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In the early 1800s, one of Newry’s first courthouses stood detached in the centre of Margaret Square in Hill Street. It had formerly been a market house, built by private subscription. No lease having been obtained; it became the property of the Downshire family and was altered into a sessions house around 1805. Like most other court houses in Ireland, it is likely that court and civil administrative business took place in the upper story, though the bottom story appears to have been used for auctions.
Whilst the most serious crimes were sent for trial at the assizes in Downpatrick courthouse, the courthouse at Margaret Square held quarter sessions, which tried criminal cases in front of a jury four times a year. Outside of these sittings, less serious cases were tried summarily without a jury at the petit sessions. Resident Magistrates and Justices of the Peace were appointed to deal with the minor civil and criminal matters that arose. These roles were unpaid and often taken by those with their own income, such as local landowners or gentlemen. A list of the local magistrates at the time include Thomas G. Henry, John Boyd, Constantine Maguire, Dennis Caulfield Brady, Nicholas Charles Whyte, George Bowen, Francis Charles Beers, David Ross of Bladensburg, James Robinson, Hill Wilson Rowan, David Robert Ross, and John White.
The venue was also used by various civic, community and charity groups for public meetings, including the subscribers and friends of Newry Mendacity Association, the Hibernian Church Missionary Society, groups for the Encouragement of the Railways and the South Australia Emigration Community. The registry of the freeholders in the County Down also took place in the court.
Plans were already in progress for a new courthouse at Trevor Hill, when in 1837 Samuel Lewis described the old courthouse as “an unsightly old building in an inconvenient place.”
On the morning of 23rd February 1841 a calamity befell the old courthouse. A Miss Duff had been using the Grand Jury room to receive and pay for sewing work from the several hundred females she employed. The weight of the large crowd in the room and in the lobbies caused the floor to collapse. The floor of the Keeper’s room and the Petit Jury room, together with chimney pieces, bricks, forms, tables and furniture, also came crashing down. Nearly a third of those in the building were injured. The Keeper of the house, Mr. Baird, was the only person in the lower part of the building when the floors fell and miraculously escaped injury. A subscription was raised in aid of the poor sufferers and their destitute families.
In April and July of that year quarter sessions took place in the large room over the meal market house, possibly the old St. Colman’s Hall in Castle Street, which had been furnished for the occasion. Following the collapse, Mr. Frasier the County Surveyor stated at the assizes in Downpatrick that the old sessions house was a nuisance, blocking up what ought to be a fine open street and the building was demolished. The new courthouse at Trevor Hill opened earlier than anticipated in October 1841.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.
Please visit our website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum
