CREEVAGH HOUSE

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large, late Georgian five-bay two-storey over basement stone house, built for Hume Babington c.1830-1840, enhanced by a freestone ashlar front with corner quoins and Gibbs surrounds to square headed windows with slated hipped roof.

Symmetrical front elevation faces South, set behind low balustraded stone wall to basement level, with small stone pillar to either side of canted porch three steps up, six-panel timber entrance door with segmental fanlight within square headed opening, 4/4 sliding sash window on each of 2 canted sections of bay, four 6/6 timber sliding sash windows to ground floor, five to first floor; slightly projecting moulded stone cornice to eaves.

West elevation overlooking gardens and tennis court, painted smooth rendered facade with two-storey stone extension to North-end with two 1/1 timber sliding sash windows to ground floor and two above on first floor, Gibbs surround to windows with stone corner quoins; canted entrance bay centred on elevation to ground and first floor, four steps up with decorative wrought-iron hand railings to either side of steps, timber entrance door with plain squared-headed fanlight above, 1/1 timber sliding sash windows to canted bay with a single 6/6 timber sliding sash window to South-end with painted stone Gibbs surround. South portion of west elevation set behind low balustraded stone wall to basement level.

North elevation is fronted with slate with a single 6/6 timber sliding sash window to ground floor and two above on first floor, to the right is a semi-circular arch headed 15/15 timber sliding sash window lighting stairwell at half-landing, two squared-headed replacement windows and exterior brick vaulted coal cellar to inner courtyard at basement level; smooth painted render to North facade of extension with timber sheeted entrance door positioned to the left, three steps up with cast-iron railing to either side. Two conservation roof lights to North side of slated roof and one to South side.

East elevation of smooth painted render with small side porch extension, two steps up, slightly recessed 1/1 timber sliding sash window with margin pane to porch at East side with entrance door facing South; stone corner quoins to house facade with a single 6/6 timber sliding sash window with Gibbs surround to ground floor.

Cast-iron rainwater goods throughout. Two stage stone chimney stack to main roof of house at South-end with four clay pots, and a single stone chimney stack to the North-end with four clay pots, and a single stone chimney stack to the rear of the West elevation extension with 5 terracotta chimney pots.

Setting:
Shrouded in lowland woodland estate, set on the North side of the Letterkenny Road overlooking the River Foyle, approximately 0.5km from the boundary with Donegal to the west.

Materials:
Roof: Natural Slate
RWG: Cast Iron
Walling: Ashlar Stone & Render
Windows : Timber sliding sash
Door: Original panelled

Historical information

Creevagh House, a two-storey-over-basement five-bay house located in the townland of Upper Creevagh, replaces a previous dwelling, believed to have been constructed in c. 1780. According to Curl and Rowan the gentleman’s mansion was erected in the 1780s by the Babington family. The first edition Ordnance Survey map suggests that that the current Creevagh House was not constructed until sometime between 1830 and the 1850s. In 1830 there was no building on the mansion’s current location but instead the map noted that three buildings stood to the southwest of the current site. These buildings were captioned by the map as ‘ruins'. Careful inspection finds that the map is exceptionally accurate in depicting the layouts of surviving local boundaries, roads and local landmarks such as a graveyard that lies close to the Creevagh estate.

Further evidence of a rebuild can be found in the valuation sources. The contemporary Townland Valuations note that the three buildings depicted on the map were occupied by a Mr Anthony Babington in the 1830s. The valuer described Babington’s residence as a farmhouse and noted that it was only valued at just over £4 but by 1856 the total rateable value of the property had been vastly increased to £65 suggesting a major reconstruction. It is likely that the Babington’s did indeed build their first house in Upper Creevagh in the 1780s but it is clear that the current mansion is the second property the family erected on their land and was raised post-1830.

The Townland Valuations note that Anthony Babington continued to reside at his property in Upper Creevagh despite his farmhouse being described as in ‘ruins.’ It is likely that Babington demolished his original dwelling shortly after 1830. He replaced it with the current two-storey mansion which is late-Georgian in appearance suggesting an early build date of c. 1830-1840. Without further evidence it is not possible to confirm this date but it is probable given the known facts. The second edition Ordnance Survey map confirms that the house had been erected by at least the 1850s. The architect of the new dwelling is not known, although the Natural Stone Database records that the building was constructed utilising locally-quarried Derry Schist and Barony Glen Sandstone (NSD).

