James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil (1730-1798), was the son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil and Lady Harriet Bentinck. He served as Sheriff of Co. Louth, Governor of Co. Louth, Custos Rotulorum of Co. Louth and Chief Remembrancer of the Court of Exchequer until his death in 1798. After his father’s death in 1758, he succeeded to the title Earl of Clanbrassil and took his seat in the House of Lords. He was made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland in 1766, and at the same time, sat as MP for Helston from 1768-74. He married Grace Foley, daughter of Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley of Kidderminster and the honourable Grace Granville, in 1774. He was appointed Knight of the Order of the Garter and Knight Founder of the Order of St Patrick, in 1783. Upon his death in 1798, his titles became extinct and his sister, the Countess of Roden, inherited his estates.

One of his estates was Tolleymore, a house and parkland established by his father. Hamilton had inherited an interest in construction work from his father and endeavoured to add a series of gothic-style buildings to the grounds of Tollymore with the helpful involvement of his friend and architect, Thomas Wright. At some point, Hamilton corresponded with Robert Adam to make designs for a gothic-style tower, presumably for his estate at Tollymore. These drawings are not dated but Roden suggests that they probably date from around c.1769 which is when Adam also made a design for a ceiling for Hamilton’s London residence at 9 Stanhope Street. Adam also made a design for a ‘Chinese Bridge’ for Hamilton’s demesne at Dunalk, in 1773, which was executed. The designs for the tower, however, were not executed, and Hamilton continued to add his own gothic follies across his estate instead.

Literature: G. Cockayne, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, Volume 3, 1910, pp. 212-3; A.T. Bolton, The Architecture of Robert and James Adam, Volume II, Index, 1922, p. 66; A. Rowan, ‘Georgian Castles in Ireland I’, Bulletin of the Irish Georgian Society, Volume 7, No. 1, January-March 1964, pp. 8, 11-13; D. King, The Complete Works of Robert & James Adam and Unbuilt Adam, Volume 2, 2001, pp. 228, 239, 246; The Earl of Roden, Tollymore: The story of an Irish Demesne, 2005, pp. 47, 64-6

Louisa Catt, 2023