Clandeboye House, Clandeboye Estate, Ballyleidy, Bangor, Co Down, BT19 1RN

Clandeboye House (originally known as Ballyleidy House) is a large, relatively unadorned and unpretentious two-storey country house built between 1800 and 1804 by architect Robert Woodgate. It was constructed around a much smaller, plainer three-storey mid-18th century residence, which itself is believed to have replaced a modest dwelling predating around 1710. The house has been the home of the Blackwood family, later the Marquises of Dufferin and Ava, and sits within an 800-acre demesne to the southwest of Bangor, approached from a long curving drive opening off the main Belfast Road.

Historical Background

The Blackwood family had lived at Ballyleidy since at least 1681, originally as tenants of the Clanbrassil estate. Some time before 1688, debts incurred by the 2nd Lord Clanbrassil allowed John Blackwood to acquire the freehold of the townland and surrounding lands. The first house on the site is shown as a two-storey dwelling on a map believed to date from around 1710. By around 1750 this had either been enlarged or completely replaced by a larger building shown on a mid-18th century map as being two-and-a-half or three storeys, with small two-to-two-and-a-half storey gabled wings, four windows to each of the upper floors of the main central section, and four chimneystacks on the roof. A later, apparently more precise drawing that seems to date from the later 18th century — possibly the 1790s — and which purports to show the house before the 1800 to 1804 enlargement, depicts a three-storey building with single-storey hipped-roof wings and five windows to each of the upper floors of the main central section, with two chimneystacks. The discrepancies between the two drawings may simply reflect the fact that the earlier map shows only a schematic representation of the house, or that the later drawing is actually a proposal rather than a record of the existing building, though they could alternatively suggest that major works were carried out at some point before 1800.

Whatever the case, the rise in the family's fortunes by the end of the 18th century led James Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin, to commission a much grander residence from Robert Woodgate. Woodgate had been a pupil of Sir John Soane and had been sent by him to Ireland in the 1790s to supervise the rebuilding of Barons Court. He redesigned Ballyleidy on a much larger scale, constructing a large new wing to the east, a smaller block to the north, and service rooms to the west, with the old house practically rebuilt to form the entrance wing to the south.

The house was renamed Clandeboye in the 1840s by Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and later 1st Marquis of Dufferin and Ava. For over fifty years after Woodgate's work, the house remained essentially in the form he left it, the façade escaping the 5th Baron's successive ideas for remodelling it along Elizabethan, French château, and baronial castle lines. Some time around the later 1860s — the precise date appears to be uncertain — significant alterations were carried out to the interior: the library was created by knocking the entrance hall into the adjoining study, and the former scullery and kitchen to the west were converted into new outer and inner entrance halls. In the later decades of the 19th century these new halls became filled with exotic objects, artefacts, and curiosities collected by the now 1st Marquis during his distinguished public career — as Governor General of Canada (1872–79), Ambassador to Russia (1879–81) and Constantinople (1881–84), Viceroy of India (1884–88), and Ambassador to Italy (1881–91) and France (1891–96). These objects ranged from a Red Indian fertility idol and a grizzly bear to a mummy case and an elaborate model of the Royal Palace at Mandalay. Further interior changes were carried out around the late 1880s, when back rooms off the halls were converted to a billiards room and library, a table tennis room, strong room, museum room, gentlemen's cloakroom, and other service rooms.

Like many larger country estates, Clandeboye was occupied by military authorities during both the First and Second World Wars, and by the end of the latter the house had fallen into disrepair. It was subsequently restored by the 4th Marquis's widow Maureen and later by the 5th Marquis and his wife, the present Lady Dufferin. The most notable external change during this period was the addition of a classical-style porte-cochère over the western entrance in 1959, added to mark the coming of age of the 5th Marquis.

Overall Form and Character

The building is roughly square in plan, consisting of four wings with the space between them largely filled by a varied mass of linked returns and corridors. Though mainly two storeys throughout (with a basement), the building is not set on a single level: the south and east wings sit on higher ground, while the portions to the north and west — many of which are single storey — are on considerably lower ground. The formal east and south elevations are finished in lined render with even-textured limestone-like stone dressings and quoins to the south. Much of the less formal north elevation is also in lined render, while the even more informal west elevation is faced in rubble stone, now partly covered in creeper growth.

The roof is a complex mixture of hipped and gabled portions, all slated, with a varied collection of chimneystacks of differing sizes — some with base courses and projecting cornices, others much plainer. The windows, though varied in size and shape, are generally filled with timber sliding sash frames with Georgian panes. There are also some large stained glass windows — largely hidden from external view — over the grand stairwell and over the inner and outer entrance halls.

The contrast between the neoclassical main sections of the house dating from around 1804 and the roughly baronial entrance halls created in the 1860s reflects both the changes in 19th century architectural taste and the personal inclinations of the 1st Marquis. However, the creation of the later entrance has given the house a somewhat disjointed layout, with the effect of the parts being greater than the whole.

