Lissan lies nestled at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains amid ancient woodland near the historic market town of Cookstown.

[citation needed] Thomas Staples had originally come from Yate Court, near Bristol in Southwestern England, in about 1610 as part of the plantation of Ulster.

Mainly as a result of the existence of the forge, the dwelling house survived the Rebellion of 1641 when the estate was seized by Niall Og O'Quinn who had marched with a troop of rebels from Moneymore.

Lady Staples recounts witnessing Anglo-Irish families being murdered outside her prison window or those being tortured in chain-gangs begging to be killed to be done with their misery.

Having married another heiress in the person of Mary Vessey, he improved the estate, building mills and enlarging the iron forge as well as substantially constructing the present house (incorporating large parts of the pre-existent dwelling) in about 1690.

Thomas Ashe writing his report to the Archbishop of Armagh, from whom the land was originally leased, said in 1703 "Robert Staples has built a very good stone house; the rooms are noble, lofty and large.

These legal difficulties resulted in almost a century of court proceedings which were eventually conclusively settled in favour of Sir Alexander and Rev.

Thomas in the wake of the House of Lords appeal in Sir Robert Staples v Margaretta Maurice (1774) Mews Dig.

King George III had provided her dowry and also instructed the Court physician to fashion for her a wooden prosthetic leg.

He also persuaded Ducart to design the White Bridge on the Lissan Estate along with an important water garden with fountains and cascades.

No expense was spared on the construction of this room which was fitted with an early central heating system, was double glazed and which had sprung floorboards to aid dancing.

Nash had been introduced into his circle by his aunt, Elizabeth Stewart (née Molesworth), who had commissioned the architect to rebuild Killymoon Castle between 1801 and 1803.

When Sir Nathaniel eventually settled at Lissan during the 1880s, despite his straightened financial circumstances, he continued to live life to the full.

At the age of 55 Sir Nathaniel evicted Elizabeth, Lady Staples from the house and lived out his remaining years in the scandalous company of a young clairvoyant, Mary Potter, who was originally from Cookstown.

To compound their difficulties, the 11th Baronet, Sir John Staples was declared insane and spent the entire duration of his baronetcy in asylums in Belgium (from which he was rescued after the outbreak of the Great War) and Omagh until his death in 1933.

As a result of this, the estate was first occupied by the second eldest son of the family, James Head Staples who had originally settled in Braemar in Scotland.

He and his wife built a creamery, took in boarders and Mrs Staples taught cookery and lace-making so that local girls would have some training to enable them to find work in Cookstown.

He exhibited his first picture at the Royal Academy at 21 and was a founder member, along with Sir Coutts Lindsay, of the Grosvenor Gallery, which launched the careers of Whistler and Burne-Jones.

He believed that the earth exuded natural electricity which was beneficial to the health and thus shunned the wearing of shoes, listing his principal occupation as "barefoot walking" in the 1926 Who's Who.

Today his paintings are hugely valuable but, while living at the centre of the social scene in fin de siecle London, his work did not make him a wealthy man.

However, on the death of the 13th Baronet in 1970, the elder daughter Hazel visited Lissan with her mother and met the agent Harry Dolling.

Within the year the pair were married and both settled at Lissan, returning the house to a single dwelling for the occupation of themselves and Vera, Lady Staples.

It is believed that Matthew Staples was in the company of Governor Cornwallis as a military blacksmith at Halifax in 1749 although the link with the Lissan family tree remains elusive and no one candidate has yet proved their claim.

After a life devoted to the preservation of what was now an absolutely unique property of great antiquity and historic value, Hazel decided to establish a Charitable Trust which could begin to seek a plan for a viable future for the estate.

The Farm Yard and walled gardens were immediately put in the care of the Trust and a scheme was sought for the future of the estate.

As a result, Lissan beat off 28 other properties to make it to the grand final and lost out to the Victoria Baths in Manchester by only 140 votes.

Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling died in April 2006 and under the terms of her will, the entire estate was bequeathed to the Charitable Trust on condition that a viable scheme of restoration was secured within three years of her death.

In 2010, Phase I of the Restoration of the Estate started and major structural restoration work was carried out on the main House including making the building structurally safe; re-roofing; removal of the 1940s cement render and its replacement with lime-washed lime mortar and re-fenestration with Georgian glazing.