Bessvale, 63 Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, BT28 2NW

Bessvale is a T-shaped vernacular thatched house set within the townland of Moneycrumog, reached by a long private driveway running southwards for approximately one third of a mile off the road between Upper Ballinderry and Lisburn, just over a mile from the former hamlet. The house is constructed across three levels and is finished externally in whitened roughcast throughout. Its thatched roofs — laid between tiled gables — have wrap-over ridges and eaves cut at an angle, with the valley between the two roof sections slated. Three rows of scollops are exposed at the ridge and one row at the eaves.

The front elevation faces north-east and presents as a single-storey range overlooking a lawn, which is entered through modern metal gates hung on square pillars with projecting pyramidal caps; the enclosing wall is of similar construction. Each gable of this elevation rises to a chimneystack with a moulded capping and two Victorian-style pots. The entrance, fronted by two tiled steps, is placed slightly to the right of centre. The door is a six-panel raised-and-fielded type set beneath a small segmental roughcast arch, and is flanked on each side by a six-over-six vertically sliding sash window with exposed framing. Only the window on the extreme left is fitted with sash stops, and the sills are of intermediate depth.

Viewed from the side, the front block rises to a three-storey appearance. The attic is lit by a two-over-two casement with a sill of intermediate depth. Immediately below, a rear bedroom at first-floor level has a six-over-six vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of traditional depth. On the ground floor, the parlour is served by a four-over-eight vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of intermediate depth.

Behind the front block is a two-storey thatched return, set back from the gable of the main section and terminated by a tiled parapet that rises to a chimneystack similar to those on the front. Entry into this part — formerly the kitchen — is through a timber-sheeted, folding centre-hinged door. To the right of this door is a six-over-six vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of traditional depth. Above each of these openings there is a further six-over-six vertically sliding window, this time without sash stops and with a sill of intermediate depth. Beyond the return, a single-storey lean-to structure has been added, lit on its street face by a six-over-six vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of traditional depth.

The south-west elevation, which overlooks the farmyard, has an eight-panel raised-and-fielded timber door flanked to the right by a pair of six-over-six vertically sliding windows with sash stops and narrow sills. The side elevation of this section is lit first by a four-over-four casement with a sill of traditional depth, followed by a six-over-six vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of traditional depth. This part of the building is roofed with natural slate, hipped as it extends toward the inner courtyard and finished with red clay hip tiles.

The return of the main house has a vertically sliding window whose sashes are each divided into two lights horizontally, fitted with sash stops and sills of intermediate depth. At upper level, the rear elevation has from left a six-over-six vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of intermediate depth, followed by a four-over-four vertically sliding window with sash stops and a sill of intermediate depth. Below this last window is a two-over-two casement with the top two panes top-hung. The adjoining gable is lit by a pair of two-pane casements, each with one side-hung opener.

The house appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832–33 much as it stands today, labelled as 'Bess Vale'. The valuation book of 1834 records the occupant as Jonathan Hill and describes the dwelling as a relatively old thatched building in good condition, assigned the quality designation '2B+'. The dimensions recorded at that time were 52 feet by 21½ by 11 feet for the main block and 20 by 21½ by 14½ feet for a secondary element. The associated outbuildings comprised thatched offices measuring 10 by 21½ by 5½ feet and 80 by 17½ by 6½ feet, a thatched barn of 53 by 20 by 7½ feet, a slated shed of 11 by 20 by 6 feet, and a partly open, relatively newly built thatched potato house of 40 by 17 by 6 feet. The valuers noted the property as 'neat' and assessed a rateable value of £9-6-0, considered very respectable for the period.

By the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1857 the house itself appeared unchanged, though an outbuilding to the west had altered in shape and a new outbuilding had appeared to the south of it. The second valuation of 1862 documents these changes, listing slated outbuildings measuring 21 by 11 by 6 feet, 19 by 18 by 6 feet, and 11 by 21 by 12 feet, along with thatched ones of 45 by 18 by 6 feet and 36 by 20 by 7 feet, in addition to the barn and potato house recorded in 1834. The appearance of these new structures likely accounts for the rise in rateable value to £12. Jonathan Hill — or a relative of the same name — remained in residence as late as 1859, and was succeeded approximately a decade later by Robert Hill, who acquired the freehold from the Wallace Estate in 1893. Robert Hill remained at the property until 1911, when the house passed to or was purchased by John Tuft, whose descendant still holds it. The post-1864 valuations record no changes to the dwelling itself.

It is clear from the 1834 valuation that Bessvale was already a building of some age at that date. Pierce and Coey, writing in 1984, state that the house 'reputedly' dates from 'about 1700', while C.E.B. Brett, writing in 1996, describes it as 'almost certainly 17th century' but provides no dendrochronological or other supporting evidence. Brett also states that the house was occupied by a Hugh Casement in the mid-18th century and later by a family named Higginson, again without cited evidence. However, a Henry Higginson is recorded as holding land in Moneycrumog on a Conway Estate map of 1729, and a house indicated in the same townland on John Lendrick's 1780 Map of the County of Antrim is listed in the legend as the home of a Reverend Mr Higginson. This individual could have been Thomas Higginson or either of his sons, Edward and Thomas Edward Higginson, all three of whom were clergymen; the first two served as Vicars of Ballinderry. Whether the house shown on Lendrick's map is in fact Bessvale is uncertain, though the fact that Bessvale appears to be the largest house in the townland on the 1832–33 Ordnance Survey map raises the possibility that it may indeed be the building depicted.

The thatching history of the building is well documented. In 1975 the owner proposed the use of plastic thatch, but instead the existing covering was repaired using straw in 1976. Further straw repairs were carried out by James Dickson in 1978, by Gerry Agnew in 1983, and again by Gerry Agnew in 1987. Emergency repairs were undertaken in 1992 by Brian Douglas of Sligo, using straw on the main house and rye on the return. A complete re-thatching using flax was completed by Gerry Agnew in 1994.