57 Upper Water Street, (formerly 57 Abbey Way), Newry, Co Down, BT34 1DJ

This is a two-and-a-half storey shop, originally built between 1780 and 1799, situated within a terrace on the east side of Upper Water Street (formerly Abbey Way) in Newry. The building, which has previously operated as a house, is currently in private ownership and sits within a designated conservation area, making conservation area protection more appropriate.

The building’s steeply pitched roof is covered with artificial slate and features two cast iron skylights to the front. Modern plastic rainwater goods are present, and there are no chimneys. The walls are finished with painted smooth render. The ground floor shop front is prominent, with a timber doorway leading to a rear yard on the left side. The remainder of the ground floor comprises a pair of timber storm doors flanked by shop windows. These doors open into a small recessed hall with glazed side panels, leading to the shop itself. The shop windows have timber cills and rendered stall risers. Timber pilasters rise from granite blocks at ground level, supporting a timber fascia with a moulded cornice; the fascia is painted with the name of the current occupant. Above the shop windows, and between the doors, the pilasters support the projecting fascia.

The first floor has four equally spaced 1/1 sliding sash windows, each with horns and a moulded render architrave. A projecting, internally lit sign is attached to the centre of the wall at this level, partially obscuring the heads of the two central windows with a second plastic fascia sign. The rear elevation is inaccessible.

The building was shown on an Ordnance Survey map from 1835 and described in a 1838 valuation as a house valued at £22. In 1863, it was recorded as two and a quarter storeys high. By the early 1900s, the building had been operating as a licensed house. Its address has changed over time due to street realignments, originally being numbered 8-10 Abbey Way.