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In the collection of Newry and Mourne Museum there are a range of estate maps, surveyors’ drawings and documents relating to Downshire Road, one of Newry’s most historic areas and home to many iconic buildings which played a role in the business, educational, religious and residential life of Newry.
Road, Newry in the townland of Carnyhough.
Newry & Mourne Museum Collection.
The Downshire Road area was first developed at the beginning of the nineteenth century and named after Arthur Hill, 3rd Marquis of Downshire who had begun laying out the modern centre of Newry. An entry from the Parishes of Co Down, Ordnance Survey 1836 described “2 new houses are just completing on the Downshire Road. Most of the houses on Downshire Road are of a very late date. They are all built of stone”
The Marquess of Downshire built Downshire House in the early nineteenth century, on what was then the west side of Belfast Road. It was later bought by the Orange Institution, who renamed it after Henry Thompson, a prominent MP who was born in the house. The house was demolished in 1980 and a replacement hall built.
In 1844 the Downshire Road Presbyterian church opened. It was renovated in 1885 which included a new pulpit made of pitch pine, yellow pine and American walnut.
In the mid-1890s Newry Intermediate School moved to a new building on Downshire Road, changing its name to Newry Grammar School in 1948. By 1953 the school had 350 pupils and the premises were cramped. The school merged with Ashgrove Secondary intermediate school to become Newry High School and pupils moved between the two buildings until 1973 when the Downshire Road site closed. The building became Newry Teachers Centre.
In an 1880 provincial directory, Newry Mineral Water is first listed as operating from premises from Downshire Road. The water was “procured from a great depth from the primitive rock” on the Downshire Road site and was said to be “free from all leaden or other impurities”. As well as producing mineral water drinks, the company also bottled beer and stout on site. The factory operated from between the Court House and the Presbyterian Church until the late 1970s when it was demolished to make way for the extension of New Street.
Museum Collection.
One of the most defining characteristics of the area is the Corry Monument on the corner of Downshire Road and Sandy Street. The granite obelisk was dedicated to the memory of Trevor Corry, a leading magistrate. The recreation grounds around the monument were opened to the public in 1877 and paid for by a public subscription.
The area also has many beautiful private homes. The 1886 Co Down Directory details Downshire Road as having “many private residences of a most substantial sort, some of them being very elegant”. Many of the residences were designed by celebrated architect Thomas Duff, with his private clients being the merchant classes who commissioned the large houses on Downshire Road. Duff himself lived at 45 Downshire Road in the middle house of Paternoster Rd that he designed himself.
More modern developments include the building of the BT telephone exchange, which opened in 1958, and a large Tesco Supermarket which opened in 2013.
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 their 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.
You can visit their website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk
