Finaghy 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, 
 
COLONEL WILLIAM ROBERT (Robin) HUNTER CHARLEY OBE, 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. 

He 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.

Colonel Charley was appointed OBE (civil) in 1989, for services to The Forces Help Society and Lord Roberts' Workshops.

FINAGHY HOUSE

THE FIRST MENTION of Finaghy House was when Ballyfinaghy was purchased from a Richard Woods, in 1727, by Ralph Charley, successful merchant of Belfast. 

In 1727 it is recorded that Finaghy House was "an imposing mansion in a large park with extensive outhouses and stables".
The Charley family armorial bearings were on the outside gables and on a landing half-way up the wide, oak banister stairs. The coat-of-arms are still engraved on the landing window.


At the time of the house sale in 1885, one of the conditions of sale was that, if the house was demolished, the coat-of-arms was to be returned to the Charley family.

The Charleys were pioneers in the linen industry and it is said that looms were set up in this house in the 18th century. The new process of bleaching linen cloth with chlorine was perhaps discovered and first used here.

Every 12th of July for about 150 years, until 1972, the Belfast Orangemen used to walk to The Field at Finaghy.

This field was owned by the Charleys, who granted it in perpetuity on the Twelfth to the Orange Order, the "rent" being that the lesson should always be read from the Charley bible during the religious part of the ceremony. 

Finaghy House, originally known as Ballyfinaghy House, was built in 1727.

In 1729, it was sold by Richard Woods to Ralph Charley.

The house became known as Finaghy House, which means “fair fields”, as it was then surrounded by green fields.

Five generations of the Charley family lived at Finaghy. As pioneers in  the linen industry, it is said that the looms were set up in this  house.

The Charleys developed the linen industry at Seymour Hill in 1822 and Mossvale in 1830.

In 1885, Major and Mrs Brewis purchased Finaghy House from Mrs Mary Stewart Charley, widow of John Strouppe Charley.

The Brewises bred corgi dogs: They named one of their corgis “The Queen Mother”. The first corgi owned by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was bred in this house. 

In 1930, Major and Mrs Tyler were the owners of Finaghy House; and in 1960, the house was acquired by the trustees and converted into a residential home to accommodate twenty-four residents.

Finaghy House is now Faith House, a comfortable retiremant home in the middle of a large housing estate.

First published in March, 2011.