Ashfield Gales

Ashfield Gales is the name used for six generations of the Gale family associated with the Ashfield estate in Killabban Parish, Queen's County, Ireland, now County Laois. It is not a commercial brand in the modern sense, but a historical family and landed-estate designation. The family's documented tenure began in the mid-seventeenth century and ended in 1851, when Peter Gale, the sixth and last Ashfield Gale, was compelled to sell his Irish real property under the Incumbered Estates legislation. The family's origins are linked in genealogical material to Colonel Oliver Gale, who was associated with Thrintoft in Yorkshire and is said to have come to Ireland during the period of the Tudor plantations. The connection is supported in historical pedigrees by shared heraldic arms and references to Yorkshire Gale genealogies. The direct documentary line for the Ashfield branch becomes clearer with Lieutenant Anthony Gale, who appears in records relating to landholding in Queen's County after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. In the 1659 census, an Anthony Gayle is recorded as a landholder in Crottentegle, the estate later associated with Ashfield. The family's acquisition of land took place within the wider redistribution of Irish property following the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian campaigns of 1649–1652. Anthony Gale was described as claiming land both as an adventurer and as a soldier. The estate had previously been connected with the Keating family before being forfeited and reassigned. This context placed the Ashfield Gales within the Protestant landholding class established or reinforced under English rule in Ireland. Anthony Gale was succeeded by his son Samuel Gale. Samuel married Ellis, or Alicia, Grace, linking the family with the established Grace family of Ireland. During the Williamite War, Samuel's possession of Ashfield was threatened because of his association with the Protestant side's opponents, but the family's claim became secure after the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Samuel's eldest surviving son, Anthony Gale, later inherited the estate and married Mary Vicars in 1732. After her death, he married Margaret Driscoll, formerly Margaret Tench. The next succession passed through Peter Gale and then Samuel Gale. Both Peter and the later Samuel attended Trinity College Dublin, reflecting the family's participation in the educational and administrative culture of the Protestant landed elite. The final heir, also named Peter Gale, held bachelor and master's degrees from Trinity College and wrote on social conditions in Ireland. He owned both the Ashfield estate and a residence in Carlow. The family's final decline was shaped by debt and the severe economic disruption associated with the Great Famine. Under the Incumbered Estates (Ireland) Act 1849, Peter Gale's property was sold on 11 November 1851. The sale ended the family's ownership of Ashfield after approximately two centuries. Peter died in 1857 and was buried in Monkstown Parish, County Cork. The Ashfield Gales therefore represent a historical Irish landed family rather than an active consumer, corporate, or product brand.

The Ashfield Gales were a branch of the Gale family associated with the Ashfield estate in Killabban Parish, Queen's County, later renamed County Laois. Their history is preserved principally through genealogical and landholding records, including pedigrees prepared by Sir William Betham, Ulster King-of-Arms. Betham's work drew on sources such as Irish probate abstracts and earlier British genealogical compilations. The wider family tradition traced the Ashfield line to Colonel Oliver Gale of Thrintoft in Yorkshire, who was said to have come to Ireland during the reign of Henry VIII. The genealogy connects the Yorkshire and Irish branches through heraldic similarities and references to descendants who moved between Ireland and Whitehaven after the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The precise connection is not fully continuous in Betham's pedigree, but the family tradition and supporting records place the Ashfield branch within a broader Anglo-Irish Gale lineage. The identifiable Ashfield line begins with Lieutenant Anthony Gale, who acquired land in the aftermath of the Cromwellian conquest. The redistribution of property following the rebellion and the campaigns of 1649–1652 transferred substantial areas of land from Catholic owners to soldiers and financial adventurers. Anthony Gale claimed land in both capacities. The estate connected with him was formerly the Crottentegle property of the Keating family, which had been forfeited. A 1659 census records an Anthony Gayle as a landholder in Crottentegle, providing an early documentary link to the later Ashfield estate. Anthony's son Samuel inherited the property and married Ellis, or Alicia, Grace, a member of a long-established Irish family. Samuel's position was endangered during the Williamite conflict because of his dealings with the Jacobite side. A surrender deadline was imposed in 1689, but the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690 ultimately secured the family's position. This episode illustrates how ownership of Irish estates could depend on military and dynastic upheavals as well as inheritance. Samuel had several sons. His eldest surviving son, Anthony, succeeded to Ashfield and married Mary Vicars in 1732. He later married Margaret Driscoll, formerly Margaret Tench. Anthony's children included Mary, who married James Fitzmaurice, and Peter, who inherited Ashfield. Peter Gale attended Trinity College Dublin and married Catherine Browne in 1758. His son Samuel, also a Trinity graduate, married Susanna Brush and continued the family line. Samuel's son Peter became the sixth and final Ashfield Gale. He obtained both bachelor's and master's degrees from Trinity College and wrote a book addressing social conditions in Ireland. In 1837 he married Anna Maria Harriett Lynch. Alongside Ashfield, he owned a house in Carlow. His estate was weakened by debt, which he associated with the economic damage caused by the Great Famine. The Incumbered Estates (Ireland) Act 1849 provided a mechanism for selling heavily indebted landed property, and Peter's real estate was sold on 11 November 1851. This ended the Gale family's ownership of Ashfield. Peter died on 28 October 1857 and was buried in Monkstown Parish, County Cork.

• 1857

  Death of Peter Gale

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Gale died on 28 October and was buried in Monkstown Parish, County Cork.

• 1851

  Ashfield estate sold

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Gale's real property was sold under the Incumbered Estates legislation, ending the family's ownership of Ashfield.

• 1837

  Final heir Peter Gale marries

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Gale, the sixth and last Ashfield Gale, married Anna Maria Harriett Lynch.

• 1758

  Peter Gale marries Catherine Browne

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Gale, a Trinity College graduate and successor to the Ashfield estate, married Catherine Browne.

• 1732

  Anthony Gale marries Mary Vicars

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  Anthony Gale, who later succeeded to Ashfield, married Mary Vicars and strengthened the family's ties with other prominent local families.

• 1690

  Ownership secured after the Battle of the Boyne

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  The Jacobite defeat at the Battle of the Boyne helped secure Samuel Gale's claim to the Ashfield estate.

• 1689

  Samuel Gale's estate claim is threatened

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  During the Williamite War, Samuel Gale was given a deadline to surrender in connection with the Jacobite conflict, placing his possession of Ashfield at risk.

• 1666

  Anthony Gale identified as the first Ashfield Gale

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  The genealogy compiled by Sir William Betham resumes with Lieutenant Anthony Gale, regarded as the first documented Gale of Ashfield.

• 1659

  Early census record of the Gale landholding

  [1]Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org

  An Anthony Gayle is recorded as a landholder in Crottentegle, Queen's County, the estate associated with the later Ashfield Gale property.

Historical genealogy and Irish landed-estate lineage; not a contemporary commercial brand.

1. 1Ashfield Galesen.wikipedia.org