Samuel Bournes inherited Rossport from his father George and in 1832 he cleared tenant farmers off the southern end of the townland to build a substantial and commodious two-storey house with suitable offices and walled garden.
There was a huge population of landless people who were close to destitution who were not Bournes tenants and the Bournes felt threatened 'For although the people are now perfectly quiet still, their destitution may force them to destroy the lives and properties of others (from Outrage papers 1846).