1 WAKEFIELD TERRACE

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey three-bay end terraced house in painted lined cement render, originally built c. 1865 as a single storey dwelling to designs by an unknown architect, rebuilt, raised and gentrified in c. 1926. L-plan form facing NE towards Fountain Street having a two-storey pitched roofed rear return. No. 1 Wakefield Terrace forms part of a terrace of 6 houses (HB16/22/011A-F), all of a similar design and detailing located on a corner site at the SW end of Fountain Street and to the SE of Church Road, at the SE end of Charlemont Square.

Generally painted lined cement render walling with square-headed door and window opes; painted stone cills.

Pitched natural slate roof with roll top terracotta clay ridge tiles. Re-built rectangular-section red brick chimney to NW has a buff clay pot and a terracotta clay pot; similar chimney to SE has two terracotta pots. Flush eaves with a uPVC facia. Generally uPVC RWGs; half-round guttering discharging to square-section downpipes.

Principal elevation
The front elevation is asymmetric, faces NE and is fronted by the public footpath. Elevation consists of a two storey three bay block. Central entrance door is flanked by sash windows. Painted square-headed door surround with plain rectangular-section pilasters and a moulded entablature; six panelled painted timber door with brass furniture and a square-headed fanlight. FF windows in-line with GF opes. Window above door is diminutive and flanked by windows set within gabled dormers, all being double hung 1/1 sliding timber sash with horns. Raised render quoins to SE.

Southeast elevation
Side elevation faces SE and consists of a two storey gabled block to NE with red brick chimney to apex and a two storey rear return to SW. Block to NE has a projecting plinth and no opes. Two storey rear return has two equally spaced double hung sliding timber sash windows to GF with two uPVC top opening casement windows in-line above to FF set within gabled dormers. Rear yard to SW is enclosed by smooth rendered dwarf walling topped by sheeted timber fencing; two-part sheeted timber gates leads to shared rear yard.

Southwest elevation
Rear elevation faces SW towards an enclosed rear yard shared with the other houses along the terrace, (no access) having a two storey rear return at SE and a private yard to NW enclosed by flush painted lined render walling; sheeted timber door to SE of wall leads from shared yard to private yard.

Northwest elevation
To the NW the building is attached to No. 2 Wakefield Terrace (HB16/22/011B).

Setting
No. 1 Wakefield Terrace is part of a terrace of 6 dwellings which occupy a gently sloping site to the SE end of Charlemont Square; Nos.1-5 face NE towards Fountain Street and are fronted by the public footpath. No. 6 faces NW onto Church Road being narrowly set back from the public footpath. Rear yards are open to neighbouring dwellings and are typically enclosed by random-coursed rubble stone walling to SW; section of original yard walling facing SE rendered with tall pier with concrete capping (adjacent no. 1 Wakefield Terrace HB16/22/011A). The village fountain, from which the street gets its name, is located to the NE of No.1 and is square-plan, built in granite ashlar with cast iron spouts to each side and a finial to top. It is surrounded by a rectangular area enclosed by dwarf granite walling topped with painted metal railings. Stone trough remains.

Materials:

Roof: Natural slate
RWGs: uPVC
Walling: lined cement render
Windows: Timber sash and uPVC casement

Historical information

No. 1 Wakefield Terrace, a two-storey three-bay house forming part of a terrace of six houses, was originally constructed in c. 1865 but underwent a major refurbishment in c. 1926 which gave the terrace its current appearance. The previous terrace on the site of nos 1-6 Wakefield Terrace was known as Fountain Place and was laid out in c. 1865 as part of the continuous industrial 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. Nos 1-6 Wakefield Terrace (Fountain Place) was also constructed during this period and between 1861 and 1871 the population of Bessbrook rose from 637 to 2,215 with the number of houses in the village rising from 73 to 296. Each house at Bessbrook was owned by the Bessbrook Spinning Company and possessed between three and five rooms. The occupants of the houses were required to adhere to a number of clauses regarding their lease. Bassett states that each house in Bessbrook possessed ‘a garden [or yard] containing an eighth of an acre, and when the tenant enters into possession he is required to sign an agreement which contains certain stipulations in regard to the keeping of fowl and pigs, so that they may not be found in the quarters occupied by the family or in the yard. He can have a pig-stye and fowl-run in the garden if he pleases. Another binding clause places him under obligation to send his children to school until they are old enough for mill work’ (Bassett; Harrison, p. 16, pp 100-101).

