Reverend Chambre Corker Townsend (5D01)
| Date of Birth: | 1797 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 30 Jul 1852 |
| Generation: | 5th |
| Residence: | Kilmacabea & Derry (1) |
| Father: | Reverend Horatio (Horace) Townsend [5D00] |
| Mother: | Corker, Katherine |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: |
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| See Also: | Table VD ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Reverend Chambre Corker Townsend
Chambre was named after his maternal grandfather, Reverend Chambre Corker, Archdeacon of Ardagh and Rector of Glanmire.
Married 1st 20 January 1824. Frances Stewart (2) was the daughter of Edward Vere Stewart of St James, London, youngest son of William Stewart MP of Killymoon and Ballymenagh, Co Tyrone. See See Burke's Irish Landed Gentry 1912 - - Stewart of Ballymenagh. Married 2nd 18 August 1831 at Ballincollig by Chambre's cousin, Dean Newman. Eliza Oliver (3) was the daughter and heiress of Major General Nathaniel Wilmot Oliver (4 & 4a) Royal Artillery. See Burke's Irish Landed Gentry 1912 - Oliver.
Alumni Trinity College Dublin from Co Cork and Kerry 1593-1860 in Dr Casey's Collection records that Chambre was taught by his father before he entered Trinity College, Dublin, on 4 October 1813 aged 16 as a fellow commoner paying double fees and enjoying several privileges.
The TCD Graduation List records that Chambre qualified BA in Spring 1818 and MA in Winter 1832. Richard Townsend [236], Richard Townsend [332], Richard Townsend [513] and Richard Uniacke Townsend [517] were undergraduates at Trinity at the same time. Richard Uniacke Townsend [517], his brother Horatio Townsend [5D02] and Thomas Townsend [6B03] read for their MA in the same year as Chambre.
Ordained Deacon on 20 May 1821 and Priest on 13 April 1823, both at Cork, Chambre was licensed to the Curacy of Castrumventry on 8 October 1825 by which time he was living at Derry which he subsequently inherited from his father in 1837. Chambre succeeded his father as Rector of Kilgariff and The Island on 30 October 1829 but resigned the living on 19 May 1840 and was subsequently appointed Rector of Kilmacabea, Diocese Ross, Co Cork on 4 August 1840. He retained this living until his death. A summary of Chambre's ministry is given on page 514 et seq of Brady's Parochial and Clerical Records Volume 2.
As explained in the ‘Background History’ page, the Act of Union in 1801 and successive reforming measures in the early years of the century drove the Anglo-Irish Protestant community into a position of permanent political minority. Fearing that their ascendancy was being eroded, meetings were held during the early decades of the century seeking to affirm and uphold the integrity of the ‘Protestant Constitution and State’. Reports of these meetings in County Cork between December 1828 and October 1834 can be seen in the record for John Sealy Townsend [333] and those members of the family who attended them are shown at Footnote 4b. In addition to these, the Southern Reporter & Cork Commercial Courier of 20 March 1827 reports that the Bishop and seventy seven members of the clergy including Chambre, Richard Boyle Townsend [332] and Robert St Lawrence (husband of Elizabeth Townsend [235]) signed a “Petition of the Protestant Clergy of the United Dioceses of Cork & Ross against Catholic Emancipation” which was submitted to the House of Commons on 2 March 1827. The list of signatories also includes a ‘Thomas Townsend, Prebendary of Island’; this is wrong as page 487 of Volume 2 Brady’s Clerical and Parochial Records shows Rev Horatio Townsend [5D00] as the incumbent!
An article in the ‘Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail’ of 29 February 1832 headed ‘Scriptural Education Meeting in Bandon’ reports that “On Tuesday a most numerous, respectable and highly influential meeting of the Clergy and Gentry in the West and South of this great county was held in the Wesley Chapel, Bandon, to adopt resolutions and to prepare a petition to His Majesty against any system of education for the Protestants of Ireland that had not the entire Holy Scriptures for its basis.” Chambre was unable to attend and wrote to apologise for his absence but expressed “his warm and hearty concurrence in the subject which the meeting had in contemplation”.
