biographical notice of george walker, governor of derry during the siege in 1688. part i

Ulster Archaeological Society

Biographical Notice of George Walker, Governor of Derry during the Siege in 1688. Part IAuthor(s): Abraham DawsonSource: Ulster Journal of Archaeology, First Series, Vol. 2 (1854), pp. 129-135Published by: Ulster Archaeological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20608720 .

Accessed: 22/05/2014 04:31

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Ulster Archaeological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to UlsterJournal of Archaeology.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.170 on Thu, 22 May 2014 04:31:40 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=uas

http://www.jstor.org/stable/20608720?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


129

2t3. " You have a good many nicks in your horn. "-Ulster. (The age of an ox is shown by the

rings at the base of the horn; and the expression is jocularly applied to persons.) "We ken your

elid by the ruinkles o' your horn."-Scot. )4. " There' never a gant [yawn] but there's a want, of mate, money, or sleep."-Ulster. " Gant

ing bodes wanting ane o' things threc,-sleep, meat, or gude companie."-Scot. 25. "Hit a dog with a bone, an' he'll not gowl."-Ulster. (In doing an unkindness, confer some

beniefit, and you prevent growling.) "' Fell a dog wi' a bane, an' he'll no yowl."-Scot. 26. "JLook a thing till ye fine it, an' then ye'll notloss yerlabour."-Ulster. "Seek tillyou find,

ani you'll not lose your labour. '-Eng.

27. "You can kill the two birds with one stone."-Ulster. " Kill two birds with one shaft." Eng. "Kill twa flies wi' ain flap."-Scot.

2"8. "Them 'at likes the dunghill sees no motes in it."-Ulster. "' They who lo'e the midden see

nae mots in't." -Scot.

29. " Every day braw makes Sunday a daw." (If the best clothes be worn during the week, a

less respectable appearance is made on Sunday.) "I Alike ilka day makes a clout on Sunday.-Scot." 30. " Let the tail go with the hide.Ulster. " Let the horns garng wi the hide."-Scot. 3 1. " Great cry an' little wul, as the Deil said when he pluckt the pig."- lster. "Muckle din and

little woo,' quo the Deil when he clippit the sow. "-Scot. H.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF GEORGE WALKER. GOVERNOR OF DERRY DURING THE SIEGE IN 16iQ.

BY THEm REV. ABRAHAM DAWSON, A.B.

Curate of Christ's Church, Belfast.

PART I.

GEORGE WALKE:R was the son of English parents. His father, a native of Yorkshire,' appears to

have settled in the county of Tyrone, early in the seventeenth century. Like his son -he bore the name of George Walker, and was a clergyman of the church of Ireland. From the records of the

Board of First Fruits, it appears that the elder Walker was instituted to the parish of Badoney, in the county of Tyrone and diocese of Derry, on the 13th of January, 1630.b He was still ree

* Graham's Ireland Preserved, Notes, 380. h Graham's Derriana, 101. In this passage Graham

says only, that " a person of the same name'1 [George Walker] was instituted to Badoney and afterwards to Cappagh. In his later works, being better informed, he states positively, that the rector of Cappagh wa3

father of the governor of Derry ; and, of course, this af firmation extends to the Rector of Badoney. At the time of Walker's institution Badoney was undivided.

About a century ago it was divided into the parishes of Upper and Lower Badoney. The mother^church is at Glenelly, in Upper Badoney.

