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Abbeyleix Heritage House
Abbeyleix Heritage House is Laois' biggest history museum, community centre and business hub.
FOUND IN THE ARCHIVES![]()
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Today's FOUND IN THE ARCHIVES post features only a small selection of photographs/drawings which are on display in our museum. ![]()
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First photograph is of farm hands on the Abbeyleix estate c. the year 1930, with names listed. ![]()
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The second photograph is of Abbeyleix motors, which was on the site of the former Abbeyleix carpet factory. Abbeyleix motorworks was owned by the Bramley and stayed in business for many years. Currently Weaver's Court apartments are on the former site of the motor works. ![]()
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Photograph 3 is of the interior of Abbeyleix House.![]()
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Picture 4 is of the exterior and is a detailed sketch of part of the drive up to the house's front door. ![]()
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Come take a look at some of our old photographs yourself by visiting our museum. We are open Mon-Fri!![]()
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#Abbeyleix #abbeyleixheritagehouse #laoistourism #laoishistory #photographs #oldphotographs #oldphotos #foundinthearchive #archives #foundinthearchivestoday #irish
ABBEYLEIX St. Lazarians Camogie Abbeyleix Abbeyleix Manor abbeyleixbog Abbeyleix Tennis Club FIT Life Laois Laois Hockey Club Sport Ireland Laois Sports Partnership Abbeyleix AFC Laois Chamber Alliance Laois County Council Laois Partnership Laois Nationalist LaoisToday ABBEYLEIX GAA Local Enterprise Office Laois @LOETB![]()
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Please spread the word....All welcome to the Launch of Abbeyleix Vitality Hub our local Community Initiative
TRIVIA THURSDAY![]()
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This week's quiz is about Irish people from History, and is available to try through the link, or alternatively over on our Instagram stories @ abbeyleixheritagehouse !![]()
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forms.gle
Below are ten people from Irish history, famous for a variety of reasons including politics, exploration and the arts. Can you guess the correct person based off the photographs and hints provided?
Reminder:![]()
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Our weekly parent and baby/toddler group is on this morning from 10am to 12pm! 3 euro per parent, tea, coffee and biscuits provided☺️🧸![]()
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#heritagehouse #abbeyleixheritagehouse #community
Reverend Wingfield and the Wingfield Memorial Fountain ![]()
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Abbeyleix has many fountains located around the town, and most were erected in honour of the Viscounts De Vesci. However, there is one fountain on the Ballacolla Road, known as the Wingfield Memorial fountain, that is named after William ‘Willie’ Wingfield, who was once a Church of Ireland Reverend in Abbeyleix, and a relative of the De Vescis.![]()
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Wingfield was known for his involvement in having the Church of Ireland church St Michael and All Angels rebuilt with the aid of Lady Emma De Vesci in the 1860s. The majority of the old church was demolished, with only the bell and spire remaining before the church- which currently stands today, was rebuilt. ![]()
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Reverend Wingfield was born in 1799 in the village of Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, to parents Richard Wingfield and Isabella Brownlow (they married in 1896). Isabella Brownlow was the daughter of William Brownlow, an Anglo-Irish MP, whose sister Frances Letitia married the Second Viscount De Vesci. William Wingfield’s father was the 4th Viscount Powerscourt Richard Wingfield, with the family seat being at Powerscourt, Wicklow (Powerscourt House and Gardens is a well-known attraction today). The Wingfield family were originally from Suffolk in England, and came to Ireland sometime in the 16th century. The family received the title of Viscount in 1618. They had lands in counties Wicklow and Wexford, with an area of Wexford actually called Wingfield. William Wingfield's father voted against the Act of Union in 1801, this Act resulted in Ireland losing her parliament. The Wingfields are said to have been considerate landlords, much like the De Vescis, and according to an Irish Independent article, the current Viscount Powerscourt revealed that locals actually defended the estate from a mob during the war of Independence, so high their regard for the family. (Ed Power, 2017).![]()
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William’s half-brother Richard became the fifth Viscount Powerscourt, and William decided to become a rector. Richard became a Peer in the House of Lords, but died quite young at the age of 32 in 1823. William meanwhile attended Brasenose College, Oxford, and matriculated in 1818, when he was 19 years old. He married Elizabeth Harriet Kelly in September 1830, she was from Rathmines Castle, her father being Thomas Kelly, of the Kelly family, Kellyville, Ballintubbert, Athy. Her father was also a man of God like her husband, and is said to have been quite a popular preacher, with congregations in Athy and Dublin. However, these congregations were in 'Kellyite' chapels that he had built himself- due to his evangelical views clashing with the mainstream Anglican faith. Thomas Kelly was known for the many religious hymns that he wrote (over 700). An article from Stillorgan Genealogical society is listed at the end of this post for further reading on the Kellys, and on the Kellyites which Thomas Kelly founded. ![]()
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Elizabeth and William had seven children, most of them they had while they lived at Abbeyleix. Reverend Wingfield began as rector of Abbeyleix in 1836, and leased land in Tullyroe and Rathmoyle in Abbeyleix. Wingfield experienced some tragic losses throughout his life, with his daughter Isabella dying as an infant in 1834, his son Edward dying in 1847 and his wife Elizabeth Harriet passing in 1858. William Wingfield was then occupied with renovating and refurbishing the Church of Ireland Church in Abbeyleix throughout the next decade. Reverend Wingfield died on March 13th 1880, at the age of 80 years. The Wingfield Memorial fountain was built not long after his death, and supplied water to those living along the Mountrath road of the town. ![]()
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Wingfield was very well-respected in Abbeyleix. A quote from Turtle Bunbury histories is said to be from a ‘Catholic contemporary’ of Wingfield’s, who described him as a ‘gentleman … incapable of offering insult to his fellow-parishioners of the Catholic persuasion.’![]()
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Rev. William Wingfield is buried in the graveyard at St. Michael and All Angels Abbeyleix. ![]()
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Online sources/links:![]()
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Bunbury, Turtle ‘Rev. Willie Wingfield, Curate of Avoca (Wicklow) & Rector of Abbeyleix (Laois)’ n.d., turtlebunbury.com/document/willie-wingfield/ (15 Apr. 2024)![]()
Bow and Poff, ‘The Kelly Family- Stillorgan Genealogy and History’, May 2019, www.youwho.ie/kellyites.html (15 Apr. 2024)![]()
Power, Ed ‘Power play: How Powerscourt has a dark history worthy of Game of Thrones’, Irish Independent, 2 Apr. 2017.
