McClintock of Seskinore

Penelope (“Xenia”) Joynson-Wreford: Ancestors and Connected Families

Xenia aged 21yrs

Introduction

Penelope (“Xenia”) Joynson-Wreford (born 3 August 1935) was the only child of Captain Wilfred Heyman (“Tony”) Joynson-Wreford and Amelia Isobel Eccles McClintock (“Leila”) of Seskinore, County Tyrone.

Although she spent only the earliest years of her life at Seskinore, Xenia occupied a unique position within the history of the estate. Through her parents she inherited connections to many of the principal landed families of Ulster, including the McClintocks of Seskinore, the Perrys of Mullaghmore and Perrymount, the Eccles family of Ecclesville, the Brownes of Aughentaine Castle, and the Joynson-Wreford family.

Her ancestry reflects more than three centuries of family, estate and inheritance history, linking County Tyrone with County Donegal, County Londonderry, County Mayo, County Louth, England, Scotland and, ultimately, Australia.

This page provides an overview of the principal ancestral and connected families associated with Xenia Joynson-Wreford.

Immediate Family

Penelope (“Xenia”) Joynson-Wreford

Born: 3 August 1935, Leatherhead, Surrey.

Married Gordon Lindsay Lewis on 14 April 1959.

Xenia was the only child of Captain Wilfred Heyman (“Tony”) Joynson-Wreford and Amelia Isobel Eccles McClintock (“Leila”), and became the final direct descendant of the McClintock family associated with Seskinore.

Parents

Captain Wilfred Heyman (“Tony”) Joynson-Wreford

(30 July 1896 – 23 March 1940)

A former army officer, sportsman and aviator, Tony inherited the remaining Seskinore estate following the deaths of his father-in-law Colonel John Knox McClintock in 1936 and his wife Leila in 1937.

Amelia Isobel Eccles McClintock (“Leila”)

(21 July 1898 – 30 January 1937)

The only child of Colonel John Knox McClintock and Amy Henrietta Frances Eccles, Leila represented the union of the McClintock and Eccles families. Her death from meningitis in January 1937 brought the direct McClintock succession at Seskinore to an abrupt end.

Half-Brother

Anthony Patrick (“Pat”) Joynson-Wreford

(1927–2015)

Pat was the elder half-brother of Xenia. Although they spent much of their lives apart, they were reunited during the rediscovery of the Seskinore story in the early twenty-first century.

Following his death in 2015, Pat’s ashes were interred in the Garden of Remembrance at Seskinore beside those of his father.

The McClintock Family of Seskinore

The McClintocks acquired Seskinore through inheritance from the Perry family and became one of the leading landed families of County Tyrone.

Notable ancestors include:

Colonel John Knox McClintock, CBE, DL, JP

(1864–1936)

Master of the Seskinore Hounds, Vice-Chairman of Tyrone County Council, County Commandant of the Special Constabulary, and commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers during the First World War.

Colonel George Perry McClintock, DL, JP

(1839–1887)

High Sheriff of County Tyrone and one of the principal architects of the Victorian development of Seskinore House and estate.

Samuel McClintock, DL, JP

(1790–1852)

Inherited the Perry estates and established the later McClintock ownership of Seskinore.

See also: McClintock of Seskinore

The Perry Family of Mullaghmore and Perrymount

The Perry family were among the earliest significant landowners associated with Mullaghmore and Perrymount.

Through the marriage of Mary Perry to Alexander McClintock of Newtown, County Louth, the Perry estates ultimately passed into the McClintock family.

Notable ancestors include:

Samuel Perry of Perrymount and Mullaghmore

(d. 1773)

George Perry of Perrymount

(1762–1824)

The Perry inheritance formed the foundation upon which the later Seskinore estate was built.

See also: Perry Family of Perrymount and Mullaghmore

The Eccles Family of Ecclesville

The Eccles family of Ecclesville were among the largest landowners in west Tyrone and maintained extensive estates around Fintona for several centuries.

Notable ancestors include:

John Stewart (or Stuart) Eccles, DL, JP

(1847–1886)

Grandfather of Amy Henrietta Frances Eccles McClintock.

Charles Eccles, DL, JP

(1813–1869)

High Sheriff of County Tyrone.

Daniel Eccles

(1746–1808)

High Sheriff of County Tyrone.

Gilbert Eccles

(d. 1694)

Founder of the Ecclesville line.

Through Amy Henrietta Frances Eccles, the Ecclesville inheritance became closely linked with Seskinore.

See also: Eccles of Ecclesville

The Browne Family of Aughentaine Castle

Through Frances Caroline Browne, wife of John Stuart Eccles, Xenia descended from the Browne family of Aughentaine Castle.

Thomas Richardson Browne, DL, JP

(1810–1882)

High Sheriff of County Tyrone, Deputy Lieutenant, Justice of the Peace, and builder of Aughentaine Castle.

His marriage to Sarah de Montmorency linked the Browne family with the de Montmorency family of Castle Morres, County Kilkenny.

See also: Browne of Aughentaine Castle

The Joynson-Wreford Family

Through her father, Xenia descended from the Joynson and Wreford families of England.

The Joynson family were associated with the paper mills of St Mary Cray, Kent, while the Guerrier family appear to have originated in France and may represent a Huguenot line.

Notable ancestors include:

Heyman Wreford, MRCS

(c.1850–1934)

Medical practitioner and father of Tony Joynson-Wreford.

William Joynson

(c.1802–1874)

Owner of the Joynson Paper Mills at St Mary Cray, Kent.

Jacques Guerrier

(born c.1550)

Earliest known ancestor of the Guerrier line.

See also: Joynson-Wreford Family

Connected Families

Through inheritance and marriage, Xenia was also connected with numerous other families associated with the history of Seskinore and Ecclesville, including:

  • Browne-Lecky of Aughentaine and Castlefin
  • Delmege
  • Stoney
  • Sugden
  • Alexander of Termon
  • Knox of Moyne Abbey
  • Beresford of Termon
  • Dickson of Woodville
  • Lowry of Ahenis
  • Peacocke
  • Willis
  • Thompson
  • Lendrum
  • de Montmorency of Castle Morres

Many of these families played significant roles in the ownership, inheritance, management and social history of Seskinore, Ecclesville and the surrounding district.

Significance

The ancestry of Xenia Joynson-Wreford illustrates the interconnected nature of the landed families of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ulster.

Through her parents, she inherited connections to some of the most significant estates in west Tyrone, including Seskinore, Mullaghmore, Ecclesville and Aughentaine. Although separated from Seskinore in childhood, Xenia later became central to the rediscovery and preservation of the estate’s history.

As the last direct descendant of the McClintock family associated with Seskinore, she forms an important link between the historic estate and its modern legacy.

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