Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely

Lord
The Earl of Ely
Member of Parliament
for Bannow (Parliament of Ireland constituency) and County Wexford (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Personal details
BornHenry Loftus
(1709-11-18)18 November 1709
County Wexford, Ireland
Died8 May 1783(1783-05-08) (aged 73)
Bath, Great Britain
PartyIndependent
Parent(s)Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby
Occupation
  • Administrator
  • Developer
  • Politician

Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely KP, PC (Ire) (18 November 1709 – 8 May 1783), styled The Honourable from 1751 to 1769 and known as Henry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus from 1769 to 1771, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician, who commanded the Loftus Squadron, a small but disproportionately powerful voting bloc in the Irish House of Commons.

Loftus was the second son of Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby, daughter of William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon, living at Loftus Hall in the County of Wexford.[1] He served as Sheriff of the county in 1744 and was resident in the Barony of Bargy at Richfield manor in 1745,[a] serving as a member of parliament to the Irish House of Commons in his father's seat of Bannow from 1747.[3][4][5]

For the first fifty years of his life, as the younger son, Loftus lead a modest life in relative obscurity, subsisting on the patronage he could obtain from his first cousin William Ponsonby, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.[6][5]

The Honourable Henry Loftus

Styled The Honourable Henry Loftus in 1751 after his father (1st Viscount Loftus) was enobled, Loftus consolidated his position in Wexford and was returned once more to the Irish Parliament for the County Wexford in 1760 in his own right, acquiring a fashionable townhouse in Cavendish Row as his Dublin residence.[7][b] For the most part, Loftus remained in relative obscurity in Wexford where he became a strong advocate of textile manufacture in the County for both linen and later silk, was elected a trustee of the Wexford Society and was appointed a justice of the peace, appointments symbolic of his growing local social status.[8][9][10]

The following year, Viscount Loftus died leaving his Wexford properties to his first son Nicholas, who succeeded to his father's titles and assumed his seat in the Irish House of Lords. The rest of the 1st Viscount's estate was left to his daughters and natural sons Edward and Nicholas.[5] In 1764, Loftus purchased a twenty year-old mansion Mount Malpas in 150 acres of walled parkland just north of Dublin. He set about refurbishing the house and landscaping the park, which he renamed Loftus Hill, planning in 1768 to build a banqueting house in the woods.[c][11]

In 1766, Loftus’s older brother died, leaving the family lands and Earldom to his son Lord Loftus, whose capacity to manage his own affairs was severely impaired, attributed in part to years of savage mistreatment by a cruel and dissolute father.[12] Loftus took it upon himself to rehabilitate his nephew,[d] taking him into his home in Cavendish Row, but also using his biddable nature to consolidate his nephew's estate and act in his interest.[5] The first of those tasks was securing the vast Hume estates in Fermanagh, which became "The longest-running and most celebrated of all Irish lawsuits", because it involved establishing the competence of the young Earl to inherit his deceased mother’s fortune.[2][e] The second was acquiring Rathfarnham Castle, the oldest Loftus family property in Ireland, which Loftus leased on behalf of his nephew in 1767.[6] Loftus then used his nephew's fortune to completely remodel the house with no expense spared, employing the services of the most celebrated architects (William Chambers and James "Athenian" Stuart), designers (Angelica Kauffman) and local craftsmen of the day (John Baptist Cuvillie).[13]

The Loftus Squadron (1768-1801)

The Loftus family had held borough seats in the Irish Parliament since 1624, which they controlled as property owners variously from Naas, to Fethard, New Ross and the rotten boroughs of Clonmines and Bannow. By 1761, the family commanded eight seats in Parliament, which had been used to control and influence the local boroughs of Wexford.[3] When Loftus took control of his nephew's interests in 1767, he began by repopulating the family seats with family members from whom he could extract some advantage.[f]

By 1768, Loftus had created one of the most powerful voting blocs in the Irish House of Commons known contemporaneously as the Loftus Squadron.[14][g] The Squadron elevated Loftus to one of a handful of elite Irish Protestants known as undertakers, the "grandees" of the Protestant Ascendancy, which brought him into direct conflict with the new incoming King's representative, Lord Townshend.[15] Townshend was determined to break the power of the undertakers, by trading lucrative preferment in government offices or by granting new peerages in the Irish House of Lords. The Squadron conferred disproportionate political influence on Loftus, particularly in close parliamentary divisions, often frustrating the ambitions of much larger blocs.[6] At other times, the Squadron was made available to the highest bidder, helping Loftus with much needed revenue.[5] The Loftus Squadron continued to influence Irish politics until the Act of Union came into effect in 1801.[2]

