18 College Square West, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

18 College Square West, Bessbrook

A two-storey, two-bay late-Victorian mill workers' end terraced dwelling, built around 1874 from local Newry Granodiorite stone, possibly designed by civil engineer John Hardy. The house forms part of a terrace of 18 similar properties comprising the western side of College Square, a formally planned late-Victorian square of 53 dwellings arranged on three sides around a central bowling green and playground.

The building is constructed of random-coursed rock-faced local stone with stepped red brick dressings to jambs and painted stone cills. Dwellings are grouped into pairs along the terrace, with each pair symmetrical in design. Doors are grouped centrally and flanked on opposite sides by single windows at ground floor level, positioned between raised roof verges in red brick with clay tile coping that rise to rectangular section chimneys at apex level. The verge line is continued vertically down each front north-east facade with stepped red brick quoins and recessed downpipes, flanking each paired set of dwellings. The roof is pitched fibre cement tile with roll-top black clay ridge tiles, flush eaves with a double red brick course, a single buff brick course and an alternating red and buff brick corbel course above. The south-east chimney, rebuilt in rustic red brick, has six terracotta clay pots. Cast iron rainwater goods serve the front north-east elevation, with uPVC to the rear south-west; half-round guttering discharges to circular section downpipes.

The front elevation facing north-east is flush with the rest of the terrace and near symmetrical with regular fenestration. Two windows occupy the first floor in line with ground floor openings, all windows being timber casements. Ground floor features a stepped red brick surround and gauged brick arches with flush keystone detail to the door head; the south-east window beside the door has flush red brick detailing beneath the cill. A modest front garden is laid to lawn and enclosed by dwarf red brick walling topped by painted hooped metal railings, with a similar foot gate hung on slim posts to the north-west. A paved path from the gate leads to a painted sheeted timber door with a square-headed fanlight above.

The south-east elevation is attached to No. 17 College Square West. The south-west elevation, with limited access, shows timber casement windows to both first and ground floor levels at the south-east, both looking into an enclosed rear yard. A two-storey pitched roof rear return projects from the north-west end into the enclosed rear yard. A monopitch roofed outbuilding with corrugated metal roof is attached to the south-west side of the rear return, abutting the stone boundary wall. Original yard boundary walling is random-coursed rock-faced local stone with an increased-width doorway to the south-east having a two-part galvanised sheet metal door. The south-east side of the rear return has a timber casement window to first floor and a similar window to ground floor, with a painted flush timber door with glazed top half to the north-east side of the ground floor window. The elevation has a painted smooth cement render finish overall.

The north-west elevation forms the end of College Square West and consists of a two-storey gable to centre with the side wall of the rear return extending south-west and original stone yard boundary walling to the attached outbuilding. The front garden to the north-east has smooth rendered dwarf walling topped by painted hooped metal railings. A rough cast cement render finish covers the gable and rear return. An L-plan form rear return was added around 1987.

The house is set within the broader context of College Square, a planned arrangement of 53 mill workers' dwellings comprising formal terraces on the east, north and west sides arranged around a central bowling green, playground and lawn. 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. Rear yards are typically enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with square-headed door openings onto a wide rear access route. The eastern terrace comprises 23 dwellings in a similar style with some detailing differences, stepped in groups of six to respect the site's subtle relief, and terminates at its south-eastern end with the village Town Hall (the old Institute building). The northern terrace, the shortest in the square at 12 houses wide, contains distinctly larger two-storey buildings of similar character. The former school building is located at the south-east end of the western terrace. The central area of the square is divided into three sections laid to lawn: the north-west contains a bowling pavilion and green enclosed by painted hooped metal railings with established trees at its north-west boundary; the south-east has a lawn enclosed by hooped metal railings; and the centre contains an open children's playground with three granite monuments recording the service of long-serving mill employees, the Richardson family's gift to the village in 1927, and the history of Bessbrook Mill from Pollock family ownership in 1760 to Bessbrook Spinning Co Ltd in 1878.