Narrow Water Castle, Newry Road, Warrenpoint, Newry, Co Down, BT34 3LE

Narrow Water Castle is an imposing two-and-a-half-storey Tudor Revival country house with a basement, designed by Thomas Duff of Newry and completed in 1837. It stands within an informally landscaped demesne outside Warrenpoint and retains all of its original external character, with its splendid internal detailing surviving intact. Together with the former servants' accommodation (the earlier Mount Hall building), the Gardener's House and walled garden, the stable yard, icehouse, Steward's House, old farmyard, and gate screen, it forms an important and substantial group of historic buildings. The house is currently in use as a hotel and conference centre.

PLAN AND ROOFLINE

The house is roughly L-shaped in plan, with the base of the L facing east. The roofline is a dramatic composition of multiple gables, towers, finials, chimneys, and pinnacles creating a picturesque skyline. All roof pitches are covered in natural slate, including over the attic windows. The chimneys are tall Tudor-style ashlar granite stacks grouped in twos, threes, and fours on common plinths. Parapet gutters drain into cast-iron downpipes with plain hoppers.

PRINCIPAL ELEVATIONS — EAST AND SOUTH

The principal elevations face east and south and are constructed in ashlar granite. The basement is slightly advanced beneath a chamfered base course. There is a moulded cornice at eaves level and a prominent saddle-coped parapet. All sash windows have horizontal glazing bars. Basement windows are pairs of 4-over-2 sliding sashes with a masonry mullion between them and two vertical bars over each. Ground and first floor windows are of the transom-and-mullion variety, some with masonry frames and some timber-framed, all containing sliding sashes, with the top sash in each case being the smaller transom light. Ground floor windows are a mixture of 2-over-3 and 1-over-3 sashes; first floor windows are all 1-over-3 sashes and slightly reduced in height. The small attic windows match those at basement level but contain 4-over-4 sashes.

EAST ELEVATION

The east elevation is three bays wide, with the central bay wider than the flanking two. The left and right bays project slightly forward, and their outer corners have clasping octagonal buttresses. The right bay is the grandest and most ornately detailed of the three. It is three storeys high and contains the main entrance. There is no basement at the front, and the ground floor level drops to accommodate this.

The front wall of this right bay is framed by massive clasping octagonal buttresses, of which five full faces and two half faces are exposed. Each buttress has a moulded chamfered base course in line with the basement base course. At first floor level, two moulded string courses form the top and bottom of a decorative frieze, and each full face of the buttress within this frieze carries an applied plain granite shield. The string courses continue across the face of this bay. Above the frieze, each buttress face is plain until halfway up the third floor, from which point each full face has a cusped Tudor lancet panel rising to the base of the parapet. The buttresses then continue as pinnacles enclosing the roof parapet: each face of the pinnacle, including the internal faces, has a similar but taller cusped lancet panel terminated by a string course, above which is a Gothic quatrefoil panel with incised spandrels. Each pinnacle is crowned by a ribbed ogee cap with a large foliated finial.

At ground floor, four ashlar granite steps lead up to a shallow recessed porch containing the main entrance. At either side of the bottom step stands a chamfered square-section granite bollard with a moulded diminished head. The porch entrance fills the space between the clasping buttresses. It is a deeply chamfered Gothic-headed opening with a hood mould on decorative stops. The porch has a granite-flagged threshold; its walls are rendered and painted with an advanced shallow base course. Its narrow ceiling arches with the head of the Gothic opening and at the junction with the front and rear walls is a ribbed moulding following the line of the arch, terminating in foliated stops.

The wall ahead within the porch contains the main entrance: a pair of timber doors, each with four cusped panels — the upper two taller than the lower two — and four smaller, narrower cusped panels to the door head. Each door has decorative brass Tudor-style door pulls. Immediately to the left and right of the door heads are square cusped stucco panels each containing a moulded heraldic shield: that to the left bears the shield of Roger Hall and that to the right bears the shield of his wife, Barbara Savage. Each has a moulded hood on mask stops. These hoods continue across the door head and around a large transom light above the doors. This transom light is Gothic-headed, as wide as the doorway and its flanking heraldic shields combined, with a chamfered opening and a splayed sill. It contains five cusped lancet lights with timber mullions, all diminishing in height from the central one outward, with etched glazing and coloured margins set in stiff metal cames. A bronze bell pull is fixed to the wall to the left of the door.

