19 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. Number 19 Charlemont Square East is one of twenty-seven similar houses forming the eastern terrace of Charlemont Square, a formally designed mid-Victorian square consisting of 66 buildings in total, arranged on three sides around a central green. The square was primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast and housed mill workers' dwellings and shops.

The building has an L-plan form facing southwest with a single-storey flat-roofed rear return. It is constructed of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite walling with red brick dressings. Painted stone cills and stepped red brick surrounds feature to gauged-brick cambered door and window openings, though window heads are now generally squared off with bands of painted smooth cement render to surrounds. The pitched fibre cement roof has angled black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest has two terracotta pots. Flush eaves are articulated with a red brick corbel course; half-round guttering with circular-section downpipes discharges to metal rainwater goods on the southwest elevation and uPVC to the rear northeast.

The front elevation facing southwest is near symmetrical and flush with the main terrace of houses, which is narrowly set back from the larger shop buildings at its south-eastern end. A modestly sized paved front yard is enclosed by smooth render dwarf walling topped with hooped metal railings and a similar painted metal foot gate to the southeast. A concrete path from the gate leads to a panelled painted timber door positioned to the southeast of the facade, with two glazed panels to the upper half and painted metal door furniture. The facade has a regular fenestration pattern with two windows to first-floor level in line with ground-floor openings. All windows are double-hung 1/1 sliding timber sash windows with window horns and exposed sash boxes.

The building is attached on the northwest to Number 20 Charlemont Square East. The rear elevation faces northeast and is enclosed by rock-faced random-coursed stone walling to the boundary of a concrete yard, accessed through a planked painted timber door from the rear access route. At ground-floor level to the southwest end of the elevation is an increased-width side opening casement window with a replacement concrete cill, and a double-hung sliding timber sash window to the centre elevation at first-floor level. From the northwest end of the facade, a single-storey rear return projects northeast to the yard boundary walling with smooth cement render and a flat felt-covered roof. The southeast side of the rear return has a painted flush timber door with glazed top half, a top-opening timber casement window to its right, and a separate boiler house accessed from the yard through a painted flush timber door. The rear elevation generally has a smooth rendered finish with concrete cills and a timber casement window at ground-floor level, with original stone walling at first-floor level. The rear return has smooth finish cement render and uPVC rainwater goods. The building is attached on the southeast to Number 18 Charlemont Square East.

The setting forms part of Charlemont Square, a planned arrangement of 66 mill workers' dwellings and shops comprising a formal square composed 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 modestly sized front yard typically enclosed by dwarf walling topped by hooped metal railings. The 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. Rear facades are much altered with various extensions of different shapes and size, whilst front facades are nearly uniform along the east and west terraces. Five larger buildings to the southeast of Charlemont Square East and one to the southeast of Charlemont Square West have traditional shop fronts at ground-floor level with dwellings above. The northern terrace is the shortest, being only eight houses in width, though these buildings are distinctly larger two-and-a-half storey paired structures. 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 and includes a monument to the installation of electric lighting in 1911. Bessbrook's War Memorial is centrally located to the southeast of the playground.