37 Kilmorey Street, Newry, Co Down, BT34 2DF

This is one of a terrace of five identical two-and-a-half storey, two-bay houses situated on the west side of Kilmorey Street in Newry. The terrace forms a cohesive group of modest High Victorian houses, notable for their ornate detailing around the windows and eaves, and contributes significantly to the character of this part of the town. Constructed between 1860 and 1879, it was first recorded in the 1878 valuation revision book as a newly completed, vacant property, and occupied the following year.

The house has a gabled natural slate roof with a distinctive ornate chimney at the right end of the roof apex, featuring three square-based flues joined by an oversailing cap. The walls are cement rendered over a projecting base course, embellished with incised lines on the ground floor. A moulded cill course runs across the facade at first floor window level. Four pairs of brackets support a deep, projecting eaves course, which incorporates a leaded rainwater gutter. A narrow moulded string course connects the bases of the bracket pairs. A gabled timber-framed dormer window rises from the eaves, adorned with fretted bargeboards, a carved wooden finial, a 2/2 top-hung window with a circular vent above, and glazed cheeks. The main entrance is a stained timber door with four raised and fielded panels and a transom light above, set within an ornate stucco surround featuring distinctive geometric panels in the jambs and an entablature with a raised panel embossed with ‘16’. A 2/2 horizontally-divided sliding sash window is located to the right of the entrance. Two 2/2 vertically-divided windows are present at first floor, aligned with the ground floor openings. These window openings have ornate stucco architraves embellished with rosettes and keystoned heads. The windows and door are modern replacements. The left and right gables are abutted by adjacent buildings. The rear walls are cement rendered, and a flat-roofed kitchen extension abuts the ground floor. There are two modern replacement windows to the first floor at the rear. The attic is accessed by stairs lit by a skylight.

The house’s architectural interest lies in its High Victorian style, pleasing proportions, and decorative ornamentation. While alterations detract somewhat from the building’s original appearance, it retains considerable group value as part of the cohesive terrace. The property holds local historical interest.