4 Charlemont Square East, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

A two-and-a-half-storey, two-bay mid-Victorian terraced shop with dwelling above, built between 1862 and 1866 to designs by an unknown architect. The building has a rectangular plan form facing southwest, with a single-storey rear return added circa 1984, a single-storey attached cold store, and a covered yard to the rear.

No. 4 is one of five similar two-and-a-half-storey buildings, each originally having ground-floor shop fronts with dwellings above (references HB16/22/001A-E). These commercial buildings, together with twenty-seven smaller terrace dwellings to the northwest, form the eastern terrace of Charlemont Square, a formally designed mid-Victorian square consisting of 66 buildings in total arranged on three sides around a central green, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The building is constructed of generally random-coursed, rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite walling with red brick dressings. Stone cills are painted, and the shop front, door opening, and window openings feature stepped red brick surrounds with gauged-brick cambered arches. The pitched roof is clad with fibre cement tiles and black roll-top ridge tiles. A half dormer window sits on the southwest elevation. The chimney to the northwest, a replacement rectangular-section red brick stack, carries two terracotta pots and a single buff clay pot. Projecting eaves have painted timber fascia and soffit; cast iron rainwater goods with half-round guttering discharge to circular-section downpipes, though guttering to the rear elevation and return is uPVC.

The principal southwest elevation abuts the public footpath. At the southeast end is a panelled painted timber door opening onto a single stone step, leading to the entrance hall of the private dwelling above. This door has brass furniture and a semi-circular arched fanlight above with plain glazing. To the northwest of this door at ground-floor level stands a painted timber shop front with an entrance door featuring glazed upper and lower halves and a semi-circular arched fanlight above. A narrowly projecting moulded timber sign board sits above the shop front, with a large glazed panel below set on dwarf walling and defined by fluted painted timber pilasters. The facade has a near-regular fenestration pattern with two windows to first-floor level and a half dormer window to attic level having plain replacement painted timber bargeboard. Windows are generally replacement top-opening timber casements with window horn detail to the front southwest elevation; this detail is absent from windows to the rear.

The building is attached on the northwest to No. 5 Charlemont Square East. To the northeast, the rear elevation faces this direction and features two top-opening timber casement windows to first-floor level and two skylights to the pitched roof. A single-storey flat-roof rear return at the southeast end projects into the rear yard, as does a similarly sized cold store projecting from the northwest end. A narrow yard extension between these is now covered with monopitched corrugated Perspex. Replacement smooth rendered boundary walling to the northeast extent of the yard has two planked painted timber doors, one leading to the narrow concrete yard extension and the other to the rear return. The ground-floor level has generally smooth cement-rendered finish, while the upper levels retain original stone walling. To the southeast, the building is attached to No. 3 Charlemont Square East.

Charlemont Square was designed as a formal arrangement of 66 mill workers' dwellings and shops, comprising an east, north, and west terrace arranged around a central green. Each house is set back from the perimeter public road and footpath with a modest front yard typically enclosed by dwarf walling topped by hooped metal railings. The east and west terraces are stepped in groups of two dwellings, respecting the subtle relief of the site. Each dwelling generally has a larger rear yard enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with a square-headed door opening onto a wide rear access route. Front facades remain nearly uniform along the east and west terraces, with the five larger buildings at the southeast of Charlemont Square East (including this example) and one at the southeast of Charlemont Square West generally retaining traditional shop fronts at ground-floor level. The northern terrace comprises only eight houses, which are distinctly larger two-and-a-half-storey paired buildings. The central area of the square is now laid to lawn and enclosed by hooped galvanized metal railings, with established trees at its boundary. A children's playground is located to the southeast, which includes a monument marking the installation of electric lighting in 1911. Bessbrook's War Memorial is centrally located to the southeast of the playground. Rear facades throughout are much altered with various extensions of differing shapes and sizes.