Outbuildings

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A group of one and two-storey buildings of mainly rubble stone construction with gabled and hipped slated roofs, informally arranged around two enclosed yards laid out at right angles to one another, forming an L-shaped layout and linked by an archway. The upper yard is entered at its south end by a basement tunnel from the main house, and through the game larder, descending down steps to the upper yard, while the lower yard is entered from a driveway through a gateway facing north-west. Due to the slope of the land the buildings are mainly single-storey facing outwards from the yards, but two-storey on the elevations facing into the yards.

For ease of reference (between inner yard elevations and outer garden elevations of buildings which cannot be conveniently viewed ‘in the round’, and between exteriors and interiors) the outbuildings are described in blocks numbered as follows:

1. Block along south-west side of complex.
2. Block along north-west side of lower yard.
3. Link block at the north-east end of lower yard.
4. Block along south-east side of lower yard.
5. Block along north-east side of upper yard.
6. Retaining wall, parapet, and garden wall, at south-east end of upper yard.

1. BLOCK ALONG SOUTH-WEST SIDE OF COMPLEX
From the south-west to the north-west the buildings consist of the following, as viewed from the gardens – a game larder: a single storey building on its south-east entrance front: hipped roof of small stone slates; walling of roughly coursed rubble stonework with projecting eaves course; pvc gutter; one opening in south-east entrance front, a centrally placed doorway containing a rectangular timber sheeted door in plain timber frame, with smooth cement rendered reveals and timber lintel, set in a coved recess of harled brickwork patched with cement render; recessed stone step. Projecting forward to the right is a screen wall of roughly coursed stonework screening a cast iron flue pipe rising from the yard behind.
Extending to the left of the game larder is a rubble stone wall which returns along the south-west side of the former laundry drying yard until it abuts a single storey gabled building of a different character of stonework, employing field stones as well as rubble to the south-west face: projecting eaves course to wall but no rainwater goods; wall contains a blocked-up semi-circular arch just above ground level with irregularly shaped voussoirs; one window rectangular timber coupled 2-pane fixed lights, with weathered timber lintel, brick dressings to sides with rough mortar to reveals; cement cill. Gables are of stone with later brickwork on left-hand gable. Slightly set forward is a lower gabled block abutting, of variegated rubble stonework including fieldstones to left-hand side; slated roof as previous; gable to left-hand end of stonework surmounted by brickwork to apex. Extending to the left, in same plane, is a lower gabled block of rubble stonework including fieldstones; roof of corrugated asbestos sheets, with two corrugated Perspex panels. Gable to left is of rubble stone. Extending to left is a small single storey lean-to block containing a wide but low blocked-up opening with a wide single stone lintel; corrugated asbestos roof; end wall facing north-west is blind.

From within the yard the inner side of this range of buildings and structures is as follows, from left to right – a tall two-storey height rubble stone retaining wall rising to a parapet with the game larder to the right-hand end, at first floor level surmounting a ground or basement storey: roof slated as previous to entrance front; one window opening to each floor, rectangular, with brick jambs, slate cills, and slate heads; no longer glazed. The north-west face of the game larder is of rubble stone walling with some brickwork to the left-hand corner; slated roof and pvc gutter as previous to entrance front, with pvc downpipe; one opening, at first floor, rectangular timber sheeted door with ventilation panel, set in brick surrounds with timber head, opening onto external steps of concrete on stone base; plain timber and metal balustrading. South-west face of game larder is two-storey, of rubble stone with brick jambs to openings, one opening in each storey: doorway at ground level; window to first floor level.
To the right of the game larder lies the former laundry drying yard, entered from upper yard by three steps leading to a timber door and fence: exposed rubble stonework to all four inner faces of drying yard walls; yard surface now turfed. Screen wall of drying yard facing main upper yard is of rubble stone with offset plinth. At right-hand end is a flight of six concrete steps leading to a small raised area giving access to the first two gabled perimeter buildings. First building: rubble stone walling partly repaired with small concrete blocks; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with upper courses replaced by asbestos slates; pvc gutter and downpipe. Openings comprise two windows to left of doorway: rectangular timber two-pane fixed lights with flat-arched heads of slate; rendered cill and right-hand reveal to left-hand window. Doorway contains a rectangular sheeted timber door with timber lintel, reached by a modern concrete ramp. To right of doorway is a modern rectangular metal framed 16-pane window. Second building: red brick walls; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; one doorway containing a truncated timber sheeted door, with modern concrete lintel; one window, rectangular timber sliding sash, 2 over 2, with brick flat-arched head. Inner faces of bounding walls to raised area are of rubble stonework. Beyond the archway separating the upper end lower yards the screen wall of raised area is of rubble stonework.
Projecting to the right is a single storey stable: hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; pvc guttering; walls of rubble stonework including fieldstones; one window in the south-east face, rectangular timber, sliding sash, 8 over 1, with horns, but the lower sash has pvc glazing bars affixed to give the appearance of 8 over 8; smooth rendered and lined surrounds, with projecting sandstone cill. One doorway in north-east face containing a timber sheeted half-door with large ironwork hinges; set in smooth rendered and lined surrounds. North-west face is blind, of rubble stone partly harled, but containing a blocked-up former opening with timber lintel and brick jambs; roofing and rainwater goods as previous.
Extending to right of single storey stable is a rubble stone screen wall containing an opening leading to a concrete passage between two small courts overlooked by two of the gabled perimeter buildings. Higher building to left has partly rubble stone and partly red brick gable containing a rectangular timber sheeted door and a derelict window; lower building facing into courts has rubble stone, red brick, and rendered walling, containing a segmental arched opening and two rectangular openings with timber frames but doors missing; corrugated asbestos roofs; pvc and cast iron rainwater goods; inner faces of bound walls to courts are smooth rendered. At right-hand extremity of screen wall to front of court is a rectangular doorway with a sheeted timber door and wide stone lintel; extending to the right of that is a low rubble stone retaining wall to the rear driveway.

