Charlemont Place, Armagh

Charlemont Place is a row of terraced houses in Armagh, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The buildings served as the headquarters of Armagh County Council from 1945 to 1973. They are all Grade A listed buildings.[1][2][3][4][5]

Charlemont Place, Armagh
Charlemont Place, Armagh
LocationArmagh, County Armagh
Coordinates54.3497°N 6.6500°W / 54.3497; -6.6500
Builtc.1830
ArchitectWilliam Murray
Architectural style(s)Georgian style
Listed Building – Grade A
Official name1 Charlemont Place
Designated30 April 1975
Reference no.HB 15/17/010A
Listed Building – Grade A
Official name2 Charlemont Place
Designated30 April 1975
Reference no.HB 15/17/010B
Listed Building – Grade A
Official name3 Charlemont Place
Designated30 April 1975
Reference no.HB 15/17/010C
Listed Building – Grade A
Official name4 Charlemont Place
Designated30 April 1975
Reference no.HB 15/17/010D
Listed Building – Grade A
Official name5 Charlemont Place
Designated30 April 1975
Reference no.HB 15/17/010E
Shown in Northern Ireland

History

The buildings, which were designed by William Murray (1789-1849) in the Georgian style, were built between 1827 and 1830.[6][7] The design for each of the buildings involved a main frontage of three bays facing onto Charlemont Place; they were faced in ashlar limestone and each building featured a round headed doorway in the left bay flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature with a fanlight above; there were sash windows with cast iron balconies on the first floor.[6] The cornice was decorated with dentils and modillions.[8] Archiseek has described the row of houses as "one of the best Georgian terraces in Ireland outside of Dublin".[9]

The street was named after the Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone, Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont.[10] The buildings were initially occupied by senior military officers from Gough Barracks but later became the home of nuns from the Sacred Heart Convent in Armagh.[10] After the Second World War, the county leaders at Armagh County Council, who had previously held their meetings in Armagh Courthouse,[11] decided that the courthouse was too cramped to accommodate the county council in the context of the county council's increasing administrative responsibilities, especially while the courthouse was still acting as a facility for dispensing justice, and therefore chose to acquire additional premises: the location they selected was Charlemont Place, conveniently located on the opposite side of College Hill to the courthouse, and the acquisition was completed in 1945.[12]

After the county council was abolished in 1973, the buildings became the regional office of several government departments.[13] As a government office the buildings became a target for potential terrorist attacks and they were damaged by a car bomb in 1989.[8]

References
  1. "1 Charlemont Place, The Mall East, Armagh". Department for Communities. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  2. "2 Charlemont Place, The Mall East, Armagh". Department for Communities. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  3. "3 Charlemont Place, The Mall East, Armagh". Department for Communities. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  4. "4 Charlemont Place, The Mall East, Armagh". Department for Communities. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  5. "5 Charlemont Place, The Mall East, Armagh". Department for Communities. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. "Armagh Conservation Area" (PDF). Planning Northern Ireland. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  7. "1-5 Charlemont Place, The Mall, Armagh". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  8. "1-5 Charlemont Place, The Mall East, Armagh". Stone Database. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  9. "1827 – Charlemont Place, Armagh, Co. Armagh". Archiseek. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  10. Campbell, Maureen (1997). Armagh, City of Light and Learning: Paintings and Stories from the Orchard County. Cottage Publications. p. 18. ISBN 978-1900935050.
  11. "Belfast - Dublin - Cork Telephone Directory". 1913. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  12. "No. 1239". The Belfast Gazette. 23 March 1945. p. 69.
  13. "Education Authority - Armagh Office". Northern Ireland Direct. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
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