36 Victoria Square, Rostrevor, Co.Down

The property at 36 Victoria Square is a house within a group of three blocks of dwellings developed in stages between 1882 and 1903. Additional detached properties were added to the north and south sides during the mid to later 20th century. The development is located on Shore Road, which was created in 1877 to accommodate the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramline, a factor that likely stimulated development in this area of the village.

The first block, consisting of a pair of semi-detached houses at numbers 42-44, known as ‘Glenmore Terrace’, was built in or just before 1882. This was followed by Victoria Terrace (numbers 34-38) on the eastern side, constructed between 1886 and 1887, and Albert Terrace (numbers 14-22) to the north, between 1898 and 1903. Victoria Terrace was developed by David Mahood and James McMurray. Number 36 was vacant in 1887, but by before 1900 it was occupied by David C. Sinton, a local grocer. The 1901 census records Sinton living there with his wife, Annie, their four children, and a domestic servant. The building was described as a ‘1st class’ dwelling with 15 rooms occupied. The Sinton family remained in the property until at least the early 1970s.

A 1922 advertisement for the sale of two houses in the terrace described them as having ‘drawing, dining and morning rooms, bathroom, WC…[and] several large and airy bedrooms,’ along with a small front garden and a rear yard with outbuildings.