Introduction

LESLIE HILL is a compact estate of arable and grassland, woodland, yards, paths and lakes. The layout of the estate has altered little in the last two hundred and thirty years and the land has been continuously occupied by the same family during that time, and some of it for a hundred years before.
The family came originally from Scotland and the first member to settle in Ireland, at Kilcief in Co Down in 1614, was Henry Leslie who became Bishop of Down and Connor and subsequently of Meath. His youngest son William came to North Antrim and acquired the Town-land of Clogh Corr, now called Prospect, in 1674. At Clogh Corr, which is about a quarter of a mile north-west of the present yard, he built, or occupied a previously existing, fortified house and farm yard, the remnants of which still remain. The present house was built by James Leslie and completed in 1760 and the principal farm buildings were also built at that time. Among early visitors were Mrs Delaney who stayed in October 1758, arriving, as she wrote, “at an inconvenient time, their house unfinished and full of company” and Arthur Young, indefatigable traveler and recorder of the agricultural scene, who stayed in 1776. During their visit they both went to the Giant’s Causeway, but unlike Dr Johnson, who said it was worth seeing but not worth going to see, Mrs Delaney wrote several pages on it and Arthur Young considered it “a very great curiosity” and speculated on its origin, though his final observation that “it would have struck me more if I had not seen the prints of Staffa” was something of a wet blanket.
The family were very much involved in the Church and public affairs, providing, for example, a Bishop of Dromore, Clogher and Raphoe, occasional Members of Parliament and numerous High Sheriffs. They acquired considerable land holdings let to tenant farmers stretching as far as Portballintrae and Templeastragh, including the salmon fishery at Portbraddon. These holdings were largely sold to the tenants under the Land Act of 1903 and only small outlying areas remain, such as the burying grounds at Templastragh and Drumtullagh.
The present owner and his wife, who have farmed at Leslie Hill for the last thirty years, are now engaged in restoring the old farm buildings, displaying in them horse drawn implements and tools from times past, vehicles ranging from carts to carriages, wages books, account books and other documents showing how farming and life in general has changed over four centuries. Walks through the woodlands and round the lakes have been restored and improved, giving the visitor a chance to see a wide variety of trees, wildflowers in their season, butterflies and birds. Future plans include the remaking of the large walled garden.