Lord Henry Loftus

In 1769, Loftus succeeded his nephew to the Wexford estates and in the House of Lords as the 4th Viscount Ely. He was appointed sole Governor to the County not long after, relinquishing his seat in the commons but retaining tight control over the Loftus Squadron.[6][h] Townshend wanted to use the Squadron to apply pressure on Loftus's cousin Ponsonby, who was the powerful speaker of the House of Commons, threatening in 1770 to disenfranchise members of the Squadron but Loftus resisted, until his wife's indiscrete intervention.[16][17]

Public scandal

When Townshend became a widower in 1770, Lady Loftus saw an opportunity to secure influence over the King's representative to Ireland by luring him into a honey trap. Two of Lady Loftus's nieces, Dolly Monroe and Anne Montgomery, were guests at Rathfarnham Castle at the time, both of whom were considered amongst the greatest beauties of the age. Townshend had become a daily visitor to the recently refurbished castle, and had shown interest in Dolly Monroe in particular.[j] Lady Loftus encouraged the match, hinting at future political alignment between Dublin Castle and the Loftus Squadron.[k] Loftus himself evidently went along with his wife's intervention and once agreement had actually been reached between Townshend and Loftus, Townshend stopped visiting Rathfarnham Castle and the match collapsed.

Lady Loftus and her niece Dolly were publicly ridiculed, becoming the butt of every wit in Dublin, and every pundit who could wager which of the nieces would become the new Lady Townshend. The whole affair was popularised by Hercules Langrishe, who is attributed as having created a satirical series of letters called History of Barataria published in 1771.[19][20] Thereafter The Loftus Squadron voted with the Government until Townshend was recalled to England in 1772.[3]

The outcome for Loftus was that he was forced by Townshend to agree to vote against his faithful cousin William Ponsonby, for which he received an Earldom.[l][17]

Public restoration

In the midst of intense political and personal negotiation, Loftus continued with his extravagent improvements to Rathfarnham Castle, adding extensions, increasing the size of the windows and replacing ancient battlements with ball finials and ornamental urns.[21] A glimpse of 400 acres of beautifully landscaped parkland can be seen in the painting by Angelica Kauffman, which featured aviaries, menageries, fishponds and pavilions visible from the river through a triumphal arch serving as a gatehouse to the castle.[22][5] The house interior was adorned with delicate plasterwork by both Stuart and Chambers, with doors framed in intricately carved Cuban wood and furnishing imported from all over the world, all raised to such a level of opulence that the local gentry could apply to visit and marvel at the castle by purchasing a silver token for weekly openings.[23]

Loftus decided that his Dublin home in Cavendish Row no longer matched his new social status, and set about building a new 36-room mansion, Ely House, at the same time he was refurbishing Rathfarnham Castle.[24] Ely House is located on a plot of land leased in 1770, subsequently named Ely Place, with the new mansion being the first residence to be built on the street.[25] Construction commenced in 1771, in the same year that Loftus commissioned Richard and Charles Frizzel to survey his Loftus Hall estate.[26] At the same time, Loftus constructed a two-story secluded hunting lodge as his grand country retreat on Montpelier Hill, with beautiful views of Dublin and the sea, which he called Dolly mount, after his favourite niece.[27][m]

Loftus's grandfather had previously comprehensively rebuilt Loftus Hall as an elegant 17th Century House, which meant that Loftus could focus his attention on Ely house.[n] In just two years, the new Dublin mansion included outhouses, a coachhouse and stables, all completed a year or two before his wife Frances died in 1774. Almost every room in the house was decorated with exquisite plasterwork with carved marble fireplaces and doors made of "panelled West Indian mahogany, with silver handles and lockplates, pierced and chased".[29] The following year, Loftus married Anne Bonfoy,[o] presenting her with the newly completed Ely House.[30][6][p]

The next few years were much more relaxed for Loftus, allowing him to bask in social approbation with his new wife. With all major projects completed, political satires forgotten, Loftus had successfully balanced great political influence with inadequate financial resources. Outwardly and by his own testimony, he was very wealthy man.[6] Social acceptance culminated in his appointment as a Knight Founder of the Order of St Patrick. He received the news of his latest honour whilst "taking the waters" at Bath, which he greeted with a combination of pomposity and humour.[5] Loftus died in May 1783 at The Circus in Bath before he could be installed.[32]

Legacy

Loftus's last years of grandiloquence concealed debts totalling £64,000 (in 1783 money) plus crippling annuities.[6] He died leaving no issue by either marriage, passing his estates and debts to his sister's son Charles Tottenham, who also took on oversight of the Loftus Squadron.[q][2]

Rathfarnham Castle and Ely House are finely preserved examples of Georgian interior design, where people continue to pay and marvel at Loftus's opulent life-style.

