Edward King Tenison : Short Biography

From the eighteenth century the Anglo-Irish families of  Tenison, King-Tenison and Kingston inhabited the region of North Roscommon, Ireland. For a long period they occupied Castle Tenison, later known as Kilronan Castle. Today the castle is derelict.

Edward King Tenison (1805-78) of Kilronan Castle, Keadue, was a grandson of the 1st Earl of Kingston, and a cousin of the 2nd Viscount Lorton. He assumed the additional name of King from his mother, and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.

In 1843 he succeeded his brother to a large estate in that county and established a reputation as a considerate resident landlord. He served as both a magistrate and high sheriff for Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo, and was later successively appointed lord lieutenant of Leitrim and Roscommon.

Both his grandfather and father had sat in the Irish Parliament and Tenison followed in their footsteps as MP for County Leitrim from 1847 to 1852.

Tenison is also well-known as a pioneering photographer. He helped to develop the technique of using paper negatives to create detailed photographic images of landscapes and buildings. An album containing calotypes and salt prints taken by Tenison in Ireland in 1858 is preserved in the National Photographic Archive in Dublin.

Tenison died at his seat, Kilronan Castle, in June 1878.