6 & 8 John Mitchel Place, Newry, Co Down, BT34 2BP

A pair of three-storey, two-bay houses built between 1820 and 1839, now used as shops, are situated on John Mitchel Place, Newry. The buildings were designed as a pair with a central coach arch, fronting directly onto the street. The roof is covered with artificial slate, and modern plastic rainwater goods are in place. The walls are cement rendered, and the frontages have been altered with modern shop fronts on either side, along with modern double-glazed window replacements. The primary feature of note is the semi-elliptical headed coach arch and similarly profiled arched doorways on either side. A pair of Tuscan columns supporting an entablature remains within the doorway at number 8, while number 6 has lost these features and has a modern mahogany door. Both properties retain their original fanlights. The buildings are shown on an Ordnance Survey map from 1835, and valuation records from 1835 identify the occupants as Dr Moorhead at number 6 and Dr Dickson at number 8, both houses being of equal value. Both properties were described as having three storeys in a 1863 valuation. The buildings are located within the Ballynacraig townland and are within a conservation area, deemed an appropriate level of protection given that too much of the original fabric has been lost to merit individual listing.