19-27 Lower Catherine Street, Newry, Co Down, BT35 6BE

A terrace of five three-storey, two-bay red brick houses on the east side of Lower Catherine Street at its north end in Newry. The buildings date from the 19th century and exemplify the decorative brickwork characteristic of the period.

The terrace is unified by a continuous pitched natural slate roof with a rainwater system supported by projecting eaves resting on corbelled yellow brick brackets. Ground floor walls are clad or rendered throughout. A granite string course runs between ground and first floors and forms window cills to the first floor. The upper floors feature red brick with decorative courses of differently coloured brick across the entire facade. These comprise: alternating black and yellow triangles sandwiched between black brick above and yellow brick below running around and between first floor window heads; two rows of black brick with yellow brick inserts forming a quatrefoil design running below second floor window cills; and a line of black brick under eaves brackets. Each gablet displays its own geometric design in red, black and yellow brick or tiles. The end houses (numbers 27 and 19) have quoins of stepped yellow brick.

All upper floor window openings have chamfered jambs of stepped yellow brick, segmental heads of alternating yellow and red brick, and granite cills. Top floor windows are diminished in size. Eaves lines are broken at the front by gablets over each pair of second floor windows.

Number 27 and 25 have been refurbished as one property. The ground floor facades are now faced with thin rectangular slabs of cut granite, with projecting letters reading "Casey & Casey Solicitors". A modern metal door is positioned at the left, and three new window openings with plastic windows have been inserted to the right. First and second floor windows are plastic replacements set into original openings. There are no chimneys to the front pitch. Both gablets retain original fretted timber barge boards. The left gable is cement wet dashed and blank with plain bargeboards. Gabled two-storey asbestos-slated returns serve both properties, sharing a party wall with cement-rendered walls and modern replacement windows.

Number 23 has modern metal rainwater goods. The ground floor is cement rendered with a modern door at right, which has a plainly glazed segmental-headed transom light above. The doorhead has scroll consoles supporting a moulded entablature with pole moulded jambs. To its left, the original window opening has been widened to take a modern three-paned timber casement window. First and second floor paired windows remain original with 2/2 sliding sashes with vertical glazing bars and segmental-headed frames. A modern brick chimney stands at the left on the front roof pitch. Gablets have plain barge boards. The rear has walls cement rendered, a modern window to the ground floor and single 6/6 sliding sash windows to each upper floor. A two-storey cement-rendered return at the left rear elevation shares a party wall with number 21. An original chimney survives in the corner at the gable end, though modern replacement windows have been installed.

Number 21 mirrors number 23 in terms of window and door openings. It has cyma recta rainwater goods. The ground floor facade is cement rendered with a modern door at the left, which has a segmental-headed transom light above. An original segmental-headed window opening at the right contains a modern PVC window. A projecting plastic sign is positioned above. All upper floor windows are modern plastic replacements. At the right of the front roof pitch is an original chimney shared with number 19. This chimney is in red brick with a battered base and decorated with two bands of yellow brick at the top and bottom, with cement-rendered copings. An identical chimney stands on the back pitch. Gablets have plain barge boards. The rear elevation has a two-storey return at the right sharing a party wall with number 19's return. Rainwater goods run over moulded brackets along the eaves. Walls are cement rendered. An original chimney survives at the corner of the gable end. Extensive alterations include a first floor balcony and plastic windows.

Number 19 has cyma recta rainwater goods. The ground floor facade is cement rendered, with a door at the right now infilled with concrete blocks. Window openings mirror number 21 but are all infilled with concrete blocks as the house is vacant. It shares a chimney with number 21. The gablet retains a portion of its fretted timber barge boards. The right gable abuts a lower building. An exposed section is slate-hung on either side of the abutted chimney. A skylight lights the rear pitch of the roof. Rainwater goods run over moulded brackets along the eaves. The rear wall is of random rubble granite with a brick eaves course and reveals. Granite cills mark window openings, with one to each floor. A two-storey return at the left has a gabled roof and small chimney at the corner of its gable end. The yard-facing wall of the return has a door and window on the ground floor and a window on the first floor, with a first floor window in the gable; all openings are now infilled.