Outbuildings, Rosemount House, Greyabbey, Newtownards, Co Down, BT22 2QA

These outbuildings form a group of mainly rubble stone structures dating primarily from the 18th to 19th centuries, built as stables and subsidiary buildings for the Montgomery family of Rosemount (also known as Grey Abbey House). The group is notable for including a rare example of a freestanding game larder. Together the buildings form an attractive and architecturally interesting ensemble in their own right, and are an important part of both the setting and the working estate of the main house.

The complex consists 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 in an L-shaped plan, connected by an archway. The upper yard is entered at its southern end by a basement tunnel from the main house and through the game larder, descending by steps. The lower yard is entered from a driveway through a gateway facing north-west. Because of the slope of the land, most buildings appear single-storey when seen from outside the yards but two-storey on the elevations facing into the yards.

BLOCK ALONG THE SOUTH-WEST SIDE OF THE COMPLEX

Moving from south-west to north-west, the buildings as seen from the gardens begin with the game larder. This is a single-storey building on its south-east entrance front, with a hipped roof of small stone slates, roughly coursed rubble stonework walls, and a projecting eaves course with a PVC gutter. The entrance front has a centrally placed doorway with a rectangular timber sheeted door in a plain timber frame, set within a coved recess of harled brickwork patched with cement render, with smooth cement-rendered reveals, a timber lintel, and a recessed stone step. A screen wall of roughly coursed stonework projects to the right, screening a cast iron flue pipe rising from the yard behind.

To the left of the game larder extends a rubble stone wall returning along the south-west side of a former laundry drying yard. This wall abuts a single-storey gabled building of different stonework character, using both field stones and rubble on its south-west face. There is a projecting eaves course but no rainwater goods. The wall contains a blocked-up semi-circular arch just above ground level with irregularly shaped voussoirs. One rectangular window has timber coupled 2-pane fixed lights, a weathered timber lintel, brick dressings to the sides with rough mortar to the reveals, and a cement cill. The gables are of stone with later brickwork to the left-hand gable apex.

Slightly projecting forward is a lower gabled block abutting, of variegated rubble stonework including field stones to the left-hand side, with a slated roof and a gable surmounted by brickwork at its apex. Extending further left in the same plane is another lower gabled block of rubble stonework including field stones, with a roof of corrugated asbestos sheets and two corrugated Perspex panels; the left-hand gable is of rubble stone. Beyond this is a small single-storey lean-to block with a wide but low blocked-up opening with a single wide stone lintel, a corrugated asbestos roof, and a blind north-west end wall.

Seen from inside the yard, this range reads quite differently. From left to right there is a tall two-storey rubble stone retaining wall rising to a parapet, with the game larder at the right-hand end. At first-floor level, surmounting the ground or basement storey, the roof is slated as on the entrance front. There is one window opening at each floor level, rectangular, with brick jambs, slate cills, and slate heads, but no longer glazed.

The north-west face of the game larder is of rubble stone with some brickwork to the left-hand corner, with a slated roof, PVC gutter, and PVC downpipe as on the entrance front. At first-floor level there is a rectangular timber sheeted door with a ventilation panel, set in brick surrounds with a timber head, opening onto external steps of concrete on a stone base with plain timber and metal balustrading. The south-west face of the game larder is two-storeys of rubble stone with brick jambs to the openings — a doorway at ground level and a window at first-floor level.

To the right of the game larder lies the former laundry drying yard, entered from the upper yard by three steps and a timber door and fence. All four inner faces of the drying yard walls are of exposed rubble stonework and the yard surface is now turfed. The screen wall facing the main upper yard has a rubble stone face with an offset plinth. At the right-hand end, six concrete steps lead to a small raised area giving access to the first two gabled perimeter buildings.

The first of these buildings has rubble stone walling partly repaired with small concrete blocks, and a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with the upper courses replaced by asbestos slates, PVC gutter and downpipe. There are two rectangular windows to the left of a doorway, with flat-arched heads of slate and rendered cills and right-hand reveal to the left-hand window, containing timber 2-pane fixed lights. The doorway contains a rectangular sheeted timber door with a timber lintel, reached by a modern concrete ramp. To the right of the doorway is a modern rectangular metal-framed 16-pane window.

