Building between nos. 9-10, Abbey Yard, Newry, Co Down, BT34 2EG

Building between nos. 9-10, Abbey Yard, Newry

This long two-storey link block joins two principal elements of an important classical Georgian group in a prominent position in the town. Built between 1800 and 1819, it is seven openings wide and includes a coach arch as part of the unified composition. The building underwent substantial restoration between 1986 and 1991 by Clanrye Community Workshop, and although the exterior remains largely intact, few original internal features survive.

The pitched roof is natural slated with a modern extract vent to the right of the rear pitch. Semicircular metal rainwater goods with a downpipe run to the centre of both front and rear elevations. The façade is painted lined render with a raised broad eaves course and stepped, raised render quoins to each side.

The main entrance is centrally placed and comprises a modern six-panelled door with a semicircular granite step set between three-piece granite jambs and a three-piece lintel with keyblock over. A modern security alarm box sits on the wall above. To the right of the door is a pair of modern metal gates set within a semicircular-headed coach arch with stepped granite quoins to the jambs and head. The arch head is partially infilled with vertical tongue-and-groove sheeting to accommodate the first-floor level, and there is a granite wheel stone to each side of the opening.

At ground floor, five windows flank the entrance: two to the right of the coach arch and three to the left of the front door. All are 1/1 sliding sashes with horns and painted granite cills. The first floor has seven 1/1 sliding sashes with granite cills. One is directly over the coach arch; four to its left align with the right group of ground-floor windows. Two further windows with lower cills sit to the right, directly over the ground-floor windows.

The area to the left of the front door and to the right of the coach arch is enclosed by plain spiked railings with urn-topped posts resting on a chamfered granite base wall. Below the right ground-floor window, steps fall to the basement passage of no. 9. The coachway is paved with granite setts and paviors. Inside the coach arch, walls are lined render; on the right cheek of the entry is a sheeted timber door.

The left and right gables form party walls with nos. 9 and 10. The rear elevation has painted lined render walls with a broad raised eaves course. The main entrance here is to the right of centre, housed within a modern tongue-and-groove-sheeted gabled porch with an artificial slate roof and a diamond window in its gable. The entrance is on the right cheek of the porch.

To the left of the porch is the semicircular-headed coach arch (head partially infilled) with granite wheel stones to each side. To the left of the arch are two 6/6 sliding sash windows with horns and painted granite cills. To the right of the porch are two metal-framed twelve-paned windows. At the extreme right is a sheet metal escape door situated below the overhanging lean-to of the boiler house abutting the right gable of no. 10.

The first floor has nine windows. From left: a 1/1 sliding sash, a 2/2 sash window, a 1/1 sliding sash, then a 1/1 sliding sash over the coach arch. Over the wall between the coach arch and porch is a tripartite window consisting of a 2/2 vertically divided flanked by two 2/2 horizontally divided sliding sashes. The remainder of the wall to the right has one 2/2 horizontally divided sliding sash followed by three equally spaced 6/6 sliding sashes. All have painted cills. The coach arch provides access to the rears of all buildings in the complex, with the rear area given over to car parking for nos. 7-10.

The site was first developed by Isaac Corry (grandfather of Isaac Corry, Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer) in the mid-1700s. A house, possibly this one, is shown here on John Rocque's 1760 map of the town of Newry. It remained occupied by the Corry family into the 19th century. From the early 1900s until 1972, it formed part of the Christian Brothers School. When the school relocated, the premises fell into dereliction until the restoration by Clanrye Community Workshop in 1986–91.

The listing extends to the house, wall, and railings. The building lies within a conservation area.