15, 17 & 19 Greencastle Street, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4BH

A group of three buildings on the south side of Greencastle Street, Kilkeel, comprising a striking three-storey Moderne motor garage flanked by two earlier two-storey structures. The central building and its neighbours were all given Moderne facade treatments, likely in the 1930s, demonstrating the transformative impact of motor transport on Ulster towns.

Number 15, to the left, is a two-storey shop with pitched natural slate roof behind a parapet. The front wall is painted lined render with a modern glazed aluminium shop front at ground level and plastic fascia above. Three equally spaced 1/1 sliding sash windows at first floor sit above a continuous moulded cill course that forms a drip mould over the shop fascia. A projecting render platband sits above the windows, with another at eaves level forming the base of a corrugated (asbestos?) frieze parapet, coped with concrete and featuring a raised central section. The left gable is unpainted render with a single 1/1 sliding sash window to the first floor and a cement-rendered and coped chimney. A three-storey rear return of no special interest extends across the full rear wall.

Number 17, the central building, is the showpiece: a three-storey Moderne structure with flat roof concealed behind a facade parapet. The front elevation is painted lined render with advanced rendered piers on chamfered plinths at each end. At ground floor, a vehicle access to the rear (now with modern metal roller shutter) stands to the left of a shop unit comprising a glazed timber door and window to the right. Originally, the door was positioned on the left cheek adjacent to the vehicle access, with a large plate glass window dominating the facade. A modern plastic fascia runs the full width, beneath which the original smooth rendered fascia features fluted friezes flanking each pier. A projecting platband above forms a hood to the fascia.

The first floor contains four window openings with a projecting continuous lintel and cill. Each opening holds 2x5 paned metal casements topped by narrow fluted frieze work. Below the cill is a corrugated (asbestos?) frieze delineated at the bottom by a rendered platband spanning between the ground floor pier heads. The second floor mirrors this arrangement with 2x4 paned casements, frieze, and platband. A broad platband crowns the windows at eaves level, above which sits a corrugated parapet with concrete coping and raised central section.

Notably, a projecting clock is mounted between the central windows at first floor level. Contained within a rectangular metal casing, it displays a square white face on each side with Art Deco numerals. The casing is reeded on its sides and louvred at top and bottom, topped with an embattled Art Deco crown. A small plastic name sign has been applied to the casing below the clock faces. The left gable is rendered with an attached rendered chimney. The right gable is abutted centrally by the rendered chimney stack of Number 19.

The rear elevation features a large two-storey return to the left bay. The right bay is smooth unpainted render with a roller-shuttered opening at ground level. At first floor, the return projects over the passage below, leaving only a narrow section of the main block's rear wall containing a pair of two-pane metal casements. The second floor has a metal-framed window matching those on the facade. The return has undergone numerous alterations and additions. Its end gable bears two date stones, possibly repositioned: '1867' in stone and '1945' in cement render. To the rear stands a long one-storey mass-concrete building with Belfast truss roof.

Number 19, to the right, is a two-storey shop with pitched natural slate roof and parapet gutter to the facade. Two chimneys—the left rendered, the right in brick—tie into the gables of adjoining buildings. The front elevation is painted lined render with a modern shop at ground floor left and roller shutter to a former vehicle entrance at right. A continuous modern plastic fascia spans the full width. The first floor features two modern 1/1 top-hung windows between which is positioned a roundel containing an applied spoked bicycle wheel. Around the wheel's top edge appear the words "Repairer to", with "CTC" (Cyclists Touring Club) lettering in the wheel between three applied wings. A raised platband sits above the first floor windows, with a second similar band at eaves level, above which is a corrugated parapet frieze with raised coping matching Numbers 15 and 17.

The rear elevation is smooth rendered with an unexceptional return to the right bay. A modern brick annexe with flat roof at eaves level occupies the corner between the left bay of the main block and the return. Another return abuts this, its exposed gable bearing two date stones: '1920 / D. McAtee' and '1956'.

Historical records show buildings at this location on the 1834 and 1860 town maps, with three houses described in the 1862 valuation. The present facades are dated to the 1930s by scholarly sources. McAtee & Sons, Motor Engineers, are noted at this location in Town Directories from 1937 onwards, suggesting the facade renovation coincides with this commercial operation. The detailing closely resembles the Vogue Cinema on Newry Street, which dates from 1940, and may share the same local architect, Benjamin Cowser. The group illustrates the social impact of the motor car on Ulster towns, with the flanking buildings having naively remodelled their facades to mimic their new Moderne neighbour.