2. BLOCK ALONG NORTH-WEST SIDE OF LOWER YARD
Viewed from the yard, the long south-east elevation is two-storey with hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; one original rooflight; pvc gutter and downpipes; walling of rubble stonework with roughly dressed stone to chamfered left-hand corner; built into wall above first doorway from left is a roughly circular stone with flat face, which looks like a fragment of dressed stone, possibly originally from the nearby Cistercian abbey; walling also contains parts of three original segmental archways now blocked-up. Four window openings to first floor, rectangular, with raised rendered rusticated surrounds; later rectangular timber coupled windows to extreme left-hand opening; the other three now unglazed. Ground floor contains five windows, rectangular timber sliding sash, 8 over 8, with horns set in similar surrounds to first floor with projecting stone cills, except extreme left window is 8 over 1, with pvc glazing bars affixed to give appearance of 8 over 8, and two windows to right-hand end have sandstone surrounds and flat-arched heads. Three doorway openings, from left to right as follows: rectangular boarded timber sliding door with rendered rusticated surrounds; wide rectangular opening now missing sliding door and rail; and, within lean-to roof at north-east end of yard, a segmental arched opening containing a pair of sheeted timber doors; wall within lean-to has been whitened.

South-west end elevation: hipped roof slated as previous; pvc gutters; walling as previous; elevation contains one doorway, with timber sheeted half-door set in plain rendered surrounds, surmounted by a segmental relieving arch, originally for an opening, now partly blocked; wall rises above eaves line to a belcote with a semi-circular opening containing a bell which still functions by use of a rope pull. Wall cants forward slightly at left-hand side.
Extending to the left of that, outside the yard, is the rubble stone end wall of a single storey lean-to block: contains one rectangular window opening.

North-west elevation, viewed from outside yard: a two-storey block with hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, containing four original rooflights, with its main wall obscured by a lower lean-to single-storey block which rises to just below eaves level. Single-storey block has slated roof as previous, with four original rooflights, four prominent modern circular metal conically capped ventilators and ten small ventilator openings; pvc gutter and downpipes (but one downpipe missing); wall of rubble stonework; originally contained eight segmental wide arched doorway openings but some later partly closed with brickwork with rectangular timber windows inserted; two doorway openings are completely open, while the one to right-hand end contains a pair of arched tongued and grooved sheeted timber doors. To each side of right-hand end two doorways are rectangular windows, timber, 9-pane, originally pivoting but now fixed, with flat-arched heads and projecting sandstone cills. Immediately in front of the fourth arched former doorway from right is a rendered stone or concrete tank, now empty. In front of the second arched former doorway from the left is a free-standing truncated masonry structure of square-plan comprising four corner rectangular piers, with a segmental arch in each main face, containing a brick groin vault within it, with grass growing on top of it.
Extending to the left-hand end of the single storey block, and projecting forward from it is a rectangular block of rubble brickwork, and render, with corrugated asbestos roof, of no special interest.

North-east elevation of single-storey lean-to block contains one window opening without glazing: timber lintel and brick reveals.

To the left of that is the north-east end elevation of the two-storey building facing into the lower yard: hipped roof, slated as previous, with one original rooflight. Wall contains one window to each floor: at first floor, flat-arched head, derelict rectangular timber casement slate cill; at ground floor, brick flat-arched head with timber lintel, red brick reveals and cill, with timber 4-pane casement.
Extending to the left in the same plane is a link block and the end elevation of the block along the south-east side of the lower yard, described elsewhere.

