Mount Stewart
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Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. Situated on the east shore of
Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...
, a few miles outside the town of
Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...
and near
Greyabbey Greyabbey or Grey Abbey is a small village, townland (of 208 acres) and civil parish located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough, on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards. Both townland and c ...
, it was the Irish seat of the Stewart family,
Marquesses of Londonderry Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...
. Prominently associated with the 2nd Marquess,
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...
, Britain's
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
at the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
and with the 7th Marquess, Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the former Air Minister who at Mount Stewart attempted private diplomacy with Hitler's Germany, the house and its contents reflect the history of the family's leading role in social and political life in Britain and Ireland.


History


County seat of the Stewarts, Lords Londonderry and Castlereagh

The original property, Mount Pleasant, was purchased with neighbouring estates in 1744 by Alexander Stewart (1699–1781). Exceptionally for an aspiring member of the landed Ascendancy, the Stewarts did not conform to the established (Anglican) church. They were Presbyterians, farmers and linen merchants whose fortunes had been transformed by Alexander's marriage to the sister and heiress of Robert Cowan, the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
. As fellow Presbyterians, the Stewarts appeared to the county's enfranchised
forty-shilling freeholders Forty-shilling freeholders were those who had the parliamentary franchise to vote by virtue of possessing freehold property, or lands held directly of the king, of an annual rent of at least forty shillings (i.e. £2 or 3 marks), clear of all c ...
as "friends of reform", and on that basis Mount Stewart rivalled
Hillsborough Castle Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
, seat of the Earls (later Marquesses) of Downshire, for control of the county's two parliamentary seats. In the increasingly troubled 1790s, Mount Stewart quietly converted to Anglicanism and stilled the contest, agreeing with Hillsborough that each should return a member to the parliament in Dublin unopposed. Titles and office followed. In 1795 Alexander's son, Robert Stewart (1739–1821) was elevated to Earl of Londonderry (Marquess in 1816), and in 1797 his son
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...
(1769–1822), was appointed
Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...
by the
Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
, Londonderry's brother-in-law, John Pratt, Earl Camden. After helping, in the wake of the
1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
, to push the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament, bringing Ireland under
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, Castlereagh went on to serve the new
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
as Secretary for War and
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
, building the coalitions that defeated
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. In 1787, writing to her brother
William Drennan William Drennan (23 May 1754 – 5 February 1820) was an Irish physician and writer who moved the formation in Belfast and Dublin of the Society of United Irishmen. He was the author of the Society's original "test" which, in the cause of ...
(a disappointed supporter of the Stewarts' electoral ambitions, later to be targeted by Castlereagh as a
United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...
),
Martha McTier Martha "Matty" McTier (''c.'' 1742 – 3 October 1837) was an advocate for women's health and education, and a supporter of democratic reform, whose correspondence with her brother William Drennan and other leading Society of United Irishmen, Uni ...
described visiting Mount Stewart, and meeting "with no one thing worth notice, unless great wall pounds are so – much expense, no taste, every thing unfinished and dirty, grand plans for the future, nothing pleasant nor even comfortable at present". Commensurate with the family's rising fortunes, Castlereagh moved to realise some of these "grand plans". In 1803, he choose the architect George Dance to design a Classical Regency replacement of the west wing with new receptions rooms. A number of the present furnishings reflect Castlereagh's career, including a portrait of the
French emperor Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procl ...
, and chairs elaborately embroidered for the delegates who redrew the map of Europe at Vienna.


In the Year of Liberty, 1798

During the three-day "Year of Liberty" in
Ards Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin color ...
and north Down, 10 to 13 June 1798, Mount Stewart was briefly occupied by the United Irish insurgents. In the wake of the court martials that followed, the wife of the local Presbyterian minister, James Porter, appeared at the house with her seven children to plead for his life. Together with her younger sister, Lady Elizabeth, then dying of tuberculosis, Lady Londonderry was tearfully persuaded. (She had often received Porter at Mount Stewart and in correspondence with the United Irishwoman
Jane Greg Jane "Jenny" Greg (1749 - 1817) in the 1790s was an Irish republican agitator with connections to radical political circles in England. Although the extent of her activities are unclear, in suppressing the Society of United Irishmen the British c ...
had referred to herself as a "republican countess"). But Londonderry was to see to it that Porter, convicted on uncertain evidence of having consorted with the rebels, was hung outside his church and home at
Greyabbey Greyabbey or Grey Abbey is a small village, townland (of 208 acres) and civil parish located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough, on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards. Both townland and c ...
. Other offenders (
David Bailie Warden David Bailie Warden was a republican insurgent in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and, in later exile, a United States consul in Paris. While in American service Watson protested the corruption of diplomatic service by the "avaricious" spirit of com ...
who commanded the local rebels in the field, and the Reverend Thomas Ledlie Birch who urged them to "drive the bloodhounds of King George, the German king, beyond the seas"), were allowed American exile. Porter's offence may have been to have serially lampooned Londonderry in a popular satire of the landed interest, ''Billy Bluff.'' Porter caricatured the master of Mount Stewart as Lord Mountmumble, an inarticulate tyrant who has a dog shot for the temerity of barking.Bew (2011), p. 101