The Cork County Election of 16 July 1841 returned Daniel O’Connell and Edmund Roche as MPs. This result was challenged by Nicholas Leader and Robert Longfield who claimed there were serious irregularities during the election. The Select Committee set up to investigate this published their report 27 May 1842 and found in favour of O’Connell and Roche. The Poll Books, recording how electors had voted, were included with this report and show that John Townsend [316] (entry 48 on page 182), Richard Boyle Townsend [332] (entry 62 on page 183]), Thomas Townsend [319] (entry 38 on page 182), Edward Henry Townsend [411] (entry 40 on page 182), Chambre Corker Townsend [5D01] (|entry 70 on page 183), Philip Townsend [613] (entry 75 on page 200) and Robert St Lawrence (husband of Elizabeth Townshend [235] {entry 110 on page 183}) all voted for Nicholas Leader and Robert Longfield. The report shows that the value of Derry, where Chambre was living, was £50.
Unlike his father and grandfather, Chambre did not acquire further land to enlarge the Derry estate after his accession to the property by which time it consisted of about 3,500 acres. Nevertheless, correspondence in the Derry Papers between him and Dr Callanan of Cork in 1823 about recovery of unpaid debts shows that he was involved in the management of the estate (5).
During the outbreak of cholera in Clonakilty in 1832 Chambre did much to relieve the suffering of those afflicted by the disease. Similarly, during the potato famine of 1846-51 (6) he laboured unceasingly to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and provide work for the unemployed but contracted scarlet fever in October 1851 and this led to his death in his lodgings in Cork. His cousin, Dr Edward Townsend [6C00], attended him during his illness.
Chambre wrote to his distant cousin John Sealy Townsend [333], a barrister in Dublin, in May 1846 (7) giving him directions as to the provisions of his will. “I have looked into the settlement of 1824 made on my marriage with Horace’s mother and find that the order of settlement therein was, if I understand it right, first to each of my father’s sons in succession of seniority and their heirs male respectively, and afterwards to daughters. My wish accordingly is to have a similar arrangement made definitively at present.”
Accordingly a Deed was drawn up on 1 July 1846 in which Chambre gave the lands of the Derry estate to his eldest son Horace Townsend [5D12] with a proviso that should Horace die without male issue then all the lands of the estate were to pass to Horace’s younger brother, Nathaniel Wilmot Townsend [5D13]. Following this, Chambre signed his will on 2 September 1846 (8). A codicil was added on 5 April 1851 and probate was granted on 9 September 1852. The main provisions of his will were that the Deed of 1846 with Horace was to stand; £2,000 was to be split equally amongst the remaining children and the remainder of his estate was devised to his wife, Eliza, for use in her lifetime.
As all his children except Horace were minors at the time of his death his wife, parents in law and sister, Katherine Townsend [5D06], acted as guardians until they came of age. The executors were his father in law and brother, Richard William Townsend [5D03]. Chambre is buried in St Fachtna's Cathedral, Ross where there is a fine memorial to him and his two surviving brothers. There is also a memorial to him in the church at Leap, Co Cork.
The two executors to Chambre's will died shortly after his death - his father in law, General Nathaniel Oliver, in 1854 and his brother Richard in 1855. Letters of Administration were granted at the Principal Registry of the Probate Court to the Rev Aubrey Townshend [621] and Cdr John Townshend [622] on 20 May 1858.
Chambre was a Freeman of the City of Cork. Between 1710 and 1841, when the power of admitting Freemen only by birth or right ceased, a total of thirty three members of the Townsend family were admitted as Freemen. Chambre and his kinsman, Edward Townsend [6C00], are listed in the “Names of Non-Resident Freeman who Voted at this Election” as recorded in the Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier of 17 January 1835.
In November 1837 a Select Committee was set up to “Inquire how far the Intentions of the Reform Bill are defeated by Creating and Registering Fictitious and Improper Votes in Ireland.” The Committee's Final Report was published on 28 March 1838 and Appendix No. 6 shows the “List of Non-Resident Freemen, County of the City of Cork, with those who voted at the Election of 1837 marked off”. Chambre is shown on the list as having NOT voted along with his kinsmen Richard Townsend [236] and Samuel Townsend [412].
'Pigot's Provincial Directory 1824' for Clonakilty shows "Townsend Rev CC Rosscaberry."
