Cairn Hill, 39 Rathfriland Road, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1JZ

Cairn Hill is a two-storey-plus-attic, three-bay Tudor Revival house, likely built in the 1840s to 1850s and subsequently embellished around 1860, traditionally associated with Henry W. Wallace. It was formerly known as Emy Ville and is not recorded on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map, though it appears under that name on both the 1858 and 1902 editions. It sits within mature gardens on Rathfriland Road, Newry, and faces south-east. The building is no longer listed, having been removed from the statutory record in March 2005, as it does not meet the tests for special architectural or historic interest — primarily because its composition has been severely compromised by a large modern extension to the left and rear.

The house has a pitched natural slate roof with two large gables at either end of the façade and a smaller one at the centre. Two modern skylights have been added to the rear pitch. There are three decorative rendered chimneys: one at each end of the ridge and a third positioned just right of centre. Each end chimney breast projects from the end gable within a plain recessed panel that rests on a stepped cushion-moulded corbel at first floor and attic level, though the corbel to the left gable chimney is partially missing. These end chimneys break through the ridge behind the decorative gable bargeboards. Each end chimney consists of two square-section smooth-rendered stacks rising from a common base, finishing in conjoined corbelled caps with stop-end chamfers to their cames. The middle chimney is similar in character but comprises four stacks rather than two. Plastic ogee gutters are fitted throughout, with squared downpipes, and large lead hopper heads are positioned at the left and right corners of the façade.

The façade gables are decorated with fretted ornamental bargeboards and decorated apexes. The two large end gables each have an apex with punched quatrefoil detailing set within a stop-end chamfered frame. The apex of the left façade gable also contains a 2-over-2 sliding sash window with horns, which appears to be a later addition and is fitted with a smooth render architrave, reveal, and painted render cill; the bargeboard panelling at this gable has been removed. The central gable has a single trefoil to its apex. The façade walls are finished in painted wet dash render with a smooth chamfered base course and stepped vee-jointed render quoins throughout. The section of wall below each façade gable projects slightly forward of the main wall plane.

A single-storey porch abuts the central gable. It has a pitched natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and a ball finial, with rainwater goods and bargeboards matching the main building, and two quatrefoils to its apex. The front wall of the porch is painted smooth line render with vee-jointed stepped quoins, while the remaining walls match the main façade. Two granite steps rise to the main entrance in the porch gable. The door comprises two tongue-and-groove sheeted painted modern leaves with modern metal decorative strap hinges and matching modern furniture, set within a chamfered opening with lined voussoirs to a Gothic head. A doorbell and modern light fitting are positioned to the right of the door. Each cheek of the porch contains a single 1-over-1 sliding sash window with the top sash smaller than the lower, fitted with a smooth stop-end chamfered reveal, smooth render architrave, and painted granite cill. Above the porch at first floor level is a similar casement window, though without architrave or cill, with its head set within the decorative gable above.

At ground floor level immediately to the left and right of the porch are single narrow 2-over-2 sliding sash windows, each with the top sash smaller and no horns, smooth stop-end chamfered reveals, architraves, painted granite cills, and squared drip moulds above. Above each of these, at first floor level, are identical windows of diminished height and without drip moulds, their heads sitting at eaves level.

The two end bays have near-identical fenestration. Granite steps rise to a full-height tripartite window in each, set within a projecting painted smooth-rendered rectangular bay. Each tripartite grouping consists of a 1-over-1 sliding sash window with horns to the centre and a similar but narrower window to either side. The projecting bay has a rendered stepped sloping roof, smooth render walls, and roll-mould chamfers to each corner and window reveal. At first floor in each end bay is a pair of 2-over-2 sliding sash windows with the top sash smaller, smooth render stop-end chamfered reveals, and painted granite cills sharing a linked paired drip mould.

The right-hand gable elevation has two windows on each floor, positioned on either side of the chimney breast. Those at ground floor are 2-over-2 sliding sashes with the top sash smaller, no horns, and smooth render stop-end chamfered reveals and architraves. The cill to the left-hand ground floor window is concrete and slopes steeply away from the window, raising the possibility that this opening was once a door, as the wall render below is noticeably uneven. The cill to the right-hand ground floor window is moulded decorative render with a cavetto mould below. The wet dash render above the ground floor window heads is patchy, suggesting a lean-to roof once abutted the wall at this level. At first floor, two 2-over-2 casement windows align with those below, both with smooth render reveals and granite cills.

The left-hand gable elevation has no openings and is abutted by a single-storey link block connecting to the large modern extension. This link block is set back from the main façade line and has a pitched artificial slate roof with overhanging eaves; its rainwater goods and wall finish match the main façade. The front elevation of the link block has three modern top-hung 2-over-2 windows with smooth render architraves and reveals and modern concrete cills, all with squared drip moulds above — the two on the right sharing a connected drip mould. The rear elevation of this link block faces an enclosed courtyard and contains three modern plastic windows. The rear of the main block is abutted at centre by a flat-roofed return rising to eaves level. To the right, the front gable continues rearward and ties into a modern return running at right angles. The remaining rear wall is wet dashed with stepped quoins at the left end and a single 1-over-1 sliding sash with horns at first floor level. The two-storey modern extension running across the rear of the building has a pitched artificial slate roof, painted render walls matching the house, and plastic windows throughout with painted render architraves. The extension is largely concealed behind the house but wraps around the left gable of the main block, and its size at that point detracts significantly from the appearance of the original building.

A ruined gate lodge stands at the Rathfriland Road entrance to the property. It is built of random granite rubble and appears to have been wet dashed. Photographic evidence shows it was originally one-and-a-half storeys high and of L-plan form, with one gable facing the road and another facing the driveway up to the main house. The façade gable contained a pair of 2-over-2 horizontally divided sliding sashes. The other gable had a tongue-and-groove sheeted door in the cheek facing the main road and two windows to the gable itself. The left elevation appears to have been blank, and the rear elevation has been demolished. No trace remains of any former wrought-iron gates, posts, or railings.

Historically, the house does not appear on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map but is shown as Emy Ville on both the 1858 and 1902 editions. According to J.A.K. Dean's 1994 work The Gate Lodges of Ulster, the house was acquired by Henry W. Wallace and rebuilt in its present form around 1860, together with the gate lodge. However, a map of Newry — held at Newry Branch Library and attributed in its inscription to around 1780, though more likely of mid-19th century date — depicts Emy Ville in broadly its present form, but with the two ground floor end bays shown as gabled and none of the main gable apexes carrying decorative woodwork. This suggests that the mid-19th century house was embellished rather than entirely rebuilt by Wallace.