The Yews, 76a-76h Canal Street, Newry, Co Down, BT35 6DX

The Yews is a Grade B2 listed building comprising two adjoining houses on Canal Street in Newry, now converted into eight flats. Both buildings date from between 1820 and 1839 and are recorded on the 1835 Ordnance Survey town map.

The southern building is three bays wide and three and a half storeys high, facing north-east. It has a pitched natural slate roof with corbelled eaves and slated verge. Two large painted cement rendered chimneys are positioned, one to the right gable and another to the front pitch on the party wall between the central and right bays. Two large modern skylights have been inserted into the front pitch, and a return roof ties into the rear pitch. Plastic ogee-profiled rainwater goods run between the central and right bays.

The facade is rendered in painted lined finish with a painted base course and raised eaves course. Two entrance doors occupy the ground floor. The door to the right is a single eight-panelled painted timber door with a plain glazed semicircular fanlight, set within an undressed semicircular headed opening. A modern intercom is mounted to its left. The left-hand door is a similar eight-panelled timber door with fanlight, but this opening is properly detailed with a moulded render archivolt, flanked by a pair of fluted Ionic pilasters on moulded bases supporting a moulded frieze and dentilled cornice (though part of the frieze is now missing). A single granite step leads to this door.

All windows to the facade are 6/6 painted timber sliding sashes with painted granite cills. A single window is positioned at ground floor in the central bay between the two entrance doors. Three equally spaced windows appear on each upper floor, with those to the first floor being larger than those below, and those to the second floor diminished in height.

The north-west gable is abutted by the lower northern block. The south-east elevation is unpainted lined render with painted granite cills. Windows include a 6/6 sliding sash at ground floor right, a 4/4 sliding sash at first floor centre, a 3/3 sliding sash at second floor left, and a 2/2 sliding sash in the attic to the right of centre.

The south-west (rear) elevation is abutted by two returns. The main roof eaves between the returns have been raised. The wall between the returns is smooth cement rendered with windows to each floor and a dormer at attic level within the raised eaves. All these windows are modern stained timber 2/2 top-hung casements, with a modern stained timber door at ground floor. The left return continues the raised main roof with cement rendered walls and single 2/2 stained timber casements between floors, with thin concrete cills. Its left cheek contains a single doorway.

The right return steps proud of the left elevation of the main block, with a gabled natural slate roof and cement rendered chimney at the wall head. All its walls are rendered, with the left, right, and exposed rear walls devoid of openings. The corner where the right cheek meets the rear is chamfered at ground floor level. Gable openings appear to have been altered (visible as marks in the render) and are now modern stained timber casements: two to ground, first, and second floors, and a six-paned modern casement to the attic gable.

The northern building is four bays wide with uneven bay divisions—the right bay is the same size as the other two joined together. It has a pitched natural slate roof with traditional corbelled eaves and slated verge, with a rendered chimney between the central and right bays. Two large modern skylights occupy the front pitch. Plastic ogee rainwater goods run between the left and central bays.

The facade is painted lined render with raised eaves and painted base course. The main entrance is set in the right-hand bay at ground floor, consisting of a doorway identical in form to the left-hand door of the south building but with a complete entablature and a leaded peacock-tailed fanlight. All windows to the facade are 6/6 painted timber sliding sashes with painted granite cills: three equally spaced to ground floor left and three to each upper floor above, with the right bay containing a single offset window on each upper floor to the right of the door centre at ground floor.

The south-east gable forms the party wall with the south block. The north-west gable is cement rendered with 3/3 modern top-hung timber windows (without cills) at ground floor left and right, and a 6/6 sliding sash with painted granite cill at attic.

The south-west (rear) elevation has been much altered with a modern return to the right of centre, and the main eaves have been raised to the right. The remaining original wall to the left is painted cement render with a single 6/6 sliding sash window with cills to each upper floor. The original wall to the right is painted render with modern top-hung casements at ground floor, a 6/6 painted timber sliding sash with painted granite cill at first floor, a four-paned modern timber window at second floor, and a modern 2/2 window in the raised wall head. A two-storey unpainted cement rendered return stands to the right, with pitched artificial slate roof. It contains single modern top-hung windows at ground and first floors, with left and right cheeks devoid of openings. The wall above the original eaves line has two modern timber windows.

Historical records show both houses were depicted on the 1835 OS map. The 1838 Valuation records the north block as 23 feet by 24 feet by 23 feet and the south block as 29 feet by 26 feet 6 inches by 36 feet, occupied respectively by William Bailie and Samuel Reid. The 1863 Valuation records the north block as three and a quarter storeys and the south block as three and a half storeys, indicating the northern unit was raised by a floor. The 1863 map depicts an aviary in the rear garden of the south building.

While the buildings retain two attractive doorcases and general character, the conversion to flats has involved insensitive alterations, particularly evident in the extensive modern window replacements and the raising of eaves heights to both rear elevations.