4 Bridge St., Rostrevor, Co.Down

4 Bridge Street, Rostrevor, County Down

This Grade B listed building is a two-storey shop and dwelling that first appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1834. According to the first valuation of 1835–36, it was already more than 25 years old at that time, suggesting construction in the early 19th century or possibly late 18th century. The building is described in the original valuation as a slated structure in good condition, with dimensions recorded as 16 feet by 20 feet by 17 feet. It was initially leased to Mrs Traynor or Mr Greer of Newry but stood unoccupied at the time of survey.

The property's occupancy and use evolved through the 19th and 20th centuries. By circa 1838, J.J. Doyle had become the tenant. In 1861, Mary Ann Doyle occupied the property, which by then housed a small drapery business. Subsequent tenants included Catherine Fitzpatrick (1877), Bernard Dunn (1893), Thomas Mahood (1894), Peter Mahood (1899), and Peter Murphy (1906 onwards). The 1911 census records Peter Murphy as a 40-year-old grocer living here with his wife Mary Ann, their young son, and a house guest named Bridget Barry. The property was described at that time as a second-class shop and private dwelling with four rooms occupied by the family. Peter Murphy remained the occupant until at least 1930, and Patrick Murphy was recorded as the property holder in 1972.

The ground floor has functioned as a shopfront since at least circa 1900, as evidenced by late Victorian and Edwardian photographs. The building remains in commercial and residential use.

Bridge Street itself originated as part of the road from Kilkeel, connecting to routes toward Rathfriland and Newry. Oliver Sloane's County Down map of 1739 shows Rostrevor as a settlement comprising buildings solely on the northeastern side of the road, suggesting this side of Bridge Street marks the village's earliest development. Growth on both sides of the street is documented on an estate map of 1767 and Williamson's county map of 1810, reaching its present extent by 1834. The street was known in the 1830s as Post Office Street, modified to Old Post Office Street by 1861, and finally to Bridge Street around 1894. The 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoirs describe it as leading from the centre of the main street in a south-easterly direction to Rostrevor bridge, approximately 155 yards long, 95 feet broad at its northern and western end and 25 feet at its narrowest point near the bridge. The houses are recorded as two-storey structures in good order, all used for shops and furnished lodgings for travellers.

The building is situated within Rostrevor Conservation Area.