Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB16/22/008 B

Address :
6 Fountain Street Bessbrook Co. Armagh BT35 7DE

Townland:
Clogharevan

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
15/05/1981 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
266/1NE

IG Ref:
J0490 2867

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Two storey semi-detached former teacher's dwelling with painted lined cement render walling, built along with the attached No. 5 (HB16/22/008A) in 1861-1862 to designs by an unknown architect. Together No. 5 and 6 are symmetrical and form a rectangular plan facing NE onto College Square, having a shared central bay, with roof dormer, flanked by separate entrance doors and narrowly projecting gabled blocks to front. Two storey flush monopitched extension, added c.1980, bridges gabled blocks at rear. Pitched fibre cement tiles to roof with angled black clay ridge tiles. Rectangular section rendered chimney to gabled block at SE has a single terracotta clay pot. Projecting eaves with decorative moulded timber corbels. Front elevation has decorative bargeboards to gables including central shared dormer at front; heavy moulded timbers with two stage droplets to ends (replacement plain timber ends to main gable of No. 5). Metal RWGs; half-round guttering discharging to circular section downpipes. Generally painted lined cement render walling to front and painted smooth render walling elsewhere with square-headed top opening uPVC casement windows and granite stone cills. Each house has a private area of garden to front and side with main access being from a shared paved path to NE which runs NW from a foot gate on Fountain Street; painted metal scrollwork gate hung on decorative concrete pillars; hooped metal railings to NE side of shared path. Individual gardens are set to lawn with some mature shrubs and are generally enclosed by fenestrated modern block walling. Garden of No.5 is enclosed along Fountain Street to SE by random-coursed rock-faced stone walling with decorative stone coping of alternating squared and angled blocks. Garden of No. 6 is enclosed on NW by side wall of former school building (HB16/22/016). Separate painted metal foot gates, hung on square section rendered pillars, to NE of gardens open onto individual concrete paths which lead SW to separate entrance doors. Rear elevation backs directly onto Thomas Street. Principal elevation Front elevation faces NE having a shared central bay with half dormer to FF above a shared window at GF; each having a pair of top opening uPVC casement windows divided by a wide mullion, denoting divide between No. 5 and No. 6. Door to NW side of window opens onto a set of two granite steps; uPVC door with square-headed fanlight above. Gabled single bay block to NW narrowly projects having a decorative timber bargeboard to gable and a top opening uPVC casement window to FF in-line with a similar taller window to GF. Northwest elevation Northwest elevation is fronted by a garden set to lawn and enclosed by modern fenestrated block walling to SE and NE, the side wall of the former school building to NW and a row of monopitched outbuildings to SW. Elevation consists of pitched roof block with a rectangular section rendered chimney to centre of exterior wall and two equally spaced top opening uPVC windows to GF. Elevation has a modest monopitched boiler house attached to SW. Southwest elevation Rear elevation faces SW directly onto Thomas Street and is symmetrical with the rear elevation of No. 5 to SE. Elevation of No. 6 consists of a two storey gabled block to NW and a two storey monopitched extension which is flush to SE (added c. 1980). Painted smooth cement render garden walling extends to NW having monopitched outbuildings to interior of garden. Gabled block has a top opening uPVC casement window with painted stone cill to FF. Monopitched block has a three part uPVC casement window to GF with a painted slim concrete cill. There is a similar window in-line above to FF and a uPVC door to NW. Walling is painted smooth cement render with flush eaves. Southeast elevation Building is attached on its SE to No. 5 Fountain Street (HB16/22/008A) Setting No. 6 Fountain Street is located within the Bessbrook Conservation Area at the SE end of College Square; a formally designed late-Victorian square consisting of 53 historic mill workers dwellings in total, arranged on three sides around a central bowling green and playground, primarily accessed from Fountain Street to the Southeast. The building faces directly onto an area of garden belong to the former school (HB16/22/016, located to NW) which is planted with mature shrubs and trees being enclosed by galvanized hooped metal railings. The Institute building (HB16/22/009) is located on the opposite side of College Square. Materials: Roof: Fibre cement RWGs: Metal Walling: Painted cement render Windows: uPVC casement

