Stone Shed at Mount Stewart

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small, unusual and somewhat roughly constructed shed of probable mid 20th century date, with cobblestone faced walls, roughly fashioned stone quoins, dummy doorway and windows and a corrugated iron monopitched roof. The building is situated in the north west corner of the Mount Stewart estate, roughly 2.5 miles north west of Greyabbey.

The dummy doorway is located on the on the front SE elevation, and is filled with cobble stones with a semicircular arch head stone surround with ’in/out’ dressings below. There are two stone steps to the doorway. In the centre of the NE elevation is a small dummy window with stone dressings and skeleton voussoirs. The rear elevation is partly open, revealing a concrete block construction with its interior divided into three sections which appear to be used as kennels. The rear is not stone faced and the interior construction suggests that this shed or kennel is entirely modern.

The gabled building a few yards to the S of this shed, now called ‘Ros Cuan’ has been extended and modernised recently and converted into apartments.

Historical information

Though a small building is shown on this site on the OS Map of 1834, there is reason to believe that the present ‘shed’ is of relatively recent construction. There appear to be at least two suggestions as to its origin. Firstly, the writers were informed by the staff of the Mount Stewart Estate Office that the shed was built by Viscount and Lady Bury, possibly when they took possession of the nearby dwelling to the immediate south ('Ros Cuan') during the Second World War. The second suggestion, (made by Robert Higgins, a local artist and frequent visitor to the estate for pheasant shooting) attributed the shed’s existence to a Roy Stewart [presumably an estate worker], who built it recently as a kennel for his dogs. Thus, although there appears to be agreement on the modernity of this construction, there is some confusion as to the builder. It may be the case that both suggestions are partly correct and that perhaps the shed was built by the Burys (simply as a folly) but that it was later converted by an estate worker to house dogs.

The building to the south of this shed is shown on the OS map of 1834 and was originally known as ‘The Cottage’. It was renovated during the Second World War as a home for the recently married Viscount and Lady Bury and re-named 'Ros Cuan'. It was extended and converted to modern apartments in 1996-97.

References- Primary Sources
1 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Edition, 1834, Co. Down 11
2 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 1st Revision, c.1860, Co. Down 11
3 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps, 2nd Edition, 1901

Secondary sources
1 Anne Casement, 'Mount Stewart Landscape Study' (The National Trust Northern Ireland Region, 1995), p.40

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Small, unusual and somewhat crudely constructed shed of probable mid 20th century date, with cobble stone faced walls, crudely fashioned stone quoins, ‘dummy’ doorway and windows and a corrugated iron mono pitched roof.