placenamesRedcross
An Chrois Dhearg
Ballykean House connects the parish’s eighteenth-century architecture with Cecil Frances Alexander’s early life and literary friendships.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Chrois Dhearg · Irish · main form
- Redcross · English · main form
Place & story
The house at Ballykean
Ballykean House, in Ballykean (Penrose) townland, was built around 1760. The five-bay house stands over a partial basement, with what the architectural inventory describes as apparently split-level ground and first floors. Its central entrance combines double doors, sidelights and a semicircular fanlight. Sash windows and a hipped slate roof behind a parapet complete the exterior. The inventory records a small, wooded demesne around the house. [2]
A childhood home and a literary friendship
Major John Humphreys, land agent to the Earl of Wicklow, lived at Ballykean with his family. His daughter, later the hymn writer Cecil Frances Alexander, spent part of her childhood here. Her historical biography places the beginning of her friendship with Lady Harriet Howard during the Ballykean years. Their friendship continued after the Humphreys family moved to Milltown near Strabane; they later collaborated on religious tracts, with Howard writing prose and Alexander contributing poems. [2] [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Redcross. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ballykean House, NIAH16403501 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Cecil Frances Alexander, Dictionary of National Biography supplement1901 · Edward Irving Carlyle
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-10-29. How this page was prepared.