Downhill Palace, Mussenden Road, Downhill, Castlerock, Co. Londonderry, BT51 4RP

Downhill Palace (also known locally as Downhill Castle) is a detached, symmetrical, multi-bay, two-storey former Bishop's Palace set over a raised basement, with a pair of rear wings. It was built between 1775 and 1785 for Frederick Augustus Hervey, the Earl Bishop of Derry, to designs overseen by Michael Shanahan of Cork, though several other architects were consulted during its construction. The building was gutted by fire in approximately 1851 and subsequently rebuilt around 1876 to designs by John Lanyon. It now stands as a consolidated ruin in the care of the National Trust, forming part of the Downhill Demesne public park on an elevated site to the east of Mussenden Road, overlooking Castlerock and Downhill beach on the north Londonderry coast.

The palace is U-shaped on plan, facing south, with an enclosed upper yard to the rear and a further pair of bow-ended yards to the north. Following its sale in 1918, the building was partially dismantled, and between approximately 1920 and 1980 the roof and substantial portions of the east and west rear wings were lost. The National Trust stabilised the ruins around 1960 and conservation work has continued since. Despite the loss of so much historic fabric, the principal south front elevation survives largely intact, and the ruins remain a landmark of considerable architectural ambition and quality.

The symmetrical south front elevation is nine windows wide, with a pair of full-height three-sided canted bays at either end and a central doorcase reached via a double perron. The basement is faced in rusticated sandstone ashlar, while the ground and first floors are finished in coursed smooth sandstone ashlar. Each window is flanked by fluted Giant Corinthian pilasters rising from a continuous ground-floor sill course and supporting a fluted cornice with a wave-moulded frieze. The window openings are square-headed, formed in voussoired sandstone with cut sandstone sills; the windows themselves have been removed. The basement windows have segmental-headed openings, now rendered over. The central entrance bay is also flanked by Corinthian pilasters and has an architrave surround on plinth blocks, a fluted frieze, and a cornice supported on scrolled console brackets with bell-flower pendants. The door has been removed, and the entrance opens onto a paved platform with two flights of swept steps and replacement iron railings. The perron is constructed in vermiculated sandstone blocks, only partially surviving, with cement render applied to the remainder.

The west side elevation to the principal block is nine windows wide and was formerly extended northwards by a further five windows, with two full-height bows projecting as a rear wing, now largely dismantled. This elevation is detailed in the same manner as the south front, except that the first-floor windows to the bow have segmental-headed openings. The northernmost bow retains a round-headed door opening flanked by Ionic columns and responding pilasters, now rendered over. The west elevation to the upper yard projects beyond the west wing by a single bay, presenting a shallow arcaded elevation in rubblestone with segmental-headed window openings. The northwest bow-ended yard is enclosed by a tall rubblestone wall with a crenellated parapet featuring a single round-headed blind carriage arch opening, now infilled. A short crenellated rubblestone screen wall projects westwards, terminating in a tall square pier.

The north elevation to the lower yards comprises two crenellated bowed walls with a central round-headed carriage arch opening formed in rock-faced basalt ashlar, with a crenellated parapet wall and wrought-iron gates. The east elevation mirrors the west, except that the upper yard section has a multi-bay two-storey rubblestone wall with segmental-headed window openings formed in voussoired stone with stone sills, largely rendered over at ground-floor level.

The inner elevations of the principal south block are cement rendered, set within lawns and gravel footpaths. The former rear elevation has largely disappeared, with the exception of a two-storey central bow — formerly containing the staircase — which retains its coursed smooth sandstone ashlar walls surmounted by a wave-moulded frieze and voussoired window heads. The west wing has a bowed end to the upper yard with a central square-headed door opening detailed in the same manner as the principal front entrance. The east wing has partially intact sandstone ashlar walling with a Venetian window opening, now rendered over, and a bowed end facing the upper yard.

The north carriage arch opens into a central passageway enclosed by crenellated rubblestone walls to the northeast and northwest yards, each with a single round-headed carriage arch opening built in voussoired squared basalt with impost blocks and replacement iron gates. The passageway is deliberately aligned to frame views of Mussenden Temple from the rear of the house. At the south end of the passageway is a pair of round-headed arches with oculi above each, opening into the upper yard. The south elevation to the upper yard is cement rendered, with a central pedimented breakfront housing the carriage arch, built in block-and-start vermiculated sandstone with a stepped vermiculated keystone. The lateral walls are arcaded and joined by sandstone impost stones, with lunette openings to both ground and first floors.

