County Down

Shrigley Hall, Killyleagh, Co Down 

by jenjunebug

Shrigley Hall, Killyleagh, Co Down 

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.  

p. 260. “A Victorian Italianate house, with a balustraded roof parapet and an impressive iron and glass conservatory standing on a basement. The home of the Martin family, who owned the cotton and subsequently flax-spinning mill at Shrigley, where they built a village and created one of those small, flourishing, paternalistic Victorian industrial communities; the people showed their gratitude to John Martin 1871 by erecting a stupendous High Victorian clock-tower and drinking-fountain in his honour in the centre of the village outside the mill gate; it was swept away between 1968  and 1972, in favour of a new housing-estate on the opposite hillside; the monument now stands isolated and derelict.” 

Scarvagh House, County Down

by jenjunebug

Scarvagh House, County Down

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 255. “(Reilly/LGI1912) A two storey house with two storey wings extending forwards, to form a three sided entrance court. Bulit ca 1717 by Miles Reilly, originally intended as offices, the idea being to build a house in front of it. Altered towards mid-C19 by J.T. Reilly. The elevations are plain, except for two storey Jacobean style porch with a curvilinear gable in the centre range, flanked by two shallow oriels surmounted by segmental headed dormer-gables; while the wings end in square battlemented towers. The porch is of a golden stone, contrasting attractively with the rest of the house, which is rendered. Some of the rooms have C19 fretted plaster ceilings, and heavily carved Jacobean style chimnyepieces and overmantels of wood.” 

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/07/scarvagh-house.html

Saintfield House, County Down

by jenjunebug

Saintfield House, County Down

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 253. “(Perceval-Price/IFR) A tall double gable-ended house, built ca 1750 by Francis Price. Of three storeys over basement; five bay front with pilastered doorcase. The hosue was occupied for three days by the insurgents after the Battle of Saintfield Jun 1798. Single-storey three bay wings, ending in two storey two bay pavilions with high pyramidal roofs and central chimneys – one of which has since been demolished – were added ca 1800 when Nicholas Price, Black Rod to the Irish Parliament, sold his Dublin house. The interior has been altered at various times; the hall was given a ceiling of Adamesque plasterwork ca 1900.” 

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/03/saintfield-house.html

Rowallane House, County Down

by jenjunebug

Rowallane House, County Down

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.   

p. 249. “(Moore/LGI1912) A long, low, plain house of two storeys, with a higher block at one end; built in 1861 by the Rev John Moore. Irregular fenestration, some first-floor windows having pleasant little iron balconies. Famous garden, mostly laid out by H.A. Moore – whose sister was 1st wife of the artist, songwriter and entertainer Percy French – between 1903 and 1955, now owned by Northern Ireland National Trust. The garden contains various turrets, an obelisk made of spherical stones from the river bed, and other C20 follies.” 

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/09/rowallane-house.html

Rosstrevor, County Down

by jenjunebug

Rosstrevor, County Down

Rosstrevor House, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.  

p. 247. “(Ross-of-Bladensburg;LGI1912) An early C19 Tudor-Revival house with a long, irregular front of large and small gables, and with many tall chimneys. The seat of the Ross family, who were granted the hereditary distinction “of Bladensburg” by the Prince Regent in recognition of the victory won by Major-Gen Robert Ross in the American War of 1812-14.” 

Rosstrevor House, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2015/11/ross-of-bladensburg.html

Rademon, Crossgar, County Down 

by jenjunebug

Rademon, Crossgar, County Down 

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 237. “(Sharman-crawford/LGI1912) Originally a five bay early to mid-C18 house of three storeys over a basement, with single-storey wings; built by the Johnson family, whose heiress married James Crawford later in C18. Enlarged and embellished mid-C19; gutted by fire 1950s. Rebuilt very successfully to the design of Hon Claud Phillimore, who lowered the centre block by a storey, and added a storey to the wings, so as to produce a two story nine bay front; the five bays of the original main block being pleasantly emphasised by having taller ground floor windows than those in the end bays, which were formerly the wings; and by the extra spacing between the five central windows and those on the outside. Eaved roof on plain cornice; curved end bow. In the demesne, there is a handsome hilltop obelisk, erected by the tenants of the estate ca 1864 in memory of William Sharman-Crawford, MP, the radical politician.” 

Quintin Castle, County Down

by jenjunebug

Quintin Castle, County Down

Quintin Castle, Portaferry, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 236. “(Ancketill/IFR) A romantic early C19 castle, part of which dates from C17, surrounded by battlemented walls and outworks and rising spectacularly from among the rocks on the sea coast.”  

Quinton Castle, Portaferry, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/08/quintin-castle.html

Portavo, Donaghadee, County Down

by jenjunebug

Portavo, Donaghadee, County Down

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 233. “(Ker/IFR) A house extensively altered in the early yers of C19 by David Ker, who bought Montalto from Earl of Moira. Burnt 1844, rebuilt 1880.  

Portaferry House, County Down

by jenjunebug

Portaferry House, County Down

Portaferry House, County Down, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 232. “(Nugent, sub Douglas-Nugent/IFR) A dignified house of 1821, by William Farrell, who apparently worked on a plan produced by Charles Lilley 1790, the three storey centre of the house being very possibly a three storey block of 1770s. The centre of the entrance front is of five bays, with a central Wyatt window in each of two upper storeys; and a porch with paired Ionic columns and Ionic end piers. On either side of the centre there is a wide, three-sided bow, ofonly two storeys but as high as the rest of the front. Ionic columns in hall and some good plasterwork. The house stands in beautiful parkland overlooking the entrance to Strangford Lough.”  

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/11/portaferry-house.html

Ormeau, County Down – demolished 

by jenjunebug

Ormeau, County Down – demolished 

Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 229. “(Chicheseter, Donegall, M/PB) A rambling Tudor-Revival house by William Vitruvius Morrison in the south-eastern outskirts of Belfast…The seat of 2nd and 3rd Marquesses of Donegall; the original seat of their family, Belfast Castle, having been destroyed by fire 1708 and not rebuilt. 3rd Marquess found Ormeau inconvenient and badly constructed, and abandoned it towards the end of 1860s in favour of the new Belfast castle.”