[NB The family did not use the name Hertford until the creation of the first Marquis in 1750.]
Sir Fulke Conway was granted the manors of Killultagh and Derryvolgie in South Antrim in the early seventeenth century. The land passed through his brother Edward to the Hertford family. The 1728 rent roll for the manors covers much of the land in the parishes of Blaris [including the town of Lisburn], Lambeg, Derriaghy, Magheragall, Magheramesk, Aghalee, Aghagallon, Glenavy, Camlin and Tullyrusk and contains over 1300 names of tenants.
There are, however, some difficulties which make it impossible to extract an accurate list of tenant names with their townland addresses since the rental was not set out fully or systematically by townlands. In some parts of the rental the tenant names are listed by townland but over much of the rental tenant names are grouped in divisions which are named farms or have names which cannot be satisfactorily explained by reference to contemporary [estate maps] or later documents. In some parts of the rental a mixture of townland and other divisions are both used. In Lisburn town many of the tenants are listed under street names but there are other tenants listed under names which appear to have been part of the demesne, e.g. Lords Meadow, Cow Pasture, and garrison, e.g. Troopers Field. Piper Hill was named after a soldier piper who died defending the town during the 1641 Rebellion.
A number of tenant names occur in two or more townlands both within a parish and also in other parishes. Most of these duplications of names result from tenant holdings crossing townland and/or parochial boundaries. There is also a small number of tenants with holdings in well separated townlands and parishes ant it would seem probable that most of the holdings were sublet. There is also a small number of major tenants holding large acreages which they sublet and the names of those sub tenants unfortunately do not appear in the rental. This would account for the absence of tenant names for a number of townlands in each parish.
Maghaberry townland is included in Magheragall parish in the rental but it has been placed in the extracted lists in Magheramesk Parish to which it belongs. Ballynalargy townland is divided between Magheragall and Magheramsk parishes but all tenant names were listed in the rental under Magheragall parish. Although the parishes of Camlin and Tullyrusk were united to Glenavy parish prior to 1728 the tenant names for both parishes have been listed separately below.
Despite these difficulties the Hertford estate rent rolls form a most valuable genealogical resource listing over 1300 names, almost all by townland, from the early eighteenth century.
Duncan Scarlett