Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB18/12/027

Address :
Walled Garden The Castle Castlewellan Co Down

Townland:
Clarkill

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
05/07/2004 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Walled Garden Structure

Former Use
Walled Garden Structure

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
Yes

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
240/9

IG Ref:
J3355 3720

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Owner Category

Central Govt

Exterior Description And Setting

A walled garden complex, comprising two large rectangular areas, an ‘upper garden’ and a ‘lower garden’ placed side by side, linked by a formal axial path running through their centres, with a terrace containing three conservatories diagonally placed at the northern junction of the two gardens, behind which is a smaller walled area known as the ‘bothy yard’. The alignment of the main axis is approximately south-east to north-west. Main pedestrian entrance is roughly centrally placed in the boundary wall on the south-west side, giving access directly into the south-west corner of the lower garden. The main structures are as follows. UPPER GARDEN, SOUTH-WEST WALL, OUTER FACE: rubble stonework, of basalt and granite with cement rendered coping which rakes up to the left, ramped in part. Near left-hand end is a segmental arched pedestrian gateway with shaped granite dressings and projecting keystone, containing a plain iron gate with arrow-head finials; granite doorstep. At left-hand extremity is a single storey building flush with the wall on the south-west side but projecting forward from the north-west wall: walls of basalt rubble with some granite, with projecting brick eaves course, galletting of basalt chips and what looks like slate; hipped pyramidal roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; blue ridge tiles; one opening in south-west wall, semi-circular brick arched doorway now blocked up with rough cement render. North-west face: walling and roofing as previous except wall also includes fieldstones; roof partly collapsed; one window opening with timber head and rough brick dressings, now blocked with concrete blockwork and cement render; to its left, trace of a previous opening, undressed, later closed with rubble stonework. North-east face: walling and roof as previous to south-west side; one doorway with brick jambs and timber head, now closed with cement rendered concrete blockwork; one window opening, as previous to doorway. UPPER GARDEN, NORTH-WEST WALL, OUTER FACE: rubble stonework with sloping cement rendered coping. Centrally positioned pedestrian gateway: granite flat-arched head with coved shape to end voussoirs; projecting keystone; rusticated jambs; contains a plain wrought iron gate with arrow-head finials. At the left-hand extremity of the wall is a two-storey house, overgrown with creeper. South-west side: wall of rubble stonework; two rectangular window openings in ground floor, brick dressed, now blocked up with brickwork; one window to first floor, rectangular timber sliding sash, 3 over 6, with horns; roof covered with creeper. North-west side: rubble stonework, with galleting; traces of previous openings having been blocked up with rubble; later projecting chimney breast in red brick. Left-hand extremity of house wall has four prominent rubble stone quoins projecting forward. North-east side: similar walling to previous, with two rectangular openings: ground floor one blocked with flush brickwork; first floor are boarded up on inside. Ground floor doorway, rectangular sheeted timber door, in timber frame, with timber lintel and red brick jambs. UPPER GARDEN, NORTH-EAST WALL, OUTER FACE: rubble stone wall with canted cement rendered coping. Near right-hand end is a wide vehicular gateway, segmental brick arched with rubble stone parapet; brickwork jambs; contains a pair of wrought iron gates with spear-headed finials and scrolling work; granite blocks to threshold. Modern smeared cement render re-pointing to much of the north wall. Some distance to left of vehicular gateway the garden wall abuts the boundary wall of the bothy yard which projects forward at an angle before returning eastwards. LOWER GARDEN, NORTH-EAST WALL, OUTER FACE: rubble stonework with smooth cement