6 Church Square, Rathfriland, Newry Co Down, BT34 5PT

6 Church Square, Rathfriland

This is a three-storey building with one bay, forming part of a prominent group at a major junction in the heart of Rathfriland. It shares a common roof with Nos. 2 and 4 to its left, and is situated on the east side of Church Square. The building has considerable townscape value as part of this group, and holds local historical importance as the first Methodist Church in the town.

The walls are finished in cement-lined render with V-channelled stepped quoins to the upper floors. The pitched natural slate roof has a cement-rendered chimney to the right end gable, with a painted advanced stone eaves course supporting modern plastic guttering that feeds into No. 4.

At ground floor level, the right side features a pair of tongue-and-groove sheeted storm doors with a Gothic headed fanlight containing Y-tracery. The remainder of the ground floor is occupied by an early twentieth-century shop front. The glazed and panelled doorway is recessed at the left end and has a segmental head to its bottom rail, with a narrow plain glazed transom above. The threshold is black and white tiled and is flanked by curved glazing enclosing a small display area to the left, which continues to the right as the main shop front with a run-moulded rendered cill. A later plain timber fascia has been applied, and a timber awning box sits upon a platband running between the ground and first floors.

The first floor, which forms a large double-height space with the second floor, has two large Gothic headed windows. The left window is set further from centre than the right one. Each window opening has a painted granite cill and run-moulded stucco architrave. Each opening consists of a pair of narrow 4/4 sliding sashes, with each top sash featuring an additional Y-tracery glazed head above a plain infilled spandrel. Between the two window openings is a painted rectangular granite plaque, which has been rendered over.

The third floor contains two windows in line with those below, with similar architraves and cills. These are 3/3 sliding sashes with exposed boxes, identical to and in line with those at No. 4.

The left gable forms a party wall with No. 4. The rear elevation advances beyond the rest of the terrace under the rear pitch, which catslides. Its right cheek is cement-rendered and has a boarded-up window with granite cill at first-floor level. The left cheek forms part of the end gable. The rear wall has a small central gablet on the wall-head, with a pitched natural slate roof tied into the main roof and plastic rainwater goods. To its left and right are narrow horizontal windows at eaves level, both now blocked up. A modern door at ground-floor left leads to what is now a demolished rear return, and to the right is a large boarded-over window opening. The ghost of the rear return remains visible in the render; it was originally two storeys with a pitched natural slate roof. The right gable is abutted by a lower building and its exposed section is rendered and blank.

Historically, on 5 September 1831, Mr David Allen, his son and a minister met General Meade, the local landlord, at his home Burrenwood (near Castlewellan) to request a lease to build a Methodist Meeting house. The building opened for worship in 1832, with an inscription on the front plaque reading "Methodist Church / 1832". It is possible that the Methodist chapel was incorporated into the first floor of an existing block of houses (No. 2 and 4). The Ordnance Survey Memoir notes it cost £300. The building continued in use until the early twentieth century, and from 1915 onwards it is cited as a "hall" in Valuation revision books.