In the spandrels of the porch opening on the front wall are ashlar shields emblazoned with the head of a muzzled bear erased — the Hall family charge. Immediately above the porch opening at first floor level is a canted oriel window, two windows wide to the front with a single window on each cheek. Its base corbels outward in three moulded stages and rests on a stout chamfered shaft rising from the head of the porch archway. The moulded string courses of the clasping buttresses cross at this point, framing the top and bottom of the window apron panels; the lower string course also serves as the window sill. The front apron panel displays the Hall family coat of arms, carved in sandstone and surrounded by foliated arabesques. The apron panels on the canted cheeks each have a square panel with a recessed diamond inset and etched spandrels, with an applied plain shield. The 2-over-2 oriel windows have Tudor heads and masonry transoms and mullions. Above the window heads is a thin astragal over which a cornice carries an open fretted lozenge parapet. Behind this parapet the roof forms a balcony serving the second floor. At second floor level, a former window opening — whose head reveals it once had a masonry mullion — has been enlarged into a doorway, within which a pair of later 20th-century glazed timber French windows is recessed. The roof of this bay above has an ornate fretted embattled parapet with open cusped lancets to each panel. The exposed left cheek of the projecting right bay is blank and rises higher than the central bay, with a fretted parapet matching the front wall, terminated by the common base of four chimney stacks. The roof of this three-storey block appears to be flat.

The central bay has three window openings to each floor. The central basement opening is set in the base of a canted bay window rising to first floor level. This bay window has three windows to the front and one to each cheek, all with masonry transoms and mullions. Ground floor windows are 2-over-3 sliding sashes. Between ground and first floor are apron panels framed by string courses, each containing a plain ashlar shield. First floor windows are 1-over-3 sashes. The canted bay window roof has a fretted lozenge parapet matching that of the right bay oriel. Above the bay window, at the attic level of the main block, is a small gabled wall-head dormer whose gable is coped to match the parapet from which it rises. It has a typical attic window with masonry mullion, and above is a heavy cylindrical masonry finial with an ogee cap resting on a panelled plinth that ties into the gable apex. At parapet level, similar but slightly larger finials on octagonal plinths rise from above the left and right cheeks of the bay window. The remaining windows on this elevation have timber transoms and mullions and masonry hood moulds. The ground floor left window is four 2-over-3 sashes wide; the ground floor right has a pair of 2-over-3 windows. First floor left and right each have pairs of 1-over-3 windows.

The left bay projects slightly forward and is flanked by octagonal clasping buttresses that are smaller and more plainly detailed than those to the right bay. Each has a chamfered base and a plainly panelled frieze between ground and first floor levels framed top and bottom by string courses. The buttresses continue to the base of the parapet, where they become panelled pedestals rising above the parapet and supporting cylindrical ogee-capped pinnacles with foliated finials. The left bay has a bay window at ground and first floor levels — detailed as the canted bay window of the central bay but four windows wide to the front — and an attic dormer above matching that of the central bay.

SOUTH ELEVATION

The south elevation faces the formal gardens and is four bays wide. The second bay from the right is double the width of the end bays; the second bay from the left is narrower than the end bays. The right bay is detailed as the left bay of the east elevation. The second bay from the right is detailed as the central bay of the east elevation, except that its ground floor left and right windows are both pairs of 1-over-3 sashes, and the bay window is four windows wide with 1-over-3 sashes to each floor. The second bay from the left has a single opening on each floor: a typical basement window, and at ground and first floor each contains three 1-over-3 windows with timber transoms and mullions and hood moulds over. The left bay projects slightly and is detailed as the right bay, with clasping buttresses at its front corners, the leftmost of which sits on the south-west corner of the building.

WEST ELEVATION

The west elevation is mostly finished in lined render with ashlar granite to the sill level of the ground floor windows on the right. The eaves string course and parapet continue from the south elevation. The narrow left bay projects forward, this projecting portion meeting a raised true ground level that allows external access from its ground floor rooms. The right bay has two windows on each floor: 2-over-3 sashes at ground floor and 1-over-3 sashes at first floor, all with timber transoms and mullions. Between these windows at parapet level is a wall-head chimney on a slightly advanced corbelled plinth with a plain ashlar shield, carrying a pair of chimney stacks. The exposed right cheek of the advancing left bay has two basement windows and single windows to each upper floor matching those of the right bay. Its front south-west end has a chamfered corner. The narrow end wall of the advanced left bay is abutted to the left by an octagonal four-storey tower.

The remaining wall to the right has a ground floor and first floor window matching those on the exposed right cheek. The ground floor window is a French window providing access to the garden.

The octagonal tower has six exposed cheeks, with the remaining two tied into the main block. It is finished in lined render with a moulded string course between ground and first floor levels and a similar string course between the second and third floors. The third floor is slightly taller than the others and has a machicolated ashlar parapet with stepped battlements. At ground floor level on its north face is a semicircular-headed door with decorative Tudor nail heads. Each remaining cheek on each floor has a chamfered arrow-loop containing a very narrow 3-over-3 sash window. From second floor level the tower rises above the rest of the elevation, and its two formerly abutted faces stand free.