Chambre and his kinsman Horatio Townsend [6B01] are shown as subscribers in the book “An Inquiry Concerning the Primitive Inhabitants of Ireland” by Thomas Wood (MD), published by Edwards and Savage, Castle Street, Cork in 1821 and dedicated to members of the Royal Irish Academy.
Page 136 of the County and City of Cork Post Office General Directory 1842-43 shows Chamber living at Kilnagross Glebe, Clonakilty. 'Slater's Commercial Directory 1846' for Rosscarbery records "Townsend Rev Chambre Corker. Derry" and Aldwell's General Directory 1844-45 also shows Chambre living at Derry "Townsend, Rev. C. Derry, Rosscby".
'Griffith Valuation of Ireland 1848 - 1864' records "Townsend Rev. Chambery. Derry." owning land in "Ross".
Chambre's second wife, Eliza, wrote a small pamphlet entitled 'In Memoriam. The Rev Chambre Corker Townsend' for their children - a copy is shown in his 'Scrapbook'.
Eliza gave up her house at 6, Rodney Place, Clifton, Bristol when her son, Richard Baxter Townshend [5D15], and three of her daughters (Katherine, Anne & Susan) bought 12 Ridgway Place, Wimbledon on a 99 year lease for £1,900 from Sir Edward Creasy on 11 November 1867 (9). In his unpublished autobiography (10) Edward Mansel Townsend[630] described the house as "a comfortable, old-fashioned house of moderate size, a detached Villa...... The house stood on very high ground, practically the same level as the Common, which was said to be on a level with the cross of St.Paul’s Cathedral, and being the last house on the right at the bottom of Ridgway Place, below which, fields sloped away, right down to the Railway station, of those old days — there was a clear view from its windows, right across to the Crystal Palace, which showed as a beautiful object on Sydenham Hill, some 8 miles or so away, gleaming in the morning sunshine, or softly illuminated by its hundreds of internal lamps at night."
It was at 12 Ridgway Place that Eliza's daughter Susan Townsend [5D21] met her future husband, Brian Houghton Hodgson, when she stayed with Eliza. Family correspondence shows that Henrietta Townsend [5D10] also visited Eliza in October 1869.
Eliza’s father, Major General Oliver, died in on 11 January 1854 at Clifton, Bristol, and his will was proved in London at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 28 February 1854 and in Ireland on 13 April 1854. In it he devised his English real estate at Oulton in Suffolk and his Kerry real estate of 1370 acres to his trustees to pay the rents to his wife, Marianne Oliver, and after her death to his daughter Eliza Townsend who should use the money for the advancement of her children. Once the children came of age, or in the case of daughters got married before then, they should receive their share of the rents or proceeds of the sale of any real estate.
Marianne Oliver’s will is dated 1 September 1855 and she died on 17 February 1863. Probate was granted on 12 May 1863 and everything was devised to Eliza, except the plate which was left to Chambre and Eliza’s sons Nathaniel, Chambre and Richard. The residue of her inheritance totalled £10,193 and Eliza continued as the beneficiary to the funds invested under the terms of her mother’s will until her death on 17 August 1906. The English real estate was sold in 1877 and raised £7,513. The Kerry Estates were sold under the terms of the Land Act 1903 by statutory agreement with the tenants but the proceeds were much delayed as the Government had insufficient funds to meet all the statutory sales in Ireland. The money from the Oulton estate was distributed to he beneficiaries in 1907 and that of the Kerry estate in 1914.(11)
Agnes Townsend [334] recorded Chambres death in her diary - 'July 30 1852 CCT died.' 'Pooles of Mayfield' p.237 shows Chambre's death as 30 June 1852.
(1) The entry for Derry in the University of Galway Landed Estates Database records "Family records indicate the original house at Derry was bought by Bryan Townsend, son of Richard, the Cromwellian officer, in the 1680s. This house was a short distance from the current house which was built by Reverend Horatio Townsend in the early years of the nineteenth century and was held in fee by Reverend Chambre Townsend in 1851 when it was valued at £44. Earlier, in 1786, Wilson referred to Derry as a Townsend seat. It was substantially damaged when it was burnt in April 1921 during the War of Independence. . At the time it was the residence of Alexander Sullivan, a well-known barrister. In 1944 the Irish Tourist Association Survey noted that it was still derelict following the 1921 burning. The centre portion of the house and a substantial farm still exist at the site. (2) Frances was born in 1788 and died November 1824 of a fever shortly after the birth of their son Horace."
