Peter Benson (c.1570-1642) was an English-born builder and architect, chiefly remembered for building the Walls of Derry.Loeber pp.20-21 He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, one of seven children of John and Margaret Benson, and started life as a bricklayer and tiler, before gaining a reputation as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He was chosen to build the Walls of Derry in 1614.Loeber pp.20-21 The works were completed in 1619 and cost £10000; in 1624 Benson was still owed a part of his

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...

for the work, although this did not prevent him from amassing a considerable fortune. The walls were so well constructed that they survived the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

in 1689, and are still largely intact. Benson benefited from the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation ('' plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the se ...

, and received several generous grants of lands, mainly at Shraghmiclar,

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding thi ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, where he received 1500 acres, some of which he

leased A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

out. He also laid out the new town of

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and civil parish in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River Finn) form ''the Twin Towns''. Transport The town is located at the junctio ...

on his estate and built a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

there. He became a burgess of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...

in 1621 under the new charter, and was Mayor of Derry in 1639. He died in the city on 24 August 1642.Lunney He married firstly Jane Hobson at

Barton-upon-Humber Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

, in 1597; they had six children. He married secondly, in about 1608, Margaret Pateshall and had another four children; she was still living at Stranorlar in 1654.Lunney Of his children, the best known are Richard and Prudence, who were both probably children of his first marriage. Richard inherited the family's estates at Stranorlar and at

Elagh More Elagh More (from Irish: ''Aileach Mór,'' meaning 'stony place') is a townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland and lies between Ballynagalliagh and the border with County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, on the outskirts of Derry. It ...

, near Derry city. He became a

military commander The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

, and held the town of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, but ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

against the Royalists during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

. Prudence married in 1625 Thomas Knox,

Bishop of the Isles The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...

, who died young only three years later; their descendants lived mainly in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, where they married into the prominent Grogan family of

Johnstown Castle Johnstown Castle is a Gothic Revival castle located in County Wexford, Ireland. Location Johnstown Castle is located on the Johnstown Castle Estate, a estate, located off the road between Murntown and Rathaspeck, southwest of Wexford tow ...

, County Wexford. Lunney Peter in his last will, drawn up the day before he died, made generous provisions for Richard, including the manor house at Stranorlar, and left legacies to Prudence and her son Thomas Knox junior. The bulk of his estate was left to his widow Margaret and their children. She and her eldest son Peter junior were named as joint

executors An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

of the estate. Irish architects Mayors of Derry 1642 deaths

Sources

*Loeber, Rolf ''Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Ireland 1600-1720'' John Murray London 1981 *Lunney, Linde "Benson, Peter" ''Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography'' 2009

Notes

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