1-17 Caulfield Place, Newry, Co Down, BT35 6AS

Twelve two-bay houses arranged in three separate terraces on the south side of Caulfield Place, a crescent off Corry Square in Newry. The terraces date from the early 19th century and are of primary historical interest as an example of early urban development, with architectural value derived from their grouping and the contrast between the earlier and later phases of construction.

Terraces 1 and 2 consist of numbers 1-3 and 4-7 respectively. These were constructed around 1820 and are recorded in the 1836 Valuation Book as being leased by Denis C Brady to various occupants. They face each other across a small cul-de-sac, with numbers 3 and 4 blocking the south end. Of these twelve houses, only number 5 remains occupied; the remainder are derelict. Both terraces share similar design characteristics. They have pitched roofs with natural slate and brick eaves course, though many slates have been removed and rainwater goods are missing. Skylights have been inserted into some roofs. Each house has a cement-rendered brick chimney (though number 5's has been rebuilt in concrete blocks). All street-facing walls are cement-rendered over random rubble granite, while rear walls retain the same unrendered granite with stepped brick dressings to openings. Originally all windows had granite cills, but many have been removed.

With the exception of numbers 3 and 4, the ground floor of each house originally comprised a door and single window to the street facade, with two first-floor windows offset from the openings below. At the rear, each house has a door into a yard, with a single window to an adjoining room and another to a first-floor room, plus a window on the half-landing between ground and first floor aligned with the yard door. Numbers 1 and 7 each have two gable lights at attic level. Number 5 retains a modern door and 1/1 top-hung windows, while original 6/6 sliding sash fenestration survives at the rear of number 7. All other window and door openings have been infilled with concrete blocks.

Numbers 3 and 4 have distinct planning. Their main sections face into the street between the two terraces and are entered from doors set along the line of their respective terrace. They have monopitch roofs with natural slates. Each contains a single window at ground and first floor level, with a blind window to each floor where the two houses meet. Their common rear wall is cement-rendered and blank except for a ground-floor window.

The yards to terrace 1 have been demolished. Numbers 4-7 each have a small two-storey outbuilding in the rear yard, accessed from an alley which also serves terrace 3. Number 6 additionally has a two-storey concrete blockwork return.

Terrace 3, comprising numbers 8-12, is located to the east of terraces 1 and 2. These five three-storey houses were noted as "foundation only" in the 1836 Valuation Book and as "five houses unfinished" in the 1838 revised valuation. They were completed in 1870 and first appear in the Valuation Revision book that year under Denis Brady's name, with occupation beginning in 1871. This represents a development gap of at least 35 years from the construction of the earlier terraces.

All houses in terrace 3 are occupied except number 12, which is derelict. Each house has a gabled natural slate roof with plastic rainwater goods and a cement-rendered chimney at the left. The walls are cement-rendered throughout, except at the rear of number 10 which retains its exposed random granite rubble with brick window trimming. Each house has a ground-floor front door at the right with a transom light above, a window at the left, and two windows on the first and second floors aligned vertically but offset from the ground-floor openings; top-floor windows are diminished. All window openings have granite cills. Numbers 8 and 10 retain their original 2/2 sliding sash frames (though some glazing bars have been removed), while the remainder have modern 1/1 top-hung replacements. The gable ends are cement-rendered. At the rear, a wall encloses a yard to each house. Rear windows and doors are modern replacements throughout, except at numbers 8 and 10 which have 2/2 sliding sash windows to rear rooms of all floors and identical windows at the left to half-landings between floors. Flat-roofed extensions have been added to the backs of numbers 9 and 11.

Number 12 is of L-plan form at the end of the street, positioned as a corner closing block in the same manner as numbers 3 and 4 below. It is entered from a door aligned with the terrace line, above which is a window. The facade facing up the street has a modern horizontal-headed opening through to the rear and one window to each of the upper floors, both in 2/2 sliding sash format.

Terrace 3 formerly faced a parallel terrace comprising numbers 13-22, which has since been cleared to form an open space.

Historical context: Denis C Brady, the developer and leaseholder of all three terraces, was a local magistrate who became Westminster Member of Parliament in 1835 following the celebrated 'Brady' election, in which he defeated Sir Thomas Stables, the candidate of Lord Kilmorey. He lost his seat in the general election of 1837. His middle name was Caulfield, reflecting his descent through his mother from Denis Caulfield, a prominent Newry merchant and distillery owner in the decades around 1800. The terrace is named after this uncle.