30 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. The building has an L-plan form facing southwest with a large two-storey flat-roofed rear return. It is one of twenty-seven similar houses forming the eastern terrace of Charlemont Square, a formally designed mid-Victorian square of 66 buildings in total arranged on three sides around a central green, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The walling is generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite with painted red brick dressings. Window and door openings have painted stone cills and stepped red brick surrounds with gauged-brick cambered heads, though doorway and window heads are now generally squared off with bands of painted smooth cement render to the surrounds. The front northwest elevation has uPVC top-opening casement windows. The rear southeast elevation and rear return are finished in rough-cast cement render. The roof is pitched fibre cement with angled black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney with a single terracotta pot is present on the northwest. Flush eaves have a red brick corbel course, with galvanized metal half-round guttering to the front southwest elevation and uPVC rainwater goods to the northeast and rear return; all guttering discharges to circular-section downpipes.

The principal elevation is nearly symmetrical and faces southwest, flush with the main terrace and narrowly set back from larger shop buildings to its southeastern end. A modest paved front yard is enclosed by rustic red brick dwarf walling topped by scrolled painted metal railings, with a similar foot gate hung on a square-section metal post to the southeast. A concrete path from the gate leads to a six-panelled painted timber door positioned to the southeast of the facade, with a rectangular fanlight above. A window is set to the northwest side. The facade has regular fenestration with two windows at first-floor level aligned with ground-floor openings, all fitted with uPVC top-opening casement windows.

The building is attached on the northwest to No. 31 Charlemont Square East and on the southeast to No. 29 Charlemont Square East. The rear northeast elevation consists of a two-storey flat-roofed return projecting northeast into the rear yard, finished with painted timber soffit and fascia. Remains of a monopitch-roofed outbuilding are visible to the northeast of the rear return abutting boundary walling. A planked painted timber door within rough-cast cement rendered boundary walling leads from the rear access route to a narrow L-shaped yard. Only ground-floor windows are visible on the rear return and northeast elevation, which are finished in rough-cast cement render with uPVC casement windows.

No. 30 forms part of a planned arrangement of mill workers' dwellings and shops comprising a formal square with East, North and West terraces arranged around a central green. 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 terraces to east and west are stepped in groups of two dwellings following the subtle relief of the site. Larger rear yards are enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with square-headed door openings onto a wide rear access route. Rear facades are much altered with various extensions. The central green is now laid to lawn and enclosed by hooped galvanized metal railings with established trees at its boundary.