Trevor Lodge, 12 Warrenpoint Road, Rostrevor, Co.Down

Trevor Lodge, 12 Warrenpoint Road, Rostrevor

Trevor Lodge is a two-storey house dating from the early 19th century. A similar building is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1834 on this site, adjoining Old Hall (16 Warrenpoint Road). Given that the two buildings share the same roofline and eaves detailing, they are believed to be contemporaries, with Old Hall known to have been built shortly before 1815, suggesting Trevor Lodge dates to around the same period.

The first valuation of 1835–36 describes the property as a 'new' house measuring 40 feet by 30 feet by 18 feet high, with a return of 15 by 7 by 13 feet. The site also included offices (outbuildings) of 20 by 8½ by 5½ feet and 57½ by 17 by 12 feet, a good yard, and an enclosed garden of 44 yards by 14 yards, though it had no front lawn as it faced directly on to the road. The house comprised nine rooms with excellent outbuildings and a walled garden planted with healthy fruit trees in full bearing.

The original occupant was Wheeler Barrington Esq., a local magistrate, who advertised the property to let in June 1835 as 'that commodious house adjoining Mr. S. Corry's which is well adapted for a respectable family'. Barrington died in January 1837, leaving his entire estate to three minor grandchildren. The ensuing legal dispute in the Court of Chancery lasted until 1844–45, after which the house was put up for sale in January 1846. The sale advertisement described it as 'a capital dwelling house, two stories high, with an excellent coach house and stabling, back-yard and garden…[which would] make a delightful residence for any respectable family'.

By the 1861 valuation, the property was occupied by Thomas Evans, with Mary Souter named as the immediate lessor. The house dimensions were recorded as two blocks of approximately 13 yards 1 foot by 6 yards 1 foot across two storeys and 10 by 3 yards by 2 storeys, with a return of 6 by 5 by 2 storeys and a single office measuring 19½ by 6 by 2 feet. Valuers noted that the house had 'two neat low windows', clearly referring to the front bays, and that the property was 'let furnished to lodgers'.

From 1863, Mary Souter is recorded as resident with Rev. James Anderson as lessor. From 1869, one of the outbuildings was rented out as a workshop. The house changed hands frequently over subsequent decades: George Copeland leased the main house from 1870, followed by Elizabeth Olive in 1875, William J. Black in 1878, Thomas Seaton in 1880, and William Henry (as lessor) in 1886, who rented to Elizabeth Caw. Further tenants included Jesse Whitby (1892), James Roberts (1894), and William Henry Lemon (1896).

In the 1901 census, William Henry Lemon, a 38-year-old Dublin native, is recorded as living here with his American-born wife Dora, five young children, and a domestic servant. The house was noted as a first-class dwelling with 15 rooms in use. Later residents included Elizabeth Oswald (1908), Susan Warnock (1912), and Sarah M. Henry (1922).

The property acquired the name 'Trevor Lodge' at some point in the early 1930s, possibly bestowed by Hugh and Margaret Hegan, who lived there from at least 1934 until around 1943. A Mr and Mrs A.W. Ball succeeded the Hegans around 1945, followed by Mr and Mrs T.I. McCullagh (or McCullough) from around 1950 until at least 1961, who appear to have run the property as a guest house for at least part of this period.

The house stands on Mary Street, which runs along the original route between Kilkeel and Newry and formed the western end of Rostrevor's main northeast-southwest axis by the late 1760s. The area was developed gradually from the late 18th century onwards. In 1877, Shore Road was cut to the south of Mary Street to carry the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramline, a horse-drawn service that ran approximately three miles from Warrenpoint railway station to Rostrevor Quay. This service operated from July 1877 until its closure in January 1915 due to falling revenue and storm damage.