Xenia’s Return to Seskinore (2005) – McClintock of Seskinore

Xenia’s Return to Seskinore (2005)

Introduction

In September 2005, Xenia Joynson-Wreford returned to Seskinore for the first time since her childhood.

She travelled from Australia with her daughter Sharon, son-in-law Ron, and her grandchildren Christopher and Nicky. Ahead of the main family group, Xenia—accompanied by her half-brother Patrick (“Pat”) Joynson-Wreford and Alex Watson—made the journey to County Tyrone.

As they approached Seskinore, the landscape grew familiar. Road signs, fields, and landmarks began to echo distant memory, and a quiet sense of anticipation settled over the journey.

Arrival at Seskinore

The group stayed at Greenmount B&B, where they received a warm welcome. Local knowledge—particularly from Henry Reid—proved invaluable in guiding them through the area and its history.

Their first visits included the village, the estate boundaries, and the remains of the demesne.

At the entrance gates—still bearing the McClintock lions—they were met by members of the Seskinore Community Group. The welcome marked a significant moment of reconnection between family and place.

The Site of the House

Although Seskinore House had been demolished in 1952, traces of its presence remained.

The outline of the turning circle could still be seen, faint but unmistakable. From this, it was possible to imagine the house as it once stood—carriages arriving beneath the porte-cochère, guests stepping onto the gravel, and the house alive with movement and light.

Though the building itself had disappeared, the landscape retained a powerful sense of memory.

The Walled Garden

The walled garden, once central to the life of the estate, still stood.

Time had altered its appearance. Where there had once been ordered beds, glasshouses, and productive ground, there was now quiet overgrowth. Yet the structure remained, and with it a strong impression of its former purpose.

It was a place where the past could still be felt, even in its changed condition.

The Garden of Remembrance

From the garden, the path led toward the woodland and the Garden of Remembrance.

The atmosphere shifted as they entered the trees—enclosed, quiet, and removed from the outside world.

At its centre lay the graves of Tony and Leila Joynson-Wreford.

The stones were simple and weathered, but dignified. Surrounded by greenery, they marked the resting place of Xenia’s parents—both of whom she had lost as a child.

Standing there, the distance between past and present seemed to close.

Significance

Xenia’s return to Seskinore was not simply a visit—it was a moment of reconnection.

For the first time in decades, the heir to the estate stood again on the land—not as a child separated from it, but as an adult rediscovering her place within its history.

The visit marked the beginning of a new phase in the story of Seskinore: