McClintock of Seskinore

Stewart of Athenree

co. Tyrone.

The Stewart Family of Athenree, Ballygawley and Loughmacrory

Overview

The Stewart family of Athenree were among the principal landed families of Tyrone, with origins in the early Plantation period and a continuous presence in the county from the seventeenth century onward.

Their history spans:

  • the defence of Protestant settlements during the rising of 1641
  • the rise of a legal and political dynasty in the eighteenth century
  • the creation of the Baronetcy of Athenree in 1803
  • and the development of major estates at:
    • Gortigil
    • Ballygawley Park
    • and Loughmacrory Lodge

Within the context of this site, the Stewarts are of particular importance as part of the wider Tyrone landed network, and through their later connection to the:

McClintock of Seskinore

family via the Peacocke line.

Captain Andrew Stewart and Gortigil

The Tyrone branch of the Stewart family descends from:

Captain Andrew Stewart

who came from Scotland to Ireland about 1627 in the company of:

Andrew Stewart, 3rd Baron Castle Stewart

to whom he was related.

Through his marriage to:

Sarah Stewart

eldest daughter of the 3rd Baron Castle Stewart and Joyce Blundell, daughter and heiress of Sir Arthur Blundell, he obtained lands within the manor of Castle Stewart.

He later established his own seat at:

Gortigil

near Stewartstown,

which remained in the possession of his descendants for generations.

During the rising of 1641, Captain Stewart served with Colonel Robert Stewart in the defence of Dungannon and Mountjoy. His house at Artrea was attacked, and with only a small body of followers he successfully defended it for two days until relieved from Mountjoy Fort.

As a consequence of his loyalty to the Crown, he was later killed by rebels around 1650.

From Gortigil to Termon

The line continued through his son:

Hugh Stewart of Gortigil

who married:

Margaret Morris

daughter of Thomas Morris of Mountjoy Castle.

Their son:

John Stewart of Gortigil

b. 1681

married:

Mary Kennedy

of Scotland.

Their son:

Rev. Hugh Stewart

1711–1800

became Rector of:

Termon, County Tyrone

He married:

Sarah Hamilton

daughter of Rev. Andrew Hamilton, connected with the ecclesiastical patronage of the Abercorn family.

By the mid-eighteenth century, the family had become firmly established within the clerical and landed framework of Tyrone society.

Sir John Stewart and the Baronetcy of Athenree

The family rose to national prominence through:

Rt. Hon. Sir John Stewart, 1st Baronet

1757–1825

Son of Rev. Hugh Stewart of Termon.

Sir John achieved distinction at the Irish bar and was appointed:

  • Attorney-General for Ireland (1799)
  • Privy Councillor
  • Member of Parliament for Down and Tyrone

On:

14 June 1803

he was created:

Baronet Stewart of Athenree

He married:

Mary Archdale

daughter of Colonel Mervyn Archdale of Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh, strengthening connections with another major Ulster landed family.

Ballygawley Park and Loughmacrory Lodge

Around 1810–11, Sir John Stewart acquired the property known as:

Greenhill

near Ballygawley.

His son:

Sir Hugh Stewart, 2nd Baronet

1792–1854

renamed the estate:

Ballygawley Park

and constructed a substantial mansion there between approximately 1825 and 1833.

The family also maintained a residence at:

Loughmacrory Lodge

which gradually became increasingly important during the later nineteenth century as the family’s principal domestic focus shifted away from Ballygawley Park.

By the mid-nineteenth century, the Ballygawley estate extended to more than:

5,000 acres

although financial pressures and wider changes in Irish landholding eventually led to its decline and sale.

Later Stewart Baronets

The later history of the family reflects both continuity and transition within the declining world of the Irish landed estate.

Sir John Marcus Stewart, 3rd Baronet

1830–1905

served as:

  • High Sheriff of Tyrone
  • Lieutenant in the Inniskilling Dragoons
  • and a prominent figure in county administration and public life.

His principal residences included:

  • Ballygawley Park
  • Carrickmore Hall
  • and Finn Coul Lodge.

Sir Hugh Houghton Stewart, 4th Baronet

1858–1942

of:

  • Loughmacrory Lodge
  • and Carrickmore Hall

served as:

  • Brigadier-General
  • JP
  • DL
  • High Sheriff of Tyrone (1903)

He sold Ballygawley Park in:

1918

The mansion was subsequently dismantled and destroyed by fire in:

1922

marking the end of Ballygawley Park as a Stewart residence.

Following his death without issue, the title passed to his younger brother:

Sir George Powell Stewart, 5th Baronet

1861–1942

Lieutenant-Colonel,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

He married:

Florence Maria Georgina Godfray

daughter of Colonel Sir James Godfray of Grainville Manor, Jersey.

Their eldest son:

John Houghton Stewart

1895–1915

was killed in action during the First World War.

Sir George was succeeded by his surviving son:

Sir Hugh Charlie Godfray Stewart, 6th Baronet

1897–1986

of:

Loughmacrory Lodge

He served as:

  • DL
  • High Sheriff of Tyrone (1955)

and represented the continuation of the family after the loss of Ballygawley Park.

Later succession passed to:

Sir David John Christopher Stewart, 7th Baronet

1935–2022

Following his death in 2022, the baronetcy passed to his half-brother:

Sir Hugh Nicholas Stewart, 8th Baronet

b. 20 April 1955

Son of:

  • Sir Hugh Charlie Godfray Stewart, 6th Baronet
  • and Diana Margaret Hibbert

Educated at:

Portora Royal School

Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

He married in 1976:

Anna Leeke

daughter of Frank Llewellyn Leeke of Kingsbury, Middlesex.

Issue includes:

  • Cherissma Stewart
  • Tamsin Kerry Stewart
  • Lauren Frances Stewart
  • and:
    • Kieran Andrew Liam Stewart
      b. 22 January 1979

This branch represents the present male-line continuation of the Stewart baronets of Athenree.

Connection to Seskinore and the McClintock Family

The Stewart family enters the Seskinore narrative through the marriage of:

Sir Hugh Charlie Godfray Stewart, 6th Baronet

to:

Rosemary Elinor Dorothy Peacocke

Rosemary was the daughter of:

  • Major George Peacocke
  • and:
    • Elinor (“Nell”) Harriett Woodrop McClintock

thereby linking the Stewart family directly with the:

McClintock of Seskinore

line.

Through this marriage, the Stewarts became part of the interconnected network of Tyrone landed families that included:

  • McClintock
  • Peacocke
  • Eccles
  • Browne-Lecky

and other families central to the history of Seskinore and its associated estates.

Further Reading

The Stewart family is explored in greater detail in the following sections:

© Alex Watson 2026. All rights reserved.