I am a descendant of Sir John Bellew of Castle Roche, Co Louth. There is more than one interpretation of his ancestors.
You might consult the 1907 Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage in which the Bellew lineage is described thus:
This ancient family was amongst the first Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland. From Roger de Bellew, the common ancestor, descended Sir John Bellew, Knt, of Bellewstown, and the Roche …
Or you might try the 106th edition of Burke’s P and B published in 2000.
Lineage: Sir Adam de Bella Aqua (Bellew), living 1210, ancestor of John Bellew of Bellewstown, Co Meath, fourth in descent from whom was: Sir John Bellew of Castle Roche, fl 1402, etc.
My branch of the family lived principally at Lisrenny in Co Louth (although it was spelt differently then) until the mid 17th century when Cromwell’s invasion resulted in that estate being given to the Filgates, Protestant Cromwellians.
The Moore family had lived at Barmeath but somehow the Bellews turfed them out and we have stayed put. Sir John Bellew of Lisrenny and Barmeath was pivotal in retaining the family’s position in the 17th century. A scholarly biography by the late Harold O’Sullivan describes him thus:
John Bellew was the quintessential old Englishman of stock settled in Ireland since the late twelfth century. Staunchly Roman Catholic, he was educated to the law at Gray’s Inn in London and on his return to Ireland in 1630 entered on his inheritance of 700 acres at Lisrenny near Ardee. By 1641 he had a prosperous law practice and an estate of 1,460 acres. He was Justice of the Peace, Sheriff of the County and, elected to Parliament in 1640, he played a part in Strafford’s impeachment.
The insurrection of 1641 brought his advancement to an end. Suspected of collaboration with the insurrectionists, he was expelled from parliament and outlawed. He later served as Lieutenant-General of Artillery in the Leinster Army of the Catholic Confederacy until, with others of his kind, he transferred to the royalist cause in 1648. His surrender in 1653 under the Articles of Kilkenny brought an end to his military career.
Despite the provisions of the Articles, his estates in Louth were confiscated and he was transplanted to an estate of 793 acres in Co Galway. For the rest of his life he struggled to secure that neither himself nor his family would perish from the ranks of the gentry class … he was rewarded with an estate in his native Louth … he proved himself to be a great survivor.
(John Bellew, A Seventeenth-Century Man of Many Parts, 1605 – 1679, published in 2000 by Irish Academic Press.)
So we leave the staunchly Catholic Bellews installed at Barmeath unaware that things were about to become very difficult – again.
To be continued.
Look forward to more vignettes on the Bellew family history!
To show my appreciation, for what I hope will be an extensive series on family history, I have composed a little ditty in the authors honour.
That Christopher Bellew is such a fine fellow
From a long and illustrious line,
From The City was booted, yet to blogging well suited,
Surely now he has entered his prime?
A most civilized life (even minus a wife),
His topics are broad and arresting.
From matters gastronomic and much alcoholic,
To where one should be investing.
Across London has tread, ideas filling his head
On what he may post on tomorrow:
He could write about wine or a grand place to dine,
Or an idea from a friend he may borrow.
A polychromatic, opera fanatic,
He delights to critique a show.
And dear old Plum is his number one chum;
‘I say Bellew, Wooster Sauce – what ho!’
The Ireland he left is now much bereft
Of a man of such wisdom and wit,
Yet ‘the clan’ at Dunleer, (themselves a touch queer)
Sometimes think him a bit of a tit!
He divulges his mood, whether ghastly or good,
You could never describe him as coy.
Yet, despite rant and rave, consider him brave
To be ‘followed’ by crude hoi polloi!
to whom it may concern I am related to mary bellew
of yarnscombe sister of john bellew trying to find her birth
I know she married William or john nott in 1644. swimbridge
does anyone know if she was born in yarnscombes and was her
brother or any information on her thanks trish
A John Bellew married Amy Fleming whose family lived at Alverdiscott, a biscuit’s throw from Yarnscombe. He inherited his wife’s manor and estates. This was in the mid 15th century. Alas, the manor was sold by the Bellews, a family with a greater propensity for spending money than accumulating it.