1 - 14 Somerset Mews, Castlerow Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT51 3RL

Somerset Mews comprises a substantial two-storey courtyard of stone outbuildings originally associated with Somerset House, a large eighteenth-century country house that was demolished around 1990. The listed buildings were altered circa 1991 to form fourteen dwellings and remain a significant example of nineteenth-century outbuildings despite the loss of the main house.

The complex formerly served as a stable yard and offices north of Somerset House. Entered from the north, Somerset Mews contains eleven individual dwellings arranged in a two-storey C-shaped range occupying the eastern half of a large square enclosure. The western side of the square is bounded by a high stone boundary wall. A further three dwellings are accessed through an archway to the south, where the range extends to complete the courtyard.

The buildings are constructed of random rubble basalt brought to courses with double pitched natural slate roofs and new red brick chimney stacks positioned on the ridge lines. Roof lights, where present, are regularly spaced. New window openings have been created and contain top hung painted timber windows with concrete brick jambs and lintel courses. Some lintel courses are blue concrete brick, while remnants of original segmental stone heads survive in certain locations. Doors to each house are generally vertically boarded and painted, with some featuring full height side lights. Original circular windows with diamond panes, in part, are evident on north-facing gables. The original yard has been landscaped with grass and mature trees.

The site is located south-west of Coleraine, accessed via Castlerow Road, and occupies an elevated and prominent position overlooking the River Bann to the east. It is now surrounded by modern houses.

Somerset House, known as the 'Summer Seat', was originally built around 1732 on the site of a previous castle. The earlier structure, known as the 'Red Castle' due to its red brick construction, was the residence of the Gorge family until 1729, when the estate was purchased by the Richardson family. The original house reportedly burnt down prior to 1802, after which a dwelling was created from the outbuildings. The building was enlarged and extensively improved in 1822. By 1835, the house was described in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs as large and spacious with a steeply pitched roof and the appearance of age. It was the residence of Reverend Thomas Richardson, a local rector and magistrate. The main house was L-shaped with two storeys, rendered walls and a slated roof with plain sashed windows on the facade. A porch containing the entrance projected on the facade, and a two-storey bay projecting in segmental form appeared on the south wall.

First shown captioned 'Somerset' on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1830, the house was rectangular on plan with a central projection to the front, a substantial L-plan return to the rear and a complex of outbuildings to the north, all sited within a large wooded demesne. The Townland Valuations of the 1830s valued the building and associated estate at £46. Minor alterations to the footprint are shown on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1849–50, including removal of northern and eastern projections. The value increased to £50 in Griffith's Valuation of 1856 and to £65 by 1860 due to implemented improvements. Major John Torrens took over occupancy in 1878. In 1918, the buildings were purchased from Thomas Richardson by James Stewart and valued at £43 5s. According to the 1911 Census Records, the main house comprised thirty rooms with forty associated ancillary buildings.

The main house fell into poor condition in the late twentieth century and was demolished during the 1990s, along with two outbuildings damaged by fire around the same time. A modern housing complex now occupies the site of the former house. The two-storey rubblestone stable buildings and sections of the perimeter garden wall remain. The outbuildings have been extensively remodelled and renovated to provide modern living accommodation.