Creevaghmore, Ballymahon, Co Longford

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 95. A two storey gable-ended mid-C18 house, with two lower wings extending back towards the farmyard, which is immediately behind the house. Seven bay pedimented front; doorway with blocking and large keystone, the stones on either side of it defined with the architrave-moulding. Open well staircase of wood in entrance hall.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/13402719/creevaghmore-house-creevaghmore-co-longford

Creevaghmore House, CREEVAGHMORE, County Longford 

Detached seven-bay two-storey country house with attic storey, built c. 1750, having pediment over central three-bays to front elevation (northwest). Built on U-shaped plan having two-storey returns either end of the rear elevation (southeast). Single-storey extension and additions to the rear (southeast) of rear returns having pitched or lean-to natural slate roof; single-storey outbuilding blocks attached to the southwest end of building having brick bellcote over with round-headed opening; two-bay single-storey extension with lean-to natural slate roof to rear, between rear returns. Pitched natural slate roof to main block having rendered chimneystacks to gable ends (southwest and northeast) having terracotta pots, and with cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered chimneystacks to gable ends of rear returns. Moulded limestone eaves course to pedimented central three bays. Roughcast rendered walls. Square-headed window openings having cut limestone sills and nine-over-six timber sliding sash windows with partially exposed sash boxes, six-over-four box timber sliding sash windows to outer bays to central three-bay section with pediment over. Oval window to pediment with decorative timber glazing bars. Mainly replacement window openings to rear; tripartite timber sliding sash window to the rear return to the northeast at ground floor level. Square-headed door opening to centre of front elevation (northwest) having carved limestone Gibbsian surround with architrave and prominent keystone; and with timber panelled door. Cut stone threshold and moulded limestone step with cast-iron bootscraper to entrance. Timber panelled window shutters, timber wall panelling and a decorative timber staircase to interior hallway. Set back from road in extensive mature grounds to the southeast of Ballymahon. Gateway (13402718) and rubble stone boundary wall to road-frontage to the east. Complex of outbuildings (13402720) arranged around a courtyard to the rear (east/southeast). Rubble stone boundary wall to the rear of house having wrought-iron pedestrian gate. High rubble stone boundary wall to south end of rear elevation (southeast), probably originally part of walled garden complex. 

Appraisal 

This very fine and well-proportioned early-eighteenth century house/country house retains its early form, character and a great deal of its early fabric. The central pedimented section with an oval window opening having delicate decorative timber glazing bars, the treatment of the window openings to the central three bays, and the fine doorcase with Gibbsian surround provides a central focus and gives this building a strong classical character, albeit in a vaguely vernacular manner, and articulates a graceful symmetry to the front façade. The prominent and heavily detailed Gibbsian doorcase, which is of an unusual design, adds a strong element of artistic interest to the front elevation. The long narrow window openings have timber sash windows with partially exposed sash boxes, which are indicative of an early date. Craig (1976) draws a comparison between the plan of Creevaghmore House and Plate IX of John Payne’s ‘Twelve Designs for Country Houses’ (dated 1753, published 1757). The U-plan with lean-to section connecting the wings to rear, along with the placement of the staircase in the hallway and primary utility rooms facing the farmyard, is remarkably similar. Since Creevaghmore probably pre-dates the publication of this design book, Craig surmises that this layout was a popular contemporary farmhouse plan widely used in the early-eighteenth century. The survival of such an intact example of an early eighteenth-century farmhouse/house/small country house is extremely rare, making this an important example of its type. It forms the centrepiece of an important group of related structures along with the entrance gateway (13402718) and boundary wall to the west, and the complex of outbuildings (13402720) arranged around a courtyard to the rear (southeast), and is among the most important elements of the built heritage of County Longford. This building has historical connections with the Sandys family, who lived at Creevaghmore from the mid-seventeenth century (a Simon Sandys of Creevaghmore is detailed in the 1659 census of Ireland and a Freke Sandys received a grant of land in Longford in 1663) probably until c. 1854 (see below). Freke Sandys of Creevaghmore was appointed a Commissioner for County Longford by King William III in 1699. The presence of the Sandys family at Creevaghmore from c. 1655 suggests that the present building replaced an earlier house on or close to this site. It is possible that Creevaghmore dates to the late-seventeenth century, and the proportions of the window openings are quite similar to those found at Springhill, County Derry , which was built c. 1680 (Springhill does not have the pediment). A William Sandys of Creevaghmore (died 1774) served as High Sheriff of Longford in 1758. Creevaghmore was the home of a Robert Sandys Esq., (1782 – 1847) in c. 1835 (O’Donovan; Letters; Lewis) and in 1846 (Slater’s Directory). It was the home of a Edwin Moore Sandys J. P., son of Robert, c. 1850. The house and lands may have been sold by the Incumbered Estates Court in 1854 (newspaper article in Longford Journal). A Charles Webb Esq., J. P., lived at Creevaghmore in 1881. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/13402720/creevaghmore-house-creevaghmore-co-longford

