Abstract of Title for the Seskinore Estate
Estate of Colonel John Knox McClintock, County Tyrone
(PRONI: LR1/409/1 — Irish Land Commission Record No. E.C. 4029)
Introduction
The surviving Abstract of Title for the Seskinore Estate, preserved among the records of the Irish Land Commission, provides a detailed documentary history of the gradual formation and expansion of the estate from the seventeenth century onward.
Compiled in connection with proceedings before the Irish Land Commission under the Land Purchase Acts, the abstract traces the ownership of the principal townlands associated with the estate, including:
Ranelly
Mullaghmore
Seskinore
Drumconnolly
Tullyrush
Camowen
Tullyheron
Tullytemple
Rarone
Freughmore
Tullyvally
Kilgort
and Moylagh.
The document preserves evidence of:
• Plantation-era grants
• Fee-farm conveyances
• Trust sales
• Long leases
• Estate consolidation
• And the gradual expansion of the Perry and later McClintock estates.
What survives is not merely a legal record, but a rare chronological reconstruction of how one of the principal landed estates of the Seskinore district developed over more than two centuries.
Origins of the Perry Estate (1662)
The origins of the later Seskinore estate can be traced to the Perry family during the Restoration period.
The Perrys are traditionally said to have been of Welsh descent, and the earliest identifiable figure associated with the district appears to have been:
Thomas Perry
(d. c.1662)
whose son:
James Perry, Gentleman
acquired substantial lands in County Tyrone in 1662.
Ranelly
By conveyance dated:
20 June 1662
Sir William Usher granted to James Perry the lands of:
Ranelly alias Circless
together with the mill of Ranelly.
The abstract describes the lands as:
“All that the one Balliboe or townland commonly called or known by the name of Ranelly alias Circless…”
The grant formed part of the early post-Restoration consolidation of Perry property within the district.
The conveyance also preserves important evidence of Plantation conditions, including obligations requiring the construction of plantation houses and a clause stating:
“That any grant to any person being Irish should be void.”
Such provisions illustrate the continuing influence of Plantation policy and manorial control in seventeenth-century Tyrone.
Mullaghmore
Just days later, by indenture dated:
26 June 1662
Sir Audley Mervyn granted to James Perry the lands of:
Upper Mullaghmore and Lower Mullaghmore.
The deed records that the lands were already in the occupation of James Perry at the time of conveyance.
The abstract describes the property as:
“All that ye one Balliboe or townland commonly called or known by the name of Mullorkmore Mullaghmore…”
This grant became one of the central foundations of the later Perry estate at Mullaghmore and Seskinore.
Seskinore, Drumconnolly and Tullyrush (1724)
An important stage in the development of the estate occurred in:
1724
when:
Henry Mervyn
conveyed the lands of:
Seskinore
Drumconnolly
and Tullyrush
to:
Alexander McClintock.
The transaction, dated:
3 July 1724
included:
479 acres, 2 roods and 35 perches
held in fee simple.
The abstract describes the property as:
“All that and those the towns and lands of Seskinore Drumconnolly and Tullyrush…”
This conveyance has long formed part of the discussion surrounding the later ownership of Seskinore.
Although it has sometimes been suggested that Alexander McClintock of Drumcar directly bequeathed the Seskinore lands to relatives, later lease evidence and sale advertisements strongly suggest that the property ultimately passed into Perry ownership following Alexander McClintock’s death in 1775, possibly through sale by his executors.
Evidence of Perry Ownership
Several later documents preserved among PRONI records confirm Perry control over the Seskinore lands.
An advertisement published in the:
Londonderry Journal
1 July 1783
offered for sale:
“The lands of Drumconnolly and Tulyrush containing 490 acres…”
The notice further observed that:
“Any gentleman purchaser who might be disposed to make it his residence and build a mansion house can have a bold and agreeable situation and a demesne of 100 acres now out of lease.”
Subsequent leases also record:
George Perry of Perrymount
as lessor of portions of Seskinore and Tullyrush.
These include:
• A lease dated 30 November 1785 for part of Seskinore.
• A lease dated 29 June 1791 relating to lands at Tullyrush.
Together these records provide strong evidence that the lands had by this period become incorporated within the Perry estate.
