Irish Arts Review

The Wyses of WaterfordAuthor(s): Rosemary RyanSource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring, 2004), pp. 108-111Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25503015 .

Accessed: 17/06/2014 00:58

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 support@jstor.org.

.

Irish Arts Review is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Irish Arts Review(2002-).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:58:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

PORTRAITURE

THE WYSES OF WATERFORD

WATER 10 8 IRISH ARTS R II V I K W S P R I \ (; 2004

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:58:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Wyse family were intimately linked with the Reformation and

Counter-Reformation movements and with the Catholic struggle

for equality. Like other city-states Waterford's trade and politics

were monopolised by a few families. By 1375 the Wyses were sub

stantial landowners and merchants and by the 1460s their influence was such

that Maurice Wyse was elected mayor in 1478. In the 1490s his son John held

important posts in both the Dublin and the Waterford administrations. John's

I ~~

son William was actually brought up with the future King Henry VIII at the royal court and had a distinguished career.

In 1534 as Mayor of Waterford, William allowed the landing of royal troops, crucial to quashing Silken Thomas' rebel

lion. While Waterford's emissary to court in 1536, William received on behalf of the city 'an evident token of our

[Henry's] favours: we have sent you a cap of maintenance and a bearing sword to be borne at times thought fit by you,

our mayor, being our officer of our said city.' These are magnificent objects: the oldest surviving cap of maintenance in

Europe and the only piece of Henry's wardrobe to survive, it is made of red velvet from Lucca and embroidered with

Tudor roses and marguerites (for Henry's grandmother Margaret). Both objects are displayed in Waterford Museum of

Treasures, their conservation generously sponsored by the Heritage Council (Figs 3 6k 4). Following Henry's suppression

o{ the monasteries, William acquired the Benedictine priory of St John's in the suburbs of Waterford (hence the Wyses

of the Manor of St John's) and its substantial lands. William remained 'the king's servant, who hath always been prone

Later this month, a history of the

Wyse family of Waterford by Olga

Bonaparte Wyse is due to be

published by Waterford Museum

of Treasures. The Wyse family

were central to the history of

Waterford for almost 500 years

and have left their mark on the

city's art and architecture, its

politics and commerce.

ROSEMARY RYAN recalls some

of the outstanding members of

this remarkable family.

and ready to do the king's highness his most diligent service' and deliv

ered adherence in Waterford city and county to Henry's 'reforms'. He

was knighted in 1543, was made a member of the Irish Council - the

advisory body to the Lord Lieutenant - in 1546 and died in 1557.

The religious and political turmoil that followed the Reformation

during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I saw Wyse may

ors steer a tricky course of loyalty to the crown while remaining

Catholic. The extension of (Protestant) royal control in Ireland and

resistance to that campaign in the form of rebellion followed by con

fiscation seriously affected Waterford's trade and prosperity. But the

city was not always willing to facilitate government suppression - in

1569 it refused to send soldiers to assist the Lord Deputy. To placate

the government, the city council blamed the refusal on 'three or four

private persons' - one was George Wyse youngest son of Sir William.

George was not perturbed, claiming that 'when all Ireland rose in

support of the pretender to the throne of Henry VII, Waterford

alone stood fast' adding that 'the best of the citizens were abroad on

their voyages and that in any case poor merchants are not for the

field; it is not their profession'.

Almost a century later, Waterford City fell to the Cromwellians,

and the Wyse lands were confiscated but restored in 1660. Thomas

Wyse was the last Catholic mayor of Waterford to serve a full term in

1688/89. James II's defeat at the Boyne in 1690 saw a

Protestant city council restored and a Catholic

would not be a member again until 1829 when a

direct descendent, another Thomas, was elected.

We can take up the story of the Wyse family

1 George Mullins

(fl. 1763-75) Interior

of Newtown House, Waterford oil on

copper, 60.5 x 71cm

showing John, Francis and Mary Ann Wyse, children

of 'Bullocks' Wyse seated in the print room of Newtown

House

2 The imperial eagle of the Bonaparte

family carved by John Carew of

Waterford in the

mid-19th century, which hung on the

Wyse family home

3 The Cap of

Maintenance, a gift from Henry VIII to

the Mayor of

Waterford in 1536

4 Bearing sword, gift of Henry VIII to the

Mayor in 1536

Ij^^^^^^^^mn

FOR SPRING 2004

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:58:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

