21 Kilmorey Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 2DF

21 Kilmorey Street is one of a terrace of three identical three-storey Victorian houses on the west side of Kilmorey Street in Newry. The building occupies the left end of the terrace and is three bays wide. It dates from around 1900 to 1919, first appearing in the 1903 valuation revision.

The street façade is relatively plain but distinguished by careful detailing. It features smooth rendered walls over a raised base course, with projecting eaves and raised vee-jointed stucco quoins at the left side on all floors. A natural slate gabled roof with cement-rendered chimney sits at the left. Half-round metal rainwater goods with a metal downpipe run between the first and second bays.

The entrance arrangement is notable. A granite step leads to the front door at the middle of the façade. This is a four-panel timber door with raised and fielded panels, original brass furniture, and a plain rectangular transom light above. The door opening is framed with raised rendered jambs and strap consoles supporting a projecting entablature. To its right is a flat-headed vehicle entrance with a pair of vertically-sheeted painted timber doors and a rendered horizontal head.

The windows enrich the façade with moulded architraves and granite cills. To the left of the front door is a 2/2 vertically-divided sliding sash window. Two identical windows are placed on the first and second floors, aligned vertically but offset to the left of the ground floor openings. The ground floor window is wider than those above, while the top floor windows are diminished in height.

The left gable is abutted by a lower building, with the exposed wall section cement rendered. The right gable is abutted by the adjoining house. The rear wall is cement rendered with a projecting eaves course and plastic rainwater goods. An original two-storey outbuilding abuts the middle bay at the rear.

The rear elevation shows considerable complexity. The main block has a coach arch opening at ground floor left, and a 1/1 top-hung timber window to the back room on the right. At first floor are 1/1 sliding sash windows left and right. At second floor are 1/1 top-hung windows to each of the three bays (plastic at left, otherwise timber). A rear return with a natural slate gabled roof has no openings to its left elevation. On its right cheek is a casement window at ground floor and three 1/1 sliding sash windows at first floor (this storey sits at first half-landing level of the main block). All ground and first floor windows at the rear are fitted with metal security grilles.

A modern one-storey flat-roofed extension now abuts the gable end of the rear return, with a modern window to the right cheek and modern door to the rear yard on the left cheek.

A very derelict rubble granite outhouse survives at the back of the yard.

The building has strong group value as one of three identical houses in this terrace, which forms part of several similar terraces along Kilmorey Street. Although the street façade remains unaltered and relatively austere, the moulded detailing to the door and window openings provides modest Victorian refinement. It is currently in use as an office.