Its beautiful and beguiling gardens make Mount Stewart one of the most seductive places on this island to visit, writes Eileen Battersby
THERE IS NO picture like it, no study as truthful, as alert to the pain of victory. The champion is exhausted; there is no sign of triumph. He paws the ground, and stretches his neck out as if to ward off all approaches. His eye is difficult to read.
Is it rage or terror at the memory, or both? The two men with him gaze back at the viewer. The man with the big hat appears to be having second thoughts. Perhaps he regrets the entire episode - a challenge match race pitting two horses over a four-mile course at Newmarket with 3,000 guineas to be paid by the loser. Both horses would suffer and did; the winner no less than the loser.
It took a genius to grasp this. It took a great artist to capture it. The innovative George Stubbs was both. His portrait of Hambletonian, a seven-year-old grandson of the great foundation thoroughbred Eclipse, was painted when Stubbs was 75 and it testifies to his wisdom and his art - just as the reason behind the commission says a great deal about the vanity of the owner of the race horse. Sir Henry "Harry" Vane-Tempest was one of the richest men in England and one of the wildest.
Originally intended as one of two paintings (the other would have shown the race was never begun due to Vane-Tempest's refusal to pay Stubbs who had to sue for payment) Hambletonian Rubbing Down remains a masterpiece, one of the crowning achievements of equine art. It is also elusive and is kept in a house, not on wider display in one of the world's great art galleries.
When The National Gallery in London staged a major exhibition, Stubbs and the Horse in 2005, one great work was absent, considered far too valuable to risk travel. The study of Hambletonian, exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1800, was quietly hanging in Northern Ireland, on the wall over the half landing of the staircase in Mount Stewart, a lovely villa surrounded by one of the finest, most original gardens in Europe.
Mount Stewart is situated on the western shore of the Ards Peninsula, and overlooks Strangford Lough, an internationally celebrated area of outstanding natural beauty. It is approached through the magnificent landscape of Co Down. There is no doubt that the presence of Stubbs's superlative painting has attracted many visitors to the house which is in the care of the National Trust, yet thousands, possibly millions, more have come here to experience the beguiling gardens which were designed by the remarkable Edith, Lady Londonderry who came there to live in 1919.
Assisted by a small army of builders and gardeners, she immediately ordered that the brooding holm oaks be removed and devised spectacular plans combining daring planting with architectural flourishes. Her vision was to create a timeless garden that would convey the impression of having always been here.
It was she who first realised the benefits of the sub-tropical local climate. The Gulf Stream feeds Strangford Lough. The area is frost-free and, as Lady Edith discovered, Mount Stewart enjoys island conditions, the atmosphere is humid and, in hot weather, there are heavy dews at night. Tender tropical plants thrive here and many greenhouse varieties have been planted outside with impressive results.
True to the compartmental style of gardening, there are many gardens within Mount Stewart, including an Italian garden which runs the full length of the south side of the house and the Spanish garden with its blue-green tiled summer house.
There is also a sense of woodland through the several walks and the lake provides a central focal point. It is romantic, yet these gardens are unique for their imaginative flair and wit. The Dodo Terrace with its array of mythic stone animals offers touches of Lewis Carroll and may also be cross-referenced to the political gatherings of the wartime Ark Club that often met in Londonderry House, the family's London home.
FOR ALL THE FUN and artistry, the political relevance of Mount Stewart is never far away. This was the family home of Robert Stewart, the second Marquess of Londonderry, better known to history perhaps as Lord Castlereagh, one of the major players in late 18th and early 19th British and European history. Born in Dublin in 1769, he was the eldest son of Robert Stewart, the first marquess. Unlike his famous son, the first Robert Stewart was an easy-going character, who having suffered the death of his first wife, the future Castlereagh's mother, married into immense wealth through Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Lord Camden. This proved useful as he had 11 children in all.
