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

This is one of a terrace of five identical, two-and-a-half storey, two-bay houses located on the west side of Kilmorey Street in Newry. As part of a cohesive group of modest High Victorian houses, the terrace is characterised by its ornate detailing to the windows and eaves and contributes significantly to the character of this part of the town. Construction likely occurred between 1860 and 1879, and the house was first noted in the 1878 valuation records as being newly completed and vacant.

The house has a gabled natural slate roof and a distinctive ornate chimney at the right end of the roof ridge, composed of three square flues joined by an oversailing cap. The exterior walls are cement rendered, with incised lines on the ground floor, and a moulded cill course runs across the facade at first floor window level. A deep eaves course, supported by four pairs of brackets and featuring a leaded rainwater gutter, extends across the top of the facade, with a narrow moulded string course connecting the brackets. 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 glazed 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 with distinctive geometric panels in the jambs and an entablature embossed with ‘17’. A 2/2 horizontally-divided sliding sash window is positioned to the right of the entrance, with a painted cill. Two 2/2 vertically-divided windows are located at first floor, matching the ground floor openings, with ornate stucco architraves embellished with rosettes and keystoned heads. The windows and entrance door are modern replacements. The left and right gables are abutted by adjacent buildings. The rear walls are cement rendered and a one-storey flat-roofed extension abuts the left side, with a back door to its right. At first floor, two 2/2 sliding sash windows, the one on the right illuminating the half landing between the ground and first floors, align with the openings below. Attic stairs are lit by a skylight. The building has significance due to its style, proportion, ornamentation, and group value, further enhanced by local historical interest.