20 Charlemont Square East, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

A two-storey, two-bay mid-Victorian terraced house built between 1862 and 1866 to designs by an unknown architect. The building is L-plan in form, facing southwest, with a large two-storey rear return added around 1984. It forms part of Charlemont Square East, one of twenty-seven similar houses which, together with five larger two-and-a-half storey shop buildings to the southeast, comprise the eastern terrace of Charlemont Square. The square as a whole is a formally designed mid-Victorian development consisting of 66 buildings in total, arranged on three sides around a central green and primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The principal elevation faces southwest and is nearly symmetrical. Walling is constructed of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite with red brick dressings. Stone cills are painted, and stepped red brick surrounds frame the gauged-brick cambered door and window openings. The front elevation has a regular fenestration pattern with two windows at first floor level aligned above the ground floor openings. The building is set flush with the main terrace of houses, narrowly set back from the larger shop buildings to its southeastern end. A modest paved front yard is enclosed by smooth cement-rendered dwarf walling topped by plain hooped painted metal railings, with a similar foot gate hung on slim metal posts to the southeast. A concrete path from the gate leads to a panelled painted timber door to the southeast of the facade, which has two glazed upper sections and black iron door furniture, with a rectangular fanlight above. Double-hung timber sliding sash windows with window horns and exposed sash boxes light the front northwest elevation.

The northwest elevation shows the building is attached to No. 21 Charlemont Square East. The southeast elevation shows the building attached to No. 19 Charlemont Square East.

The rear northeast elevation consists of a single bay two-storey pitched roof rear return projecting northeast into the rear yard, having painted timber soffit and fascia. A planked painted timber door in smooth rendered boundary walling leads from the rear access route to a narrow L-shaped yard, with reduced bay width at its northwestern edge. The rear yard has a monopitch corrugated metal roof covering to the northeast of the rear return and an open well yard. The rear facades generally have smooth cement-rendered finish with timber top and side opening casement windows to the northeast facade. A single window is visible at first floor level on the northwest side of the rear return; no windows are visible to the southeast.

The pitched fibre cement roof is finished with angled black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest carries a single terracotta pot. Flush eaves feature a red brick corbel course. Half-round guttering discharges to circular-section downpipes with cast iron rainwater goods to the front southwest elevation and uPVC rainwater goods to the northeast elevation and rear return.

The building is part of a planned arrangement of 66 mill workers' dwellings and shops comprising a formal square with 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. Terraces to the east and west 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. 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, incorporating a monument to the installation of electric lighting in 1911, and Bessbrook's War Memorial is centrally located to the southeast of the playground.