Detached complex of outbuildings to the rear (southeast) of Creevaghmore House (13402719), built c. 1750 and altered c. 1820, comprising a multiple-bay two-storey former stable block on L-shaped plan to the northeast and a detached multiple-bay two-storey outbuilding to the southeast. Pitched corrugated-metal roof to northwest end of L-shaped former stable block; pitched natural slate roof to section to the southeast end. Raised rendered verges to a number of the gable ends and some remaining sections of cast-iron rainwater goods. Rubble limestone walls, formerly rendered. Loop hole openings to upper storeys to L-shaped outbuilding having brick block-and-start surrounds. Segmental-headed door openings and carriage arches at ground floor having red brick block-and-start surrounds. Some openings now partially infilled with modern blockwork having timber doors. Stables to interior with decorative cast-iron panels and cast-iron horse head motifs to stall dividers. Double-height segmental-headed carriage arch to the northwest end having brick voussoirs to arch. Shallow segmental-headed openings to section to the southeast end of L-shaped block at ground floor level having brick block-and-start surrounds, stone sills and remains of timber fittings to window openings, and a central doorway with battened timber door. Detached multiple-bay outbuilding to southeast having single-bay single-storey lean-to brick addition with square-headed doorway attached to the south end of the main elevation (northwest). Pitched corrugated-metal roof raised verges to gable ends (northeast and southwest). Roughcast rendered walls, render now removed to places exposing rubble stone construction. Square-headed door openings with remains of timber fittings. Segmental-headed window openings having brick block-and-start surrounds and remains of timber fittings. Segmental-headed carriage arch with brick block-and-start surround and voussoirs; and corrugated-metal doors. Arranged around a courtyard to the rear (southeast) of Creevaghmore House (13402719). Rubble limestone boundary wall to the south and southwest side of yard, the boundary wall of a former walled garden. Approach avenue to courtyard to the north having rubble limestone boundary walls flanking avenue. Gateway to house (13402719) to the west side of approach avenue having a pair of cut limestone gate posts (on octagonal-plan/square-plan with chamfered corners) having hipped/pyramidal heads with moulded detailing and a pair of wrought-iron flat bar gates. Pedestrian gateway to site comprising a pair of cut limestone gate posts (on octagonal-plan/square-plan with chamfered corners) having hipped/pyramidal heads and a wrought-iron gate. Gateway to the north end of approach avenue to house comprising a pair of dressed ashlar limestone gate piers (on square-plan) having wrought-iron flat bar gate. Set well back from road to the southwest of Ballymahon. 

Appraisal 

This substantial complex of outbuildings adds considerably to the historic setting and context of Creevaghmore House (13402719). They probably originally date to the middle of the eighteenth century but the brick surrounds to the openings suggests that they were extensively altered during the nineteenth century. These outbuildings survive in good condition and retain their early form and character. The scale of these structures provides an interesting historical insight into the extensive resources required to run and maintain a middle-sized country estate in Ireland during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Of particular note is the survival of the cast-iron grills and cast-iron horse head motif/finials to the stables, which are interesting and unusual features that add an element of decorative interest and indicate the attention afforded to even the most mundane of features on country estates at the time of the construction. These cast-iron features are probably later additions, perhaps added during the middle of the nineteenth century. This complex of outbuilding forms part of an interesting group of related sites at Creevaghmore along with main house (13402719) and the gateway (13402718) to the northwest, which together form an attractive grouping in the rural landscape to the southwest of Ballymahon. The rubble stone walls, the remains of the walled garden to the southwest, the cut limestone gate posts and the wrought-iron gates to site add to the setting and complete this composition. 

Casey, Christine and Alistair Rowan. The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster. Penguin Books, London, 1993.  p. 142.