3. LINK BLOCK AT THE NORTH-EAST END OF LOWER YARD
Viewed from the yard: south-west elevation – a high roofed single storey open-fronted covered area with pitched roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with eaves beam supported on an angled strut at each extremity between flanking two-storey blocks, the strut to the right being constructed in timber, the strut to the left being constructed of iron.
Within shelter, roof carried on two large timber trusses of unusual form comprising ‘scissor-truss’-like braced timber beams projecting from rear wall. Rear wall within shelter is of rubble stonework, whitened: contains one doorway at left-hand extremity, with a rectangular timber sheeted door in a timber surround.

Viewed from the garden; north-east elevation – a two-storey height rubble stone walled link block closing the lower courtyard between two two-storey end blocks, all in the same plane, and later slated pitched roof between end blocks. Lower projecting lean-to rubble stone outshot in the centre with roof of corrugated iron; contains three window openings, one now open, and one closed with brickwork.

4. BLOCK ALONG SOUTH-EAST SIDE OF LOWER YARD
Viewed from yard, the long north-west elevation is two-storey with gabled roof to left-hand end and hipped roof to right-hand end; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; two chimneys in red brick, the left-hand one truncated, the right-hand one with two modern red pots, pvc gutter and downpipes; walling of rubble stonework including a number of fieldstones. Windows to first floor are, from left to right: three large rectangular timber sliding sashes, 8 over 8 with horns, (except that the first from left has its lower sash of one pane but with pvc strips affixed to look like glazing bars), set below flat-arched heads, with projecting sandstone cills; one similar window but without horns; two smaller rectangular timber 9-pane pivoting windows, the first one with a timber lintel and with iron bars affixed; and one large window sashed 8 over 8 with horns, flanked each side by smaller blocked-up former window openings.
Ground floor contains, from right to left, a doorway containing a flight of concrete steps, segmental arched with shaped sandstone voussoirs, and raised sandstone surrounds, containing a recessed doorway at the top of the steps; a rectangular timber sashed window, 8 over 8 with horns, set in raised sandstone surrounds with projecting sandstone cill, and flat sandstone arch head; another doorway containing a flight of steps, as previous, except it contains a deeper recess with a raised quarry tiled floor, a semi-circular arched plastered vault to the ceiling, with a rectangular timber sheeted door to each side in the recessed lobby and a further low vaulted recess to the rear; another 8 over 8 sashed window as previous; a wide doorway, dressed as previous, but without steps and containing a flat ceilinged recess with a trap door to ceiling; a rectangular door flanked each side by rectangular 6 over 6 sashed sidelights, without horns, set in similar surrounds to previous windows, all set below a red brick segmental relieving arch; and a rectangular open doorway, with similar surrounds to windows, containing a small recess with quarry tiled flooring, plastered ceiling, and a trapdoor in the rear wall, all set below a red brick segmental relieving arch.
At the left-hand extremity the two-storey block has a single storey extension in the same plane, also in rubble stonework, with hipped slated roof; most of walling is within a lean-to shelter, where walling is whitened: contains a wide segmental arched doorway, with a pair of diagonally sheeted tongued and grooved timber doors.

At the right-hand extremity a rubble stone screen wall abuts, containing a wide segmental archway leading into the upper yard: arch raised on the side facing lower yard; profile of wall stepped up above the arch; jambs contain two ironwork door fixings but doors missing.

North-east elevation, viewed from garden: two-storey, of rubble stonework, with hipped roof slated as previous; one window to each floor: first floor has unglazed 2-pane casement with brick cill; ground floor has timber lintel, slate cill, brick reveals, and timber louvres.

South-east elevation, viewed from garden, comprises a long gabled single storey block with a lower hipped roofed block extending to the right, in which the slope of the ground level reveals a basement area which is the top of the ground floor storey within the lower yard: roofs slated as previous; pvc gutters and downpipe; walling of rubble stone, with two small ‘spy-hole’-like circular openings in sandstone to the lower hipped block. At the left-hand end is a small lean-to and hipped projection in red brick and rubble with slated roofs; contains rectangular timber 9-pane and 12-pane windows with plastic instead of glass for glazing of 9-pane window; cast iron rainwater goods in poor condition to the lean-to projection. To the right of this is a rectangular doorway, with sheeted timber door and timber lintel, reached by four stone steps; to right of that is a small rectangular timber window comprising a lower fixed light, 2-pane with a bottom-hung 2-pane toplight; brick reveals and timber lintel.

South-west elevation is part of block along north-east side of upper yard.

5. BLOCK ALONG NORTH-EAST SIDE OF UPPER YARD
Viewed from garden, north-east elevation is single storey: gabled roof slated as previous; cast iron gutter and downpipe; two chimneys, red brick. Walling of rubble stonework. Elevation contains a doorway at right-hand end: red brick flat arch; rectangular timber sheeted door. At left-hand end is a modern metal framed fixed light with top-hung vent set in modern brick reveals, with concrete lintel, and a smaller ventilation hole.

