1-36 Damolly Row, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1PY

A terrace of 36 two-storey, two-bay houses arranged as two contiguous blocks on the north-east side of Damolly Row in Newry.

The upper section comprises numbers 1-26, all identical, divided into five sub-blocks which step down the hill towards the north-west: 1-6 (at top), 7-12, 13-18, 19-24, and 25-26 (at bottom). The orientation of the row changes slightly at number 11. The lower section comprises numbers 27-36 (with no number 34), divided into two sub-blocks: 27-31 and 32-33-35-36, which similarly step down the hill. The lower section houses are lower in height than those in the upper section.

All houses have pitched natural slate roofs with plastic or metal rainwater goods and a single brick chimney to the right gable, most now rebuilt in red brick. The walls facing the street are random granite rubble with stepped red brick dressings to doors and windows in the upper section. Each house has a front door at left with a plain transom light over, and a single window to the right of the door. At first floor is an identical window centred on the façade. All windows have granite cills.

The upper section (1-26) retains red brick dressings to openings. Number 1 has had its brick dressings rendered in cement and its right gable is wet dashed with plastic windows at ground and first floor. Numbers 7-12 have narrower transom lights than others in the block. Numbers 17 and 19 retain their original 2/2 sliding sash windows, all with horns. None of the other houses in this section retain original windows or doors.

The lower section (27-36) has no brick dressings to the original openings. Numbers 27 and 28 are now one property, with the door to number 28 now a window. Numbers 32-36 are identical to numbers 27-31 but are wet dashed over a smooth rendered base course. All houses in this section have modern windows and none retain original windows or doors. The rear of all properties have been much altered and most have gabled returns.

Historical development

The two blocks at the bottom of the row (from number 27 onwards) predate those higher up. With the exception of numbers 32 and 33, they predate 1863, when they are cited in the Second Valuation book. At that time all were associated with a flour and corn mill belonging to Joseph Cowan. There were at this time a further five houses at the west end, now demolished. A row of houses is shown in the vicinity of the two existing blocks on the 1834 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map. At that time the corn mill was associated with a spade factory and belonged to John Boyd and Samuel Glenny. The 1836 valuation book makes no mention of houses at this location, implying they were rated at less than £5. It is possible therefore that the row was originally single-storey but was cleared and rebuilt in its present form sometime before 1863.

Numbers 32 and 33 first appear in the 1908 valuation book and are explicitly described as "similar to nos 27-31 and 34-36". These two houses occupy a gap site shown on the 1903 map.

The five blocks towards the top end were erected in the period 1891-1908. Numbers 1-5 and 12 first appear in the 1891 valuation book, and numbers 6-11 in 1893. Despite the two-year gap between their appearances in the valuation book, these house groupings do not correspond exactly with the two blocks, and it is therefore probable that the blocks were erected simultaneously in the early 1890s. By that time, the corn mill had long since been destroyed by fire and a weaving factory had been erected in its place by Alexander McNeill. This factory was acquired by the Bedford Street Weaving Company (Belfast) and subsequently purchased by William Gaffikin in the early 1890s. He erected a new weaving shed and installed a new water turbine. It was probably in connection with the factory's expansion that Gaffikin built these houses.

Numbers 13-21 first appear in the 1906 valuation, and numbers 22-26 in 1908. Again, these house groupings do not correspond exactly with the three blocks; all were probably erected simultaneously from circa 1905 onwards.

Character and condition

Damolly Row presents coherent 19th and early 20th-century terraces of mill houses made interesting by their length and the quality of the stonework and brick dressings. However, much of the original uniformity and plan forms are lost, and the terrace's overall character is thereby degraded.