This remarkable family lived in Courtown for hundreds of years.
Apart from their connections with the British Royalty the most unique thing about the Stopford family down through the centuries is the number of family members who became high ranking officers in the Army and Navy. From the time of the Cromwellian officer’s grandson, James, who founded the dynasty in Wexford, down to modern times the Stopfords have had officers in the Army and Navy in every generation.
They also managed to produce heirs in every generation which was most fortuitous in that there was familial continuity from one generation to the next. The Ireland in which James found himself living must have been demanding because of recent past history. It was only a few short years since the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and not any more than 50 years since his grandfather had come to Ireland with Cromwell’s army. James, who married the heiress of the Wexford lands, must have inherited the Meath lands granted to his grandfather as his (James’s) father, William, predeceased his grandfather. The move to Wexford must have been appealing to James as the lands there had been planted for more than a hundred years (1611). The lands were near Gorey or Newborough (as it was called then) which had a garrison. The fact that James was able to buy the entire manor of Courtown shortly after his arrival in Wexford points to the conclusion that he sold the lands in Meath to pay for the additional Wexford lands.
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