Irish country seat of the Vane-Tempest-Stewarts

Castlereagh inherited his father's title in 1821, but within the year took his own life. The next owner of the house was his half-brother, Charles, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1778–1854) who had served as ambassador to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. He married Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest, the greatest heiress of her time, in appreciation of which he styled himself Robert Vane and ordered a further enlargement of the house replacing what remained of its 18th century fabric.. Controversially in 1847, while spending £15,000 on the refurbishment, the Londonderry gave just £30 to local soup kitchens for famine relief, and as the hunger persisted rejected rent reductions on grounds of "personal inconvenience". This was in contrast to his wife's management of her estate in Antrim. Even as she embarked upon of the construction a castellated summer residence (
Garron Tower St MacNissi's College (now St Killian's College and colloquially known as Garron Tower) was a Roman Catholic grammar school located to the north of Carnlough. History The College is best known for its natural setting in grounds situated on a ...
), the Marchioness not only reduced the rents of her tenants, but in dire cases of
potato blight ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called "po ...
, waived them altogether. This remodelling created the present exterior of Mount Stewart. The small
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
house and the small portico on the west wing were demolished and the house was increased to eleven
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
. On the entrance front, a huge portico was added in the centre, and a smaller 'half portico' was added to the other side. The marriage also brought in much of the Vane-Tempest property, including land and coal mines in
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
. Wynyard Park, Co. Durham was redesigned in the
Neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
. The couple bought
Seaham Hall Seaham Hall is an English country house, now run as a spa hotel, in County Durham. History Seaham Hall was built in the 1790s by Sir Ralph Milbanke, 6th Baronet. In 1815 the poet Lord Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke at Seaham Hall. The frui ...
, also in
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, and then later bought Holdernesse House on London's
Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from May ...
. This was later renamed
Londonderry House Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their home until 1962. In that year London ...
. In 1854, the Emperor Louis Napoleon was among the subscribers who helped raise a memorial tower to the 3rd Marquess north of Mount Stewart at Scrabo. The 4th Marquess of Londonderry, married the widow of
Viscount Powerscourt Viscount Powerscourt ( ) is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland, each time for members of the Wingfield family. It was created first in 1618 for the Chief Governor of Ireland, Richard Wingfield. However, this creat ...
and lived at her home, Powerscourt, near
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The 5th Marquess lived at his wife's ancestral property,
Plas Machynlleth Plas Machynlleth is the former Wales, Welsh residence of the Marquess of Londonderry, Marquesses of Londonderry. It is situated in the market town of Machynlleth in Powys (formerly Montgomeryshire), Wales. It was brought into the family following ...
in Wales. These long periods of neglect threatened an irreversible deterioration of the Irish property.


Ulster unionist manse

Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry, (16 July 1852 – 8 February 1915), styled Viscount Castlereagh between 1872 and 1884, was a British Conservative politician, landowner and benefactor, who served in various cap ...
(1852-1915) returned to Ireland from Wynyard Park, first as
Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
in Dublin, and then to Mount Stewart from which both he and the Marchioness, Lady Theresa Talbot, served as the titular leaders of opposition to
Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1 ...
. They presided, respectively, over the Ulster Unionist Council and the Ulster Unionist Women's Council (UUWC). Lady Londonderry (Theresa Chetwynd-Talbot) was valued for her family and political connections in England. In 1903, at Mount Stewart, she had hosted
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
and
Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
. She also proved an effective organiser, helping build the UUWC into a mass organisation, and in the preparation of an armed resistance to a Dublin parliament, the
Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...
to whom she offered Mount Stewart as a potential infirmary and triage site. At the height of the
Home Rule Crisis The Home Rule Crisis was a political and military crisis in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that followed the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in 1912. Unionists in Ulster, d ...
, the
German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...
had occasion to refer to the Marchioness's gardens. Meeting the unionist leader
Sir Edward Carson Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson, PC, PC (Ire) (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge, who served as the Attorney General and Solicitor ...
at a luncheon at
Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...
in August 1913, the
Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...
remarked that having seen a photograph of the gardens, he believed that they must be very beautiful. When Carson (who once proposed that he was "born to lounge and enjoy" himself at Mount Stewart) affirmed that indeed they were, the
Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...
warmed to his theme. The management of gardens is very like that of states. But Britain had done little to cultivate the unity of its empire, so that when he had asked his grandmother,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, leave to visit Ireland she had refused him. "Perhaps she thought I would steal the little place." When after the general laughter he persisted with questions on Ulster, Carson adroitly changed the subject. Through the gardens of Mount Stewart the Kaiser had been probing intelligence that in the event of a European war conflict in Ireland might stay Britain's hand.