^B PORTRAITURE THE WYSES OF WATERFORD

5 Artist unknown

Portrait of Thomas

'Bullocks' Wyse (1701-1770) oil on

canvas 92 x 79cm

6 George Mullins

(fl. 1763-75) Portrait

of Francis Wyse in

the library of

Newtown House

oil on copper 54 x 65cm

again with Thomas 'Bullocks' Wyse (1701

1770) who because of being an only son of

an only son, inherited the entire estates,

thereby outmanoeuvring the penal laws

(Fig 5). Excluded from participation in the

political life of the city, he turned to trade

and industry and reopened the Bunmahon

copper mines in Co. Waterford in 1750.

His nickname derives from his using bul

locks instead of horses to draw his carriage,

in protest at the penal law that obliged a

Catholic to accept an offer of ?5.00 from a

Protestant for his horse. In 1756 he was

instrumental in setting up the Catholic

Committee, the first body to represent

Catholic commercial interests. Bullocks

did not live to see the 1793 Repeal Act that

restored many of the rights of Catholics,

although they were still excluded from sitting in parliament. He

did however commence the Green Book of the

Wyses, which contains the muniments of the

family from 1199.

'Bullocks' had three sons yet the estate was

not broken up: Richard the youngest con

formed to the Church of Ireland but died with

out issue; John inherited the lands at Newtown

and commissioned the Waterford architect

John Roberts (see page 102) to build Newtown

House, which in 1798 was sold to the Quakers for the famous school there. John overspent on

building and other schemes and also died

young without issue, leaving Francis, Bullocks's

oldest son, to inherit the entire estate, again

outwitting the penal laws. Two very important

paintings (rare Irish interiors) of these Wyses

survive, painted by George Mullins on copper

from Wyse's mine, showing Newtown before

changes by the Quakers. One shows Francis,

John and Mary Anne Wyse (who holds a lute), seated in the print room (Fig 1) and the second

shows Francis Wyse wearing a turban, seated in

his library atrium (Fig 6). On a paper in his

hand is written 'Arts &. Science' and items

relating to those pursuits are shown, including

a globe, some on the decorative plasterwork in

the niche behind. Mullins 'worked at Mr.

Wise's manufactory at Waterford 6k

painted snuff-boxes and waiters in imita

tion of the Birmingham ware'. Francis

had a son (Fig 8) Thomas ('Gentle')

(1770-1835) who in turn had a son Sir

Thomas (1791-1862). Educated at the Jesuit College of

Stonyhurst and at Trinity College Dublin, where he won a gold medal for oratory, this lat

ter Thomas then went on the Grand Tour, where he had an intro

duction to Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, younger brother

of Napoleon. After two years touring Greece, Turkey, Egypt and

the Middle East in the company of two Englishmen, he returned

through Rome and a marriage was contracted between Thomas

and Letitia 'the Venus of the Bonapartes', daughter of Lucien,

with a promised dowry of ?10,000 that Thomas hoped would

help to alleviate the debts of the family estates in Waterford (the Casino at Viterbo became part payment). They married in 1821

in Viterbo, Italy and it was around this time that Thomas was

painted by his sister Harriet who visited the newly-weds (Fig 7). The marriage was doomed by the time of the birth of the first

child, Napoleon Alfred and Thomas' father-in-law had, at

Thomas' request, his wayward daughter committed to a convent,

with Vatican approval. When Thomas indicated that he was

returning to Waterford, the Bonapartes were anxious that he

bring Letitia who gave birth to a second son William Charles.

Back in Waterford Thomas played a leading role in the final

phase of the struggle for Catholic Emancipation. In the famous

His nickname derives from his

using bullocks instead of horses to draw his carriage, in

protest at the

penal law that

obliged a Catholic to

accept an offer of ?5.00 from a Protestant for his horse

w

1826 Co. Waterford election he was the agent

of the Protestant pro-Emancipation candidate

Villiers Stuart who inflicted a dramatic defeat

on Lord George Beresford. O'Connell's success

in the Co. Clare election in 1828 followed, the

first Irish Catholic to be elected to parliament

since the late 17th century. As Thomas' politi

cal star rose, his marriage finally collapsed and

Letitia fled Waterford. The volatile, beautiful

and extravagant Princess Letitia was until her

death, an embarrassment to Thomas, having

three further children by other men. Marriage

to the serious-minded, politically-ambitious but

impoverished Thomas was hardly conducive to

the happiness and expectations of a French

princess brought up in Italy's sunnier climes.

