Burrell's Folly

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

The remains of Burrell's Folly are not deemed to meet the criteria for listing.

Historical information

The site is captioned ‘Burn’s Folly’ on the first edition OS Map of 1833. The building in question first appears on the second edition OS Map of 1854 (where the site is captioned ‘Burrel’s Folly’) replacing an earlier building to the south of the plot and set perpendicular to the main house.

Listing query information provided by the NIEA states that

Griffith’s Valuation records Edward Sproule Esq as the leaseholder, and lists the site as the property of Henry Echlin, Jas A and Frederick Boyle Esqs. The buildings are valued at £13 15s 0d. The Annual Revisions revise the value to £15 0s 0d. This remains the value until 1908 when it is revised to £2.

Rowan comments; “This is just a ruined farmhouse of 1779 with extensive outbuildings once the home of a family called Sproule.” (p.254)

The main house no longer stands, and the former offices are all that remain. The internal arrangement of rooms and fireplaces suggests that the building combined some form of workers’ dwellings with storage and agricultural use.

Primary Sources:

1. PRONI OS/6/6/33/1-2 – Ordnance Survey Maps (1833, 1854)
2. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/33 – Townland Valuation Map
3. PRONI VAL/1/B/634 – Townland Valuation Records (1828-40)
4. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/33B – Griffith’s Valuation Map
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/36 – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/41/18/A-F – Annual Revision Records (1860-1923)

Secondary Sources:

1. Rowan, A ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’, Penguin Books, 1979

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

The remains of Burrell's Folly are not deemed to meet the criteria for listing.