Architects

Historical Information

No. 6 Fountain Street, a two-storey semi-detached dwelling located at the corner of Fountain Street and College Square West, was constructed between 1861 and 1862 as part of the social development of the village of Bessbrook which had been undertaken by the Richardson family from as early as the 1840s. The development of industry in the area dates from 1761 when the first woollen mill and bleach green were opened by a Mr. John Pollock. The site was simply known as ‘The Green’ but was renamed Bessbrook after Pollock’s wife Elizabeth (Bess) and the nearby Camlough River (Brook). The first edition Ordnance Survey map records that few buildings had been erected at Bessbrook by the 1830s. The only significant structures to be depicted upon that map were Mount Caulfield House (the residence of the Nicholson family – see HB16/22/024) and a number of thread manufactories and bleach mills. The village of Bessbrook was effectively founded in 1845 when John Grubb Richardson (1813-1891), a linen merchant from Lambeg, purchased one of the derelict mills at the site and began to build housing for his factory workers in the immediate vicinity. Richardson, in his own words, ‘had a great aversion to be responsible for a factory population in a large town, so on looking around, fixed upon a place near Newry … with water power and a thick population around, and in a country district where flax was cultivated in considerable quantities’ (Harrison, p. 50). Bessbrook was established as a ‘model village’ in a number of phases beginning with the laying out of Fountain Street in the 1840s. The architect of the majority of the housing in Bessbrook is not known, however Richardson’s layout of the village was influenced by the work of William Penn, an American Quaker who had been responsible for the planning and development of Philadelphia in the late-17th century. Richardson was also a member of the Religious Society of Friends and, according to Harrison, possessed a ‘typical Quaker mix of pragmatic and altruistic expectation to provide jobs and good working conditions for his employees.’ By providing his workers with good standards of living Richardson hoped to ensure good relationships between employers and the employed. He therefore established the village as a social experiment where his workers could both live and work in contentment. Harrison states that Richardson’s philanthropic spirit led him to bring the poor, the unqualified and beggars from the surrounding countryside to work and live at Bessbrook, hoping that he could encourage them to improve themselves and excise old habits. Bessbrook is often referred to as a village without the ‘Three P’s’ due to Richardson’s stipulation that there would be no ‘Public House’ or ‘Pawn Shop’ in the settlement and therefore no need for ‘Police’ to be stationed there. In exchange for keeping the village free of alcohol Richardson provided recreational and educational facilities at the Institute (HB16/22/009), a number of well-stocked shops (located at nos 1-5 Charlemont Square East) and also had milk, tea and cocoa distributed to his mill workers. The strategy was effective as the majority of the population voted to preserve the ordinance in the 1870s and, to this day, there remains no public house at Bessbrook. Police were not stationed at the village until the turn of the 20th century (Harrison; Brett, p. 243). In 1863 Richardson became the sole owner of the Bessbrook Spinning Company following the purchase of his brother’s shares in the company. The local linen industry experienced a boom during the American Civil War (1861-65) as access to American cotton was cut off. Richardson took advantage of this opportunity by greatly enlarging his factory at Bessbrook whilst also increasing the size of his workforce. Lord Charlemont sold the remainder of the Camlough Estate to Richardson in 1865 and so by the mid-1860s Richardson was the main employer and the principal landowner at Bessbrook. Richardson had Charlemont Square laid out between 1862 and 1866 to accommodate the influx of new workers to the factory and between 1861 and 1871 the population of Bessbrook rose from 637 to 2,215 with the number of houses rising from 73 to 296 (Harrison, pp 100-101). The schoolhouse at College Square West (HB16/22/016) had originally been constructed in 1853 and predated the development of most surviving houses in the village. However, Brett states that the schoolhouse was considerably enlarged in 1875 in order to cope with the increased population of the village. The adjoining school cottages at nos 5-6 Fountain Street were constructed as residences for the local schoolmasters between 1861 and 1862. The dwellings, located at the corner of Fountain Street and College Square West, were not depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey map (1861) but were included in Griffith’s Valuation (1862). In 1862 Griffith’s Valuation noted that No. 6 Fountain Street was initially valued at £7 and was leased by the Richardson’s estate to William Briars who was employed as a schoolteacher. The occupants of No. 6 Fountain Street changed with great frequency over the following four decades and by the turn of the 20th century the house was occupied by national schoolteacher, Thomas Simpson. In 1911 the Census of Ireland described No. 6 Fountain Street as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of seven rooms and possessed no outbuildings. