Loftus Hall

Loftus Hall

Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman. The Redmond family built the original building in about 1350 during the time of the Black Death. It replaced their original castle at Houseland near Portersgate. The Hall became the property of the Loftus family in the 1650s as a result of the Cromwellian confiscations and this was confirmed after the Restoration of King Charles II of England by the Act of Settlement of 1666. The building that exists today was built between 1870 and 1871 by the 4th Marquess of Ely. In 1917 Loftus Hall was bought by the Sisters of Providence and turned into a convent and a school for young girls interested in joining the order. In 1983, it was purchased by Michael Deveraux who reopened it as "Loftus Hall Hotel", which was subsequently closed again in the late 1990s. It is now privately owned by Deveraux's surviving family.

The name 'Loftus Hall' is also applied to the townland surrounding the mansion.

Attack during the Irish Confederate Wars

In 1642 the future Loftus Hall - then known as Redmond's Hall - was attacked by English soldiers loyal to Charles I of England.

The Irish Confederate Wars had broken out in 1641 and hostilities commenced in Wexford in 1642. An English garrison of around 100 men under the command of Lord Esmonde was based at Duncannon Fort on Waterford Harbour. On 23rd February this garrison was reinforced by a further 200 soldiers under the command of Captain Anthony Weldon and Captain Thomas Aston along with six cannon.

On 19th June a party of these soldiers from the fort were attacked by a group of Irish Confederates under the command of Captain Rossiter and Major James Butler at Shielbaggan while their on way to Tintern. The English were routed and driven back to the fort.

Redmond's Hall was clearly visible to the beleaguered garrison at Duncannon. The Hall's owner, Alexander Redmond, was known to be sympathetic to the rebels. The Hall was known as a place that gave assistance to the rebels. Captain Aston believed it could be easily taken and on 20th July 1642 took ship from Duncannon with around ninety men and two small cannon, landing near the Hall.

Although he was sixty-eight years old, Alexander Redmond barricaded the Hall and prepared to defend it. He was assisted by his sons, Robert and Michael, some of their tenants, two men at arms and an itinerant tailor who happened to be at work in the Hall when the attack took place. The defenders numbered ten in all and were armed with long barrelled fowling pieces.

Captain Aston drew his men up in front of the Hall and demanded admission in the name of the King. Alexander Redmond retorted that Aston was welcome to come in provided only that he left his soldiers and weapons outside. A lengthy gun battle ensued. Aston discovered that his cannon were too small to make much impression on the main door. To add to his troubles about half his men abandoned him to pillage the countryside. As the fight dragged on a heavy sea-mist descended on the Hook Peninsula.

Meanwhile, the Irish Confederates under Captain Rossiter and Captain Thomas Roche were still encamped at Shielbaggan. Hearing of the attack they marched rapidly to the aid of the defenders and surprised the attackers under cover of the fog. About thirty of the English escaped to their boats and back to the fort. Captain Aston himself was one of those killed. Many of the others, including Lord Esmonde's two nephews Lieutenants John and Walter Esmonde were taken prisoner. Several of the English prisoners were hanged the following day on Thomas Roche's orders, probably at Ballyhack. On 20th August eleven others were hanged at New Ross including one of the Esmonde brothers (see also, Siege of Duncannon).

Dispossession and Change of Ownership

The official Redmond family pedigree (registered in the Ulster Office, Dublin Castle 1763) alleges that Alexander Redmond had to defend the Hall one or even two more times against soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the autumn of 1649. There is a tradition that the defenders used sacks of wool to block up breaches in the walls created by enemy cannon. These woolsacks and a representation of the Hall can be seen in the coat of arms issued to one of their members in 1763. It is alleged that Alexander Redmond received favourable terms from Cromwell and died in the Hall in 1650 or 1651 after which his surviving family were evicted.

The Loftus family were English planters who had owned land in the neighbourhood from around 1590 when Sir Dudley Loftus was granted the lands around Kilcloggan. Nicholas Loftus acquired the Manor of Fethard-on-Sea in 1634 and Fethard Castle became the family residence. After the end of Cromwell's campaign Nicholas Loftus was given extensive lands in the south of County Wexford and purchased the Hall from 'several Adventurers and soldiers', but it was only in 1666 when his son Henry moved to the Hall from Dungulph that it became the principal residence of the Loftus family. To establish the new name of his property he had the following inscription inscribed in stone on the entrance piers at Portersgate: ' Henry Loftus of Loftus Hall Esq. 1680'. Nonetheless, the old name remained in use till the end of the century. In 1684 Henry Loftus carried out extensive repairs to the Hall, which presumably needed repairing after the turbulent events of the previous decades. The Loftus family rose in the peerage over the following centuries. In 1800 the then owner of the Hall, the first Earl of Ely, previouly Baron Loftus of Loftus Hall, was created Marquess of Ely.

