21 Cloughmore Road Rostrevor Newry BT34 3EN

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached three-bay two-storey villa, built in 1897-98, with two full height canted bays to the front (south), square projections to sides and to the rear (north) a two-storey gable return and a single-storey mono pitch roof return. Pitched slate main roof, with central enclosed valley, hipped to canted bays. Rendered chimneystacks with architrave, corbels, and concave pitched coping. Painted timber eaves with cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered walls having rendered quoins, base plinth and first floor sill course. A mix of square-headed and flat arched window openings with mainly one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows.

SETTING
House is set behind a 1.8m tall random rubble wall within a well-maintained garden on the south-eastern edge of the village of Rostrevor. A Curving drive opens from Cloughmore Road, through an entrance, with tall pillars square in plan, rendered with stone coping and metal gate. To the rear (NW), a two-storey outbuilding addresses Victoria Square.

PLAN
The main body of the house is square in plan with small full-height projections to the E and W, two canted bays to the front, and small single storey and a more substantial double storey return to the rear.

FRONT ELEVATION (S).
Symmetrical having a central doorway beneath a wrought iron entrance porch and balcony with full height canted bays to either side. Two steps lead to a flat-arched main entrance opening with rendered corner pilasters and profiled render surround above. The doorway has single panelled timber doors set within glass side lights and a tripartite fanlight. A porch balcony above with decorative cast-iron railings is supported either side of the entrance by three slender cast iron columns and is accessible from a first floor flat-arched opening with set of narrow double doors and fanlight over. Both canted bays have square-headed window openings with one-over-one sliding sash timber windows. The quoins at the main corners are more heavily rusticated below the projecting first-floor sill course.

SIDE ELEVATION (E)
The main body of the house has single flat-arch window openings at ground and first floor containing one-over-one timber sash. A Full-height square bay projects a short distance from the southern portion of the elevation. The bay has paired flat-arch window openings at ground and first floor containing one-over-one sash windows. There are quoins at the corners of the projection and the NW corner of the main body of the house, heavily rusticated beneath the sill course.

SIDE ELEVATION (W)
Two Single flat-arched window openings at ground and two at first floor contain one-over-one sash windows. The northernly portion of the elevation extends a short distance out from main body of the house in a full-height square projection. There are quoins at the front facing corners of the main body of the house and the projection, but none at the rear NE corner. A rendered wall and gate at the NE corner separate the rear of the property.
Two storey rear return has one over one sliding sash windows at ground and first floor and a single top hung casement window in the single storey lean-to.

REAR ELEVATION (N)
Less formally arranged, a double storey return to the right has a slate pitched roof with its ridge set beneath eaves of the main roof. It has a lean-to rear entrance lobby attached to the gable. A central round headed opening is located centrally at first floor and houses a replacement stain glass tripartite window, with peripheral muntins. On the left, is a modest single storey return.

WALLS, ROOF etc.
Walls are finished with lined render with rustication to ground floor except the NE corner and rear returns and a first-floor level sill course with in-out quoins to S, E and W. The rear returns are sparser treated with the render unlined and no quoins or sill course. Painted stone sills. Natural Welsh slate hipped roof with central well and boxed in eaves with render coving. Two tall, rendered chimneystacks, stone cope stones each with four pots, one pot replaced with modern flue. Cast Iron rainwater goods.

YARD
The rear yard has a rectangular plan two-storey outbuilding to the west W with roughcast walls, slated pitched roof. West Elevation has a single square headed opening with a replacement casement window located centrally at first floor. The North elevation is blank. South elevation has a small outbuilding attached. East elevation has three square headed openings at first floor. Two doorway openings at ground floor one with a sidelight is situated next to a small outhouse.

MATERIALS
Walls - render,
roof - natural Welsh slate,
Rainwater goods - cast-iron,
Windows and doors - timber.

Historical information

This house, originally named ‘Sea View’, was built in 1897-98 on land developed by David Mahood (for more on the Mahood family and their developments in this part of Rostrevor see HB16/06/064A-E). The identity of the architect is not known.

The first occupants appear to have been Margaret and Catherine Cull, both of whom are listed in the 1901 census as unmarried siblings, aged 46 and 43 respectively, with the house itself noted as a ‘1st class’ dwelling with 14 rooms in use. From 1911 Margaret and Mary Cull are recorded as residents.

By 1929 the property had been renamed ‘Greenwood’. The 'splendid residence' was put up for sale in spring 1935 and Dr. Henry McLaughlin is listed as the householder from 1936, with Dr. Brian McLaughlin living here from at least 1964 until at least 1972.

References - Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/19/21A-F, Rostrevor ED - 1865-1929
2 Census of Ireland - 1901, 1911 (online accessed 24 Sept 2021])
3 OS map, Co. Down sheet 54 - 1902
4 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’, (Belfast, various dates) - 1877-
5 OS map, Co. Down sheet 54 - 1919
6 ‘Belfast Telegraph’ - 9 September 1932, p.4; 19 April 1935, p.1
7 PRONI VAL3C/4/23 First General Revaluation of NI, Rostrevor ED - 1936-57
8 OS map, Co. Down sheet 54 - 1950
9 PRONI VAL4B/3/81 Second General Revaluation of NI, Rostrevor ED - 1956-72
10 OS map, sheet 277 - 1979

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

This late Victorian villa was built by the developer David Mahood in 1887-98 on the South side of Rostrevor. The house sits within a well-maintained garden behind a 1.8m tall random rubble wall overlooking Kilbroney Park.
The main body of the house has a compact symmetrical footprint centred on an attractive cast iron porch and balcony entrance. The house and garden have been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, thus upholding the integrity of the composition. More recent changes to the rear have little impact on the overall character of the dwelling.