Turf House, Crom Estate, Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, BT92 8AP

Turf House, Crom Estate

This building is of considerable architectural and historical interest, both for its construction and for the remarkable collection of machinery it houses. Dating from 1835-1840 and designed by Edward Blore (who also designed Crom Castle itself), it is an important element of the estate's built stock. Nowhere else in the Province is there such a complete assembly of equipment demonstrating the evolution of the castle's water supply and estate saw milling operations over the past century, all in excellent order under one roof.

The building is a large, single-storey structure aligned north-south on the shore of Upper Lough Erne, with a small dock adjoining to its east. Built into the bank so that more of the gable is exposed on the water side than the land side, it has a pitched natural slate roof with exposed rafter tails, plain bargeboards and no gutters. The walls are of random limestone rubble brought to courses, with finely dressed quoins and opening surrounds.

The south gable contains the principal entrance, set within a segmental-headed opening. A pair of cast-iron gates with spear-headed finials and dogbars, stamped 'R. Turner Dublin', lead into the building. Two parallel bogey rails of 63 centimetre gauge run through the entrance. The west elevation has a central window and two identical windows to its left, all side-hung casements with 2 by 4 panes, rendered cement flat heads, jambs and flush cills. Above the second window from the left is a flat metal pulley supported on a bearing set into the wall. Below the right-hand window is a tongue-and-groove shuttered opening with a finely dressed head, apparently giving access to a low basement. Outside, towards the right, stands a large concrete block, apparently a mounting for a former stone crusher now gone, which was driven from an engine inside via the pulley. The north gable is blank. Two water pipes ascend vertically from the lake and enter the building.

The east elevation has four regularly-spaced semicircular-headed openings. The leftmost is a doorway with a pair of tongue-and-groove timber doors. The second and fourth from the left have been infilled with single 2 by 4 timber casements inserted. The third has been completely infilled. Flanking the end window at the right are metal exhaust pipes from the internal engines. A small boat dock adjoins this side, with squared limestone block walls laid to courses on three sides.

The building was originally erected to store peat cut from elsewhere on the estate and brought by boat to a small quay shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map. It ceased being used for peat storage in the 1860s, when the arcade along the east elevation was infilled. The present dock was built in 1862-63 as a replacement for the earlier quay, but became redundant when the lough was lowered in the 1880s. Around 1865, an engine was installed to pump water into the castle. Towards the end of the century, hand-operated saw milling equipment was also installed. The roof was destroyed by fire in the early 1900s and rebuilt. In 1926, new pumping and saw milling equipment was installed, all driven by Blackstone and Gardner engines. Saw milling continued until the 1950s. The building was restored and re-roofed by the National Trust in 1989.