Former Market House, Church Square, Rathfriland, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5PT

Former Market House, Church Square, Rathfriland

This is a two-storey 18th-century market house aligned north-south in the centre of Church Square, with its front elevation facing east. Post-World War II extensions have been added to each gable in a manner sympathetic to the original building.

The main block features a pitched natural slate roof with granite ridge pieces and rendered skews. Cement-dashed chimneys with projecting caps and no pots rise from each gable. Metal half-rounded guttering runs along a granite ogee-moulded eaves course, with a metal downpipe positioned to the left of the façade. The walls have an irregular rendered base course and are cement wet-dashed, with exposed granite V-channelled stepped granite quoins at the corners.

The ground floor of the east-facing front elevation contains three equally spaced semicircular-headed archways, each dressed with stepped granite quoins and voussoirs. The left archway has a modern painted plywood door with matching side panels and a security-glazed three-paned transom above. The central archway is completely filled by a tongue-and-groove sheeted timber vehicle door. The right archway is infilled and dashed over. The first floor has three equally spaced window openings aligned with the ground-floor archways. All are timber 8/8 margin-paned sliding sashes with granite cills.

The south gable is abutted by a 1951 addition, which is slightly narrower and lower than the main block. This addition has a pitched natural slate roof with boxed eaves and soffit, rendered skew, and guttering matching the main block. Architectural details to openings, corners and reveals are executed in cement render rather than granite. The right cheek of this addition (forming part of the east elevation of the whole composition) has an archway matching those of the main block, infilled and dashed, with a tongue-and-groove sheeted timber door to its centre. Centred above at first-floor level is a single window opening containing a pair of 1/1 margin-paned sashes. The south gable of this addition has two infilled archways, each containing a post-World War II metal window with three-by-four panes. Two windows are positioned in line above on the first floor. Set in the wall between them is a polished granite plaque depicting the Meade family crest—a two-headed eagle—flanked by the dates 19 and 51, with the initials J W M below. A metal weighbridge by Avery of Birmingham, England, stands to the front of this gable.

The left cheek of the south addition forms part of the overall west elevation. It contains an infilled archway inset with a small post-World War II metal casement window with two-by-three panes and a concrete cill, with a single window above at first-floor level.

The west elevation of the main block is identical in composition to the east elevation with the following exceptions: the left archway is infilled and dashed and contains an 8/8 margin-paned sliding sash; the central archway is filled by a painted tongue-and-groove sheeted vehicle door; and the right archway is infilled and dashed with a two-by-three-paned post-war metal casement window. Three windows above match those of the east elevation.

The north gable is abutted by a 1951 addition. The left cheek of this addition has an infilled arch to the ground floor with a window above. Its north gable has a single central coachway to the ground floor, infilled with modern plywood doors with a security-glazed transom over. Three equally spaced window openings to the first floor each contain a pair of 1/1 margin-paned windows with concrete cills. A cast-iron downpipe and soil pipe abut to the left of the archway. The right cheek has a blank infilled archway to the ground floor and an 8/8 window above.

The pavement surrounding the building is laid with small square concrete setts and large paving slabs, with occasional modern black metal bollards and matching litter bins. Modern timber benches stand to the right and left archways on the west elevation of the main block.