The building has no surviving roof or rainwater goods. Walling is of coursed smooth sandstone ashlar. No windows remain.

Origins and construction history

Downhill was built by the flamboyant and eccentric Bishop of Derry, Frederick Hervey, with work beginning around 1772 and continuing on the rear courtyards into the early 1790s. The house is thought to have been built largely to the Bishop's own specifications, though several architects were consulted during construction. The supervising architect on site was Michael Shanahan of Cork, and decorative carving was carried out by James McBlain. The building was occasionally referred to by the Bishop as the 'Castle' but never as the 'Palace'; it is known locally as Downhill Castle, though 19th-century valuation records and newspaper reports, both before and after the fire of 1851, refer to it as Downhill House.

The site Frederick Hervey chose was considered extremely exposed by some contemporaries, but the asthmatic Hervey had a horror of damp houses and actively avoided his birthplace at Ickworth for that reason. He spoke of Downhill's "exhilarating and invigorating air, or rather ether", and the house remained his principal residence during his returns from travels on the continent. It has been suggested that Hervey may have been aware of contemporary ideas of the sublime and picturesque in selecting the site, and the design shows evidence of a conscious approach to massing and the handling of light and shade to integrate the building with the headland.

Hervey built Downhill following his appointment to the bishopric of Derry in 1768. Through careful management of See lands he was able to maximise his income, and this, combined with a legacy of £10,000 from his elder brother and his accession to the Earldom of Bristol in 1779, made him an exceptionally wealthy man who delighted in travel and the expansion of his substantial art collection. Of his three major building projects — Downhill, Ballyscullion, and Ickworth — Downhill was the earliest and the only one fully completed in his lifetime. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs suggest building began in 1772, and by the time of Arthur Young's tour of Ireland in 1776, the house was well underway. Young described "a large and convenient edifice, the shell not finished; it stands on a bold shore, but in a country where a tree is a rarity." The first part of the house to be built, around 1775, was the south front, with rear wings added by approximately 1783.

According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, the house was designed by James Wyatt of London and built under the supervision of Michael Shanahan, who acted as architect and agent to the Bishop. Wyatt's name appears in correspondence, and certain details — such as the pilasters — echo his work elsewhere. It is thought that the opening of Wyatt's Pantheon in London may have brought him to the Earl Bishop's attention. However, it has been suggested that Shanahan may have been working from a Wyatt or Wyattesque pattern book rather than from original designs. In 1778, the Bishop invited the young John Soane to make a drawing for a summer dining room at Downhill. Soane travelled to Downhill in 1780 but his designs were never realised, and after some weeks he returned to London. The young Edinburgh architect John Henderson, whom the Bishop had also met in Rome, was likewise invited to provide a design, also unrealised.

Michael Shanahan, who appears to have largely overseen the design and execution of work at Downhill, was from Cork, where the Bishop had presumably encountered him during a brief incumbency as Bishop of Cloyne in 1767. Shanahan travelled with the Bishop on the continent, where he furthered his architectural education, though he is thought to have been an "executant rather than an initiator" of the Earl Bishop's architectural ideas. The Earl Bishop was a major client of Shanahan's marble and stonecutting business in Cork, which supplied chimneypieces for Downhill, stone "ounces" for the Lion Gate, a coat of arms for Mussenden Temple, and flagstones and a staircase for Ballyscullion. Shanahan also worked on St Patrick's Bridge and the County Gaol in Cork during the 1780s and 1790s, building up a considerable fortune, though his professional integrity was later called into question by the Inspector General of Prisons of Ireland, who described him as a fraudster.

The Earl Bishop and his family lived in the official palace in Bishop Street until they were able to move into Downhill in 1779. Work continued for some years thereafter. Between 1783 and 1785 the Milanese architect Placido Columbani was supervising plumbing and the installation of water closets, and may also have advised on mouldings and panelling. The first patented flush toilet dated from 1775 and was still a considerable innovation at the time of installation at Downhill. In 1783, Richard Louch, architect and builder of Armagh, was at work in the gallery fitting a ceiling painting. He was asked to draw up plans for the gallery but his contributions were not appreciated by Michael Shanahan, and it is unclear whether any of his designs were executed.

The gallery was constructed in the westernmost of the two rear wings and extended through two storeys, intended to house the Earl Bishop's growing collection of paintings and statuary. However, the large number of windows afforded little wall space. An early 19th-century list of pictures enumerates works attributed to Raphael, Titian, and Rembrandt. The library, to the north of the gallery, also contained paintings including works attributed to Poussin, Titian, and Guido Reni. A doorcase originally led from the library through the west front but appears to have been removed during rebuilding in the 1870s. The reception rooms were arranged along the south front of the house, while the easternmost wing contained what was known as the curates' corridor, accommodation described as "barracks for children", smaller rooms, and family and servants' bedrooms.

The house, which had originally been built of local basalt, was faced with freestone from Ballycastle and Dungiven in 1785 by James McBlain, architect and mason, who had also worked for the Earl of Hillsborough. The two curved walls towards the rear of the building are thought to have been constructed around 1785, though the castellation and buttresses may have been executed after the Bishop's death in 1803. However, the date of the walls is uncertain: the Bishop was known to be highly apprehensive of a French invasion of Ireland from 1778, which supports the alternative view that the castellated walls and buttresses were built by him with the deliberate intention of creating the impression of a well-defended stronghold visible from the sea. A courtyard gateway was begun by the McBlains in 1778 but had to be taken down, and a new arch was started in 1783. It is unclear whether Shanahan's design for the archway — which frames the view of Mussenden Temple from the courtyard — was the one ultimately realised.

Frederick Augustus Hervey, fourth Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry (1730–1803)

Frederick Augustus Hervey was born at Ickworth in Suffolk, married his love match Elizabeth Davers in 1752 — from whom he later separated — and took holy orders after abandoning a career in law, being ordained priest in 1755. He obtained a royal chaplaincy in 1763 but found it poorly paid. His financial difficulties eased when his eldest brother, the second Earl of Bristol, briefly became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1766 and was able to obtain for Frederick the bishopric of Cloyne, and shortly afterwards the bishopric of Derry — the most lucrative in the country — on the death of its previous incumbent.

As Bishop of Derry, Hervey took a sympathetic attitude towards Roman Catholics and expended considerable energy, including meeting with the Pope, in attempting to formulate an oath of allegiance acceptable to both Catholics and Protestants that might enable some relief from the terms of the penal laws. His attempts ultimately failed and he largely turned his back on Irish politics for a period during the 1770s. He travelled widely in Europe, adding to his art collection and indulging his passion for architecture. He collected Roman antiquities and early Italian Renaissance paintings, and also commissioned works from prominent painters of the day, especially portraits of himself and his family. He had a reputation for eccentricity, dressing extravagantly to the point of ridicule, and his unorthodox religious beliefs allowed him to cultivate a friendship with the sceptic Voltaire.

Hervey inherited the earldom of Bristol in 1779 which, combined with his ecclesiastical title, made him an Earl Bishop — a combination of titles that had not been known since the time of William the Conqueror. In Londonderry he became involved with the Volunteer movement and as colonel of the Londonderry corps made a triumphal procession to Dublin in November 1783. However, his desire for parliamentary reform, including the enfranchisement of Catholics, was subordinated to sectional concerns and Hervey was sidelined. He left for Europe again in 1785 and his return trips to Ireland became increasingly rare. The many hotels on the continent bearing the name "Bristol" are said to have been capitalising on a supposed endorsement by the well-known traveller and collector.

