This is a shortened version of the description of Clontarf in "Chapters Of Dublin". Interesting in itself as a picure of 18th C Clontarf, but also giving names of the then Gentry re your mysterious Lady Ann.
"There was a day, however, when Clontarf had more of life and animation than it now possesses, when people of good condition came to stay at the Brierly Baths, when titled carriage folk drove backwards and forwards, and when the grand gates of Marino stood open to receive the fine company that came and went, visiting the Earl of Charlemont.
Marino is nearer to Dublin than Clontarf, on the Fairview Road. It is an old house, having been once the residence of a Cromwellian Attorney-General, Basil by name. It was a gift to the "great Earl" from his stepfather Thomas Adderley.
The letter in which this gentleman makes this present to his young stepson shows a nice feeling not always existent in the difficult relationship in which they stood to one another. There is, perhaps, rather an over-strained humility in his address, while at the same time he describes his gift as not inferior to any house near Dublin, either with respect to situation, taste, or convenience.
Lord Charlemont accepted the gift, but soon his craze for building and altering asserted itself, and the Lodge, as it was then called, became a sort of hobby, upon which he lavished large sums of money. The first thing was to change its name to Marino, which was undoubtedly appropriate, as the waters of Dublin Bay wash its southern verge.
Not that he began it with this object. He was in the zenith of his mental activity - an activity which required many channels. Architecture was one of these outlets; and on his return from Italy he was, as it were, possessed with an art fever........
.... and when Charlemont House was completed, and its gallery and museum crammed with objets d’art, the Earl returned to his original idea of making a retreat for himself in the leafy woods of Marino. In 1757 Sir William Chambers (then Mr. Chambers) drew the design, and a beautiful model was made by Bonomi, which is now in the Irish Academy....
.....The deceased gentleman was known to have been a collector of bric-a-brac and curios, and to have two cabinets and some Chippendale furniture which he had bought at the Charlemont sale. The fame of the Charlemont collection was enough to attract brokers from London and Cheater as well as Dublin. Curiously enough the cabinets went for a mere song. The Chippendale fetched a large price.]
It had a strong attraction for the late Lady Charlemont (Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Somerville, Bart.) - her very heart was in the place. She often said it was like the love Queen Mary had for Calais, and that she too would die when Marino was no longer hers. Her words came true, for she only survived the sale of her loved retreat a few months. The writer has many pleasant associations connected with Marino, where many of the days of her youth were passed, that golden age when all and everything is tinged with a halo of glory.
The Crescent, close to Marino, was, it is said, built to annoy Lord Charlemont by obstructing his view on the Dublin side. It has never taken as a place of residence.
At the farther end of Clontarf, on the road leading to the green lanes, is Clontarf Castle, which is built on the site of a monastery belonging to the Order of the Knights Templars. The old Castle, which since Queen Elizabeth's time has been in the possession of the family of Vernon (the same as Admiral Vernon, whose tomb is in Westminster Abbey), was rebuilt in the earlier portion of this century. Its late owner, John Venables Vernon, was for many years a well-known figure in Dublin society.
Another Clontarf mansion is St. Anne's, formerly the residence of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, *and now occupied by his son, Lord Ardilaun, one of the most unobtrusive benefactors of his own country, Lady Ardilaun being well known as an accomplished artist. The views here reproduced give a good idea of this fine mansion.
*His Wife was Lady Ann, maiden name Lee. (My note) Ref wikepedia
PM
PS Have you considered contacting:
http://www.clontarfonline.com/history.htmOr taking the items to a jeweller or art expert for their provenance. There may be marks on the Jewellery which could link them to a particular goldsmith etc.