rendered coping. Near left-hand end of north wall is a brick segmental-arched pedestrian gateway: contains a plain iron gate with arrow-head finials; granite threshold. Brick reveals to exterior; granite jambs to interior. Wall continues to left-hand extremity with curved corner to south-east boundary wall; modern smeared pointing. LOWER GARDEN, SOUTH-EAST WALL, OUTER FACE: rubble stonework with modern smeared cement pointing; canted cement rendered coping. Wall rakes downhill to left, then ramps up near a gateway (called ‘Orchard Gateway’) to axial path through gardens. ‘Orchard Gateway’ comprises a pair of square piers of granite ashlar with projecting moulded base; projecting cornice; fluted frieze and blocking course; contains a pair of black painted iron gates. South-east wall continues to left-hand extremity where it curves at corner with south-west boundary wall. LOWER GARDEN, SOUTH-WEST WALL, OUTER FACE: rubble stonework with modern smeared pointing; cement rendered sloped coping. UPPER GARDEN, SOUTH-WEST WALL, INNER FACE: plain old hand-made red brick walling with plain cement rendered coping. Near west end is a segmental arched gateway in old brick. At western extremity the wall abuts the side of the former venison 'slaughter house': plain old red brick wall with two projecting brick eaves courses, broken in centre where a short chimney stack extends up beyond eaves line; one original but broken tall octagonal stoneware pot, trace of a previous rectangular opening in higher part of wall, now bricked up. UPPER GARDEN, NORTH-WEST WALL, INNER FACE: plain old red brick walling with smooth rendered coping. In central position on axis with longitudinal pathway is a gateway segmental-arched in granite with voussoirs partly coved in shape; granite and brick jambs. At the northern extremity is a rectangular doorway containing double doors, modern tongued and grooved boarded, set below a brick flat arch, leading into the former venison 'hanging house' projecting to the outside face of the garden wall. UPPER GARDEN, NORTH-EAST WALL, INNER FACE: plain old red brick with smooth cement rendered coping. Near west end is a wide vehicular gateway, segmental-arched in brick with plain jambs. At eastern end at junction with the transverse or party garden wall, the coping rakes down to join the gable of a previous greenhouse in the bothy yard; gable coping has a tooled finish to edge; surmounted by a large stoneware urn; gable walling is otherwise of rubble stonework. TRANSVERSE OR PARTY GARDEN WALL, SIDE FACING UPPER GARDEN: rubble stone at north end with concrete coping; contains a gateway near north end: Gothic-arched with tooled arris to arch and jambs of pink sandstone; contains an iron gate with Gothic-arched rails (both faces of Gothic archway similar). Extending to the south from just beyond the Gothic gateway the walling is of old red brick with concrete coping as previous. In a central position on axis with the longitudinal path running through both gardens is a wide segmental brick arched gateway with granite and brick jambs; gates now moved c 1969 to main entrance of gardens in south-west wall of lower garden; two granite steps down to lower garden. Beyond the gateway the wall continues to the south until it abuts the gardener's house (now ranger's house). TRANSVERSE OR PARTY GARDEN WALL, SIDE FACING LOWER GARDEN: rubble stonework with angled smooth cement rendered coping, but smooth cement rendered at the south end where it abuts the gardener's house. LOWER GARDEN, SOUTH-WEST WALL, INNER FACE: abutting the gardener's cottage is a segmental-arched gateway, later widened from a smaller pedestrian gateway c 1969; dressed granite voussoirs and jambs; contains a pair of ornamentally treated wrought iron gates featuring scrolling terminals, leafy terminals, and heraldic motif; intricate details include a pair of models of insects on vertical rails of the gates; granite step. Parapet above gateway steps down to continue as an angled smooth cement rendered coping to the wall running eastwards; modern ribbon pointing. South-west wall curves round to continue as south-east wall. LOWER GARDEN, SOUTH-EAST WALL, INNER FACE: similar to south-west wall; contains a centrally positioned gateway on axis with main longitudinal pathway through both gardens; piers and gates as previous to