Anthony Babington was the Distributor for Londonderry’s Stamp Office located on Pump Street and leased his land in Upper Creevagh from The Honourable The Irish Society. Babington resided at Upper Creevagh until his death in the 1860s (Ulster Town Directories).The second edition Ordnance Survey map (c. 1853) notes that Babington also added an extensive complex of farm buildings to the north of his dwelling. These outbuildings were arranged around a courtyard and included a ‘thrashing machine.’ In the same period the current one-and-a-half-storey gate lodge was installed at the south-east entrance of the estate (Dean, p. 113). The map shows that Creevagh House was originally constructed as a rectangular-shaped building. The two-storey rear return and side porch were not added until the late-19th century and were first depicted on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of c. 1900.

Anthony Babington resided at Creevagh House until his death in 1869. In his Will Babington left his estate at Upper Creevagh to his nephew Hume Babington, third son of the Rev. Hume Babington of Moviddy Co. Cork (PRONI Wills Catalogue). The Dictionary of Irish Architects notes that Hume Babington Jnr (1848-1925) was an architect and engineer in partnership with the Belfast-based architect Thomas Turner from 1880 until 1891. Turner & Babington were responsible for the design of Thornhill House which the partnership completed for Babington’s brother-in-law Alexander Watt. Babington was also a local magistrate serving as a J.P. For Armagh and Londonderry (DIA). The 1911 census described Babington’s house as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of 27 rooms and possessed an extensive number of farm buildings including a stable, cow house, dairy, boiling house and potato house which were located at the outbuildings to the north. Hume Babington vacated Creevagh House shortly before his death in 1925 (PRONI Wills). A Mr. John E. Morrison took possession of the house and its farm buildings in 1926. Morrison’s family resided at Creevagh House until at least the 1970s. The value of the mansion and its associated outbuildings stood at £68 10s. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72).

Creevagh House was listed in 1979. In that year Rowan described the dwelling in the following terms: ‘shrouded in woodlands. A large, plain late-Georgian house built by the Babington family c. 1780. The usual five-bay, two-storey block enhanced by a freestone ashlar front with corner quoins and Gibbs surrounds to the windows. Inside is a delightful cantilevered oval stair, small in scale, lit by a half-landing window and roofed by a deeply coffered dome. The entire basement of the house is finely vaulted in brick’ (Rowan, p. 404). The NIEA HB Records note that Creevagh House was reroofed in 1999 during a renovation that also included repair work being carried out to its side entrance porch (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830)
2. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (c. 1853)
3. PRONI OS/6/5/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (c. 1900)
4. PRONI OS/6/5/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (c. 1920)
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/5/20 – Townland Valuation Map (c. 1830)
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/547A-F – Townland Valuations (c. 1830)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16J – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/10A-G – Annual Revisions (1860-1930)
9. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/9 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
10. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/22 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
11. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Londonderry (1837)
12. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)
13. PRONI Wills Catalogue (31 Jan 1869; 6 Jun 1925)
14. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
15. First Survey Record – HB01/12/004 (1972)
16. NIEA HB Records – HB01/12/004

Secondary Sources
1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013.
2. Curl, J. S., ‘The Londonderry plantation: 1609-1914’ Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., 1986.
3. Dean, J. A. K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster: A gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994.
4. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/
2. Natural Stone Database - http://www.stonedatabase.com//stone_types.cfm?stc=45

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest
R. Age

Evaluation

Creevagh House, a five-bay, two-storey over basement stone house built c.1830-1840 by the Babington family within a country estate established 1780 and inherited by the late Hume Babington, 19th century architect/engineer, partner of the architect Thomas Turner. Fine example of large Georgian house, with formal symmetrical facade, ashlar walling, toothed quoins, multi-paned sliding sash windows with distinctive Gibbs surrounds, Renaissance ballustrading to basement and substantial chimneys. Situated on the North side of the Letterkenny Road overlooking the River Foyle, approximately 0.5km from the boundary with Donegal to the west, the estate encompasses the ruins of a two-storey local schist-stone former farm house and modern farm structures within its extensive grounds with gated entrance and railings, all of which are of merit, to avenue from the South-end. Despite the minor allterations of uPVC door and basment windows, the house is well proportioned and articulated by canted bays and hipped returns. The original plan form survives together with a good amount of original historic fabric inside. The overall character and appearance of the house and gardens make it architecturally siginficant to the heritage of the Derry Slopes.