The east-facing free face of the tower is abutted by a cylindrical stair-tower rising from a square base, which is exposed to the north cheek and has arrow-loop windows from ground floor level. There is a small nail-studded door at basement level on the north cheek. The walls are in lined render and the cylindrical section has narrow unglazed arrow-loops. The stair-tower rises beyond the parapet of the octagonal tower, with a doorway on its west cheek onto the octagonal tower roof, and terminates with an embattled ashlar granite parapet concealing a masonry roof into which the spiral staircase rises.

NORTH ELEVATION

The north elevation faces the domestic yard and is finished in lined render, with parapets and string courses matching the other elevations. Its right bay is abutted by the former servants' block. The central bay has a projecting stairwell gable and an abutting square tower. The left bay advances forward, partially enclosing the domestic yard on the east side.

The right bay on the north elevation is abutted to the right by the servants' block. Above the roof are small two-paned windows to left and right. On the parapet above is a rendered plinth with applied decorative shields, supporting four Tudor chimney stacks. The section of the right bay exposed to the left of the servants' accommodation is abutted by a three-storey square tower. The remaining wall to the left of the tower has a pair of boarded-up basement windows and a single basement window to the right of the tower. At ground floor there is a pair of 2-over-3 sashes to the left and a pair of 1-over-3 sashes above at first floor, all with stucco hoods and timber transoms and mullions. To the right of the tower at ground and first floor are single narrow arrow-loops each containing a 2-over-2 sliding sash.

The square tower is in lined render and has a door on its left cheek at basement level. It has an arrow-loop — each containing a narrow 2-over-2 sash window — to each cheek at ground and first floor. It carries the eaves string course. Above this level, now exposed on all three sides, it has a single boarded-up round-headed arrow-loop window on each of its north, west, and east faces (the south face was not inspected). It has a corbelled eaves course and an ogee leaded roof with a ball finial. The basement area at this point is enclosed by Coade stone walling matching that to the front garden, with a wrought-iron gate and stone steps down.

The central bay of the north elevation has a large abutting gabled return containing the stairwell, set slightly left of centre. It has a chamfered base course but no basement to its end gable. It has clasping buttresses with plain friezes between ground and first floors and cylindrical ogee-capped pinnacles. Its gable is saddle-coped and embattled where it meets the buttresses, topped by an apex cylindrical pinnacle on a corbel. At the centre of the main gable is a large ashlar granite oriel window serving the half-landing of the main staircase. This oriel has a moulded corbelled base and is three windows wide with single windows to each canted cheek. Each window has two narrow fixed Tudor lancets (1-over-1) with masonry transoms and mullions, and the glazing is stained glass (see interior description below). The oriel has an embattled parapet, and in the gable above it is a pair of small 4-over-4 sash windows with a masonry mullion. The left and right cheeks of the advanced stairwell gable each have two basement windows and two brick-dressed — subsequently rendered over — wall recesses at ground and first floor levels. The exposed section of the north wall to the left of the stairwell gable is narrow and has a pair of basement windows, a pair of 2-over-3 sashes at ground floor, and a pair of 1-over-3 sashes at first floor, all with stucco hoods and timber transoms and mullions.

The left bay of the north elevation advances forward, partially enclosing the east side of the domestic yard. Its exposed right cheek forms the rear wall of the central and left bays of the east elevation. The bay is two bays wide: the left bay is part of the entrance tower and three storeys high; the right bay is two storeys high. At basement level there is a pair of basement windows to the left and a door to the right. At ground floor there are two windows to each upper floor: at ground floor they are 2-over-3 sashes with timber transoms and mullions, the left sash of each pair having a large heating pipe abutting. Second floor windows are 1-over-3 sashes; the left one has been remodelled into a doorway and is served by a large two-stage metal escape stair. The basement passage here is again enclosed by Coade stone walling with a wrought-iron gate. A large metal fuel tank stands in the basement area.

The left bay of this section advances with clasping stucco buttresses matching those of the main entrance tower on each corner. It has a canted bay window at ground floor containing a pair of basement windows in its base course. The bay window has three 1-over-1 fixed lights to the front and single lights to each cheek; each top pane has a cusped lancet head with pairs of similar transoms, all in painted and leaded glass. Above is an embattled parapet enclosing a flat roof. At first floor there is a pair of 1-over-3 sashes flanked by arrow-loops, all with hood moulds; the left arrow-loop is blank and the right contains a narrow 3-over-3 sash window. At second floor there is a pair of 1-over-1 sashes with a hood mould over. The parapet to the main roof above matches the rest of the tower but is not fretted.