In 1830 Thomas was elected MP for Co.

Tipperary making him the second Irish

Catholic MP. Elected to Waterford City Council in 1829, he was MP for the city 1835

47 when he lost out to a more radical Young

Irelander. In 1829 he wrote a history of the

Catholic Association but he never supported

the campaign for repeal of the Act of Union.

True to his origins, he remained a Catholic

Unionist committed to the English connection.

As a supporter of the British Whig

(Liberal) government Sir Thomas threw his

energies into educational reform and was

instrumental in the setting up of the

National School system and chaired the

secondary education committee which rec

ommended the setting up of inter-denomi

national state-financed secondary schools. He

also mooted the establishment of four provin

cial colleges or universities again to be inter-denom- D

110 I

IRISH ARTS REVIEW SPRING 2004

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:58:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

I

6.?-'- - .

t i'??-,?. 1

inational to offer a curriculum similar to that in the University of

London. Sir Thomas advocated that model because he had a keen

interest in the economic and industrial development of Ireland.

However religious divisions in Ireland ensured that the colleges

would never be established as he envisaged. He was one of the

commissioners for the building of the new Houses of Parliament at

Westminster in London, putting him in touch with Pugin whom he

later commissioned to build the new Manor of St John's.

The offer of the post of ambassador to the new kingdom of

Greece by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, in 1847 may

have been engineered by Letitia who had influence with

Palmerston, at a particularly opportune time for France. Two years

later Palmerston instantly recognised Letitia's cousin Louis

Napoleon as Emperor of France, causing a serious crisis between

Palmerston and the Queen and Prince Albert.

Sir Thomas' securing of Greek neutrality during the Crimean

War earned him a knighthood in 1856. On his death in 1862 he

was given a state funeral by the King and Queen of Greece.

Sir Thomas disinherited both his sons to prevent any

Bonaparte claim whatsoever on the Wyse estates. However when

it was being sold under the Encumbered Estates Act, Napoleon

Alfred bought it. The Waterford News reported in 1862: 'Mr. N.

B. Wyse, J.P. 6k his mother have taken up residence in the family

~~~~~~~~~~~" I

mansion of Roanmore. Over the

entrance door the Imperial Eagle has

been very elegantly cut in stone by

Mr. M. Carew sculptor of this city'

(Fig 2). 'Napo' went on to become a

Justice of the Peace, Deputy

Lieutenant and High Sheriff of

County Waterford like his ancestor

in 1539. Although improvements to the Manor were extravagant,

'Napo' eventually retired to Paris where he died.

Thomas' second son, William Charles, made a reputation as

a Proven?al poet and as leader of the revival of the Proven?al lan

guage, married and had four sons. He bought the Manor from his

brother rather than see it leave the Wyse family. His Unionist

sympathies at a time of unrest and Land League activity quickly

involved him in disputes with the Church and with Nationalists.

He died in Cannes and is buried there. His son Andrew, was one

of the last commissioners of Education in Ireland under British

Rule, in 1922 becoming head of the Education Department in the

new Northern Ireland goverment. Andrew's son William, was

ADC to Charles de Gaulle during World War II, married Olga Clive Rollason and had two children, Frances and Henry, both

living today in Cornwall. Henry has very generously loaned some

of the family artefacts to Water ford Museum of Treasures.H

ROSEMARY RYAN is Education Officer of Waterford Museum of Treasures

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF WATERFORD MUSEUM OF TREASURES

PHOTOGRAPHY: Terry Murphy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am indebted to Olga Bonaparte Wyse (author of the forth

coming history of the Wyse family, a limited edition, to be published by Waterford Museum of Treasures, March 2004) and to Henry Bonaparte Wyse. For this article I am indebted to Eamonn McEneaney, Julian Walton and Anne Crookshank and the

Knight of Glin's Ireland's Painters 1600-1940, Yale University 2002.

7 Harriet Wyse

Sir Thomas Wyse (1791-1862) oil on

canvas 106 x 91cm

1821

8 Artist unknown

'Gentle' Thomas

Wyse (1770-1835) father of

Sir Thomas Wyse oil on canvas

91x 79cm

SPRING 2004 IRISH ARTS REVIEW |

111

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:58:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions