26 Charlemont Square East, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

Two-storey, two-bay mid-Victorian terraced house built between 1862 and 1866 to designs by an unknown architect. The building faces southwest and forms part of Charlemont Square East, the eastern terrace of a formally designed mid-Victorian square comprising 66 buildings in total arranged on three sides around a central green.

The house is constructed of random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite with painted smooth render dressings. Window and door openings are square-headed with painted stone cills and stepped smooth render surrounds. Windows are typically top-opening timber casements. The pitched roof is covered in fibre cement with angled black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest carries two terracotta clay pots. Flush eaves feature a red brick corbel course with metal rainwater goods and half-round guttering discharging to circular-section downpipes, though the southwest elevation has a uPVC downpipe.

The principal southwest elevation is nearly symmetrical and flush with the main terrace. A modest front yard contains established box hedging and is enclosed by smooth render dwarf walling topped with hooped metal railings, with a painted metal foot gate to the southeast. A red tiled path leads from the gate to a six-panelled painted timber door positioned to the southeast of the facade. The door has a semi-circular glazed section to its top and brass furniture, with a rectangular fanlight above. The facade displays regular fenestration with two windows at first-floor level aligned with ground-floor openings, all fitted with top-opening timber casement windows.

The building is attached on the northwest to No. 27 Charlemont Square East. The northeast elevation has limited visibility but shows rock-faced random-coursed stone walling to the yard boundary, accessed via a planked painted timber door from the rear access route. A monopitch outbuilding abuts the north corner of the yard boundary walling. The first-floor northeast elevation includes a top-opening timber casement window to the centre with a later, smaller similar window to the right-hand side. The rear elevation retains original stonework at first-floor level with timber casement windows and some cast iron rainwater goods, whilst ground-floor level and yard walls are whitened. The building is attached on the southeast to No. 25 Charlemont Square East.

The house forms part of a planned arrangement of mill workers' dwellings and shops within Charlemont Square, which consists of East, North and West terraces 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 terraces are stepped in groups of two dwellings to respect the subtle relief of the site. Larger rear yards to each dwelling are enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with square-headed door openings onto a wide rear access route. Front facades are nearly uniform along the East and West terraces, while rear facades show considerable alteration with various extensions of different shapes and sizes. Five larger shop buildings stand to the southeast of Charlemont Square East and one to the southeast of Charlemont Square West, featuring traditional shop fronts at ground-floor level with dwellings above. The central area of the square is laid to lawn and enclosed by hooped galvanised metal railings with established trees at its boundary.