Lambart Family, Beau Parc House

Beau Parc House was erected in a striking natural location high above a curve on the south side of the River Boyne with magnificent views from the rear of the house.  The three-storey over basement house was constructed for Gustavus Lambart about 1755. The central block at Beau Parc is attributed to be the amateur architect, Nathaniel Clements.  Clements, M.P. for Duleek, was appointed Ranger of the Phoenix Park, Dublin and erected the Ranger's house, now Aras an Uachtarain.  The two additional wings at Beau Parc were added in the 1770s possibly by another amateur architect, Rev. Daniel Beaufort of Navan.  A centrally placed semicircular bow is located on the east façade of the main block overlooking the River Boyne.  Francis Johnston designed some alterations to the house.

Oliver Lambart, first Baron Lambart, acquired lands in Cavan. His son, Charles Lambart, first earl of Cavan, succeeded him in his lands in 1618. Charles was made seneschal for the government of Co. Cavan and the town of Kells in 1627.  Lambart became military governor of Dublin in 1642. Charles became 1st Earl of Cavan.  Oliver Lambart was third son of Charles Lambart, and lived at Painstown.  His elder brother, the second Earl, was deprived of his reason by a deep melancholy by which he was seized before, from a sense of injuries put upon him by his younger brother, Oliver, who by his father's will got the estate of the family settled upon him.  His son, Charles, succeeded him at Beau Parc. Gustavus Lambert, son of Charles, was MP for Kilbeggan from 1741 to 1776 and was collector of Revenue for Trim from 1746-60.  His son, Charles Lambart, was M.P. for Kilbeggan between 1768 and 1783. Charles's son, Gustavus, was born in 1772. As M.P. for Kilbeggan Gustavus voted against the Act of Union in 1800.  He married Anna Butler Stevenson in 1810. He died in 1850 aged 78.

His eldest son, Gustavus William Lambart, married Lady Frances Caroline Maria Conyngham, daughter of the 2nd Marquess Conyngham in 1847.  A graduate of Trinity College he was State Steward to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.  In 1876 Gustavus W. Lambart of Beauparc held 512 acres in County Meath.  It is said that a Miss Lambart danced a jig in front of Queen Victoria and asked for the head of the Prime Minister, Gladstone.  Gladstone was a supporter of Home Rule for Ireland, a cause which did not find favour among the Irish gentry and nobles. Gustavus William died in 1886.

His eldest son, Gustavus Francis William Lambart, was Chamberlain to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland between 1876 and 1880. He gained the rank of Major in the service of the 5th Battalion, Leinster Regiment. High Sheriff of County Meath in 1901, Gustavus was Comptroller and Chamberlain to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland between 1902 and 1905.  He held the office of Secretary of the Order of St. Patrick.  He was created 1st Baronet Lambart, of Beau Parc on 13 July 1911. He married Kathleen Brabazon in 1911.

In January 1890 Cyril, brother of Gustavus, experimented with chasing kangaroos with the Beau Parc Staghounds.  He also tried hunting Barbary sheep and Tralaia deer. Cyril later emigrated to Australia.

Gustavus's son, Sir Oliver Francis Lambart, born in 1913, became the 2nd Baronet on his father's death in 1926. He served as 2nd Lieutenant in the service of the Royal Ulster Rifles.  He fought in the Second World War between 1939 and 1944, with the Royal Army Service Corps.  Sir Oliver's uncle was Lord Brabazon of Tara and Minister of Aircraft Production during the Second World War.  Sir Oliver Lambart was last of the Lambarts to live in the house.  A popular local figure Sir Oliver had an interest in cricket and took part in the local team.  He donated a field to the local GAA club as a football pitch.  The Land Commission acquired 300 acres of the estate in the 1960s for distribution. Sir Oliver's mother died in 1980 at 100 years of age.  Sir Oliver died in 1986 aged 72. He willed the house and estate to Lord Henry Mount Charles a distant relative.  Sir Oliver never told him and it came as a shock to Lord Henry.  The house was opened for visits.

Source: meath-roots.com

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On 28 January 1847, in the house, Mabel Virginia Anna Hall-Dare (d. 1929) was born to Mrs Frances Anna Catherine Hall-Dare (c. 1819-1862) and Robert Westley Hall-Dare (1817-1866). Frances was the daughter of Gustavus Lambart of Beauparc and his wife Anna (née Stevenson).  In 1887, Mabel married J. Theodore Bent (1852-1897), the well-known explorer and writer with whom Mabel trvelled extensively.  Mabel kept ‘Chronicles’, the indispensable diaries she kept for every year of the couple’s explorations.