KNOCKBALLYMORE, County Fermanagh (AP FERMANAGH AND OMAGH 07) – F/017 REGISTERED GRADE A Small demesne (90 acres/36ha) of 17th century origin with important early Georgian house (Listed HB 12/01/001A), located 4 miles (6.4km) north-east of Newtownbutler, on the border with County Monaghan, 1.5 miles (2.4km) north-west of Clones. The park, which is enclosed by trees just above Knockballymore Lough and on the south side of the River Finn, retains residual traces of the geometric landscape associated with the 1720s house that was built by Nicholas Ward (d.1751), who succeeded to the property in 1718 through his marriage to the daughter of Edward Davys, MP (1660-1705). Almost exactly a hundred years previously it was reported by Pynnar that there was ‘an excellent strong house and bawne‘ on the site as well as a nearby corn mill, in the possession of Edward Hatton (d.1630), Archdeacon of Armagh. This ‘castle of Knockballymore‘ (Cloncarne), which records suggest was destroyed in the 1641 Rebellion and subsequently rebuilt, probably may have occupied the site of the present stable yard north of the house. The new residence built by Nicholas Ward c.1720 is an unusual cuboid double-pile house with hipped roof, painted roughcast walls, cutstone trim, including moulded stone eaves course, and symmetrical east-facing front of five-bays and two and half stories over a basement. There are two roof dormers at each side and four tall chimneystacks on the outside end-walls (the house may originally have been gabled), while the front has a central tympanum with eyebrow window; at the rere, typical for houses of this period in Ulster, the basement windows are at the ground floor level. To the immediate north of the house and set on much lower ground is the stable yard (Listed HB 12/01/001B); this is square in plan and enclosed on three sides by two-storey ranges with random rubble walls, which appear to be largely 18th century in date, but remodelled in the 19th century. There was formerly another yard north of this, now devoid of buildings save for an open lean-to shed and enclosing walls, the latter may, in part, be of 17th century date; the area is now a garden enclosure with mowed grass, small glasshouse, and rectangular plots for vegetables and flowers. The original kitchen garden, now covered with trees, lay 760ft (230m) north-east of the house; it occupied a triangular area (2.8 acres/1.1 ha) between the Magherveely Road and the River Finn; the area, which by the late 19th century had been reduced in area to 1.3 acres (0.5ha), was enclosed largely with hedges, save for parts of the west side. On its south side was a single storey late 18th century octagonal ‘garden house’ (Listed HB 12/01/001C) now ruined; evidently a garden pavilion, it had rubble walls with brick dressings, slated roof and pointed arched windows with decorative geometric glazing. At the west end of this productive garden lies Knockballymore Bridge (Listed HB 12/01/002), which carries the Knockballymore/Oakfield Road over the River Finn; composed of two round-headed arches of random rubble with dressed abutment quoins, voussoirs and angled cutwaters, it is built at an angle to the river and is possibly c.1800 in date. Nearby, at the head of the drive to the house, is a decorative wrought iron gate screen with central carriage gate, flanked by pedestrian gates, and terminated by octagonal ashlar piers with spear head pinnacles, all c.1860-70 (Listed HB 12/01/001D). The area east of the Knockballymore/Oakfield Road on the east side of the demesne contains a thick belt of young woodland with mature beech/oak on the fringes; within this woodland lies a linear earthwork (The Black Pig’s Dyke), which is scheduled (FERM 262:029). Immediately south of the house (85ft/26m) on lower ground lies Knockballymore Lough, which until the 20th century, when the lake level dropped, covered 25 acres (10ha); it is now divided into three lakes and has two possible Early Christian crannogs on its fringes (FERM 262: 021 & 022). On the south side of the lake in Lislea Townland stretches a large area of open parkland, probably of late 18th century date, dotted with mature isolated trees and providing an important setting for the house; on its south-west side there is a large prehistoric hilltop enclosure, whose banks are topped with mature trees (scheduled FERM 262: 010). The front meadow or ‘lawn’ east of the house is flanked by the approach avenue on its north side; this meets a large circular sweep of late 19th century date in front of the mansion. In the mature woodland screen immediately south of the house is a footpath that leads directly down slope to a small modern wooden pier; in this woodland here lies a dry closet with a three-seater timber bench, now ruined. The present curved avenue approach dates to the period 1760-80, and replaced an straight tree-lined avenue c.1720 which was 670ft (200m) long and aligned on the front facade of the house. Originally, there was most probably an enclosed entrance courtyard immediately in front of the house. To the rere of the house are two banked terraces leading down onto a mowed lawn terrace (190ft/58m x 95ft/30m) with a herbaceous border down the north side. Originally this mowed lawn terrace formed part of a tree lined vista of c.1720, flanked by trees which extended 1,350ft (410m) on axis with the rere facade of the house; it is possible there was a path (rather than a carriage-drive) down the centre of this vista, which may have terminated in a wooden folly; a few of these vista trees survive, while this area of the park west of the house has been dotted with isolated parkland trees since the later 18th century; some of these have been planted in the 1990s and later. At right angle to this tree-lined vista lay a canal (0.58 acres/0.23ha) some 450ft (140,) long and 50ft (15.6m) wide; this too would have been lined with trees on each side and presumably had some form of wooden bridge crossing the water on axis with the house. The canal, which linked the waters of lough with the River Finn, appears to have dried up around the 1840s. The naturalisation of the landscape at Knockballymore was most likely undertaken by Bernard Smith Ward (d.1770); on his death the property passed into the hands of the Abraham Creighton, 1st Lord Erne (1703-72) and his son John Crighton (1731-1828), 1st Earl Erne, both of whom used it as an occasional residence when not able to use their seat at Crom. It was subsequently leased (and at times served as the Earl of Erne’s agent’s house) until 1919 when it was sold by the Erne Estate to William Frederick McCoy (1886-76), a lawyer and later Stormont MP for South Tyrone. The present owners acquired the property in 1987. Private. FERM 262: 010 (hilltop enclosure, scheduled); FERM 262: 021 and 262: FERM 022 (possible crannogs); FERM 262: 029 (Black Pig’s Dyke, scheduled); FERM 262:030 (post medieval mill).