Following up this post, I did believe Hugh Montgomery had initial ownership but couldn't remember where I'd seen this. Finally came across that record under:
http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/built/buildview?id=2529&js=true"Historical Information
Ballyvester House has a long history. The deeds of the property stretch back to 1624 when the house and the lands of Ballyvester were passed from Hugh Montgomery (who had come into possession of the Ards and much of its hinterland earlier in the century), to William and Archibald Edmonstone. Six years later the Edmonstones sold the entire property to William Catherwood for a consideration of £612 and a rent of £9 per annum. The house remained in possession of the Catherwood family 1828 when it then went through a number of owners including the family of James Craig, the later Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The present occupants acquired the house in 1961. The fabric of the house itself has undergone at least two major alterations since the early seventeenth century. The building we see today, however, is largely a product of the early eighteenth century, with the earlier house remodelled with the addition of the eastern section, the repositioning of the stair and the introduction of the large ‘reception’ room, with dummy windows included to give the impression of early Georgian symmetry. The next major alteration occurred in c.1890 when the rear return was added. It has been suggested that the original dwelling was a tower house, but given the dimensions of what appears to be the earliest section, this appears highly unlikely. It may have been a type of bawn house, which incorporated a taller tower-like portion, but given the fact that such dwellings do not appear to have been common in this area of Ulster, and the apparent absence of any trace of a former bawn, this also appears unlikely. The earliest stonework is discernibly different from the later coursing, and the earlier window reveals are much shallower. References- Primary sources. 1. The Montgomery Manuscripts ed. Rev. George Hill (Belfast 1869), p.54 note 33. 2. PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 6. 3. PRONI VAL 1B/32 p.9 1st valuation, Donaghadee parish, Ballyvester Td., c.1836. 4. PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 6. 5. PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation Donaghadee parish, Ballyvester Td., 1863. Secondary sources 1. Hugh Dixon et al Historic buildings, groups of buildings, buildings of architectural importance in Donaghadee and Portpatrick (UAHS 1977), p.32."Believe property has now been sold.
