Lissan House has always been a place where visitors are made welcome. Thanks to the determination and ingenuity of Hazel Marion Radclyffe Dolling this is still true today.

Hazel was born in Lissan House on 13 June, 1923, the elder daughter of Sir Robert George Alexander Staples, the 13th Baronet. She spent childhood times here, but life took her away to school, the Women’s Royal Naval Service, and a career aboard some of the world’s most famous ocean liners. Lissan was always in Hazel’s thoughts and she came home to stay in 1966. In 1970, she married Harry Holbeche Radclyffe Dolling, her father’s cousin, who had overseen the running of the estate in his capacity as Sir Robert’s agent.

On several occasions, Hazel recalled her father’s concerns about whether the estate would remain intact after his death. Hazel had similar worries, she recognised that no other members of the extended family were in a position to take on the running of the house and estate. Determined to preserve the Staples family’s legacy, she founded a charitable organisation, the Friends of Lissan Trust, in 1997.

The Lissan House you see today is the culmination of 400 years of construction activities initiated by Thomas Staples in about 1620. During the many decades that followed, the house was adapted or extended on a number of occasions. The final addition, during the late 19th century, was the porte-cochere, which is illustarted above.

Members of the Staples family were a constant presence at Lissan for almost 400 years through times of poverty and prosperity, conflict and peace. Throughout this period Lissan House underwent many changes. Some of these were driven by fashion and changing tastes in architecture, but most were motivated by personal preferences and practical requirements.

Following the death of Mrs Hazel Radcliffe Dolling, chatelaine of Lissan House and last of the Staples at Lissan, the Lissan House Trust has continued with the work of raising finance to restore Lissan House and the estate. Hazel established The Trust to carry on the work of revitalizing the estate as a place to visit, work and live.

The Lissan House website has been developed and extended by The Trust in a bid to raise awareness and funds. The website provides information on Lissan from its beginnings up to the present and details the work of the Friends of Lissan Trust.