91 Newry Street, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 3EF

91 Newry Street is a mid-terrace two-storey, two-bay commercial premises built around 1820, situated on the west side of Newry Street in Banbridge town centre. It forms part of a terrace of three properties, all of which have been subject to refurbishments over the years; the loss of architectural detailing and a modern interior has compromised much of the original character.

The building is square on plan with a two-storey return to the rear. The roof is pitched with artificial slate and blue/black angled ridge tiles, with a rendered chimney stack. The projecting eaves carry cast-iron ogee rainwater goods. The external walls are finished in painted smooth render. Windows are replacement timber casements set in moulded architraves with painted projecting sills, and there is a modern plate-glass window at ground floor level.

The principal elevation faces east. At first floor there are two windows, and at ground floor there is a modern shop-front with a plate-glass window and a door positioned to the left. The south gable abuts the neighbouring property to the south, and the north gable abuts the neighbouring property to the north. The west (rear) elevation has a window at first-floor left and is abutted at the right by the two-storey return. To the rear there is a two-storey rubble-stone building with red-brick dressings. The roof of this rear building is also artificial slate.

The building is prominently sited along a major thoroughfare in the town centre, directly north of The Downshire Arms Hotel.

The current shop and dwelling is part of a terrace originally constructed before 1833, as confirmed by its appearance on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of that year, though it has been remodelled on several occasions, notably in 1905. The double-height outbuilding to the rear originally overlooked a linen market sited behind the terrace, which later became gardens for the current buildings. It is likely that the terrace is built around an earlier core, possibly contemporary with the neighbouring early 19th-century Downshire Arms Hotel.

The terrace was originally divided into two houses rather than three. What are now numbers 91 and 93 formed a single house and post office belonging to Margaret Mitchell and her daughter, also called Margaret Mitchell. By the 1830s the building was in use as the post office, and its location beside a posting inn suggests it may have been built for that purpose. Mitchell served as postmistress from at least 1831 and was accustomed to rising daily at five o'clock to sort the mail. In April 1831 the Belfast Newsletter reported that the post office had been broken into: a disgruntled former employee had scaled a wall at the rear of the property and made off with some silver, but was later captured and brought to trial.

The Townland Valuation of 1828 to 1840 lists the house and post office belonging to Mitchell at a valuation of £16. The smaller adjoining dwelling, let to John Hibbit, is valued at £6 16s. Dimensions given in that valuation indicate that the post office breakfront already projected six inches forward of the adjoining dwelling, in the same manner as it does today.

By the time of Griffith's Valuation of 1856 to 1864, the terrace had begun to be listed as three separate buildings. Numbers 91 and 93 were both occupied by Margaret Mitchell, although part of number 91 was let to solicitor Hugh Glass as an office. Number 93 was the post office, and all buildings in the terrace are described as "plastered and stone finished." The post office was valued at £15 and the attorney's office at £11, while the adjoining smaller house, then vacant, was valued at £9. The valuation also records dimensions for the buildings and their double-height outbuildings to the rear, and notes that new single-storey outbuildings had been constructed for the post office.

The first post office in Banbridge, with mail carried by stage coach, was established in the 1780s with Robert Harrison as postmaster. In 1801 Mr Harrison was succeeded by the first postmistress, Anne Tierce, who was herself followed in 1811 by Mr William Merron. Merron served as postmaster until around 1830, and the present building is thought to have served as the post office during this period. Mr Merron is said to have been convicted and sentenced to death for a political offence; his life was saved by his wife, who sent a petition to King George III, resulting in a full pardon and his appointment to Banbridge Post Office, according to the Banbridge Chronicle.

Miss Margaret Mitchell, a subsequent holder of the post, was the sister of the celebrated Young Irelander John Mitchel, who received a sentence of fourteen years' transportation in 1848. Mitchel had trained as a lawyer and maintained a successful practice in Banbridge, but his clashes with magistrates made him increasingly aware of the injustices suffered by local Catholics and deepened his nationalist sympathies. Miss Margaret Mitchell held the postmistress position until December 1873, when she retired on a superannuation allowance.

Hugh Glass remained in the solicitor's office until 1871, at which point number 91 was added into the valuation of the post office, the two buildings being valued together at £26. The post office moved to Bridge Street in the 1870s. In 1897 numbers 91 and 93 were taken over by Robert Irwin, who improved the houses; from this point they were separately valued. Robert Irwin occupied number 91, valued at £13, and Sarah J Gribben leased the other, valued at £16 10s, from Robert Irwin. A valuer's notebook of the period gives a plan and dimensions for the two tenements and their associated outbuildings, with rent for number 91 recorded at £18 and for number 93 at £22. There was a common yard immediately behind the terrace and, beyond the yard, a garden belonging to number 91 occupying a space formerly used as the linen market.

The 1901 census records both buildings as private houses. At number 93 resided Patrick Gribbin, a 61-year-old retired baker, with his wife and four adult daughters, two of whom worked as dressmakers and two as teachers. At number 91 lived Robert Irwin, from County Armagh, who described himself as a gentleman, with his daughter from Wexford serving as his housekeeper. Both houses had six rooms and were classified as second class according to their size and building materials, a broad category covering the majority of buildings in Banbridge town.

Number 93 was taken over by Alexander Rowney in 1906. Number 91 was let to a succession of tenants and then practically rebuilt in 1905. Contemporary valuer's notes record that the plan form of number 91 had changed and an extension had been added to the rear. The valuer states that the building had been "practically rebuilt," although the dimensions of the main house had not changed, and the rent was recorded at £18.

The 1911 census records at number 93, William Boyd, a 40-year-old physician and surgeon from Ballymena, living with his wife and a domestic servant from Mayo Bridge, occupying eight rooms. His neighbour at number 91, Ellen Fern, a widow, occupied three rooms with her daughter and seven grandchildren ranging in age from four to fifteen.

In 1917 number 91 was taken over by Alexander McQuaid. Number 93 remained in the Boyd family, passing to Jane Boyd in 1954.

At the time of the First General Revaluation of 1933 to 1934, number 91 was occupied by Alexander McQuaid and revalued at £14 10s. The ground floor accommodation comprised a lobby, sitting room and kitchen; the first floor contained a front reception room, one middle bedroom, one back bedroom and a bathroom with bath and lavatory; above that was an attic bedroom skylighted at the rear. There was an enclosed yard with an outside WC and an outbuilding used as a store. A ground floor office occupied by the Refuge Assurance Co Ltd was separately valued at £6. By 1936 the office had been vacated, returned to the main house and used as a dining room by McQuaid, raising the valuation of the house to £16 10s. On inspection in 1935 the main house had electric light but no scullery, and a bathroom with hot and cold water, at a rent of £36 per annum.

Number 93 was occupied by William Boyd and revalued at £21 after appeal, at a rent of £42 per annum free. The ground floor comprised a hall, front reception room, back reception room and a kitchen with a scullery partitioned off. On the first floor were three bedrooms, a surgery and a bathroom with bath and lavatory. On the top floor was one attic bedroom. The enclosed yard contained a two-storey outbuilding used as a store and a garage.

The terrace was listed in 1977 and has remained in commercial use. It was subsequently removed from the statutory list on 10 December 2013.