The Redmond family had disputed the claim of the Loftus family in court but without success. In 1684 they were compensated with lands in the Barony of Ballaghkeene in the north of County Wexford. Some of their descendants joined the movement of the Wild Geese and served in a number of foreign armies most notably that of France. Others were involved in banking and politics, and became a prominent local political dynasty in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in support of the Irish Party of Isaac Butt and Charles Stuart Parnell. The most famous of these was John Redmond who led the party till his death in 1918.

The Ghost Story

The details below apparently occurred when Charles Tottenham and his family came to live in the mansion in the middle of the 18th century. Charles Tottenham's first wife had been the Honourable Anne Loftus, and by her he had two daughters Anne and Elizabeth. According to Rick Whelan's film version of the story, the date was July 1762.

Charles came for a long stay in the house with his second wife and his daughter Anne from his first marriage. During a storm, a ship unexpectedly arrived at the Hook Peninsula, which was not far from the mansion. A young man was welcomed into the mansion. Anne and the young man became very close. Then, one night they were in the parlour; around this time it was not well-mannered for a girl to play cards, but Anne insisted and she played. When a card was dropped on the floor she went to pick it up, and she noticed that the young man had a hoof in place of a foot.

It is said that Anne screamed and the man went up through the roof in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a large hole in the ceiling. Anne was in shock and was put in her favourite room in the mansion, which was known as the Tapestry Room. She refused food and drink. She died in the Tapestry Room in 1775. A rumour states that the hole could never be properly repaired, and it is alleged that even to this day, there is still a certain part of the ceiling which is slightly different from the rest. Meanwhile it was believed that the stranger with the cloven hoof returned to the house and caused persistent poltergeist activity. A number of Protestant clergymen apparently tried and failed to put a stop to this. The family, who were themselves Protestants, eventually called on Father Thomas Broaders (a Catholic priest) to exorcise the house which he managed to do in spite of fierce opposition from at least one of the hostile spirits. The success of Broaders led to many concessions being made to local Catholics whose religion was still technically illegal. Fr. Broaders was parish priest of the surrounding area from 1724 to 1773.

Father Broaders' gravestone exists today and it is popularly - but erroneously - believed that on it is written, "Here lies the body of Thomas Broaders, who did good and prayed for all, and who banished the devil from Loftus Hall". Broaders was buried in a half Protestant, half Catholic graveyard not far from Hook Head.

The apparent success of Father Broaders' exorcism did not end the ghostly visitations at Loftus Hall. The ghost of a young woman, presumed to be Anne Tottenham, was reported to have made frequent appearances in the old Hall, especially in the Tapestry Room, until the building was finally demolished in 1871.

Although the present Loftus Hall is an entirely new building, interest in the ghost story has remained strong and many aspects of the story seem to have attached themselves to the newer house.

Media representations

A partially independent documentary film was made by Waterford man Rick Whelan, which was released in 1991 as "The Legend of Loftus Hall". This detailed the story, dramatising certain parts, such as the card game, with local actors. The documentary was well received with Whelan now seen locally as a figure with authority on Loftus Hall. The film stars Frank Coughlan as Charles Tottenham, Elaine Lumley as Anne, Liam Murphy as Loftus and Jim O'Mara as Broaders.

A new film, working title "Loftus Hall", was announced in early 2007 and as of mid-2008 has a planned release date of 1st August 2009. The film is set to take place in the present day.

The current Loftus Hall

In 1870 or 1871 the old Loftus Hall was levelled to the ground and work commenced immediately on the new building which was largely built on the foundations of the old. Only the circular foundation of one of the towers in the 'Ringfield' and an underground passage survive of the original building.

The new Loftus Hall was built with no expense spared. The entrance hall and main staircase alone cost £5000 and are considered very fine. The staircase was created by Italian carpenters and took many years to complete. The house was supplied throughout with lighting by gas which was made on the premises and all the apartments heated by hot air pipes.

References

The fullest account of the 1642 attack is in Volume Four of 'History of Wexford' by Hore pub.1904.

Shorter accounts of the attack can be found in 'The Promontory of Hook' by Billy Colfer(1978) and in 'History of Loftus Hall Part One' by Thomas P Walsh in the Journal of Old Wexford Society (1971) as well as 'Military and Political Memoirs of the Redmond Family' by J Raymond Redmond in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.

'History of Loftus Hall Part Two' by Thomas P Walsh in the Journal of Old Wexford Society (1971) gives a very detailed account of the ghost story and several alleged apparitions in the old Loftus Hall. According to Vol 4 of 'History of Wexford' by Hore a version of the ghost story was printed in the Cork Examiner August 11th 1888 and was related to Queen Victoria by the Marquess of Ely towards the end of 1860

External links

* [http://www.wexfordweb.com/Loftus_Hall/index.htm"Loftus Hall Wexford"]
* [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/496258 Rick Whelan's "The Legend of Loftus Hall"]
* [http://www.newrossstandard.ie/news/gary-turns-movie-cameras-on-the-legend-of-loftus-hall-1060470.html Article discussing the new film in the New Ross Standard]


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