3 Rokeby Green, The Mall West, Armagh

3 Rokeby Green, The Mall West, Armagh

This is a house of the 1810s–20s, located within a conservation area. A building matching the present plan appears on the 1834 Ordnance Survey town plan of Armagh. The 1835 valuation records a dwelling measuring 15½ feet by 24 by 32 feet, with a smaller adjoining outbuilding of 8 by 12½ by 6 feet. The larger dimensions correspond closely to the main part of the present building, confirming pre-1830s construction. The overall styling suggests a date of the 1810s–20s.

The property's administrative history is noteworthy. It was listed as part of College Street in the 1835 valuation and remained so in the 1862 update, only being transferred to Rokeby Green a year or two later. This administrative shift may indicate that the building was originally associated with the neighbouring property to the west, now 25 College Street. In 1835 it was occupied by James McCune. By 1862 it was held on lease by Henry Harris, a solicitor, from Elizabeth Vogan; Harris also occupied 25 College Street and may have used the Rokeby Green property as offices. By 1869 it had passed to Charles Archer, another solicitor, followed in 1872 by Margaret Mary Nugent.

A water closet was added to the building in 1872, increasing its rateable value from £10 to £11. At that time the property comprised only the taller gable-fronted portion; what is now the lower return to the southern side was a separate dwelling. In 1873 this return section, which had been recently re-roofed and improved, was added to the main building and rated at £16. Despite this merger, both sections continued to be rented separately until 1891 when James Willis became the sole leaseholder and the building was treated as a single entity. George P. Smith held the tenancy from 1894 until around 1900. Around 1901–02 the property was subdivided again, with a ground-floor office created, apparently as a result of the new leaseholder R. Best, who may have been a solicitor and initially occupied the office himself. The Best family retained the entire building until around 1920 when Captain William Rayhill (or Rehill), a veteran of the Boer and Great Wars, became the sole occupant. He died after falling from a second-floor window in February 1932.

The structure has undergone several alterations. Probably shortly after 1891, the ground-level openings of the former separate dwelling (now the return) were altered: a doorway was removed and a window relocated. In more recent years this section was further altered when it was reduced internally from three levels to two, with corresponding changes to the external openings.