The Farm Yard, Fountain Street Bessbrook, Co. Armagh, BT35 7DF

The Farm Yard, Fountain Street, Bessbrook

This farmyard complex, accessed via a covered alleyway from Fountain Street, is located to the south of that street within the village of Bessbrook, in the townland of Clogharevan, County Armagh. The layout of the yard predates the first edition Ordnance Survey maps of the 1830s, making these among the earliest surviving buildings in Bessbrook, constructed before the establishment of the model village. The farmyard is not listed, though it sits within a conservation area.

Historical Background

The settlement now known as Bessbrook began as the location of a bleach green and linen business established in 1761 by John Pollock, who acquired the property from James, 4th Viscount Charlemont. Pollock is thought to have named the settlement after his wife, Elizabeth. Joseph Nicholson and Sons subsequently leased the property from William Pollock in 1802 and during their short tenure added a spinning mill, a scutch mill, a hackling house, and various other buildings, almost certainly including the present farmyard. The farmyard is first shown on a map of 1826, and it is likely that Nicholson and Sons constructed it after 1802.

In 1845, John Grubb Richardson, a prominent Quaker and head of a linen bleaching and warehousing firm with family connections to the Nicholsons, took over Bessbrook, leasing it from the Earl of Charlemont. Richardson's intention was to establish a model village along the lines of a William Penn settlement, having been influenced by a visit to the United States in 1841. He was motivated both by industrial ambitions and by social concern for the welfare of his workers. In 1863, following an inheritance and a boom in the linen trade brought about by restrictions on cotton supply caused by the American Civil War, Richardson became the sole owner of the entire business, works and village. Bessbrook Spinning Company was subsequently incorporated as a Limited Liability Company in 1878, with Richardson as its Chairman.

The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834 to 1835 shows the farmyard as two parallel structures arranged roughly at right angles to the street, with a third smaller structure alongside the street (now gone). The area to the south is captioned 'Bess Brook', with a Thread Manufactory, Bleach Mill, and Mill Pond also marked. By the second edition map of 1861, the yard had been enclosed on all four sides and included two smaller central stores or sheds (now gone), a dairy (now rebuilt or remodelled), and stables. A shop at the north-west corner, opening onto Fountain Street, also formerly existed but has since been lost; this was later occupied from 1904 until at least 1930 by Robert Moorehead, cobbler.

The contemporary Griffith's Valuation records the site as an outbuilding and farmyard, occupied by John G Richardson and leased from the Earl of Charlemont, with the farmyard and associated buildings valued at £18. Two dwelling houses, later numbered 71 and 69 Fountain Street, were also listed, valued at £13 10s and £10 respectively, leased by Richardson to company employees and their families.

By the late 1860s Richardson had established a 300-acre dairy business centred on the farmyard, with associated dairy and byre buildings, stabling for horses used in both farm work and haulage at the spinning works, and accommodation for a land steward. A steward's house is listed on the site from 1867. New outbuildings added at this time included a two-storey byre and a range of buildings along Derrymore Road comprising bull and cattle sheds, all of which have since been demolished, having been lost between 1956 and 1971. These additions resulted in the valuation rising to £52.

Richardson's motivation for developing the dairy farm was in part a desire to provide employment for men, since the spinning and weaving mills were largely female workplaces. A further significant motivation was his commitment to temperance. Having observed in the early years at Bessbrook the damage that alcohol caused to his employees and his business, Richardson policed the settlement to prevent alcohol being brought in, outlawed public houses, and encouraged sellers of alcohol to leave. He provided milk from the company farm to workers in the frequently hot rooms of the spinning mill, and also sold milk to the villagers.

A visitor writing in the Wishaw Press and Lanarkshire Advertiser on 23rd September 1876 described the farmyard in some detail. Fronting Fountain Street were two large buildings with a large gateway between them: on one side of the gateway was a byre capable of holding 60 cows, with a large hall above, all lit by large windows; on the other side were stables and coach-houses, later converted to a dairy, again with a hall above. Inside the gateway stood the land steward's house with a garden behind, and facing that were further stables, together forming a large square enclosure.

Between the second edition map of 1861 and the large-scale town plan of 1895, both dwelling houses were extended to the rear, and front and rear porches were added to number 71. The Ulster Echo published two lengthy articles about farming operations at Bessbrook in the 1890s, during the tenures of land stewards H Burt and then Arthur Alderton. At that time the company maintained a home farm supporting 52 dairy cows at Bessbrook and a further farm of 80 acres at Craigmore for raising heifers and lambs. Milking took place twice daily at 6 am and 3 pm, with three women and three men employed to carry it out. The dairy had all the newest and most approved appliances, and a refrigerator for milk and butter was installed around 1898. The dairy was run by a Miss Wright, described as a dairy expert. In total the farms carried 90 head of cows, 50 stock ewes, a dozen pigs, and ten horses, four employed on the farms and six at the mill. The cows' pasture was supplemented with hay, cabbages, and turnips and swedes, though the Ulster Echo reported that there was nevertheless no perceptible turnipy taste in the Bessbrook milk or butter, and held up the Bessbrook dairies as a model for dairies across Ireland.