outer face. At northern extremity wall curves round to meet the end of the north-east wall. LOWER GARDEN, NORTH-EAST WALL, INNER FACE: old hand-made red brick with smooth rendered coping. To the west of the eastern corner the wall contains the trace of a pair of Moorish-style arches, later bricked up. To the west of the Moorish-style arches is the trace of a rectangular doorway later bricked up, alongside an open pedestrian gateway, segmental brick arched with granite jambs. Near the west end the wall angles to the north to run alongside a conservatory on the terrace: regular red brick with red brick coping. North-east wall returns to run behind three conservatories: rubble stonework with some red brick courses to the parapet, with sandstone coping ramped up over central conservatory. Two doorways in wall spaces between conservatories; each containing a metal plated rectangular door set in brick flat arch and brick jambs. Projecting from the northern boundary wall of the lower garden and set on a terrace are three conservatories. CONSERVATORY TO WEST (known as a 'fig house' but may have originally been the 'water lily house'): rectangular plan, gabled to south. Left-hand wall mainly built up against transverse garden wall; front gable and right-hand wall have low brick plinth walls, painted cream carrying a timber cill and superstructure of timber framed glazing to sides and roof. Moulded metal gutter to right-hand side, with circular pvc downpipe. Greenhouse glazing to roofs. Central entrance in front gable contains a pair of rectangular glazed and panelled timber doors. Side doorway contains a single door of similar type. CONSERVATORY TO EAST (known as a 'fig house'): similar to that to west, but handed, except that gutter is of pvc and side doorway retains a pair of original shaped timber corbels or brackets supporting the gutter. CENTRAL CONSERVATORY (known as the 'peach houses'): a long lean-to structure, of similar walling to two flanking conservatories. Moulded cast iron gutter to front with pvc downpipe to right centre, cast iron downpipe to left centre, and to left-hand extremity. One doorway in each gable: rectangular timber glazed and panelled. TERRACE BALUSTRADING: across the front or south side of the raised terrace, is a balustrated parapet, containing three bowed projections to the main south side, and breaking forward southwards at the west end. Comprised of sandstone balusters and broad rail on a smooth cement rendered plinth wall. Panelled sandstone pedestals or piers at changes in direction and marking flights of steps at east end and west end; granite steps down to lower garden, with granite plinth walls; old concrete urns surmount piers at top of each flight of steps. MERBOY FOUNTAIN, standing in the centre of the upper garden on the main longitudinal axis: a three-tier fountain consisting of a large circular basin on a square pedestal, surmounted by a smaller circular basin supported on entwined dolphins, surmounted by a merboy figure carrying a small shell-like basin on his head: material uncertain but looks like cast concrete or artificial stone: it stands in a circular pool in a rockery surround. THE 'BASKET STEPS', standing in the upper garden to the north of the merboy fountain: a flight of nine stone steps with sandstone plinth walls; short sandstone piers to each side to top and bottom, with the two upper piers surmounted by what looks like ceramic baskets displaying the Annesley monogram. URN ON PEDESTAL, standing in the former 'sundial garden' to the south-west of the merboy fountain in the upper garden: of carved stone with garlands and masks, on a granite pedestal. STONE CROSS (so-called ‘Maltese Cross’, although it is of 'Celtic' wheel cross form rather than 'Maltese'), standing at the south end of a transverse path in the upper garden, close to the south-west garden wall: a granite 'wheel cross', standing on a square red brick pedestal. THE 'URN STEPS', standing in the lower garden to the east of the main entrance: a flight of 18 stone steps with low plinth walls, surmounted at the top by short pedestals carrying a pair of large stone urns bearing garlands and grotesque heads. THE HERON FOUNTAIN, standing in the centre of the lower garden on the main longitudinal axis: comprises a large circular basin on a fluted stone pedestal surmounted