1 The Square, Warrenpoint, Newry, Co Down, BT34 3JT

1 The Square, Warrenpoint

A two-and-a-half-storey bank building positioned at the junction of Church Street and the Square. Although it holds streetscape value and is visually prominent within the Square, the building retains no interior features of architectural interest and does not warrant protective listing. The structure dates from 1891 and was acquired by the Provincial Bank of Ireland in 1922, as evidenced by a blind window at first floor level bearing the date "1922" and a crest of interlocking letters "P B I" representing the Provincial Bank of Ireland.

The building features a pitched natural slate roof with a canted corner. Four cement rendered chimneys are positioned—two on the ridge facing the Square and two on the ridge facing Church Street. Decorative corbels support plain overhanging timber boxed eaves beneath the roofline.

Three wall-head dormers project from the roof: one positioned to the right bay of the Church Street elevation and one to each of the two bays on the Square elevation. All have pitched natural roofs with decorative fretted bargeboards and contain two segmental-headed 1/1 sash windows with horns and painted cills. The cheeks of these dormers are blank.

The walls are of painted smooth rendered finish with banded rustication applied to both ground and first floor levels. The base course is chamfered. The attic storey is rendered smooth without rustication. Moulded cill courses mark the ground and first floors, with a moulded cornice between the first floor and attic level. All ground floor and first floor openings display channelled voussoir lines overhead.

The Church Street elevation is two bays wide. The left bay contains four windows at first floor level; the right bay contains five. The bays are separated by plain pilasters rising to the first floor cornice. The ground floor of the left bay has two large fixed modern windows with top-hung casements. The right bay has three similar windows at ground floor, with the middle one offset to the left to accommodate a night safe. At first floor, the left bay has four evenly spaced segmental-headed 1/1 sash windows without horns. The right bay has five similar windows with horns and a larger pier between the third and fourth windows, centred on the dormer above.

The canted corner elevation is flanked by pilasters rising to the first floor cornice. The main entrance is positioned here at ground floor, comprising a pair of modern three-panelled doors with an external security roller shutter.

The Square elevation is two bays wide, each bay four windows wide at first floor. The ground floor left bay contains two openings with modern fixed windows with top-hung casements positioned to the left, with a six-panelled door and plain transom to their right. The right bay has a similar window set to the left and a modern ATM machine at the right.

The adjoining properties to the right along the Square form a continuous block of similar design. Three properties follow, each four windows wide with a dormer window; two further properties beyond these are two windows wide with similar dormers. All have modern shop fronts at ground floor and display modern banking logos with applied letters "FIRST TRUST" at the top of the ground floor. The right-hand property is of unrendered brick. The rear elevation is cement rendered and of little architectural interest, with a single-storey return to the block facing Church Street.

Historical Context

The corner building and its adjoining property were constructed in 1891, with the Valuation book of that date recording each at a cost of £800. The corner house was taken over by the Provincial Bank of Ireland in 1922. More recently, the adjoining property was acquired by the bank and given an external remodelling to match the bank building's style. The dormer buildings forming the remainder of this block along the east side of the Square date from 1882–1885 and represent a redevelopment of a site formerly occupied by Glenny's mill, of which only the windmill at the rear survives.