Mount Stewart is a demesne with a mid-19th-century house and an early 20th-century garden set within a late 18th-century landscape park overlooking Strangford Lough. Garden compartments around the house are planted in dramatic colour schemes around geometric spaces. The garden decorations include a great deal of historical and political symbolism. Further from the house, planting is of a woodland character around a large lake. Built features include the 18th-century Temple of the Winds on a prominent site commanding the lough and the distinctive Tir na nOg, the family burial ground in the form of an Irish cross overlooking the lake. The estate was acquired in 1744 by Alexander Stewart MP. He built a house on the site of the present version. The walled kitchen garden was complete by about 1780. The landscape gardener William King was paid for design work in 1781 and 1782, and was probably responsible for the form of the park. Woodland planting continued during the late 18th century. The Temple of the Winds was built by 1783. The house was remodelled in the 1840s to the design of William Vitruvius Morrison. At the same time the lake was formed on the site of a former gravel pit. The present ornamental garden was largely created in the 1920s under the direction of Edith, Lady Londonderry, and includes symbolism relating to her husband's political circle and to aspects of Irish cultural history. In 1955 the gardens were transferred to the National Trust. Site is open to the public. Opening may be limited, please check Visitor Information for any restrictions.

Location:
Newtownards, County Down.