39 Hill Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1AF

39 Hill Street, Newry

A three-storey building with attic, designed in the Victorian era, facing west at the corner of Hill Street and Marcus Square. The corner of the building is canted and features a tower rising from this corner above eaves level in a single stage. The roof is natural slated and L-shaped, gabled to the rear and front left, with a steeply pitched octagonal tower to the front right corner. The tower roof is leaded and natural slated, topped with a highly decorative wrought iron finial incorporating a crown. Cement render chimneys are located on each gable and on the ridge to the immediate right of the tower as viewed from Marcus Square. A cast iron skylight is positioned on the pitch to Marcus Square. Gutters sit behind an open balustraded parapet, with metal downpipes falling to both main elevations. The walls to both main elevations are painted lined render with a chamfered base course and assorted render details in a Mannerist style.

Hill Street Elevation

The Hill Street elevation is one opening wide, flanked on either side by a pilaster rising to eaves level. At ground floor, the pilasters have raised base courses, banded rustication, and foliated capitals. Above the capitals they become decorative corbels at frieze level, supporting a moulded cornice between ground and first floor. The main entrance is centred between the pilasters at ground floor, consisting of a pair of four-panelled modern timber storm doors with infilled transom over, set within a pair of pilasters with raised base course and panels extending to just below door head level. At this stage is a plat band with moulded render shell resting on it, and above is a smooth frieze. Above the frieze is a moulded projecting cornice at door head level. The pilasters are plain at transom level with foliated capitals rising at the head of the transom. These capitals support a deeply moulded entablature, below which, centred over the transom, is a keystone decorated with the head of a bearded man. Modern raised letters advertising the business are individually fixed to the wall over the door and on the frieze above.

At first floor, the pilasters are reeded to second floor level. A single two-paned casement window with segmental head and fixed transom above, with security grill over, is set within a segmentally headed opening with a highly decorative surround. Each side of the opening is flanked by a pilaster resting on a battered plinth. The pilaster is plain and rises to a moulded cornice at head level of the casement window. Resting on the cornice is a deeply moulded bracket supporting a moulded entablature. Over the window head and below the entablature is a decorative keystone and stringcourse. A security alarm box is positioned to the left of the first floor window and a modern hanging sign to the right.

At second floor, the pilasters are plain and are crossed by a stringcourse which creates a frieze at eaves level. Each pilaster is decorated at frieze level with a floral roundel panel. The second floor window is a 1/1 sliding sash with segmental head, set within a segmentally headed opening with a moulded cill course running between the pilasters. Its apron panel, resting on the first floor window entablature, is reeded. To each side of the window is a plain pilaster with moulded cornice just below window head level. A moulded architrave links the pilasters and rises over the window head. A dentilled, moulded cornice above the second floor frieze, raised forward over the pilasters, supports an open parapet of balusters and a moulded rail. Over each pilaster, the balustrade is enclosed by a panelled, urn-topped post; the urn is missing from the right pilaster.

Marcus Square Elevation

This elevation is three ornamental bays wide, with four pilasters between and at the ends, rising to urn-topped posts and a balustraded parapet. All details above ground floor correspond to those on the Hill Street façade, with three windows to each upper floor. At ground floor, the pilasters are detailed as on Hill Street; however, the second pilaster from the left, at frieze level, has the date '1890' raised in render. The right bay at ground floor is infilled by a doorway, detailed exactly as that described on Hill Street. The left and central bays are inset with pairs of two-paned casement windows, each with fixed transom over, painted render cill, and lined render stall riser.

Canted Corner Tower

At ground floor, the tower fits between the end pilasters of each elevation. The frieze and dentilled cornice at ground floor continues from the main elevations. At the corner is a two-paned casement window with fixed transom over. On either side of this window is a band-rusticated pilaster with foliated head rising to frieze level. Each cheek of the cant has a fixed timber window with single transom over.

At first floor, there are similar windows with segmental heads. They have plain pilasters to each jamb with moulded cornice in line with the casement head. Rising from the cornice over the segmental window head is a moulded architrave. Each window has a moulded decorative keystone; the corner one features a figurative Mannerist mask, with stringcourse between first and second floors.

The second floor windows are similarly detailed, with a stringcourse creating a frieze below eaves level. A decorative panel over the corner window features the letters 'M', 'L', and 'B' interwoven. A moulded cornice at eaves level continues from the other elevations and forms the cill of attic windows in the tower. The corner window is a modern two-paned casement with transom over. Windows to either side are modern single casements with single transoms over, having plain reveals with simple plat bands at casement head level. A simple moulded cornice over the windows forms the eaves of the tower roof.

The left gable to Hill Street forms a party wall with the adjacent property.

Rear Elevation

The rear elevation is gabled and cement rendered, with a modern extension filling the entire yard to the rear. At first floor, a projecting return with lean-to natural slate roof abuts the whole elevation. The ground floor extension has no windows or doors; its flat roof features three modern skylights. The first floor return has two equally spaced 1/1 modern top-hung windows. Just below second floor level, to the right of the elevation, is a 2/2 vertically divided sliding sash window at half-landing level, with a similar window above, between second floor and attic. Both windows have render cills.