Springhill House County Derry.

Springhill House is a 17th century plantation house situated in County Derry about one mile from the town of Moneymore (Great shrubbery) the house derives its name from a nearby spring. The property is now owned by the National Trust for Northern Ireland who acquired it in 1957, the previous owners were the Conyngham family, who came to Ulster from Ayrshire in Scotland during the plantation of James I. in the early 1600's.

The Conyngham's had properties in Counties Armagh, Antrim and Derry, the Springhill estate amounting to 350 acres was the last acquired bringing their total holdings to about 1,500 acres. There was a strong military tradition in the Conyngham family throughout their history in Ireland, the first William Conynham was a supporter of Cromwell during the 1641 rebellion during this time he was a commander for Cromwell in County Armagh, he is recorded to have been resident in County Armagh in 1658. His son William Conynham II allied himself to the Williamite cause, this second William Conynham married Miss Anne Upton of Castle Upton Templepatrick County Antrim, it was he who built the present house as part of the marriage agreement. This military tradition continued up to the Second World War when William Lenox-Conyngham, saw active service, it was he who arranged the acquisition of Springhill by the National Trust in 1957 which was also the year in which he died.

If you would like to explore the history of the Lenox-Conynham family further you can do so on this page of the PRONI (Public Records Office Northern Ireland) web site.

Today visitors can take a tour of the house which includes the nursery, gun room, the laundry which holds an unique collection of period dress from the 18th to 20th century, particularly noteworthy in the collection is a beetle wing embroidered dress from 1856 this has been painstakingly restored by the conservation department. During the tour you can also learn about the resident ghost. Outside there are walled gardens, beautiful way marked paths through the estate, and for those wishing to stay overnight a caravan park.