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Town Plan of Bessbrook (1906) depicted nos 5-6 Fountain Street along their current layout and noted that each of the houses possessed a small shed to rear (the central extension block to the rear of the site was not added until c. 1980). The value of No. 6 Fountain Street was increased to £12 and 10 shillings under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) at which time the building was leased by the Bessbrook Spinning Co. to James Darragh. The Bessbrook Spinning Co. continued to retain ownership of most buildings in Bessbrook until the 1960s when the majority of housing in the village began to be sold to private individuals and firms. The sale of property at Bessbrook was necessitated by the post-war downturn in the local textile market which foreshadowed the closure of the mill in 1972 (the building was subsequently occupied by the British Army – see HB16/22/039). No. 6 Fountain Street continued to be leased out to tenants by the Bessbrook Spinning Co. until the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time it was occupied by a Mr. William Black and was valued at £15 and 10 shillings. The NIEA HB Records note that the two-storey extension was added to the rear of nos 5-6 Fountain Street in c. 1980. The buildings were subsequently listed in 1981 and were included in the Bessbrook Conservation Area which was designated in 1983 in recognition of Bessbrook’s ‘historical significance as a planned mill village and its distinct form and character.’ The Conservation Area Guide notes that the carefully planned development of Bessbrook, including the uniform terraces at Charlemont Square and College Square, influenced the design of the famous English model villages at Saltaire (1852), Port Sunlight (1888) and Bourneville (developed by the Cadbury family in 1895) ‘which have directly influenced town and country planning all over the world’ (NIEA HB Records - Bessbrook Conservation Area Guide). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/2/26/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1834-35) 2. PRONI OS/6/2/26/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1861) 3. PRONI OS/6/2/26/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906) 4. PRONI OS/8/31/3 – Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1906) 5. PRONI VAL/2/B/2/37D – Griffith’s Valuation (1862) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6A-J – Annual Revisions (1866-1929) 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/5A – Annual Revisions (1924-29) 8. PRONI VAL/3/C/2/12 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 9. PRONI VAL/4/B/2/20 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 10. George Bassett: The Book of County Armagh (1888) 11. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918) 12. Census of Ireland (1901: 1911) 13. First Survey Record – HB16/22/008 (1969) 14. NIEA HB Record – HB16/22/008B Secondary Sources 1. ‘Bessbrook: A record of industry in a Northern Ireland village community and of a social experiment, 1845-1945’ Belfast: Nicholson & Bass Ltd., 1945. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of County Armagh’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1999. 3. Harrison, R., ‘The Richardson’s of Bessbrook: Ulster Quakers in the linen industry (1845-1921)’ Dublin: Original Writing Ltd., 2008. 4. ‘Bessbrook Conservation Area Guide’ Belfast: Department of the Environment (N. I.), 1983. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Ulster Biography - http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

T. Historic Importance Z. Rarity V. Authorship R. Age S. Authenticity U. Historic Associations W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A modest two storey semi-detached former Schoolmaster's dwelling with painted lined cement render walling, built along with the attached No. 5 Fountain Street (HB16/22/008A) in 1861-1862 to designs by an unknown architect. The pair of dwellings form a rectangular plan with flanking narrowly projecting gabled blocks with decorative bargeboards, mirroring that of the adjacent former schoolhouse (HB16/22/016). Well designed proportions and modest detailing give the building character, despite the use of uPVC windows and fibre-cement roof slates. Facing NE onto College Square, Bessbrook; a formal square consisting of 53 millworkers dwellings in total (HB16/22/013-15), the former schoolmaster's dwelling has substantial group value and is of local historical and social importance as part of an early planned mill village begun in the 1840s by the prominent linen merchant John Grubb Richardson (1813-1891) from Lambeg and contemporary to the other English model villages of Port Sunlight (1888) and Bourneville (1895).

General Comments

Date of Survey

16 March 2015