Larchfield Estate

Larchfield Estate’s story begins back in 1660, when the land (at that time around 1500 acres) was purchased from the O’Neill family. It wasn’t until the 1750s however that the Georgian house was built on the site of an old farm house by the Mussendens, merchant bankers from the city of Belfast.

There have been many updates and changes throughout the centuries, and the pillars of the entrance gates which can be seen today were later added in 1827, before the estate walls (encompassing some 275 acres) were later built around 1845. Around this time, the house was redesigned by Charles Lanyon, one of Belfast’s most prominent and influential architects of the Victorian era – famous for designing Queens University Belfast and the Custom House. A red brick railway building was also constructed, despite the lack of railway!

In 1868, William Mussenden sold the house to the Ogilvie B Graham, the first of a family of hereditary directors of the York Street Flax Spinning Company. The value of the property was around £100 at the time, and the owners added an extra storey to the house as well as the gate lodges. In 1873 a Victorian wing was added purportedly to house an orphaned nephew, nanny and donkey from India, and the Fish Pond Lake in 1896.

Fast forward to the twentieth century, and in 1968 Leslie Mackie bought Larchfield Estate at auction, at which stage the land covered only 300 acres. Some of the most beautiful areas of parklands and trees had been sold to a timber merchant prior to auction, and the Mackie’s then purchased much of this back, bringing the current day estate back to 600 acres in total.

The current owners, Gavin and Sarah Mackie were married at Larchfield Estate in 2007, and took over the running of the property, opening it up for private and corporate events, and filming. Over the years they have restored the barn, original cottages and cobbled courtyards, making the estate the multi-award winning destination venue it is today.