Former Mass Rock, Off Sandbank Rd, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5XU is a Grade Record Only listed building in the Newry, Mourne and Down local planning authority area, Northern Ireland.
Former Mass Rock, Off Sandbank Rd, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5XU
- WRENN ID
- carved-pedestal-pearl
- Grade
- Record Only
- Local Planning Authority
- Newry, Mourne and Down
- Constituency
- South Down MP: Chris Hazzard (SF)
- Country
- Northern Ireland
- Address
- Former Mass Rock, Off Sandbank Rd, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5XU, Leitrim, BT34 5XU
- Irish grid reference
- J 222 242
- Coordinates
- 54.15267, -6.12975
- Source
- NI Environment Agency listing
Description
This is a former Mass Rock, likely dating from the Penal era between the mid-17th century and approximately 1830, with a more probable construction date between 1780 and 1799. Its remote location reflects the historical prohibition of organised Catholic worship under the Penal Laws. It is of primarily local social interest, and a rare example of its type.
The Mass Rock is a large granite glacial erratic situated on a west-facing slope at a track junction on the north-east corner of a forest, in the townland of Leitrim. It measures approximately 3.0 x 2.2 metres in plan and stands 1 metre high. A flat, carved recess measuring 50 x 30cm is present on the slightly sloping top surface, directly beneath which is an incised cross measuring 20 x 15cm. The site is not shown on Ordnance Survey maps.
Local climate
Former Mass Rock, Off Sandbank Rd, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5XU sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,030 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 82% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 84% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 14 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 86% of listed buildings. Of these, 9 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- No flood data for this area
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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- Mill near Leitrim Bridge, Leitrim Rd, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5XS