23 Church St., Rostrevor, Co.Down

This is a Grade B listed building forming part of a handed pair of rendered two-storey single-fronted terrace dwellings with a central carriage arch. The pair, originally numbered 23-25 Church Street, was constructed between 1838 and 1861, though their appearance suggests they were likely built in the early 1840s. They do not appear in the first valuation records but are present in the second valuation of 1861.

In 1861, number 23 was recorded as a "neat private house" and was being sub-let to Richard Stephenson. Number 25 was occupied by John Godwin, who operated a "posting establishment" (a place where horses could be hired) from the premises. Godwin held the lease of both dwellings from the Ross estate and may have been responsible for their construction. Both properties measured 5 yards by 9½ yards by 2 storeys. Number 23 possessed a section "over gate at front" measuring 2 yards 1 foot by 4 yards 2 feet by 1 storey, with an equivalent section to the rear. Number 25 included outbuildings within the yard measuring 13 by 6 by 2 storeys and 8 by 4 by 1½ storeys, where Godwin ran his posting business. By 1865 the posting role had ceased and both properties reverted to solely domestic use.

From 1871 until 1883 both properties were in the hands of Henry Godwin. In 1884 the lease of number 23 was acquired by Hugh Brown. Subsequent tenants of number 23 included James Treanor (1885), John Owens (1892), Margaret Brown (1893), Jane Hillis (1906), Eleanor Godwin (1911), Margaret Dickson (from 1913 to 1918), and Mary White (from 1923). Number 25 remained with the Godwin family until 1913, with Robert Lavery recorded as tenant in 1914. Lavery and White were still occupying their respective properties in 1930. The Cole family lived at number 23 for much of the later twentieth century, whilst Ellen Morgan occupied number 25 from the early 1930s until circa 1953, followed by Mary Smith until at least 1972.

Both houses were listed in September 1981. The pair remained occupied until circa 2000 but were demolished without Listed Building Consent in November 2016.

Church Street and The Square developed as a result of improvements to the road (present B25 Kilbroney Road) linking Rostrevor to the new village of Hilltown, which began development in the 1760s under Wills Hill, later 1st Marquis of Downshire. The thoroughfare does not appear on maps from 1739 and 1755 but is shown on an estate map of 1767. Its generous breadth and name suggest it was intended to function as a market place, and in April 1769 the landlord Robert Ross obtained a patent to hold a weekly market and quarterly fairs there. By 1834 the development seen today was largely in place. The parish church, completed in 1821, forms a visual closure to the broader portion of the street. An 1836 Ordnance Survey memoir describes "Main Street" as running north-east to south-west for 620 yards, with the section between the new and old church measuring 120 feet broad and the remainder averaging 30 feet in breadth. It notes that most houses were two-storey and in good order, many providing furnished lodgings for summer visitors, and praises the new church as the most pleasing and remarkable object when entering the town, standing at the extremity of the broadest part of the street against trees to the north.

The building lies within a conservation area.