The second building has red brick walls with a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. It contains one doorway with a truncated timber sheeted door and a modern concrete lintel, and one window: a rectangular timber sliding sash, 2 over 2, with a brick flat-arched head. The inner faces of the bounding walls to the raised area are of rubble stonework. Beyond the archway separating the upper and lower yards, the screen wall of the raised area is also of rubble stonework.

Projecting to the right is a single-storey stable with a hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, PVC guttering, and walls of rubble stonework including field stones. The south-east face has one rectangular timber sliding sash window, 8 over 1, with horns, but with PVC glazing bars affixed to the lower sash to give the appearance of 8 over 8, set in smooth rendered and lined surrounds with a projecting sandstone cill. The north-east face contains a doorway with a timber sheeted half-door with large ironwork hinges, set in smooth rendered and lined surrounds. The north-west face is blind, of rubble stone partly harled, and contains a blocked-up former opening with a timber lintel and brick jambs.

Extending to the right of the stable is a rubble stone screen wall with an opening leading to a concrete passage between two small courts. The higher building to the left has a gable partly of rubble stone and partly of red brick, containing a rectangular timber sheeted door and a derelict window. The lower building facing into the courts has rubble stone, red brick, and rendered walling, containing a segmental arched opening and two rectangular openings with timber frames but missing doors; it has corrugated asbestos roofs and a mix of PVC and cast iron rainwater goods. The inner faces of the bounding walls to the courts are smooth rendered. At the right-hand end of the screen wall is a rectangular doorway with a sheeted timber door and a wide stone lintel. Extending to the right of that is a low rubble stone retaining wall to the rear driveway.

BLOCK ALONG THE NORTH-WEST SIDE OF THE LOWER YARD

Viewed from the yard, the long south-east elevation is two-storey with a hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, one original rooflight, and PVC gutter and downpipes. The walling is of rubble stonework with roughly dressed stone to a chamfered left-hand corner. Built into the wall above the first doorway from the left is a roughly circular stone with a flat face, which appears to be a fragment of dressed stone, possibly originally from the nearby Cistercian abbey. The walling also contains parts of three original segmental archways, now blocked up. At first-floor level there are four rectangular window openings with raised rendered rusticated surrounds: the extreme left-hand opening has later rectangular timber coupled windows; the other three are now unglazed. At ground-floor level there are five rectangular timber sliding sash windows, 8 over 8 with horns, set in similar surrounds with projecting stone cills, except that the extreme left window is 8 over 1 with PVC glazing bars affixed to resemble 8 over 8, and the two windows at the right-hand end have sandstone surrounds and flat-arched heads. There are three doorway openings: a rectangular boarded timber sliding door with rendered rusticated surrounds; a wide rectangular opening with its sliding door and rail now missing; and, within a lean-to roof at the north-east end of the yard, a segmental arched opening containing a pair of sheeted timber doors, with the wall within the lean-to whitened.

The south-west end elevation has a hipped slated roof as previous, PVC gutters, and rubble stonework walling. It contains one doorway with a timber sheeted half-door in plain rendered surrounds, surmounted by a segmental relieving arch over a partly blocked original opening. Above the eaves line the wall rises to a bellcote with a semi-circular opening containing a bell which still functions by use of a rope pull. The wall cants slightly forward at the left-hand side. Extending to the left, outside the yard, is the rubble stone end wall of a single-storey lean-to block containing one rectangular window opening.

The north-west elevation, viewed from outside the yard, shows a two-storey block with a hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses containing four original rooflights, its main wall obscured by a lower single-storey lean-to block which rises to just below eaves level. The single-storey block has a slated roof with four original rooflights, four prominent modern circular metal conically capped ventilators, and ten small ventilator openings; PVC gutter and downpipes (with one downpipe missing); walls of rubble stonework. The block originally contained eight wide segmental arched doorway openings, but some have been partly closed with brickwork and rectangular timber windows inserted. Two doorway openings remain completely open, while the one at the right-hand end contains a pair of arched tongued and grooved sheeted timber doors. To each side of the two right-hand end doorways are rectangular timber 9-pane windows, originally pivoting but now fixed, with flat-arched heads and projecting sandstone cills.

