Mount Stewart

Exterior of Mount Stewart

Mount Stewart is an 18th-century house and garden in Northern Ireland owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the home of the Londonderry family. The house and its contents reflect the history of the Londonderrys who played a leading role in British social and political life.

Mount Pleasent

The Mount Stewart of today has been formed by one family — the Stewarts. They are better known as the holders of the title Marquess of Londonderry. The family bought the estate in 1744 with money acquired by Alexander Stewart. This new wealth came from the sales of materials like linen. At the time, the house was known as Mount Pleasent.

Alexander Stewart's son, Robert Stewart, became the first Marquess of Londonderry. (He gained many titles such as 'Baron Londonderry' in 1789, 'Viscount Londonderry' in 1795, then Earl of Londonderry one year later and finally became a Marquess in 1816.) In about 1800 he added a temporary wing to the west. He died in 1821 leaving the house to his son Viscount Castlereagh, a politician. He killed himself a year later due to the stress of his job.

The 3rd Marquess

The next owner of the house was the 3rd Marquess: Charles. He married twice but it was his later marriage which increased the family's finances greatly. His second wife was Frances-Anne Vane-Tempest. She was the greatest heiress of her time.^{[citation needed]} This huge new wealth prompted the refurbisment and enlargement of the newly named Mount Stewart.

This remodelling created the exterior for modern-day Mount Stewart. This was when the small Georgian house and the small portico on the west wing were demolished and the house was increased to eleven bays. 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). Wynyard Park in County Durham was also redesigned in the Neo-classical style, the couple bought Seaham Hall also in County Durham and then later bought Holdernesse House on London's Park Lane. (This was later renamed Londonderry House.

The 4th, 5th and 6th Marquess

The 4th Marquess of Londonderry married the widow of Viscount Powerscourt and lived at her home, Powerscourt, near Dublin. The 5th Marquess of Londonderry lived at his wife's ancestral property, Plas Machynlleth in Wales, and his son the 6th Marquess of Londonderry lived at Wynyard. These long periods of neglect nearly destroyed Mount Stewart.

The 7th Marquess of Londonderry

The 7th Marquess and his wife brought a new lease of life to the house and its plain grounds. The Marchioness of Londonderry's ancestral home was Dunrobin Castle in Scotland and it was that house's gardens which inspired the Mount Stewart's. She also redesigned and redecorated much of the interior, for example, the huge drawing room, smoking room, the Castlereagh Room and many of the guest bedrooms. She named the latter after European cities like Rome and Moscow.

The Gardens

After redoing the houses interior, Edith redesigned the gardens in the most lavish way possible, which when her husband succeeded to the Marquessate in 1915 had just 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, Menagerie, the Fountain Pool and laid out walks in the Lily Wood and rest of the estate. This dramatic change led to the gardens being proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

After she crated her garden and the death of her husband, she gave the gardens to the National Trust in 1957.

The National Trust

The National Trust took over the gardens in 1957. The present chatelaine of the house (and the only surviving child of the 7th Marquess) Lady Mairi Bury (Dowager Viscountess Bury), gave the house and most of its contents to the Trust in 1977. The Trust operates the property under the name "Mount Stewart House, Garden & Temple of the Winds".

The Estate

The estate of Mount Stewart numbers 98 acres with a large lake, with many monuments:

The Temple of the Winds

This octagonal building was inspired by the Grand Tour the 1st Marquess took in his youth. Many country houses in the UK had adaptations of the 'temples' their owners had seen on their tours of the Mediterranean . It is similar to ones at Shugborough and West Wycombe Park, both National Trust properties.

Tir Nan Nog

This is the Vane-Tempest Stewart's burial ground. The 7th Marquess and his wife are buried here. Around it are statues of Irish saints.

Scrabo Tower

This tower was built in honour of the 3rd Marquess. It was commissioned by his son Frederick, The 4th Marquess and his mother-in-law, Frances-Anne Vane-Tempest Stewart. It affords views over Strangford Lough.

Images

Small tower which part of Tir Nan Nog in the grounds at Mount Stewart Nov 2006
The lake at Mount Stewart Nov 2006

External links

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