28 Water St., Rostrevor, Co.Down

28 Water Street, Rostrevor

This small single-storey dwelling appears first in the valuation book in 1883, though it is shown as an annotation on the 1861 town plan, indicating it was built within or shortly before 1883. The property was originally held by the Balfour family of nearby Fairy Hill on behalf of the Ross estate.

The building's occupancy history is well documented. The original tenant, James Cunningham, a labourer, was recorded here in the 1901 census at age 60, a widower living with his two grown sons. The dwelling was noted as a second-class house with two rooms in use. Subsequent tenants included Mary Ward from 1903, James Gorman from 1905, James McKenna from 1906, and John Hanley from 1908. In the 1911 census, John Hanley, a 26-year-old Dublin-born accountant, was living here with his wife Sarah and two infant children. The Hanleys appear to have remained until around 1919. Later occupants included Michael McAnally from circa 1919, Eddie McDonnell in 1921, William McAnally in 1928, Hugh Murphy in 1929, Patrick Murphy by 1936, Margaret Keenan in 1939, and James McClorey from 1955 until at least 1972. The building is not marked with a house number on the 1979 Ordnance Survey map, suggesting it had ceased to be occupied by that date. A small extension, possibly a shed, was added to the north end of the building sometime between 1950 and 1979, but has since been removed.

The property is situated within Rostrevor Conservation Area, on Water Street, which is identified as the town's early place of settlement. Water Street is L-shaped and appears with approximately similar extent of development on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map. The street was referred to as 'The Back Lane' in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1836, which describe it as running at right angles to the main street, a little above the church in a south-easterly direction to the Rostrevor or Kilbroney River, and linking to the lower end of Post Office Street by a short street on the northern side of the river. It measures 155 yards long and 300 feet broad, with houses and cottages noted as being in good order.