Near the house was a quay and small warehouse. William I of Cork who built the house, probably circa 1790, was said to have interests in the West Indies. Possibly molasses were imported for the Brewery, or perhaps only hops and barley .
By the time it was inherited by his grandson, William Horatio CRAWFORD, the old house was richly furnished with rare books, paintings and engravings and, a bachelor, he also collected many fine books, works of art and rare plants. The end of Lakelands was sad. Under circumstances no longer known, the property passed into the hands of a solicitor, possibly as a bad debt. The house was demolished by the new owner, as he had plans to turn the property into a racecourse, but was refused permission to do so. At least part of the site has now been built over and the site that was Lakelands is a field surrounded by urban housing overlooking Cork Harbour. Little remains of the house or its outbuildings, apart from a vast stone wall yard, with classical arched and pedimented gateway, bearing the date 1812. In the field a group of gigantic monkey puzzle trees mark the site of the house itself, of which nothing remains, except some remnants of the cellars. When the site was demolished, extensive cellars were left closed up