The Irish Connection 

The Irish Horncastles, who are descended from Christopher Horncastle of Hull who died in 1541, went to Dublin in the reign of James 1^st (1603-1625).

Viscount Wentworth, who governed Ireland from 1633 to 1640, settled land titles and actively encouraged plantations or colonising by the English.

He caused the established church to adopt the Anglican prayer book.

Christopher Horncastle of Dublin was one of the commissioners appointed by James II to raise £6000. He refused to act.

He was, nevertheless, granted arms in 1683. The crest is a unicorn’s head armed on two castles argent.

We still have the silver and buttons in the family depicting these and we use the unicorn on our group stationery.

Christopher Horncastle’s son John married the Honourable Miss Frances Bellow, daughter of Lord Bellow.

Dean Swift , the humorist, in a production in Dublin of 1688, has the following in a fictitious will of Mrs May Henderson :-

“Her tongue some affirm she left to Mrs Horncastle, her teeth also she left to Mrs Horncastle who has such an unruly member of her own that it needs a double guard.”