Strathmore, 5 Horner's Lane, Rostrevor, Co Down, BT34 3EJ

Strathmore, 5 Horner's Lane, Rostrevor

Strathmore is a relatively large, sprawling but generally plain house of two to three storeys, set within leafy surroundings to the east of Horner's Lane, in the southern suburbs of Rostrevor, roughly 230 metres south of the village centre. The building assumed its present form in 1874 when an existing dwelling of probable mid-18th century construction was enlarged and remodelled, probably to designs by architect William James Watson of Newry. The immediate neighbours are three closely grouped houses (nos. 7, 7A and 9) to the north fronting Horner's Lane, with another house (no. 3) further to the west and northwest. To the south, east and west lies an extensive wooded area, bounded relatively closely to the east by the Rostrevor/Kilbroney River.

The building has a complex asymmetric planform reflecting its two construction periods. The main original two-storey gabled block is set roughly on an east-west axis (actually northwest-southeast), with the main entrance set within a projecting porch facing south. At the west end of the rear is a full-height double-pile return, with the western pile having a hipped roof. At the east end is a large north-south wing which is two-storey with a gable front to the south, but taller to the north, partly due to ground level rise; this section also appears to contain an attic storey. Branching off to the east of this taller section is a large gabled projection of the same height.

The walls are completely finished in painted roughcast with smooth render quoins. The roof is covered in natural slate with tall rendered chimneystacks and plain bargeboards. The east projection has exposed rafter ends. On the south side of the taller northern section is a small multi-sided dormer with a hipped roof. Rainwater goods are cast iron.

The observed window openings are all flat-headed with bevelled reveals, painted stone cills, and plain 1/1 timber sash frames. Many openings to the front of the original section are noticeably narrower than others. The main entrance consists of a panelled timber door set within a timber porch of High Victorian Gothic style, similar to those seen in other houses designed by William James Watson in Horner's Lane.

The south front elevation shows an asymmetric arrangement with the entrance roughly to centre. To the far left is a full-height canted bay with three windows to each floor and a hipped roof. To the left on the ground floor is a window, then the entrance porch with another window to its right. To the right is a full-height gabled projection at the end of the north-south wing with a window to the ground floor. To the first floor, right of the canted bay, are four windows with another to the gabled bay at right. The west elevation consists of the west side of the rear return and the gable of the original block; a window appears to exist to the first floor of the return. The east elevation is made up of the side of the north-south wing, with a full-height canted bay at far left, and the gable of the projection to its immediate right; there appears to be a doorway or French window to the south-facing side of the gabled projection. The north (rear) elevation could not be observed but would appear to consist of the gable of the north-south wing to far left with the double-pile return to far right.