Visit to PRONI

I visited PRONI on Tuesday 18th to try and find the Trust Deed which the Dept of Agriculture say is deposited there. Search of database in PRONI and examination of a few likely looking files (judging by their titles) produced no results. Another file is held off site by PRONI and will have to be fetched in meaning another visit. I also examined records of Landed Estates and found a number of entries under the married names of the Batt granddaughters who transferred the land to the tenants. These will be followed up on the next visit as I was running short of time.
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I also visited the Belfast Newspaper Library (click to find map) to follow up on information from Downpatrick but I didn't have the correct date so will need to back there too. The Newspaper Library is a useful asset as it has copies of numerous local newspapers going back several years both on microfilm and in folders.

Reply from Department of Agriculture

Department of Agriculture replied to my query and have said the PRONI hold extensive records on the Batts Estate Trust. Nothing is coming up on the online search of the PRONI archives. I've sent an e-mail to PRONI with an enquiry about this and will arrange a follow up visit to them.
I've also been in touch with Clontifleece School to arrange to photograph the stone plaque from the original school building. The plaque bears an inscription to Narcissus Batt who founded the school.

PRONI & National Archives of Ireland websites

Did searches for the wills of different generations of the Batt family. Not helped by one of them entered as Butt!

Land Registry visit

I visited the offices of the Land Registry in Belfast today and did searches on two random pieces of land from the original estate. I now have the ownership trail up to the present day.

Department of Agriculture & Rural Development

E-mail sent to the Department asking if I can get some information on the role of the current trustees of the estate.

Mindmap

Managed to start on the Mindmap using Mindmeister. Can't see how to save it so I have bookmarked the page. Hope that works!

Visit to Newry Museum

I made an appointment with Shane McGivern, a Collections Research Assistant, to view the Reside collection in Newry Museum. This collection had been mentioned elsewhere as a source relating to the Batts Estate. The Reside collection is concerned mainly with the Kilmorey Estate and the only reference to Batts was on an old map which showed the boundaries of the various estates adjoining the Kilmorey Estate. The map showed part of the Batts Estate near Eagle Mountain.
Unfortunately the map had some scorch damage from a fire in the Reside premises and this may have obscured any date that might have been on it. Shane dates the map to somewhere in the nineteenth century.