18 Castle Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 2BY

18 Castle Street is a Grade B+ listed building comprising three three-storey classical early Georgian town houses on the east side of Castle Street in Newry, with this building occupying the left end of the terrace. It is two bays wide and includes a basement and attic storey.

The main façade features a gabled artificial slate roof with granite knee-stone and coped verge at the left, and stone copings to the party wall on the right. A rendered chimney rises from the left gable. Half-round metal rainwater goods with downpipe are positioned at the right. The street-facing walls are constructed of rubble granite brought to courses, with a projecting eaves course.

The ground floor contains a pair of modern metal gates within a segmental-headed coach arch trimmed with ashlar granite, with granite carriage bollards at the base of each jamb. To the left of this arch is a modern but traditionally designed painted timber shop front comprising a central pair of framed and sheeted outer doors with decorative transom over, flanked by timber pilasters. On either side are pairs of fixed timber windows with similar transoms. Four timber pilasters in total support a projecting timber fascia bearing 'Stephen Fitzpatrick and Co.' to the main panel and '18' over each end pilaster.

The first floor contains four regularly spaced 6/6 sliding sash windows, while the second floor has four 6/3 sliding sashes, diminished in height and aligned with those below. Three windows light the first bay and one lights the second bay. All windows feature exposed boxes and granite cills. The left gable is cement-rendered with a large fascia at second floor advertising the occupant, beneath which two modern up-lighters are attached. The right gable forms the party wall with the adjacent property.

The rear walls mirror the front construction but are painted up to the meeting rail of the first floor windows. A three-storey gabled return abuts the right bay. On the main block's left side at ground floor is a modern timber half-door within a coach arch. Directly above at first floor is an exposed-box 6/6 sliding sash window, and at second floor a similar 6/3 window, both lacking cills with the top window diminished in height.

The first return features a gabled artificial slate roof with a rendered chimney stump rising from the wall head of its right cheek. Half-round metal rainwater goods are installed. The left cheek walls match the rear of the main block. At ground floor left on this cheek is a modern five-panel painted door with three-pane transom, immediately adjacent to a 6/6 sliding sash window sharing a timber frame, both set within a segmental brick-headed arch infilled with random rubble. At ground floor right are two 6/6 sliding sash windows, with two three-paned fixed windows set just above ground level lighting the basement in line with these. The first floor has three 6/6 sliding sashes and the second floor three diminished-height 6/3 sashes, all aligned with ground floor openings. All windows to this elevation feature shallow segmental brick heads but no cills. The right cheek of the return is dashed and contains a 6/3 sash window at the half landing between first and second floors, and a three-paned window on the upper half landing to the attic with its left two panes in a sliding timber frame. The gable is unpainted random granite rubble, abutted at right by a slightly lower three-storey gabled return sharing the right cheek and roof pitch with the first return.

The exposed section of wall on the first return is blank except for a three-paned quarter-oriel at ground floor. The oriel's rendered and painted walls contain three modern fixed windows with top-hung transoms, supported on a metal I-beam embedded in the gable. A tongue-and-groove basement door accessed by a flight of steps is positioned directly below.

The second return features a gabled artificial slate roof, half-round metal rainwater goods, and random granite rubble walls. To the ground floor right of the left cheek is a 1/1 modern fixed timber window, with 1/1 sashes to each floor above, the top one diminished in height. Both windows have segmental brick heads but no cills. The gable and right cheek of this return are both dashed and without openings.

The yard is enclosed at the back by a modern timber and sheet metal outbuilding.