Slieve Donard Hotel

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Designed by the architects Young and MacKenzie with James J Farrell of Dublin for the Belfast and County Down Railway, this building dominates this stretch of coastline. Built between 1896 and 1897, the Slieve Donard hotel is a large and rather severely angular purpose-built hotel set on the County Down coastline, one kilometre NE of Newcastle town centre. It is a four storey symmetrical building with attics, in smooth red brick with Dumfriesshire sandstone as dressings, and has been designed in an Edwardian free style with steeply pitched roofs. The façade is relieved by the central seven storey tower with dormer and half dormers.

In plan the building is arrow shaped with the ‘shaft’ pointing north and containing ancillary rooms, while the ‘arrow head’ points southward giving the main bedrooms and public rooms a southerly aspect which includes Newcastle bay and the Mourne Mountains.

The main portion of the south façade is symmetrical with east and west wings to either side of a central, seven storey tower. The tower is surmounted by an octagonal slated spire-like roof (rebuilt in 1996 with the loss of flanking chimney stacks). The ‘spire’ rests on a slightly projecting eaves, below which is a projecting stone cornice.

To the south face of the sixth floor is a small roundel with key stones set in a carved square decorative surround. The surround is set on a stone string course. The fifth floor has a paired window to the south face. These windows have sliding sash and case frames and are set with in a plain stone surround. The fifth and sixth floors are contained within the upper portion of the tower, which is octagonal in plan at this level but square below. The junction between the fourth and fifth floors is further articulated with a projecting stone balcony supported on paired carved stone consul brackets. The balcony has a white painted decorative cast iron balustrade.

The fourth floor paired window is set on the south façade and is framed with the projection of the balcony above, a stone string course below and consul brackets to either side. The third floor has a paired window to the south façade and is framed by low relief brick pilasters which rise to the underside of the consul brackets. The second floor paired windows are surmounted by a semi circular pediment set on a projecting stone cornice. The window is framed by bas relief stone pilasters which rise to stone consul brackets which in turn support the pediment above. The window has a small projecting stone balcony with decorative stone balustrade

The first floor paired windows are framed with the projecting balcony and long carved stone consul brackets. The lower portion of the window is obscured by the solid stone parapet the to flat roofed projecting porch. The porch is constructed entirely of stone. The either side of the central doorway are bas relief paired pilasters which rise to support a stone cornice. The cornice is shaped in to a segmental arch above the door thus enclosing a carved stone panel with a representation of the Belfast County Down Railway coat of arms. The coat of arms rests on a carved ‘banner’ with the name ‘Slieve Donard Hotel’.

The central doorway has a semi circular glazed canopy over. The door screen is recessed with in the porch and is a modern, bronze anodised, aluminium ensemble with a central glazed revolving door with glazed side hung single doors to either side.

To either side of the central tower is a semi circular, two storey, flat roofed bay with pierced stone parapet. Behind the semi circular bays the main wings break northward thus creating the ‘arrow head’ effect.

The wings each have central projecting full height chamfered bays and are each terminated by similar full height projecting bays. Each of these bays has a steep hipped slated roof (which rise above the main roof) with a dormers to the front and one each side. The dormers are stone faced and are topped with triangular pediments with plain tympanums. The bays are three storey and contain double height ground function rooms.

On the ground floor between the bays are matching lean to conservatories each with central projecting faceted bays with hipped glazed roofs. These were added recently replacing original lean to like colonnaded bays.

Generally the main façade is finished in red smooth brick with stone dressings. Windows to the third floor are topped with stone pediments and have plain stone dressings. The second floor windows have stone dressings and plain blocking courses. Windows to the first floor are similar to those on the second floor but are less tall and the blocking course is surmounted with a stone cornice. Windows to the ground floor are similar to the first floor but are taller. Windows to the ground floor front of the bays are mullioned and transonmed and are surmounted with semi circular pediments.

In recent times a single storey brick built extension has been added to the east wing. This contains a function room, a swimming pool and a fitness suite. A single storey (but original) addition is attached to the west end of the west wing and is finished with a recent semi circular conservatory

To the rear the north wing (arrow shaft) has been much added to in recent times to create a very large four storey bedroom wing, with attics and dormers. There are a number of other smaller extensions also to the rear. Single storey function rooms were added to the west of the west wing. These enclose a small service yard.