Host to Hitler's ambassador

In 1921, the 7th Marquess, Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, (1878–1949) accepted office as Minister of Education in the unexpected fruit of unionist agitation, the new home-rule
Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
. In 1935, his larger ambitions in London were dashed when he was forced to resign as Air Minister. Despite having preserved the core of the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
when it was under attack from the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
, critics believed he was one of an aristocratic circle of " appeasers". At Mount Stewart it was a suspicion Londonderry appeared to confirm when, following on a visit to
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
in Berlin, in May 1936 he entertained the German Ambassador to London,
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...
. Ribbentrop is reported to have landed in
Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...
with a "noisy gang of SS men" and the four-day visit became a national newspaper story. The house retains a memento of this private diplomacy: an
Allach porcelain Allach porcelain (pronounced 'alak') a.k.a. Porzellan Manufaktur Allach was produced in Germany between 1935 and 1945. After its first year of operation, the enterprise was run by the SS with forced labor provided by the Dachau concentration camp ...
figurine of an ''SS Fahnenträger'' (SS flag bearer), which, at the outbreak of war, Londonderry neither destroyed nor removed. A gift from ''Reichmarshall''
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 â€“ 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, it was a product of forced labour from the
Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...
. With talk of his internment, Londonderry retreated to Mount Stewart where, following a series of debilitating strokes, he died in 1949. The ancestral home of the 7th Marchioness of Londonderry, Edith Halen Chaplin, was
Dunrobin Castle Dunrobin Castle (mostly 1835–1845 — present) is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland, as well as the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. It is located north of Golspie and approximatel ...
in Scotland and it was that house's gardens which inspired her reworking of those at Mount Stewart with themed plantings (the Italian, Spanish, and Mairi gardens) and the Dodo Terrace with its whimsical statuary. Rather than enter her gardens through a house door she would dive in and out of a sash window, followed by her dogs — of which there were 14 at one time, ranging from deer hound to Pekinese. Lady Edith also redesigned and redecorated much of the interior, for example, the huge drawing room, the Castlereagh Room, the smoking room (whose mantelpiece displayed the ''Fahnenträger'') and many of the guest bedrooms. She named the latter after European cities including Rome and Moscow.


Donation to the National Trust

The last
châtelain Châtelain (from la, castellanus, derived from ''castellum''; pertaining to a castle, fortress. Middle English: '' castellan'' from Anglo-Norman: ''castellain'' and Old French: ''castelain'') was originally the French title for the keeper of a c ...
e of the house (and the last surviving child of the 7th Marquess), Lady Mairi Bury (née Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscountess Bury), gave the house, and most of its contents to the National Trust in 1977, together with a capital endowment partly funded by the sale in 1977, by Lady Mairi, of
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
's painting "The Madonna and Child with a male Donor, a landscape beyond" which had hung over the altar in the chapel at Mount Stewart (having formerly been at
Londonderry House Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their home until 1962. In that year London ...
, London). Lady Mairi, born in the house, was the last Londonderry family member to live full time at Mount Stewart, and the last member of this
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
family to live full time in Ireland. She died at Mount Stewart on 18 November 2009, at the age of 88, in the same four poster bed, hung with red silk damask, that she had been born in. On her death her daughter Lady Rose Lauritzen, wife of the American art historian, became the live-in family member; she lives also in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
.


National Trust Property

The National Trust took over the house and gardens in 1977. The Trust operates the property under the name "Mount Stewart House, Garden & Temple of the Winds". In 1999, the Mount Stewart Gardens were added to the United Kingdom "Tentative List" of sites for potential nomination as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. In 2015, the National Trust completed an extensive restoration of the house and its contents as well as the purchase of the wider estate re-uniting it and plan to open for visitor access.


House

Mount Stewart was in almost permanent use when the 3rd
Marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
was alive and was greatly extended to become the principal family residence. It was increased in size greatly with a collection of new rooms which were suitable to house the family's growing art collections, furnishings and general treasures. The main room was (and still is) the 'Drawing Room'. This looks out onto the main gardens and in the past it would have been possible to see
Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...
. Another main entertaining room was the 'Dining Room' which looks out onto the entrance front and was almost twice its present size, but was altered to make a new kitchen some time after its construction and lavish decoration. One of the most stunning rooms at Mount Stewart is the private 'Chapel'. This hidden gem is a double-height room with stained glass windows and Italian paintings on its walls.


