House at Mount Stewart (Laundry Cottage)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively large, formally planned two storey estate laundry building of c.1805 now converted to (4) flats. The building is located almost in the centre of the Mount Stewart estate, roughly half a mile north east of Mount Stewart house, 2 miles north west of Greyabbey.

The roof is gabled and covered with asbestos free slates with rendered parapets and three rendered chimneystacks. There are two decorative curved roof dormers with small PVC casement windows with simulated astragals, to the W elevation of the roof, along with three Velux windows. To the rear are three Velux windows. The whole facade is finished in plain render and painted. Chamfered plinth to base. Cast iron rw goods.

The front W elevation is symmetrical and has a large central timber panelled door and plain fanlight encased with plain stone pilasters and entablature with cornice. The doorway is set in a full height, slightly projecting gabled bay. To the left and right of this bay on the ground floor are three semicircular arch headed windows with PVC sash frames with simulated ‘Georgian’ panes. Directly above these to the first floor (and resting on a cill course) are six windows with shallow segmental arch heads and similar frames. The seventh (centre) first floor window, which is directly above the doorway and within the gabled bay, is slightly broader than the rest.

To the centre of the rear elevation is a full height semicircular projection, with high parapet obscuring its roof and a window (as ground floor front) between ground and first floor level. To the left and right of this projection, on the ground floor) are two small semicircular arched windows, with PVC frames with simulated ‘Georgian’ panes. In between each of these sets of windows is a semicircular arched doorway opening with a deeply recessed timber sheeted arch headed door, and narrow two pane sidelights. Directly above all of these openings are six first floor windows, as first floor front.

To the centre of each gable is a full height semicircular stairwell projection with spiral staircase within and various semicircular arch headed openings. At the top of the projection is the top of the stair which is open air and leads to plain timber sheeted ‘attic’ door. To the ground floor of each of the gables are yards enclosed with high rendered walls with semicircular arch headed pedestrian opening to the E and W sides of both enclosures. Directly above each of these openings the wall is stepped and curved. The wall has a slightly projecting cap.

Historical information

A Mount Stewart estate ledger, spanning the years 1803-9 states that this ‘new laundry’ was constructed some time between 1805 and 1808 at a cost of £510, and an accompanying account book mentions payment to a stonecutter by the name of James Campbell.

The building is shown on the OS map of 1834 and referred to in the OS Valuation records of the following year as a ‘marling house and laundry’. In more recent times the building appears to have been used as a store, but [?]c.1995 it was completely renovated and converted into [?four] flats. During the renovation as well as the obvious changes to the interior, the ground floor front facade windows were lengthened slightly (they originally matched those at the rear), side stairwells and yard walls added and new window frames and dormers installed.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.654/H1/4 Londonderry Papers Mount Stewart estate accounts 1803-1809
2 PRONI D.654/H2/4 Londonderry Papers Mount Stewart estate ledger with loose index 1803-1809
3 PRONI OS/6/3/11/1 Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Edition, 1834, Co. Down 11
4 PRONI VAL/1B/33 First valuation, Greyabbey, c.1835
5 PRONI OS/6/3/11/2 Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st revision, 1860, Co. Down 11
6 PRONI VAL/2B/3/4 Second valuation, Greyabbey, c.1859

Secondary sources
1 Anne Casement, 'Mount Stewart landscape study' (National Trust Northern Ireland Region, 1995), p.23

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Two storey former estate laundry house of c.1805, recently converted to four self-contained flats, whose facade now has the appearance of a modern building with a somewhat neo-Georgian feel.