50 Seaview, Warrenpoint, Newry, Co Down, BT34 3NJ

This is a two-storey, two-bay house located on the north side of Seaview, Warrenpoint, with a seaward aspect. Although depicted on an Ordnance Survey town map of around 1860 and referenced in the 1861 Valuation book as two storeys high, the building likely dates to the early 1860s, as it was noted in the 1864 Valuation revision book as “not quite finished inside.” Its valuation subsequently increased from £11 to £38, suggesting either a refurbishment or, more probably, a new build as indicated by the Valuation map. The building is abutted on the left gable by number 49 Seaview and on the right gable by a lower two-storey house.

The front elevation is lined and painted, with stepped rusticated quoins to each end. The right bay contains the main entrance, which is narrower than the left. A flight of three granite steps leads to a pair of modern six-panelled doors within a semi-elliptical headed doorway, which likely originally contained a central door and side lights; it features a plain fanlight with a run-moulded architrave and an oversized rusticated keyblock, the quoins to the right being truncated by the doorcase. To the left bay at ground floor is a large window opening containing a uPVC window with fixed sidelights, framed by a run-moulded architrave with console brackets supporting an entablature. Two uPVC windows with run-moulded architraves and keyblocks are present on each upper floor, with those on the second floor being diminished in height. The roof is pitched and covered in natural slate, with modern cement-rendered chimneys to each gable. Half-round plastic rainwater goods run along an advanced eaves course. The exposed section of the left gable wall is blank. The exposed section of the right gable wall is slate-hung and features a semicircular-headed window with a 1/1 uPVC window at second floor level. The rear elevation was not inspected. Although the building has had its original windows replaced with inappropriate modern casements and includes a modern front door, it remains a notable example of mid-19th century domestic architecture.

Primary source documentation includes an Ordnance Survey town map, approximately 1860 (held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland - VAL 12E/127/1/6), the 1861 Second Valuation book (PRONI – VAL 2B/3/65B, p.73), and the Valuation revision book (PRONI – VAL 12B/22/23A, p.136).