2 P.



130

tor of this parish in 1634, when Dr. John Bramhall was appointed to the bishopric of Derry, on the

decease of Dr. Downham, the former bishop. Dr. Bramhall, who was himself a native of Yorkshire,

(being, born at Pontefract in that county,) seems to have been previously acqua.inted with the elder

Walker, and to have highly appreciated his abilities. The new bishop found his diocese in a state of

much disorder, and on commencing the work of reformation he first consulted with "the old, vene

rable Dr. Walker, whom he addressed himself to as to his father.c " Bishop Bramhall, grateful for

the assistance rendered him by Walker at this time, procured his appointment to the parish of Cap

pagh, in the gift of Trinity College, on the 26th of September, 1636." During the troubled period

which followed soon after this appointment we can discover no trace of him. His friend and pat ron Bramhall fled to the Continent to save his life from the hostility of Cromwell and the English Parliament. Returning, to England at the Restoration in 1660, Bramhall was immediately nomi

nated to the primacy of the Irish Chuarch, and was duly consecrated Archbishop of Armagh, on the

18th of January, 1661. This zealous prelate, in the same year, held a general Visitation of the

See of Armagh and the other Dioceses conneeted with it. On this occasion, at the Visitation held

at Derry, August, 19, 1661, Walker is thus noticed in the Visitation Book: " Geo. Walker, Rec tor de Cappog, M.A., Rector absens licentiat.e '

Walker was subsequently promoted by Archbishop Bramhall to the parish of Kilmore, in the die

cese of Armagh, and to the chancellorship of Armagh, which is held in connection with that parish! The exact date of this promotion has not been discovered g; however it could not have been later than 1663, in which year, on the 25th of June, Archbishop Bramhall died. WValker seems to have

been succeeded in the parish of Cappagh by one Elias de Raynac, who appears as Rector of " Cap

pogo," at the Triennial Visitation held at Derry, June 6, 1664.h The Act for the Uniformity of Public Prayers was passed in the year 1665. By its provisions it

was required of all persons in holy orders, schoolmasters, and private tutors, that they should sub scribe a declaration of allegiance to the King, and of conformity to the Liturgy of the Church of Ire

land, as by law established. In the Armagh Book of Subscriptions Dr. Walker appears among the first who sioned this declaration in his diocese. On the 5th of September, 1666, he thus subscribes

himself: "Geo. WValker, Canc: de Ardmac.'" Dr. Walker continued Rector of Kilmore until his death in 1677. He was buried in his parish

c"Ware's Works, edited by Harris, vol. I, (Hist, of the Bishops) 113.

A Graham's Derriana, 101 ; Ireland Preserved, Notes, 380.

e Diocesan Records, Metropolitan Registry Office, ** Armagh?The writer is much indebted to Mr. George D. Hughes,?a gentleman connected with the Armagh re gistry Offi e,?for the accuracy and zeal with which he has supplied all the information which the Records of that office contain, respecting both Walkers.

f Graham's Ireland Preserved, Notes, 381.

s The Armagh r>ioc. Records are imperfect from 1584 to 1678.

h Armagh Dtoc. Records. 1

Armagh Dioc. Records. In alluding to this signa ture Dr. Cottov supplies the link which connects the Rector of Kilmore with the Governor of Derry. Referring to the ChancoUors of Armagh, he says:? "

1H66, George Walker, D.D., appears. (Dioc. Reg.) Ho was father of the Rev George Walker, who, in the reign of King James II, eminently distinguished himself at the Siege of Derry." Fasti Ecclesi Hibernic , (Dublin, 184^), vol. Ill, p. 40. See also Graham, ubi sitpr.



131

church. A plain stone, inserted in the floor in front of the cbance], marks his grave, and bears this

simple inscription:

GEORGE WALKER, D.D.: CHALINC

ELLOUR OF ARDMAGII &RECTOR

OF KILMORE, WHlO DYED YE

15TH DAY OF SEPTEMfNBER ANNO

DOM. 1077.

GEORGE WALKER, the subject of this Memoir, son of Dr. Walker, rector of Kilmore, was born in the county of Tyronc.k The year of his birth, according to credible tradition, was 1618. Of his carly life al most nothing is recorded. The single fact which history has preserved is, that he received his education at the university of Glasgow." It is difficult to aceount for the preference thus given to this university before those of Oxford, Cambridge, or Dublin. Any of these would appear to offer more attractions than Glasgow to the son of English parents, who were members of an Episcopal church, and who at the

time, perhaps, designed their son for that ministry to which he was afterwards ordained. In the way of explanation we may surmise that there was much intercourse between Scotland and that part of Ulster in which Walker's family then resided, and that there were greater facilities for travelling from Derry to Glasgow, than even to Dublin. Also residence at the Glasgow university may have been much less expensive, and, considering the state of the times, safer than at any of the other uni versities named. From whatever cause the selection of Glasgow was made, the fact itself seems to have been the foundation of the erroneous statement occasionally made, that Walker was a Dissenter.