by a small basin girt about by figures of three herons. It stands in the centre of a large circular pool bounded by a moulded granite plinth wall. URN ON PEDESTAL, standing in the north-east corner of lower garden, close to south-east wall on axis with eastern steps to conservatory terrace: made of stone, ornamented with garlands and masks, standing on a square granite pedestal. FORMER GARDENER'S HOUSE (now known as the ranger's house), forming part of the outer face of the south-west wall of both upper and lower gardens and abutted by the transverse or party garden wall: a two-storey, 3-bay house with hipped roof. Main entrance faces south-west. South-west elevation: roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with overhanging eaves with panelled fascia; cast iron gutter; one modern rooflight, one chimney, smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, with modern black pots. Walling is rubble stonework with some squared granite quoins; brick dressings to jamb of upper windows, brick flat-arched heads to ground floor windows; windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, 6 over 6, with horns, in exposed sash boxes; projecting granite cills; smooth cement rendered reveals; concrete lintels to first floor windows. To left-hand side is a later projecting flat-roofed porch comprising plinth walls of regular coursed granite, with concrete cill supporting pvc framed glazing to three sides, surmounted by a pvc fascia with asphalt covering to flat roof; pvc gutter and downpipe. Extending to the left-hand side is a rubble stone screen wall, part of main south-west wall to upper garden, with a gateway to its west: brick dressings to jambs of gateway; modern double doors, metal plated, hung on modern square steel posts fixed to inside face of wall, leads to tarmac driveway in area of upper garden attached to the house. North-west elevation: two-storey; hipped roof slated as previous, with one modern rooflight. Walling as previous; two windows, one to each floor semi-circular brick arched with brick block dressings to jambs; projecting granite cills; windows are semi-circular arched timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns. Cast iron gutter and downpipe. North-east elevation: roof and walling as previous; projecting from the right-hand side is a single storey mono-pitch roofed rear return: walls of smooth cement render, lined and blocked, with timber fascia; roof slated as main house; cast iron guttering. Modern door and window of pvc framing; modern louvred flush timber doors to narrow extension to return. To east of rear return the north elevation walling is a fine rough cast render; one window to first floor, rectangular timber sliding sash, 2 over 2, with horns, set in exposed sash box, with plain reveals and projecting granite cill. Below is a rear doorway, containing a glazed and panelled door reached by a short flight of granite steps. To the left is a modern window, pvc fixed light and top-hung vent, with original granite cill. East side of rear return is the transverse garden wall: smooth cement rendered with smooth rendered parapet behind; contains one window modern rectangular pvc fixed light with top-hung vents; modern concrete cill. STONE SEAT, standing on the conservatory terrace in the lower garden: a low circular granite seat on a fluted and moulded pedestal. BOTHY HOUSE: a single storey gabled building standing on the north side of the bothy yard. South elevation: three bay; walls of rubble stone with brick block dressings and projecting brick eaves course; roof of corrugated iron; pvc gutter, with cast iron downpipe, broken. Windows are rectangular timber fixed lights with top-hung vent; projecting granite cills; brick flat-arched heads. Central door is modern flush timber with modern metal handle. Two chimneys in red brick, the one to the east now overgrown with creeper; two stub pots to west chimney. Extending to the west is a single storey extension in similar walling but flat-roofed, with glazed flush timber door. To the west of that within the yard is a greenhouse, constructed of timber plinth walls supporting timber framed glazing and lean-to roof. East gable of bothy house is blank with projecting red brick chimney from a red brick low boiler house at ground level. West gable is blank rubble stone walling with red brick chimney at apex. North elevation: three-bay; walls of rubble stone with shaped granite quoins, and brick dressings to openings; pitched roof of corrugated iron; pvc gutter but downpipe missing; symmetrical front with central doorway flanked by one window each side: rectangular flush timber door set in timber frame, with smooth rendered reveals; flat brick arch head; modern metal handle. Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, 6 over 6, with horns; projecting granite cill; brick flat-arched head. To right of outshot building in angle with yard boundary wall is a single storey block with painted dry dash rendered walls and asphalt covered flat roof. BOUNDARY WALL TO BOTHY YARD, north side, outer face: to east of the bothy house is a vehicular gateway comprised of rectangular piers of snecked granite with tapered granite stones to caps; pair of modern timber tongued and grooved sheeted doors. Boundary wall ramps up to left of gateway and continues to the angle with the east side of the yard: granite quoins. BOUNDARY WALL TO BOTHY YARD, EAST SIDE, OUTER FACE: rubble stonework surmounted by a stone balustrade which terminates at a gabled building. Gable contains a segmental brick arched and dressed recess to ground floor which looks like a former gateway now closed with brickwork inside; first floor contains a segmental brick arched and dressed window, modern rectangular timber fixed light with top-hung vent. The now blocked-up recess originally led to an underground passage housing pipes for the heating of the conservatories on the terrace. To left of gable, east boundary wall of bothy yard continues until it meets the main north-east wall of the lower garden. LEAN-T0 SHEDS IN BOTHY YARD, standing on the south side of the yard, built against the red brick rear wall of the conservatories on the raised terrace in the lower garden: two lean-to single storey sheds. To the east a former fruit house: rubble stone walling with red brick block dressings; central rectangular door, tongued and grooved boarded with old latch handle. Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, 3 over 6, without horns; granite cills; brick flat-arched heads. Roof of natural slates in regular courses; pvc gutter with pvc downpipe. West gable is blind. To the west is a longer shed of similar roof and walling, doors and windows, except two windows later replaced by 9-pane fixed lights. Original flush rooflights to roof. Central red brick chimney; one original tall octagonal stoneware pot. Extending to the west is an open shed with wall and roof in same plane as before: walling looks like a former red brick plinth to a greenhouse, later built up with red brick piers and filled with steel grilles in place of windows; roof of corrugated iron; pvc gutter and downpipe; open doorway. West gable is of similar brick plinth, steel grill and corrugated iron cladding. Rear wall of greenhouses is plain red brick with sandstone coping, ramped down to lower level at each end. Between rear sheds is an open passage leading to a doorway in wall: contains a rectangular metal plated door set in plain timber surround, with timber lintel below a segmental red brick relieving arch. Bothy yard is hard surfaced, partly gravelled, and contains bases and footings of previous greenhouses now demolished. BOUNDARY WALLS TO BOTHY YARD, INNER FACES: to west, rubble stonework, partly rendered; to north, rubble stonework partly rendered where previously abutted by greenhouses; to east, a low rubble stone plinth wall or parapet surmounted by a sandstone balustrading, partly damaged and partly missing. SETTING: the walled garden complex stands within the demesne of Castlewellan Castle and is situated to the north-east of the castle. It is surrounded by wooded and grassed areas, and by paths and drives, some of which lead into the walled areas through pedestrian or vehicular gateways. The grounds within the garden walls are laid out with grassed areas and are densely planted with exotic trees and shrubs, through which run both formally and informally arranged pathways. Within the walled garden areas there are some features of no special interest, namely old iron gates on modern posts leading from axial path to nursery in upper garden, and greenhouse, toilet and bases of former greenhouses in the bothy yard.

