Landlord for Magherascouse, Co. Down - 1790

[QuickDraw]

I found an ancestor in the Freeholders' Records on PRONI. The record states he was living in the townland of  Magherascouse, Co. Down and had registered his freehold on 25 January 1790. The record doesn't identify his landlord. Would anyone know who this would have been?

[Elwyn Soutter]

Looking at the PRONI e-catalogue, there’s this reference to Lord Londonderry being the owner of at least some of the townland in 1790:

D714/6/2   11 February 1790

Lord Londonderry, Mt. Stewart, to Francis Turnly, Newtownards.
"William Moore of Magherascouse ... is charged in the rent roll £3 advance being the forfeiture ... he is subject to under the non-alienating clause, but out of lenity, I have consented to abate £2 and only wish, he shou'd pay twenty shillings advance for the farm granted to James Bowman Junr. since gone to America ..."

"Orderd to be chd. from 1787. Frans. Taggart."

Judging by Griffiths Valuation in 1863, that townland was mostly owned by the Dufferin Clandeboye estate.

[QuickDraw]

Thank you Elwyn... you've given me a lead to followup on.

From other sources on PRONI, I had determined that the Dufferin Clandeboye estate (Blackwood family) held this land by 1814 and "hints" they may have held it much earlier (e.g. "By the late 18th century they [the Blackwoods] were a prominent, though far from dominant, landed family in the county. A large bloc of their acreage lay within the rectangle cornered by the small towns of Killyleagh, Comber, Saintfield and Crossgar..."). However, the reference that you found for Lord Londonderry in 1790 suggests this may not have been the case.

Thanks again.

[Elwyn Soutter]

If you search under Magherascouse on the PRONI e-catalogue, you’ll get 51 references to the townland.  I suggest you have a look at them to see if any refer to your family or otherwise answer your question about who owned it and when.