Immediately in front of the fourth arched former doorway from the 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, enclosing a brick groin vault within, with grass growing on top.

Extending to the left-hand end of the single-storey block and projecting forward is a rectangular block of rubble brickwork and render with a corrugated asbestos roof, of no special interest.

The north-east elevation of the single-storey lean-to block contains one unglazed window opening with a timber lintel and brick reveals. To its left is the north-east end elevation of the two-storey building facing into the lower yard, with a hipped slated roof and one original rooflight. The wall contains one window at each floor: at first floor, a flat-arched head with a derelict rectangular timber casement and a slate cill; at ground floor, a brick flat-arched head with a timber lintel, red brick reveals and cill, and a timber 4-pane casement.

LINK BLOCK AT THE NORTH-EAST END OF THE LOWER YARD

Viewed from the yard, the south-west elevation is a high-roofed single-storey open-fronted covered area with a pitched roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. The eaves beam is supported at each end by an angled strut between flanking two-storey blocks — the right-hand strut in timber and the left-hand strut in iron. Within the shelter the roof is carried on two large timber trusses of unusual form, comprising scissor-truss-like braced timber beams projecting from the rear wall. The rear wall within the shelter is of rubble stonework, whitened, and contains one doorway at its left-hand end with a rectangular timber sheeted door in a timber surround.

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

BLOCK ALONG THE SOUTH-EAST SIDE OF THE LOWER YARD

Viewed from the yard, the long north-west elevation is two-storey with a gabled roof to the left-hand end and a hipped roof to the right-hand end, both of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. There are two chimneys in red brick, the left-hand one truncated and the right-hand one with two modern red pots; PVC gutter and downpipes. The walling is of rubble stonework including a number of field stones.

First-floor windows from left to right are: three large rectangular timber sliding sashes, 8 over 8 with horns (except the first from the left, whose lower sash is one pane with PVC strips affixed to resemble 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 with a timber lintel and iron bars affixed; and one large 8 over 8 sashed window with horns, flanked on each side by smaller blocked-up former window openings.

The ground floor contains, from right to left: a doorway reached by a flight of concrete steps, with a segmental arch of shaped sandstone voussoirs and raised sandstone surrounds, containing a recessed doorway at the top; a rectangular timber sashed window, 8 over 8 with horns, in raised sandstone surrounds with a projecting sandstone cill and a flat sandstone arch head; another doorway reached by steps, containing a deeper recess with a raised quarry-tiled floor, a semi-circular arched plastered vault to the ceiling, rectangular timber sheeted doors to each side within the recessed lobby, and a further low vaulted recess to the rear; another 8 over 8 sashed window; a wide doorway dressed as previous but without steps, containing a flat-ceilinged recess with a trapdoor to the ceiling; a rectangular door flanked on each side by rectangular 6 over 6 sashed sidelights without horns, all set in similar surrounds and below a red brick segmental relieving arch; and a rectangular open doorway in similar surrounds containing a small recess with quarry-tiled flooring, a plastered ceiling, and a trapdoor in the rear wall, all below a red brick segmental relieving arch.

At the left-hand end, the two-storey block has a single-storey extension in the same plane, also of rubble stonework, with a hipped slated roof. Most of the walling of this extension is within a lean-to shelter where the stonework is whitened, and it contains a wide segmental arched doorway with a pair of diagonally sheeted tongued and grooved timber doors. At the right-hand end, a rubble stone screen wall abuts the block and contains a wide segmental archway leading into the upper yard. The arch is raised on the side facing the lower yard and the profile of the wall above is stepped up over the arch; the jambs contain two ironwork door fixings but the doors are missing.

The north-east elevation, viewed from the garden, is two-storey, of rubble stonework, with a hipped slated roof. There is one window at each floor: the first floor has an unglazed 2-pane casement with a brick cill; the ground floor has a timber lintel, slate cill, brick reveals, and timber louvres.

