Boundary Marker, Rosevale House, 171 Moira Road, Knockmore, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 1RW

Free-standing cast-iron boundary marker of circa 1900, located on a lawn within the grounds of Rosevale House, 171 Moira Road, Knockmore, Lisburn, behind a low concrete wall to the south of Moira Road.

The marker is a circular-plan cast-iron bollard approximately 3 feet tall. It comprises a moulded plinth base, collar moulding and octagonal cap surmounted by a diminutive dome. The shaft bears raised lettering in intact and discernible condition, stating 'Lisburn Town Boundary'.

This post is of the type used to designate the limits of the former Urban District Councils. It is identical to a boundary post still extant on Moore's Bridge on Hillsborough Road, which marked the southern extremity of Lisburn UDC. Such posts were established following the creation of Urban District Councils under the Local Government (Ireland) Act of 1898, with Lisburn UDC established in 1899. The posts are shown on the 1903 Ordnance Survey map. However, no post is marked at this particular location on that survey, as the western limit of the Urban District was originally further to the east, crossing Moira Road at the junction of Ballinderry Road. Between 1939 and 1965, the boundary designation was shifted to the immediate west of Rosevale House, and maps show that the post was relocated accordingly, though initially placed on the opposite side of the road to where it now stands.

With the abolition of all Urban District Councils in 1973, the post became obsolete and does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps after 1965. The plot on the northern side of the road was redeveloped circa 1990s, and it is likely the post was uprooted during landscaping at that time. It was subsequently salvaged and placed in its current position on the lawn in front of Rosevale House. Although it bears resemblance to the earlier, less decorated boundary posts erected in Belfast to mark the 1918 electoral boundaries, the relocation of this marker has resulted in the loss of historical significance of the original boundary line, and it is therefore not considered to be of special interest.