John Purdy of Dumfriesshire was granted a lease here in 1655, thus giving his name to this place in perpetuity. Being a miller by trade he erected a corn mill and the stream which drove it became Purdy’s Burn in The Plight of the Big House in Northern Ireland by J.A.K. Dean. Matier’s Belfast Directory 1835-1836 contains references to three members of the Batt Family living at Purdy’s Burn which was categorised under the title: “Neighbourhood of Belfast”. Purdysburn House was located here until it was demolished.
Purdysburn Hill first appeared in Belfast Street Directory in 1990, probably due to the extension of the municipal boundary. It existed at least as early as 1892 as shown by references in newspapers.