Donard Lodge Colourized

Donard Lodge Colourized © History of Newcastle, County Down.  Click to Enlarge

On my seventeenth birthday, the 22nd December, 1976, I received a thoughtful present from my grandmother.

Historic Buildings in the Mourne Area of South Down was published by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society in May, 1975.

It was prepared for the Society by P J Rankin.

One property that features in the book is DONARD LODGE, Newcastle, County Down, the former 'Marine Residence' of Lord and Lady Annesley, whose principal seat was CASTLEWELLAN CASTLE.

The Annesleys developed Newcastle as a resort in the early 19th century.

They owned a vast stretch of land from Slieve Donard to Slieve Croob, totalling almost 25,000 acres, which made them one of the largest landowners in County Down.

The old castle, close to the sea-shore, was taken down by Lord Annesley, and in its place he erected a

'Spacious and elegant' hotel, costing £3,000. This hotel commanded 'a most extensive prospect, embracing the Isle of Man in the foreground, and in the rear the lofty mountains of Mourne.'

William, 3rd Earl Annesley, built Donard Lodge, at the foot of Slieve Donard, about 1830.

Click to Enlarge

It was eighty-nine feet in length, with a large semi-circular conservatory attached to the south side.

The northern elevation, near the Glen River, contained the stable-yard and other outbuildings.

About 500 acres of land above the mansion were planted with trees, and a beautiful garden was created by the Rev John Moore (of Rowallane) and his sister Priscilla, 3rd Countess Annesley.

Eighty acres of the demesne, around and above the mansion, became the pleasure grounds, with winding paths, ornamental trees and shrubs, waterfalls, cascades, an aviary, a hermitage, shell house, spa house, spa well, visitors' dining house, ornamental dining house, and a variety of rustic stone seats and little bridges.

I've already written about it, though recently I came across a fascinating site on Facebook called History of Newcastle, County Down.

With the site's kind permission I have posted a colourized photograph of Donard Lodge as it looked in happier times.

Almost a week ago I visited the location of the old mansion though, sadly, nothing exists at all apart from some overgrowth and rubble.

When it was demolished in 1966, DONARD LODGE was derelict and probably roofless, having suffered a calamitous fire in 1941.

Donard Lodge, September, 1966, before Demolition. Photo Credit © History of Newcastle

The gate lodge at King Street of ca 1836 survives.

First published in June, 2020.  The colourized image of Donard Lodge is by kind permission of History of Newcastle.

Donard Spa House

The Ice-house is all that remains today.  Click to enlarge

The Picturesque Handbook To Carlingford Bay, published in 1846, is dedicated to HRH Prince Albert, Patron of Carlingford Lough Regatta.

It contains intriguing information about Lord Annesley's "maritime residence," DONARD LODGE, Newcastle, County Down, and its surrounding demesne.

The Ice-house, at the edge of the forest, is all that remains of Lord Annesley's pleasure park today, as far as I'm aware.

"THE eye is wearied with the gorgeous display of commingled beauties lavished around by Nature and Art."

"This great range of mountains, upon whose chief we stand, extend their domain from the bay of Dundrum, westward, to the bay of Carlingford, about fourteen miles in length and eleven in breadth; and are principally composed of granite, flanked by greenstone, hornblende, and the slate formations."

"About half a mile above Newcastle, on the side of Slieve Donard, is the celebrated Spa, of whose waters we partook rather freely, and paid the penalty of our temerity in a night's severe sickness."

"Descending from the Spa House, we pass Donard Lodge, the picturesque seat of the young [4th] Earl Annesley, and of his mother, the Countess Annesley [née Priscilla Cecilia Moore]; a spot of rarest charms, which wealth and taste have converted, as with an enchanter's wand, from a sterile waste, into an Eden of perpetual beauty."

"At the extremity of the delicious gardens in front of the Lodge, which slope gently down towards the sea, we enter the small sea-port and romantic, healthful bathing residence of Newcastle."

First published in July, 2019.