Monuments in College Square, Bessbrook, Co. Armagh

The monuments in College Square, Bessbrook, County Armagh, are a group of memorials constructed from local granite. A pair of two-column type monuments are present, each featuring a pedestal and a ball finial. One monument was erected in 1911 and commemorates George Wright, Head Mason; John McClelland, Head Millwright; Michael Boyle, Flax Buyer, all of whom served the Bessbrook firm for nearly 50 years; and also Robert Ross, Mill Manager, and Austin Kennedy, Rougher. The other monument, erected in November 1927, commemorates James N. Richardson and describes the adjacent garden as arranged by his wife as a playground for the children of Bessbrook. An inscription on the opposite side of this monument states that it marks the last stone cut from Bessbrook quarry. A third granite monument, originally located in the grounds of Bessbrook Mill, has been recently relocated to this position and details the mill's history from its ownership by the Pollock family in 1760 to Bessbrook Spinning Co Ltd in 1878. A small, rock-faced granite monument to the northwest records the date 1913, noting that the “Kings Way” work was superintended by J. King. These memorials were surveyed in the First Survey but were not listed, and a partial record was taken during the Second Survey as they are not considered worthy of a full survey.