Quaker.
He was "of Ballyards", Co. Armagh.
Linen manufacturer.
The following account is by the organisation who currently occupy Ballyards and who wish to remain anonymous. The land on which Ballyards stands was purchased in 1713 by the Simpson family, the family prospered in the area around the late seventeen hundreds. There is a record of military achievements in the Royal Irish Fusiliers and also as magistrates in the local area. The family used the waterpower of the Callen River and derived their substantial fortune from linen. Linen was laid out to bleach in the fields around Ballyards. The Simpson family are associated with many local grand properties including Linen Hill House and Beech Hill House, and in the 1860's Colonel Thomas Simpson constructed the modern building of Ballyards House. He completed Ballyards House in 1872, although it is thought that he never actually lived in it by the time he died in 1892. His widow continued to live here until she sold Ballyards in 1908. As well as the feature of a tower, Ballyards was built with a conservatory and veranda, both of which are now gone, the building cost in the region of £3,602. The coat of arms found on the sky light in the main entrance hall belong to the Simpson's, it translates as 'King, Kingdom Faithful' a motto that is still practiced to-day but to a different king and kingdom. The next owner was a local flax miller, Maynard Sinton. He added to the original building and by 1916 there was the oak room extension onto the rear of the house, the nursery and servant quarters in the northeast wing, and the addition of servant quarters and the northwest wing. This almost doubled the size of the original building. It was during this period that the name was changed to Ballyards Castle. The Sintons of Laurelvale, were flax spinners, weavers, manufacturers and bleachers. Maynard and his wife, formerly Miss Myra Atkinson, of Tandragee had two children, Maynard Jr. and Brigid. Before the Second World War the family employed over 20 staff on the estate including two chauffeurs, a governess (a Miss Glenda Rowe), cooks, servants and gardeners. They kept racehorses and a pack of beagles, as Mr. Sinton was a leading light at 'big shoots' and Irish gun dog trials. The Ballyards cup was presented every year at the Armagh point-to-point races.
| S i n t o n. - MAYNARD SINTON, J.P. Ballyards House, Armagh : son of the late Thomas Sinton, J.P., of Laurel Vale, Tanderagee ; born at Laurel Vale, in 1860 ; educated at Kendal, Westmoreland, and privately at Waterford. Chairman of Thomas Sinton, Ltd., flax spinners, weavers, manufacturers, and bleachers : Justice of the Peace for Co. Armagh; High Sheriff, 1892 ; member of Armagh County Council. Recreations : hunting and shooting. Married Myra, daughter of W. H. Atkinson, Park View, Tanderagee. Clubs : Irish Automobile ; United Service, Dublin ; Stephens Green, Dublin ;Union, Belfast ; and County Armagh. | Mr. Maynard Sinton, J.P. | | Entry from 'Ulster Contemporary Biographies of 1910' supplied by Nigel Wylie, June 2007
| Ballyards Castle, circa 1920. The conservatory has since been removed.
| Pictured outside Rossmore Castle, Co. Monaghan, in 1927 are, from left to right Mr. Dick Westerna, Miss Mary Westerna, Mr. and Mrs. Sinton, Ballyards, William 5th Baron of Rossmore and Lady Rossmore, Dr. Campbell Hall, Canon John O'Connor, Major Sterling and Denis Carolan Rushe. | [RFSS Nov 2007]
1911 25hp Daimler owned by Maynard Sinton | According to 'The Irish Motor Directory And Motor Annual 1911-12', Maynard was the owner of three cars with registration numbers IB 2, IB 3 and IB 142.
A colour photograph of this model can be seen at Daimler
For more details of this and other Co. Armagh registrations for 1911 - 1912 see Lurgan Ancestry | [RFSS Feb 2013]
1901 Census record taken on Sunday, 31 March. Residents of a house 45 in Laurelvale (Village) (Mullahead, Co. Armagh) | Surname | Forename | Age | Sex | Relation to head | Religion | 1 | Sinton | Maynard | 41 | Male | Head of Family | Society of Friends | 2 | Sinton | Arthur | 38 | Male | Brother | Society of Friends | 3 | Sinton | Thomas | 35 | Male | Brother | Society of Friends | 4 | Sinton | Dorothy H. | 37 | Female | Sister | Society of Friends | 5 | Sinton | Jemima | 28 | Female | Sister | Society of Friends | 6 | Kelly | Sarah | 48 | Female | Servant | Roman Catholic | 7 | Laverty | Mary | 23 | Female | Servant | Roman Catholic | 8 | McNabney | Elizabeth | 23 | Female | Servant | Church of Ireland |
| Birthplace | Occupation | Literacy | Marital Status | Specified Illnesses | 1 | Co. Armagh | J.P. & Linen Merchant | Read and write | Not Married | - | 2 | Co. Armagh | Linen Merchant | Read and write | Not Married | - | 3 | Co. Armagh | J.P. & Linen Merchant | Read and write | Not Married | - | 4 | Co. Armagh | Lady | Read and write | Not Married | - | 5 | Co. Armagh | Lady | Read and write | Not Married | - | 6 | Newry | Cook Domestic | Can Read | Not Married | - | 7 | Ballymoney | Parlour Maid | Read and write | Not Married | - | 8 | Co. Armagh | House Maid | Read and write | Not Married | - |
[RFSS Jun 2010]
1911 Census record taken on Sunday, 2 April. Residents of house number 4 in Ballyards (Ballyards, Co. Armagh) | Surname | Forename | Age | Sex | Relation to head | Religion | 1 | Sinton | Maynard | 51 | Male | Head of Family | Quaker | 2 | Sinton | Myra | 34 | Female | Wife | Irish Church | 3 | Coleman | Mary | 33 | Female | Servant | Roman Catholic | 4 | Brogan | Mary | 27 | Female | Servant | Roman Catholic | 5 | Brooney | Marcella | 25 | Female | Servant | Roman Catholic | 6 | Buckby | Mary | 20 | Female | Servant | Roman Catholic |
| Birthplace | Occupation | Literacy | Marital Status | Years Married | Children Born | Children Living | 1 | Co. Armagh | Linen Merchant | Read and write | Married | - | - | - | 2 | Co. Armagh | - | Read and write | Married | 6 | None | - | 3 | Co. Cork | Parlour Maid | Read and write | Single | - | - | - | 4 | Co. Cavan | Cook | Read and write | Single | - | - | - | 5 | Co. Louth | House Maid | Read and write | Single | - | - | - | 6 | Co. Louth | Kitchen Maid | Read and write | Single | - | - | - |
[RFSS Jan 2010]
Ballyards Castle circa 1920 viewed from the south-west. | [RFSS Feb 2013]
Headstone of William Maynard Sinton 1860 - 1942 Friends Burial Ground, Moyallon, Co. Down © 2005 Sinton Family Trees | WILLIAM MAYNARD SINTON OF BALLYARDS, ARMAGH DIED 31ST OF 12TH MONTH 1942 AGED 83 YEARS | | [RFSS Feb 2014] |
|