30 Main St, Scarva, Craigavon, Co Down, BT63 6LS

30 Main Street, Scarva is a two-storey, five-bay mid-terrace townhouse and former shop, now used as a single dwelling, predating 1830 and of late 18th or early 19th century date. It occupies a central position on the east side of Main Street, forming part of a continuous terrace running the full length of that side of the street. The building was originally lime-rendered and underwent remodelling around 1874. It has served at various points as a private dwelling, a police barracks, and a village shop, and latterly as the village post office, before being refurbished for residential use. It is no longer considered to be of special interest and was removed from the statutory list on 10 December 2013.

The plan form is rectangular, with a single-storey extension to the rear. The roof is pitched and covered in mineral fibre slate with clay ridge tiles, uPVC rainwater goods, and a cement-rendered chimney with cement coping. The external walls are dashed, with a smooth rendered plinth, long-and-short quoins, and slightly projecting rendered reveals. Windows are 1/1 double-glazed timber sliding sashes with masonry cills. There is a quadripartite segmental-headed display window with moulded surrounds and decorative lead flashing. The front door is a replacement timber sheeted door.

The principal elevation faces west and is asymmetrically arranged. The front door sits to the left, with two windows to its right, and the quadripartite display window to the far right. The first floor presents five windows across. The left gable abuts 26/28 Main Street. The right gable abuts 32 Main Street.

The rear elevation is also asymmetrically arranged and cement roughcast rendered. To the left, a single-storey mono-pitch return is abutted to the gable, comprising a pair of modern timber glazed doors to the right and a timber casement window to the left. A further flat-roofed outbuilding of no interest abuts the gable beyond that. To the right of the return there is a single bipartite casement window and, to the far right, a single timber glazed door. Three casement windows, diminished in scale, sit at first-floor level to the rear. There is a single rooflight to the left side of the rear pitch.

Although the building's external proportions, style, and overall character have remained largely unaltered, the modern finish and replica shopfront are considered inappropriate. The interior has been significantly modernised, with no evidence of a historic layout or historic fabric of interest. Alterations and extensions at the rear have further compromised its character.

The setting is notable. The building sits within a continuous terrace along the east side of Main Street, with a tiered, hard-landscaped garden to the rear, beyond which rises a heavily vegetated embankment. Opposite the house is a landscaped public area, beyond which runs the Newry Canal.

The village of Scarva was founded in 1746 by John Reilly of Scarva House, beside the newly opened Newry Canal. The canal had opened in 1742 to connect Carlingford Lough with Lough Neagh, primarily as a means of transporting coal from east Tyrone to Dublin. John Reilly procured a patent for holding fairs and markets and built a small dock and quay. Taylor and Skinner's 1777 map of Scarva shows that early development was concentrated around the bridge over the canal. The 1797 Topographica Hibernica describes Scarva as a small, neat village with a large salt works, with fairs held four times a year. By 1829, Capper's Topographical Dictionary recorded a population of 170 living in 33 houses. By 1875 traffic along the Newry Canal was bringing cargoes of turf to Scarva, making use of the dock and quay for lighters, though the market was no longer being held. The population remained broadly stable through the 19th century, standing at 157 in 1910.

A house is shown on this site on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834, and it is listed in the Townland Valuation of 1828–40 among several neighbouring properties described as three houses exempt from valuation on account of being below the taxable threshold. In Griffith's Valuation, the property appears as belonging to J.T. Reilly, leased to Mary Anne Kennedy, and comprising a house, office, yard, and small garden valued at £6, with a yearly rent of £3 9s. Dimensions are recorded for the house itself, a two-storey outbuilding, and a one-storey shed.

In 1873 the house briefly became a police barracks before the Royal Irish Constabulary relocated to what is now 14 Main Street. The valuation was raised to £8 in 1874, the valuer noting that the house had been improved. Subsequent occupiers recorded include William Acheson (1875), Thomas Anderson (1893), Thomas Paton (1902), John Patton (1906), a period of vacancy (1908), and John Patton again from 1909. At the time of the 1901 census, John Patton was the occupier and ran the premises as a grocer's shop; he described himself as a merchant and his wife as a shopkeeper, and they lived there with their two young children. By 1911 the couple had six children and continued to operate a grocery on the premises. At the time of the First General Revaluation of 1933/34, John Patton was leasing the house, shop, office, and garden from Ann Brierly Dunlop, and the property was revalued at £13 10s. The accommodation at that time comprised a kitchen, reception room, three bedrooms, and offices, with a plan and dimensions recorded. In 1950 the grocer's shop was being let for £75 yearly by John Patton senior to William Patton. The Ordnance Survey map edition from the 1960s and 1970s shows the building was latterly used as the village post office.