McCann’s Bakery

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An extensive bakery comprising 19th and 20th century buildings wrapped around a mid 16th century castle on the east side of Castle St. There are six conjoining blocks, as follows:

(1) A large single-storey building set at right angles to the road at the north end of the site; its gable faces directly on to the road. This was the ‘new’ bakery, opened in 1969. Its north elevation faces the driveway from the main road to the rear of the site. At the road end of this drive is a pair of metal gates inset with the interlocking letters ‘A McC’.

The front section of this building has a pitched corrugated asbestos-cement roof and harled cement walls; the rear section has a corrugated metal roof and smooth cement rendered walls. Its north gable contains a large metal vehicular door in its canted left corner and a small window at ground floor right. The north elevation has a number of modern windows and doors. The east gable is abutted by a small relatively modern building and Nissan hut behind. The south elevation is abutted by blocks 2 and 5. This block is without architectural interest.

(2) A three-storey/ one-bay block set at right angles to the road alongside the south side of block 1. This is a 19th century store which was taken over by the McCann Brothers in 1894 as a bakery. Aside from the castle (block 4), it is the oldest block in the complex. It has a hipped slate roof and painted smooth cement rendered walls, with raised stepped quoins. Metal rainwater goods. It is three openings wide to front. The ground floor has an entrance at centre, with a large modern window either side. On the fascia above is painted: “Arthur McCann Limited” in capital letters. The upper two floors each have three windows; all are 1/1 sliding sashes except at top left, which is a 2/1 sash. The ground and first floors of its north elevation are abutted by block 1. The top floor is lit by small 3/3 top opening windows; there is a loading door at middle, with gable over. The east gable is abutted to first floor by block 5 (the top floor is blank), and its south wall by blocks 3, 4 and 5.

(3) A modern block, two storeys high at its north end where it abuts block 2, and one storey high to south. This block dates to the 1960s. It has a flat concrete roof and painted smooth cement rendered walls. The two-storey section has two modern windows to ground and to first floors, and similar windows to its right cheek at first floor. The one-storey section has an entrance door at left and four modern windows at right. Along the façade above the ground floor windows is written: “Baking in Newry since 1837”. The south end is abutted by block 6, and its east elevation by block 4.

(4) This is the original 16th century castle and is three storeys high. It is aligned north-south. Except for its top floor, it is enveloped on all sides by later buildings (block 3 at west and south, and block 5 at east). Hipped natural slate roof with skylights to rear pitch. Metal rainwater goods. All exposed walls are cement rendered. An unrendered section which is now enveloped by block 2 is of random rubble construction and all the walls are undoubtedly constructed similarly. This block is now devoid of external openings except at north end of west façade, where a modern casement window leads on to roof of the two-storey section of block 3; the splaying of the walls internally suggests that his may be set within an original opening. There is a circular opening for a ventilation fan directly above it. On the external wall of this elevation, just right of the window (as viewed from street) is a large moulded masonry corbel.

(5) A 1960s two-storey building aligned north-south across the east elevation of blocks 2 and 4. It has a flat concrete roof and cement rendered walls. There are modern windows/doors to ground and first floor. Monopitched open-sided lean-tos abut its east façade.

(6) A large modern one-storey block aligned at right angles to the road and forming the south side of the complex. Pitched corrugated asbestos roof and painted smooth cement rendered walls. Blank west and south elevations. Doors and windows to east gable which is abutted by a modern open-sided lean-to.

Historical information

The earliest known map of Newry, dating to the second half of the 16th century (Canavan dates it to c.1570, and A.S.C.D. to c.1587), shows a three-storey castle where the bakery now stands. It was erected by Nicholas Bagenal, who settled in Newry in 1539, during the reign of Henry VIII, to escape criminal prosecution in England. In 1550, the Cistercian Abbey which stood in this area was dissolved and its buildings and lands were granted to Bagenal by Edward VI. The map accompanied a proposal by Bagenal to Elizabeth I of how he planned to make the town more secure and the castle is cited as “the new castell”. Although this is somewhat ambiguous as regards its date of erection, Bagenal notes that it was already built. Most probably he did this in, or shortly after 1566, when he repossessed the town, having being ousted some four years previously by the Irish under Shane O’Neill. Given the various wars in subsequent decades, and fact that the town was often in the thick of the fighting, it is likely that the castle underwent major repairs from time to time. According to the Frontier Sentinel of 3 April 1937, the staircase tower was demolished around 1755.

John Rocque’s 1760 town map and Matthew Wren’s of the following year both mark the location of the castle as ‘The Shambles’, indicating that it had long ceased to be used for its original purpose. The 1838 valuation makes no explicit mention of a castle, merely noting the building as one of a number of tenements along Castle St. The 1863 valuation notes the building as “part of the monastery”. Interestingly, the mistaken belief that the castle was the Cistercian abbot’s house has persisted to the present day. This view is reinforced by the carved stones, both of which are probably vestiges of the abbey; however, neither is in its original position (the cross was formerly in the street). The ’Open Window Advertiser’ of 1901 states (p.69) that “a few portions of Bagenal’s Castle still remain, but are altered into small dwellings now occupied by workmen”. A photograph of the castle seemingly taken around 1937 shows it still inhabited (Frontier Sentinel, 3 April 1937).

The original Victoria Bakery was established by Thomas and Matthew McCann in 1837 on the opposite side of the street to the present bakery. It was not until 1894 it expanded into the three-storey building formerly owned by Joseph Doyle, a florist and seed merchant. The ovens were apparently on the ground floor, mixers on the first, and flour bins on the top floor. The castle appears to have expanded into the bakery in 1939 (historical records of Major Reside, in possession of Gerry Murphy). New extensions were made on the south side of the complex in 1964, and a new bakery erected on the north side in 1969.

Irwin’s Portadown-based bakery recently purchased McCann’s and brought over 150 years of continuous production to a close. At the time of survey, most of the baking equipment had been removed.

Secondary Sources:

1. Archaeological Survey Co. Down, p.262 (entry 417.1; the 16th century plans are reproduced in plates 69 and 70).
2. T. Canavan, 1989, ‘Frontier town: an illustrated history of Newry’, pp 42-3 (Belfast: Blackstaff Press).
3. P. Makem and G. Murphy (1987), Five generations of baking in Newry, 1837-1987 (Newry: Arthur McCann Ltd).
4. Brian Irwin (present owner)
5. Gerry Murphy (former bakery manager)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

An extensive bakery comprising 19th and 20th century buildings wrapped around a mid 16th century castle. Only the castle can be said to be of interest.