Seaforde House, Seaforde, Downpatrick, Co.Down

Seaforde House is an austere, block-like neo-classical mansion built between 1816 and 1820, possibly designed by Peter F. Robinson. It stands in sandstone near the small estate village of Seaforde, roughly 5.5 miles west of Downpatrick and a similar distance northeast of Castlewellan. The house was built following the accidental burning of an earlier house called Castlenavan in 1816. It occupies a designed demesne dating probably from the 17th century, with a large lake immediately to the west.

The three-storey building has a hipped slate roof topped with a cornice and parapet, and is finished in ashlar sandstone with two centre chimney stacks carrying a variety of pots. A shallow projecting plinth runs beneath the walls. A large rectangular porch was added around 1890 to replace the original elliptical portico.

The symmetrical east-facing front elevation centres on the flat-roofed porch, which stands on a plain plinth and is topped by a plain frieze, dentilled cornice and blocking course. The porch is constructed in slightly more reddish sandstone. At its centre is a large panelled timber double door, directly above which is a short decorative band, and above this a large panel bearing the Forde family coat of arms. The doorway and panels are flanked by large sash windows with Georgian panes in 9/9 configuration and simple moulded surrounds. Doric pilasters separate the windows from the doorway and stand at the outer corners of the porch. Single windows flank the porch to north and south faces.

To the left of the main front façade are two further windows with relatively plain hoods. The first floor carries seven windows with 6/6 panes and without hoods, their moulded surrounds matching those below. The second floor has seven more windows with 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 those on the front but without surrounds, hoods or other embellishment, except for the ground floor centre window which has both. A plain band runs between the ground and first floors.

The west façade features a central full-height bowed bay. At ground floor level the bay contains a large tripartite window with 3/3 panes at the outer sections and 9/9 panes at the centre, all with stone mullions and a hood. Matching windows flank either side. The first floor repeats this arrangement with shorter panes (2/2, 6/6, 2/2 to centre, and 6/6 to the sides), while the second floor has three windows as per the second floor front. Either side of the bay, ground and first floors contain shallow recessed bays with segmental arch heads, each holding a single tripartite window corresponding to those on the bay. The second floor has small windows above.

Basement openings are concealed from view, with lightwells their only external indication. The building sits on a gravel forecourt to the front and is fitted with cast iron rainwater goods.