We have no information when Walker was admitted into Holy Orders, or where he spent the first part of his ministerial life. On the 16th ofJuly, 1669, he made- the requisite subscription to the Act of Uniformity, at Armagh, on his appointment to the parishes of Lessan (now Lissan,) and Desertlyn, in the diocese of Armagh.0

Walker was married to Isabella Maxwell, daughter to Robert Maxwell of Finnebrogue, county Down.y The exact date of this marriage is unknown; but, from a passage in Walker's " Vindication

of the True Account of the Siege of Londonderry," it would appear to have taken place a few years

k Ware's Works, vol. II, ( Writers of Ireland), 205 ; Edit. 1746.

1 Graham's Ireland Preserved, Notes, 381 ; and History of Ireland, Appendix, 362. The date given above is probably correct. The epithets '*old, venerable, &c," applied by Ware to the elder Walker, in ?034, render it unlikely that his son was born at a more recent period. m Ware's Works, vol. II, 205; also, Birch's Life of Tillolson, 281. #

n The attention of the writer has been directed by one of the editors of this Journal to the following instance of the error allud?d to. It occurs in the " Belfast News

Letter," No. 4036, April, 9-12, anno 1776. In an obi tuary notice of Mr Willain Kenny, then lately de ceased, at the age of 109 years. It is said?"He was one of the gallant defenders of Londonderry ; was in several actions afterwards ; and one of the Enniskil leners, who, with the brave English troops (under the immortal Mr. Walker, an eminent Dissenting Minister}, distinguished themselves at different periods for King

William, of Glorious Memory." 0 Armagh Dioc. Records.

p Graham's Ireland Preserved, Notes, 320.



132

at least, prior to his appointment to Lessan and Desertlyn.q Walker was again connected with the

Maxwell family by the marriage of his only sister, Anne, to William Maxwell, of Falkland, in tlle

county of Monaghan, the fourth son of Dr. Maxwell, Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh, and nearly re

lated to Robert Maxwell of Finnebroguc.'

On the 2nd of August, 1670, Walker again made subscription at Armagh, but without any desig

nation appended, or any note which might assign the reason of this additional subscription.' On the

9th of September, 1674, Walker subscribed on his appointment to the parish of Donaghmore, in the

county of Tyrone, in succession to the Rev. James Barclay, who had been rector of that parish only

from the 26th of May, 1673. t Walker held Donaghmore in conjunction with his former parishes,

or certainly with Lessan, for, at the Triennial Visitation, in 1679, he appears as rector of Donagh

more and Lessan, having Bartholomew Blacke as his curate in the latter parish." The loss of the ancient parochial records (which would seem to be almost universal in this country)

leaves us without that information respecting Walker, as a parish minister, which it is reasonable to

qlii this Vindication, which was published in 1683, Walker states, that he had at that time, four sons in the

service of King William. * Graham's Ireland Preserved, Notes, 320, 381.

The following interesting narrative of the escape of Mrs. Maxwell and her children from Falkland, after her husband was murdered by some of his own te nantry, in 1691, originally appeared in the " Ne wry Telegraph," December 6, 1838. It was communicated by the late Rev. H. P. Lyte, (a connection of the Maxwell family by marriage) in a letter to the editor of that newspaper, from which it is now reprinted with the omission of some inaccurate statements which involve obvious historical errors.

