Spring Mount

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Origianlly a two-storey three-bay direct-entry vernacular farm-house with origins predating 1830, with later 19th & 20th century modifications, demolished 2013 for development of modern dwelling. The following second survey description dates from 2011 prior to demolition.

Linear plan form with single storey additions to the rear and side. Located at the crest of a hill, at the end of private land accessed of Creevy Road, approximately 3.5miles south east of Lisburn.

Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles and narrow skews; cast-iron rainwater goods; rough-cast rendered over red brick chimneys with corbelled upper course and terracotta pots. Flint/pebble dashed walling to the front façade only; rough cast to the gables and white-washed to the rear elevation; narrow smooth rendered quoin banding. 2/2 timber sliding sash with horizontal glazing bars and margin panes and smooth render surrounds to ground floor. ½ timber sliding sash of matching style to first floor. Modern timber front door; single-storey flat roofed porch; smooth rendered with bi-partite steel-framed stained glass window to the south-east face.

The principal elevation faces south-east and is asymmetrically arranged. The front porch is located left of centre with a single window to either side with diminished first floor windows over and a centrally positioned replacement timber casement window over the porch.

The left gable is abutted by a single-storey smooth render/white-washed, pitched roof, two-bay accommodation with steel framed windows. Further abutted by a single-bay shallow pitched corrugated-iron roofed outbuilding with adjoining slate roofed single-height outbuilding projecting south-easterly; partially white-washed stone.

The rear elevation largely comprises a cat-slide extension, extending almost the full width and further abutted by a shallow lean-to extension to the north west face. Single window to the right hand side (boarded up). The cat-slide extension has a single 2/2 sliding sash window to the south-west face and a 1/1 sliding sash window to the north west face, adjacent to the lean-to extension. A small boarded-up window is located at high-level to the north-east face. The lean-to extension appears to have been erected in two different phases. The left side which comprises the rear door on the north-west face and a large steel-framed casement window, is smooth rendered with a corrugated-iron roof. The corrugated roof extends across the right hand side which has a single 1/1 timber sliding sash window to the north-west face and constructed from brick.

The right gable is blank.

Setting:

The farmhouse is set deep in rural surroundings. The long private lane is flanked by agricultural landscape, the entrance of which has several modern dwellings adjacent. On approach to the house is a well, located to the right hand side on entering the front yard. Remains of a small garden accessed through large gated piers is located to the front. To the north is a small outbuilding pre-dating 1830, with further outbuildings and agricultural units to the west dating from the 19th and 20th century.

Roofing: Natural slate
Walling: Pebble/flint dash, rough-cast and white-washed
Windows: Timber sliding/sash

Historical information

‘Spring Mount’ first appears on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map for the townland of Creevy where it is depicted as T-shaped building situated south of the modern Creevy Road. In 1834 the site possessed two outbuildings to the south-west and north-east of the farmhouse. On the second edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1859 the site appears little altered, however by that time a third outbuilding had been added to the south-east of the dwelling, whilst the rear lean-to extension was also added at this time. Griffith’s Valuation tells us that in 1861 the site was divided between two occupants; Joseph Pettigrew, who occupied the main farmhouse and its eastern outbuildings, and David Innis, who occupied the south-west outbuilding. Pettigrew and Innis let their properties from a Mr. John Hunter. David Innis let the western outbuilding out as a pair of houses (each valued at £1) whilst Pettigrew occupied the large house which was valued at £1 10s.

Without access to the Annual Revisions for the area it is unclear who occupied the site after Pettigrew and Innis; however Census records tells us that a Mr. John Young had come into possession of the entire site by at least 1901. The 1901 Census records that Young, a 60 year old Presbyterian Farmer and widower, occupied the farmhouse with his five children who assisted their father in working the farm. The Census Building Return tells us that the farmhouse was a 2nd class dwelling which possessed six rooms and was roofed with slate; at that time John Young was recorded as the Landholder of the farm which possessed a number of farm buildings including a stable, coach house, cow house and a barn. By 1911 there had been no change to the site, however in the intervening years John Young’s only son, Hugh David (38), had married and was later widowed c. 1910 when their only son was born. The third edition of the Ordnance Survey map (c. 1900) could not be examined; however the fourth edition (1919-20) records the site as “Spring Mount” for the first time and depicts a slightly altered farmyard (the name Spring Mount presumably originates from the presence of a stone well (now blocked up) situated at the entrance to the property. The map records that the western outbuilding formerly used as a pair of houses in 1861 had been taken down by 1919-20 whilst the farmhouse itself appears to have been modified with the removal of its former south-west elevation.

John Young’s Will tells us that he lived at Spring Mount until his death in May 1925 at the age of 85, leaving effects of £72 8s. 6d. to Hugh David and Samuel Young (an unknown relation) (PRONI Wills Catalogue – 19 May 1925). By the time of his father’s death Hugh David had remarried, however his wife, a Mrs Grace Young, died in December 1934 of unknown causes leaving £299 18s. 2d. to her twice widowed husband (PRONI Wills Catalogue – 1 December 1934). The Ordnance Survey map of 1976 shows that the corrugated iron agricultural shed to the north west of the original farmhouse was constructed between 1920 and 1976.

Demolished 2013 for development of modern dwelling.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/15/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/15/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1859
3. PRONI OS/6/3/15/4 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1919-1920
4. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/25B – Griffith’s Valuation 1861
5. PRONI Wills Catalogue (1925, 1934)
6. Census of Ireland 1901 / 1911
7. Ordnance Survey Map 166-13 (1976)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Originally a two-storey three-bay direct-entry vernacular farm-house with origins predating 1830 and with 19th & 20th century modifications, demolished in 2013 for development of modern dwelling.

General comments

Building demolished 2013 and is currently being replaced by a modern dwelling.