Groomsport House, Groomsport House Road, Groomsport, Co Down, BT19 6GH

Groomsport House is a two-storey three-bay Tudor Gothic Revival country house with exposed basement and attic, built in 1849. It is located to the east of Groomsport overlooking the sea and now forms the main building in a substantial modern residential development, having been much altered and converted into several apartments.

The main part of the house is rectangular in plan and dominated by a substantial porch, now surmounted by a gabled glazed extension. The former porch entrance is now part of the upper floor. The basement at the west has been excavated to form a basement apartment. A full-height service wing extends to the south. Modern extensions comprise a two-storey extension to the east, a basement extension to the west, and to the south a flat-roofed full-height stairwell and sanitary extensions fronted by a large bifurcated entrance stair into the re-entrant angle with the service wing. Porch entrance extensions to basement apartments have been added to the north.

Roofs are pitched natural slate with angled clay ridge tiles. Gables have fractables on kneelers with roll-moulded copings, generally topped with octagonal pinnacles. Sandstone chimneystacks have tall octagonal flues with moulded caps, grouped in threes and fours to the main body of the house and in twos to the return. Gutters are moulded stone and downpipes are cast iron.

The walling to the main body of the house is ashlar sandstone over a rubble basement, which is partially painted to the east. The return is rubble stone with painted rendered two-storey canted projecting bays. Windows to the principal elevations are tri- and bi-partite ashlar sandstone transomed-and-mullioned timber casements with label moulding. Attic windows to the gables are small round-headed single casements.

The entrance elevation faces west and has a two-storey projecting porch in sandstone over a rubble stone base, flanked by projecting brick-dressed piers rising to octagonal piers topped by pinnacles. A fretted stone balustrade encloses a modern gabled conservatory to the second floor. Windows are Tudor-arched in square recesses with label moulds and carved spandrels. The window to the south face has cusped tracery and is fitted with 1/1 sashes. The entrance at basement level comprises a replacement timber door set in an ashlar sandstone surround with label mould. To either side of the porch, over a projecting basement extension, gabled bays have windows to the principal floors and attic.

The north elevation is symmetrical, three openings wide to the principal floors over a basement with porch extensions. The central bay has a blind multi-foil headed statuary niche. Side bays have canted bay windows with castellated parapets and quatrefoil panelled frieze to the upper ground floor, abutted to the basement by modern gabled porches.

The east elevation is abutted at the right end by a modern two-storey block and is extended at the left by the lower service wing, which is set back slightly. Fenestration is irregular, comprising all bi-partite and single casements except for a large castellated canted oriel on a corbelled sandstone base, detailed as canted bays. The service wing is described below.

The south elevation is abutted by various extensions at the left, all having roofs concealed behind plain parapets, and the service wing at the right. It contains entrances to upper and basement apartments, formed by an upper-level timber porch set obliquely into the angle of the stairwell extension and service wing, and accessed by a sweeping bifurcated concrete staircase arranged over the projecting entrance porch to basement apartments. The letter 'G' is affixed to mild steel parapet railings.

The service wing is rubble stone with sandstone quoins to the south and painted ruled-and-lined rendered to the north. It has bi-partite Tudor-arched mullioned windows in square-headed sandstone surrounds. The south elevation is abutted by two castellated canted bays to first floor level.

The house is surrounded by a tarmac parking area on all but the north side, which is accessed by a narrow entry bounded to the north by a high boundary wall. The extensive site, including original outbuildings now of no interest, has been developed with several three-storey apartment blocks, all accessed by a tarmac drive from Donaghadee Road. The entrance retains a gate lodge and part of the gate screen. There are lawns and a tennis court to the west front, with views to the sea.