In those early days, a ferry operated where the bridge stands today, connecting the town to the wider region. By 1611, Sir Richard Hansard had overseen the construction of twenty-one houses in this central area, whilst another twenty-seven cottages likely occupied the street running northwest past Ballyduff House, where the distinctive burgage plot pattern still hints at its plantation era origins.

The town’s development was remarkably rapid for its time. From approximately eighty houses recorded in 1600, Lifford expanded to include at least fifty-four houses by 1622, with the 1611 survey noting twenty-one half-timbered houses alongside thirty-seven cottages. These weren’t merely functional dwellings; the town’s inhabitants could “give entertainment to passengers”, suggesting the presence of inns and a degree of prosperity unusual for such a young settlement. The architectural style of the period favoured half-timbering, a construction technique that would have given the streetscape a distinctive Tudor appearance.

Market rights granted to Sir Henry Dowcra in 1603 established Lifford as a commercial centre, with the incorporation charter of 1612 confirming that markets should be held every Monday in the Diamond. This market square became the beating heart of the town, where local produce, livestock and goods were traded, drawing people from the surrounding countryside and helping to establish Lifford’s importance as a regional hub in Ulster’s evolving plantation landscape.