The end (north-facing) wall of this advancing left bay has clasping octagonal buttresses: the left one is the rightmost buttress on the north elevation; the right one is a stucco version devoid of the shield panels between ground and first floor. This wall has a chamfered ashlar granite basement, blank and partly abutted by ground level. The ground floor is blank apart from two Tudor recesses set to the centre. Between ground and first floor, an apron panel is formed by two stucco string courses continuing from the right bay of the east elevation. At first floor there are four 1-over-3 sashes with masonry transoms and mullions under a common stucco hood, with narrow 3-over-3 sliding sashes with common hoods to the left and right. At second floor there are three 4-over-4 sashes with masonry mullions under a common stucco hood, with narrow 2-over-2 sashes with hoods to the left and right. Above is a fretted embattled parapet matching that of the right bay of the east elevation.

ESTATE AND SETTING

Narrow Water is a large informally landscaped demesne on the outskirts of Warrenpoint. Its southern boundary is Newry Road, its western boundary is Narrow Water Forest, its eastern boundary is Mound Road, and its northern boundary is Greenan Road. The southern boundary is enclosed by a random rubble wall with a shelterbelt of mature trees behind. On this southern boundary, directly opposite the old Narrow Water Castle, are the main gates. From here a serpentine main driveway winds westward through hillocks, then turns north-west to reveal — at a distance — the principal south and east facades of the main house raised up on the hillside. The driveway then runs north to the front (east) elevation of the main house. The house has a driveway to its east, a formal garden to its south and west, and a domestic yard to its north. The former Mount Hall building abuts the north elevation and encloses the west side of the yard. The stable yard, square in plan, lies to the north with its south-west boundary enclosing the north side of the domestic yard.

The main driveway continues west and north from the front of the house. The western route leads towards a modern farmyard of no historic interest and back south to the front entrance. The northern route runs alongside the stable yard, with an access lane to its north-east side, continuing north to a large walled garden at whose south-east wall sits the Gardener's House. To the north-east of the east corner of the walled garden, within a copse, is the former icehouse. On the north-west boundary of the walled garden is the old farmyard, accessed from the main driveway, with a lane from its south-west gateway leading to the derelict Steward's House and its ruinous associated outbuildings. The former north lodge on Mound Road also lies within the demesne.

HISTORY

The Hall family is of English extraction. William Hall is believed to have arrived in Ireland in 1640, settling in Red Bog, County Antrim. His son Francis Hall is said to have purchased the former Narrow Water Castle estate — which included the town of Warrenpoint — in the 17th century for £1,500, and constructed Mount Hall in 1707 as the main house. The estate passed down the family line through Francis Hall, Roger Hall, Toby Hall, and Savage Hall, and by 1820 was the property of Roger Hall. In the early 1830s Roger Hall employed Thomas Duff of Newry to enlarge Mount Hall and erect gate lodges and screens. The new house — Narrow Water Castle — was completed in 1837, with Mount Hall remodelled as servants' accommodation. The main house and servants' accommodation are shown in their present form on the 1834 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map.

Roger Hall was married to Barbara Savage, whose family crest and initials appear alongside his own throughout the house and on some of its purpose-made furniture, which was constructed by Curren and Sons of Lisburn. Joseph Paxton and Thomas Smith were employed to landscape the demesne with serpentine walks and formal gardens. A contemporary account by Byrne records: "A mound on the NW of the castle is crowned with seven gigantic oaks in a circle, inside of which are rustic seats. … A little northward of the house is a tastefully constructed rustic bower, inlaid with seats all round, with a circular rustic table in the centre. The floor is paved with variegated pebbles. The bower is surmounted with a carved golden eagle with outspread wings."

Roger Hall was also responsible for the erection of Warrenpoint Shambles in 1834 and the gallery in Warrenpoint Parish Church. When he died in 1853, the property passed to his son Samuel Madden Hall, and on Samuel's death it passed to his nephew William James Hall, who erected the farmyard to the north-west of the walled garden. William James Hall died in 1896, and a memorial tablet and the chancel window of Warrenpoint Parish Church were installed in his memory. The estate then passed to his son Roger Hall, in whose memory one of the nave windows of Warrenpoint Parish Church was later installed. The estate passed to Toby Hall early in the 20th century, and on his death in 1939 it came under the control of trustees, though it remained occupied by the Hall family. During the Second World War the upper floors and basement of the house, together with the demesne, were used by British and American troops. The house was vacated as a family residence in October 1999 and is currently in use as a function and conference centre.