The first Robert Stewart was created marquess of Londonderry in 1816. As a young man, he had enjoyed the traditional Grand Tour and was strongly influenced by the classical architecture of Greece and Rome. It was he who commissioned a London architect, George Dance, to extend the original house built by his father, Alexander Stewart (1700-81), who had purchased the demesne land of Mount Stewart, called Mount Pleasant in 1744, and initially built a small country house on the site with the intention of building a larger one.
In 1782, Robert Stewart commissioned the Temple of the Winds. As beautiful and as graceful as Charlemont's gorgeous Casino, the octagonal temple at Mount Stewart is the only building in Ireland designed by James Stuart and although used for parties, it seems more contemplative than that, and is a dramatic, elegant addition to the grounds. Based on the Temple of the Winds in Athens, it has balconies and it doesn't require much imagination to see a distressed heroine standing there, lamenting her grief. Interestingly, Mount Stewart has few ghosts. This appears a happy place. Even the family burial ground is called Tír Na Óg. A large white metal stag appears to be leading souls to heaven. All else, particularly the birds on the lake, are content to stay.
The present house is a long, two storey classical 1820s building incorporating at one end the earlier 1803-06 George Dance house built by Castlereagh's father. Despite his love for Mount Stewart, Castlereagh lived mainly in England, encouraging his father's various projects back home. Many of Castlereagh's documents and correspondence, including letters to and from Wellington and Nelson, were housed at Mount Stewart before being handed over, bound in 38 thick folio volumes to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. One of his defining achievements as a politician was his part in the peace negotiations at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Lining the walls of the dining room are 22 Empire chairs used by the delegates to the Congress.
THIS IS A HOUSE in which history was a way of life. In 1790, at the age of 21, Robert Stewart junior was elected MP for County Down. It was the beginning of his political career. It cost the family so much that planned improvements at Mount Stewart were delayed. In 1798, Castlereagh, a supporter of the Act of Union, was appointed chief secretary to the Lord Lieutenant and served in successive British governments and was something of an unofficial prime minister. In 1805, he was appointed secretary for war, and became foreign secretary in 1812. In 1821, George 1V offered Castlereagh the post of prime minister but he declined. Already unpopular he was associated with the repressive policies of the post-Napoleonic era, while his efforts in the Queen Caroline divorce case earned him death threats.
His despair was increasing. Little over a year after succeeding his father to the title, Castlereagh, while in England, slit his throat with a pen knife. He left a widow, but no children.
Mount Stewart then passed into the hands of Castlereagh's flamboyant half-brother, Charles, a career soldier, one-time ambassador to Austria and a delegate to the Congress of Vienna. In Frances Anne Vane- Tempest, Charles found a wife who shared his love of luxury. Described by her friend Disraeli as "half-ruffian, half-great lady", she brought a vast fortune, which included estates and coal mines, to Mount Stewart. She was also the daughter of the Vane-Tempest who had owned Hambletonian. She appears to have inherited her father's personality.
Charles and Frances improved Mount Stewart, while they also purchased an immense London home, Londonderry House in Park Lane. Hambletonian was brought there in the 1930s and returned to Mount Stewart in the 1960s when Londonderry House was sold.
Royalty visited Mount Stewart and so did many politicians. Michael Collins stayed here, as did Winston Churchill. The house is wonderful, and for all its size and grandeur, it is welcoming and yes, who wouldn't want to call it home? It has comfort and ease as characterised by Lady Londonderry's gorgeous sitting room. The gardens live through the seasons and are as splendid in the rain as they are in hazy summer sunlight, the famous fountains returned to work in recent weeks for the first time in 40 years.
Lady Mairi Bury, youngest daughter of Lady Edith and Charles, the seventh marquess of Londonderry, continues to live there. As an infant in her pram she developed her passion for the gardens and one of them is named after her. Once you visit Mount Stewart, one of the most seductive places on this island, you will return.
• Mount Stewart: a National Trust Property, 048-42788387. House tours continue until end of Oct. The gardens are open year round.
An opera evening takes place at Mount Stewart on Sept 19. The Harvest Food Fair takes place on Oct 11 and 12.