Seymour Hill

CHARLEY OF SEYMOUR HILL

The family of Charley, or Chorley, passing over from the north of England, settled in Ulster during the 17th century; first at Belfast, where they were owners of house property for 200 years; afterwards at Finaghy, County Antrim.

RALPH CHARLEY, of Finaghy House, born in 1664, died in 1746, aged 82. His son, 

JOHN CHARLEY, of Finaghy House, born in 1744; married, in 1783, Anne Jane, daughter of Richard Wolfenden, of Harmony Hill, County Down; and died in 1812.

The Charley family once owned much of the land of Seymour Hill, Dunmurry and Finaghy. The facts were taken from accounts of Colonel Robin Charley, a direct descendent.

The Charleys are descended from the branch of the family who lived at Chorley Hall, Lancashire. 

When the head of that family was beheaded for taking part in the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, some of the family fled to Ulster, changing the 'o' in their surname to 'a', making it become Charley.

The name of the Charley who fled to the Province has yet to be discovered.

SEYMOUR HILL HOUSE

When William Charley died in 1890, his son Edward (1859-1932) took over Seymour Hill and the linen business; and, on his death, Edward's brother, Captain Arthur Charley (1870-1944) was the next owner.

In 1820 William Charley (1790-1838), 3rd son of John Charley (1744-1812), of Finaghy House, purchased and re-modelled the bleach green at Dunmurry and also the nearby Mossvale works.

Two years later he bought Seymour Hill House from Mr Robert Allen Johnstone.

William's father John had served his time in the linen trade under Richard Wolfenden (1723-75), of Harmony Hill, Lambeg, who was head of one of the earliest linen trade families in Ulster.

Seymour Hill stands on a hill with a wide view of the Lagan Valley.

The Charley estate on both sides of the River Lagan in counties Antrim and Down amounted to over 400 acres. They were tenants of the Marquess of Hertford, who owned all the land from Dunmurry to the southern shore of Lough Neagh.

As a consequence of the Irish Land Acts, the Charley family gained full possession of the land. The large square Georgian house had four storeys.

Seymour Hill House was named after Lord Hertford's family name which was Seymour.

A large walled garden and grounds were maintained by a head gardener and five or six under-gardeners. This walled garden has now been renovated and is managed as the Seymour Hill Garden project, by a unit under the Eastern Board (Down and Lisburn Department). 

Between the house and walled garden there were lawns with landscaped trees and shrubs. Near the rock garden was the dogs' cemetery, all with their individual headstones.

Every day the head of the family would walk across the paddock field to the factory of J & W Charley & Company, which was hidden from the house by a line of trees. Here he supervised the finishing and production of the finest Ulster Linen.

It was of a particularly high quality and for many years the usual gifts from Northern Ireland to any member of the Royal Family when they married were linen sheets from J & W Charley, specially embroidered with the relevant royal cypher.

Within the grounds of Seymour Hill was a lake and a waterfall leading into a fish ponds. The Derriaghy River flowed under the main Belfast-Lisburn road into the lake and then was divided into two mill races to work the factory water wheels.

The top stream was known locally as 'Little Harry' because baby Harold Charley's (1875-1956) pram once ran away down the drive and ended up upside down in the river! He was none the worse for the experience, it is said.

During World War II the laundry in the upper yard was occupied by up to 100 women and children evacuated from the centre of Belfast during the air raid blitzes of 1941-42.

Just after World War II, the NI Housing Trust was formed and, by the first vesting order issued in Northern Ireland, the Charley family was compelled to sell Seymour Hill House and all the grounds on the County Antrim side of the River Lagan.

This was the first enterprise undertaken by the Trust, now the NI Housing Executive.

In no time the house was surrounded by a well laid out, but vast, housing estate.

The upper and lower yards were made into comfortable, well-designed mews flats which won a Civic Trust Award in 1960.

In 1986 the house was vandalised and badly damaged by fire-bombs and it was feared it might have to be pulled down.

The Housing Executive transferred the listed building and part of the grounds to Belfast Improved Housing Association, which has now successfully restored it into six one-person flats with a warden's flat on the top floor and shared launderette facilities in the old basement.

I gratefully acknowledge Lisburn Historical Society as a source of reference for this article. First published in February, 2011.