Architects

Burn, William Lynn, William Henry Lanyon, Charles

Historical Information

Built in stages from around 1740 to the 1860s, beginning with the portion to the west, known as the ‘upper garden’ which appearsto have originally been laid out to cultivate kitchen produce, and extended to the east with a larger portion, known as the'lower garden' which appears to have originally been an orchard, all of it being laid out as a pleasure ground in the 1860s with a terrace, steps, and conservatories, in the north-east corner of the lower garden, and central fountains and ornamental trees in both portions of the garden. The various stages were laid out in connection with different residences of the Annesley family. The upper garden walls with two buildings, the ‘slaughter house’ and the ‘hanging house’, attached to the outside of the north-west wall were associated first with the now long-demolished Castlewellan house (precise date and site unknown) built by William Annesley, 1st Viscount Glerawly, and then later with its successor, Castlewellan Cottage, built in the late 18th century on the north shore of the lake by the 1st Earl Annesley. The present configuration of the lower garden walls and the bothy yard, terrace and steps, balustrading and conservatories, and the fountains on the longitudinal axis between the two gardens, was associated with the present Castlewellan Castle built in 1856-8 by William Richard Annesley, 4th Earl Annesley. Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley then built up the arboretum, and the rest of the gardens in the demesne, with exotic tree collections until by the time of his death in 1908 they were unsurpassed in Ireland. The efforts of his successors, continued by the Forest Service who bought the demesne from the Annesley family in 1967, have resulted in the gardens being recognised as being among one of the most interesting, botanically, in the British Isles. They constitute what is now known as the National Arboretum, with the walled portions now known as the Annesley Garden. Of the various minor garden features the ‘basket steps’ in the upper garden were part of the Victorian garden layout by the Annesley family, but the pair of urns at the ‘urn steps’ in the lower garden, and the two single urns on pedestals elsewhere in both gardens, were set up by the Forest Service, who moved them from the terrace at the Castle for safe-keeping; they were designed by the Castle’s architect William Burn in 1865 as part of his later additions to the demesne. The circular stone seat on the conservatory terrace in the lower garden is identical to one which stands on the Castle terrace which was designed by William Burn in 1859; whether it was set up here at that time or later brought from the Castle terrace is not known. The ‘Maltese Cross’ in the upper garden was set up by the Annesleys at an unknown date; now misnamed it was actually a ‘Celtic cross’ finial, one of a pair originally intended for the east and west gables of St Paul’s Church of Ireland church, Castlewellan, designed by the Belfast architects Charles Lanyon and William Henry Lynn in 1849-50. The conservatories were reconstructed by the Forest Service between 1976 and 1980. The precise date of the present Ranger’s House next to the main public entrance is not known, but it is shown on the OS map of 1859, and appears to incorporate a smaller block shown on the OS map of 1833 which may be presumed to date from the same time as the ‘slaughter house’ and the ‘hanging house’ which occupy two other corners of the ‘upper garden’ wall: a fourth such exterior corner block shown on the OS map of 1833 was later removed when the bothy yard was built. Both the ‘slaughter house’ and ‘hanging house’ were for the preparation of venison. References – Primary Sources 1. OS Map 1833, Co Down 43. 2. OS Map 1859, Co Down 43. 3. OS Map 1919, Co Down 43. 4. PRONI D1854/5/6/37: Original photograph showing the conservatories on the terrace c 1872. Secondary Sources 1. P.J. Rankin, Mourne (UAHS, Belfast, 1975), p 40. 2. E. Malins and P. Bowe, Irish Gardens and Demesnes from 1830 (London, 1980), pp 64-69 (includes a photograph of the walled garden c 1920). 3. Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Committee, Northern Gardens: Gardens and Parks of outstanding historic interest in Northern Ireland (UAHS, Belfast, N.D. [1982], 17). 4. R.T. Wallace, Castlewellan Castle: A short history (1986), p 3. 5. J. Gilbert, Gardens of Britain: A visitors guide (London, 1987), pp 110-111. 6. T. Reeves-Smyth, Irish Gardens (Appletree Press, Belfast, 1993), pp 31-33. 7. T. Reeves-Smyth, ‘Castlewellan House and Demesne: An Outline History (Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Committee Conference, September 1997). 8. P. Taylor, The Gardens of Britain and Ireland (London, 2003), p 406. 9. SMR Co Down 43:89.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form F. Structural System H-. Alterations detracting from building H+. Alterations enhancing the building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

V. Authorship X. Local Interest Z. Rarity W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

This is an 18th to 19th century walled garden complex which retains most of its original features in largely unspoiled condition. It contains rare survivals of mid-19th century conservatories as well as unusual 19th century fountains, and a number of other garden features in stone which can be identified as the work of a leading Scottish architect of the time, William Burn. In addition to its historic and architectural value as an integral part of an important country house demesne, it is of added special interest as forming the permanent structures and centrepiece of an internationally renowned arboretum.

General Comments

Date of Survey

13 February 2004