Bishopscourt House
| Bishopscourt | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Bishopscourt
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| Coordinates: 53°18′N 6°30′W / 53.3°N 6.5°WCoordinates: 53°18′N 6°30′W / 53.3°N 6.5°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kildare |
| Elevation | 61 m (200 ft) |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Bishopscourt is a townland and historic site in County Kildare, Ireland, near Kill, Ardclough and Straffan and beside the N7 road. The estate was once held by the Bishops of Kildare.
In 1527, Thomas, Bishop of Kildare, granted Bishopscourt to Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, and his wife Margaret. In 1537 it passed to John Alen, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In 1676 it passed to John Margetson, later to die at the Siege of Limerick in 1690 fighting for William of Orange. His daughter married Brabazon Ponsonby, recorded in folklore as a fortune hunter.
The Ponsonby family became the most powerful political dynasty in 17th century Ireland. John Ponsonby was speaker of the Irish House of Commons (1753–1761), and William Ponsonby was leader of the Irish Whigs (1789–1803) and birthplace of his brother George Ponsonby (1755–1817) leader of the Whig Party in the British House of Commons at Westminster (1808–1817), his uncle Major-General Sir William Ponsonby (1772–1815) whose inept charge at the Battle of Waterloo resulted in his death at the hands of the Polish Lanciers and was studied as an example of failed battle strategy for generations afterwards, and of his sister Mary Ponsonby, wife of The 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834 and best known nowadays as the Earl Grey of the tea brand. Ponsonby descendants include Sir Alec Douglas-Home (British Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964), Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, heir to the British throne, and the designer Nicky Haslam.
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