2 College Square West, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

Two-storey two-bay late-Victorian mill workers terraced dwelling, built of local stone around 1874 to designs by an unknown architect, though possibly designed by civil engineer John Hardy. The building has a rectangular plan facing northeast with a single-storey rear return and a covered extension to the yard. Number 2 College Square West forms part of a terrace of 18 similar houses making up the western side of College Square, itself a formally designed late-Victorian square of 53 dwellings arranged on three sides around a central bowling green and playground, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The building is constructed of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite walling with stepped red brick dressings to jambs and stone cills. Door and window openings are square-headed with gauged brick arches. Dwellings are grouped into pairs along the terrace, each pair symmetrical with doors grouped to centre flanked on opposite sides by single windows at ground floor level. These are set between raised roof verges in red brick with clay tile coping, which rise to rectangular section chimneys at apex level. The line of the verge continues vertically down each front northeast facade with stepped red brick quoins and recessed downpipes flanking each paired set of dwellings. Single dwellings at each end of the terrace are unpaired.

The pitched roof is covered in natural slate with roll-top black clay ridge tiles. The rectangular-section red brick chimney to the southeast has been rebuilt in rustic brick and has six terracotta clay pots. Flush eaves feature a double red brick course, a single buff brick course and an alternating red and buff brick corbel course above.

The front elevation faces northeast and is nearly symmetrical with regular fenestration. Two windows to first floor level align with ground floor openings; all windows are top-opening timber casements. Ground floor has stepped red brick surrounds and gauged brick arches with flush keystone detail to the head of the door; the window to the southeast side of the door has flush red brick detailing beneath the cill. The principal entrance is a painted sheeted timber door with brass furniture and a square-headed fanlight above with a single vertical glazing bar.

A modest sized front garden faces the public road and is set to lawn, enclosed by dwarf red brick walling topped with hooped painted metal railings. A similar foot gate hangs on slim posts to the northwest. A concrete path from the gate leads to the front door.

To the southeast the building is attached to Number 1 College Square West, and to the northwest it is attached to Number 3 College Square West.

The southwest elevation, which has limited access, consists of a single-storey flat-roofed return at the southeast with a narrower monopitched covered yard extension to the northwest, both extending to the rear yard boundary. The covered yard extension has a corrugated Perspex roof and the flat-roofed return has felt. Two uPVC casement windows are visible in the original stone walling at first floor level. The yard boundary wall has a smooth cement render finish and a painted sheeted timber door leading from the rear access route to the covered yard extension.

Guttering is generally uPVC with half-round profiles discharging to circular section downpipes. The downpipe to the front northeast is cast iron and recessed into the walling of stepped red brick quoins. The downpipe to the front northeast is cast iron and recessed into the walling of stepped red brick quoins.

The setting is part of a planned arrangement forming College Square, 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. Rear yards to each dwelling are typically enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with square-headed door openings onto a wide rear access route. The terrace to the east comprises 23 dwellings built in a similar style but with significant differences in detailing, stepped in groups of six to respect the subtle relief of the site, terminating at the south-eastern end with the village Town Hall (the old Institute building). The northern terrace is the shortest in the square, containing only 12 houses, and whilst similar to the other terrace dwellings these are distinctly larger two-storey buildings. The former school building is located at the southeast end of the western terrace.

The central area of the square is now divided into three sections each laid to lawn. The area to the northwest has a bowling pavilion and green enclosed by painted hooped metal railings with established trees at the northwest boundary. A lawn enclosed by hooped metal railings is located to the southeast. An open children's playground occupies the centre of the square, which includes three granite monuments. One records those who served the Bessbrook firm for nearly 50 years: George Wright, Head Mason; John McClelland, Head Millwright; Michael Boyle, Flax Buyer; and Robert Ross, Mill Manager and Austin Kennedy, Rougher (erected 1911). Another records "The garden in memory of James N. Richardson is arranged by his wife as a playground for the children of Bessbrook whom he loved November 1927" with an inscription noting this was the last stone cut from Bessbrook quarry. A third monument, recently moved to its current location from the grounds of Bessbrook Mill, details the mill's history from its ownership by the Pollock family in 1760 to Bessbrook Spinning Company Limited in 1878.