The Willows, Horner'S Lane, Rostrevor, Co.Down

The Willows, a Grade B listed house on Horner's Lane in Rostrevor, was built in 1872-73 by Edward Greer of Moygannon (1832-1912), a local developer who had acquired much of the land around the present Horner's Lane—previously known as Mill Vale—around 1870 and embarked on various building projects in the vicinity. The house is likely to have been the single-storey cottage for Edward Greer designed by William James Watson of Newry, referred to in the Irish Builder in September 1872. Watson was the architect Greer commissioned to work on all the buildings he developed or remodelled along the Lane at this time. The house's High Victorian Gothic styling aligns with the extensions to neighbouring Strathmore and with Brick Row and other properties Greer was developing on the Lane.

The building did not appear to be occupied until 1875, when J.A. Cowrie is recorded as tenant in the valuation book, followed by Charlotte Cowrie in 1876. Kate Hillier took up the lease in 1880, followed by Henry McDowell in 1882 and Anne McDowell in 1883. The property was vacant from 1884 until 1888, when Edward Greer himself is noted as living there. Charles Buchanan acquired the property outright in 1895 and is noted in the 1901 census as an 80-year-old bachelor residing here alone save for a domestic servant; the house was recorded as a second-class dwelling with ten rooms in use. Subsequent owners and occupants included Charlotte Milligan from 1909 until her death in 1913, Reverend W.A. McWilliam from 1915, Nora Livingstone from 1916, and Francis Henry Hardinge from 1922. After Mr Harding's death in 1933, the property was sold to T.W. Harbinson, who leased it to Susan Osbourne Harding. From 1943 until 1960 it was let to Reverend Alexander Lyle Harrison, with Norah Healey as tenant until around 1968, followed by Mr and Mrs Richard Blackwell Smyth. Mrs Olivia Blackwell Smyth retained the lease until 1972, by which point ownership had passed to John Watson. The house remains largely original; however, around 2008 a small outbuilding on the west side was demolished and replaced with a large garage and flat. The listing includes gates and piers. The property is located within a conservation area.