Occupants and Accommodation

The land steward's house at number 71 Fountain Street was occupied by a succession of stewards over the decades. At the time of Griffith's Valuation, the occupant was Jane Dawson — William and Albert Dawson having been managers of the mill in the 1850s, and Jane likely the widow of one of them. William J Wonfor, an employee of Bessbrook Spinning Company for thirty-five years and a prominent figure in the social and unionist political life of the village, was resident in the late 1860s. He was followed by John Thorp (from 1884), H Burt, land steward (1889), and Arthur R Alderton, land steward (1898 to 1899), who was a graduate of a dairy school in England and had previously managed a 500-acre dairy farm for the London trade. Subsequent occupiers included John Wiseman (1901), John Brown (1903), Walter Anderson (1910), and then William Hosie from Scotland at the time of the 1911 census. Later occupiers were Robert B Marshall (1914), William Ellie (1917), Matthew Hale (1922), Francis Spencer (1923), John Burns (1924), James Burns (1926), Ben Revels (1927), and James Nixon (1928).

Thirty-year-old John Wiseman, recorded in the 1901 census as land steward, was from Kildare with a wife from Glasgow; his four young daughters had been born in Wicklow, Monaghan, and Tyrone. The steward's house was recorded in the building return as first class, with eight windows to the front elevation and eight rooms internally, with 19 associated outbuildings including four stables and four cow houses.

The 1933 General Revaluation provides a plan and dimensions for all the buildings comprising the farmyard, along with details of accommodation in both dwelling houses. At that time number 71 was occupied first by H A Bailie, land steward, and then by Peter Hardie Campbell. The rear door was noted to open directly into the farmyard. Ground floor accommodation comprised two reception rooms, a kitchen, a scullery, and two pantries; upstairs were three bedrooms and a bathroom. The house also contained a self-contained first-floor flat, accessed through the farmyard, with a hallway, one reception room, a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, occupied by Annie McCutcheon.

Number 69 Fountain Street was at the time of Griffith's Valuation occupied by Peter Davis, land steward, originally from Penketh in Lancashire. Davis appears to have remained in the house after his retirement and was still resident at his death in 1900. Because Davis continued in occupation, subsequent land stewards used the house at number 71 instead. Davis was followed at number 69 by Patrick Hargrave (1903), Frederick Hargrave (1904), and Henry Doal — likely a misrendering of Herbert Dowell (1909). Herbert Dowell, an Englishman and engineer at the Bessbrook Spinning Mill, lived at number 69 at the time of the 1911 census with his Monaghan housekeeper. His house was recorded as first class, with five windows to the front elevation and 12 rooms internally. Dowell appears to have left Bessbrook following his marriage in 1913, after which the house was occupied by Thomas Gray (1913). By the 1933 revaluation, number 69 comprised two reception rooms, a kitchen, scullery, store, and pantry on the ground floor, with four bedrooms, a boxroom, a bathroom, and a water closet upstairs. This house was formerly aligned with an attached stable, and in the years after 1933 part of that stable was incorporated into the dwelling.

Architectural Description

The farmyard is symmetrically arranged around the south, east, and west perimeter of the original yard enclosure, with the north side defined by a high blank wall forming the rear elevation of properties fronting onto Fountain Street. Access to the courtyard is via an underpass from Fountain Street. The surface of the farmyard is gravel and loose stone.

The central building, to the south of the farmyard, is a rectangular seven-bay, two-storey block with a natural slate roof, hipped at both ends, and PVC rainwater goods throughout. The walls are exposed random rubble stone, with the majority of window openings defined by brick surrounds and fitted with fine aluminium horizontal louvred screens concealing the window arrangement behind. The second bay from the left has a projecting vertically sheeted door with a sliding mechanism to the right, and exposed concrete block infill to the external wall above. The third bay from the right has a projecting solid concrete staircase with vertical aluminium railings, giving access to a sliding door entry at upper level. The side and rear elevations could not be recorded, and no access to the interior was gained.

The building to the west has four bays plus an additional projecting bay to the left, with a hipped natural slate roof (replaced). A pair of centrally positioned brick chimneys sits at ridge level. PVC rainwater goods are used throughout. The walls have a pebble dash finish. Windows are top-hung PVC, and the entrance door and screen are modern painted timber replacements. Extensive ivy growth spreads from the right.

The building fronting the farmyard to the east is a six-bay, one-and-a-half-storey, painted masonry dwelling with a hipped roof behind a low parapet wall to the south gable. It has two centrally positioned tall brick chimneys, below which are two dormer gabled windows at first floor level. PVC fascia, including decorative fascia to the dormers, and PVC rainwater goods are used throughout. All windows are top-hung PVC with transoms concealed within the glazing installation. A flat-roof extension to the right of the central bay has contemporary galvanised railings around its roof perimeter.

Phases of Alteration

The buildings of the farmyard have undergone several phases of remodelling since their construction in the early 19th century. The first significant phase followed the development of the farm as part of the model village in the 1860s. A second phase occurred after Bessbrook Spinning Company ceased operations in the 1960s, resulting in the loss of part of the stable and the rebuilding or remodelling of the dairy, both changes occurring between 1971 and 1989 as evidenced by large-scale maps. The byre has also been remodelled into a shop, most likely also during the 1970s or 1980s. Although parts of the historic footprint of the farmyard layout remain intact, the buildings retain insufficient historic fabric to meet the legislative test for listing.