2-4 Church Square

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Pair of 4-storey buildings sharing a common roof at corner of Church Square and Main Street. A third similar building in this block (No.6) is recorded as HB16/08/028B.

Pitched natural slate roof with lined cement rendered chimneys - one to left end gable and one between the two properties. Advanced painted stone eaves course supports modern plastic guttering which feeds into a cast-iron hopper and similar downpipe falling between the two properties. All walls are painted and lined cement rendered.

No 2 (At left of group)
Front elevation is W facing. Four (equally spaced) windows wide at first floor. At ground floor there are two large modern shop fronts. To centre is a pair of modern glazed timber doors with a pair of large shop windows (with narrow transoms) to either side. These are inappropriately detailed with pilasters and fascia, all in cement.

All upper floor window openings have painted granite cills and are diminished in height on each floor. Those to the first floor are painted timber 1/1 sliding sashes with horns and exposed boxes. Those to the second floor are similar but left two are 6/3 sashes. The third floor windows are modern 2/2 top hung casements.

Turning left corner to N gable. Walls are as front elevation with painted chamfered stone base course. Doorway at extreme left end contains early 20thC glazed timber door with two bottom panels and a larger glazed upper panel which has decorative inset corners to its head. Projecting moulded render architrave on plain base blocks.

There are two windows to each upper floor, the left ones set to left side. All windows have painted granite cills and diminish in height with each floor (as those to front elevation). Those to the first floor are 1/1 sashes with horns and exposed boxes. Second floor windows are modern 1/1 top hung casement; those to second floor are 2/2 top hung casements. Left windows are not in line with the door below.

Rear elevation is cement rendered (unfinished) and much altered. There are two ground floor openings, at left is a large modern picture window with two top hung transoms, and at right is a modern door. There are two windows to each upper floor, all set to right and containing modern top hung casements. Narrow passage to rear, running parallel with rear wall.

Right gable forms party wall with No.4.

No.4
Three windows wide (to upper floors) with those to middle set slightly to right of centre. At ground floor right there is a modern 4-panelled stained timber door, each panel flush moulded. The remainder of ground floor is filled by an modern stained timber shop front with broad fluted pilasters supporting a flat timber fascia.

The three windows to each upper floor diminish in height as they rise and are in line with those to No. 2. All are exposed box sliding sashes with applied mouldings to reveals and painted granite cills. Those to first and second floor are 1/1 sashes; the second floor ones have horns and top sashes which are twice as high as the bottom ones suggesting that they would probably originally have been 6/3 paned (as those at left end on no.2). The third floor windows are 3/3 sashes (no horns).

Left gable forms party wall with no.2. Right gable forms party wall with no.6 (HB16/08/028B).

Rear elevation is cement rendered (unfinished) and much altered. There are two ground floor openings, a doorway at left (open into a small porch), to its right a modern door with transom over. There is a single modern casement window to right on each upper floor. The first floor one is boarded over and to its left is a smaller similar window Narrow passage to rear, running parallel with rear wall.

Historical information

Junction of Main Street and Church Square is locally known as Thompson’s Corner. This corner block is shown with buildings on the 1776 map. However, it is possible that the present buildings were erected at the same time as the adjacent former Methodist Chapel (HB16/08/028B) in 1831-2. Alternatively, the Chapel may have been incorporated in part of an existing (18thC) block.

The 1834 valuation notes this block as comprising three shops, each 33ft high. This confirms that they were not subsequently raised to their present height.

The HMBB first survey slide shows this pair of buildings to have had two additional chimneys. These are as the others, one to centre of No.2 and one on party wall between Nos. 4 and 6. The slide also shows the casement windows to have been 3/3 sliding sashes.

Primary Sources:
1. Meade Estate: A Map of the Town of Rathfriland (1776) Now in Norfolk and Norwich Record Office.
2. PRONI 1834 Valuation town map (1:1760), VAL 1D/3/3.
3. PRONI 1835 First Valuation book, VAL 1B/ 358A, p.132; /358B, p.40.
4. J.A.McCracken “Methodist Chapel, Rathfriland” Copy in Public Library, John Street, Rathfriland.
5. HMBB First Survey Slide.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

The external character has been compromised by the inappropriate shop fronts and windows and alteration to the rear. It has some townscape value as part of a group at one of the main junctions in Rathfriland.

General comments

**Interior access still to be gained for this property. Interior information to be added to this database (not Second Survey) ** T Clarke 25/06/2003