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Loftus married firstly in 1745 Frances Monroe, daughter of Henry Monroe of Roe's Hall, County Down;[2] the manor at Richfield was part of the settlement for the marriage from his father
  2. ^ In 18th-century Ireland (and Britain) the difference between being elected MP for a borough seat versus MP for a county seat was substantial and very real — politically, socially, and financially
  3. ^ Loftus had inherited his grandfather's passion for real estate and in particularly, for extravagant house improvements. His grandfather, also a "Henry Loftus", had acquired Loftus Hall and various other Wexford lands on the Hook and refurbished them to his taste and style. Renaming Mount Malpas as Loftus Hill was probably a parody of Loftus Hall where Loftus was born, but was his disliked brother's main residence. Plans to refurbish Mount Malpas were cut short, however, when a much bigger prize, Rathfarnham Castle, became available
  4. ^ Loftus knew what a father's contempt felt like and appears to have had genuine concern for his nephew's well-being.[5]
  5. ^ the case ran from 1758 until 1784, settled in Loftus's favour in 1771 after his nephew had died but was reopened and only finally settled after Loftus's death in 1784.[6]
  6. ^ Loftus had promised his natural half-brother Sir Edward Loftus, 1st Baronet a family seat if he would relinquish his claim to income from Wexford estates, then reneged on that promise when he had persuaded two distant cousins, Henry and Arthur Loftus, to return to Ireland to sit for rotten boroughs instead.[5] Sir Edward, who was returned to Parliament for Jamestown had expressed independent opinions that were not necessarily aligned with Loftus's plans for political influence. The two cousins, however, had just cashed in their army commissions and were momentarily cash rich, which Loftus took advantage of by securing a significant loan from both men, guaranteeing their seats and helping Loftus to settle the downpayment on the lease for Rathfarnham Castle.[6]
  7. ^ Also known as the "Ely Legion" or "Loftus Legion"[6][5]
  8. ^ Loftus, now aged sixty, was in a hurry to consolidate his legacy, indicated by the breadth of his activities over the next ten years
  9. ^ the painting shows from the left Dolly Monroe, her sister Frances, Loftus and his Lady and "a young black boy from the Malibar Coast" in the opulent spleandour of Rathfarnham Castle
  10. ^ Dolly Monroe's admirers included Henry Grattan and Oliver Goldsmith. At the time, she had been seen frequently with Hercules Langrishe, who did not respond well to being rejected by her in favour of Townshend. She married the politician William Richardson, and died without issue in 1793.[18]
  11. ^ The painting opposite was supervised throughout by Lord Townshend, showing the skill of his subterfuge matched by the gullibility of Lady Loftus
  12. ^ Townshend's triumph was short-lived, however, as he had also made promises to the other niece, Anne Montgomery, promises he had no intention of honouring, publicly shaming her. When Townshend had been recalled back to London in 1772, Anne's outraged brother, a noted duellist, pursued him to England and overtook him on horseback, forcing Lord Townshend to a marriage with Anne, which took place in May the following year.
  13. ^ With all the work being conducted simultaneously between 1770 and 1774 on Rathfarnham Castle, Ely House and Dolly mount, with Loftus Hall being fully surveyed and maintained, Loftus had decided not to renovate his property in Richfield or the lavish setting of Castle Hume still under dispute in court, even though Loftus considered the house was "justly reckoned among the first rate in Ireland".[6] Loftus's credit had limits.[2]
  14. ^ Loftus hosted Gabriel Beranger at Loftus Hall in 1780 with the house on full display[28]
  15. ^ daughter of Captain Henry Bonfoy and Anne Eliot, and sister of Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot
  16. ^ Countess Ely continued to live at her home in Ely House long after Loftus's death in 1783. She installed an (eighth) bay at the first floor level upwards in 1785, creating a 60-seat "attic theatre" for her friends' amateur dramatics before selling the house in 1809.[31]
  17. ^ Charles Tottenham took the name and Arms to "Loftus" in lieu of the Loftus properties, and traded the Loftus Squadron for a Marquessate after 1801