No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was originally constructed in c. 1865 as a single-storey building. The terrace along Fountain Place had not been built by Griffith’s Valuation (1862) but was first recorded in 1866 by the Annual Revisions. The structure that preceded No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was originally valued at £3 and 5 shillings and was initially occupied by a Mr. Samuel Greer. Photographs of the terrace, dating from the early-20th century show that the previous building on the site of No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was a single-storey cottage whilst the adjoining nos 2-5 formed a two-storey terrace. In 1911 the Census of Ireland building return described the house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of four rooms. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1906) depicted the house along Fountain Place as a simple terraced structure that possessed no outbuildings.

In 1926 the Annual Revisions valuer noted that the houses along Fountain Place were in the process of being rebuilt. It is not known with certainty whether this work involved the complete reconstruction or merely the refurbishment of these houses, however it is clear that No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was raised a storey as part of the work. The row was renamed Wakefield Terrace and, following the rebuilding, No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was valued at £10 and 10 shillings. The contemporary Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1909-1935) records that No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was extended to rear and became an L-shaped building as a result of reconstruction work. The valuer noted that the new house was initially leased by the Bessbrook Spinning Co. to a Mr. Robert George McKee who remained at the address until c. 1936. The value of No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was raised to £18 and 10 shillings under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57), which recorded a number of occupants between 1936 and 1957. During the 20th century the mill at Bessbrook continued to expand gaining the Bessbrook Spinning Co. international fame. During the Second World War the mill workers were tasked with supplying cloth for uniforms and No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was briefly utilised as meeting rooms for the Bessbrook Air Raid Precaution Committee. The Bessbrook Spinning Co. continued to retain ownership of housing in Bessbrook until the 1960s when many of the dwellings 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. 1 Wakefield Terrace was purchased outright by a Mr. Anthony McKay in c. 1970 and by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of the house stood at £23.

No. 1 Wakefield Terrace was listed in 1981 and was 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’ (Bessbrook Conservation Area Guide). The NIEA HB Records notes that No. 1 Wakefield Terrace underwent a renovation in c. 1999 which included the installation of new sliding sash window frames throughout (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/2/26/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1861)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/26/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906)
3. PRONI OS/8/31/3 – Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1906)
4. PRONI VAL/2/B/2/37D – Griffith’s Valuation (1862)
5. PRONI VAL/12/E/56/2 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1909-1935)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/16A-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 (1861-1918)
12. Census of Ireland (1901: 1911)
13. First Survey Record – HB16/22/011
14. NIEA HB Record – HB16/22/011A

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
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
R. Age
X. Local Interest
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

Two-storey three-bay terraced house in painted lined cement render, originally built c. 1865 as a single storey dwelling to designs by an unknown architect. Rebuilt, raised and gentrified in c. 1926. The house has good proportions and modest detailing and retains its character, despite the alteration of some internal and external elements. It forms part of a terrace of 6 houses (HB16/22/011A-F), all of a similar design and detailing, prominently located at the SW end of Fountain Street and SE end of Charlemont Square, Bessbrook. No. 1 Wakefield Terrace also has significant group value with its neighbouring terraces on Charlemont Square (HB16/22/001-004) and Lakeview(HB16/22/010A-D). Formerly briefly occupied by the Bessbrook Air Raid Precaution Committee, the building is of local historical significance 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).