Camowen (1777)
The estate continued to expand through additional acquisitions and perpetual lease arrangements.
By indenture dated:
21 May 1777
Armar Lowry Corry granted to trustees acting under the will of:
Samuel Perry deceased
a perpetual lease relating to part of the lands of:
Camowen.
The property comprised:
4 acres and adjoining turf bog.
This transaction demonstrates the continuing expansion and consolidation of the Perry holdings during the later eighteenth century.
Expansion of the Estate: Tullyheron, Tullytemple and Rarone (1802)
A major expansion of the estate took place in:
1802
when:
George Perry
acquired the lands of:
Tullyheron
Tullytemple
and Rarone.
The lands had previously formed part of the Hamilton estate.
By indenture dated:
18 November 1802
trustees appointed under the will of:
James Hamilton deceased
conveyed the lands to George Perry for:
£3600.
The abstract describes the conveyance as including:
“All that and those the said hereinbefore mentioned lands of Tullyheron Tullytemple and Rarone…”
This acquisition significantly increased the scale and coherence of the estate surrounding Seskinore.
Further Expansion: Freughmore, Tullyvally and Kilgort (1807)
The estate continued to expand during the early nineteenth century.
By indenture dated:
4 July 1807
George Perry purchased:
Freughmore
Tullyvally
and Kilgort
from trustees connected with the Foljambe estate.
The purchase price amounted to:
£10,847 3s 11d
reflecting the growing scale and value of the Perry holdings.
The abstract carefully records the acreage and occupation of each townland, together with the transfer of associated messuages and hereditaments.
Moylagh (1813)
Further expansion followed in:
1813
when George Perry acquired the lands of:
Moylagh
for:
£8000.
The conveyance dated:
23 December 1813
included:
mills
royalties
and associated estate rights.
This transaction further consolidated the Perry position within the district and demonstrates the continuing enlargement of the estate immediately prior to the establishment of Seskinore as the principal family residence.
George Perry and the Move to Seskinore
Between:
1805 and 1811
lease records preserved at PRONI consistently describe:
George Perry
as residing in:
Armagh.
Two key leases dated 1791 record that he had leased a house and lands near Armagh from his brother-in-law:
John Henry Burgess of Parkanaur.
At the same time, lease records suggest that:
Rev. John Lowry
may have been occupying Perrymount during part of this period.
By:
1812
however, leases begin describing George Perry as:
“of Seskanore”
which likely corresponds with the construction of:
Seskanore Lodge
around this period.
This marks the beginning of Seskinore’s emergence as the principal centre of the estate.
Transfer to the McClintock Family
Following the death of:
George Perry
without surviving issue, the estate passed to his nephew:
Samuel McClintock
through the Perry line.
Importantly, contemporary accounts describing Samuel McClintock’s arrival at Seskinore refer specifically to inheritance from:
his uncle George Perry
rather than through Alexander McClintock of Drumcar.
This distinction is important in understanding the later ownership and descent of the estate.
Through Samuel McClintock and his descendants, the Perry estate at Seskinore entered the period most closely associated with the McClintock family during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Significance
The Abstract of Title provides a rare documentary reconstruction of the gradual creation and expansion of the Seskinore estate over more than 150 years.
Rather than emerging as a single unified property, the estate was assembled incrementally through:
• Plantation grants
• Fee-farm purchases
• Long leases
• Trust sales
• And strategic acquisitions by the Perry family.
The document also illustrates the eventual transition of the estate into the hands of the McClintock family, whose ownership would define Seskinore throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Beyond its legal purpose, the abstract preserves valuable evidence relating to:
• Plantation settlement
• Estate management
• Landholding patterns
• Manorial obligations
• And the changing landscape of County Tyrone itself.
FULL TRANSCRIPTION
Abstract of Title for the Seskinore Estate
(PRONI: LR1/409/1 — Irish Land Commission Record No. E.C. 4029)
Introductory Note
The following is a transcription of portions of the surviving Abstract of Title relating to the Seskinore Estate in County Tyrone.
The abstract was compiled in connection with proceedings before the Irish Land Commission and traces the documentary history of the estate through a sequence of conveyances, leases, trust sales, and acquisitions extending from the seventeenth century into the nineteenth century.
Spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and legal terminology have largely been retained as they appear in the original document.
20th June 1662 — Conveyance
The Town and Lands of Ranelly and the mill of Ranelly containing 314 acres 1 rood statute measure thereabouts held in fee simple subject to a perpetual yearly rental of £3.13.4 late Irish currency reserved thereout by Indenture dated the 20th day of January 1662 and made between Sir. William Usher Knight of the one part and James Perry Gentleman of the other part.
26th June 1662 — Conveyance
The Town and Lands of Upper Mullaghmore and Lower Mullaghmore.
Are subject to a perpetual yearly rental of £3.13.4 late Irish currency reserved thereout by Indenture dated the 26th day of June 1662 and made between Sir. Audley Mervyn Knight of the one part and James Perry Gentleman of the other part.
3rd July 1724 — Conveyance
The townland of Drumconnolly and part of the townland of Tullyrush containing 479 acres 2 roods 35 perches statute or thereabouts held in fee simple subject with other lands to a perpetual yearly rental of £2 under Conveyance dated 3rd July 1724.
21st May 1777 — Lease Forever
The Town and Lands of Camowen containing 6 acres 3 roods 0 perches statute measure or thereabouts held with others subject to the Perpetual yearly rent of £4 under Lease for ever dated 21st May 1777.
Tullyheron, Tullytemple and Rarone
Are subject to perpetual yearly rent of £3.16.8 late Irish Currency.
Moylagh
Are subject to a perpetual yearly rent of £8 late Irish Currency.
Abstract of Title of John Knox McClintock
Part of the lands of Ranelly containing 314a 1rd 20 per statute measure or thereabouts held in fee simple subject to the perpetual yearly rent of £3.13.4 under Conveyance dated 20th June 1662.
The townland of Drumconnolly and part of the townland of Tullyrush containing 479a 2rd 35 per statute measure or thereabouts held in fee simple subject with other lands to a perpetual yearly rent of £2 under Conveyance dated 3rd July 1724.
Parts of the lands of Camowen containing 6a 3rd 0 per statute measure or thereabouts held with others subject to the perpetual yearly rent of £4 under Lease for ever dated 21st May 1777.
The townlands of Tullyherin and part of the lands of Rarone containing 152a 2rd 13 per statute measure or thereabouts held in fee simple subject to a yearly rent of £3.16.8.
All in the Barony of East Omagh and County of Tyrone.
As to the Lands of Ranelly
By conveyance dated:
20 June 1662
Sir William Usher granted to:
James Perry, Gentleman
the lands of:
Ranelly alias Circless
together with the mill of Ranelly.
The abstract describes the property as:
“All that the one Balliboe or townland commonly called or known by the name of Ranelly alias Circless…”
The lands formed part of the wider proportion of Ballintorken and included not only arable ground and buildings, but also the mill attached to the property — an important asset within the rural economy of seventeenth-century Tyrone.
The conveyance is particularly valuable for the insight it provides into the conditions attached to Plantation landholding during the Restoration period. James Perry held the property subject to annual rents, manorial obligations, and attendance at Courts Leet and Courts Baron connected with the manor.
The deed also required the construction of plantation houses and included restrictive clauses intended to preserve the Protestant settlement structure established after the Plantation of Ulster. One clause specifically provided that:
“Any grant to any person being Irish should be void.”
The conveyance further reserved to Sir William Usher rights relating to:
fishing \nfowling \nhunting \nand hawking
illustrating the continuing survival of manorial privileges and seigneurial rights within the estate structure.
A later endorsement attached to the deed records that:
on 25 January 1663
James Perry paid £15 to his son:
George Perry
in connection with the lands, suggesting that succession arrangements within the family had already begun almost immediately after the acquisition.
The Ranelly conveyance represents one of the earliest surviving documentary foundations of the later Perry estate in the Seskinore district and marks the beginning of the family’s long association with the area.
Editorial Note
The complete abstract is extremely lengthy and repetitive in places owing to the legal nature of the document.
For readability, the main estate page summarises the principal transactions and historical significance of the abstract, while this page preserves the original legal wording and structure for reference and research purposes.
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