4 College Square East, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

Two-storey two-bay late-Victorian terraced house at 4 College Square East, Bessbrook, built around 1883 to designs by an unknown architect, though possibly designed by civil engineer Mr John Hardy. The building is L-shaped, facing southwest with a single-storey flat-roofed rear return to the northeast.

The house is one of twenty-three similar dwellings forming the eastern side of College Square, a formally designed late-Victorian square containing 53 dwellings in total arranged on three sides around a central bowling green and playground. The square is 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 painted stone cills. The door and window openings are square-headed and gauged brick, though window openings now have narrow painted smooth cement render surrounds. The pitched roof is finished with fibre cement tiles and features roll-top black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest has half-round coping and a single terracotta clay pot. The eaves are flush with separate red and buff brick courses and an alternating red and buff brick corbel course above. Rainwater goods are generally uPVC with half-round guttering discharging to circular section downpipes.

The principal southwest-facing elevation is nearly symmetrical and flush with the rest of the terrace. A modest paved front yard is enclosed by smooth cement rendered dwarf walling topped by painted timber fencing with a similar foot gate. A concrete path leads from the gate to a panelled painted timber door at the southeast end of the facade, which has two glazed panels to its upper half and brass furniture. A square-headed fanlight sits above the door. The facade has a regular fenestration pattern with two windows at first floor level in line with the entrance and one window at ground floor level. Windows throughout are generally top-opening uPVC casements.

To the northeast, the rear elevation has a single-storey rear return extending to the site boundary. A planked timber door at the southeast end leads from the rear access route to a narrow concrete yard, where a uPVC door on the southeast side of the rear return provides access to the dwelling. The rear return has a single window facing northeast at ground floor level with concrete cill and a window to the centre elevation at first floor level, with a later smaller window to the right. The rear elevation has a roughcast finish with concrete cills and uPVC casement windows, with original stone walling retained at first floor level.

The building is attached to No. 5 College Square East to the northwest and No. 3 College Square East to the southeast.

College Square itself comprises a planned arrangement of mill workers' dwellings in a formal square with 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. The eastern terrace is stepped in groups of six dwellings to respect the subtle relief of the site. The western terrace consists of paired dwellings in similar style. Rear yards are enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with square-headed door openings onto a wide rear access route. Front facades are nearly uniform along the eastern terrace, with the village Town Hall (the old Institute building) located to the southeast. The northern terrace contains twelve larger two-and-a-half storey buildings. The central area is now divided into three sections: a bowling green to the northwest enclosed by painted hooped metal railings with established trees, a lawn enclosed by hooped metal railings to the southeast, and an open children's playground in the centre with three granite monuments recording the history and notable workers of Bessbrook.