House at Four mile, opp. 189 Belfast Road, Donaghmore, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1RE

This is a one-and-a-half-storey vernacular house situated on the east side of Four Mile Cross, near Donaghmore, Newry, County Down. The building is unusual for its small scale and picturesque style, featuring a shallow-pitched roof with overhanging eaves and exposed rafter tails. It comprises two dwellings, with the southern bay forming a single dwelling unit.

The house is constructed of harled rubble stone, with a natural slate roof. A chimney is located on either side of the central bay, which features a dormer roof mimicking the end gables of the front elevation. The front elevation faces east onto the road. The left bay has a small porch with a gabled roof and sheeted door on its east gable, above which is a transom light. The central bay has a shallow canted bay window on the ground floor, topped by a small natural slate roof, with remnants of side-hung casement windows on each cheek and a pair on the front. A small window opening is present in the dormer gable above. The right bay has a window opening containing three side-hung casement windows, and a four-panelled, bolection-moulded door to its right.

The south gable has a canted bay window at ground floor, similar to that on the front façade but in better condition, with a small window in the dormer above. A single-storey, monopitched lean-to extension abuts the rear elevation and is constructed of similar materials to the main block. This lean-to extends northwards, wrapping around the north gable. The south gable of the lean-to is flush with the south gable of the main house and features a 2/2 sash window. The rear-facing elevation of the lean-to includes a door and window to the left and right, and an infilled doorway containing a window to the center. The north gable of the main block has a pair of T&G sheeted doors on its north wall and a window opening on its eastern cheek.

The site was shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map, initially as a one-story vernacular building, but with an “L” plan form on the 1859 Ordnance Survey map. Valuation records from 1862 indicate two dwellings on the land, valued at £2.10s.0d and £1.10s.0d respectively, with no subsequent changes recorded. The house is likely to date from the mid-19th century, between 1840 and 1859. Records indicate the building has been noted as derelict at times.