Inscribed stone, Tollymore Park, Newcastle, Co Down

An inscribed granite boulder and accompanying slab, dating from 1868, set on the north side of the path leading to the north bank of the Shimna River within Tollymore Park.

The boulder is relatively small — less than a metre in any direction — and appears to have been lightly worked. Its south face is carved with the inscription "River Drive 1868", above which appears the letter "R" surmounted by a coronet, the monogram of the Earls of Roden. In front of the boulder lies a slightly larger granite slab or block, and together the two stones have the appearance of an informal rustic bench. A short distance to the west stands a much larger boulder, known as the "River Drive Rock", which bears the inscription: "Stop, look around and praise the name of Him who made it all."

Both inscriptions were carved under the instructions of the 3rd Earl of Roden in 1868. The boulder and slab together may have been placed here to serve as one of the "rustic seats" set in "well chosen locations" throughout the park mentioned by McCombe in 1861, though the carving itself post-dates that reference. The inscription on the larger boulder to the west reflects the 3rd Earl's notably religious outlook.

The stones sit within the wider landscape of Tollymore Park, whose history as a designed demesne stretches back to the early 18th century. In late medieval times, Tollymore and its surrounding townlands were under the lordship of the Magennis family of Upper Iveagh. In 1611, Brian MacHugh Magennis received royal confirmation of ownership when King James I granted him seven and a half townlands including the land now forming the park. The estate remained in the Magennis male line until around 1685, when Bernard Magennis died childless and the estate passed to his sister Ellen, who was married to William Hamilton. Their son James inherited, and his own son James — who inherited in 1701 — was created Viscount Limerick in 1719 and Earl of Clanbrassil (second creation) in 1728.

This James, popularly remembered as Lord Limerick, initiated the development of Tollymore as a naturalistic landscape demesne around 1720 by enclosing much of the land as a deer park, beginning large-scale tree planting, and building a hunting lodge and the Old Bridge. He also rebuilt the parish church at Bryansford, the small estate village to the north of the park, named after his ancestor Brian Magennis. Around 1750 he began constructing a larger house, probably with design advice from his friend, the English architect Thomas Wright, who visited Ireland in 1746–47 and stayed at Tollymore Park in September 1746. Dr Pococke, in his Tour of Ireland of 1752, noted that Lord Limerick had completed two rooms of his new "pretty lodge" by that date and had also built "a thatch'd open place to dine in" on the south side of the Shimna River. Just to the north of the house, the Clanbrassil Barn was added in 1757, with the Horn Bridge built to the south at around the same time.

Lord Limerick died in 1758 and was succeeded by his son, also named James, who extended the new house and continued his father's tree planting. In the 1780s he erected the Barbican Gate at the eastern entrance to the park, the Gothic gate at the Bryansford entrance, the hermitage, the Gothic follies and steward's lodge on the Hilltown Road, and a number of bridges within the park, including Ivy Bridge, Parnell's Bridge, and Foley's Bridge — the last named after his wife, Grace Foley. These additions, which also appear to have been influenced by Thomas Wright, together with the planting, made Tollymore one of the most attractive estates in Ireland. Bernard Scalé's map of Tollymore of 1777 gives some indication of the picturesque character of the park at this period, with its rolling landscape, extensive planting, meadows, rivers, streams, and woodland walks. An advertisement in the Belfast News-Letter of 26 April 1785 offering lodgings in Bryansford village made much of their "most pleasing prospect of the Right Hon. Earl of Clanbrassil's much admired demesne, which is beautiful to the sight and extensive to the bounds," and praised the wholesome air and the herbage on which goats fed, making it "much frequented by ladies and gentlemen for the recovery of lost health."

James, 2nd Viscount Limerick and 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil, died without issue in 1798, and the park passed to his sister Anne, wife of Robert Jocelyn, 1st Earl of Roden. Their son, Robert, 2nd Earl of Roden, inherited the estate in 1802 and built the Bryansford and Barbican gate lodges, though the latter has since been demolished. He also erected the obelisk monument to the east of the house in memory of his second son James, who died prematurely in 1812. The 2nd Earl and his successor, the 3rd Earl, further developed Bryansford itself, making it "a pleasing place of residence for those persons that like a quiet retreat." A Roman Catholic church was built at the eastern edge of the village in 1820, school houses in 1823 and 1826, and labourers' dwellings and the large dower house known as The Nest were added at around the same time. The 3rd Earl also constructed a water-powered sawmill within the demesne and, in 1865, added a small lodge to the east. He enlarged Tollymore House itself by adding an extra storey to the wings and a tall, somewhat incongruous, French château-style roof to the original central block.

Tollymore Park remained solely in Roden ownership until 1930, when the 8th Earl sold two thirds of the land to the Ministry of Agriculture for afforestation. The remaining third was purchased by the Ministry in 1940, and during the Second World War Tollymore House and part of the grounds were used by the Army. After the war the house fell into disrepair and was demolished by Lord Roden in 1952. In 1955 Tollymore became the first state forest in Ireland to be designated a Forest Park and was opened to the public. It has continued to be developed for timber production, recreation, conservation, and education since then. Although the house itself has gone, the majority of the park's 18th and early 19th century gates, bridges, and lodges have survived.