Seaforde House, Seaforde, Downpatrick, Co.Down

Seaforde House is an austere but impressive three-storey neo-classical mansion built between 1816 and 1820 in ashlar sandstone. It was constructed by Colonel Matthew Forde to replace an earlier dwelling known as Castlenavan, which accidentally burnt down in 1816. The architect is uncertain, though English architect Peter Frederick Robinson (1776–1858) is thought responsible, having designed the demesne's main gate and gate lodge and prepared other designs for Matthew Forde in the 1820s.

The house stands within a designed demesne probably dating from the 17th century, when the Forde family (originally from County Wexford) purchased the lands. The demesne features a large lake immediately to the west and is located north of the small estate village of Seaforde, approximately 5.5 miles west of Downpatrick and a similar distance northeast of Castlewellan.

The front elevation faces east and is symmetrical. At ground floor centre stands a large flat-roofed rectangular porch, added around 1890 to replace the original elliptical Ionic portico. This porch contains a panelled timber double door with a short decorative band above it and a large panel carved with the Forde family coat of arms directly above. The doorway and surrounding panels are flanked by large sash windows with Georgian panes (9/9) in simple moulded surrounds, separated from the doorway by Doric pilasters with similar pilasters at the outer corners. The porch has a plain frieze, dentilled cornice, blocking course, and plain plinth. To the north and south of the porch are single windows. To the left of the main façade are two windows with plain hoods. The first floor contains seven windows of 6/6 panes without hoods, while the second floor has seven more windows of 3/3 panes resting on a dentilled sill course. The three central windows to both first and second floors sit within a shallow projecting bay.

The south and north façades each have five windows per floor, corresponding in size to the front windows but without surrounds or hoods except for the ground floor centre window, which has both. The west façade features a central full-height bowed bay. At ground floor, this bay contains a large tripartite window (3/3, 9/9, 3/3) with stone mullions and a hood, flanked on either side by ground-floor windows. The first floor repeats this arrangement with shorter windows (2/2, 6/6, 2/2 to centre, 6/6 to sides), while the second floor has three windows as on the front. Either side of the bay is a single tripartite window to ground and first floors corresponding to those on the bay, with a small window to the second floor. Each set of ground and first-floor windows sits within a shallow recessed bay with segmental arch head.

The exterior walls are in ashlar sandstone with a plain band between ground and first floors and a dentilled sill course to the second floor. The porch is in slightly more reddish sandstone. The building stands on a shallow projecting plinth and is topped with a cornice and parapet. Basement openings are hidden from view, with lightwells providing the only external indication of their existence. The hipped roof is slated and topped with two centre sandstone chimney stacks with various pots. Cast iron rainwater goods serve the building. A gravel forecourt lies to the front.

The house remained in its original form until around 1890, when Colonel William Forde replaced the curving Ionic portico with the more austere enclosed porch and removed the Georgian glazing throughout, inserting plate glass instead. The original Georgian glazing was reintroduced in the late 20th century. The earlier house, Castlenavan, is indicated on Taylor's and Skinner's map of 1777.