Ye Olde Corner House, 1 Bridge St., Rostrevor, Co.Down

Ye Olde Corner House, 1 Bridge Street, Rostrevor

This corner building originated as two separate dwellings with shops, shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1834 and recorded in the valuation book of 1835. The larger property to the southeast, then occupied by Hugh Feran, measured 31½ feet by 20 by 18½ feet, with additional room space of 14 by 20 by 8½ feet, a return of 12 by 8 by 6 feet, and offices of 17½ by 12 by 14 feet, 22 by 21½ by 16 feet, and 16 by 10 by 9 feet. The smaller property to the northwest, in the possession of Margaret Martin, was 14 feet by 20 by 10 feet, with a triangular section at the end measuring 4½ by 18 by 12 feet. The architectural appearance suggests the building may date from the late 18th century or very early 1800s.

By 1838, both properties had been amalgamated into a single holding under Feran and Martin. They separated again by 1861, when Patrick Brady occupied the smaller property as a small grocery shop with parlour and one or two small rooms, and Hugh Moffett (or Moffatt) occupied the larger part. In 1874, the properties were reconsolidated and the shop was enlarged. By 1877 at the latest, the premises operated as a hotel under Andrew Cummins. The building was first formally described as a public house in the valuations of 1891, with Patrick McBrien listed as occupant in 1893. The 1901 census records McBrien, a 50-year-old publican from County Armagh, residing here with his wife Marianne, four children, and his sister-in-law Rose Quinn. The building was noted as a first-class public house and shop with eight rooms in family use. Francis Keenan took over in 1907, and the 1911 census shows him in occupation with his wife Mary and a domestic servant, with thirteen rooms in use. Subsequent tenants included Henry Smyth (circa 1932), Mary Smyth (1958), and James Flynn (1965), the latter still holding the lease in 1972.

The building stands within the conservation area on Bridge Street, which originated as the road from Kilkeel connecting to Rathfriland and Newry. The settlement of Rostrevor in 1739, shown on Oliver Sloane's County Down map, comprised buildings solely along the northeastern side of the road, suggesting this side of Bridge Street marks the earliest part of the village. Development on both sides is documented in an estate map of 1767 and Williamson's 1810 county map, reaching its present extent by the 1834 first edition Ordnance Survey map. The street was known as Post Office Street in the 1830s, modified to Old Post Office Street by 1861, and finally to Bridge Street by circa 1894. The 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoirs describe the street as leading in a south-easterly direction to Rostrevor Bridge, 155 yards long, 95 feet broad at its northern and western end and 25 feet at its narrowest part near the bridge, with two-storey houses in good order, all used for shops and furnished lodgings for accommodation of strangers. The post office relocated to number 7 Bridge Street in circa 1917.