Charlemont Place is a row of terraced houses in Armagh,

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The buildings served as the headquarters of

Armagh County Council Armagh County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. History Armagh County Council was formed under orders issued in accordance with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 which came into e ...

from 1945 to 1973. They are all Grade A listed buildings.

History

The buildings, which were designed by William Murray (1789-1849) in the

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Geor ...

, were built between 1827 and 1830. The design for each of the buildings involved a main frontage of three bays facing onto Charlemont Place; they were faced in ashlar

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and each building featured a round headed doorway in the left bay flanked by

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s supporting an entablature with a fanlight above; there were sash windows with

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

balconies on the first floor. The cornice was decorated with

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian R ...

s and modillions. ''Archiseek'' has described the row of houses as "one of the best Georgian terraces in Ireland outside of Dublin". The street was named after the

Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1 ...

Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont Francis William Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont KP, PC (Ire) (3 January 1775 – 26 December 1863), styled Viscount Caulfeild until 1799, was an Irish peer and politician. He was born the elder son of James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont a ...

. The buildings were initially occupied by senior military officers from

Gough Barracks Gough Barracks was a military installation in Armagh, Northern Ireland. History The barracks were first established on the site in 1773. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the bar ...

but later became the home of nuns from the Sacred Heart Convent in Armagh. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the county leaders at

, who had previously held their meetings in Armagh Courthouse, 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. After the county council was abolished in 1973, the buildings became the regional office of several government departments. As a government office the buildings became a target for potential

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

s and they were damaged by a car bomb in 1989.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in County Armagh Armagh Buildings and structures completed in 1830