The Bruce family and later history

Following the Earl Bishop's death in 1803, the Downhill estate passed to his cousin Henry Hervey Bruce, brother of Frideswide Mussenden, to whom Mussenden Temple is dedicated. The Earl Bishop had settled an income of £400 on Henry as a young man, enabling him to marry his love match Letitia Barnard. The two men became close friends, with the Earl Bishop appointing Henry steward to the estates at Downhill, effectively leaving Bruce in charge during his long absences on the continent. Henry Hervey Bruce was also rector of Tamlaghfinlagan parish at the time, but in 1791 the Earl Bishop informed Bruce that he would inherit Downhill, having separated from his wife and fallen out with his son. After the Earl Bishop's death, Bruce preferred to live at Downhill rather than at Ballyscullion, which was partly dismantled in 1813 to avoid window tax. Bruce was created first Baronet Downhill in 1804, and while at Downhill continued his incumbency at Tamlaghfinlagan, driving to church every Sunday in considerable style in a coach with four postillions.

Downhill is shown, captioned, on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1831, occupying much the same plan as the derelict building today. It was valued at £150 in the Townland Valuation of 1828–40, at which time it was the property of Sir James Bruce, the second Baronet Downhill. Sir James Robertson Bruce had succeeded to the title in 1822 and continued the scheme of tree-planting initiated by the Earl Bishop, planting 50,000 trees. He also built a school for tenants and subscribed money to the medical dispensary in Coleraine.

In 1836 the house, estates and title passed to Sir Henry Hervey Bruce, the third baronet, a former officer in the Life Guards, a staunch Conservative, and the longest resident in Downhill's history, occupying the house for over 70 years. He stood for parliament on several occasions and served as MP for Coleraine from 1862 to 1874 and again from 1880 to 1885. His contempt for opposing parties was such that he was given to climbing on the benches during parliamentary sessions and crowing like a cockerel if a Liberal MP attempted to speak. He also served as a magistrate, as Lord Lieutenant of the County, and as chairman of Londonderry's first County Council.

During the third baronet's time, Downhill Castle was severely damaged by a fire that broke out on 16 May 1851. The fire originated on an upper storey of the "round room" at the end of the westernmost wing — the same wing that housed the library and picture gallery. The blaze was devastating partly because of the impossibility of obtaining sufficient water to extinguish the flames, and partly because of a misguided attempt to protect the contents from plunderers. A chimney sweep, Anthony Gallagher, fell through one of the floors, was badly burned, and later died of his injuries. The valuable library assembled by the Earl Bishop was completely destroyed, together with some of the statuary, though the majority of the paintings survived. The servants' apartments were untouched, but nothing remained of the castle itself but blackened walls. Sir Henry Hervey Bruce sought a grand jury presentment for £12,000 to redress his losses, on the basis that the fire had been started maliciously. However, the justices found no evidence of deliberate arson, despite threatening notices that had been sent to Sir Henry by land agitators in the months and years preceding the blaze. The fire has been observed to have changed the building at a stroke from a "splendidly appointed Episcopal palace to late Victorian country house and shooting lodge." Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64 lists the house, gate lodges and offices of Sir Henry Hervey Bruce at a valuation of just £30, the valuer noting that a portion of the building had been temporarily fitted up for use as a residence but was "not at all fit for the residence of a gentleman in his position."

In 1871 Sir Henry Hervey Bruce purchased the Clothworkers' property in the area and became the largest local landlord, with Castlerock now forming part of his estates. He took a keen interest in the quality of building in Castlerock and built Downhill National School and the Twelve Apostles as estate workers' housing.

In the early 1870s, Sir Henry undertook restoration work at the house under the supervision of John Lanyon, announced as complete in the Irish Builder of January 1876. The principal change introduced by Lanyon was the fitting of a new doorway on the western façade, which then became the main entrance, leading into vaulted chambers beneath the former gallery, now converted into glass-roofed winter gardens. A glass panel was inserted between the boudoir and the winter garden that could be shuttered at will. The former library in the west wing became the billiard room, and the former morning room at the centre of the south front became the library. All the south-front rooms were enlarged by the removal of a corridor to the rear. Bedroom accommodation for visitors was provided on the upper floor of the south front and was described as offering "all the latest improvements in bath-rooms &c." A luggage lift rose from the basement to the service stairs, and bachelors' apartments were served by a private staircase. Care was taken to restore the old chimneypieces and marble and oak columns as far as possible, and to restore the external stonework and internal plasterwork, though the two domes which had surmounted the end of each wing were removed. The contractor was James Henry of Belfast. Around this time the building was also fitted for gas lighting, the gas being stored in a gasometer in the west yard, which remains in situ.

