21 College Square East, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

Two-storey, two-bay late-Victorian terraced house, built around 1883 to designs by an unknown architect, though possibly by civil engineer Mr John Hardy. The building has an L-plan form facing southwest with a two and one storey rear return. It is one of twenty-three similar houses forming the eastern side of College Square, a formally designed late-Victorian square of 53 dwellings in total arranged on three sides around a central bowling green and playground, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The house is constructed of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite walling with stepped red brick dressings to jambs, stone cills and square-headed gauged-brick door and window openings. The pitched roof is covered with fibre cement tiles and has roll top black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest has segmented half-round coping and a single terracotta clay pot. The eaves are flush with separate red and buff brick eaves courses and an alternating red and buff brick corbel course above. Guttering is generally uPVC with half-round guttering to the front southwest elevation discharging to circular section downpipes, and box guttering and square-section downpipes to the rear return at the northeast.

The front elevation, which faces southwest and is flush with the rest of the terrace, is near symmetrical. A modest paved front yard is enclosed by dwarf modern block walling with decorative pierced blocks and a painted metal scrollwork foot gate hung on slim posts to the southeast. A concrete path from the gate leads to a four panelled painted timber door at the southeast end of the facade with brass furniture, a segmental arched glazed section with radial glazing bars to the top and a square headed fanlight above. The facade has a regular fenestration pattern with two windows to first floor level in line with ground floor openings, all having top opening timber casement windows.

To the northwest, the building is attached to No. 22 College Square East. Access to the rear northeast facing elevation is limited, but it consists of a two-storey flat roofed rear return with a single storey block attached to its northeast side forming the boundary of the rear yard. The rear return has a felt covered roof. The rear yard is a single reduced bay in width at its northwest extent with a single top opening casement window visible at first floor level. The two storey block of the rear return has a single timber casement window visible to its northeast gable. Rough cast cement render finish covers the yard boundary wall and there is a painted planked timber door leading from the rear access route to the rear yard. Generally rough cast cement render walling and top opening timber casement windows with slim concrete cills finish the facade and rear return. A flat roofed outbuilding stands at the northern corner of the yard. To the southeast, the building is attached to No. 20 College Square East.

College Square East forms part of a planned arrangement of 53 mill workers dwellings comprising a formal square composed of east, north and west terraces 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. The eastern terrace is initially stepped in groups of six dwellings respecting the subtle relief of the site. The western terrace comprises paired dwellings in similar style. The rear yard to each dwelling is enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with a square-headed door opening onto a wide rear access route. Front facades are nearly uniform along the eastern terrace with the village Town Hall (the old Institute building) located to the southeast. The northern terrace is the shortest, being only 12 houses in width, though similar in style these are distinctly larger two-and-a-half storey buildings. The central area of the square is now divided into three sections each laid to lawn, with a bowling pavilion and green enclosed by painted hooped metal railings to the northwest, a lawn enclosed by hooped metal railings to the southeast, and an open children's playground with three granite monuments in the centre.