"William Maxwell, Esq., the then possessor of Falk land, and high sheriff for the county, (Monaghan,) had,

during the troubles of the year 169-1, some horses stolen from his demesne. A letter was sent to him by some of the popish party, to say that, if he would meet them at a certain hour and place, the horses should be restored to him. He unwarily depended on the faith of the

writers, went to the place appointed, and was inhumanly murdered. His wi'e, Walker's sister, immediately shut herself up in the house of Falkland, and in the spirit of her gallant brother, determined to hold out till some re lief should be given her from the Protestants. On the following day however, the butler, a papist, in whom she fully confided, came to his mistress and compelled her to give up to him and his fellow-servants all the money she had in her possession, amounting to about forty pounds, and then, after plundering the house, left her to her fate. This heroic woman, however, though thus barbarously treated by those in whom she most trusted, did not resign herself to despair ; but, placing her children in a pair of panniers, on the back of an old horse, she took her melancholy way across the country towards Londonderry, The difficulties and privations she endured are incredible, being obliged to subsist chiefly on the berries she could pick up by the road side; and it is further said, that having lost one of the ?children by the way, she was obliged to return a day's

journey to seek it, and found it, "at length, almost ex hausted with cold and hunger. She made her way, how ever, to Derry ; and from thence she was sent with her little family, to Scotland, where they were hospitably received by the Maxwells of Calderwood, the old stock from which the family originally sprung." At the close of this letter Mr. Lyte states, that " Mrs. Lyte is in pos session of a very curions old silver watch, once the pro perty of her great ancestor, Walker."?This relic has been described to the writer as a small, single-cased watch, with the initials " G. W." engraved on the back of it; and having the winding-hole covered by a small plate of silver, which moved on a pivot.

Graham says (Ireland Preserved, Notes, 381), that hs was murdered "

by some of his own tenantry and fol lowers, in revenge for the protection he had given to the

Protestants, in the course of the preceding war." Mr. Maxwell was included in the first division of persons at tainted by the infamous Bill of Attainder, passed by James's parliament in 1689.

The attention of the writer was obligingly directed to this narrative by the R?v. Thomas Cirpenddlu,

Rector of Donaghmore. s Armagh Dioc. Records. Armagh Dioc. Records. u Ibid : see also conclusion of this Article. Graham, (Irelnd Preserved, Notes, 381; and Ili?ory

of Ireland, Appendix, 362), gives a much earlier, but plainly erroneous date of Walker's appointment to Donaghmore. In the same passages, Graham says, that "Walker was presented, at the same time, to the pa rishes of Donaghmore, and Errigal Keerogue. But from the Armagh Dioc. Records it appears that Walker was never connected with Errigal Keerogue. In the year 1666, we find John Roan rector of that parish ; at the

Visitation of 1679, " Gualterus Stewart'' is mentioned as

the rector of that date ; on the 11th of July, 1681, An drew Hamilton is appointed to Errigal Keerogue, on the death of Stewart; and on the 31st of January, 1690, (O. S-), Alexander Moutray is appointed to the same parish on the death of Hamilton.



133

expect such documents would afford. Walker and his father, at different times, presided over at least

six parishes in Ulster; of all these the parochial records are no longer extant. The only information of this kind which we at present possess is furnished us by the register of the parish of Drumglass,

(Dungannon,) where Walker occasionally officiated.' The. appearance of entries by Walker in this

register is simply explained. When he was appointed to Donaghlmore, he found it would be requisite to rebuild the church and glebe-house, which had been destroyed, or very much injured, during the

great rebellion of 1641. Whilst they were being rebuilt, he resided at Dungannon, of which

town part of the suburbs are situated in the parish of Donaghmore. His residence at Dungannon

continued until a few years prior to his retiring, with the inhabitants of the town and its vicinity, for

safety to Derry; and during this period he frequenitly assisted the rector of Drumglass, the Rev. Peter Maurice, in the several offices of the minxistry.