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

BLOCK ALONG THE NORTH-EAST SIDE OF THE UPPER YARD

Viewed from the garden, the north-east elevation is single-storey with a gabled slated roof, cast iron gutter and downpipe, two red brick chimneys, and rubble stonework walls. At the right-hand end is a doorway with a red brick flat arch and a rectangular timber sheeted door. At the left-hand end is a modern metal-framed fixed light with a top-hung vent set in modern brick reveals with a concrete lintel, and a smaller ventilation hole.

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

The south-west elevation, viewed from the yard, is single-storey at most points but two-storey at the left-hand end due to the slope of the yard. The elevation is set on a raised terrace with a footpath behind a low rubble stone parapet wall, reached by stone steps at each end. The roof is hipped and gabled with Bangor blue slates in regular courses; two red brick chimneys, with one modern pot to the left-hand stack. The walls are of rubble stonework including field stones. Some window and door openings have flat arches formed from thin slices of stone, others have brick flat arches; some stone flat arches are now blocked up with rubble stone. Cills are of projecting sandstone throughout.

Openings from left to right are: a first-floor window, rectangular timber 12-pane fixed light with a 4-pane top-hung vent and a projecting sandstone cill; a ground-floor window, rectangular timber 6-pane pivoting type; a rectangular ledged timber door in dressed sandstone reveals; one rectangular timber sashed window, 8 over 8 without horns, in red brick reveals; two rectangular timber windows each comprising a 5-pane fixed bottom light with a 10-pane top-hung vent, the first in brick reveals and the second in roughly dressed stone reveals; a rectangular timber ledged door in a herringbone pattern with modern antique-style iron hinges set in modern red brick surrounds; three rectangular 21-pane casement windows in brick surrounds; a small rectangular timber 6-pane pivoting window in stone and brick reveals; and, to the right-hand end beyond a projecting rubble stone screen wall, a rectangular sheeted timber door with stone reveals, reached by a flight of brick and stone steps.

RETAINING WALL, PARAPET, AND GARDEN WALL AT THE SOUTH-EAST END OF THE UPPER YARD

Viewed from the upper yard, the south-east end is enclosed by a rubble stone retaining wall and parapet in two stages. At ground level there is a segmental arched opening containing a rectangular timber sheeted door set in a timber frame, flanked by 3-pane sidelights with projecting sandstone cills; the soffit of the archway is smooth cement rendered with modern reticulated pointing to the stonework face of the arch. The doorway leads into a tunnel connecting with the basement of Rosemount House. Viewed from the garden, the south-east end of the upper yard is enclosed by a rubble stone parapet wall with a rounded coping of mortar and stones, which steps up at the left-hand end to form a higher screen wall to the yard. A garden wall of flat-laid stonework connects to Rosemount House and contains a flat brick-arched doorway where it abuts the yard screen wall.

SETTING

The group of buildings stands within the demesne of Rosemount House, just to the north-west of the main house, linked to it by a garden wall and by the basement tunnel. The outbuildings are surrounded to the west, south, and east by grassed gardens with bushes and trees, and along the north side by open animal pens and a yard. The ground slopes throughout from south-east to north-west, so most of the complex sits at a lower level than the main house. The complex is approached from the north-west by a driveway lined with stone retaining walls, leading to a pair of iron gates of no special interest into the lower yard. Both yards have hard, stony surfaces with some concrete to the lower yard, stone flagging below the separating archway, and partial cobbling to sections of the upper yard.

HISTORY

The outbuildings were built as stables and subsidiary buildings for the Montgomery family of Rosemount, also known as Grey Abbey House. The precise date of construction is not known, but the general layout and most individual elements appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1834. These are possibly the same buildings referred to by the antiquary 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. If so, they were probably built at around the same time as the new house, which William Montgomery built following his purchase of the estate in 1717. The former house referred to by Harris was the original house of 1634, which burned down together with its out-offices in 1695.

The outbuildings display numerous alterations and additions accumulated over time and are consequently of indeterminate overall date, but their general form and layout dates from at least the early 19th century. Much of the complex probably dates from at least as early as the present house, which is reputed to date from 1762 onwards, and some elements may date as early as the 1720s. During the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945, troops were quartered in the outbuildings.