Gardens

After further alterations to house's interior, the 7th Marchioness, redesigned the gardens a lavish style that took advantage of the sub-tropical local climate. As Lady Edith discovered, Mount Stewart under the general influence of the
North Atlantic Drift The North Atlantic Current (NAC), also known as North Atlantic Drift and North Atlantic Sea Movement, is a powerful warm western boundary current within the Atlantic Ocean that extends the Gulf Stream northeastward. The NAC originates from where ...
, on the Ards Peninsula Mount Stewart enjoys mild and humid island conditions, allowing tropical plants to thrive. Prior to her husband's succession to the
Marquessate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
in 1915 the gardens had been plain lawns with large decorative pots. She added the Shamrock Garden, the Sunken Garden, increased the size of the lake, added a Spanish Garden with a small hut, the Italian Garden, the Dodo Terrace with its 'menagerie' of cement animals, the Fountain Pool and laid out walks in the Lily Wood and rest of the estate. Lady It was she who first realised the benefits of the sub-tropical local climate. The Gulf Stream feeds Strangford Lough. The area is frost-free and, as Lady Edith discovered, Mount Stewart enjoys island conditions, the atmosphere is humid and, in hot weather, there are heavy dews at night. Tender tropical plants thrive here and many greenhouse varieties have been planted outside with impressive results.In 1957, she gave the gardens to the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
.


Estate

The present-day estate of Mount Stewart extends to with a large lake and many monuments and farm buildings.


Temple of the Winds

The 'Temple of the Winds' is an octagonal building inspired by the
Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
the 1st Marquess of Londonderry took in his youth. It was designed by the neoclassical architect
James 'Athenian' Stuart James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
in 1782–83. Many country houses in the UK had adaptations of the 'temples' their owners had seen on their tours of the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. The temple is similar to structures at
Shugborough Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolu ...
and
West Wycombe Park West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Bar ...
, both National Trust properties. The classical model was the
Tower of the Winds The Tower of the Winds or the Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower in the Roman Agora in Athens that functioned as a ''horologion'' or "timepiece". It is considered the world's first meteorological stati ...
, a clocktower in Athens which has a frieze depicting the eight
wind deities Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
(''
anemoi In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons an ...
'') of Greek mythology.


Use as filming location

The house was used as a location for the third series of the BBC children's TV series ''
The Sparticle Mystery ''The Sparticle Mystery'' is a British science fiction television series written and created by Alison Hume and produced by Sparticles Productions for CBBC. The series follows a group of ten children within modern Britain, where an experiment ...
''.


See also

*
Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire Dunduff Castle is a restored stair-tower in South Ayrshire, Scotland, built on the hillside of Brown Carrick Hills above the Drumbane Burn, and overlooking the sea above the village of Dunure. History As a place name ''Dunduff'' may contain the ...
, property of the ancestors of the Stewarts of Mount Stewart Other residences of the Marquesses of Londonderry: *
Londonderry House Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their home until 1962. In that year London ...
in London *
Plas Machynlleth Plas Machynlleth is the former Wales, Welsh residence of the Marquess of Londonderry, Marquesses of Londonderry. It is situated in the market town of Machynlleth in Powys (formerly Montgomeryshire), Wales. It was brought into the family following ...
in Wales *
Seaham Hall Seaham Hall is an English country house, now run as a spa hotel, in County Durham. History Seaham Hall was built in the 1790s by Sir Ralph Milbanke, 6th Baronet. In 1815 the poet Lord Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke at Seaham Hall. The frui ...
in County Durham * Wynyard Park in County Durham *
Loring Hall Loring Hall is a private mental health care facility in North Cray, London Borough of Bexley. Formerly known as Wollet Hall or Woollet Hall, it is a Grade II listed building. History The present building was constructed in 1760 on the site of ...
in Kent


References


Bibliography

* Murdoch, Tessa (ed.) (2022). ''Great Irish Households: Inventories from the Long Eighteenth Century''. Cambridge: John Adamson, pp. 325–48


External links


Mount Stewart House, Garden & Temple of the Winds information at the National Trust

Virtual Tour of Mount Stewart House & Gardens Northern Ireland
– Virtual Visit Northern Ireland {{Authority control Gardens in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Down Houses in Northern Ireland National Trust properties in Northern Ireland Historic house museums in Northern Ireland Museums in County Down Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest Vane-Tempest-Stewart family Civil parish of Greyabbey Grade A listed buildings