staff on the estate including two chauffeurs, a governess (a Miss Glenda Rowe), cooks, servants and gardeners. They kept

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

s and a pack of

beagle The Beagle is a small breed of scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting rabbit or hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking inst ...

s, as Mr. Sinton was a leading light at 'big shoots' and Irish

gun dog Gun dogs (gundogs) or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the wing (in flight). The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and s ...

trials. The Ballyards cup was presented every year at the Armagh point-to-point races. One of the first owners of a motor car in the county the registration on his Clement was ''IB 1''. In 1893 he was the guest-of-honour at the opening of County Armagh Golf Club. He was a member of the ''Royal Irish Automobile Club'', the ''United Service Club'',

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, ''

Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by L ...

Club'', Dublin, the ''Union Club'',

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and the ''County'', Armagh. Upon his death, without a male heir, his main business interests passed to his brother, Frederick Buckby Sinton, of Banford House, Tullylish.Information on Banford House at Banbridge District Council
Maynard Sinton was buried at the Friends' (Quaker) Meeting House, Moyallon, near Gilford. The Sintons retained the Ballyards estate until the late 1950s and, in the early 1960s, the castle became the home, for a few years, of Vernon College, a boarding school for boys formerly situate at

Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is a suburb, suburban town and townland near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin (District Electoral Area), Collin electoral ward for the Local government in Northern Ireland, local government district of Belfast C ...

References

* Ulster Contemporary Biographies, 1910 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinton, Maynard 1860 births 1942 deaths British Quakers Linen industry in Ireland Businesspeople from County Armagh