1-17 Caulfield Place

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Twelve two-bay houses arranged in three terraces on the south side of Caulfield Place, a crescent off Corry Square.

Numbers 1-3 (terrace 1) and 4-7 (terrace 2), which are of similar design, face each other and form a cul-de-sac, with nos 3 and 4 blocking the south end. Numbers 8-12 (terrace 3) are of slightly different design and are located to the east of nos 1-7. They formerly faced a terrace comprising nos 13-22, but the latter has been cleared to form an open space.

Terraces 1 and 2

Only no.5 is still occupied, the rest now lying derelict. The roofs are pitched and have natural slates (many removed) over brick eaves course; rainwater goods missing. Skylights have been inserted into some of the roofs. There is a cement rendered brick chimney to each house (no.5 rebuilt in concrete blocks). All street-facing walls are cement rendered over random rubble granite; rear walls of unrendered identical material, with stepped brick dressings to openings. All windows originally had granite cills, but many of these have been removed. With the exception of no.5, all window and door openings now infilled with concrete blocks.

Excepting houses 3 and 4, the ground floor of each house has a door and single window to the street facade, and two windows to first floor, offset from openings below. At rear of each house is a door into yard, with single window to adjoining room and also one to first floor room. There is also a window on the half landing between ground and first floor, in line with yard door. Nos 1 and 7 each have two gable lights at attic level. No.5 has modern door and 1/1 top-hung windows. Original 6/6 sliding sash fenestration survives at rear of no.7.

The main parts of houses 3 and 4 face into the street between the two terraces. They are entered from a door set along the line of their respective terrace. The roofs to their main sections are monopitch with natural slates. There are single windows at ground and first floor level to each house and a blind window to each floor where the two houses meet. Their common rear wall is cement rendered, and blank except for a ground floor window to no.5

The yards to terrace 1 have been demolished. Nos 4-7 each have a small two-storey outbuilding in rear yard, accessed from an alley which also serves terrace 3. No.6 also has a two-storey concrete blockwork return.

Terrace 3

Five three-storey/ two-bay houses, occupied with exception of no.12 which is derelict. All have gabled natural slate roofs, plastic rainwater goods, cement-rendered chimneys (at left). All the wall surfaces are cement rendered, except rear of no 10 which retains its exposed random granite rubble and brick window trimming. Each house has ground floor front door at right (with transom light above), window at left, and two windows on first and second floor, in line with one another but offset from ground floor openings; top floor windows diminished. All window openings have granite cills. Only nos 8 and 10 retain their original 2/2 sliding sash frames (albeit with some glazing bars removed), the rest being modern 1/1 top hung replacements.

Cement rendered gable ends to this terrace. At rear, a wall encloses yard to each house. All windows and doors to rear elevations are modern replacements with exception of nos 8 and 10 which have a 2/2 sliding sash window to rear rooms of all floors, and identical windows at left to half landings between floors. Flat roofed extensions have been built onto the backs of nos 9 and 11.

No 12 is of L plan at the end of the street; no.13, now demolished, would have had a similar plan, thus blocking the end of the street (cf nos 3 and 4 above). Entered from door in line of terrace, above which is a window. Facade facing up street has a modern horizontal headed opening through to rear and one window to each of the upper floors, both 2/2 sliding sash.

Historical information

Terraces 1 and 2 are cited in the 1836 Valuation Book, being leased by Denis C Brady to various individuals. Terrace 3 is noted as “foundation only” and in the 1838 revised valuation as “five houses unfinished”. They appear to have been finished in 1870 as they first appear in the Valuation Revision book during that year, again under the name of Denis Brady (ie the developer); they began to be occupied the following year.

Denis Brady was a local magistrate who became a Westminster MP in 1835 after the infamous ‘Brady’ election, when he defeated Sir Thomas Stables, the candidate of Lord Kilmorey. He lost his seat in the general election of 1837. His middle name was Caulfield, reflecting the fact that he was the nephew (on his mother’s side) of Denis Caulfield, a prominent Newry merchant and distillery owner in the decades around 1800. It is after the latter that he named the terrace.

Primary Sources:
1.Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI – VAL 1B/246A, p.35;
2. Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI - VAL 1B/246C, p.75a;
3. Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI - VAL 12B/15/1A, pp 196-7.

Secondary Sources:
1.M Comer (1993), ‘The Caulfields: a notable Newry family’, in Cuisle Na Ngael, pp.71-73.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Twelve two-bay houses arranged in three terraces primarily of historical interest as an early 19th century terrace and also of some value as an architectural grouping. Terraces 1 and 2 make an interesting contrast with the higher quality houses of terrace 3, built at least 35 years later.