The Brass Monkey, 16 Trevor Hill & 1-4 Sandy's Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1EN

The Brass Monkey

A two and a half storey public house formed from several former houses at 16 Trevor Hill and 1-4 Sandy's Street, Newry. Dating from the early 19th century, the building has been substantially remodelled internally and externally, though its overall form and relative heights have remained largely unchanged.

The structure comprises two principal elements. Number 16 Trevor Hill is a rubble stone building brought to courses, with a pitched roof of artificial slates and no chimney. The ground floor of the Trevor Hill elevation contains two modern glazed timber doors with a modern fascia above bearing painted advertising lettering. The first floor has three openings, each fitted with modern 3/9 hop-hung transoms, with projecting heritage-style light fittings positioned between each window to light the fascia. The right gable forms a party wall with the adjacent property. The left gable continues along Sandy's Street as the right cheek of a rear return. This gable wall is of rubble stone matching the main façade, except at first floor centre where brick infills a former chimney breast. Four modern 3/12 top-hung transom windows occupy the ground floor, with a modern fascia above matching that to the front. Three modern 3/9 top-hung transom windows light the first floor. The gable above contains two small paned timber casement windows in exposed boxes at the upper corners near the eaves, which appear to be original. The rear elevation is almost entirely obscured by the rear return and is windowless, with artificial slate hanging.

Numbers 1-4 Sandy's Street comprise a long two storey block, the right gable of which abuts the rear gable of number 16 Trevor Hill. The walls are painted lined render with a raised, chamfered base course. The pitched roof carries artificial slates with a rendered chimney rising from its centre and two metal extractor vents on the rear pitch. Rainwater goods are plastic and semicircular in profile. The ground floor contains a single four-panelled door with bolection mouldings to the left and a pair of doors to the right. A coach-way with granite piers and head occupies the centre of the wall between these doors; this has been infilled with three modern fixed windows with granite cills. Two 2/2 sliding sash windows with horns, each with an exposed roller shutter box, flank these openings on either side. The first floor is lit by seven irregularly spaced 2/2 sliding sash windows, all modern with horns and roller shutter boxes. The left gable abuts an adjacent property and serves as party wall. The rear elevation has modern openings at ground floor and artificial slate hanging at first floor. A single storey extension of no architectural interest fills much of the rear yard, which is enclosed by high rendered walls.

Documentary evidence shows the block appearing on the 1835 Ordnance Survey map. The 1838 valuation book records three houses along Sandy's Street, each valued at £4, and a larger corner house with Trevor Hill valued at £14/10/0. The 1863 valuation confirms that houses along Sandy's Street were two storeys high and the corner house was two and two-thirds storeys. These relative heights have persisted despite extensive internal alterations. The building was badly damaged in terrorist bombings in more recent years. The property lies within a conservation area.