Lissan House, near Cookstown, was home to the Staples family from c.1620 until 2006, making it the longest single-family domestic occupation in Ireland. The estate’s origins trace back to Sir Thomas Staples, an English settler who arrived during the Ulster Plantation, marrying Charity Jones and establishing the estate, including an iron forge which helped the house survive the 1641 Rebellion.

The house as it stands was largely built around 1690 by Sir Robert Staples, 4th Baronet, incorporating earlier structures and creating notable features like the oak staircase and walled garden. Legal disputes over inheritance persisted until 1774, eventually splitting family lands between branches.

The estate flourished under John Staples MP, who enriched it culturally, marrying into the powerful Conolly and Molesworth families, and becoming an ancestor of C.S. Lewis. His descendants were connected to leading Irish aristocratic families. Later generations invested in coal mining and infrastructure, but financial troubles mounted in the 19th century, especially after Sir Thomas Staples (9th Baronet) died childless, leaving the house but not its contents or funds to his successor.

In the 20th century, the estate declined further. Apartments were carved into the house, and family fortunes vanished. Notably eccentric artist Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, famed for barefoot walking and high society connections, lived at Lissan but failed to preserve its wealth, leading to the sale of furnishings and artworks.

By the 1940s, the estate was virtually bankrupt. It was briefly revived when Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling (née Staples) returned in 1970, marrying estate manager Harry Dolling. With no heirs, she founded the Lissan House Charitable Trust in 1997 to preserve the historic site. Hazel died in April 2006 and the estate was bequeathed to the Charitable Trust on condition that a viable scheme of restoration was secured within three years of her death. This was achieved and the property is now thriving once more in the care of volunteers.

Hazel herself referenced in a book that she knew the property was haunted and it is said she had several encounters herself. She also recalled that her mother would throw a shoe to chase away the spirits when she heard them pacing up and down the deserted landing. Witnesses have reported seeing the ghosts of a small children in the house, and the volunteers have even chased after them in the belief that they were real and were where they shouldn’t have been.

One custodian shared that Lady Staples’ bedroom was the one that she did not like. She recalled how it always felt cooler than other rooms, but when you walked into the dressing room, the temperature would rise again. But this room was also the scene of a more alarming encounter. One startled house guest that was assigned that room many years ago, was awoken during the night to see a figure carrying a candelabra. The figure approached her bed and tried to set it alight.