41 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. Constructed between 1860 and 1878, the terrace forms a cohesive group of modest High Victorian houses, distinguished by their ornate detailing around openings and eaves, significantly contributing to the character of this part of the town.

The house has a gabled natural slate roof, with a prominent 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 and feature incised lines on the ground floor. A moulded cill course runs across the façade at first floor window level. A deep projecting eaves course, supported by four pairs of brackets and topped with a leaded rainwater gutter, extends along the top of the facade, with a narrow moulded string course connecting the brackets at their bases. A gabled timber-framed dormer window rises from the eaves, featuring fretted bargeboards, a carved wooden finial, a 2/2 top-hung window with a circular vent above, and infilled cheeks. The main entrance, at the left, features a stained timber door with four raised and fielded panels and a transom light, set within an ornate stucco surround, which incorporates a distinctive geometric panel in the middle of each jamb and corbelled colonettes supporting an entablature bearing an embossed ‘18’. A 2/2 horizontally-divided sliding sash window is located on the right side of the ground floor, with a painted cill. Two 2/2 vertically-divided windows are located at first floor, aligning with the ground floor openings, each with ornate stucco architraves embellished with rosettes and keystones. The windows and door are modern replacements. The left and right gables adjoin other buildings.

The rear walls are cement rendered, and a modern flat-roofed porch has been added in front of the back door, which is located on the right-hand side. To the left of the porch is a 2/2 top-hung window, with two further 2/2 top-hung windows above, aligning with the ground floor openings; the right-hand window illuminates the half landing between the ground and first floors. Three skylights are present in the rear pitch of the roof.

The house was first recorded in the 1878 valuation revision book as vacant, indicating recent completion, and was occupied the following year. Its architectural interest lies in its style, proportions, and ornamentation. Although some alterations detract from the original character, it retains significant group value alongside its terrace counterparts and possesses local historical interest.