The earliest date in the Druniglass register is 1663. The first entry made by Walker, is found at page 6 of the register, as at presernt numbered. It runs:-" Ann, ye daughter of Nicholas

Souldier , was baptized ye 7th of June, 1675, by me Geo. Walker." w Immediately below

this entry, on the same pafge is found the second, which runs.;-" Robert, ye son of Robert Preston,

Souldier, - was baptized ye 8th of June, 1675, by nme, Geo. Walker." The ink with which these entries were mnade has turned brown from age, but the entries themselves are as legible as when

first written. The third entry is found at page 23; it runs: " Mary, ye daughter of - Lawson, was

baptized by me, ye 22d day of 8ber, (October,) 1678. Geo. Walker.-Godfathers, Thomas Law

son, Clk., Robert Taylor; Godmothers, Mary Corbett, Jane Sproule (?) "' At page 28 there is an

entry of the baptism of Peter, son of Peter Maurice, Rector of Drumglass, on the 19th of De cember 1679; and at page 32, of the baptism of Elizabeth, that daughter of the Rev. Peter

Maurice, on the 21st of June, 1680. These last two entries do not bear Walker's name; but the exact similarity of the style proves they were written by him as well as the former entries. At page 44 then occurs the following entry, under the heading, "1 Burialls, 1685."-" Mlua

jor Theodore Maurice was buried on Saturday, the 22th of Agust, By MIr. George Walker, Rector

of Donnaghmore." The style of this last entry differs so very much from that of the former entries that it is doubtful if they were written by the same person. Walker and his wife are noticed also as

sponsors at several baptisms z; and, at page 19, the baptism of one of Walker's children is thus stated: " Thomas, ye son of George Walker, Clerk, was baptized on Monday, at even, ye 25 of June, (1677):

Godfathers, John Chichester, Henry Ball; Godmothers, Elizabeth WValker, Frances Nelson."

vFor the preservation of this register we are indebted to the opportune care of Mr. Richard Simmons, of Dun

gannon. This gentleman, who is still living, on being appointed a churchwarden of the parish of Drumglass, in 1&30, found "the Parish Registry Books in a state of

dilapidation, and fast going to decay," He at once col lected the scattered leaves, repaired and arranged them, and had them carefully bound together. The writer is

indebted to the courtesy of the Rev. Wm. Quain, rector of Drumglass, for the free use of this register.

w See Facsimile, No. I. * See Facsimile, No. II.

y See Facsimile, No. III. z In pp._18, 23 (twice), 26, 32, and 48.



134

This old register seems to tell us that Walker and his family were on kindly terms of intimacy

and friendship with the rector of Drumglass and his parishioners.

We come now to the time when Walker's parish church and glebe-house were rebuilt. According

to the date on the sun-dial, on the south wall of the tower) the new church of the parish of Donagh

more was built in the year 1680; and on the 24th of September, 1681,8 the primate issued a com

mission to William (Smith, D.D.) bishop of Killala, for its consecration. b The former church

stood at the village of Donaghmore, but the new edifice was erected at the village of Castle

Caulfield. Tradition assigns this change of site to the influence of Lord Chlarlemont, who desired

that the parish church might be in the vicinity of his mansion at the latter village. This tradition

seems to be confirmed by the prominence of Lord Charlemont's name in the primate's commission, and by the appearance of the coronet and crest of his family over the door of the tower.

The handsome stone windows which adorn the east and south sides of the church were taken from

the old church at Donaghmore.0 Over the east window, on the exterior, there is carved in stone the

figure of an angel holding an open bible, on which are engraved the ten commandments. The porch

on the south side was added in 1685. Above the entrance there is a piece of sculpture representing

two angels, or winged figures, holding between them an open bible, with the last four verses of the

24th psalm engraved upon it; and beneath the bible is the date of the addition, 1685.

