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

93 Newry Street is an end-of-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 buildings, 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 recessed bay to the front and a two-storey return to the rear. The roof is pitched with artificial slate and blue/black angled ridge tiles; the original chimneystack has been removed. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods sit on projecting eaves. The external walls are finished in ruled-and-lined render, painted at ground-floor level. Windows throughout are uPVC set in moulded architraves with painted sills. At ground-floor level there is a modern plate-glass window on a chamfered plinth base.

The principal elevation faces east. The left bay is slightly recessed and has a window to the first floor with a modern shopfront and door at ground-floor level. The narrower right bay has a window to the first floor and a four-panelled timber door with transom light in a moulded surround at ground-floor level. The south gable has a small, diminutive window at attic level. The west (rear) elevation is abutted by a two-storey return to the left. The north elevation is abutted by the adjoining building. To the rear there is a two-storey rubble-stone building with red-brick dressings. The terrace is prominently sited along a major thoroughfare in the centre of Banbridge, directly north of The Downshire Arms Hotel.

The shop and dwelling forms part of a terrace that was originally constructed before 1833 but has been remodelled over the years, notably in 1905. The double-height outbuilding to the rear originally overlooked a linen market sited behind the terrace. Buildings are shown on the site on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, which also shows outbuildings and a courtyard to the rear that were once used as a linen market and later became gardens. Although the terrace has clearly been remodelled over the years, it is likely to be built around an earlier core, possibly contemporary with the neighbouring early 19th-century Downshire Arms Hotel.

By the 1830s one of the houses was in use as a post office, and the terrace may have been built for that purpose, given its location beside a posting inn. The terrace was originally divided into two houses rather than three, with the present numbers 91 and 93 forming a single house and post office belonging to Margaret Mitchell and her daughter, also called Margaret Mitchell. Mitchell was postmistress from at least 1831 and was accustomed to rising daily at 5 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 to the rear of the property and made away with some silver, but was later captured and brought to trial.

The Townland Valuation of 1828–40 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 recorded at that time indicate that the post office breakfront projected six inches forward of the adjoining dwelling, in the same manner as it does today.

By the time of Griffith's Valuation (1856–64), the terrace had come 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 smaller adjoining house, then vacant, was valued at £9. Dimensions are recorded for the buildings and their double-height outbuildings to the rear, and it is noted 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 he was followed by the first postmistress, Anne Tierce, whose successor in 1811 was 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. According to the Banbridge Chronicle, Merron was 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 subsequent appointment to Banbridge Post Office.

Miss Margaret Mitchell, a subsequent postmistress, 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 with 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, as recorded in the Dictionary of Irish Biography and the Banbridge Chronicle. Miss Margaret Mitchell held the post of postmistress until December 1873, when she retired on a superannuation allowance.

Hugh Glass remained in the solicitor's office at number 91 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 the two were valued separately. Robert Irwin occupied number 91, valued at £13, while 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. Rent for number 91 was £18 and for number 93, £22. There was a common yard immediately behind the terrace and, beyond the yard, a garden belonging to number 91 that occupied a space formerly used as a linen market.

The 1901 census lists the buildings as private houses. Resident at number 93 was Patrick Gribbin, a 61-year-old retired baker living with his wife and four adult daughters, two of whom worked as dressmakers and two as teachers. Robert Irwin, from County Armagh, lived at number 91 and described himself as a gentleman; his daughter from Wexford lived with him as his housekeeper. Both houses had six rooms and were classified as second class according to their size and building materials, a wide category encompassing 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 was 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 described the additions and stated the house had been "practically rebuilt," though the dimensions of the main house had not changed. The rent was £18.

The 1911 census lists as resident at number 93 William Boyd, a 40-year-old physician and surgeon from Ballymena, who lived with his wife and a domestic servant from Mayo Bridge. Boyd occupied eight rooms. His neighbour at number 91, Ellen Fern, occupied three rooms. Fern was a widow living with her daughter and seven grandchildren ranging in age from 4 to 15.

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 1933–34, number 91 was occupied by Alexander McQuaid and revalued at £14 10s. The accommodation comprised at ground-floor level a lobby, sitting room, and kitchen; at first-floor level, a front reception room, one middle bedroom, one back bedroom, and a bathroom containing a bath and lavatory; and at attic level, a skylighted bedroom to 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 valued at £6. By 1936 the office had been vacated and the room was incorporated back into the valuation of the main house and used by McQuaid as a dining room, raising the valuation of his 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. The rent was £36 per annum.

Number 93 was occupied by William Boyd and revalued at £21 after appeal. The rent was £42 per annum free. At ground-floor level were a hall, front reception room, back reception room, and a kitchen with a scullery partitioned off. At first-floor level 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. An early survey photograph shows a bow window on number 93 that has since been removed. The building was delisted on 10 December 2013.