White House, County Down facts for kids

The White House is a ruined 17th century dwelling house at Ballyspurge, near Cloghy, County Down, Northern Ireland on the Ards Peninsula. It is situated about one mile (1.2 km) south-east of Cloghy, overlooking Slanes Bay. It is a State Care Historic Monument at grid ref: J6248 5506.

History

Roland Savage died in 1640 and bequeathed Ballygalget to his eldest son, Roland, Kirkistown to his second son, John, and Ballyspurge to his third son, Patrick. Soon afterwards Patrick built the White House. Other sources indicate that the house appears to have been built about 1634 by Roland Savage, a "cadet of the Ardkeen family".

Features

The gabled house had a steeply pitched roof and thick walls, pierced by pistol-loops for defence, in the 17th century tradition. It is a rectangular building 1.5 stories high (i.e. one main floor and an attic) standing in the remains of a bawn with a gatehouse. The windows are large and the house appears to be more domestic than defensive. The bawn does not have flanking towers and is more like a simple walled farmyard. The ground floor had two rooms (probably hall and kitchen) with large fireplaces. The attic floor (probably bedrooms) also had fireplaces.