South-east elevation is a blind single-storey gable of rubble stonework, shouldered to the right-hand side.

South-west elevation, viewed from yard, is single storey, set on a raised terrace, but due to the slope of the yard down to the left, it is two-storey at the left-hand end; raised terrace contains a footpath behind a low parapet wall of rubble stonework, reached by stone steps at each extremity. Hipped and gabled roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; two chimneys in red brick, one modern pot to left-hand stack. Walling of rubble stonework which includes fieldstones. Some openings are stone flat-arched, using thin slices of stone, while others are brick flat-arched. There are some stone flat arches now blocked-up with rubble stone. Cills are of projecting sandstone. Openings are as follows, left to right: a first floor window, rectangular timber 12-pane fixed light with a 4-pane top-hung vent, with projecting sandstone cill; to right of that is a ground floor window, rectangular timber 6-pane, pivoting type; a rectangular ledged timber door set in dressed sandstone reveals; one window, rectangular timber sashed, 8 over 8 without horns, set in red brick reveals; two rectangular timber windows comprising 5-pane fixed bottom light with 10-pane top-hung vent, first one set in brick reveals, second in roughly dressed stone reveals; a rectangular timber ledged door, herringbone pattern, with modern antique-style iron hinges, set in modern red brick surrounds; three windows, rectangular 21-pane casements, set in brick surrounds; a small rectangular timber 6-pane pivoting window set in stone and brick reveals; and, to the right-hand extremity beyond a projecting rubble stone screen wall, a rectangular sheeted timber door with stone reveals, reached by a flight of brick and stone steps.

6. RETAINING WALL, PARAPET, AND GARDEN WALL AT SOUTH-EAST END OF UPPER YARD
Viewed from upper yard, the south-east end of the yard is enclosed by a rubble stone retaining wall and parapet in two stages with a segmental arched opening at ground level containing a rectangular timber sheeted door set in a timber frame flanked by 3-pane sidelights with projecting sandstone cills; soffit of archway is smooth cement rendered with modern reticulated pointing to stonework face of arch. Doorway leads into a tunnel connecting with the basement of Rosemount House.

Viewed from garden: south-east end of upper yard is enclosed by a rubble stone parapet wall, with rounded coping of mortar and stones, which steps up at left-hand end as a higher screen wall to the yard. Projecting forward from screen wall to the yard is a garden wall of flat-laid stonework connected to the Rosemount House, and containing a flat brick arched doorway where it abuts the yard screen wall.

SETTING: The group of buildings is located within the demesne of Rosemount House, and stands just to the north-west of the main house, linked to it by a garden wall and by a tunnel from the basement of the main house. Outbuildings surrounded on the west, south, and east by grassed gardens, bushes and trees; and along the north side by open animal pens and a yard. Ground level both outside in gardens and inside in yards slopes from south-east to north-west, and most of the complex lies at a lower level than the main house.
The complex is approached from the north-west by a driveway lined by stone retaining walls leading to a pair of iron gates (of no special interest) to the lower yard. Surface of both lower and upper yards is hard and stoney, with some concrete to lower yard; stone flagged below separating archway, partly cobbled to portions of upper yard.

Historical information

Built as stables and subsidiary buildings for the Montgomery family of Rosemount (or Grey Abbey House); precise date not known but the general configuration and most of the individual elements appear on the OS map of 1834. These are possibly the same buildings as those referred to by Walter Harris in 1744 as “handsome offices on part of the site of the former house”, which were built by William Montgomery (who died in 1755), presumably dating from around the same time as the new house which he built following his purchase of the estate in 1717. The ‘former house’ referred to by Harris was the original house of 1634 which burnt down along with its out-offices in 1695.

The present outbuildings display a number of alterations and additions over the passage of time and are consequently now of indeterminate or unspecific date but their general form and layout dates from at least the early 19th century, while much of it probably dates from at least as early as the present house (reputedly of 1762 onwards), and some at least of it possibly dates from as early as the 1720s.

During the Second World War, 1939-45, troops were quartered in the outbuildings.

References – Primary Sources
1. W. Harris, The Antient and Present State of the County of Down (Dublin, 1744), p 49.
2. OS Map 1834, Co Down 11.
3. OS Map 1858, Co Down 11.
4. OS Map 1933, Co Down 11.

Secondary Sources
1. M. Bence-Jones, Life in an Irish Country House (London, 1996), p 129.
2. C.E.B. Brett, Buildings of North County Down (Belfast, 2002), pp 80-81.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a group of mainly stone-built outbuildings of primarily 18th to 19th century date, comprising stables and subsidiary buildings including a rare example of a freestanding game larder, built for the Montgomery family of Rosemount (Grey Abbey House). They form an interesting and attractive group of buildings in their own right, as well as forming an important element in the setting of the main house and an integral part of the Rosemount estate..