South Elevation

The main portion of the south elevation is a two-storey formal composition that was originally wholly symmetrical but was altered in the later 19th century. It consists of a broad shallow central bay flanked by narrower recessed bays, all believed to incorporate some fabric from the mid-18th century house. The façade is finished in lined render with flush in-and-out stone quoins, a projecting base course, a plain string course between ground and first floor levels, and a moulded eaves course.

At the centre of the ground floor of the large central bay is a broad portico with four Doric columns supporting a flat roof with a dentilled — or possibly modillioned — projecting cornice course. Within the portico the façade is rusticated, and there are three tall semicircular-headed windows: those to the centre and right have 15 panes over 12, while that to the left appears to act as a French window with twelve Georgian panes over a doorway of six larger panes. The original entrance was contained within this portico; the present window arrangement dates from around the later 1860s when the new entrance was created to the west. A broad but short flight of stone steps leads up to a small paved terrace forming the threshold of the portico.

To the left of the portico is a tall window matching those within it. To the left again, within the recessed bay, is a tall tripartite window (3 over 3, 9 over 9, and 3 over 3) with rendered mullions and a large segmental fanlight above with radial tracery. To the right of the portico is a pair of flat-arched windows (both 9 over 9) separated by a thick pier with a three-quarter Corinthian column with banding at the centre of the shaft. To the outer sides of these windows are pilaster-like features with banding similar to the column and small floral brackets to the window reveals, above which is a relatively plain box cornice-like moulding. These windows are another alteration from around the 1860s. To the right again, within the recessed bay, is a large single-storey canted bay with a tall plain parapet that completely conceals its roof — also an addition from around the 1860s.

At first floor level, the larger central bay has a broad but shallow pedimented bay at its centre, containing three 6-over-6 sash windows set on a sill course, each with a simple moulded surround and a shallow hood moulding above. Either side of the pedimented bay there is another 6-over-6 window with the same surround detail, with a further similar window to each of the recessed bays.

To the far left of the south elevation, where the ground level drops considerably, is a lower and plainer two-storey section. On the left it consists of a tall rendered section of walling — the south face of the single-storey billiard room — with no openings. To the right of this is a slightly taller two-storey house-like section with a hipped roof, containing two plain sash windows and a panelled timber door with a large fanlight to the ground floor, and three marginally smaller plain sash windows to the first floor.

East Elevation

The east elevation is long, formal, and two storeys in height. Slightly to the left of centre is a broad shallow full-height bay dominated by a very broad shallow full-height bowed projection. To the ground floor of the bow there is a large central tripartite window (4 over 6, 6 over 9, and 4 over 6) with rendered mullions and a segmental arched recess above. To the left is a 6-over-9 window; to the right is a similar window acting as a French window, with a six-pane double door and six Georgian panes above. To the first floor of the bow is a similar but shorter central tripartite window (4 over 4, 6 over 6, and 4 over 4) with a 6-over-6 window to either side.

To the left of the bay containing the bow there are three tall ground floor windows, all 9 over 9, with three shorter first floor windows above, all 6 over 6. To the right of the bay there are four windows to the ground floor and four to the first floor, all corresponding to those on the left, except that the far right window on both floors is set further apart from the others and separated by a broad full-height pilaster. To the far right of the elevation is a recessed bay of the same overall height as the rest but arranged over three levels: a 6-over-6 window to the lowest level, another 6-over-6 window to the level above, and a 9-over-9 window to the uppermost level, which is the first floor proper. The east elevation is rendered in the same manner as the south, with similar base course, string course, and eaves course, but without quoins.

West Elevation

The main west elevation is approached from the drive to the south via a short shrub-lined walk between the outbuilding complex to the northwest and a single-storey outbuilding projection with storerooms to the northeast. The elevation itself is distinctly informal, consisting of a tall single or one-and-a-half storey rubble stone façade now partly covered in creeper growth.

Roughly at the centre of the elevation is the main entrance: a relatively tall but narrow doorway filled with a slightly medieval-looking plain timber double door with studs and cast iron knockers. The doorway has plain stone dressings — apparently sandstone — and is covered by a large classical-style flat-roofed porte-cochère with Ionic columns, pilasters, modillions, dentils, and similar detailing, added in 1959. The area of walling covered by the porte-cochère on either side of the doorway is rendered and painted. To the left of the porte-cochère is a smaller service doorway with a panelled timber door and plain rendered dressings. Further to the left the height of the façade drops as the elevation merges with the west face of the single-storey outbuilding section, which is largely hidden behind thick shrub growth.

To the far right of the elevation is a much taller two-storey basement section set well back from the line of the main elevation. This is the short west face of the south wing, and contains a 6-over-6 sash window to the right on the ground floor and a smaller plain sash window set at a slightly higher level to the left — this window is awkwardly positioned and may not be original. At first floor level there are two sash windows to the left and centre matching the ground floor right window, and a blind window to the right.

