Sir Robert Reading, first and last

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 ...

Reading, (c. 1640 – c. March 1689) built several privately owned lighthouses 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 ...

under

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...

from Charles II of England. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, receiving a BA in 1658. He was elected as an MP 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 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fr ...

for

Ratoath Ratoath () is a commuter town in County Meath, Ireland. A branch of the Broad Meadow Water (Broadmeadow River) () flows through the town. The R125 and R155 roads meet in the village. At the 2016 census, there were 9,533 people living in Rato ...

(1662–1666), but was attainted by the Irish Parliament of James II (1689). He married Jane Coote, daughter of Sir Robert Hannay c. 1662. She was the Dowager Countess of Mountrath as the widow of

Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath (c. 1610 – 17 December 1661) was an Anglo-Irish peer, the son of Sir Charles Coote, 1st Baronet, and Dorothea Cuffe, the former being an English veteran of the Battle of Kinsale (1601) who subsequent ...

. They had one child, Elizabeth, who married

James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn, PC (Ire) ( – 1734) was a Scottish and Irish peer and politician. Appointed a groom of the bedchamber to Charles II after the his father's death in battle, he took the Williamite side at the Glorio ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

in November 1671. He was made 1st Baronet Reading of Dublin on 27 August 1675. On his death, he was buried in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

Lighthouses

The lighthouses built by Robert Reading were at

Howth Head Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are on ...

, the Howth bar, the

Old Head of Kinsale The Old Head of Kinsale () is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. A castle has been on the headland since at least the 3rd century, with the current iteration built in 1223. An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th centu ...

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...

(formerly Barry Oge's castle),

Hook Head Hook Head (), historically called Rindowan, is a headland in County Wexford, Ireland, on the east side of the estuary of The Three Sisters (Rivers Nore, Suir and Barrow). It is part of the Hook peninsula and is adjacent to the historic townl ...

and the Isle of Magee near

Carlingford, County Louth Carlingford (; ga, Cairlinn) is a coastal town and civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial ...

.A Brief History of Irish Lights
, The Commissioners of Irish Lights, retrieved 24 September 2009 The Howth bar and Isle of Magee lights did not last long, though the latter was re-established on the Lesser Copeland Island. These lighthouses all had coal fires on their roofs. In 1704 the lighthouses were compulsorily transferred into public ownership.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reading, Robert 1640s births 1680s deaths Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Irish MPs 1661–1666 Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Fellows of the Royal Society