Steward’s House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small, one and a half storey rubble built steward’s house with the Florida Manor estate, to the SW of the manor house itself. This house was probably built c.1820 as it shows much in common with other buildings with the Florida estate and Kilmood hamlet, all built by David Gordon at this time. In particular, the distinctive crow step gables of the house resemble that of the entrance bay on Kilmood court house.

The house itself has been derelict for some time and partly covered in greenery.

Front W facade has a slightly right of centre gabled entrance porch which is obviously a late Victorian/Edwardian addition, having brick construction and finial to the gable. The entrance is located on its N face and consists of a panelled door with two pane sidelights. Small boarded up window to S face of porch. To the left of the porch is a small window opening with the remains of a casement frame. To the right of the porch is a small window opening, now boarded.

The S gable has a small window opening to the ground floor and one at attic level. The attic level window has an odd ‘trefoil’ relieving arch over (in brick). Attached at ground level to the right hand side of this gable is a small gabled extension, with the remains of a large glazed opening to the front (W) and a doorway to the S. The rear facade of the extension appears to be partly patched in breeze block.
The N gable appears to be blank. Both gables have large, distinctive crow steps.

To the main rear facade there is a small window to the right whilst at the left is a brick built lean to ‘store’ extension.

The facade is un-rendered, though the later porch to the front and rear lean to appear to have been harled at some point.

The main roof is gabled and covered in Bangor blue slates, with three small skylights to rear. Tall rendered chimney stack at eaves to rear.

This house is one of a series of ‘gothick’ buildings constructed by David Gordon in the Kilmood area in c.1820-22.

Historical information

The Manor of Florida was created in 1638 on lands previously acquired by Sir James Montgomery (2nd son of Viscount Montgomery) from Con O’Neill., the name ‘Florida’ apparently having been derived from Sir James’ love of flowers. During the Commonwealth (1649-60) the lands were placed in the custody of a Colonel Barrow, but returned to Montgomery hands after much wrangling, in 1664.

In 1691-2 the manor came into possession of the Crawford family and passed to Robert Gordon through marriage to Ann, the niece and sole heiress to the estate of David Crawford, in c.1770. It was undoubtedly one of the Gordons who built the present house, probably c.1780-c.1800 (some sources give a date of 1796 based on an inscribed timber used in the stables), possibly constructed around an earlier Montgomery dwelling which (if a later datestone in the adjacent farmyard is to be believed) may have dated from in or around 1676.

The house is shown on the OS map of 1834 (along with the large farmyard to the rear, the steward’s house and the gate lodges to the east and north), where it is marked ‘Florida Manor’. By the time of the revised OS map (1859-60), the ‘return’ to the west had been built, linking the house with the stable block. The rear conservatory/porch and the early Victorian chimney pots may have been added around this time also.

In the later 1800s, with the passing of successive Land Acts, much of the Gordon lands began to be sold off, and by the 1880s the manor house itself appears to have been leased by a Thomas Brand. By 1917 (at least) the demesne and its buildings had been acquired by a William Devenney, a local farmer who appears to have lived in the steward’s house. Thus Florida, unoccupied, fell into disrepair, but after the Second World War it was bought by Milo Pickaar, who renovated much (though perhaps to all) of the building.

The Steward’s House This building is shown on the OS maps of 1834 and 1859-60. It was probably constructed c.1820 by the then owner of Florida Manor, David Gordon, who was engaged in much construction work at this time, both within the estate and the neighbouring hamlet of Kilmood, indeed the crow step gables of this house show affinity with Kilmood court house, which was constructed c.1820-1822.

The valuation records for Florida Manor reveal nothing of the house (lumping it in with the estate ‘offices), but in the early part of the 20th century, the house appears to have been inhabited by William Devenney, a local farmer who acquired much of the estate lands. It was undoubtedly during this time that the present interior detailing was added, with the porch perhaps dating from this period or slightly earlier.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.4204 Gordon Family Papers- ‘Copy of a translation of a Patent Grant to Sir James Montgomery, 13th year of the reign of King Charles [I] (1638)’. [This extensive collection of documents relating to the Gordon family, Florida Manor and the surrounding townlands were recently deposited at PRONI by a descendent, Mr. Archie Hugh-Gordon of Saintfield. At the time of writing (August 1998) the collection had not yet been catalogued, however, the writers were given special access to some of the documents by PRONI.]
2 The Montgomery Manuscripts ed. Rev. George Hill (Belfast 1869), pp.2, 210-211.
3 PRONI D.4204 Gordon Family Papers- Indenture signed William Montgomery, James Montgomery to James Hamilton (deed of Florida Manor) 1691.
4 PRONI D.4204 Gordon Family Papers- Deed of partition of Florida Manor, Hamilton to Crawford, 1691.
5 PRONI D.4204 Gordon family Papers- Exemplification of a Recovery of Robert Gordon and Alice, his wife, of lands in Co. Down, 1762.
6 PRONI D.1584 Family papers of the Smith, Gordon and Pottinger families, c.1800-1930.
7 PRONI D.929/HA12/F1/1(e) Lease relating to Florida Manor.
8 PRONI D.650/112, 115, 128 Trust deed[?s] relating to Florida Manor, 1819.
9 PRONI D.654//R/3/1-99 Londonderry Papers- Documents relating to Florida Manor [?]1684-1892.
10 PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 16.
11 PRONI VAL 1B/320 p.17 1st Valuation, Kilmood parish, Kilmood td., c.1835. [The ‘house and offices’ had a rateable value of £65-8-0 in c.1835.]
12 PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1859-60, Co. Down 16.
13 PRONI 2nd Valuation, Kilmood parish, Kilmood td., c.1861. [By this stage the rateable value of the property had risen to £110]
15 George Henry 'Bassett County Down guide and directory' (Dublin 1886).
16 'Belfast Telegraph' 7th October 1953 “Life that is different- Returns to a Down house”. [Article concerning the restoration of Florida Manor by Mr. Pickaar].

Secondary sources
1 'Archaeological survey of Co. Down' (HMSO 1966), pp.313, 319.
2 PRONI 'Burkes Irish family records', p.485.
3 Mark Bence-Jones 'A guide to Irish country houses' (London 1988), p.297.
4 J.A.K. Dean 'The gate lodges of Ulster' (UAHS 1994), p.76. [Dean makes no mention of this building.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Small vaguely gothick steward’s house of c.1820, with distinctive crow step gables. As well as its own architectural and historoc merits this house has group value with the series of ‘gothick’ buildings constructed by David Gordon in the Kilmood area in c.1820-22. There have been some later additions to the property, most notably the late Victorian/Edwardian gabled porch to the front.