By the change of site the church was removed about two English miles from the glebe-house. To

obviate this disadvantage Lord Charlemont, it is said, gave the towaland of Mullamore, on which the

present glebe-house is built,d for the townlancd of Mullagruen, on which (adjoining to the village of

Donaghmore) the old glebe-house stood. By this alteration the residenCe of the rector was brought

within a short distance of his parish church at Castlecaulfield. This change however seems to have

taken effect after the death of Walker, who rebuilt the glebe-house at Mullagruen, in the year 1683,

as appears from a fragment of this house which is still preserved.' Walker's house was standing

* The interval between these dates may be accounted for, by supposing that the former d.tte denotes the year in which the building was commenced ; or we may re

duce the interval to a few months by understanding 1680 to mirk, according to Old Stvte, the spring of 1681.

b Armagh Dioc. Records. The commission is is sued on the prayer of William- Caulfield, Viscount CharlemDnt, joined by the parishioners. The rector's name does not occur in this document. Blanks are left in it for the insertion of the dimensions of the church.

c The ball, also, appears to have belonged to the old church; but having suffered some injury, probably in 1641, it was re-cast at the expanse of Lord Charlemont, and was by him presented to the naw church. It bears the following inscription :?" Re-cast for William CauI

field, Vic'. Charlemont, ]f$r The first date may

denote the time of the original casting, the second, that of the re-casting. d Tne present glebe-house at Mullamore was built in 1737 by the R?v. Richard Vincent, who was rector of

Donaghmore from 1730 to 1774, Viaceat's msniorialfor

leave to build a glebe-house and offices, and to form new

gardens, 8cc, is dated 9th December, 1732, and is ad dressed from "Mullamore, near Dungannon?[Ar

magh Dioc. Records.] e Thh fragnent c insists of three stones, which were

removed from their place above the entrance-door of Walkers house, and were inserted in the garden wall

closely adjoining to Mr. Mackenzie's residence. They are imbedded in Roman cement, and around them extends a frame of the same substance. Two of the stones, placed side by side, form the base on which the third stands

This last is sculptured in the form of Walker's Arms, which correspond with those upon his monument, in Castlecaul field church, with the addition of supporters. The supporter on the left of the shield was broken off and lost at the time of removal, and the upper part of the crest has suffered injury. On the stones forming the base is engraved the date, i 683 ; one half being on each

stone, and not immediately contiguous. It has been said that Walker's initials were engraved upon the stones ;^at.pre3enU however, there are no initials upon



135

until about twenty years ago, when it was removed to make room for the residence of the late Alex ander Mackenzie, Esq. It is well remembered by many persons; and it has been described to the writer as a thatched cottage, having the appearance and the accommniodation of a comfortablefarm-house.,

Local tra(lition assigns to Wallker the erection of the ancient corn-mill in the village of Donagh

more, which is still standing and in use. An apparent confirrmation of this tradition is afforded by arn inscription on a stone in the wall, at the principal entrance of the mill. The stone, which is nearly

lozenge-shaped, is thus inscribed: W

G. I.

1684. The second initial is probably that of his wife, Isabella Walker. At that time it was not uncommon

to inscribe the initials, or even the names, of husband and wife together, on public buildings and works

erected by their joint munificence. g

Walker appears to have maintained his parental connection with England, by making occasional

visits to that country. One of these visits was made in March, 1685, by permission of the primate who granted himn a license for that purpose, on the 6th of this month, on his own application as rec tor of Donaghmore and Lessan.h A similar license was granted to him, under the same designation on the 24th of July, 1686.i

any part of the fragment. A slight indentation over the date on the right of the base, may denote the place where an initial-letter has been. The fragment, as it stands at present, is about 1 foot 10 inches wide at the base, and about 2 feet 6 inches in height. It is composed of the stone of the district.

i A relic of Walker's residence at Mullagruen was ex tant some years ago. This was a silver cup, supposed

to have been his property, which was dug up in the garden. It is known to have been in the possession of the late Mr. Mackenzie, but it cannot now be found.

g Fur an example of this custom, see vol. I of this Journal, p 304.

b Armagh Diocese Records.

i Ibid.



biographical notice of george walker, governor of derry during the siege in 1688. part i

Documents