Former School Master'S House, 23 Chapel Road, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

Former School Master's House, 23 Chapel Road, Bessbrook

A two-storey three-bay Edwardian former school master's house built c. 1906 to designs by an unknown architect. The building is constructed in local Newry Granodiorite stone, generally squared and rock-faced and brought to courses, with lined cement render dressings. The rectangular plan form faces northeast onto Chapel Road, with an additional single storey rear return to the southwest and an attached garage block to its rear western corner.

The pitched roof is covered in natural slate and fitted with two equally spaced cement rendered and lined mid-ridge square-section chimneys, each carrying four buff clay pots and topped with roll top terracotta clay ridge tiles. The front elevation displays flush eaves with a dressed granite corbel course and cast iron ogee guttering discharging to circular section downpipes. The side elevations have projecting eaves with painted sheeted timber soffit and painted timber facia.

The principal northeast-facing elevation is symmetrical in fenestration, with a narrowly recessed central doorcase flanked by a window on both sides. The segmental arched door opening features a decorative timber frame with a three part mullioned fanlight, panelled and glazed side lights, and a four panelled painted timber door with modern polished metal furniture, opening onto two concrete steps with concrete dwarf walling to the cheeks. Three reduced height windows to the first floor align with the ground floor openings. All windows are typically square-headed double hung 1/1 sliding timber sash windows with horns. Decorative stepped lined cement render surrounds with bevelled edges frame all doors and windows, whilst stepped dressed granite quoins and stone cills complete the detailing.

The southeast elevation is a single-storey stone-built projection with original stone walling and a projecting eaves to the gable, containing a single window at ground floor level with some visible cement strap work pointing.

The southwest rear elevation comprises a two storey three bay stone-built block with an attached single storey stone-built block to the southwest having a low pitched roof. A monopitched rough cast cement rendered block is attached to the western corner. The two storey block has three equally spaced windows of differing cill heights at first floor level and painted timber patio doors with a square-headed fanlight and multiple glazed sections aligned below one window at ground level. The single storey pitched roof block contains a paired timber sash window, and the monopitched block features a two part uPVC casement window.

The northwest elevation displays original stone walling with a projecting eaves to the gable of the two storey block and a single window opening to the southwest at ground floor level. A single storey block extends southwest from the two storey block, set narrowly back and built in stone, with a panelled painted timber door featuring four glazed sections to its top half. The monopitched garage block projects to the west, with a set of painted sheeted timber garage doors to its northeast elevation opening onto a paved drive leading northeast to Chapel Road.

The building is situated within private grounds enclosed by random-coursed rock-faced stone boundary walling with half round reconstructed stone coping and mature hedging. The site is bounded on the northeast by Chapel Road, with Bessbrook Lake beyond, and on the southeast by a road leading to a private housing estate. A set of painted metal scrollwork vehicular gates hung on square-section pillars of squared granite blocks with reconstructed stone pyramidal caps leads from Chapel Road to the private paved drive. The drive serves the front of the dwelling and the garage block to the rear of the northwest elevation. French doors at the rear of the two storey block open onto a paved patio with painted concrete balustrade and an area of garden set to lawn at the southwest. The former school house to the southeast is now demolished, and its site is crossed by a public road leading to the private housing estate.