Case file · Apparition · House or mansion
Springhill House
Also known as Springhill, The ghost of Olivia Lenox-Conyngham
A gentle 17th-century plantation house in mid-Ulster whose family ghost, Olivia Lenox-Conyngham, is often called the best-documented ghost in Ireland.
Springhill is a modest, whitewashed plantation house near Moneymore in County Londonderry, often described as one of the prettiest houses in Ulster. The Conyngham family came from Ayrshire in Scotland in the early 1600s, during the Plantation of Ulster. The present house was built around the 1690s — tree-ring dating puts its roof timbers after 1690 — and was originally enclosed by a defensive bawn; two single-storey wings were added in about 1765. Ten generations of the family lived there until the last, Mina Lenox-Conyngham, died in 1961; her son had bequeathed the house to the National Trust in 1957.
The ghost story is rooted in a family tragedy. Colonel George Lenox-Conyngham inherited Springhill in the late 18th century. After a humiliating break with Lord Castlereagh, he resigned his commission in disgrace in 1816 and, troubled by depression, took his own life later that year. His second wife, Olivia, the daughter of William Irvine of Castle Irvine in County Fermanagh, survived him, and it is Olivia who is said to haunt the house to this day.
Little of the haunting has been published in detail – no dated, first-hand sighting is readily available – but its reputation is unusually strong: Olivia is said to haunt Springhill to this day, she is often called the best-documented ghost in Ireland, and the National Trust itself describes the house’s portraits and furniture as “shared by one of Ireland’s best-documented ghosts.” Unlike many Irish ghost stories, hers is a quiet one, told within a family that kept the house — its furniture, library, portraits and papers — almost unchanged for three centuries.
What people report
According to family tradition and the stories told by the house’s guides, a woman identified as Olivia Lenox-Conyngham appears in the house, and some visitors speak of a sense of her presence. No detailed, dated accounts have been published.
Where and when
Inside the house, among the family rooms where Olivia lived.
Timeline of the haunting
- 1816Death of George Lenox-Conyngham Springhill, Moneymore
Disgraced after a quarrel with Castlereagh and suffering from depression, the owner of Springhill died by suicide. Tradition holds that his widow Olivia became the house’s ghost.
- 1957Bequeathed to the National Trust Springhill
Captain William Lowry Lenox-Conyngham signed over the house and estate three days before his death; his mother Mina lived on there until 1961.
What could explain it?
- The haunting is a family tradition; its accounts come from within the household and its circle rather than from independent investigation.
- A grieving widow is a natural figure for a family to remember and imagine, especially in a house kept almost unchanged for three centuries.
- Old timber floors, stairs and doors in a historic house produce footsteps and creaks easily read as a presence.
Ghost tours, books and screen
The National Trust promotes Springhill’s ghost alongside its 1720s Chinese wallpaper, its 17th-century library and a large costume collection in the old laundry. The family also has a Titanic connection: several relatives sailed on the liner’s maiden voyage from Southampton as far as Cherbourg, and a letter the 11-year-old Eileen Lenox-Conyngham wrote on board returned to the house in 2012.
Places to visit
The house, gardens, woodland walks and costume collection open seasonally; check the National Trust site for current opening times.
Where it’s reported
Springhill House in the news
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Sources
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