17 Sandys Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1EN

This is a three-storey, two-bay terraced house situated on the south side of Sandys Street, Newry, built between 1820 and 1839. It is among the earlier buildings on Sandys Street and retains many original external features. The building is currently undergoing refurbishment.

The house has a pitched natural slate roof with a tiled verge on the right side, and a rendered chimney with a projecting cap on each gable. Its plan is skewed, with the right gable not perpendicular to the street facade. Metal rainwater goods with a downpipe are visible on the left side; the rear roofline has plastic rainwater goods. The street facade has painted lined render with stepped stucco quoins at each end. The front door is centrally positioned on the right side and features six fielded panels with a narrow transom light over. To the left of the door are two two-over-two sliding sash windows with exposed window boxes. Identical windows are repeated on the first and second floors, aligned with the ground floor openings; those on the top floor are shorter. All windows have granite sills. The right gable abuts a lower building (listed separately as HB16/28/102D), and has a section of exposed lined render. The left gable abuts number 18 (HB16/28/107). A two-storey return at the left side features a monopitched natural slate roof, cement-rendered walls, and a two-over-two sliding sash window on each floor, alongside an additional window at the top floor centre and another overlooking the return, positioned between the first and second floors on a half landing. The rear wall is rendered.

The building appears on an Ordnance Survey town map from 1835 and was occupied by James O’Neill in 1838, as recorded in the Valuation revision books. The 1863 Valuation revision notes its dimensions as 21 feet 9 inches long by 23 feet 0 inches wide, and three stories high. The building is likely the one depicted on the 1835 map. The house is located within a conservation area. While the exterior retains considerable original character, the interior has been extensively altered, which impacts its overall significance.