24 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 DAVID McCLIMOND Restoring Mount Stewart’s joinery The National Trust is restoring Mount Stewart, County Down, the house that it considers is the jewel in its crown in Northern Ireland. Progress is good: only another 122 windows to go. The first Mount Stewart house was a simple two-storey plaster, stone and wood white-washed house built by Robert Stewart, later 1st Marquess of Londonderry. It was extended in 1804 to designs by George Dance. It was built in the local black basalt, with Scrabo sandstone used for the decorative elements and architraves. In the 1840s the house was extended again and remodelled in the neo-classical style to suit the life-style and ambitions of the 3rd Marquess, Charles Stewart, and his second wife. A great, north-facing Ionic portico was added, and another facing south to the lough.The centre of the house was dominated by two great domed full-height spaces: the Central Hall and the Billiards Room, the latter since removed by the family. Dance’s wing to the west was retained, and the north and south fronts copied at the east end of the new house, creating a symmetrical arrangement. For over 200 years the Stewart family, in particular the Marquesses of Londonderry, played an important part in Irish and British politics, and they have played leading roles at pivotal points in European history. Mount Stewart was the centre of their Irish estates and influence. It was said that the British Empire was partly ruled from inside the walls of Mount Stewart. Our project strapline is ‘Restoring the glory days’, which gives some idea of how the house has faded to a mere shadow of the grandeur it had when it hosted a visit by King EdwardVII in 1903.While still imposing, it had reached the level of shabby chic.We are restoring its condition to a time around the early 1920s when, for upper-class entertainment, this house was the place to be. As part of this project, the trust took on two joinery apprentices to upskill and train. In Northern Ireland, the heritage conservation sector is very small indeed and not many opportunities exist, so we owe a big debt of thanks to all those who made this project happen. The house is being completely rewired, its plumbing renewed and structural issues addressed. Joinery work began with facilitating the opening up and surveying stage, then helping the conservator to package and protect the house’s contents. After this the joinery team started restoring the house’s 152 sash windows. This work is progressing well despite having discovered cases of dry rot early on.Thankfully the rot was dormant but it did leave us with some major repair work. The structural condition of the house has long been questionable. We have a letter from George Dance to Lord Londonderry on the subject of over-spanned joists which states: ‘The pliability in the floors is a very disagreeable and objectionable circumstance’.We know his advice was ignored as cracks in walls and ceilings are prevalent in parts of the house owing to the same over-spanned joists. How does one strengthen a floor without major intervention?These days, flitch plates or The Music Room floor, designed by Thomas Ferguson
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