At the time of the 1901 census, Sir Henry Hervey Bruce was 80 years old and was present in the house together with a resident staff of nine: an English butler and footman, a coachman, a cook, a laundry maid, a kitchen maid, a scullery maid, and two housemaids. Fifty-three outbuildings are listed, including seven stables and five cow houses. Annual revisions valued the restored house at £200 from 1876 and the valuation remained unaltered until 1930.

Sir Hervey Jukes Lloyd Bruce, fourth Baronet Downhill, inherited the property and title in 1907 but was not present at the time of the 1911 census, the house being looked after by two female domestics. The fourth Baronet was educated at Eton and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Coldstream Guards. His eccentric style of dress — on one occasion leading him to be mistaken for a tramp — has been noted by commentators, as has his fondness for extravagant buttonholes "the nearer in size to a prima donna's last night bouquet the better." He had a great love of animals and kept monkeys, parrots, a tame blackbird, and a grouse. His wife, Ellen Maud Ricardo, was awarded the OBE for her work during the Second World War; she was interested in painting and photography and had a darkroom installed in the house. Sir Hervey died in Tangiers in 1919 while visiting a diplomat son, and the title passed to Sir Hervey Ronald Bruce, the fifth Baronet. Ronald served in the Irish Guards and the 14th Irish Rifles, reaching the rank of major. Around the time of partition he took his family away from Downhill because of the political uncertainties of the time, and met an accidental death during a thunderstorm at Eastbourne in 1924.

The title and lands then passed to Sir Hervey John Bruce, sixth Baronet, who was only five years old when his father died. The Bruce family does not appear to have returned to Downhill after the 1920s, and although the title of Baronet Downhill is still extant and has since passed to an eighth Baronet, the family no longer appears to have a local connection.

The First General Revaluation of 1933–34 records accommodation at the house as fifteen bedrooms, three bathrooms, twelve servants' bedrooms, dining room, drawing room, library, boudoir, billiard room, gallery, study, smoke room, crypt hall entrance, servants' hall, pantries, kitchens, and laundry. The house had electric light from its own plant and central heating. Water was supplied from water tanks on the roof and there was stabling for approximately sixteen horses. By the 1930s the house was empty and had been stripped of furniture.

Between 1941 and 1945 the house was requisitioned and occupied by the Royal Air Force at a rent of £325 per annum. After the war, in 1946, the house and a portion of the Bruce estate was sold to Frederick W. Smyth, who applied to the Central Planning Authority and the Local Authority for permission to demolish the building in order to avoid a large rates bill. Consent was refused because "the castle is of general local interest," and the valuation office was asked to reduce the valuation on the grounds that the house was unlettable. Before the reduction could be implemented, a tenant was found — Mrs F. M. Belgrave, the last person to live in the house, in 1948. Her tenancy was short-lived, and by October 1949 the entire property had been gutted and the windows and roof removed, at which point the building was dropped from valuation lists.

The building was listed in 1977 and acquired by the National Trust in 1980. During the 1980s, loose stones on the site were removed, freestanding walls in poor condition were taken down, and a wartime blockhouse in the centre of the courtyard was demolished. A stonemason was employed to secure the structure and make it safe. Repairs to the stonework continued throughout the 1990s and are ongoing. More recent work has included a project to virtually reconstruct the exterior and interior of the house. Four seasons of archaeological excavations in the yards to the rear of the house have investigated the gas works complex and revealed information about the working domestic areas. In 2009, a stone head dating from the late 2nd century AD was found, thought to represent the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Fragments of pottery approximately 4,000 years old have also been discovered, presumably both remnants of the Earl Bishop's extensive collections.

Setting and group value

The palace stands on an elevated site to the south of the north Derry coastline, to the east of Mussenden Road, set within expansive meadows that now form part of the Downhill Demesne public park. There is a rubblestone ha-ha to the front of the south elevation. The building has an unspoiled setting overlooking Castlerock and Downhill beach, and has group value with the other listed structures at this location: Mussenden Temple to the north; the Mausoleum to the south; the orchard, dovecote, and ice-house to the west; the walled garden and dovecote; the Bishop's Gate; and the principal entrance, Lion Gate, to the southwest.