5 College Square East, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh

A two-storey, two-bay late-Victorian terraced house built around 1883 to designs by an unknown architect, though possibly designed by civil engineer John Hardy. The building adopts an L-plan form facing southwest, with a two-storey rear return. Number 5 is one of twenty-three similar houses that, together with Bessbrook Town Hall to the southeast, forms the eastern side of College Square—a formally designed late-Victorian square consisting of fifty-three dwellings in total, arranged on three sides around a central bowling green and playground, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The walls are constructed of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite with stepped red brick dressings to jambs and stone cills. Door and window openings are square-headed with gauged brickwork. The pitched roof is covered with fibre cement tiles with angled black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest carries four black clay pots. The eaves are flush with separate red and buff brick courses and an alternating red and buff brick corbel course above. Guttering is generally uPVC with half-round profiles 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 painted timber fencing. A concrete path at the southeast end leads to a four-panelled painted timber door with a semi-circular glazed section to the top featuring radial glazing bars, painted metal furniture, and a square-headed fanlight above. The facade has regular fenestration with two windows to first-floor level in line with the entrance and one window to ground-floor level. Windows are generally 1/1 double-hung sliding timber sashes with window horns.

To the northwest, the building is attached to Number 6 College Square East. The northeast elevation, where visible, consists of a two-storey pitched roof rear return projecting into an L-shaped rear yard. A single top opening casement window serves the first floor of the rear elevation. The rear return has a single top and side opening timber casement window visible at first-floor level facing northeast, with metal ogee guttering discharging to square-section downpipes. Random-course rock-faced yard boundary walling includes a painted timber door leading from the rear access route to the rear yard. The rear return features rough-cast cement render walling and timber casement windows with concrete cills. To the southeast, the building is attached to Number 4 College Square East.

College Square forms part of a planned arrangement of fifty-three mill workers' dwellings comprising 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 comprises paired dwellings in similar style. Each dwelling's rear yard is enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with a square-headed door opening onto a wide rear access route. Front facades remain nearly uniform along the eastern terrace, with the village Town Hall (the old Institute building) located to the southeast.

The central area of the square is now divided into three sections laid to lawn. The northwest section contains a bowling pavilion and green enclosed by painted hooped metal railings with established trees at its northwest boundary. To the southeast is a lawn enclosed by hooped metal railings, and in the centre stands an open children's playground which includes three granite monuments. One monument records: "erected A.D. 1911 in respectful memory of George Wright, Head Mason. John McClelland, Head Millwright. Michael Boyle, Flax Buyer. Who each faithfully served the Bessbrook firm for nearly 50 years. Also Robert Ross, Mill Manager. Austin Kennedy, Rougher". Another reads "The garden in memory of James N. Richardson is arranged by his wife as a playground for the children of Bessbrook whom he loved November 1927" with an inscription on the opposite side noting this was the last stone cut from Bessbrook quarry. A third monument, recently moved from the grounds of Bessbrook Mill, details the mill's history from its ownership by the Pollock family in 1760 to Bessbrook Spinning Co Ltd in 1878.

Materials include fibre cement roof tiles, uPVC and metal rainwater goods, Newry Granodiorite walling, and timber sash and casement windows.