63b & c Hill Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1AF

This two-storey shop occupies a site of historical interest on the east side of Hill Street, Newry. It was constructed between 1780 and 1799, and originally served as an assembly and public reading room, also housing a savings bank. According to records from 1838, the building also contained committee rooms for the commissioners of police. The building was refurbished in 1871, and the remaining façade decoration likely dates from that time. It operated as a newsroom until around 1916, when it was converted into shops.

The building's walls are smooth rendered and decorated with classical details. The ground floor features a modern shop front designed to resemble a heritage style, set within original rendered pilasters that extend to eaves level. The shop front has a large modern fascia with timber triglyphs; roller shutters are inset within the fascia. A rendered cornice projects above the ground floor, stepping out around the pilasters. The first floor has a raised plinth and a continuous cill course, which wraps around the pilasters. Each pilaster has a recessed, moulded, panelled plinth below the cill level and is capped with a moulded base and head. The pilasters support a Greek Doric entablature, featuring a stepped fascia, metopes, triglyphs, guttae detailing to the frieze, and a deep moulded cornice. Between each pilaster is a Venetian window consisting of a pair of casements with a semicircular, fixed fanlight above. Smaller fixed windows flank the central Venetian window, and are currently boarded up from the inside with mirror glazing. Architraves to the small side windows include pilasters supporting a decorated cornice that reaches the head of the central casement, and the fanlight is framed by a semicircular architrave with a raised, fielded keyblock. The roof is obscured by a decorative cornice and parapet.

The building is located within a conservation area.