The projecting bay sections of the roof are hipped with the original portions of roof steeply pitched. Natural slate to most sections of the roof. All of the chimney stacks appear to have been removed. Metal rw goods.

The hotel is set with in its own grounds which are bounded to the north by the Royal Co. Down Golf Club and to the east by the shore line. The grounds were originally designed by Mr Milner of London and included carefully laid out terraces, tennis courts, and fine rose garden. Histroical sources report some thirty thousand tons of soil were imported to complete the work. At the front of the long drive to the hotel (at the N end of Downs Road) there are original (outer) gate screen piers. These are in Dumfriesshire sandstone and square in plan with rustication and ball pinnacles. The gates, railings and inner piers have been removed.

Historical information

This hotel was built by the Belfast & County Down Railway in 1896-97 to designs by Young & McKenzie in association with James A. Farrell of Dublin. The building work was carried out by W.H. Stephens & Sons of Belfast and the total building cost amounted to £44,000 (though some sources have quoted a prices of £84,000 and £90,000!- see secondary sources 1, 3 and 4 below). The ‘Slieve Donard’, as it was named, was the centrepiece of the BCDR’s (ultimately successful) attempt to attract more visitors to Newcastle, a seaside resort which had become increasingly popular after the arrival of the Downpatrick, Dundrum & Newcastle railway line in 1869, a line which the BCDR took over in 1881.

The hotel was state of the art when it opened in June 1898, boasting its own electrical generators, telephone, therapeutic salt and fresh water baths and even an in house laundry. Salt water was pumped from the sea to supply the baths. The building was also surrounded by formal gardens, laid out by a Mr. Milner of London.

In 1948 the holdings of the old BCDR came under the ownership of the newly formed Ulster Transport Authority, who, two decades later, sold the Slieve Donard to the Grand Metropolitan Hotels group. The present owners purchased the hotel in 1971

The building was severely damaged by a series of terrorist bomb attacks in the 1970’s and 80’s the most damaging occurring in 1973 when the entire entrance foyer was destroyed. Partly as a result, numerous renovation, repairs and extensions were carried out during this period. The most recent phase of remedial work was commenced in 1995 and saw the completion of a repointing exercise, the removal of the original 7,000 gallon cast iron water tanks from the tower and the rebuilding of the tower roof. The conservatory-like bar and dining room extensions were also added recently.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.1898/1/25-26 Bills of quantities, plans etc. concerning the building of the Slieve Donard Hotel.
2 National Library of Ireland Lawrence Collection- Photographs of the interior of the Slieve Donard Hotel c.1900. [Copies held at Monuments and Buildings Record Hill St Belfast, MBR Neg 9203.]
3 UFTM W.A. Green Collection WAG 3112 Photograph of the Slieve Donard Hotel c.1910-20.

Secondary sources
1 P.J. Rankin, Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings, Areas of Architectural Importance in the Mourne Area of South Down, (Belfast UAHS 1975), pp.76-77. [This book quotes the building costs at £84,000.]
2 W.A. McCutcheon, ‘The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland’ (Belfast HMSO 1980), pp.157, 175.
3 Fred Hammond and Tom Porter, ‘Tour of the Mournes’ (Belfast 1991). [On page 3 of this book the cost of the hotel is given as £90,000, but on page 6 is quoted as almost £44,000!]
4 Niki Hill, ‘Celebration of a Century Slieve Donard Hotel’ (Tudor Journals Ltd 1997). [A page from the actual bill of quantities is reproduced on page 14 of this book and appears to indicate that the building did indeed cost almost £44,000 (£43,952-11-11).]
5 Desmond Coakham, ‘Belfast & County Down Railway’ (Leicester 1998), p.41.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Designed by the architects Young and MacKenzie with James J Farrell of Dublin for the Belfast and County Down Railway, this building dominates this stretch of coastline. Severely angular four storey hotel of 1896-7 in an Edwardian free style in smooth red brick with Dumfriesshire sandstone dressings and possesses a central seven storey tower, many dormer and half dormers and steeply pitched roofs In recent times the building has had quite major additions, namely a fitness suite and swimming pool to the east, large function rooms to the west and north, and extensions and upper floors added to the north bedroom wing. Despite the scale of the additions the original design intention of the building has not been diluted.