North Elevation

The north elevation is partly obscured from general view by a tall rubble wall enclosing a roughly triangular garden to the north. It has a complex and untidy appearance. To the left or east side is a tall three-storey basement section, while to the centre and right is a much lower one-and-a-half to two-storey section. The taller section itself is in two parts, the western half having a lower roof level.

To the basement level of the taller left-hand section there are two sash windows of differing sizes: that to the left is 4 over 8 and that to the right is 3 over 6. The right-hand window sits within a two-level flat-roofed bay. To the right of this bay is a doorway with a recent-looking glazed door. Directly above the right-hand window, within the bay, is a smaller 6-over-6 window, and directly above the door is a larger 6-over-6 window, both serving ground floor rooms. To the far right at ground floor level is a large squarish 12-over-12 window. At first floor level there are three similarly sized but unevenly spaced 6-over-6 windows, with two similar windows to the right at second floor level. The west-facing gable of this taller section is exposed at second floor level, and here to the right side of the gable is a small semicircular-headed window whose frame could not be seen clearly.

The much lower one-and-a-half to two-storey section to the right or west has two similar 6-over-6 windows at ground — actually basement — level. To the right of these is a large single-storey lean-to with an 8-over-8 window and a large rooflight. Abutting the west side of the lean-to is a small single-storey stone-faced section with a partly glazed timber door and a 2-over-2 window to its left. To the far left on the upper level is a small four-pane window, to the right of which is a gabled half-dormer with a semicircular-headed window fitted with an unusual sash frame that has plain glazing to the lower half and four symmetrically arranged panes to the upper half. To the right again are two similar half-dormers with similarly shaped window openings: the right-hand one has a 2-over-2 frame, while the left-hand one has a frame with five symmetrically arranged panes to the upper half and two standard panes to the lower half.

To the right of these dormers the façade is abutted by a large two-storey section set on a north-south axis. Beyond this section there are two small windows to the ground floor and a squat 6-over-6 window to the first floor.

Close to the west end of the lower section of the north elevation there abuts a similarly sized rubble-built section — now used as the estate office with flats above — also set on a north-south axis. On the left side of its east face, where it meets the section just described, is a shallow bay with a partly glazed timber door to the ground floor and two small plain double sash windows to the first floor. To the right of the bay are two double sash windows to each floor, all 6 over 6, with brick dressings to the openings. On the west face of this section there are two windows and a doorway to the far right on the ground floor, and three roughly similar windows with a smaller one to the far right on the first floor. To the north side of this section is a small area enclosed by a rubble wall containing what appears to be an oil tank or tanks.

A few feet to the west of the estate office section is a small single-storey brick and rubble-built hipped-roof shed-like building which, to the west, abuts the single-storey outbuilding section described above in connection with the west elevation. The shed has a timber-sheeted double door with a large three-pane fanlight to its north face, along with what appears to be a tall narrow boarded-over window opening. The east face of the outbuilding has four 2-over-2 sash windows to the left and centre, with a doorway between the first and second windows. To the right of these is a large recent-looking flat-arched vehicle doorway. Most of these openings have brick dressings, and occasional brick arch outlines scattered along the façade suggest that other openings were blocked at some point. The short north face of the outbuilding contains a large mullioned and transomed louvered opening. The roof of the outbuilding has at least four small dormer-like ventilation openings to the east side, at least three of which are louvered.

A tall rubble-built wall stretches from the northeast corner of the outbuilding to the wall surrounding the garden enclosure further to the east, and contains a large elliptical-arched vehicle gateway with timber gates.

Rear Elevations

Sandwiched between the main wings of the house are various returns, corridors, and lean-tos of different sizes and shapes that merge into one another to form an almost solid mass of largely hipped roofs, with only the varying roof heights and several very small, widely spaced yards allowing occasional sections of walling to be seen. All of these sections have a utilitarian appearance, as would be expected from what were originally largely service rooms hidden from external view. Some sections are single storey, others two, but all are generally low — again consistent with their original service function. Roofs are either hipped or gabled and slated, with the exception of the long L-shaped narrow corridor section that leads from the gallery in the east wing to the entrance halls in the west, which has a broad rooflight running along its entire length; several other sections also have small regular-shaped rooflights. The exposed sections of walling are wholly plain rendered, and the windows, though varying in size and shape, are mainly fitted with timber Georgian-paned sash frames.

The rear elevations of the main wings are similarly plain and rendered, with little hint of formality. There are, however, several notable features: a full-height mainly glazed canted bay to the rear of the east wing that lights the grand stairwell and is filled with stained glass; and, to the west wing, large mullioned and transomed stained glass windows lighting the inner and outer entrance halls.

The chimneystacks are of varying shape but largely uniform in their render finish and lack of decoration. The stacks to the estate office section and some others to the west side have an overtly Victorian character, with a well-defined base, projecting cornice course, and uniform octagonal pots. The rainwater goods appear to be largely metal.