References

  1. ^ Townend, Peter (1970). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (105th ed.). London: Burke's Peerage Limited. p. 2862.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Public Record Office of Northern Ireland – Ely Papers" (PDF). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Johnston-Liik, E.M. (2006). MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800 (Illustrated ed.). Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 250. ISBN 9781903688601.
  4. ^ Parish Register Society Of Dublin (1915). "Henry Loftus esq in Marriage Entries in the Registers of the Parishes of St Marie, St Luke, St Catherine & St Werburgh, 1627-1800". No. Parish Register Society Of Dublin, 1697–1800. brightsolid online publishing ltd. p. 19.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Loftus, Simon (2013). The Invention of Memory. London: Daunt Books. pp. 15–59. ISBN 978-1-907970-146.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Malcolmson, A.P.W. (2003). "A house divided: The Loftus family, earls and marquesses of Ely, c. 1600-c. 1900". In Dickson, David; O'Grada, Cormal (eds.). Refiguring Ireland: Essays in honour of L.M. Cullen. Dublin: Publisher. pp. 184–224.
  7. ^ Anon (3 March 1761). "CANDIDATES". Dublin Journal.
  8. ^ Anon (17 October 1761). "The Honourable Henry Loftus in the chair". Dublin Journal.
  9. ^ Anon (4 October 1766). "The Precipice 1766". Dublin Journal.
  10. ^ Anon (8 May 1762). "DUBLIN". Dublin Gazette.
  11. ^ Wilson, Peter. "Killiney Castle". Killiney History. Killiney History. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  12. ^ Ball, F Elrington (1902). A history of the county of Dublin: the people, parishes and antiquities from the earliest times to the close of the eighteenth century (Part 1 ed.). Dublin: Alexander Thom.
  13. ^ McParland, Edward (9 September 1982). "Rathfarnham Castle". Country Life.
  14. ^ Anon (18 August 1774). "The review of the House of Commons". Freeman's Journal.
  15. ^ "Public Record Office of Northern Ireland – Ely Papers" (PDF). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  16. ^ Bartlett, Thomas (September 1981). "Opposition in Late Eighteenth-Century Ireland: The Case of the Townshend Viceroyalty". Irish Historical Studies. 22 (88): 326.
  17. ^ a b Loftus, Simon (2012). "Count Lofthonzo" (PDF). The Georgian Group Journal. XX: 119–136. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  18. ^ Robins, Joseph (2001). Champagne & Silver Buckles - The Viceregal Court at Dublin Castle 1700-1922. Dublin: Lilliput Press. pp. 57–60. ISBN 1901866580.
  19. ^ O'Mahony, Charles (1912). THE VICEROYS OF IRELAND (EBook #36193 ed.). London: the Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  20. ^ O'Mahony, Charles (1912). THE VICEROYS OF IRELAND (EBook #36193 ed.). London: the Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  21. ^ Winder-Baggot, Jennifer. "Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, an Office of Public Works property". Irish Historic Houses. J Winder-Baggot. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  22. ^ Bowe, Patrick. "Thomas Leggett (fl. 1740-1802), landscape gardener". The Journal of the Irish Georgian Society. The Georgian Society. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  23. ^ Crookshank, Anne (2002). Ireland′s Painters, 1600–1940 (Hardback ed.). Yale University Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-0300097658.
  24. ^ Anon. "Conservation Ely House". Irish Georgian Society. Irish Georgian Society. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  25. ^ Strickland, Walter G (1911). "Ely Place". Georgian Society Records. II: 120–123.
  26. ^ Frizell, Richard. "Maps of the Lordships and Manors of Loftus Hall, Fethard, and Templetown in the County of Wexford". National Library of Ireland. NLI. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  27. ^ Handcock, William Domville (1991) [first published 1876]. The History and Antiquities of Tallaght in the County of Dublin (2nd ed.). Dublin: Anna Livia Press. ISBN 1-871311-19-5.
  28. ^ Hore, Philip Herbert (1904). History of the town and county of Wexford (Vol IV ed.). London: Elliot Stock. p. 483.
  29. ^ Mac Giolla Phadraig, Brian (1982). Ely House a detailed guide to its Classical and Georgian features. Dublin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  30. ^ Loftus, Simon (2012). "Count Lofthonzo" (PDF). The Georgian Group Journal. XX: 119–136. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  31. ^ McCarthy, Patricia. "Private theatricals in Irish houses, 1730 to 1815" (PDF). The Journal of the Irish Georgian Society. Irish Georgian Society. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  32. ^ Rayment, Leigh. "Knights of the Order of St Patrick". Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008.


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