7 The Square, Rostrevor, Co.Down

7 The Square, Rostrevor

This Grade B listed building is a two-storey house, likely dating from around 1800–1810. It appears on all maps from an estate survey of 1767 onwards, and the first valuation book of 1835 confirms the building was already in place by that date. It is probable that the property is contemporary with its neighbouring buildings to the east.

The 1835 valuation records the occupier as Mrs. Spencer, who held the property under the ownership of Matthew Wright (occupant of the neighbouring properties at numbers 9–11) for either her own lifetime or a period of 31 years. The house dimensions were recorded as 26½ by 28 by 19 feet, with a back room over a gateway of 10 by 14 by 9 feet and offices measuring 9 by 6 by 6 feet, 23 by 8½ by 10 feet, and 17½ by 17 by 13 feet. The same dimensions appear in the valuation book of around 1861, which notes two offices instead and records the leaseholders as the representatives of John Gregg. Subsequent tenants included Miss Houston (from 1863), Rev. Patrick O'Neill (1865), Matilda J. McBride (1867), Rev. W. Logan (1875), Sarah Jane Jones (1893), Sarah J. Gilcriest (1897), and Jane Armstrong (1906). Later residents included Robert Armstrong (1919), David Moffat (1924), James F. Sherwood (1929), Jane and Eva Chadwick (around 1933), Alice Fulton (1939), and Olive Swanzy (recorded as still living there in 1972). The building appears to have functioned as a shop by late 1969, though this use is not documented in the valuation books.

The property is located within The Square, which forms part of a broad marketplace street running north-east to south-west and linking to Church Street. This thoroughfare does not appear on maps of 1739 or 1755, first being shown on an estate map of 1767. It was likely established or upgraded as part of the development of the road (now the B25 Kilbroney Road) connecting Rostrevor to the new village of Hilltown, begun by Wills Hill, later 1st Marquis of Downshire, during the 1760s. The generous breadth and name of The Square suggest it was intended to serve as a marketplace; in April 1769 Rostrevor's landlord Robert Ross obtained a patent to hold a weekly market and quarterly fairs. The parish church, completed in 1821, forms a closing feature to the broader portion of the street. By 1834, the development of the area had reached its present extent.

The building is situated within a conservation area.