Biography of Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon 1844-1932

On 24th January 1844 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon was born to Arthur Edmund Denis Dillon 16th Viscount Dillon [aged 32] at Victoria Square.

The London Gazette 22678. War Office, Pall Mall, 7th November, 1862.

Harold Arthur Dillon [aged 18], Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice. Lord Adelbert Percy Cecil [aged 21]. Dated 8th November, 1862.

The London Gazette 23185. Ensign Harold Arthur Dillon [aged 22] to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Williams. Dated 16th November, 1866.

On 3rd November 1870 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 26] and Julia Stanton Viscountess Dillon were married.

The London Gazette 24099. Oxford. Harold Arthur Dillon [aged 30], Lieutenant, half-pay, late Rifle Brigade, to be Captain. Dated 18th May, 1874.

The London Gazette 24132. 50th Foot, Lieutenant Harold Arthur Dillon [aged 30] retires from the Service, receiving the value of his Commission. Dated 19th September, 1874.

On 30th November 1879 [his uncle] Theobald Dominick Dillon 15th Viscount Dillon [aged 68] died. His brother [his father] Arthur [aged 67] succeeded 16th Viscount Dillon of Costello Gallen in Mayo.

The London Gazette 25524. 4th Battalion, the Oxfordshire Light Infantry.Captain the Honourable Harold Arthur Dillon [aged 41] is granted the honorary rank of Major. Dated 31st October, 1885.

In 1892 [his father] Arthur Edmund Denis Dillon 16th Viscount Dillon [aged 80] died at Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire [Map]. His son Harold [aged 47] succeeded 17th Viscount Dillon of Costello Gallen in Mayo. [his wife] Julia Stanton Viscountess Dillon by marriage Viscountess Dillon of Costello Gallen in Mayo.

In 1892 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 47] was appointed President of the Royal Archaeological Society which office he held until 1898.

In 1892 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 47] was appointed Curator of the Royal Armouries which office he held until 1913.

In 1894 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 49] was appointed a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery which office he held until 1928.

In 1897 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 52] was appointed President of the Society of Antiquaries of London which office he held until 1904.

In 1899 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 54] sold all his remaining Irish estates of over 83,700 acres, including those in Westmeath, which are said to have been in continuous possession of the Dillon family since 1185, to the Congested Districts Board.

On 6th June 1925 [his wife] Julia Stanton Viscountess Dillon died.

On 15th June 1926 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 82] and Margaret Louisa Everard ffolkes Viscountess Dillon were married. She by marriage Viscountess Dillon of Costello Gallen in Mayo.

On 18th December 1932 Harold Arthur Lee Dillon 17th Viscount Dillon [aged 88] died. His nephew Arthur [aged 57] succeeded 18th Viscount Dillon of Costello Gallen in Mayo. Hilda Brunner Viscountess Dillon [aged 58] by marriage Viscountess Dillon of Costello Gallen in Mayo.

Archaeologia Volume 84 1935 Section VI. When the middle of the mixed silting was reached, the tracing of the hard chalk walls of the fosse on both sides to the depth we had excavated was proceeded with. This done, the work from day to day became temporarily checked by the caving in of parts of the vertical (or nearly vertical) face of the silting, sometimes two or three tons falling in one night. This is well seen in the photographs (pl. xxxv, figs. 1, 2). In the mixed silting, at depths of 5, 6.3, 6.3, and 7 ft. respectively, four sarsen boulders were found, each about 2 ft. across. In this deposit an iron medieval arrowhead, No. 56, was found.¹

Note 1. It was picked up by a reliable excavator at a depth of 7.8 ft. below the surface. It is quite probable that a small pointed object like this might work its way down from its original position in the silting by means of rabbit and other holes to a much lower level. On the other hand, as the excavator had just begun a fresh 'spit', earth containing the arrowhead may have fallen from a higher level beforehand without revealing the object. However, no. 56 is shown in the diagram (pl. xxxvi, fig. 1) at the depth at which it was picked up.

The arrowhead has a socket of circular section; shank nearly straight and bevelled abruptly near the point where the cross-section is rhombic, length in. The late Viscount Dillon, P.S.A., said, 'The Avebury specimen is a medieval arrowhead of the "pile" class, and for use with the long bow. It is an interesting and rare example, but the actual date is quite uncertain.' Vide also on Medieval Arrowheads, Gentlemans Mag. cii, 1832, pt. i, p. 114.

On 12th July 1954 [his former wife] Margaret Louisa Everard ffolkes Viscountess Dillon died.