Castle Upton is situated in the village of Templepatrick, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Originally the site of a 13th-century fortified priory of the Knights of St John, the present building was constructed around 1610 by the Norton family who settled here during the Plantation of Ulster. Soon after, it was bought by the Upton family, later the Viscounts
Templetown
, who remained in possession until the 20th century. Upton was purchased in 1963 by Sir Robin Kinahan and Coralie de Burgh, by which time it was in a poor state of repair. Following
restoration,
the Adam Yard was converted to housing, and the castle later opened as a wedding venue. In 2016 the property was placed on the market by Kinahan's son Danny Kinahan MP. The property is now owned by the Hughes family.
Sir Robert George Caldwell Kinahan, ERD (24 September 1916 – 2 May 1997) was a politician, businessman and a senior member of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland. In his obituary, he was described as one of the last of the "county elite" to remain a high-ranking member of the Orange Order during the turbulent years of The Troubles, when it became potentially dangerous to belong. In his personal life he deplored bigotry and was almost expelled from the Orange Order for having attended a Roman Catholic funeral service.
John E. C.
Lesis
-Crosby was director of the National Trust of Northern Ireland (1960-1979).
During his tenure with the trust, John oversaw a large growth in acquisitions. Of the many properties acquired he was particularly pleased to have gained Mount Stewart, The Agrory, the Crown Liquor saloon and Wellbrook Beetling Mill. There was also a large increase in the number of programmes, in particular lectures, tours and events, and also in memberships and numbers of staff.