(3) Eliza was born on 19 March 1814 and died on 17 August 1906. Page 666 of The Calendar of Wills and Administration 1858-1922 in the National Archives of Ireland records that Probate of the will of "Eliza Townshend late of Tunbridge Wells Kent”, who died on 17 August 1906, was granted at London on 5 November 1906 to "Richard B Townsend and Emily Townshend Widow”. Resealed at Dublin on 15 July 1914. Effects in Ireland £169 7s 11d. (Richard Baxter Townshend [5D15] and Emily Gibson wife of Chambre Corker Townshend [5D14].)
(4) Nathaniel Oliver was born in April 1779. He married first Eliza, daughter of Rev Michael Baxter, and by her, who died in 1815, had Eliza who married Chambre. Nathaniel married second Marianne, daughter of Dudley Baxter, in 1817 and died on 10 January 1854. Marianne died on 16 January 1863. During the course of his military service Nathaniel participated in the landing at Alexandria and the Battle of Aboukir. In 1831 he was appointed to Command of the Bermuda Garrison. Retiring in 1841 he went to live with his daughter and son in law at Derry.
(4a) The entry for Oliver (Kerry & Cork) in the University of Galway Landed Estates Database records "The first of the Oliver family, originally from Kent, to hold lands in the south of Ireland was Robert Oliver, a Cromwellian officer, granted lands in the baronies of Clanmaurice, county Kerry and Coshlea, county Limerick, in the 1660s. Rev. Robert Oliver was among the principal lessors in the parishes of Ballymacelligott, barony of Trughanacmy and Killury, barony of Clanmaurice, county Kerry, at the time of Griffith's valuation. Silver Oliver was holding several townlands in the parish of Kilmoyly, in the same barony. Maj. Oliver's estate also held townlands in the parish of Kilshenane. In the 1830s the Ordnance Survey Name Books record Henry Oliver of Tralee as agent to the estate of Mrs. York, in the barony of Magunihy. In 1866 and again in 1868, premises in the town of Tralee, the property of Robert and Henry Oliver, were offered for sale in the Landed Estates Court. The representatives of Maj. Oliver of county Cork held over 1300 acres in county Kerry in the 1870s. The estate of Richard Silver Oliver, of Tadcastle, Yorkshire, consisted of over 4000 acres in county Kerry as well as almost 200 in county Waterford and over 100 in county Kilkenny."
(4b) John Sealy Townsend [333] and Samuel Townsend [412] can be positively identified. The other contenders are Samuel Townsend [405] or Samuel Townsend [6A03], Thomas Townsend [319] or Thomas Townsend [509], Thomas Somerville (probably the husband of Henrietta Augusta Townsend [234]) and George Digby Daunt (husband of Helena Herbert Townsend [619]). Not all members of the family shared such views and press cuttings from the Southern Reporter & Cork Commercial Courier and Dublin Evening Packet & Correspondent in 1828 and 1829 respectively show that Horatio Townsend [6B01] and Edward Richard Townsend [6C00] were among the many Protestant Liberals who took a much more conciliatory approach to Roman Catholic emancipation.
(5) Derry Papers 5D01/1, 5D01/2 and 5D01/3. See the entry for John Townsend [300] about connections with the Callanan family
(6) Richard Boyle Townsend [332] and William Robinson Townsend [6B02], like Chambre, also devoted all their energy to helping the poor during the famine 1846-51.
(7) Derry Papers. 5D01/5 Letter dated 16 May 1846 from Chambre Corker Townsend to John Sealy Townsend [333], 11 Hardwick Street, Dublin.
(8) Derry Papers. 5D01/6 Will of Chambre Corker Townsend dated 2 September 1846 with codicil dated 5 April 1851. Probate 9 September 1852.
(9) Derry Papers 5D01/9. Agreement for the lease of 12 Ridgway Place, Wimbledon for £1,900 from Sir Edward Creasy on 11 November 1867.
(10) 'A Protestant Auto-Biography by the Rev E Mansel Townshend'
(11) Derry Papers OL/8, OL/9 and OL/10