29 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. A single-bay two-storey rear return was added around 1979. The building forms part of No. 29 Charlemont Square East, one of twenty-seven similar houses that together with five larger two-and-a-half storey shop buildings to the southeast comprise the eastern terrace of Charlemont Square. Charlemont Square is a formally designed mid-Victorian square consisting of 66 buildings in total arranged on three sides around a central green, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the southeast.

The house is built of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite walling with painted red brick dressings. Stone cills and stepped red brick surrounds are provided to the gauged-brick cambered door and window openings, though doorway and window heads are now generally squared off with bands of painted smooth cement render to surrounds. The pitched fibre cement roof has angled black clay ridge tiles. A rectangular-section red brick chimney to the northwest carries two black clay pots. The eaves are flush with a red brick corbel course; metal rainwater goods with galvanised half-round guttering serve the front southwest elevation, while uPVC half-round guttering discharges to circular section downpipes at the rear northeast.

The principal southwest-facing elevation is nearly symmetrical and flush with the main terrace. A modest-sized paved front yard is enclosed by painted rusticated brick dwarf walling topped by scrollwork painted metal railings and a similar painted metal foot gate to the southeast. A paved path from the gate leads to a modern varnished panelled timber door to the southeast of the facade. Two rectangular panels form the top half of the door with brass furniture, and a square-headed fanlight above has replacement glazing. A window sits to the northwest side. The facade has a regular fenestration pattern with two windows to first-floor level in line with ground-floor openings, fitted with double-hung 1/1 sliding uPVC sash windows with window horns.

The building is attached on the northwest to No. 30 Charlemont Square East. The northeast-facing rear elevation contains a two-storey pitched roof rear return at the northwest end, projecting northeast to the site boundary. A narrow yard, reduced to a single bay in width, is covered at ground-floor level by a lightweight timber structure with a monopitch clear Perspex roof, projecting from the rear return and resting on the yard boundary walling to the southeast. The yard is accessed through a planked painted timber door from the rear access route. The rear return has a uPVC door to the southeast side and a three-part window to its right. The rear elevation generally has a rough cement rendered finish with concrete cills and top-opening uPVC casement windows. The rear return has painted timber soffit and facia with uPVC rainwater goods. The building is attached to No. 28 Charlemont Square East on the southeast elevation.

Charlemont Square comprises a planned arrangement of 66 mill workers' dwellings and shops forming a formal square composed of 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-sized front yard typically enclosed by dwarf walling topped by hooped metal railings. The terraces to the east and west are stepped in groups of two dwellings respecting the subtle relief of the site. Generally, a larger rear yard serves each dwelling, enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling with a square-headed door opening onto a wide rear access route. Rear facades are much altered with various extensions of different shapes and sizes. Front facades are nearly uniform along the east and west terraces. The northern terrace consists of only eight houses, which are distinctly larger two-and-a-half storey paired buildings. The central area of the square is now laid to lawn and enclosed by hooped galvanised metal railings with some established trees at its boundary. A children's playground is located to the southeast and includes a monument to the installation of electric lighting in 1911. Bessbrook's War Memorial is centrally located to the southeast of the playground.