Springfield Villa, 145 Moyad Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5LF

Springfield Villa is a substantial mid-19th century farmhouse with unaltered associated outbuildings, erected around 1845 and set in a small landscaped demesne. External and internal detailing is of good quality and remarkably complete.

The main house is a symmetrical two-storey composition with three bays and a semi-basement, facing south. It is constructed with rendered rubble granite walls and a chamfered stugged ashlar granite plinth to the front elevation and east gable. The pitched and gabled natural slate roof features blue clay ridge tiles, boxed overhanging eaves and verges, and eaves gables over the first floor windows. The main gables and three gablets on the return incorporate highly decorative and slender pierced bargeboards with Gothic motifs and flowing curvilinear tracery, each design varied but similar in character. Two chimneys are set on internal cross walls, with three individually expressed flue shafts above simple unified bases, simply corbelled caps, and modern red chimney pots. The shafts are smooth rendered but may originally have been exposed brickwork.

At ground floor of the principal elevation, the centre bay contains a rectangular projecting flat-roofed porch with a Regency-styled cast iron balustrade incorporating acanthus details. The porch sides have panels of later design; the original porch may have been shallower and possibly open. The present porch has paired half-glazed margin pattern doors with 2x5 pane fixed lights in the cheeks. Ground floor has margined 6/6 sliding sash windows with granite cills on either side of the porch. Above the porch, the central first floor opening comprises a pair of margin-paned French doors with fixed lights over, flanked by margined 6/6 sliding sashes in line with those below. The west gable has a single central window of the same design on each floor.

The rear of the house is abutted to left and centre by a rear return. The remaining wall to the right is wet dashed and faces the yard. To the left of this wall is a painted sheeted timber door into a basement store, with a window above at first floor level under a gablet. The rear return has a pitched natural slate roof and a chimney set on the ridge over the main internal cross wall. Its right cheek has a glazed framed sheeted painted timber door to ground floor. To its right is an 8/8 sliding sash window to the kitchen. Marks in the render suggest a second doorway has been infilled to the right of this. Adjacent to the junction with the main house is a very small 1/1 sash window lighting a store below the stairs. Above at half-landing level is a large margin-paned 6/6 window to the landing. At first floor are two 6/6 sliding sashes: the first over the kitchen door and the second over the kitchen window. In the attic, set in a gablet in line with the kitchen door, is a similar window. The rear gable has a 6/3 sliding sash window in the attic and a decorated bargeboard. The left cheek of the return is set back from the right gable of the main house by approximately 2 metres, with three evenly spaced 6/6 sliding sash windows at ground floor and similar windows at first floor, although that to the left is 6/2 with the bottom sash in obscured glass, presumably modified for a bathroom. One 6/6 attic window is set under a gablet in line with the central windows. The east gable of the main block contains a single 6/6 window with vertical margins on each floor. In the 2-metre section of rear wall of the main block is a small basement window with bars over and a 6/6 sliding sash window at ground floor.

Three outbuildings remain. At the north-west corner is a screen wall with sheeted pedestrian door closing off the yard, linking to a two-storey coach house orientated north to south and carrying a date stone "1845". At the back of the yard is a two-storey stable block with feed loft over and a hipped natural slate roof. A large timber-framed vent on its ridge may originally have housed a bell. The walls are harled and whitewashed with corbelled eaves, and there is no sign of gutters ever having existed. The south face has a pair of centrally set doorways, now knocked into one, flanked by two window vents: the left retains original square vertical timber bars set diagonally, whilst the right has had bars removed and glass inserted. At first floor is a central loading door. Circular vents are present in each end wall. Behind this building is another two-storey range with a pitched natural slate roof and coursed squared granite rubble walls constructed in two stages, bearing the date "1887" over the door in the east gable. The yard has been concreted over.

Historical records indicate a building was shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map but was not cited in the 1838 Valuation, suggesting a small vernacular structure rather than the present one. Springfield Villa is first cited on the 1859 6-inch map. The 1861 Valuation notes its owner as James Carville and describes it as 13 yards by 7 yards, two storeys high. An additional outhouse was added in 1887.