Conway House

CHARLEY OF SEYMOUR HILL

The family of Charley, or Chorley, passing over from the north of England, settled in Ulster in the I7th century, at first at Belfast, where they were owners of house property for two hundred years; and afterwards at Finaghy, County Antrim, where  

RALPH CHARLEY (1664-1746), of Finaghy House, was seated. His son,  

JOHN CHARLEY (1712-93), of Finaghy, died aged 81, leaving a son and successor,

JOHN CHARLEY (1744-1812), of Finaghy House, born in 1744; married in 1783, Anne Jane, daughter of Richard Wolfenden, of Harmony Hill, County Down. His 2nd son,

MATTHEW CHARLEY (1788-1846), of Finaghy House, married, in 1819, Mary Anne, daughter of Walter Roberts, of Colin House. His eldest son,

JOHN STOUPPE CHARLEY JP (1825-78), of Finaghy House, County Antrim, and Island of Arranmore, County Donegal; JP for counties Donegal, Antrim, and Borough of Belfast; High Sheriff of County Donegal, 1875-6; married, in 1851, Mary Stewart, daughter of Francis Forster JP, of Roshine Lodge, County Donegal. The 3rd son,

WILLIAM CHARLEY, of Seymour Hill, Dunmurry; married, in 1817, Isabella, eldest daughter of William Hunter JP, of Dunmurry, and died in 1838, aged 37. The eldest son,

JOHN CHARLEY, of Seymour Hill, died unmarried in 1843, aged 25, and was succeeded by his brother, 

WILLIAM CHARLEY JP DL (1826-1904), of Seymour Hill; married, in 1856, Ellen Anna Matilda, daughter of Edward Johnson JP, of Ballymacash, near Lisburn, and granddaughter of Rev Philip Johnson JP DL.

Mr Charley was juror of Great Exhibition, 1851; chairman of J & W Charley & Company. He wrote the book Flax And Its Products. He was succeeded by his son,

EDWARD JOHNSON CHARLEY (1859-1932), of Seymour Hill. His 6th son, 

COLONEL HAROLD RICHARD CHARLEY CBE DL (1875-1956), of Seymour Hill; officer, 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles; fought in the Boer War, and First World War, with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, and was wounded and became a PoW.

In 1916 he started workshops for interned British servicemen at Murren. He was Officer-in-Charge for Technical Instruction for servicemen interned in Switzerland in 1917; Commissioner of British Red Cross Society, Switzerland, 1918; commander of the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles, 1919-23.

CBE, 1920; City Commandant, Ulster Special Constabulary, 1924-52; originator of the British Legion Car Park Attendants scheme (adopted throughout Great Britain); Honorary Colonel, 1938, Antrim Coast Regiment (Territorial Army). His eldest son, 

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WILLIAM ROBERT (Robin) HUNTER CHARLEY OBE JP DL, born in 1924; married Catherine Janet, daughter of William Sinclair Kingan, in 1960.

In 1943 he was enlisted in the Royal Ulster Rifles; fought in 2nd World War, and the Korean War; Commanding Officer, OTC Queen's University, Belfast, 1965-68; Officer, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

Colonel Charley retired from the army in 1971; was on Staff in 1972 at Northern Ireland Polytechnic; lived in 1976 at Seymour Lodge, Larch Hill, Craigavad, County Down.

In 1852, William Charley, who had succeeded to the Seymour Hill estate, gave some land to his younger brother Edward (1827-68), to build a house for his first wife Mary (nee Caldecott) (1834-54) from Essex.

Edward named it Conway after the local landowner, Lord Hertford, one of whose titles was Lord Conway.

The house was then occupied until his death by Bishop Reeves. 

In 1892, it was sold by the executors of Edward Charley's brother William to John D Barbour, of Hilden, father of Sir Milne Barbour Bt.

Sir Milne lived at Conway for many years until he died in 1951.

At one time the Charley crest stood over the front door, but a bomb destroyed it some years ago. 

Conway House was formerly a four-star hotel operated by Trusthouse Forte.

First published in February, 2011.