8 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 Mr John Hardy. The building is one of twenty-three similar houses 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 house is built in an L-plan form facing southwest, with a single-storey flat-roofed rear return extending to the northeast. The walls are constructed of generally random-coursed rock-faced local Newry Granodiorite with stepped red brick dressings to jambs. Stone cills and square-headed gauged-brick door and window openings are employed throughout. The pitched roof is covered with fibre cement tiles and topped with roll top black clay ridge tiles. The replacement rectangular-section red brick chimney on the northwest has four terracotta clay pots. Flush eaves are formed 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 front yard laid to lawn is enclosed by dwarf concrete walling topped by hooped painted metal railings with a similar foot gate. A concrete path leads from the gate to a six-panelled painted timber door at the southeast end of the facade, which has brass furniture and a square-headed fanlight above. The facade has regular fenestration: two windows to first floor level in line with the main entrance door and one window to ground floor level. Double hung sliding timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes, window horns and granite cills are used to the front elevation, whilst timber casement windows are employed to the rear extension.

The northeast rear elevation faces onto a rock-faced random-coursed stone-walled boundary enclosing a concrete yard accessed through a planked painted timber door. At ground floor level to the southeast end is an increased width two-part side opening casement window with replacement concrete cill, and a single double hung sliding timber sash window is positioned at first floor level at the centre. A single-storey rear return projects northeast from the northwest end of the facade, with a flat felt-covered roof. A smaller flat-roofed boiler house is abutted against its northeast side. The southeast side of the rear return has a panelled painted timber door with two glazed sections to the top half, a top opening timber casement window to its right, and a separate boiler house accessed from the yard through a painted planked timber door. The rear elevation is generally finished with smooth render, with concrete cills and timber casement windows to ground floor; original stone walling is retained at first floor level. The rear return has smooth cement render finish and uPVC rainwater goods.

The building is attached to No. 9 College Square East to the northwest and No. 7 College Square East to the southeast.

As part of College Square East, this house forms one element of a planned arrangement of mill workers dwellings comprising a formal square composed of 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 west terrace comprises paired dwellings in a similar style. Rear yards to each dwelling 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 is the shortest, comprising 12 houses, and whilst similar in style are distinctly larger two-and-a-half storey buildings. The central area of the square is divided into three sections each laid to lawn: the northwest area has a bowling pavilion and green enclosed by painted hooped metal railings with established trees at its boundary; a lawn enclosed by hooped metal railings is located to the southeast; and an open children's playground containing three granite monuments is located in the centre of the square. One monument records those who faithfully served the Bessbrook firm for nearly 50 years; another records the garden arranged in memory of James N. Richardson; a third, recently moved from Bessbrook Mill grounds, details the mill's history from its ownership by the Pollock family in 1760 to Bessbrook Spinning Company Limited in 1878.